Sol-gel based alumina powders with catalytic applications

The sol-gel process provides a new approach to the preparation of oxide materials and offers many advantages for making catalysts. Since homogeneous mixing can be achieved at the molecular scale, the chemical reactivity of the oxide surface can be greatly enhanced; thus powders with high surface area and optimized pore size distribution can be obtained at low temperatures. In the present work NiO/Al₂O₃ sol-gel catalysts were obtained by simultaneous gelation of aluminium isopropoxide and nickel nitrate. A comparative study with pure sol-gel alumina was also realized. By physical-structural studies the changes induced by the introduction of the Ni precursor, before and after aluminium alkoxide hydrolysis were highlighted. The introduction of Ni at the beginning of the reaction favors γ-Al₂O₃ crystallization. When Ni is added at the end of reaction, it delays the alumina crystallization and induces the disorder of the lattice. The obtained Ni doped sol-gel derived alumina has been used as catalyst in the finished form for glycerol reforming to generate H₂ for fuel cell applications. Some evaluation results of Ni-doped alumina combined with TiO₂ in photocatalytic glycerol reforming reaction have been included.     

Graphene oxide decorated bimetal (MnNi) oxide nanoflakes used as an electrocatalyst for enhanced oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media

Precious non-noble metals have been constantly attracting research attention in order to realize an inexpensive, extra active and more stable electrocatalysts in terms of various oxidation states and structures for their applications in oxidation (splitting) of water. In the present work graphene oxide incorporated, MnO₂-NiO composite metal oxide nanoflakes were synthesized on the stainless steel substrate using efficient electrodeposition route in alkaline media and drop casting method with further annealing treatment at 400 °C for 4 h. Initially MnO₂-NiO nanoflakes were deposited using different cyclic sweep rates, later graphene oxide suspension was drop casted on the MnO₂-NiO nanoflakes and subsequently subjected to annealing at 200 °C for 2 h. The prepared electrode material is denoted as GO/MnO₂-NiO/SS and used as an electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Energy dispersive electron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy were used to study the crystalline nature and morphologies of the deposited films. The electrochemical properties of the electrode material were investigated using cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry. The electrode exhibits low overpotential and small Tafel slope of 379 mV and 47.84 mVdec⁻¹ at the current density of 10 mA cm⁻² in alkaline (KOH) medium. In addition, the electrode shows a long time stability of 28800 s. Hence, the present study suggests that the GO incorporated Mn-Ni bimetal oxide modified electrode is suitable electrode material for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), owing to its facile preparation, inexpensive, easy handling and high active nature.     

Nickel oxide nanoparticles catalyzed synthesis of poly-substituted quinolines via Friedlander hetero-annulation reaction

Reusable acidic nickel oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized,characterized and applied as a catalyst to convert 2-aminoaryl ketones and β-ketoesters/ketones into the corresponding quinolines in good yields with high selectivity.This could serve as a simple and convenient procedure for the Friedlander annulations.     

50 GPa下NiO等温状态方程的高压X光研究

 本文采用在位的（in situ）高压X光衍射方法研究了近50 GPa和室温下三方结构NiO的等温压缩行为，并用Murnaghan状态方程对实验值进行了最小二乘法拟合，得到的NiO室温状态方程的相应参量分别为：B₀=223 GPa，B₀'=4.21。在室温压力范围内没有观察到第一类结构相变。NiO在六方指标下的轴比c/a随压力的变化在实验压力范围内可用c/a=2.450~1.569×10^-3（GPa）近似描述。     

A novel amperometric biosensor based on NiO hollow nanospheres for biosensing glucose

NiO hollow nanospheres were synthesized by controlled precipitation of metal ions with urea using carbon microspheres as templates, which were for the first time adopted to construct a novel amperometric glucose biosensor. Glucose oxidase was immobilized on the surface of hollow nanospheres through chitosan-assisted cross-linking technique. Due to the high specific active sites and high electrocatalytic activity of NiO hollow nanospheres, the constructed glucose biosensors exhibited a high sensitivity of 3.43 μA/mM. The low detection limit was estimated to be 47 μM (S/N = 3), and the Michaelis-Menten constant was found to be 7.76 mM, indicating the high affinity of enzyme on NiO hollow nanospheres to glucose. These results show that the NiO hollow nanospheres are a promising material to construct enzyme biosensors.     

Preparation and characteristics of NiO-coated nano-fibriform silica

NiO-coated nano-fibriform silica (NFS) was prepared by an excessive soakage method and was characterized using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and physical N₂ adsorption techniques under different conditions. The results demonstrate that the coated NiO is of a cubic crystal form. The best preparation conditions are incubation in a water bath at 95 °C for 2 h and drying at 45 °C for 17 h, which lead to a higher NFS utilization ratio and thus lower cost, and a well-distributed NiO coating on the carrier NFS. Nitrogen adsorption isotherms for NiO-coated NFS are similar to a type IV curve, with a specific surface area of 292.7 m²/g, adsorptive capacity of 379.2 cm³/g, and pore volume of 0.59 cm³/g. The average pore diameter of NiO-coated NFS is 8.01 nm, but most pore diameters are in the range 2.1–3.9 nm. Comparison of NiO-coated NFS and NiO(Ni)-coated sol–gel silica as catalysts reveals that NiO-coated NFS may be an effective catalyst and that NFS may be a good catalyst carrier.     

NiO/ZnO Composite Derived Metal-Organic Framework as Advanced Electrode Materials for Zinc Hybrid Redox Flow Battery

NiO/ZnO composite derived metal-organic framework (MOF) is used as to modify carbon felt (CF) via a conventional solid-state reaction followed by ultrasonication. The prepared electrode material is used in zinc-hybrid redox flow batteries (RFBs) due to their high redox activity of Zn²⁺/Zn. The electrochemical performance of composite modified CF and pre-treated CF was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in 0.5 M aqueous zinc chloride with 5 M potassium hydroxide solutions showed clear confirmation for enhanced electrocatalytic activity. The unique porous structure of NiO/ZnO-derived MOF with increased surface area improves the battery behavior significantlyThe peak current ratio for the as-prepared material is about 3 times higher than that of the pre-treated CF due to more active sites. Zinc-based RFB with modified CF electrode exhibited better electrochemical performance with voltage efficiency (VE, 88 %), which is higher than true redox flow batteries.     

氧气含量对射频磁控溅射方法制备的NiO∶Cu/ZnO异质pn结的光电性能的影响

利用磁控溅射方法改变氧气含量制备了一系列NiO∶Cu/ZnO异质pn结。实验结果表明,氧含量对NiO∶Cu/ZnO异质pn结电学影响很大。相对于纯氩溅射,引入一定氧气(O2/(Ar+O2)比例为30%)后,NiO∶Cu/ZnO异质pn结的整流特性明显得到改善。与此同时,NiO∶Cu/ZnO异质pn结的光透过率也从40%增大到80%。这可能是由于氧气的轻量引入致使NiO∶Cu/ZnO异质pn结的结晶得到改善,薄膜内缺陷减少所致。进一步提高氧气含量,直到O2/(Ar+O2)比例至80%后,异质结的整流特性有所削弱,这可能是由于过多氧气的引入造成薄膜缺陷再次增多,进而影响到异质结的整流特性。这一结论得到了EDS、XRD、AFM和UV结果的支持。     

Selective Detection of Dopamine in the Presence of Uric Acid Using NiO Nanoparticles Decorated on Graphene Nanosheets Modified Screen‐printed Electrodes

A convenient, low cost, and sensitive electrochemical method, based on a disposable graphene nanosheets (GR) and NiO nanoparticles modified carbon screen printed electrode (NiO/GR/SPE), is described for the simultaneous determination of dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA). The modified electrode exhibited good electrocatalytic properties toward the oxidation of DA and UA. A peak potential difference of 150 mV between DA and UA was large enough to determine DA and UA individually and simultaneously. The anodic peak currents of DA were found to be linear in the concentration range of 1.0–500.0 μM with the detection limit of 3.14×10^?7 M.     

Evaluation of polymeric nanocomposites for the detection of toxic gas analytes

Four different metal oxide nanoparticles, copper oxide (CuO), aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), nickel oxide (NiO), and titanium dioxide (TiO₂), were added to poly (2,5-dimethyl aniline) (P25DMA) during synthesis to create different polymer nanocomposites. These polymer nanocomposites were evaluated as potential sensing materials for six different gas analytes (acetaldehyde, acetone, benzene, ethanol, formaldehyde, and methanol). It was found that CuO did not incorporate into the P25DMA and only a small percentage of Al₂O₃ was incorporated. However, both NiO and TiO₂ were incorporated into the P25DMA at the same concentration as during the synthesis step. Overall, the type of metal oxide significantly affected the morphology of the sensing material and the amount of each analyte sorbed. For example, P25DMA doped with 5 wt% Al₂O₃ had high selectivity towards ethanol, whereas P25DMA doped with 20 wt% TiO₂ sorbed the most ethanol. However, P25DMA doped with 20 wt% TiO₂ also sorbed a high amount of formaldehyde, making P25DMA doped with 20 wt% TiO₂ less selective than P25DMA doped with 5 wt% Al₂O₃ towards ethanol with respect to formaldehyde.