Synthesis and characterization of FePt nanoparticles and FePt nanoparticle/SiO2-matrix composite films

Superparamagnetic face-centered cubic (fcc) FePt nanoparticles were synthesized using a polyol process. The effect of reaction temperature and molar ratio of Fe(CO)₅ to Pt(acac)₂ on the structure, composition and morphology of nanoparticles has been investigated. The optimum processing condition has been obtained for producing well-monodisperse fcc-phase FePt nanoparticles with the 2:1?molar ratio of Fe-Pt at 220?°C. In order to circumvent the problem of FePt particle coalescence during high temperature annealing for the L1₀ ordering, FePt nanoparticle/SiO₂-matrix composite films have been fabricated by sol?Cgel method. The experimental results confirm that the amorphous SiO₂ matrix effectively inhibits the grain growth and particle aggregation during 700?°C annealing for 1?h. Well-monodisperse face-centered tetragonal (fct) FePt particles embedded in the SiO₂ matrix can be obtained with the long-range chemical order parameter S of ~0.74, indicating partially ordered L1₀ phase transition in FePt/SiO₂ composite films. The FePt/SiO₂ system exhibits a hysteretic behavior with smaller coercive field of 1,450 Oe. The incomplete phase transition from cubic deredat height maxsium (A ₁-disordered phase to tetragonal L1₀-ordered phase) might be responsible for it.     

Fabrication and magnetic properties of FePt nanoparticle assemblies embedded in MgO-matrix systems

Hydrophilic FePt nanoparticles (NPs) have been embedded into the MgO-matrix systems via a sol–gel process to prevent FePt NPs from aggregating and sintering during the heat-treatment process required for the L1₀ ordering. The chemically ordered L1₀-phase FePt can be obtained after annealing at 700 °C for 60 min in atmosphere containing H₂. The effect of the pH value of MgO collosol and FePt nanocrystal loading amount on the structure, morphology, and magnetic properties of FePt/MgO nanocomposites has been investigated. The neutral pH value of 7 in MgO sol is beneficial to stabilize FePt NPs and obtain higher chemical ordering parameter S for the face-centered tetragonal -FePt/MgO nanocomposites with larger coercivity. The FePt NPs loading amount also plays a key role in tuning the microstructure and magnetic properties of the nanocomposites. The relatively higher FePt NPs loading with FePt/MgO molar ratio (R_FM) of 1:2 leads to relatively perfect hexagonal assembly and pure L1₀ phase. When the R_FM is 1:5 and 1:10, the MgO-matrix in nanocomposites causes the Fe element loss in FePt NPs along with formation of secondary phases such as magnesioferrite or Pt₃Fe during the annealing process. Under optimal processing of neutral pH value of 7 and R_FM of 1:2, the presence of MgO matrix produces more homogeneous microstructures and better magnetic properties with higher room-temperature coercivity (H _C = 4.65 kOe).     

Size Control of FePt Nanoparticles Produced by Seed Mediated Growth Process

Monodisperse FePt nanoparticles with average size of 2.4?nm were successfully synthesized via chemical co-reduction of iron acetylacetonate, Fe(acac)₃, and platinum acetylacetonate, Pt(acac)₂, by 1,2-hexadecanediol as a reducing agent and oleic acid and oleyl amine as surfactant. Then using the seed mediated growth process smaller sized FePt nanoparticles are used as seeds for the growth of larger sized FePt particles and there is no specific limitation to achieve upper size range by this method. In this work, we could synthesize FePt nanoparticles up to 4.0?nm. Monodispersity with relatively narrow size distribution and having the same elemental composition with the atomic percentage of Fe _x Pt_100?x (x?=?63) are the main advantages of this method. As-made FePt nanoparticles have the chemical disordered face centered cubic structure with superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. After annealing these particles become ferromagnetic with high magnetocrystalline anisotropy and their coercivity increases with increasing particle sizes and reaches a maximum value of 5,200?Oe for size of 46.5?nm     

Magnetic susceptibilities of UO2ZrO2 solid solutions

The magnetic susceptibility of cubic solid solutions of UO₂ and ZrO₂ with a fluorite structure has been measured from room temperature to 2.3 K. The magnetic moment and the Weiss constant have been determined in the temperature range where the Curie-Weiss law holds. These values decrease monotonically with increasing ZrO₂ concentration. The solid solutions of UO₂ diluted with 0 ～ 20 mole% ZrO₂ show an antiferromagnetic transition and have a linear dependence of Néel temperature on concentration, with a critical concentration of 78 mole% UO₂. The molecular field theory which includes next-nearest-neighbor interaction was applied to the results. The interaction between nearest-neighbor spins, J₁, decreases with increasing ZrO₂ concentration, whereas that between next-nearest-neighbor spins, J₂, increases. The behavior of J₁ against composition is thought to be caused from the direct effect of magnetic dilution with ZrO₂. Regarding the behavior of J₂, the effect of increasing magnetic interaction due to the smaller distance of uranium ions is considered to be stronger than the magnetic dilution effect.     

Phase transfer catalysis: Synthesis of monodispersed FePt nanoparticles and its electrocatalytic activity

Using dibenzo-24-crown-8-ether (DB24C8) as phase transfer catalyst, the monodispersed iron–platinum (FePt) alloy nanoparticles with size of ∼17 nm were synthesized by reduction of H₂PtCl₆·6H₂O and FeCl₂·4H₂O in the solvothermal system. The structure, magnetic property and electrocatalytic activity of FePt nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction system (XRD), vibration sample magnetometer (VSM) and CHI 820 electrochemical analyser (three electrodes system, the reference electrode is saturated calomel electrode (SCE), the counter electrode is platinum electrode and the glassy carbon electrode is used as working electrode (GCE)), respectively. The results show that the as-synthesized FePt nanoparticles have a chemically disordered fcc structure and can be transformed into chemically ordered fct structure after annealing treatment above 400 °C, simultaneously accompanying with the coercivity changed from 5 to 2400 Oe. CVs of 0.5 M H₂SO₄/0.5 M CH₃OH on GCE modified with FePt nanoparticles monolayer illustrate that the as-synthesized FePt nanoparticles have strong electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of CH₃OH in aqueous solution.     

Silica-Zirconia Coatings Produced by Dipping and EPD from Colloidal Sol–Gel Suspensions

SiO₂-ZrO₂ sols have been prepared via acid catalysis using a commercial colloidal suspension of zirconia and two silica alkoxides; tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and methyltriethoxysilane (MTES). Suspensions with 10, 15 and 25-mol% of ZrO₂ were prepared. The stability of the suspensions was followed by rheological measurements showing that the amount of water incorporated with the colloidal suspension is the factor that limits the maximum ZrO₂ content. Coatings have been prepared by dipping using the suspensions up to 25-mol% ZrO₂ onto glass-slides at different withdrawal rates. EPD process has been used to prepare coatings onto stainless steel AISI 304 using the suspension with 25-mol% ZrO₂ at different pHs. The parameters associated with the EPD process (current density, electric field, potential and deposition time) have been evaluated. The critical thickness for a ZrO₂ addition of 25-mol% was 0.8 μm and it increased for diminishing ZrO₂ content.     

ZrO2球的准气相反应合成

提出了一种工艺简单、成本低廉的准气相反应合成ZrO₂球的新方法. 通过对产物的SEM观测表明: 该方法制备的ZrO₂粒子为较好的球形, 球表面光滑; 其平均粒径1.71 μm, 标准偏差0.49 μm; 球有三种结构: 均匀致密结构、核心疏松外层致密结构和空心结构; 经600 ℃煅烧后, XRD分析确定ZrO₂球的相组成主要为立方相.     

Phase relations in the ZrO2-FeO system

We present the results of the investigation of the ZrO₂-FeO system under an inert atmosphere. We have refined the position of the eutectic point, which lies at 1332 ± 5°C and 10.3 ± 0.6 mol % ZrO₂. The iron oxide solubility boundaries in zirconium dioxide have been determined over a wide temperature range taking into account the polymorphism in ZrO₂. A phase diagram for the system has been designed.     

Nonhydrolytic Sol-Gel Process: Aluminium and Zirconium Titanate Gels

The effectiveness of nonhydrolytic Sol-Gel process to the synthesis of homogeneous bicomponent gels has been studied in the case of aluminium titanate and zirconium titanate. The direct crystallization of Al₂TiO₅ and ZrTiO₄ at low temperature without the intermediate formation of TiO₂ or Al₂O₃ in the former case and TiO₂ or ZrO₂ in the latter indicates that homogeneous bicomponent gels have been formed by this route.     

用原位红外技术研究Ag-MoO3/ZrO2催化丙烯气相环氧化反应

制备了对丙烯直接气相环氧化具有优良催化性能的Ag-MoO₃/ZrO₂催化剂, 采用原位FT-IR技术研究了丙烯、环氧丙烷及丙烯和氧气混合气在载体和催化剂上的吸附及反应行为. 研究表明, 丙烯在ZrO₂载体和20%Ag-4%MoO₃/ZrO₂催化剂上吸附后, 均不发生化学反应, 而环氧丙烷在ZrO₂载体上吸附后于400 ℃发生开环反应, 在20%Ag-4%MoO₃/ZrO₂催化剂上吸附后于300 ℃发生开环反应. 当丙烯和氧气混合气在ZrO₂载体上共吸附后, 随着反应温度从室温升高至400 ℃, 二者开始反应生成CO₂和H₂O; 混合气在20%Ag-4%MoO₃/ZrO₂催化剂上共吸附后于350 ℃开始反应. 对比非负载型Ag-MoO₃催化剂的研究结果可见, ZrO₂载体的存在使催化剂的活性下降的同时, 提高了对产物环氧丙烷的选择性.     

Studies of the methanation catalysts ThNi5 and ZrNi5 by Auger and Characteristic Energy Loss Spectra

ThNi₅ and ZrNi₅ (fresh, used, and H₂S poisoned) have been examined by Auger spectroscopy (AES) and Characteristic Energy Loss Spectroscopy (CELS) to elucidate the strikingly different behavior of these materials as methanation catalysts. With use ZrNi₅ is transformed into Ni supported on ZrO₂ and ThNi₅ into Ni supported on ThO₂. AES indicates that the Ni on ZrO₂ is heavily overlaid with graphite. This does not occur with Ni and ThO₂, accounting for the exceptional activity of this catalyst compared to Ni on ZrO₂. Plasmon excitation energy determined from CELS are consistent with this picture. The large amount of surface Ni for the transformed ThNi₅ catalyst accounts for its high resistance to H₂S poisoning compared to that of ZrNi₅. A strong CELS peak is observed at 6.5 eV in ZrNi₅ and ThNi₅ as well as in elemental Ni, suggesting a very similar band structure for these materials. In this respect Ni and the Ni intermetallics are similar to Co and Co intermetallics as deduced from photoemission studies and recent APW band calculations.     

表面活性剂模板在空气-水界面ZrO2薄膜中的稳定性

采用模板——十二烷基苯磺酸(DBS-H)在空气-水界面组装ZrO₂薄膜，研究了DBS-H在ZrO₂自组装薄膜中的水溶性、化学稳定性、热稳定性和光化学稳定性。模板的各类稳定性将直接控制ZrO₂薄膜结构，主要表现在层间距变化上。从模板与Na₂SiO₃反应的研究中获得了一种制备ZrO₂ / SiO₂复合氧化物薄膜的新方法，并推测出该复合薄膜的结构。     

Platinum-Supported Zirconia Nanotube Arrays Supported on Graphene Aerogels Modified with Metal–Organic Frameworks: Adsorption and Oxidation of Formaldehyde at Room Temperature

Precious-metal catalysts (e.g., Au, Rh, Ag, Ru, Pt, and Pd) supported on transition-metal oxides (e.g., Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, CeO₂, ZrO₂, Co₃O₄, MnO₂, TiO₂, and NiO) can effectively oxidize volatile organic compounds. In this study, porous platinum-supported zirconia materials have been prepared by a “surface-casting” method. The synthesized catalysts present an ordered nanotube structure and exhibited excellent performance toward the catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde. A facile method, utilizing a boiling water bath, was used to fabricate graphene aerogel (GA), and the macroscopic 3D Pt/ZrO₂-GA was modified by introducing an adjustable MOF coating by a surface step-by-step method. The unblocked mesoporous structure of the graphene aerogel facilitates the ingress and egress of reactants and product molecules. The selected 7 wt.% Pt/ZrO₂-GA-MOF-5 composite demonstrated excellent performance for HCHO adsorption. Additionally, this catalyst achieved around 90 % conversion when subjected to a reaction temperature of 70 °C (T_{90 %}=70 °C). The Pt/ZrO₂-GA-MOF-5 composite induces a catalytic cycle, increasing the conversion by simultaneously adsorbing and oxidizing HCHO. This work provides a simple approach to increasing reactant concentration on the catalyst to increase the rate of reaction.     

Metal–organic framework derived Pd/ZrO2@CN as a stable catalyst for the catalytic hydrogenation of 2,3,5‐trimethylbenzoquinone

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently been identified as versatile sacrificing templates to construct functional nanomaterials for heterogeneous catalysis. Herein, we report a thermal transformation strategy to directly fabricate metal Pd nanoclusters inlaid within a ZrO₂@nitrogen‐doped porous carbon (Pd/ZrO₂@CN) composite using Pd@NH₂‐UiO‐66(Zr) as a precursor that was pre‐synthesized by a one‐pot hydrothermal method. The developed Pd/ZrO₂@CN as a robust catalyst delivered remarkable stability and activity to the catalytic hydrogenation of 2,3,5‐trimethylbenzoquinone (TMBQ) to 2,3,5‐trimethylhydroquinone (TMHQ), a key reaction involved in vitamin E production. The hydrogenation was carried out at 110 °C with 1.0 MPa H₂, and it resulted in 98% TMHQ yield as the sole product over five consecutive cycles, outperforming the analogue Pd/ZrO₂@C without nitrogen doping templated from Pd@UiO‐66(Zr). The excellent catalytic properties of Pd/ZrO₂@CN likely originated from the highly stable ultrafine Pd nanoclusters inlaid within ZrO₂@CN matrix on account of the strong interaction between N and Pd, as well as on the Lewis acidity of ZrO₂, which was beneficial to the hydrogenation.     

ZrO2纳米粒子原位杂化PVDF膜的制备及其抗污染性能

针对传统聚合物膜抗污染性差的问题,本文从杂化膜结构设计出发,提出将ZrO2纳米粒子的原位制备和聚偏氟乙烯(PVDF)相转化成膜过程有机结合的制膜新方法.该方法将阴离子交换树脂引入到N,N-二甲基甲酰胺(DMF)中,以氧氯化锆为原料,利用阴离子交换树脂提供的―OH与无机盐的阴离子进行交换,得到ZrO2纳米粒子均匀分散的N,N-二甲基甲酰胺溶胶体系.随后将PVDF聚合物溶解到所得的N,N-二甲基甲酰胺溶胶体系中,获得均一、透明的铸膜液.利用X射线光电子能谱(XPS)和透射电子显微镜(TEM)对杂化膜中锆的存在状态和分散性能进行了表征.结果表明,ZrO2纳米粒子均匀分散在PVDF基体中,并且形成的纳米粒子的粒径约为10-20 nm.通过粘度、分相速度和膜形态的测定,研究了成膜机理.结果表明,ZrO2纳米粒子的引入加速了铸膜液成膜过程的分相速度.杂化膜的亲水性能通过接触角测定仪进行了评价.并选择以牛血清蛋白为代表模拟污染物,考察了杂化超滤膜的抗污染性能.结果表明,原位形成的ZrO2纳米粒子显著提高了膜的亲水性,减少了膜对蛋白质的吸附.这种将ZrO2纳米粒子的原位制备和PVDF相转化成膜过程有机结合的制膜新方法在有机-无机杂化膜的制备领域具有显著意义.     

Photodegradation of organic compounds using chromium oxide-doped nano-sulfated zirconia

ZrO₂ is considered a huge-gap semiconductor (band gap ≈ 5 eV). To improve the visible-light photocatalytic activities of ZrO₂, an efficient Cr, SO₄ ^2? co-doped ZrO₂ photocatalyst was synthesized by the simple impregnation method followed by calcination at different calcination temperatures (300, 400, 500, and 600 °C) for 3 h. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy analysis, scanning electron microscopy analysis, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis, FT-IR spectroscopic technique, potentiometric titration and UV–Vis spectroscopy analysis. ZrO₂ co-doped with Cr and SO₄ ^2? shows more efficiency than SO₄ ^2?-doped ZrO₂ in several aspects like surface structure, decreasing electron–hole recombination and band gap energy. The photodegradation of methylene blue dye for SO₄ ^2?-doped ZrO₂ and Cr, SO₄ ^2?-co-doped ZrO₂ has been investigated. The photocatalytic reaction confirmed that the co-doped ZrO₂ photocatalyst showed higher photocatalytic activity than mono-doped ZrO₂.     

Synthesis of zirconia‐incorporated titania layer by microarc oxidation for biomedical applications

The structural features, biocompatibility, and mechanical performance of a titania (TiO₂) layer with incorporated zirconia (ZrO₂) formed by microarc oxidation on commercially pure titanium have been examined in the present study. In comparison to the ZrO₂‐free TiO₂ layer, the ZrO₂‐incorporated oxide layer was dense and contained ZrTiO₄ as a new oxide as well as ZrO₂ particles. Associated changes in the microstructure enhanced the mechanical durability of TiO₂ layer. Owing to the incorporation of identical biocompatible compounds and almost similar surface roughness, no remarkable difference in bioactivities of the ZrO₂‐free and ZrO₂‐incorporated oxide layers was detected after simulated body fluid tests. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Alkoxy-derived fine powders of simple and complex oxides

Fine powders of ZrO₂, ZrO₂-Y₂O₃, BaTi_1–x Zr _x O₃ have been obtained by hydrolysis of alkoxides. For preparation of ZrO₂-based materials precipitation from the partially hydrolyzed alkoxides solutions (sols) has been used. Barium titanate-based materials were obtained by hydroxide-alkoxide route with quick hydrolysis of titanium butoxide by excess of water on the first stage. The effect of the hydrolysis conditions on the size, shape, and specific surface area of the oxide powders has been discussed. Some considerations on comparison of the two hydrolytic techniques have been suggested.     

Thermal properties of oxide glasses

Glasses with the composition Li₂O·2SiO₂·nTiO₂ and Li₂O·2SiO₂·nZrO₂, where n=0, 0.03, 0.062, 0.1, were prepared and the onset and peak temperatures have been determined by DTA. From these characteristic temperatures, the kinetic parameters describing the nucleation and crystal growth have been obtained by isoconversional methods. The kinetic parameters have been used for the calculation of nucleation and crystal growth times for individual glasses so determining the order of glass stability at reheating. The stability of glasses increases with the content of TiO₂ or ZrO₂ where the increase is higher for ZrO₂. Within the concentration range under study, the increase of both times with the metal oxide concentration is quadratic. It has been discussed that the crystallization kinetics does not obey the Arrhenius law and, therefore, when using the evaluation methods based on this law, the results should not be extrapolated outside the temperature range of the measurements.     

Thermodynamic study of some solid solutions in the CaOZrO2 system by emf method

The thermodynamic properties of some solid solutions in the CaOZrO₂ system have been investigated by using solid electrolyte galvanic cells of the type: O₂, Pt|CaO, CaF₂|CaF₂ (t_F = 1)| δCaO(1 ? δ)ZrO₂, CaF₂|Pt, O₂. The influence of CaF₂ added in electrodes on the thermodynamic equilibrium was investigated. It was shown that the heterogeneous field with cubic solid solution reaches the composition x = 0.17 mole of CaO. The results indicate that addition of ZrO₂ to the saturated solid solution produces a significant decrease in the activity of CaO. Measured data were used to calculate thermodynamic parameters of reactions with saturated solid solutions Ca_0.17 Zr_0.83 O_1.83, ZrO₂, and CaZrO₃. At temperatures below 820°C, saturated solid solutions have a tendency to decompose into CaZrO₃ and ZrO₂. A comparison of the thermodynamic results with available data on phase relationships in the CaOZrO₂ system is presented. High thermodynamic stability of SrZrO₃ and BaZrO₃ is one of the reasons for the absence of cubic solid solutions in the system MeOZrO₂ (MeSr, Ba).