Micro gratings written in ZnO:Al thin films using picosecond UV‐laser interference patterning

Diffraction micro gratings have been written in ZnO:Al thin films using a picosecond laser operating at 355 nm. Micro gratings of 20 µm diameter with a period of 860 nm show a groove depth up to 120 nm. The total transmittance of square‐centimeter‐size grating‐textured ZnO:Al films was almost unchanged after grating formation, while the sheet resistance increased moderately. The textured films reached haze values of 9% at 700 nm. This simple texturing method can be applied also to ZnO:Al films that cannot be texture etched.

     

Effect of aluminum on the nature of the iron species in Fe-SBA-15

We report the preparation of highly ordered mesoporous Fe-Al-SBA-15 with isolated extraframework Fe species under acidic conditions. The materials were characterized by means of UV resonance Raman spectroscopy, in conjunction with BET, XRD, TEM, UV-vis, H2-TPR, FT-IR, and 27Al MAS NMR spectroscopy. The addition of both Fe and Al to the synthesis gel of SBA-15 results in the formation of isolated extraframework Fe species located close to the framework Al ions and the Fe content an order of magnitude higher than that in Fe-SBA-15 synthesized without Al. The existence of anchored extraframework Fe species was confirmed by the presence of a strong absorption band at 270 nm, hydrogen reduction at relatively low temperature, and the presence of a resonance Raman band at 1140 cm(-1). The location of Fe in close proximity to framework Al nuclei is further supported by 27Al MAS NMR measurements. Two characteristic UV Raman bands at 510 cm(-1) and 1090 cm(-1) excited by 244-nm laser are assigned to Fe-O-Si symmetric and asymmetric stretching modes of isolated tetrahedral Fe ions in the silica framework for Fe-SBA-15. The resonance Raman band at 1140 cm(-1) excited by 325-nm laser is attributed to the asymmetric stretching mode of the isolated extraframework iron species in Fe-Al-SBA-15. The isolated Fe species close to framework Al species are stable in acidic HCl solution, whereas the majority of Fe species in Fe-SBA-15 can be easily removed.     

Site regeneration in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction: a synchronized CO dissociation and C-C coupling pathway

A critical issue in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction is the blocking of the active sites for low barrier CO dissociation by the C(1) adsorbed species generated from CO dissociation, which can hinder the further steps in the FT process. Here, we propose a synchronized pathway for low barrier CO dissociation and C-C coupling on a corrugated Ru surface.     

An efficient hybrid, nanostructured, epoxidation catalyst: titanium silsesquioxane-polystyrene copolymer supported on SBA-15

A novel interfacial hybrid epoxidation catalyst was designed with a new immobilization method for homogeneous catalysts by coating an inorganic support with an organic polymer film containing active sites. The titanium silsesquioxane (TiPOSS) complex, which contains a single-site titanium active center, was immobilized successfully by in-situ copolymerization on a mesoporous SBA-15-supported polystyrene polymer. The resulting hybrid materials exhibit attractive textural properties (highly ordered mesostructure, large specific surface area (>380 m2 g-1) and pore volume (>or==0.46 cm3 g-1)), and high activity in the epoxidation of alkenes. In the epoxidation of cyclooctene with tert-butyl hydrogen peroxide (TBHP), the hybrid catalysts have rate constants comparable with that of their homogeneous counterpart, and can be recycled at least seven times. They can also catalyze the epoxidation of cyclooctene with aqueous H2O2 as the oxidant. In two-phase reaction media, the catalysts show much higher activity than their homogeneous counterpart due to the hydrophobic environment around the active centers. They behave as interfacial catalysts due to their multifunctionality, that is, the hydrophobicity of polystyrene and the polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS), and the hydrophilicity of the silica and the mesoporous structure. Combination of the immobilization of homogeneous catalysts on two conventional supports, inorganic solid and organic polymer, is demonstrated to achieve novel heterogeneous catalytic ensembles with the merits of attractive textural properties, tunable surface properties, and optimized environments around the active sites.