Biofunctionalization of anisotropic nanocrystalline semiconductor-magnetic heterostructures

Asymmetric binary nanocrystals (BNCs) formed by a spherical γ-Fe(2)O(3) magnetic domain epitaxially grown onto a lateral facet of a rodlike anatase TiO(2) nanorod have been functionalized with PEG-terminated phospholipids, resulting in a micellar system that enables the BNC dispersion in aqueous solution. The further processability of the obtained water-soluble BNC including PEG lipid micelles and their use in bioconjugation experiments has been successfully demonstrated by covalently binding to bovine serum albumin (BSA). The whole process has also been preliminarily performed on spherical iron oxide nanocrystals (NCs) and TiO(2) nanorods (NRs), which form single structural units in the heterostructures. Each step has been thoroughly monitored by using optical, structural, and electrophoretic techniques. In addition, an investigation of the magnetic behavior of the iron oxide NCs and BNCs, before and after incorporation into PEG lipid micelles and subsequently bioconjugation, has been carried out, revealing that the magnetic characteristics are mostly retained. The proposed approach to achieving water-soluble anisotropic BNCs and their bioconjugates has a large potential in catalysis and biomedicine and offers key functional building blocks for biosensor applications.     

二氧化钛-石墨烯复合物的制备及其光催化性质

以氧化石墨和商业用二氧化钛为前驱物,在150℃水热条件下制备了二氧化钛-石墨烯复合物,利用XRD、Raman、SEM、TEM和低温N2吸附-脱附测试对复合物的结构和形貌进行了表征。以亚甲基蓝溶液模拟染料废水,研究了二氧化钛-石墨烯复合物在紫外光及可见光下的光催化效果,结果表明,该复合物的光催化性能较之商业用二氧化钛有较大提高。对光催化机理的研究表明,二氧化钛-石墨烯复合物光催化性能提高的原因是其对于染料分子的吸附能力提高、吸光能力增强,并且复合物中电荷分离效率也有很大提高。     

Efficient degradation of toxic organic pollutants with Ni2O3/TiO(2-x)Bx under visible irradiation

To promote efficient use of solar energy, many studies have focused on the modification of TiO2 to extend its spectral response to visible region. Here we report a combined modification of TiO2 by two components: the nonmetal element boron and the metal oxide Ni2O3. The photocatalyst presents high photocatalytic activity in the visible region, which can efficiently degrade and mineralize toxic organic pollutants such as trichlorophenol (TCP), 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), and sodium benzoate. The dechlorination and mineralization results indicate the photocatalytic pathway via visible light excitation. The study demonstrates that the modification of TiO2 both to extend its spectral response to the visible region and to improve its catalytic efficiency can be achieved by doping with boron, a nonmetal, and Ni2O3, a metal oxide.     

Electronic coupling in iron oxide-modified TiO2 leads to a reduced band gap and charge separation for visible light active photocatalysis

In recent experiments Tada et al. have shown that TiO(2) surfaces modified with iron oxide display visible light photocatalytic activity. This paper presents first principles simulations of iron oxide clusters adsorbed at the rutile TiO(2) (110) surface to elucidate the origin of the visible light photocatalytic activity of iron oxide modified TiO(2). Small iron oxide clusters adsorb at rutile (110) surface and their presence shifts the valence band so that the band gap of the composite is narrowed towards the visible, thus confirming the origin of the visible light activity of this composite material. The presence of iron oxide at the TiO(2) surface leads to charge separation, which is the origin of enhanced photocatalytic efficiency, consistent with experimental photoluminesence and photocurrent data. Surface modification of a metal oxide is thus an interesting route in the development of visible light photocatalytic materials.     

高能机械球磨法制备V-Ti-O超细微粒催化剂

负载型V2O5/TiO2氧化物催化剂因具有优良的催化性能而广泛地用于烃类选择性氧化[1,2]和氮氧化物选择性催化还原(SCR)[3]. 迄今,所研究的负载型V2O5/TiO2氧化物催化剂大多是采用浸渍法制备的[2,4～6],通过调整催化剂的组成[2,5]、引入适当的助剂组分[2,6]和选择适宜的反应操作条件[2,5]可进一步优化其催化性能.     

丙烯在Au/TiO2催化剂上的化学吸附与临氢环氧化反应

环氧丙烷;丙烯环氧化;丙烯在Au/TiO2催化剂上的化学吸附与临氢环氧化反应     

TiO2-Al2O3的水热法合成及其负载的NiMoP催化剂上FCC柴油加氢脱硫性能

采用水热法制备了复合氧化物TiO2-Al2O3,研究了水热温度、反应物浓度、聚乙二醇(PEG)平均分子量和浓度对所制样品结构和织构性质的影响,并用X射线衍射、N2吸附-脱附、热重-差热分析、NH3程序升温脱附、吸附吡啶的红外光谱和程序升温还原技术对TiO2-Al2O3及其负载的NiMoP催化剂进行了表征,在中压固定床微反装置上考察了催化剂上FCC柴油的加氢脱硫性能.结果表明,随着水热温度、反应物浓度、PEG分子量和浓度的提高,所制TiO2-Al2O3复合氧化物的比表面积和孔体积均有所提高,在优化的制备条件下分别可高达266m2/g和0.58cm3/g,其负载的NiMoP催化剂的比表面积也高达175m2/g,且其酸性较弱,以L酸为主.由于NiMoP/TiO2-Al2O3催化剂中TiO2的存在降低了活性组分与载体间的强相互作用,使其催化FCC柴油加氢脱硫活性比NiMoP/Al2O3催化剂的高.     

纳米TiO2-SiO2复合氧化物的制备与性质

采用溶胶-凝胶结合CO2超临界干燥方法制备了比表面积大、热稳定性好的纳米TiO2-SiO2复合氧化物.考察了原料组成和焙烧温度对复合氧化物比表面积、热稳定性和酸性的影响,通过加氢脱硫反应考察了该复合氧化物作为加氢精制催化剂载体的可行性.结果表明,采用该方法制备的复合氧化物为纳米颗粒,在n(Ti)/n(Si)=1时,其比表面积和孔容最大;与纯TiO2相比,引入SiO2明显提高了复合氧化物的热稳定性和晶型稳定性;以此复合氧化物为载体的加氢精制催化剂具有很好的低温脱硫活性,TiO2-SiO2复合氧化物载体的酸性特征影响了催化剂的加氢脱硫活性.     

Electronic characteristics of fluorene/TiO2 molecular heterojunctions

The electronic properties of molecular junctions of the general type carbon/molecule/TiO2Au were examined as examples of "molecular heterojunctions" consisting of a molecular monolayer and a semiconducting oxide. Junctions containing fluorene bonded to pyrolyzed photoresist film (PPF) were compared to those containing Al2O3 instead of fluorene, and those with only the TiO2 layer. The responses to voltage sweep and pulse stimulation were strongly dependent on junction composition and temperature. A transient current response lasting a few milliseconds results from injection and trapping of electrons in the TiO2 layer, and occurred in all three junction types studied. Conduction in PPFTiO2Au junctions is consistent with space charge limited conduction at low voltage, then a sharp increase in current once the space charge fills all the traps. With fluorene present, there is a slower, persistent change in junction conductance which may be removed by a reverse polarity pulse. This "memory" effect is attributed to a redox process in the TiO2 which generates TiIII and/or TiII, which have much higher conductance than TiO2 due to the presence of conduction band electrons. The redox process amounts to "dynamic doping" of the TiO2 layer by the imposed electric field. The memory effect arises from a combination of the properties of the molecular and oxide layers, and is a special property of the molecular heterojunction configuration.     

Metal-oxide interfacial reactions: encapsulation of Pd on TiO2 (110)

The model system Pd/TiO2 (110) was used to evaluate the correlation between metal encapsulation and electronic structure of TiO2 crystals. We observed encapsulation of Pd clusters supported on TiO2 crystals, which were heavily Ar+ sputtered, Nb-doped, or reduced by vacuum annealing. In contrast, encapsulation was not observed on unreduced, undoped, or slightly sputtered TiO2 crystals. Our results indicate a strong dependence of the encapsulation process on the electron density in the conduction band of TiO2 and on the space charge formed at Pd/TiO2 interfaces. This behavior is controlled by the initial position of the Fermi energy level (EF) of the metal and the oxide before contact is established. We proved that encapsulation reactions are favored by n-type doping of the oxide and a large work function of the metal. On the basis of this mechanism, we conclude on general trends controlling encapsulation reactions of oxide-supported metal clusters and the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI).     

A TiO2/CNT coaxial structure and standing CNT array laminated photocatalyst to enhance the photolysis efficiency of TiO2

In this study a TiO2/CNT coaxial structure and standing CNT array laminated photocatalyst to enhance the photolysis efficiency of TiO2 is presented. An electrochemical bath that used a nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide membrane as the separation grating to separate two vessels with a transmembrane concentration gradient was constructed. The catalyzed photolysis efficiency was measured in terms of the photolysis-induced ion current. The experimental results demonstrate that the photolysis efficiency of TiO2 could be increased by the high electron conductibility of the standing CNT array. The experimental results also indicate that photolysis efficiency could be enhanced by increasing the height of the standing CNT array substrate; however, it degraded as the thickness of the TiO2/CNT coaxial structure and the TiO2 shell increased.     

Physicochemical characterization of an anatase TiO2 surface and the adsorption of a nonionic surfactant: an atomic force microscopy study

Atomic force microscopy was used to characterize an anatase TiO2 surface, prepared by the helical vapor preparation method. The forces between two bare TiO2 surfaces were measured in the presence of water at various pH values. This TiO2 isoelectric point (iep) was characterized by the presence of only a van der Waals attraction and was measured at pH 5.8; this value is similar to that for a rutile TiO2 surface. The adsorption mechanism of a nonionic surfactant molecule to this anatase TiO2 surface was investigated by measuring the forces between two such TiO2 surfaces at their iep pH in the presence of linear dodecanol tetraethoxylate (C12E4), a poly(ethoxylene oxide) n-alkyl ether. C12E4 was seen by the presence of steric forces to adsorb to the uncharged TiO2 surface. For low surfactant concentrations, C12E4 adsorbed with its hydrophobic tail facing the TiO2 substrate, to reduce its entropically unfavorable contacts with water. Additional surfactant adsorption occurred at higher surfactant concentrations by the hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions between the surfactant tails and heads, respectively, and gave sub-bilayers. A two-step adsorption isotherm was subsequently proposed with four regions: (1) submonolayer, (2) complete monolayer, (3) sub-bilayer, and (4) bilayer. The absence of a long-range repulsive force between the two TiO2 surfaces in the presence of the C12E4 surface aggregates indicated that a C12E4 nonionic surfactant aggregate did not possess charge.     

不锈钢基底上TiO2薄膜型光催化剂的制备和化学结构

采用钛酸正丁酯作为前驱体,通过溶胶-凝胶法在不锈钢基片上制备了TiO2纳米薄膜。利用俄歇电子能谱(AES)和紫外反射光谱等研究手段,对TIO2薄膜的化学结构及基底材料界面相互作用进行了系统研究。结果发现,在不锈钢基底上形成的TiO2薄膜与基底材料发生了明显的界面扩散反应。在TiO2薄膜的形成过程中,不锈钢中Fe元素向TiO2薄膜层扩散,并与从大气氛中扩散到界面的氧发生化学反应,形成铁氧化物界面过渡层。界面氧化过程,导致了Fe向样品表面的偏析和扩散。在高温热处理过程中,Fe可以扩散到TiO2薄膜的表面。薄膜催化剂的紫外反射光谱表明,界面扩散反应导致了Fe扩散进入TiO2薄膜的晶格,从而改变了薄膜催化剂的光吸收性能。     

V2O5-TiO2催化剂光催化降解2,4-二氯苯酚：催化剂载体和表面活性剂的影响

采用固态分散法成功制备了表面活性剂修饰的不同V2O5含量的二元氧化物催化剂,运用X射线衍射、漫反射光谱、红外光谱、扫描电镜和N2吸附-脱附法对该纳米复合物进行了表征,并在紫外光照射下考察了其光催化降解2,4-二氯苯酚的性能.结果表明,50 wt%, V2O5-TiO2(记为50V2O5-TiO2)表现出比单纯V2O5, TiO2和P25更高的光催化活性, V2O5和TiO2之间的相互作用会影响二元氧化物催化剂的光催化效率. CTAB和HTAB的修饰显著增加了50V2O5-TiO2样品的催化效率,其中(50V2O5-TiO2)-CTAB催化剂在反应30 min后表现出最高的2,4-二氯苯酚降解率(100%)和反应速率(2.22 mg/(L·min)).表面活性剂的加入能修饰二元氧化物中V2O5和TiO2的光学和电子性质,从而显著提高其光催化活性.     

Facile synthesis and catalytic activity of MoS(2)/TiO(2) by a photodeposition-based technique and its oxidized derivative MoO(3)/TiO(2) with a unique photochromism

UV-light irradiation to TiO(2) in an aqueous ethanol solution of (NH(4))(2)MoS(4) under deaerated conditions has yielded molybdenum(IV) sulfide nanoparticles on a TiO(2) surface (MoS(2)/TiO(2)) to be transformed into molybdenum(VI) oxide species highly dispersed at a molecular level by a subsequent heating at 773K in air (m-MoO(3)/TiO(2)). In HCOOH aqueous solutions, the MoS(2)/TiO(2) system exhibits a high level of photocatalytic activity for H(2) generation, while the m-MoO(3)/TiO(2) system shows unique photochromism.     

Fabrication of aligned TiO2 one-dimensional nanostructured arrays using a one-step templating solution approach

In this letter, we report a one-step templating synthetic strategy to prepare aligned TiO2 nanotube and nanowire arrays on Si substrate from a solution at ambient temperature. The deposition of TiO2 and the selective-etching of the ZnO template proceeded at the same time through the careful control of process parameters. The different thickness of TiO2 sheaths, leading to the formation of nanotubes or nanorods, can be precisely controlled by the deposition time. The idea of selective etching and deposition is applicable to other oxide materials, and such a facile method is expected to find widespread applications.     

Adsorption and solar light decomposition of acetone on anatase TiO2 and niobium doped TiO2 thin films

Adsorption and solar light decomposition of acetone was studied on nanostructured anatase TiO2 and Nb-doped TiO2 films made by sol-gel methods (10 and 20 mol % NbO2.5). A detailed characterization of the film materials show that films contain only nanoparticles with the anatase modification with pentavalent Nb oxide dissolved into the anatase structure, which is interpreted as formation of substituted Nb=O clusters in the anatase lattice. The Nb-doped films displayed a slight yellow color and an enhanced the visible light absorption with a red-shift of the optical absorption edge from 394 nm for the pure TiO2 film to 411 nm for 20 mol % NbO2.5. In-situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) transmission spectroscopy shows that acetone adsorbs associatively with eta1-coordination to the surface cations on all films. On Nb-doped TiO2 films, the carbonyl bonding to the surface is stabilized, which is evidenced by a lowering of the nu(C=O) frequency by about 20 cm(-1) to 1672 cm(-1). Upon solar light illumination acetone is readily decomposed on TiO2, and stable surface coordinated intermediates are formed. The decomposition rate is an order of magnitude smaller on the Nb-doped films despite an enhanced visible light absorption in these materials. The quantum yield is determined to be 0.053, 0.004 and 0.002 for the pure, 10% Nb:TiO2, and 20%Nb:TiO2, respectively. Using an interplay between FTIR and DFT calculations we show that the key surface intermediates are bidentate bridged formate and carbonate, and H-bonded bicarbonate, respectively, whose concentration on the surface can be correlated with their heats of formation and bond strength to coordinatively unsaturated surface Ti and Nb atoms at the surface. The oxidation rate of these intermediates is substantially slower than the initial acetone decomposition rate, and limits the total oxidation rate at t>7 min on TiO2, while no decrease of the rate is observed on the Nb-doped films. The rate of degradation of key surface intermediates is different on pure TiO2 and Nb-doped TiO2, but cannot explain the overall lower total oxidation rate for the Nb-doped films. Instead the inferior photocatalytic activity in Nb-doped TiO2 is attributed to an enhanced electron-hole pair recombination rate due to Nb=O cluster and cation vacancy formation.     

Human serum albumin adsorption on TiO2 from single protein solutions and from plasma

In the present work, the adsorption of human serum albumin (HSA) on commercially pure titanium with a titanium oxide layer formed in a H(2)O(2) solution (TiO(2) cp) and on TiO(2) sputtered on Si (TiO(2) sp) was analyzed. Adsorption isotherms, kinetic studies, and work of adhesion determinations were carried out. HSA exchangeability was also evaluated. Surface characterization was performed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and wettability studies. The two TiO(2) surfaces have very distinct roughnesses, the TiO(2) sp having a mean R(a) value 14 times smaller than the one of TiO(2) cp. XPS analysis revealed consistent peaks representative of TiO(2) on sputtered samples as well as on Ti cp substrate after 48 h of H(2)O(2) immersion. Nitrogen was observed as soon as protein was present, while sulfur, present in disulfide bonds in HSA, was observed for concentrations of protein higher than 0.30 mg/mL. The work of adhesion was determined from contact angle measurements. As expected from the surface free energy values, the work of adhesion of HSA solution is higher for the TiO(2) cp substrate, the more hydrophilic one, and lower for the TiO(2) sp substrate, the more hydrophobic one. The work of adhesion between plasma and the substrates assumed even higher values for the TiO(2) cp surface, indicating a greater interaction between the surface and the complex protein solutions. Adsorption studies by radiolabeling of albumin ((125)I-HSA) suggest that rapid HSA adsorption takes place on both surfaces, reaching a maximum value after approximately 60 min of incubation. For the higher HSA concentrations in solution, a multilayer coverage was observed on both substrates. After the adsorption step from single HSA solutions, the exchangeability of adsorbed HSA molecules by HSA in solution was evaluated. The HSA molecules adsorbed on TiO(2) sp seem to be more easily exchanged by HSA itself than those adsorbed on TiO(2) cp after 24 h. In contrast, after 72 h, nearly all the adsorbed albumin molecules effectively exchange with other albumin molecules.     

Dye-sensitized solar cells based on nanocrystalline TiO2 films surface treated with Al3+ ions: photovoltage and electron transport studies

Nanocrystalline TiO2 films, surface modified with Al3+, were manufactured by depositing a TiO2 suspension containing small amounts of aluminum nitrate or aluminum chloride onto conducting glass substrates, followed by drying, compression, and finally heating to 530 degrees C. Electrodes prepared with TiO2 nanoparticles coated with less than 0.3 wt % aluminum oxide with respect to TiO2 improved the efficiency of the dye sensitized solar cell. This amount corresponds to less than a monolayer of aluminum oxide. Thus, the Al ions terminate the TiO2 surface rather than form a distinct aluminum oxide layer. The aluminum ion surface treatment affects the solar cell in different ways: the potential of the conduction band is shifted, the electron lifetime is increased, and the electron transport is slower when aluminum ions are present between interconnected TiO2 particles.     

Enhanced adsorption energy of Au1 and O2 on the stoichiometric TiO2(110) surface by coadsorption with other molecules

During heterogeneous catalysis the surface is simultaneously covered by several adsorbed molecules. The manner in which the presence of one kind of molecule affects the adsorption of a molecule of another kind has been of interest for a long time. In most cases the presence of one adsorbate does not change substantially the binding energy of another adsorbate. The calculations presented here show that the stoichiometric rutile TiO(2)(110) surface, on which one of the compounds -OH, Au(3), Au(5), Au(7), Na, K, or Cs or two different gold strips was preadsorbed, behaves differently: the binding energy of Au(1) or O(2) to such a surface is much stronger than the binding to the clean stoichiometric TiO(2)(110) surface. Moreover, the binding energy of Au(1) or O(2) and the amount of charge they take from the surface when they adsorb are the same, regardless of which of the above species is preadsorbed. The preadsorbed species donate electrons to the conduction band of the oxide, and these electrons are used by Au(1) or O(2) to make stronger bonds with the surface. This suggests that adding an electron to the conduction band of the clean stoichiometric TiO(2)(110) slab used in the calculation will affect similarly the adsorption energy of Au(1) or O(2). Our calculations show that it does. We have also studied how the preadsorption of Au(4) or Au(6) affects the binding of Au(1) or O(2) to the surface. These two gold clusters do not donate electrons to the surface when they bind to it and therefore should not influence substantially the binding energy of Au(1) or O(2) to the surface. However, adsorbing O(2) or Au(1) on the surface forces the clusters to change their structure into that of isomers that donate charge to the oxide. This charge is used by Au(1) or O(2) to bind to the surface and the energy of this bond exceeds the isomerization energy. As a result the surface with the isomerized cluster is the lowest energy state of the system. We believe that these results can be generalized as follows. The molecules that we coadsorbed with Au(1) or O(2) donate electrons to the oxide and are Lewis bases. By giving the surface high energy electrons, they turn it into a Lewis base and this increases its ability to bind strong Lewis acids such as Au(1) and O(2). We speculate that this kind of interaction is general and may be observed for other oxides and for other coadsorbed Lewis base-Lewis acid pairs.