Synthesis of multi-wall carbon nanotubes by the pyrolysis of ethanol on Fe/MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieves

Ordered hexagonal arrangement MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieves were synthesized by the traditional hydrothermal method, and Fe-loaded MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieves (Fe/MCM-41) were prepared by the wet impregnation method. Their mesoporous structures were testified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the N₂ physical adsorption technique. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method via the pyrolysis of ethanol at atmospheric pressure using Fe/MCM-41 as a catalytic template. The effect of different reaction temperatures ranging from 600 to 800 ^°C on the formation of CNTs was investigated. The resulting carbon materials were characterized by various physicochemical techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with an internal diameter of ca. 7.7 nm and an external diameter of ca. 16.9 nm were successfully obtained by the pyrolysis of ethanol at 800 ^°C utilizing Fe/MCM-41 as a catalytic template.     

Characterization of mesoporous VOx/MCM-41 composite materials obtained via post-synthesis impregnation

Spherical-particle MCM-41 was synthesized at room temperature, and, then, impregnated with aqueous solutions of NH₄VO₃ to produce variously loaded VO_x/MCM-41 composite materials. Bulk and surface properties of the materials thus produced were characterized by means of X-ray powder diffractometry (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), N₂ sorptiometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results obtained indicated that subsequent calcination at 550 °C (for 2 h) of the blank and impregnated MCM-41 particles, results in materials assuming the same bulk structure of MCM-41, and exposing uniformly mesporous, high area surfaces (P_w = 2.0-2.3 nm; 974-829 m²/g), except for the material obtained at 20 wt%-V₂O₅ that was shown to suffer a considerable loss on surface area (down to 503 m²/g). XPS results implied that the immobilization of the VO_x species occurs via interaction with surface OH/H₂O groups of MCM-41, leading to the formation of vanadate (VO₃⁻) surface species, as well as minor V-O-Si and V₂O₅-like species. However, in all cases, the vanadium sites remained pentavalent and exposed on the surface.     

Effects of NiTiO3 nanoparticles supported by mesoporous MCM-41 on photoreduction of methylene blue under UV and visible light irradiation

In this work, we report the synthesis of nickel titanate nanoparticles loaded on nanomesoporous MCM-41 nanoparticles to determine the effect of MCM-41 nanoparticles on the photocatalytic activities of nickel titanate (NiTiO₃) nanoparticles by using simple solid-state dispersion (SSD) method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) analysis were used to characterize the size and morphology of the obtained nanocomposite. The photocatalytic activity (PA) of the as-prepared NiTiO₃ loaded on MCM-41 was evaluated by degradation of the methylene blue under irradiation of UV and visible light. The results showed that NiTiO₃ loaded on nanosize MCM-41 has higher photocatalytic activity than that of NiTiO₃ nanoparticles.     

MCM-41负载磷钨酸的制备与表征

以十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(CTAB)为表面活性剂,以正硅酸乙酯(TEOS)为硅源,采用水热合成法制备了介孔分子筛MCM-41,并利用浸渍法将磷钨酸(HPW)负载在MCM-41分子筛上,得到HPW/MCM-41催化剂f采用X射线衍射、傅里叶变换红外光谱、透射电镜等手段对负载型催化剂进行了表征.结果表明,磷钨酸负载到MCM-...     

Optical properties of (nanometer MCM-41)-(malachite green) composite materials

Nanosized materials loaded with organic dyes are of interest with respect to novel optical applications. The optical properties of malachite green (MG) in MCM-41 are considerably influenced by the limited nanoporous channels of nanometer MCM-41. Nanometer MCM-41 was synthesized by tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the source of silica and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) as the template. The liquid-phase grafting method has been employed for incorporation of the malachite green molecules into the channels of nanometer MCM-41. A comparative study has been carried out on the adsorption of the malachite green into modified MCM-41 and unmodified MCM-41. The modified MCM-41 was synthesized using a silylation reagent, trimethychlorosilane (TMSCl), which functionalized the surface of nanometer MCM-41 for proper host-guest interaction. The prepared (nanometer MCM-41)-MG samples have been studied by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption-desorption technique at 77 K, Raman spectra and luminescence studies. In the prepared (nanometer MCM-41)-MG composite materials, the frameworks of the host molecular sieve were kept intact and the MG located inside the pores of MCM-41. Compared with the MG, it is found that the prepared composite materials perform a considerable luminescence. The excitation and emission spectra of MG in both modified MCM-41 and unmodified MCM-41 were examined to explore the structural effects on the optical properties of MG. The results of luminescence spectra indicated that the MG molecules existed in monomer form within MCM-41. However, the luminescent intensity of MG incorporated in the modified MCM-41 are higher than that of MG encapsulated in unmodified MCM-41, which may be due to the anchored methyl groups on the channels of the nanometer MCM-41 and the strong host-guest interactions. The steric effect from the pore size of the host materials is significant. Raman spectra firmly demonstrated the stable form obtained after the MG incorporation into the nanometer MCM-41. Therefore, nanometer MCM-41 appears to have a good potential for its use as a support for dyes and the (nanometer MCM-41)-MG composite materials may give a wide optical application.     

Comparative studies of p6m siliceous mesostructures by powder X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption

Two-dimensional mesostructures with p6m symmetry such as MCM-41 and SBA-15 are the subject of intensive studies by using nitrogen and argon adsorption, transmission electron microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction/scattering techniques. The latter may involve the X-ray diffraction (XRD) or small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements. The XRD/SAXS patterns for the aforementioned ordered mesostructures often exhibit four or more reflections, the most intensive one, 1 0 0 peak, and three less intensive peaks, 1 1 0, 2 0 0, 2 1 0. So far, analysis of these patterns was usually limited for the evaluation of the unit cell parameter and the identification of the observed peaks. In this work we present an attempt to analyze the XRD/SAXS patterns by including not only the position of observed peaks but also their intensity. It is shown that the intensity of these peaks, especially 1 1 0 peak, depends on the ratio of the pore diameter to the unit cell parameter. In particular, this dependence was studied for the intensity ratio of 1 1 0 and 2 0 0 peaks assuming 2 0 0 peak as a reference reflection because of its nearness to 1 1 0 peak (which minimizes the influence of other factors than the structural ones on the 1 1 0/2 0 0 intensity ratio analysis) and similar intensity to that of 1 1 0 peak. The values of the 1 1 0/2 0 0 intensity ratio were determined for many MCM-41 and SBA-15 samples and analyzed in relation to the pore width/unit cell ratio, where the pore width was estimated on the basis of nitrogen adsorption data or by the XRD/SAXS structure modeling. Comparative analysis of this intensity ratio for numerous MCM-41 and SBA-15 samples allows for a quick estimation of the pore width and provides some information about hexagonality of mesopores in these materials.     

Synthesis and characterization of a hexagonal mesoporous silica with enhanced thermal and hydrothermal stabilities

A synthetic route was developed for a novel hexagonal mesoporous silica that has remarkably wide channel diameters and thick walls. The procedure involved the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of tetraethylorthosilicate in a water/ethanol/isopropoanol solvent mixture while employing 1-hexadecylamine as a templating agent and mesitylene as an auxiliary agent. After removal of the template by either extraction with ethanolic hydrochloric acid or by calcination at 550 °C, the resulting mesoporous materials had surface areas of 1283 and 1211 m²/g. The channel diameters were found to be 47.2-51.1 Å, while the wall thicknesses were 20.9-21.1 Å. X-ray powder diffraction demonstrated that the novel mesoporous silica belonged to the MCM-41 structural family. Notably, they displayed higher thermal and hydrothermal stabilities, and have higher surface areas than conventionally prepared MCM-41 silica. The thickest channel walls (21.1 Å) can withstand calcination to nearly 850 °C with minimal structural damage. The calcined sample was more resistant to hydrothermal treatment in boiling water than was the solvent-extracted product but both materials showed minimal change after 25 h of hydrothermal treatment.     

Adsorptive removal and kinetics of methylene blue from aqueous solution using NiO/MCM-41 composite

Highly ordered mesoporous material MCM-41 was synthesized from tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as Si source and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as template. Well-dispersed NiO nanoparticles were introduced into the highly ordered mesoporous MCM-41 by chemical precipitation method to prepare the highly ordered mesoporous NiO/MCM-41 composite. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), and nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurement were used to examine the morphology and the microstructure of the obtained composite. The morphological study clearly revealed that the synthesized NiO/MCM-41 composite has a highly ordered mesoporous structure with a specific surface area of 435.9 m² g⁻¹. A possible formation mechanism is preliminary proposed for the formation of the nanostructure. The adsorption performance of NiO/MCM-41 composite as an adsorbent was further demonstrated in the removal azo dyes of methyl orange (MO), Congo red (CR), methylene blue (MB) and rhodaming B (RB) under visible light irradiation and dark, respectively. The kinetics and mechanism of removal methylene blue were studied. The results show that NiO/MCM-41 composite has a good removal capacity for organic pollutant MB from the wastewater under the room temperature. Compared with MCM-41 and NiO nanoparticles, 54.2% and 100% higher removal rate were obtained by the NiO/MCM-41 composite.     

超声波酸性体系下MCM-41的合成及表征

以十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(CTAB)为模板剂,正硅酸乙酯(TEOS)为硅源,以超声波为辅助手段于酸性介质中制备出了MCM-41介孔分子筛,采用XRD、TEM、FTIR等手段对样品进行了分析表征.结果表明,所合成样品具备MCM-41所特有的六方排列的一维孔道结构和较高的有序度,所合成的MCM-41平均粒径为11nm,孔径约为2.7nm.     

荧光光谱法研究左氧氟沙星与MCM-41的相互作用

采用微波辅助水热法制备介孔分子筛MCM-41,并用浸渍法将左氧氟沙星(LVFX)组装在MCM-41均一的六方形孔道中,制备出新型载药复合物LVFX/MCM-41。用粉末X射线衍射(XRD)、低温氮吸附、傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)及差热-热重(TGA-DTA)分析对MCM-41以及LVFX/ MCM-41复合物进行表征,合成的介孔分子筛MCM-41的孔径为2.382 nm,比表面积为1 015 m2·g-1。对MCM-41、LVFX/MCM-41、LVFX(固态)及LVFX(溶液)的荧光光谱研究结果显示,LVFX/MCM-41的荧光光谱比组装前发生明显红移,表明MCM-41孔道内表面的羟基和LVFX形成氢键,羟基上的电子云向LVFX分子上的吸电子基团转移;同时MCM-41和LVFX之间形成新环,使电子云能在更大的环上移动,药物分子的共轭体系扩大,荧光光谱峰红移。MCM-41与左氧氟沙星之间强的相互作用为研发以MCM-41为载体的新型释药系统提供了理论依据。     

Applicability of classical methods of pore size analysis for MCM-41 and SBA-15 silicas

Two most popular ordered mesoporous silicas, MCM-41 and SBA-15, exhibiting uniform mesopores of approximately cylindrical shapes, have been used as model adsorbents for verification, improvement and/or development of adsorption-based methods for characterization nanoporous materials. While the applicability of the classical methods for pore size analysis was widely examined by employing MCM-41 materials, the large-pore materials such as SBA-15 did not find adequate usage for this type of studies. The current work addresses the issue of applicability of classical methods such as Barrett-Joyner-Hallenda (BJH) and Broekhoff-de Boer (BdB) methods for pore size analysis of mesoporous silicas by using MCM-41 and SBA-15 materials as model adsorbents. In addition, the Kruk-Jaroniec-Sayari (KJS) method, which is based on the BJH algorithm and experimental relations for the pore width and statistical film thickness, is discussed too. While the MCM-41 materials cover the range of small mesopores (about 2-7 nm), the inclusion of SBA-15 materials allowed us to examine the range of the pore diameters up to about 12 nm. The high quality MCM-41 and SBA-15 samples are used to discuss the applicability and limitations of the aforementioned characterization methods and to propose some recommendations for pore size analysis of these materials.     

Effect of the thermal and hydrothermal treatment on textural properties of Zr-MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieve

Zr-containing mesoporous molecular sieves were synthesized by hydrothermal method using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide as a template and sodium silicate and zirconium sulfate as raw materials. The structure and morphology of the synthesized samples were characterized via various physicochemical methods, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (²⁹Si MAS-NMR) techniques, thermal gravimetric-differential scanning calorimeter (TG-DSC) and N₂ physical adsorption, respectively. The effect of the different initial ZrO₂:SiO₂ molar ratio, the different thermal treatment temperature and the different hydrothermal treatment time on textural property was investigated. The experimental results reveal that the as synthesized samples possess a typical mesoporous structure of MCM-41. On the other hand, the specific surface area and pore volume of the synthesized Zr-MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieve decrease with the increase of the amount of zirconium incorporated in the starting material, the rise of thermal treatment temperature and the prolonging of hydrothermal treatment time, the mesoporous ordering becomes poor. Also, when the molar ratio of ZrO₂:SiO₂ in the starting material is 0.1, the mesoporous structure of the Zr-MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieve still retains after calcination at 750 °C for 3 h or hydrothermal treatment at 100 °C for 6 d, and have specific surface areas of 423.9 and 563.9 m²/g, respectively.     

Stability and textural properties of cobalt incorporated MCM-48 mesoporous molecular sieve

Transition metal cobalt incorporated MCM-48 mesoporous molecular sieves (CoMCM-48) with different Co contents were synthesized hydrothermally at 120 °C for 24 h by directly adding fluoride ions to the initial gel. The resulting materials were characterized by means of XRD, TEM, FT-IR, UV-vis, TPR and N₂ physical adsorption, respectively. The effect of various factors, such as the Si/Co molar ratio, calcination temperature and hydrothermal treatment time, on the crystalline structure and textural properties of CoMCM-48 was investigated in detail. The results show that the CoMCM-48 mesoporous materials with high specific surface area were successfully synthesized. A small amount substitution of Co for Si in MCM-48 did not significantly change the textural properties while the higher cobalt incorporated leads to decrease of the surface area and deterioration of structural regularity. Furthermore, the resulting CoMCM-48 still retained the cubic mesoporous framework even after calcination at 800 °C for 4 h or hydrothermal treatment at 100 °C for 24 h.     

Characterization and catalytic performance of pure and Li2O-doped CuO/CeO2 catalysts

Pure and Li₂O-doped CuO/CeO₂ catalysts calcined at 500 °C were prepared by impregnation method. The catalysts are characterized by DTA, TG-DTG, XRD, IR, TEM, nitrogen adsorption at −196 °C and the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide at 30 °C.The effects of molar ratio, heat treatment time and the doping on the structural, surface and catalytic properties of nanocrystalline Cu/Ce-mixed oxides system have been studied. It was found that the catalytic activity of ceria-supported copper oxide catalysts increased by increasing both the heat treatment time and dopant content. However, the pure Cu/Ce-mixed oxide solids containing 10 wt.% CuO exhibited the best performance. The characterization results indicated that the higher surface area, the formation of solid solution between copper and cerium oxides, and the high dispersion of copper species on the ceria were responsible for the high catalytic activity of the CuO/CeO₂ catalysts.     

Ag2S nanoparticle encapsulated in mesoporous material nanoparticles and its application for photocatalytic degradation of dye in aqueous solution

Semiconductor loaded mesoporous materials in general possess greater photocatalytic activity than pure semiconductors. Hence, with an attempt to achieve higher photocatalytic activity, Ag₂S/MCM-41 photocatalysts were prepared by ion exchange method and used for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. The materials were characterized by different analytical techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and BET (Brunauer-Emmert-Teller) experiments. The effect of Ag₂S, MCM-41 support and different wt% of Ag₂S over the support on the photocatalytic degradation and influence of parameters such as Ag₂S loading, catalyst a mount, pH and initial concentration of dye on degradation are evaluated. The degradation reaction follows pseudo-first order kinetics. It was seen that 0.6 g/L of photocatalyst is an optimum value for the dosage of photocatalyst. The degradation efficiency was decreased in dye concentration above 3.2 ppm for dye.     

Preparation and Acid Catalytic Activity of TiO2 Grafted Silica MCM-41 with Sulfate Treatment

采用连续嫁接方法对纯硅MCM-41孔道表面分别进行一次和两次TiO2修饰,并进行了硫酸根促进,制备了具有规整介孔结构的硫酸根促进型复合金属氧化物ST/MCM-41和d-ST/MCM-41;同时制备了经一次钛修饰但未经硫酸根促进的样品T/MCM-41作为对比. 利用XRD、氮吸附-脱附、元素分析、拉曼光谱和红外光谱等表征手段,对所制样品的结构和表面酸性进行考察;利用假性紫罗兰酮环化这一典型的酸催化反应对其催化活性进行评价,并与工业应用的大孔磺酸树脂Amberlyst-15进行催化性能比较. 表征结果显示,纯     

Catalytic activity of Fe, Co and Fe-Co-MCM-41 for the growth of carbon nanotubes by chemical vapour deposition method

Iron, cobalt and a mixture of iron and cobalt incorporated mesoporous MCM-41 molecular sieves were synthesised by hydrothermal method and used to investigate the rules governing their nanotube producing activity. The catalysts were characterised by XRD and N₂ sorption studies. The effect of the catalysts has been investigated for the production of carbon nanotubes at an optimised temperature 750 °C with flow rate of N₂ and C₂H₂ is 140 and 60 ml/min, respectively for a reaction time 10 min. Fe-Co-MCM-41 catalyst was selective for carbon nanotubes with low amount of amorphous carbon with increase in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) yield at 750 °C. Formation of nanotubes was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscope and Raman spectrum was used to follow the quality and nature of carbon nanotubes formed and the graphitic layers and disordered band, which shows the clear evidence for the formation of SWNTs, respectively. The result propose that the diameter of the nanotubes in the range of 0.78-1.35 nm. Using our optimised conditions for this system, Fe-Co-MCM-41 showed the best results for selective SWNTs with high yield when compared with Fe-MCM-41 and Co-MCM-41.     

Pore size distribution calculation from H NMR signal and N2 adsorption–desorption techniques

The pore size distribution (PSD) of nano-material MCM-41 is determined using two different approaches: N₂ adsorption–desorption and ¹H NMR signal of water confined in silica nano-pores of MCM-41. The first approach is based on the recently modified Kelvin equation [J.V. Rocha, D. Barrera, K. Sapag, Top. Catal. 54(2011) 121–134] which deals with the known underestimation in pore size distribution for the mesoporous materials such as MCM-41 by introducing a correction factor to the classical Kelvin equation. The second method employs the Gibbs–Thompson equation, using NMR, for melting point depression of liquid in confined geometries. The result shows that both approaches give similar pore size distribution to some extent, and also the NMR technique can be considered as an alternative direct method to obtain quantitative results especially for mesoporous materials. The pore diameter estimated for the nano-material used in this study was about 35 and 38 Å for the modified Kelvin and NMR methods respectively. A comparison between these methods and the classical Kelvin equation is also presented.     

Synthesis and characterization of ionic liquid-functionalized alumino-silicate MCM-41 hybrid mesoporous materials

Ionic liquid-functionalized alumino-silicate MCM-41 hybrid mesoporous materials have been synthesized with two-step approach, by means of in situ skeleton doping with aluminium and post surface grafting with N-methylimidazole ionic liquid groups. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), N₂ adsorption-desorption, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, ²⁷Al and ¹³C MAS NMR spectra and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of NH₃. The results indicated that the bifunctionalized MCM-41 possessed ordered mesostructure. Aluminium was efficiently introduced into the framework of the mesostructure, generating Lewis and Brönsted acid sites. N-methylimidazole ionic liquid groups were covalently grafted onto the surface of mesoporous materials. The as-synthesized bifunctional MCM-41 showed good catalytic performance in the coupling reaction of CO₂ and propylene oxide.     

Microstructural and surface property variations due to the amorphous region formed by thermal annealing in Al-doped ZnO thin films grown on n-Si (1 0 0) substrates

X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed that the as-grown and annealed Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films grown on the n-Si (1 0 0) substrates were polycrystalline. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that bright-contrast regions existed in the grain boundary, and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) images showed that the bright-contrast regions with an amorphous phase were embedded in the ZnO grains. While the surface roughness of the AZO film annealed at 800 °C became smoother, those of the AZO films annealed at 900 and 1000 °C became rougher. XRD patterns, TEM images, selected-area electron diffraction patterns, HRTEM images, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images showed that the crystallinity in the AZO thin films grown on the n-Si (1 0 0) substrates was enhanced resulting from the release in the strain energy for the AZO thin films due to thermal annealing at 800 °C. XRD patterns and AFM images show that the crystallinity of the AZO thin films annealed at 1000 °C deteriorated due to the formation of the amorphous phase in the ZnO thin films.