TEM-induced structural evolution in amorphous Fe oxide nanoparticles

Exposure to the high energy electron beam of a TEM changes the morphology of amorphous Fe oxide nanoparticles from solid spheres to hollow shells. Amorphous Fe oxide nanoparticles prepared via high-temperature methods using hexadecylamine and trioctylphosphine oxide surfactants were compared to crystalline gamma-Fe2O3 particles of similar size. Both sets of particles are fully characterized via SQUID magnetometry, X-ray powder diffraction, BET surface analysis, EPR spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Time-resolved TEM images reveal that the amorphous Fe oxide particles evolve from solid spheres into hollow shells in <2 min, whereas crystalline gamma-Fe2O3 are unaffected by the electron beam. The resulting nanocrystalline Fe oxide shells bear striking resemblance to core-shell nanocrystals, but are a result of a morphology change attributed to restructuring of particle voids and defects induced by quasi-melting in the TEM. These results thus imply that caution is necessary when using TEM to analyze nanoparticle core-shell and heterostructured nanoparticles.     

苯胺与吡咯共聚物空心球的自组装制备及性能

以碱性溶液为反应介质,苯胺和吡咯为单体,采用稀释聚合法制备苯胺-吡咯共聚物自组装空心微球.研究了搅拌条件、共聚单体摩尔比、聚合反应介质和聚合时间对共聚物形貌的影响.采用扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜、红外光谱、广角X射线衍射、热重分析仪和四探针技术表征了共聚物的形貌、结构和性能.研究结果表明,聚合反应条件对共聚物的形貌有重大影响,通过调整聚合反应条件,可以实现共聚物形貌的有效调控.共聚单体总摩尔浓度为0.05 mol/L,氨水溶液作为反应介质,在静态条件下反应24 h可以得到尺寸均一、平均外直径为610～863 nm,壳厚144～162 nm的自组装共聚物空心微球.同时,研究了共聚物对银离子的吸附性能,结果表明共聚物对银离子有还原作用,吸附后共聚物表面有纳米银的生成.     

Structure of the monoclinic-form misfit-layer compound, (Ca0.85OH)2alpha CoO2 (alpha approximately 0.57822)

The incommensurate modulated crystal structure of the new misfit-layer calcium cobalt oxide (Ca0.85OH)2alphaCoO2 was investigated using a superspace-group formalism with synchrotron X-ray diffraction data. The compound is a kind of composite crystal that consists of two interpenetrating subsystems, [CoO2]infinity layers containing triangular lattices formed by edge-sharing CoO6 octahedra, separated from each other by [2Ca0.85OH]infinity double-layered rock-salt-type slabs. Both the subsystems are monoclinic lattices with the unit cell parameters, a1 = 2.8180(4) A, b = 4.8938(6) A, c = 8.810(1) A, alpha0 = 95.75(3) degrees , and alpha(=|q|=a1/a2) = 0.57822(8), viz., a2 = 4.8736 A, with Z = 2. A possible superspace group is C2/m(alpha10)s0-C21/m(alpha(-1)10) for the respective subsystems. The atomic positions deviate from the average positions of the fundamental structure due to the incommensurable periodic interaction between the subsystems. A significant structural modulation was found in the [2Ca0.85OH] subsystem, whereas the modulation in the [CoO2] subsystem is less than in [2Ca0.85OH], due to the tight bonding of the close-packed CoO6 octahedra. The degree of modulation in the CoO2 layers, i.e., the potential modulation, is almost the same as those of other compounds of the misfit-layer cobalt oxides. Flattened CoO6 octahedra indicate hole doping into the CoO2 layers. The [2Ca0.85OH] blocks act as the charge reservoir layers, and the defect Ca ions are presumably the source of the holes.     

Metastable solid solutions in the system ZnOCoO: synthesis by hydrolysis in polyol medium and study of the morphological characteristics

Metastable solid solutions in the system ZnOCoO have been synthesized by hydrolysis of ionic zinc and/or cobalt salts in polyol medium. The solubility of Co in the zincite oxide was significantly increased (at.% Co=65) compared to that obtained under thermodynamical equilibrium (at.% Co=6.5 at 800°C). CoO was also obtained via this route. The products are made up of sub-micrometer particles. A detailed study of their morphology along with pure ZnO particle morphology was conducted. Different growth mechanisms are evidenced.     

Topochemical synthesis of cobalt oxide-based porous nanostructures for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

Two kinds of topochemical conversion routes from cobalt hydroxide precursors to cobalt oxide-based porous nanostructures are presented: pyrolysis in air and hydrothermal treatment by the Kirkendall diffusion effect. These cobalt hydroxide precursors were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal approach with sodium acetate as mineralizer at 200 °C. Detailed proof indicates that the process of cobalt hydroxide precursor growth is dominated by a nucleation, dissolution, renucleation, growth, and exfoliation mechanism. By the topochemical conversion processes several Co(3)O(4) nanostructures, such as cobalt oxide-coated cobalt hydroxide carbonate nanowires, cobalt oxide nanotubes, hollow cobalt oxide spheres, and porous cobalt oxide nanowires, have been synthesized. The obtained Co(3)O(4) nanostructures have also been evaluated as the anode materials in lithium-ion batteries. It was found that the as-prepared Co(3)O(4) nanostructures exhibited high reversible capacity and good cycle performance due to their porous structure and small size.     

PVP-assisted synthesis of porous CoO prisms with enhanced electrocatalytic oxygen evolution properties

Hollow metal oxide materials with nanometer-to-micrometer dimensions have attracted tremendous attention because of their potential applications in energy conversion and storage systems. Numerous efforts have been focused on developing versatile methods for the rational synthesis of various hollow structures to act as efficient water oxidation catalysts. In this work, a unique porous and hollow CoO tetragonal prism-like structure has been successfully synthesized via a facile and efficient co-precipitation method with polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP K30) followed by a heating treatment of the resulted precipitates.The as-prepared porous and hollow CoO microprisms displayed a high activity and stability for water oxidation in 1.0 M KOH solution. To reach a current density of 10 m A/cm~2, a low overpotential of 280 m V is required. The remarkable activity can be attributed to the synergistic effect between two different but well-distributed CoO crystalline phases, uniform particle size, ameliorative crystallinity, high surface area and the low mass transfer resistance benefitted from the unique porous structure.     

Use of carbonaceous polysaccharide microspheres as templates for fabricating metal oxide hollow spheres

A general method for the synthesis of metal oxide hollow spheres has been developed by using carbonaceous polysaccharide microspheres prepared from saccharide solution as templates. Hollow spheres of a series of metal oxides (SnO2, Al2O3, Ga2O3, CoO, NiO, Mn3O4, Cr2O3, La2O3, Y2O3, Lu2O3, CeO2, TiO2, and ZrO2) have been prepared in this way. The method involves the initial absorption of metal ions from solution into the functional surface layer of carbonaceous saccharide microspheres; these are then densified and cross-linked in a subsequent calcination and oxidation procedure to form metal oxide hollow spheres. Metal salts are used as starting materials, which widens the accessible field of metal oxide hollow spheres. The carbonaceous colloids used as templates have integral and uniform surface functional layers, which makes surface modification unnecessary and ensures homogeneity of the shell. Macroporous films or cheese-like nanostructures of oxides can also be prepared by slightly modified procedures. XRD, TEM, HRTEM, and SAED have been used to characterize the structures. In a preliminary study on the gas sensitivity of SnO2 hollow spheres, considerably reduced "recovery times" were noted, exemplifying the distinct properties imparted by the hollow structure. These hollow or porous nanostructures have the potential for diverse applications, such as in gas sensitivity or catalysis, or as advanced ceramic materials.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of a new heterobimetallic coordination complex of barium and cobalt for use as a precursor for chemical vapor deposition

Ba(dmae)2 (dmaeH=N,N-dimethylaminoethanol, C4H11NO) reacts with Co(acac)2 (acac=2,4-pentanedionate) to produce the trinuclear coordination complex [Ba2Co(acac)4(dmae)3(dmaeH)] in an 85% yield. Spectroscopic and single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments indicate that the complex possesses a structure in which two barium atoms and a cobalt atom are bridged by acac and dmae groups. The barium centers are eight and nine coordinate with BaO7N and BaO7N2 coordination spheres while the cobalt is a more regular CoO5N octahedron. This 2:1 heterobimetallic molecular complex was investigated as precursor for the deposition of thin film by AACVD. The film was characterized by SEM and XRD. TGA shows that the complex starts thermal decomposition upon heating in nitrogen atmosphere at 105 degrees C to produce barium cobalt oxide material of a Ba2CoO3 composition with an orthorhombic structure. The synthetic approach detailed here represents a unique route to the formation of a heterobimetallic barium cobalt coordination complex.     

Preparation and Characterization of Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O Hollow Spheres from NazV6O16·3HzO Nanobelts

Monoclinic Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O(copper polyvanadate) hollow spheres were prepared with Na2V6O16·3H2O nanobelts as V-precursor by hydrothermal method.The purity and structure of the products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction(XRD),Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy,Raman spectroscopy,thermogravimetric analysis(TGA) and X-ray photoelecton spectroscopy(XPS).The morphology and size were observed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM).We found that the Kagomé staircase-structural copper polyvanadate hollow spheres with an average diameter of 7 μm could be easily synthesized via the reaction of Na2V6O16·3H2O nanobelts with sufficient copper sulfate.The dielectric property of the copper polyvanadate demonstrates that dielectric loss hardly changes when the frequency of applied electric field is higher than 100 kHz.The formation process of the hollow spheres is discussed in detail by the observation of a series of products prepared for different reaction time.     

Easy method for preparing nanocrystalline CdS hollow spheres using miniemulsion droplets as templates

CdS hollow spheres with well-controlled morphology and uniform size were successfully prepared using a miniemulsion technique, in which miniemulsion droplets of isooctane prepared with dodecylmercaptane as a co-stabilizer were employed as templates. The SH groups of dodecylmercaptane generated S(-) ions under alkaline conditions, and further reacted with Cd(2+) ions to form cadmium thiolate around the droplets. The cadmium thiolate then reacted with S(2-) ions, stemming from Na(2)S9H(2)O, to directly form CdS hollow spheres owing to the evaporation of isooctane during the reaction and/or the subsequent drying process. No additional dissolution, calcination or additional surface modification of the templates was needed. The size of the hollow spheres could be tuned by altering the molar ratio of the anionic and non-ionic surfactants, while their shell thickness could be adjusted by changing the amount of co-stabilizer.     

InOOH hollow spheres synthesized by a simple hydrothermal reaction

Novel micrometer-sized indium oxyhydroxide (InOOH) hollow spheres were successfully synthesized via a citric acid (CA) assisted hydrothermal process. The morphology, crystal structure, and optical properties of the product were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The optical band gap, E(g), was estimated to be 3.5 eV from the DRS spectrum, which is almost equal to that of indium oxide. Furthermore, on the basis of a series of SEM observations, phenomenological elucidation of a mechanism for the growth of the InOOH hollow spheres has been presented; key factors for the formation of the structures have been proposed.     

多孔氧化铜空心微球的一步法制备及其光催化性能

采用一步法成功制备出多孔氧化铜空心微球,用SEM、XRD和FTIR对制得的样品进行了表征。研究发现,碳源、反应温度、反应时间、CuSO4浓度等实验条件在多孔微球的制备过程中起着重要作用。在实验结果的基础上,提出了多孔氧化铜空心微球的形成机理。制备的多孔氧化铜空心微球的比表面积为409 m2.g-1,平均孔径为3.15 nm,总孔体积为0.256 cm3.g-1,这种空心微球具有量子尺寸效应并对罗丹明B有较高的光催化性能。     

Single step synthesis of high-purity CoO nanocrystals

Both octahedral and slice-shaped cubic cobalt monoxide (CoO) nanocrystals with narrow size distributions have been successfully synthesized by a simple solvothermal route. It was found that conditions of the solvothermal treatment showed obvious effects on the formation and purity of the as-synthesized CoO nanocrystals, only when cobalt acetate was used as the cobalt source and when temperature reached 190 degrees C could CoO be produced; also, freeze-drying was necessary for obtaining pure CoO. Size of the CoO nanocrystals varied from 30 to 130 nm. Morphology of the products could be controlled by simply changing the type of surfactant in solvent, and the octahedral CoO nanocrystals showed rounded turns. Purity of the products was detected by intensive X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) investigation and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) combined with differential scanning calorimetry/thermal gravity (DSC/TG). The results indicated an absence of unexpected trivalence cobalt series on surface of the samples, thanks to the protection of the surface by trace amount of carbonate ions, adsorbed hydroxylation, and surfactant with a maximum thickness of 2 nm, which were proved by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The as-synthesized CoO nanoparticles were added into positive electrode of Ni/MH batteries, and discharge/charge cycling tests were performed under different rates from 0.1C to 5.0C. The results indicated that the specific capacities of batteries with addition of 5% octahedral or slice CoO nanocrystals at 0.1C were 393.3 and 318.1 mAh/g, respectively, which were higher than that without CoO (269.2mAh/g). Specific capacity of battery with addition of 5% octahedral CoO nanocrystals was 40% higher than that without CoO at 5.0C. Octahedral CoO nanocrystals show better electrochemical activity than slice CoO and indicate interesting potential in the field of electrochemical application.     

Metal oxide and sulfide hollow spheres: layer-by-layer synthesis and their application in lithium-ion battery

A novel layer-by-layer approach has been developed to synthesize polycrystalline SnO(2) hollow spheres with tunable shell thickness and size using SiO(2) spheres as a template. The surface of the SiO(2) spheres has been first modified by the polyelectrolyte, and subsequently, the compact SnO(2) layer has deposited on the surface of the SiO(2) spheres through a redox reaction because of the electrostatic attraction between the charged species. After HF etching treatment, the uniform SnO(2) hollow spheres have been obtained. The approach presented herein has been extended to synthesize other metal oxide and sulfide hollow spheres such as In(2)O(3) and ZnS. Moreover, the as-synthesized SnO(2) hollow spheres have been applied in lithium-ion battery and show improved performance compared with SnO(2) nanoparticles. The high surface area and stable hollow structure of the SnO(2) hollow spheres may be responsible for the improved performance.     

Novel sol–gel synthesis of N-doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> hollow spheres with high photocatalytic activity under visible light

Novel ammonia and triethanolamine assisted sol–gel synthesis method was developed to fabricate the N-doped TiO₂ hollow spheres. The prepared hollow spheres were in submicron size and had good morphology and high specific surface area. Polystyrene (PS) latexes in size of 470 nm were used as the templates to fabricate PS/TiO₂ core–shell spheres. Here ammonia and triethanolamine was first employed together to control the sol–gel process. The N-doped TiO₂ hollow spheres were got after calcinations of the core–shell spheres by using triethanolamine as N source, and the amount of doped N could be easily adjusted by changing the amount of triethanolamine. The hollow spheres had distinct visible light response, and the optical response shifted more to the visible region as the amount of doped N increases. The photodegradation of methylene blue expressed the high photocatalytic activity of the N-doped TiO₂ hollow spheres under visible light.     

壳壁上具有介孔的Si/Al复合氧化物中空微球的制备

近年来,由于中空的球形材料具有良好的表面渗透性、低密度和高比表面积等性质而受到人们的普遍关注,在无机中空球的制备过程中,所采用的方法大多为模板法,合成的无机中空球主要以SiO2、金属氧化物(如TiO2和SnO2等)及金属(金、银、钯和镍等)为主,而有关二元复合氧化物中空球合成的研究报道较少,制备球壳上具有介孔的中空球已有报道,但是,其得到的介孔常常不均一,因此,将中空球形材料、复合氧化物和均一介孔有效地结合起来将是非常有意义一项工作。     

Optical and gas sensing properties of mesoporous hollow ZnO microspheres fabricated via a solvothermal method

Mesoporous,hollow Zn O microspheres were synthesized via a hydrothermal method,using glycerol and zinc acetate as the starting materials.XRD and FESEM analysis showed that the surface morphology of the spheres with a Wurtzite structure could be reasonably adjusted by varying the weight ratio(Rw) of Zn(CH3COO)2 2H2O:H2O:C3H8O3.The responses of the gas sensor based on the spheres to 100 ppm ethanol and 100 ppm acetone are 18.9 and 10.4,respectively.The response and recovery times of the sensor to ethanol and acetone are 2 s and 3 s,3 s and 5 s,respectively.The hollow spheres show an intense UV emission at 392 nm and a broad blue-green emission at 488 nm.Interestingly,a light trapping phenomenon is revealed by UV emission and scattering measurements on the microspheres,which can be attributed to the mesoporous shell and hollow structure of the microsphere.     

Pickering emulsion polymerization of graphene oxide-stabilized styrene

Polystyrene (PS) particles were prepared via Pickering emulsion polymerization using graphene oxide (GO) as the stabilizer. The results show that pH is an important factor in the stability of Pickering emulsions. The effects of two different phase initiators, the water phase initiator potassium persulfate and the oil phase initiator azobisisobutyronitrile, on the morphology of PS particles in Pickering emulsion polymerization had been investigated in detail. Wrinkled particles were prepared using the water phase initiator, and spherical particles were prepared using the oil phase initiator. In addition, hexadecane was used as the auxiliary stabilizer in the polymerization, which narrowed the diameter distribution of the PS spheres, and the hollow PS spheres were fabricated. The size of the GO particles also influenced the final morphology of the particles. Nano-sized polymer particles were grafted onto the surface of micro-sized GO. Small GO particles were suitable for Pickering emulsion polymerization to prepare the composite particles. The thermogravimetric analysis of the prepared particles confirmed that they were PS/GO composite particles, which could have a wide range of potential applications, such as in catalysts, sensors, environmental remediation, and energy storage.     

中空TiO_2微球的制备及对聚丙烯酸酯薄膜性能的影响

采用阳离子聚苯乙烯微球作为模板,钛酸四丁酯为钛源,氨水为催化剂,制备了中空TiO_2微球.采用X射线衍射、扫描电镜及比表面测定仪对其形貌和结构进行了表征,并考察了模板粒径、钛源用量以及催化剂用量对中空TiO_2微球形貌的影响.通过物理共混法将其引入至聚丙烯酸酯乳液中并成膜,研究了复合薄膜的保温性能、抗紫外性能及力学性能.结果表明,锐钛矿相中空TiO_2微球模板粒径、钛源用量以及催化剂用量影响中空TiO_2微球的空心尺寸、壁厚及壳层致密性.中空TiO_2微球可显著提升聚丙烯酸酯薄膜的保温性能、抗紫外性能和力学性能.采用不同粒径的模板制备的中空TiO_2微球对复合薄膜的各项性能均有影响,其中模板粒径为140 nm时复合薄膜性能最优,光反射率提升63%,导热系数降低27%,且在波长小于360 nm范围内,紫外透过率几乎为0,抗张强度增加100%,断裂伸长率提升62%.     

Low‐Temperature Facile Template Synthesis of Crystalline Inorganic Composite Hollow Spheres

This report presents a facile approach for the low‐temperature synthesis of crystalline inorganic‐oxide composite hollow spheres by employing the bulk controlled synthesis of inorganic‐oxide nanocrystals with polymer spheres as templates. The sulfonated polystyrene gel layer can adsorb the target precursor and induce inorganic nanocrystals to grow on the template in situ. The crystalline phase and morphology of the composite shell is tunable. By simply adjusting the acidity of the titania sol, crystalline titania composite hollow spheres with tunable crystalline phases of anatase, rutile, or a mixture of both were achieved. The approach is general and has been extended to synthesize the representative perovskite oxide (barium and strontium titanate) composite hollow spheres. The traditional thermal treatment for crystallite transformation is not required, thus intact shells can be guaranteed. The combination of oxide properties such as high refractive index, high dielectric constant, and catalytic ability with the cavity of the hollow spheres is promising for applications such as opacifiers, photonic crystals, high‐κ‐gate dielectrics, and photocatalysis.