Interactions of Au cluster anions with oxygen

Experimental and theoretical evidence is presented for the nondissociative chemisorption of O2 on free Au cluster anions (Aun-, n=number of atoms) with n=2, 4, 6 at room temperature, indicating that the stabilization of the activated di-oxygen species is the key for the unusual catalytic activities of Au-based catalysts. In contrast to Aun- with n=2, 4, 6, O2 adsorbs atomically on Au monomer anions. For the Au monomer neutral, calculations based on density functional theory reveal that oxygen should be molecularly bound. On Au dimer and tetramer neutrals, oxygen is molecularly bound with the O-O bond being less activated with respect to their anionic counterparts, suggesting that the excess electron in the anionic state plays a crucial role for the O-O activation. We demonstrate that interplay between experiments on gas phase clusters and theoretical approach can be a promising strategy to unveil mechanisms of elementary steps in nanocatalysis.     

The role of F-centers in catalysis by Au supported on MgO

A correlation is found between the activity of Au clusters for the catalytic oxidation of CO and the concentration of F-centers in the surface of a MgO support. These results are consistent with recent theoretical results showing that F-centers in MgO serve to anchor Au clusters and control their charge state by partial transfer of charge from the substrate F-center to the Au cluster.     

In situ polymerization: A novel route for thermally stable proton-conductive membranes

In this paper, a new solvent-free route for preparing proton-conductive membranes is proposed. Flexible and fiber-supported polymer electrolyte membranes, as potential proton exchange membranes, were readily obtained by in situ polymerization of a homogenous solution that consisted of bromomethylated poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (BPPO, polymer)–monomer mixtures of styrene (ST) and divinylbenzene (DVB), which was pre-cast onto SEFAR PETEX fibers. Factors such as the components of the casting solution and the sulfonation time, were fully investigated. The membrane structure and components were confirmed by FTIR-ATR spectra and SEM-EDXA images, and the thermal stability was examined via TGA and DrTGA. The membrane exhibited a proton conductivity of about 0.07 S/cm at 100% humidity and at room temperature, which is close to that of Nafion 117 at identical conditions (around 0.08 S/cm), whereas its thickness (about 120 μm) was less than that of Nafion 117. The tensile strength and the elongation at the break of the membrane were 31.2 MPa and 71%, respectively, which are several times higher than those of Nafion (about 6.16 MPa tensile strength and 36% elongation ratio). The dimensional change ratio of the membrane between the wet and dry states was below 3%, which is much lower than that of Nafion 117. The membrane showed a high thermal stability up to 400 °C. The method can be applied to other compatible systems of (aromatic) polymers and (aromatic) monomers.     

尺寸可控、高热稳定性有序介孔碳Au催化剂的合成

纳米Au催化剂被认为是具有商业价值的用于醇选择氧化的第二代催化剂.这是因为Au氧化还原电势高,化学稳定性好,可抑制易使Pt族元素中毒的胺等的毒化;其次,对于一些特定选择氧化和还原反应而言,具有较优的反应选择性.目前较多的研究集中在调变Au纳米颗粒与氧化物载体的相互作用,获得协同效应.例如,利用CeO2纳米晶为载体,沉积Au纳米颗粒(约3 nm),使CeO2部分还原为非计量比的催化材料,活化氧并获得高选择氧化性能.碳是相对惰性的载体,与Au相互作用力弱,因此可被用于研究Au纳米颗粒本征催化性能.但负载碳金催化剂在焙烧甚至还原过程中易团聚,且在反应中易流失,可能导致活性下降.利用胶体沉积法可获得介孔碳担载纳米Au催化剂,对葡萄糖选择氧化具有很高的催化活性和选择性.但是,制备中使用的保护剂残留经常被忽略.由于立体效应或电子结构调变作用,保护剂可能影响Au催化剂活性或稳定性.我们前期建立了反应单体参与的自组装技术合成功能化介孔碳路线,一步在介孔碳骨架中掺杂氧化物纳米催化剂.本文从介孔催化材料的结构出发,设计“镶嵌”在碳骨架中的纳米Au颗粒.采用配位作用辅助表面活性剂自组装技术,以苯酚和甲醛为碳前体,引入含巯基硅烷偶联剂,通过配位作用稳定金离子,获得尺寸可控介孔碳限域纳米Au催化剂.低温炭化中,由于巯基-金的配位作用阻抑金属移动或团聚,高温下聚合物炭化为相对刚性的碳骨架.此时,Au纳米颗粒被相邻介孔孔墙限制.硅烷偶联剂可除去,不影响碳载体,并可产生丰富二级孔道,获得多级孔道介孔碳材料.X射线衍射和透射电镜结果显示,所合成的催化剂中Au颗粒的尺寸可控,为3-18nm,且具有单分散性,均匀地分散在整个介孔碳骨架中,其含量为1.1-9.0 wt％.金碳催化剂具有有序的二维六方介孔结构.能量散射谱(EDX)也证明了催化剂只含有C,O和Au元素,没有S和Si元素的残留.X射线光电子能谱(XPS)结果显示催化剂表面的Au含量远远低于ICP的测试结果,也证明了Au纳米颗粒分布在介孔碳骨架内,同时只含有C,O和Au元素也与EDX相符.X射线近边吸收谱结果表明,随着颗粒尺寸的减小,Au表面电子性质发生改变.N2吸脱附等温线显示,有序介孔碳金催化剂具有典型的第Ⅳ型曲线,说明孔径分布范围较窄,主孔道尺寸为3.4-5.7 nm.值得注意的是,低压力段吸附量显示明显突跃,暗示其具有一套约为2 nm的次级介孔.所有的催化剂都具有高的比表面积(1269-1743 m2/g)和大的孔体积(0.79-1.38 cm3/g).Au纳米颗粒具有高的热稳定性,在惰性气氛中,即使在600℃也未见明显聚集长大.进一步讨论了合成中影响金纳米颗粒尺寸的重要影响因素.(1)巯基含量:通过调节巯基组分的含量,可以调控催化剂中Au纳米颗粒的尺寸(9-18 nm).需要强调的是,Au纳米颗粒尺寸与巯基在新合成材料中的浓度有关,当巯基含量在所研究的范围中时(1.55-3.06 mmol/g),Au纳米颗粒尺寸仅仅与巯基浓度有关,而与Au浓度无关.(2)硫酸预炭化处理:新合成的材料经过一步硫酸预炭化处理,可以得到尺寸为3 nm的有序介孔碳金催化剂.表征结果证明,经过硫酸预碳化处理,大量表面活性剂被除去,同时聚合物载体发生部分碳化,有助于在后续高温炭化中保护3 nm金颗粒不团聚.尺寸可控、高热稳定性、无配体保护的有序介孔碳负载Au催化剂有望应用在催化和传感器等领域.     

Deposition of thermally unstable molecules with the spray-jet technique on Au(111) surface

A porphyrin derivative (5,15-bis(4-ethynylphenyl)-10,20-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)porphyrin: trans-BETBPP) possessing chemically reactive substituents was successfully deposited on an Au(111) surface with a new molecular beam deposition system with use of a spray-jet technique (Spray-jet-MBD) without denaturing the molecules. The deposited molecular overlayers were observed at 77 K under ultrahigh vacuum condition by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). They form two different overlayer structures: a linear arrangement and a square lattice structure. In these overlayers, some molecules were accidentally moved by STM tip agitation, which indicates that the molecules were not polymerized during the deposition process.     

A colloid "digesting" route to novel, thermally stable high surface area ZrO2 and Pd/ZrO2 catalytic materials

Zirconia having high thermal stability and high surface area (up to 160 m(2)/g at 700 degrees C) has been prepared by a colloidal "digesting" process. This material having demonstrated high surface areas at elevated temperatures was then applied as a catalyst support. A Pd colloid with diameter of approximately 12 nm has been successfully deposited on the high surface area zirconia material. All systems have been well characterized by TEM, X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption isotherms, FTIR, elemental analysis and dynamic light scattering techniques. The colloidal Pd particles have been found homogeneously well dispersed in the hydrous zirconia matrix without aggregation. The Pd/ZrO2 catalysts have been screened for cyclohexene and 1-hexene hydrogenation activity and it was found that the catalyst is extremely active.     

Nanocatalysis on tailored shape supports: Au and Pd nanoparticles supported on MgO nanocubes and ZnO nanobelts

Active gold and palladium nanoparticles supported on MgO nanocubes and ZnO nanobelts and transition-metal-containing MgO nanobelts were synthesized by combining evaporation and deposition-precipitation techniques. The high activity and stability of the Au/CeO2 and Pd/CeO2 nanoparticle catalysts deposited on the MgO cubes are remarkable and imply that a variety of efficient catalysts can be designed and tested using this approach. The significant increase in the concentration of corner and edge sites in MgO nanocubes make them well-defined supports to study the detailed mechanism of the catalytic activity enhancement.     

Intensification of electrochemiluminescence of luminol on TiO2 supported Au atomic cluster nano-hybrid modified electrode

With TiO(2) nanoparticles as carrier, a supported nano-material of Au atomic cluster/TiO(2) nano-hybrid was synthesized. It was then modified onto the surface of indium tin oxide (ITO) by Nafion to act as a working electrode for exciting the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of luminol. The properties of the nano-hybrid and the modified electrode were characterized by XRD, XPS, electronic microscopy, electrochemistry and spectroscopy. The experimental results demonstrated that the modification of this nano-hybrid onto the ITO electrode efficiently intensified the ECL of luminol. It was also revealed that the ECL intensity of luminol on this modified electrode showed very sensitive responses to oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. The detection limits for dissolved oxygen and hydrogen peroxide were 2 μg L(-1) and 5.5 × 10(-12) M, respectively. Besides the discussion of the intensifying mechanism of this nano-hybrid for ECL of luminol, the developed method was also applied for monitoring dissolved oxygen and evaluating the scavenging efficiency of reactive oxygen species of the Ganoderma lucidum spore.     

Dependence of excitation energy on the coordination of oxygen atoms in cluster models of MgO surface

Cluster models of the MgO surface have been calculated by a semi empirical method. The energies of transitions between the surface states localized on ions of definite coordination are dependent on their coordination numbers. The lower transition energies correspond to a lower coordination number of oxygen ions.

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Facile synthesis and properties of a new generation of soluble and thermally stable polyimides

A new diamine, 1,4-phenylene bis((E)-1-(4-chloro-3-aminobenzylidene) thiourea) (PCABT), containing phenylthiourea and azomethine groups was prepared from the reduction of dinitro compound, 1,4-phenylene bis((E)-1-(4-chloro-3-nitrobenzylidene)thiourea), PCNBT. The structures of resulting monomers were characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR techniques. Afterwards, this diamine was reacted with various aromatic dianhydrides (ODPA, BTDA and 6FDA) in glacial acetic acid to afford poly(phenylthiourea azomethine imide)s (PPTAIs) with η_inh of 1.59-1.66 dL/g, depending on the dianhydride used. The ensuing PPTAIs exhibited ample solubility in organic solvents (DMAc, DMF, DMSO and NMP) and were obtained in quantitative yields. Also, all polyimides were amorphous according to wide-angle X-ray determination. GPC measurements of polymers revealed M_w around 69,000-72,000. Moreover, thermogravimetric analyses indicated that PPTAIs were fairly stable up to 550 °C, and 10% weight loss temperatures were recorded in the range of 563-578 °C (N₂ atmosphere). Ultimately, these polyimides own high glass transition temperatures about 281-285 °C.     

Density-functional model cluster studies of EPR g tensors of Fs+ centers on the surface of MgO

We report g tensors of surface color centers, so-called F(s) (+) centers, of MgO calculated with two density-functional approaches using accurately embedded cluster models. In line with recent UHV measurements on single-crystalline MgO film, we determined only small g-tensor anisotropies and negative shifts Deltag identical with g-g(e) for all F(s) (+) sites considered, namely, (001)-terrace, step, edge, and corner sites. The g values are very sensitive to the local structure of the defect: relaxation reverses the sign of Deltag. However, accounting for the spin-orbit interaction either self-consistently or perturbatively yields very similar results. In addition to the values of the tensor components, their direction with respect to the surface was determined. In contrast to edges, significant deviations from ideal C(2v) symmetry were found for F(s) (+) centers at steps. Recent data on single-crystalline thin films are reevaluated in the light of these results.     

Molecular orbital cluster model study of bonding and vibrations of CO adsorbed on MgO surface

The interaction of CO with the MgO(100) surface has been investigated by means of all electron cluster model calculations. The CO molecule is bound on the Mg²⁺ site of MgO with a chemisorption energy of about 0.2 eV. The binding mechanism is electrostatic in nature and arises almost entirely from the interaction of the weak electric field generated by the ionic surface and the CO charge distribution, with negligible contributions from chemical effects as the CO σ donation. When CO is bound through carbon, its vibrational frequency increases with respect to the gas-phase value. This shift, Δ, has been analyzed and decomposed into the sum of different contributions. It is found that the positive Δω does not arise entirely from the field–dipole interaction but is due, in part, to the increase in Pauli repulsion occurring when the C? O molecule vibrates in the presence of the surface “wall.” A stronger electrostatic interaction, bringing the CO adsorbate closer to the surface, increases this wall effect and results in a more pronounced positive ω shift. It is also found that the two CO orientations exhibit opposite shifts in ω_e, thus, the two orientations can be distinguished, in principle, by IR spectroscopy. The analysis of our ab initio cluster wave functions gives a very different picture than the standard view of the metal–CO bond as arising from σ donation and π back donation.     

Nickel catalysts supported on MgO with different specific surface area for carbon dioxide reforming of methane

In this paper, three kinds of MgO with different specific surface area were prepared, and their effects on the catalytic performance of nickel catalysts for the carbon dioxide reforming of methane were investigated. The results showed that MgO support with the higher specific surface area led to the higher dispersion of the active metal, which resulted in the higher initial activity. On the other hand, the specific surface area of MgO materials might not be the dominant factor for the basicity of support to chemisorb and activate CO₂, which was another important factor for the performance of catalysts. Herein, Ni/MgO(CA) catalyst with proper specific surface area and strong ability to activate CO₂ exhibited stable catalytic property and the carbon species deposited on the Ni/MgO(CA) catalyst after 10 h of reaction at 650 °C were mainly activated carbon species.     

The influence of metal cluster size on adsorption energies: CO adsorbed on Au clusters supported on TiO2

Infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) has been used to study CO adsorption on Au clusters ranging in size from 1.8 to 3.1 nm, supported on TiO(2). The adsorbed CO vibrational frequency blue-shifts slightly (approximately 4 cm(-)(1)) compared to that adsorbed on bulk Au, whereas the heats of adsorption (-DeltaH(ads)) increase sharply with decreasing cluster size, from 12.5 to 18.3 kcal/mol.     

Au atoms and dimers on the MgO(100) surface: a DFT study of nucleation at defects

The adsorption of Au atoms at the surface of MgO and the formation of Au dimers have been studied by means of first principles DFT supercell calculations. Au atoms have been adsorbed on flat MgO terraces and monatomic steps but also at point defects such as oxygen vacancies (F centers) or divacancies. Very low barriers for diffusion of Au atoms on the MgO(100) terraces have been found. Atom diffusion is stopped only at strong binding sites such as the F and F+ centers (adsorption energy E(a) = 3-4 eV), divacancies (E(a) = 2.3 eV), or, to less extent, steps (E(a) = 1.3 eV). The combination of two Au adatoms with formation of a dimer is accompanied by an energy gain, the dimer binding energy, E(b), between 2 and 2.4 eV for all sites considered, with the exception of the paramagnetic F+ center where the gain is negligible (0.3 eV). The dimerization energy on the surface is not too different from the bond strength of Au2 in the gas phase (2.32 eV). Thus, defects sites on MgO do not have a special role in promoting or demoting Au dimerization, while they are essential to trap the diffusing Au atoms or clusters. Calculations on Au3 formed on an F center show that the cluster is fluxional.     

Electron transfer processes on Ag and Au clusters supported on TiO2(110) and cluster size effects

The results of a detailed study of Li(+) neutralization in scattering on Ag and Au clusters and thin films supported on TiO(2) are presented. A very efficient neutralization is observed on small clusters with a decrease for the smallest clusters. These results closely follow the size-effects observed in the reactivity of these systems. The energy dependence of the neutralization was studied for the larger clusters (>4 nm) and observed to be similar in trend to the one observed on films and bulk (111) crystals. A general discussion of possible reasons of the enhancement in neutralization is presented and these changes are then tentatively discussed in terms of progressive modifications in the electronic structure of clusters as a function of reduction in size and as it evolves from metallic-like to discretised states. The highest neutralization efficiency would appear to correspond to clusters sizes for which a metal to nonmetal transition occurs. The relative position of the Li level and the highest occupied molecular orbital in the molecular cluster can be expected to strongly affect the electron transfer processes, which in this case should be described in a molecular framework.     

A highly thermally stable ferroelectric metal-organic framework and its thin film with substrate surface nature dependent morphology

A highly thermally stable, polar MOF built from the rigid ligand benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate and the main-group metal ion Sr(2+) shows ferroelectricity. With the ultimate goal of making components for use in devices, the fabrication of MOF thin films on Al(2)O(3), SrAl(2)O(4), and Al foil substrates using the in situ solvothermal method was explored. The mechanism of macroscopic polarization reversals in the ferroelectric MOF under an ac electric field and the dependence of the morphology of the MOF thin film on the nature of the substrate surface are discussed.     

Chemistry at corners and edges: generation and adsorption of H atoms on the surface of MgO nanocubes

We used UV light to generate site-selective O- hole centers at three-coordinated corner oxygen sites on MgO nanocubes. These highly reactive O- radicals split H2 homolytically and, in the course of this reaction, become hydroxylated and produce hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen atoms adsorb predominantly at cube edges and dissociate into surface-trapped electrons and protons. We propose that the experimentally observed (H+)(e-) centers are formed adjacent to the hydroxyl groups generated in the homolytic splitting process and can be defined as (H+)3C...(e-)(H+)NC centers where 3C and NC refer to the coordination numbers of the corresponding hydroxylated oxygen sites. Our ab initio embedded cluster calculations reveal that the electronic properties of (H+)3C...(e-)(H+)4C centers situated along MgO nanocube edges are consistent with both the electron-paramagnetic-resonance signal parameters and the reported optical-absorption properties. The transformation of corner O- centers into the (H+)3C...(e-)(H+)NC-type centers prevents their recombination with electronic surface centers and, hence, significantly alters the electronic structure of MgO nanocubes by introducing shallow electron traps.     

Degradation study on the thermally stable nickel phthalocyanine sheet polymer

Poly (nickel phthalocyanine) which has exceptional thermal stability is synthesized. Knowledge of modes of degradation of this polymer is found to be necessary for its high temperature applications. This polymer showed very high thermal stability with maximum polymer decomposition temperatures (PDT_max) of 500 °C in air and 890 °C in N₂, with char yield 93% at 800 °C. Because of its excellent thermal stability, degradation study with MS as well as GC–MS techniques were found to be very difficult. The present publication deals with MS and GC–MS studies of nickel phthalocyanine sheet polymer at high temperatures ranging from 700 to 1000 °C. Tentative mechanisms are proposed for its modes of fragmentations and based on GC–MS studies, the most probable degradation products are identified.