High Ethylene Selectivity in Methanol‐to‐Olefin (MTO) Reaction over MOR‐Zeolite Nanosheets

Precisely controlled crystal growth endows zeolites with special textural and catalytic properties. A nanosheet mordenite zeolite with a thickness of ca. 11 nm, named as MOR‐NS, has been prepared using a well‐designed gemini‐type amphiphilic surfactant as bifunctional structure‐directing agent (SDA). Its benzyl diquarternary ammonium cations structurally directed the formation of MOR topology, whereas the long and hydrophobic hexadecyl tailing group prevented the extensive crystal growth along b axis. This kind of orientated crystallization took place through the inorganic–organic interaction between silica species and SDA molecules present in the whole process. The thin MOR nanosheets, with highly exposed (010) planes and 8‐membered ring (MR) windows, exhibited a much improved ethylene selectivity (42.1 %) for methanol‐to‐olefin (MTO) reactions when compared with conventional bulk MOR crystals (3.3 %).     

Controllable Preparation of Plasmonic Gold Nanostars for Enhanced Photothermal and SERS Effects

Gold nanostars(Au NSs) are asymmetric anisotropic nanomaterials with sharp edge structure. As a promising branched nanomaterial, Au NS has excellent plasmonic absorption and scattering properties. In order to tune the plasmonic photothermal and surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) activity of Au NSs to obtain the desired characteristics, the effects of reagents on the local surface plasmon resonance(LSPR) bands of Au NSs were studied and the morphology and size were regulated. Nanoparticles with different sharp edges were synthesized to make their local plasmon resonance mode tunable in the visible and near-infrared region. The effects of the number and sharpness of different tips under the control of AgNO₃ on the photothermal response of Au NSs and the SERS activity and their mechanism were discussed in detail. The results show that as the length of the branch tip becomes longer and the sharpness increases, the plasmonic photothermal effect of Au NSs is strengthened, and the photothermal conversion efficiency is the highest up to 40% when the length of Au NSs is the longest. Au NSs with high SERS activity are used for the Raman detection substrate. Based on this property, the quantitative detection of the pesticide thiram is achieved.     

Simulation of fine polydisperse particle condensational growth under an octadecane–nitrogen atmosphere

The evolution of particle size distribution (PSD) of fine polydisperse particles at high number concentrations (>10⁵ cm⁻³) was simulated through a combined model employing direct quadrature method of moments (DQMOM) with heat and mass transfer equations. The PSD was assumed to retain log-normal distribution during the heterogeneous condensation process. The model was first verified by exact solution and experimental data prior to investigating the influence of initial conditions on final PSD under an octadecane–nitrogen atmosphere. Low particle number concentrations and high vapor concentrations were beneficial to shift the PSD to larger particles having a narrower distribution. Additionally, vapor depletion has more influence on the final PSD than the heat release parameter for a number concentration of 10⁶ cm⁻³. This study may assist the design process of a gas–solid separating cyclone, to eliminate dust from high-temperature volatiles by pyrolysis of solid fuels.     

One-step synthesis of novel flower-like Sn-doped ZnO architectures with enhanced photocatalytic activity

A facile hydrothermal method to synthesize flower-like Sn-doped ZnO (FLSn-ZnO) nanostructures is described. The obtained hierarchical architectures of FLSn-ZnO are found to be assembled with abundant regular-shaped nanosheets and nanoparticles. A possible formation mechanism is proposed on the base of a series of control experiments. The tests show that FLSn-ZnO architectures exhibit higher photocatalytic activity in the degrading Rhodamine B and tetracycline aqueous solution than pure ZnO under UV-light irradiation. And photocurrent response and photoluminescence of ZnO and FLSn-ZnO demonstrates that in photocatalytic performance, the latter is higher.     

Synergistic effect of thermoplastic phenolic resin and multiwalled carbon nanotubes on the crystallization of polyoxymethylene

To reduce the crystallization rate of polyoxymethylene (POM) to meet the requirement of thick-walled and large-sized articles production, and maintain high crystallinity as well as obtain refined crystalline grains to ensure the strength and stiffness simultaneously, thermoplastic phenolic resin (PF) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used as crystal growth inhibitor and nucleating agent, respectively, and their effects on the crystallization of POM were studied in details. The results showed that PF is an effective inhibitor and MWCNTs exhibits excellent nucleation effect on POM. Based on the obtained results, their synergistic influences on the crystallization process of POM were investigated. It is found that the objective of decreasing the crystallization rate while maintaining high crystallinity and forming fine crystalline grains can be realized. The 97/3/1 wt% POM/PF/MWCNTs, compared with those of neat POM, The T _c shifts by 3.3°C to a lower temperature, the crystallization enthalpy increases by 16.1 J/g and the full width at half-maximum widens by 48.5%. The modulation effect of PF and MWCNTs on the crystallization is closely related to the PF content and dispersion, the distribution and dispersion of MWCNTs in the PF and POM phases.     

Oriented Crystallization on Organic Monolayers to Control Concomitant Polymorphism

Nucleation events and crystal growth can be guided by molecular recognition at interfaces through intermolecular interactions. The short-acting antimicrobial sulfa drug sulfathiazole is known for its concomitant crystallization, which has five known polymorphs, due to conformational flexibility and hydrogen-bond synthon variation. In its development stage of a drug the issue of concomitant crystallization needs to be addressed with respect to patent litigation, including legal actions to protect patents against infringement. A functional self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of organic thiol on a gold surface has been employed as an efficient approach to control concomitant nucleation of such flexible drugs. The crystallization on a SAM surface is mostly kinetically driven and often leads to the nucleation of novel metastable forms. Spectroscopic, thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction studies reveal that a previously unknown, sixth form of the drug nucleates on the designed SAM surface.     

On the Effect of Secondary Nucleation on Deracemization through Temperature Cycles

Herein, the pivotal role of secondary nucleation in a crystallization-enhanced deracemization process is reported. During this process, complete and rapid deracemization of chiral conglomerate crystals of an isoindolinone is attained through fast microwave-assisted temperature cycling. A parametric study of the main factors that affect the occurrence of secondary nucleation in this process, namely agitation rate, suspension density, and solute supersaturation, confirms that an enhanced stereoselective secondary nucleation rate maximizes the deracemization rate. Analysis of the system during a single temperature cycle showed that, although stereoselective particle production during the crystallization stage leads to enantiomeric enrichment, undesired kinetic dissolution of smaller particles of the preferred enantiomer occurs during the dissolution step. Therefore, secondary nucleation is crucial for the enhancement of deracemization through temperature cycles and as such should be considered in further design and optimization of this process, as well as in other temperature cycling processes commonly applied in particle engineering.     

Reversible Ultra-Slow Crystal Growth of Mixed Lead Bismuth Perovskite Nanocrystals: The Presence of Dynamic Capping

An ultra-slow crystal growth over a period of 24 h of a newly synthesized CH₃NH₃Pb_1/2Bi_1/3I₃ perovskite (MPBI) nanocrystal in non-polar toluene medium is reported here. From several spectroscopic techniques as well as from TEM analysis we found that the size of nanocrystals changes continuously with time, in spite of being capped by the ligands. Using a single molecular spectroscopic technique, we also found that this size change is not due to the stacking of nanocrystals but due to crystal growth. The notable temperature dependence and reversible nature of the nanocrystals growth is explained by the dynamic nature of the capping. The observed temperature-dependent ultra-slow growth is believed to be a pragmatic step towards controlling the size of perovskite NC in a systematic manner.     

Flexible and Epitaxial Metal Oxide Thin Film Growth by Photoreaction Processing for Electrical and Optical Applications

This review summarizes the use of photoreactions that replace conventional heating processes for growing oxide thin films from chemical solutions. In particular, this review outlines key variables in photoreactions that affect epitaxial and polycrystalline thin film growth, including precursor materials, laser wavelength, laser fluence, and carbon. In addition, the features of the photoreaction process that can be controlled at a low temperature by oxygen non-stoichiometry are examined. Likewise, functions that are neither achieved by developing a gradient structure nor controlled by a thermal equilibrium reaction are detailed. Two new concepts are presented, known as photoreaction of nanoparticles (PRNP) and photoreaction of a hybrid solutions (PRHS), in which crystal nuclei are pre-dispersed in a metal–organic compound film. This method has successfully produced flexible phosphor films used as resistor or thermistor electronic components. Finally, thin film growth using different light sources such as flash lamps and femtosecond lasers (fs) is explored.