Nanosized aluminum nitride hollow spheres formed through a self-templating solid-gas interface reaction

Nanosized aluminum nitride hollow spheres were synthesized by simply heating aluminum nanoparticles in ammonia at 1000 °C. The as-synthesized sphere shells are polycrystalline with cavity diameters ranging from 15 to 100 nm and shell thickness from 5 to 15 nm. The formation mechanism can be explained by the nanoscale Kirkendall effect, which results from the difference in diffusion rates between aluminum and nitrogen. The Al nanoparticles served as both reactant and templates for the hollow sphere formation. The effects of precursor particle size and temperature were also investigated in terms of product morphology. Room temperature cathode luminescence spectrum of the nanosized hollow spheres showed a broad emission band centered at 415 nm, which is originated from oxygen related luminescence centers. The hollow structure survived a 4-h heat treatment at 1200 °C, exhibiting excellent thermal stability.     

Template free fabrication of hollow hematite spheres via a one-pot polyoxometalate-assisted hydrolysis process

Uniform hollow hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) spheres with diameter of about 600-700 nm and shell thickness lower than 100 nm are obtained by direct hydrothermal treatment of dilute FeCl₃ and tungstophosphoric acid H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ solution at 180 °C. The hollow spheres are composed of robust shells with small nanoparticles standing out of the surface and present a high-surface area and a weak ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. The effect of concentration of H₃PW₁₂O₄₀, reaction time and temperature for the formation of the hollow spheres are investigated in series of experiments. The formation of the hollow spheres may be ascribed to a polyoxometalte-assisted forced hydrolysis and dissolution process.     

Mesoscale assembly of NiO nanosheets into spheres

NiO solid/hollow spheres with diameters about 100 nm have been successfully synthesized through thermal decomposition of nickel acetate in ethylene glycol at 200 °C. These spheres are composed of nanosheets about 3-5 nm thick. Introducing poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) surfactant to reaction system can effectively control the products’ morphology. By adjusting the quantity of PVP, we accomplish surface areas-tunable NiO assembled spheres from ∼70 to ∼200 m² g⁻¹. Electrochemical tests show that NiO hollow spheres deliver a large discharge capacity of 823 mA h g⁻¹. Furthermore, these hollow spheres also display a slow capacity-fading rate. A series of contrastive experiments demonstrate that the surface area of NiO assembled spheres has a noticeable influence on their discharge capacity.     

Triple assembly of ZnO, large-scale hollow spherical shells with flower-like species consisting of rods grown on the outer surfaces of shells

Novel large-scale hollow ZnO spherical shells were synthesized by ionic liquids assisted hydrothermal oxidization of pure zinc powder without any catalyst at a relatively low temperature of 160 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) patterns show that the shells are composed of ZnO and the structure of the shells is very unique. Textured flower-like ZnO consisting of ZnO rods is grown on the outer surfaces of shells forming a triple assembly. Room-temperature photoluminescence spectra of the oxidized material show a sharp peak at 379 nm and a wider broad peak centered at 498 nm. The possible growth mechanism of the triple assembly of ZnO is discussed in detail.     

ZnO-based hollow microspheres with mesoporous shells: Polyoxometalate-assisted fabrication, growth mechanism and photocatalytic properties

With the assistance of Keggin-type polyoxometalate, ZnO hollow microspheres with mesoporous shells were synthesized via a simple solvothermal approach without any templates and surfactants. The observations of morphology and structure performed by field emission scanning electronic microscopy and transmission electron microscopy indicated that the shells of the ZnO hollow spheres were built from nanosheets which were composed of nanoparticles. The transformation of structure and composition of samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry and fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy. The formation mechanism of the hollow spheres is proposed based on time-dependent experimental results. The ZnO hollow microspheres exhibited a high photocatalytic activity for decolorization of Rhodamine B under ultraviolet irradiation.     

Preparation and properties of nitrogen-containing hollow carbon nanospheres by pyrolysis of polyaniline-lignosulfonate composites

Polyaniline-lignosulfonate composite hollow spheres were synthesized by using one-step unstirred polymerization of aniline in the presence of lignosulfonate. Novel nitrogen-containing hollow carbon nanospheres were prepared by direct pyrolysis of the polyaniline-lignosulfonate composite spheres at different temperatures under a nitrogen atmosphere. Thermal behavior of the polyaniline-lignosulfonate composite spheres was studied by TG-DTG, FTIR and element analyze instruments. The resultant carbon spheres were characterized by SEM, XRD and nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurement. It was found that the pyrolysis products of the polyaniline-lignosulfonate composite spheres were made up of uniform hollow carbon nanospheres with an average diameter of 135 nm. Furthermore, the hollow carbon nanospheres exhibit high BET surface area range from 381.6 m² g⁻¹ to 700.2 m² g⁻¹. The hollow carbon nanospheres could be used as adsorbents of papain. The papain adsorption capacity for the carbon spheres prepared at 1200 °C was up to 1161 mg g⁻¹ at an initial papain concentration of 10 mg mL⁻¹ at 25 °C.     

A one-pot synthetic approach to prepare palladium nanoparticles embedded hierarchically porous TiO2 hollow spheres for hydrogen peroxide sensing

A simple one-step method to fabricate hierarchically porous TiO₂/Pd composite hollow spheres without any template was developed by using solvothermal treatment. Pd nanoparticles (2-5 nm) were well dispersed in the mesopores of the TiO₂ hollow spheres via in-situ reduction. In our experiment, polyvinylpyrrolidone played an important role in the synthetic process as the reducing agent and the connective material between TiO₂ and Pd nanoparticles. HF species generated from solvothermal reaction leaded to the formation of TiO₂ hollow spheres and Ostwald ripening was another main factor that affected the size and structure of the hollow spheres. The as-prepared TiO₂/Pd composite hollow spheres exhibited high electrocatalytic activity towards the reduction of H₂O₂. The sensitivity was about 226.72 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻² with a detection limit of 3.81 μM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. These results made the hierarchically porous TiO₂/Pd composite a promising platform for fabricating new nonenzymic biosensors.     

Synthesis of poly(o-phenylenediamine) hollow spheres and nanofibers using different oxidizing agents

Poly(o-phenylenediamine) (PoPD) hollow spheres (ca. 800 nm in outer diameter) were synthesized by a simple solution route using ammonium persulfate (APS) as the oxidizing agent, whereas PoPD nanofibers (0.5-2 μm in width and more than 100 μm in length) and gold nanoparticles (200-500 nm) were obtained when changing the oxidizing agent of APS to chlorauric acid (HAuCl₄). The chemical structures of PoPD hollow spheres and nanofibers were characterized by FTIR and XRD spectra. When using HAuCl₄ as the oxidizing agent, the products of PoPD nanofibers and gold nanoparticles could be separated by chemical methods. The monomer droplets were proposed to act as template to the formation of polymer hollow spheres while the oriented growth of polymer nanofibers might be catalyzed by gold nanoparticles.     

Sonochemical Preparation of Hierarchical ZnO Hollow Spheres for Efficient Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Hierarchical ZnO hollow spheres (400–500 nm in diameter) consisting of ZnO nanoparticles with a diameter of approximately 15 nm have been successfully prepared by a facile and rapid sonochemical process. The formation of hierarchical ZnO hollow spheres is attributed to the oriented attachment and subsequent Ostwald ripening process according to time‐dependent experiments. The as‐prepared ZnO hollow spheres are used as a photoanode in dye‐sensitized solar cells and exhibit a highly efficient power conversion efficiency of 4.33 %, with a short‐circuit current density of 9.56 mA cm^?2, an open‐circuit voltage of 730 mV, and a fill factor of 0.62 under AM 1.5 G one sun (100 mW cm^?2) illumination. Moreover, the photovoltaic performance (4.33 %) using the hierarchical ZnO hollow spheres is 38.8 % better than that of a ZnO nanoparticle photoelectrode (3.12 %), which is mainly attributed to the efficient light scattering for the former.     

A facile method to fabricate ZnO hollow spheres and their photocatalytic property

This paper presents a novel and facile method for the fabrication of ZnO hollow spheres. In this approach, zinc ions were first adsorbed onto the surfaces of sulfonated polystyrene core-shell template spheres, and then reacted with NaOH to form a ZnO crystal nucleus, which was followed by a growth step to form ZnO nanoshells. During the formation of ZnO nanoshells or later on, the template spheres were "dissolved" in the same media to obtain ZnO hollow spheres directly. Neither additional dissolution nor calcination process was needed in this method to remove the templates, and the reaction conditions were very mild: neither high temperature nor long time was needed. Transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis were used to investigate the morphology, surface composition, crystalline structure, specific surface area, and porosity of the ZnO hollow spheres, respectively. UV-visible spectra show that these ZnO hollow spheres had very good photocatalytic activity.     

Heterogeneous nucleation for synthesis of sub-20 nm ZnO nanopods and their application to optical humidity sensing

We present a novel method for colloidal synthesis of one-dimensional ZnO nanopods by heterogeneous nucleation on zero-dimensional ZnO nanoparticle ‘seeds’. Ultra-small ZnO nanopods, multi-legged structures with sub-20 nm individual leg diameters, can be synthesized by hydrolysis of a Zn2+ precursor growth solution in presence of ∼4 nm ZnO seeds under hydrothermal conditions via microwave-assisted heating in as little as 20 min of reaction time. One-dimensional ZnO nanorods are initially generated in the reaction mixture by heterogeneous nucleation and growth along the [0001] direction of the ZnO crystal. Growth of one-dimensional nanorods subsequently yields to an ‘attachment’ and size-focusing phase where individual nanorods fuse together to form multi-legged nanopods having diameters ∼15 nm. ZnO nanopods exhibit broad orange-red defect-related photoluminescence in addition to a near-band edge emission at 373 nm when excited above the band-gap at 350 nm. The defect-related photoluminescence of the ZnO nanopods has been applied towards reversible optical humidity sensing at room temperature. The sensors demonstrated a linear response between 22% and 70% relative humidity with a 0.4% increase in optical intensity per % change in relative humidity. Due to their ultra-small dimensions, ZnO nanopods exhibit a large dynamic range and enhanced sensitivity to changes in ambient humidity, thus showcasing their ability as a platform for optical environmental sensing.     

Preparation and properties of Nafion/hollow silica spheres composite membranes

In present work, hollow silica spheres (HSS)/Nafion^® composite membranes were prepared by solution casting. The thermal properties, water retention, swelling behavior and proton conductivity of the composite membranes were explored. It was found that HSS dispersed well at micrometer scale in the obtained composite membranes by SEM and TEM observation. Thermal properties of composite membranes were improved than that of recast Nafion^® membrane. Compared with the recast Nafion^® membrane, the composite membranes showed higher water uptake and lower swelling degree at the temperature range from 40 to 100 °C. At the same HSS loading, the smaller the diameter of HSS in composite membranes, the more the water uptake, however, the swelling degree of composite membranes was increased. The proton conductivity of the composite membrane with 3–5 wt.% HSS (120 and 250 nm) increased distinctively at above 60 °C, reached the optimal value at 100 °C, and decreased slowly when the temperature exceeded 100 °C.     

Zinc oxide/polypyrrole nanocomposite as a novel solid phase microextraction coating for extraction of aliphatic hydrocarbons from water and soil samples

In this work, ZnO/PPy nanocomposite coating was fabricated on stainless steel and evaluated as a novel headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) fiber coating for extraction of ultra-trace amounts of environmental pollutants; namely, aliphatic hydrocarbons in water and soil samples. The ZnO/PPy nanocomposite were prepared by a two-step process including the electrochemical deposition of PPy on the surface of stainless steel in the first step, and the synthesis of ZnO nanorods by hydrothermal process in the pores of PPy matrix in the second step. Porous structure together with ZnO nanorods with the average diameter of 70 nm were observed on the surface by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effective parameters on HS-SPME of hydrocarbons (i.e., extraction temperature, extraction time, desorption temperature, desorption time, salt concentration, and stirring rate) were investigated and optimized by one-variable-at-a-time method. Under optimized conditions (extraction temperature, 65 ± 1 °C; extraction time, 15 min; desorption temperature, 250 °C; desorption time, 3 min; salt concentration, 10% w/v; and stirring rate, 1200 rpm), the limits of detection (LODs) were found in the range of 0.08–0.5 μg L⁻¹, whereas the repeatability and fiber-to-fiber reproducibility were in the range 5.4–7.6% and 8.6–10.4%, respectively. Also, the accuracies obtained for the spiked n-alkanes were in the range of 85–108%; indicating the absence of matrix effects in the proposed HS-SPME method. The results obtained in this work suggest that ZnO/PPy can be promising coating materials for future applications of SPME and related sample preparation techniques.     

ZnO hollow nanospheres via Laux-like oxidation of Zn0 nanoparticles

Zinc oxide hollow nanospheres were obtained via a Laux-like oxidation of zinc nanoparticles using nitrobenzene as oxidizing agent. The ZnO hollow nanospheres exhibit an outer diameter of 10.4 ± 1.3 nm and a well crystallized sphere wall with a thickness of 2.9 ± 0.4 nm. Laux-like oxidation and formation of the ZnO hollow nanospheres were performed instantaneously after sodium naphthalenide ([NaNaph]) driven reduction of ZnCl₂ to Zn⁰ nanoparticles in the liquid phase without any separation of the intermediate Zn⁰ nanoparticles. The diameter of the resulting ZnO hollow nanospheres (10.4 ± 1.3 nm) reflects the diameter of the intermediate Zn⁰ nanoparticles (10.1 ± 2.3 nm). In accordance with the small diameter of the ZnO sphere wall, quantum-size effects occur with a band gap that is blue-shifted by 0.2 eV in comparison to bulk-ZnO.     

Template-free synthesis of CdS hollow nanospheres based on an ionic liquid assisted hydrothermal process and their application in photocatalysis

Polycrystalline CdS hollow nanospheres with diameter of about 130 nm have been successfully synthesized in high yield by an ionic liquid (IL) assisted template-free hydrothermal method for the first time. Both the molar ratios of Cd/S precursor in the solution and the reaction temperature play important roles in the formation of the CdS hollow nanospheres. The concentrations of capping agent hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) are also crucial for the morphology and size of the final product. IL was found to be a key component in the formation of CdS hollow structures, because solid spheres were obtained in the absence of IL. A subsequent growth mechanism of hollow interior by localized Ostwald ripening process has been further discussed. Such hollow structures show high photocatalytic ability in the photodegradation of methylene blue.     

A low-temperature synthesis of ultraviolet-light-emitting ZnO nanotubes and tubular whiskers

We have successfully synthesized single-crystal ZnO nanotubes and tubular whiskers by employing Zn(NO₃)₂·6H₂O, NH₃·H₂O as the starting materials in the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG, M_w=2000) at ambient pressure and low temperature (70 °C). Characterizations are carried out by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM, HRTEM) and photoluminescence (PL) measurement. The results show that the as-prepared ZnO are tubular textures, which have average cross-sectional dimensions of 200-300 nm, lengths of 2-3.5 μm, and wall thickness of 80 nm. These tubular products demonstrate a sharp ultraviolet excitonic emission peak centered at 385 nm at room temperature. A possible growth mechanism and the influence of the reaction temperature on the formation of crystalline ZnO are presented.     

The synthesis of ZnS hollow nanospheres with nanoporous shell

ZnS hollow nanospheres with nanoporous shell were successfully synthesized through the evolvement of ZnO nanospheres which were synthesized by hydrothermal method with poly (sodium-p-styrene sulfonate) (PSS) as surfactant at low temperature. The as-synthesized samples were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), UV/vis spectrum and N₂ adsorption. The results showed that the shell of as-synthesized ZnS hollow structure was composed of many fine crystallites and had a nanoporous structure with pore diameter about 4 nm demonstrated by N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherm. The sample possessed efficiency of photocatalytic degradation on X-containing (X=Cl, Br, I) organic pollutants.     

Preparation, structure and ultraviolet photoluminescence of ZnO films by a novel chemical method

A novel and simple chemical method was developed for the deposition of ZnO films from aqueous solution, integrating the merits of successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction with the chemical bath deposition technology. By this new method, dense and continuous ZnO thin films with good crystallinity can be prepared in a very short time, e.g., in about 20 min. Results show that as-deposited ZnO films on glass and Si (1 0 0) exhibit hexagonal wurtzite crystalline structure and the preferential orientation along (0 0 2) plane. With a dense and continuous appearance, the film is composed of ZnO particles in even size of 200-300 nm. The strong and sharp emission at 391 nm and several weak emissions at the wavelength band of 440-500 nm indicate the high optical quality and the stoichiometrical nature of obtained film. Mechanism analysis shows that the reaction duration in hot water and the drying process are vital important factors affecting the deposition process and the crystallization behavior of the film prepared via the aqueous solution route.     

Synthesis of SiO2/Y2O3:Eu core-shell materials and hollow spheres

The SiO₂/Y₂O₃:Eu core-shell materials and hollow spheres were first synthesized by a template-mediated method. X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that the broadened diffraction peaks result from nanocrystals of Y₂O₃:Eu shells and hollow spheres. X-ray photoelectron spectra showed that the Y₂O₃:Eu shells are linked with silica cores by Si-O-Y chemical bond. SEM and TEM observations showed that the size of SiO₂/Y₂O₃:Eu core-shell structure is in the range of 140-180 nm, and the thickness of Y₂O₃:Eu hollow spherical shell is about 20-40 nm. The photoluminescence spectra of SiO₂/Y₂O₃:Eu core-shell materials and Y₂O₃:Eu hollow spheres have better red luminescent properties, and the broadened emission bands came from the size effects of nanocrystals composed of Y₂O₃:Eu shell.     

Microwave plasma growth and high spatial resolution cathodoluminescent spectrum of tetrapod ZnO nanostructures

A novel microwave plasma assisted by tube furnace heating system is designed to grow tetrapod ZnO nanostructures. Under optimal reaction conditions, Zn powder is oxidated to form the tetrapod ZnO with straight and uniform four legs (nanorods), bearing diameters ranging from 10 to 25 nm and lengths up to 160 nm. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analyses reveals that the tetrapod ZnO nanostructures are perfect crystalloid. High spatial resolution cathodoluminescent spectrum for individual tetrapod ZnO nanostructure shows only a strong ultraviolet emission at 385 nm.