Synthesis of P- and N-doped carbon catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction via controlled phosphoric acid treatment of folic acid

• Rieko Kobayashi,
• Takafumi Ishii,
• Yasuo Imashiro and
• Jun-ichi Ozaki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1497–1510, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.148

• acid; oxygen reduction reaction; phosphoric acid treatment; PN-doped carbon catalysts; polymer electrolyte fuel cells; Introduction The widespread application of fuel cells as clean energy sources is the most desirable way of realizing a low-CO2-emission society. In conventional polymer electrolyte

• application as domestic, back-up, and vehicle power sources. The cost of cathode catalysts can be reduced in a number of ways, e.g., by alloying Pt with base metals [2], forming core–shell particles with base-metal cores covered by thin Pt layers [3], and developing non-Pt catalysts. In particular, the

• implementation of non-Pt or non-precious-metal cathode catalysts is the ultimate goal of PEFC development. Since the discovery of the ORR activity of cobalt phthalocyanine in 1964 [4], numerous studies have focused on the synthesis of non-precious metal ORR catalysts such as those based on carbon [5]. The

Flexible freestanding MoS₂-based composite paper for energy conversion and storage

• Florian Zoller,
• Jan Luxa,
• Thomas Bein,
• Dina Fattakhova-Rohlfing,
• Daniel Bouša and
• Zdeněk Sofer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1488–1496, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.147

• materials [26]. Another popular related field in the context of energy storage and sustainable energy production is water splitting to produce hydrogen. The best catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are unequivocally based on platinum and iridium, however the scarcity and the high cost of

• these materials are tremendous disadvantages for the production of hydrogen on an industrial scale [16]. Hence, it is necessary to develop new catalysts which are abundant, inexpensive and chemically robust [16]. MoS2 is again a promising candidate. Theoretical and experimental studies have successfully

Hierarchically structured 3D carbon nanotube electrodes for electrocatalytic applications

• Pei Wang,
• Katarzyna Kulp and
• Michael Bron

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1475–1487, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.146

• ][5][6][7][8]. Besides the above-mentioned applications, CNTs have also been investigated as catalysts or catalyst supports for various electrocatalytic reactions [8][9][10][11][12][13], including methanol oxidation in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). DMFCs are promising power sources for future

• typical appearance of the CVs for methanol oxidation over Pt-based catalysts. Methanol is oxidized to CO2 in the forward CV scan until Pt is oxidized, leading to a surface passivation and a sudden decrease in the oxidation current. During the backward CV scan, MeOH oxidation starts as soon as the

• CNT growth was investigated, where gas flow rates were adjusted by mass flow controllers (Bronkhorst High-Tech, Germany). Prior to CVD, the Fe catalysts were conditioned at 750 °C for 30 min in a H2/Ar gas mixture. After the CNT growth, the surface of CNT/GC is highly hydrophobic. To remove remaining

Direct observation of oxygen-vacancy formation and structural changes in Bi₂WO₆ nanoflakes induced by electron irradiation

• Hong-long Shi,
• Bin Zou,
• Zi-an Li,
• Min-ting Luo and
• Wen-zhong Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1434–1442, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.141

• of the Aurivillius phases, perovskites with the general formula of (Bi2O2)(Am−1BmO3m+1) and a crystal structure of tilted WO6 octahedra layers sandwiched between Bi–O layers. The W–O layers in the Bi2WO6 crystal transfer electrons to the surface of catalysts, and Bi–O layers act as insulating layers

Warped graphitic layers generated by oxidation of fullerene extraction residue and its oxygen reduction catalytic activity

• Machiko Takigami,
• Rieko Kobayashi,
• Takafumi Ishii,
• Yasuo Imashiro and
• Jun-ichi Ozaki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1391–1400, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.137

• Abstract Carbon-based oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts are regarded as a promising candidate to replace the currently used Pt catalyst in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs); however, the active sites remain under discussion. We predicted that warped graphitic layers (WGLs) are responsible for

• the ORR catalytic activity in some carbon catalysts (i.e., carbon alloy catalysts (CACs)). To prove our assumption, we needed to use WGLs consisting of carbon materials, but without any extrinsic catalytic elements, such as nitrogen, iron, or cobalt, which effectively enhance ORR activity. The present

• maximum specific ORR activity after 1 h of oxidation time. WGLs were found to lower the heat of adsorption for O2 and to increase the occurrence of heterogeneous electron transfer. Keywords: carbon alloy catalysts; fullerene extraction residue; oxygen reduction reaction (ORR); polymer electrolyte fuel

Highly ordered mesoporous silica film nanocomposites containing gold nanoparticles for the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

• Mohamad Azani Jalani,
• Leny Yuliati,
• Siew Ling Lee and
• Hendrik O. Lintang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1368–1379, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.135

• ; Introduction Mesoporous silica nanomaterials with pore size between 2 to 50 nm [1] have been recently applied to the development of biomedical adsorbents [2][3][4], drug delivery systems [5][6][7], catalysts [8][9][10], as well as supports for metal nanoparticles [11][12][13] due to their large surface area

• wastewaters due to its high solubility properties [33], it is very crucial to find an effective method for the degradation and transformation of 4-NP. Generally, the reduction of 4-NP by heterogeneous catalysts in powdered form usually involves a tedious and time-consuming recovery process such as filtration

• and centrifugation in order to retrieve the catalysts. Hence, we highlight the utilization of thin film nanocomposites [AuNPs]red/silicahex as a heterogeneous catalyst for the reduction of 4-NP to 4-aminophenol (4-AP), where a thin film was simply dipped into the reaction system containing an excess

Construction of a 0D/1D composite based on Au nanoparticles/CuBi₂O₄ microrods for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

• Weilong Shi,
• Mingyang Li,
• Hongji Ren,
• Feng Guo,
• Xiliu Huang,
• Yu Shi and
• Yubin Tang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1360–1367, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.134

• photocatalytic activity after three cycles. This decrease of photocatalytic performance is mainly due to the mass of catalysts being inevitably lost in the recycling process [39]. Photocurrent response and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were carried out to obtain some insights into the

A silver-nanoparticle/cellulose-nanofiber composite as a highly effective substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• Yongxin Lu,
• Yan Luo,
• Zehao Lin and
• Jianguo Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1270–1279, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.126

• nanoarchitectures developed so far have prominent application potentials in the areas of sensors and devices [26][27][28][29][30], catalysts [17][31][32], energy materials [16][32][33], as well as bio-oriented applications [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. In the current work, a functional nanoarchitecture

Alloyed Pt₃M (M = Co, Ni) nanoparticles supported on S- and N-doped carbon nanotubes for the oxygen reduction reaction

• Stéphane Louisia,
• Yohann R. J. Thomas,
• Pierre Lecante,
• Marie Heitzmann,
• M. Rosa Axet,
• Pierre-André Jacques and
• Philippe Serp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1251–1269, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.125

• reaction (ORR) have been evaluated in a rotating ring disk electrode experiment. The Pt3M/N-CNT catalysts revealed excellent electrochemical properties compared to a commercial Pt3Co/Vulcan XC-72 catalyst. The nature of the carbon support plays a key role in determining the properties of the metal

• -based alloys can also been used [24][25]. Therefore, it seems important to develop nanostructured catalysts supported on a material with electronic conductivity and surface area close to the common CB but with more resistance towards corrosion. Interestingly, it has recently been shown that the

• introduction of small amounts of ionic liquids (ILs), which are known as NP stabilizers, including on carbon supports [26], into Pt-based catalysts can further improve the ORR performance. This is likely due to the high O2 solubility in the IL phase [27]. It was also demonstrated that the choice of the carbon

Playing with covalent triazine framework tiles for improved CO₂ adsorption properties and catalytic performance

• Giulia Tuci,
• Andree Iemhoff,
• Housseinou Ba,
• Lapo Luconi,
• Andrea Rossin,
• Vasiliki Papaefthimiou,
• Regina Palkovits,
• Jens Artz,
• Cuong Pham-Huu and
• Giuliano Giambastiani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1217–1227, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.121

• ). Moreover, following our recent achievements in the field of steam- and oxygen-free dehydrogenation catalysis using CTFs as metal-free catalysts, the new samples with highest N contents have been scrutinized in the process to provide additional insights to their complex structure–activity relationship

• stability) as metal-free catalysts in gas-phase processes. Our recent achievements in the use of highly porous and N-rich carbon nanomaterials as metal-free catalysts for the steam- and oxygen-free dehydrogenation catalysis (DDH) of ethylbenzene (EB) to styrene (ST) have shown unique outcomes in terms of

• -dicyanoimidazole (DCI) or its equimolar mixtures with the aforementioned dicyanoaryl units (see Scheme 1 below) [45]. The as-prepared samples have been investigated as CO2 storage materials as well as metal-free catalysts for the gas-phase DDH of EB to ST. Notably, mixed CTF samples from this series have shown CO2

A highly efficient porous rod-like Ce-doped ZnO photocatalyst for the degradation of dye contaminants in water

• Binjing Hu,
• Qiang Sun,
• Chengyi Zuo,
• Yunxin Pei,
• Siwei Yang,
• Hui Zheng and
• Fangming Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1157–1165, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.115

• most suitable catalysts in many industries given its inexpensive, non-toxic, efficient and anti-corrosion properties [7]. Nevertheless, it still has some disadvantages with respect to photocatalysis. For example, it has a narrow response range, low quantum efficiency, and its photogenerated electron

• morphology and better photocatalytic activity. Surface field The unique shape and porous microstructure are believed to have a great impact on the photocatalytic activity of catalysts by concentrating the reactant and scattering the light (high-performance rods). As an initial attempt to verify this

• , XPS, SEM and ICP, respectively. Furthermore, to supply a helpful reference for large-scale dye degradation, the optimum photocatalytic conditions of undoped and doped catalysts were also screened. Sample preparation Materials and instruments In this study, zinc acetate dihydrate was purchased from

Photoactive nanoarchitectures based on clays incorporating TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles

• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Marwa Akkari,
• Nithima Khaorapapong and
• Makoto Ogawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1140–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.114

• alkoxides, salts or coordination complexes, remain associated with the delaminated clay sheets, resulting in stable and efficient photoactive catalysts of particular interest for the removal of organic pollutants from wastewater [84][87][89][106][107][118][128]. Akkari and co-workers [118] have recently

Direct growth of few-layer graphene on AlN-based resonators for high-sensitivity gravimetric biosensors

• Jimena Olivares,
• Teona Mirea,
• Lorena Gordillo-Dagallier,
• Bruno Marco,
• José Miguel Escolano,
• Marta Clement and
• Enrique Iborra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 975–984, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.98

• -based solidly mounted resonators (SMR) using a low-temperature chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process assisted by Ni catalysts, and its effective bio-functionalization with antibodies. The SMRs are manufactured on top of fully insulating AlN/SiO2 acoustic mirrors able to withstand the temperatures

• typically transferred to the active area of the devices after being grown at high temperatures on copper catalysts [14], or from liquid suspensions [15], but never directly grown on top of the resonators. However, not all the applications require high-quality single-layer graphene; in fact, few-layer

• of their characteristics and then functionalized to manufacture gravimetric biosensors, which eliminates the need to use complex transfer methods. Defect-free few-layer graphene was selectively grown through a low-temperature (650 °C) CVD process on Ni [16] thin-film catalysts previously evaporated

Synthesis of novel C-doped g-C₃N₄ nanosheets coupled with CdIn₂S₄ for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

• Jingshuai Chen,
• Chang-Jie Mao,
• Helin Niu and
• Ji-Ming Song

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 912–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.92

• metal-free organic catalysts with visible-light response, has been extensively used in pollutant elimination, hydrogen production and photoreduction of CO2 because of its facile fabrication, superior physicochemical stability, appropriate energy band structure, and low cost [7][8][9]. Nevertheless, the

Synthesis of MnO₂–CuO–Fe₂O₃/CNTs catalysts: low-temperature SCR activity and formation mechanism

• Yanbing Zhang,
• Lihua Liu,
• Yingzan Chen,
• Xianglong Cheng,
• Chengjian Song,
• Mingjie Ding and
• Haipeng Zhao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 848–855, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.85

• Coal Salt Resources, Pingdingshan 467000, People′s Republic of China 10.3762/bjnano.10.85 Abstract MnO2–CuO–Fe2O3/CNTs catalysts, as a low-dimensional material, were fabricated by a mild redox strategy and used in denitration reactions. A formation mechanism of the catalysts was proposed. NO

• structure and outstanding chemical and physical properties. Hence, they are extensively studied for the application in SCR, e.g., in MnOx/CNTs [10], Mn–CeOx/CNTs [11] and CuOx/carbonaceous-materials catalysts [12]. However, the working temperature window of these SCR catalysts is still between 200 and 300

• °C. A series of Cu-based [12][13] and (Mn + Fe)-based [14][15] catalysts have been applied in the SCR reaction and presented good catalytic activity. Nevertheless, the preparation procedures of the catalysts always need high-temperature calcination or high-pressure hydrothermal reactions, which are

Electronic properties of several two dimensional halides from ab initio calculations

• Mohamed Barhoumi,
• Ali Abboud,
• Lamjed Debbichi,
• Moncef Said,
• Torbjörn Björkman,
• Dario Rocca and
• Sébastien Lebègue

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 823–832, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.82

• synthesis and the photocatalytic properties of BiOX compounds under three different exposure conditions. Also, transition-metal oxychlorides MOCl (M = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Fe) systems possess interesting electronic and magnetic properties [21][22][23][24]. Bismuth oxyhalides have been investigated as catalysts

Renewable energy conversion using nano- and microstructured materials

• Harry Mönig and
• Martina Schmid

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 771–773, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.76

• : materials and devices” covers the photo-electrochemical growth of platinum catalysts at plasmonic hot spots [6], the laser-assisted local growth of chalcopyrite absorbers [4], the preferential reactive ion etching of silicon by morphological anisotropies [5], the oxidation of copper nanoparticles resulting

Deposition of metal particles onto semiconductor nanorods using an ionic liquid

• Michael D. Ballentine,
• Elizabeth G. Embry,
• Marco A. Garcia and
• Lawrence J. Hill

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 718–724, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.71

• agents. Photocatalytic dye degradation experiments showed that catalysts with platinum particles deposited using the ionic liquid out-performed similar materials synthesized using organic solvents and ligands. We concluded that metal particles can be deposited onto well-defined semiconductor nanorods

• associated with strongly-bound organic ligands. In principle, it should be possible to prepare metal/semiconductor nanoparticle catalysts on sub-10 nm length scales using ionic liquids and benefit from increased performance due to the absence of strongly bound surface ligands. A literature search for using

• (trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([bmim][Tf2N]) without needing to add any additional reagents. We also deposited platinum nanoparticle cocatalysts onto CdSe@CdS nanorods using a traditional organic system (toluene/triethylamine) as shown in Scheme 1, and the two catalysts prepared in different solvents had remarkably

Ultrathin hydrophobic films based on the metal organic framework UiO-66-COOH(Zr)

• Miguel A. Andrés,
• Clemence Sicard,
• Christian Serre,
• Olivier Roubeau and
• Ignacio Gascón

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 654–665, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.65

• ][35]. Superhydrophobic MOFs could be of interest for a great variety of technological applications, including coatings, paints and fabrics [36]. Moreover, it has been shown [37] that these materials could be used as catalysts and in gas separation under humid conditions. In this contribution, mixed

Mo-doped boron nitride monolayer as a promising single-atom electrocatalyst for CO₂ conversion

• Qianyi Cui,
• Gangqiang Qin,
• Weihua Wang,
• Lixiang Sun,
• Aijun Du and
• Qiao Sun

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 540–548, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.55

• , Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia 10.3762/bjnano.10.55 Abstract The design of new, efficient catalysts for the conversion of CO2 to useful fuels under mild conditions is urgent in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate the energy crisis. In this work, a series of transition metals (TMs

• nitride (Mo-doped BN) monolayer possesses excellent performance for converting CO2 to CH4 with a relatively low limiting potential of −0.45 V, which is lower than most catalysts for the selective production of CH4 as found in both theoretical and experimental studies. In addition, the formation of OCHO on

• the Mo-doped BN monolayer in the early hydrogenation steps is found to be spontaneous, which is distinct from the conventional catalysts. Mo, as a non-noble element, presents excellent catalytic performance with coordination to the BN monolayer, and is thus a promising transition metal for catalyzing

Reduced graphene oxide supported C₃N₄ nanoflakes and quantum dots as metal-free catalysts for visible light assisted CO₂ reduction

• Md Rakibuddin and
• Haekyoung Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 448–458, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.44

• conduction band (CB) and valence band (VB) edge positions, exhibit efficient charge separation, have a large surface area, and it must be cost effective. Considering the above factors, nontoxic metal-free catalysts, such as graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have received wide

• significant findings, there have been few studies focused on the improvement of the visible light absorption of g-C3N4/rGO hybrid materials [28][29][30][31] and g-C3N4 QDs, and their CO2 photoreduction ability has not yet been reported. Hence, in our present study, metal-free hybrid catalysts consisting of

• GCN-5 towards the reduction of CO2 is found to be better than many other catalysts reported previously in the literature [41][42][43]. The CO2 photoreduction efficiency of the GCN-5 sample was also measured by apparent quantum yield (AQY) measurements, and was found to be 22.3%. The AQY value of GCN-5

Gold nanoparticles embedded in a polymer as a 3D-printable dichroic nanocomposite material

• Lars Kool,
• Anton Bunschoten,
• Aldrik H. Velders and
• Vittorio Saggiomo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 442–447, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.43

• modifying 3D-printable plastics with, for example, catalysts [11] or TiO2 nanoparticles [12] to obtain new improved materials with special characteristics. In this paper, we show how to fabricate a 3D-printable dichroic material using gold nanoparticles, jumping from the 4th century Roman glassmiths

Improving control of carbide-derived carbon microstructure by immobilization of a transition-metal catalyst within the shell of carbide/carbon core–shell structures

• Teguh Ariyanto,
• Jan Glaesel,
• Andreas Kern,
• Gui-Rong Zhang and
• Bastian J. M. Etzold

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 419–427, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.41

• catalysts, require the combination of the contradicting properties of graphitic microstructure and porosity. The usage of graphitization catalysts during the synthesis of carbide-derived carbon materials results in materials that combine the required properties, but controlling the microstructure during

• large specific surface area and distinct pore character. For applications in which electrical conductivity plays an important role, e.g., battery electrodes, fuel-cell catalysts or supercapacitors [14][15][16], it is necessary for carbon to not only show porosity but also to feature a graphitic

• types of carbides [19]). Commonly used graphitization catalysts are transitions metals such as Fe, Ni, and Co [18][21][22]. The conventional method for catalytic graphitization is to mix the non-porous carbide and metal catalyst precursor prior to the selective etching at high temperature. Indeed, the

Sub-wavelength waveguide properties of 1D and surface-functionalized SnO₂ nanostructures of various morphologies

• Venkataramana Bonu,
• Binaya Kumar Sahu,
• Arindam Das,
• Sankarakumar Amirthapandian,
• Sandip Dhara and
• Harish C. Barshilia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 379–388, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.37

• chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique has been widely used for the controlled preparation of nanostructures [23]. Especially the vapor–solid (VS) process, without the involvement of catalysts, and the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) process, with the assistance of catalysts, are utilized for the growth of

Thermal control of the defunctionalization of supported Au₂₅(glutathione)₁₈ catalysts for benzyl alcohol oxidation

• Zahraa Shahin,
• Hyewon Ji,
• Rodica Chiriac,
• Nadine Essayem,
• Franck Rataboul and
• Aude Demessence

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 228–237, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.21

• presence of an excess of base (Cs2CO3, 3 eq.) at 80 °C and under atmospheric conditions (Scheme 1). Before observing the influence of calcination of thiolates on the activity of the gold catalysts, a blank and the support alone were run to confirm the catalytic activity of the gold catalyst. Since there

• of benzyl alcohol is performed under harsh conditions of temperature and pressure without a catalyst [39]. Gold-based catalysts perform this oxidation under milder conditions [31]. The reaction using (A300) as a catalyst, was performed at two different temperatures, 60 °C and 80 °C, with all other

• (SG)18@ZrO2 based catalysts (2 µmol Au) in the oxidative dehydrogenation of benzyl alcohol in toluene at 80 °C (1 atm of air): 25%, 50% and 90% conversion times (t), benzaldehyde selectivity at half conversion (Sel 50%), turn over frequency (TOF) and gold particle size measured by TEM before the