Underpotential Deposition‐Induced Synthesis of Composition‐Tunable Pt?Cu Nanocrystals and Their Catalytic Properties

Pt? Cu alloy octahedral nanocrystals (NCs) have been synthesized successfully by using N,N‐dimethylformamide as both the solvent and the reducing agent in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride. Cu underpotential deposition (UPD) is found to play a key role in the formation of the Pt? Cu alloy NCs. The composition in the Pt? Cu alloy can be tuned by adjusting the ratio of metal precursors in solution. However, the Cu content in the Pt? Cu alloy NCs cannot exceed 50 %. Due to the fact that Cu precursor cannot be reduced to metallic copper and the Cu content cannot exceed 50 %, we achieved the formation of the Pt? Cu alloy by using Cu UPD on the Pt surface. In addition, the catalytic activities of Pt? Cu alloy NCs with different composition were investigated in electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid. The results reveal that the catalytic performance is strongly dependent on Pt? Cu alloy composition. The sample of Pt₅₀Cu₅₀ exhibits excellent activity in electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid.     

Rapid,General Synthesis of PdPt Bimetallic Alloy Nanosponges and Their Enhanced Catalytic Performance for Ethanol/Methanol Electrooxidation in an Alkaline Medium

We have demonstrated a rapid and general strategy to synthesize novel three‐dimensional PdPt bimetallic alloy nanosponges in the absence of a capping agent. Significantly, the as‐prepared PdPt bimetallic alloy nanosponges exhibited greatly enhanced activity and stability towards ethanol/methanol electrooxidation in an alkaline medium, which demonstrates the potential of applying these PdPt bimetallic alloy nanosponges as effective electrocatalysts for direct alcohol fuel cells. In addition, this simple method has also been applied for the synthesis of AuPt, AuPd bimetallic, and AuPtPd trimetallic alloy nanosponges. The as‐synthesized three‐dimensional bimetallic/trimetallic alloy nanosponges, because of their convenient preparation, well‐defined sponge‐like network, large‐scale production, and high electrocatalytic performance for ethanol/methanol electrooxidation, may find promising potential applications in various fields, such as formic acid oxidation or oxygen reduction reactions, electrochemical sensors, and hydrogen‐gas sensors.     

Facile Self‐Assembly Synthesis of PdPt Bimetallic Nanotubes with Good Performance for Ethanol Oxidation in an Alkaline Medium

PdPt bimetallic nanotubes were prepared by the self‐assembly of Pt and Pd on Te nanowires at room temperature. The morphologies of the as‐prepared PdPt nanotubes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, and the results display a large amount of PdPt bimetallic nanotubes with a diameter of 10–20 nm and a length of several micrometers. The composition and structure of the nanotubes were characterized by X‐ray diffraction, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and energy spectrum analysis, and the results display uniform compositional distributions of both elements (Pd and Pt). The mechanism of the formation of the nanotube structure was supposed. The electrocatalytic performance of PdPt nanotubes were studied by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Electrochemical results show that the as‐prepared PdPt nanotube catalysts have not only high activity but also good stability for ethanol oxidation in alkaline medium.     

Cathode catalysts degradation mechanism from liquid electrolyte to membrane electrode assembly

Single-cell and half-cell degradation test procedures were evaluated for carbon-supported Pt/C, PtCo/C and PtNi/C catalysts. Half-cell analyses were employed to understand the effect of the number of cycles and of the scan rate over the cathode catalysts degradation under potential cycling from 0.6 to 1.2 V. The data suggested a time-dependent degradation for all three catalytic systems. Single-cell measurements were used to evaluate the impact of catalyst degradation on fuel cell performance. The measurements in both setups showed similar ECSA and ORR mass activity losses. Specific degradation mechanisms related to Pt dissolution, Pt agglomeration, and transitional metal leaching were quantified and correlated with performance losses.     

溶剂热合成可调控氧空位的Bi2MoO6纳米晶及其光催化氧化制喹啉和抗生素降解

近年来,半导体光催化在环境净化和有机合成领域的研究引起了广泛的重视.其中,在有机合成领域中,光催化技术已经应用在醇类、环己烷以及芳香族化合物的选择性氧化研究.而另一类具有特殊结构的有机物——N-杂环芳烃,在药物化学和材料科学中具有重要意义.而传统用于合成N-杂化芳烃的脱氢催化氧化反应通常需要高温高压的苛刻环境,传统方法通常还需要使用贵金属催化剂,这也增加了N-杂化芳烃的合成成本;另外,如果合成是均相催化过程,则催化剂难以实现回收利用.因此,开发室温常压条件下的非贵金属多相光催化技术具有巨大的应用前景.本文以能够被可见光驱动的钼酸铋半导体为催化剂,利用氧缺陷策略来提升钼酸铋的光催化氧化性能.不同于传统氧缺陷制备方法(氢气还原热处理、离子掺杂等),本文采用一种低成本的乙二醛辅助溶剂热的方法合成具有可调控的含氧空位Bi₂MoO₆催化剂(OVBMO).通过X射线粉末衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜、透射电镜、紫外可见漫反射吸收光谱、氮气物理吸附脱附、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、电子自旋共振光谱、光致发光光谱及电化学测试等技术对制备的OVBMO材料进行了物理化学性质及能带研究.XPS,XRD,Raman和FT-IR结果表明,氧空位存在于[Bi₂O₂]²⁺和MoO₆八面体的层间.紫外可见漫反射结果表明,随着氧空位的引入,Bi₂MoO₆的光吸收范围扩大,带隙变窄.结合莫特肖特基和VBXPS分析获得OVBMO的能带位置,发现氧空位的存在不仅会导致禁带中出现缺陷带能级,还会导致价带顶位置上移,促进光生空穴的迁移.PL和电化学结果表明,氧空位的存在使得载流子浓度、载流子的分离能力与界面电荷迁移能力都有较大提升,这是因为氧空位引入的缺陷能级可以浅势捕获电子,抑制光催化剂中的电子与空穴的复合,改变化学反应的速率.同时,氧空位有助于捕获分子氧,分子氧与捕获的光生电子发生反应,产生更多的超氧自由基(·O₂)和空穴(h⁺),从而极大地提升光催化剂的氧化性能.因此,OVBMO在1,2,3,4-四氢喹啉脱氢氧化产生喹啉及系列抗生素(环丙沙星、四环素、盐酸土霉素)的降解反应中,表现出较好的光催化氧化性能.结合多种表征分析,本文还进一步阐明了OVBMO催化剂将1,2,3,4-四氢喹啉脱氢氧化为喹啉的自由基参与的多相催化反应机理.     

Phosphorescent Bimetallic C^C* Platinum(ii) Complexes with Bridging Substituted Diphenylformamidinates

A series of phosphorescent bimetallic platinum(II) complexes is presented, which were synthesized by the combination of bidentate cyclometalated N-heterocyclic carbene ligands and different bridging diphenylformamidinates. The complexes were characterized by standard techniques and additionally two solid-state structures could be obtained. Photoluminescence measurements revealed the strong emissive behavior of the compounds with quantum yields of up to 90 % and emission lifetimes of approx. 2 μs. The effect of the substitution pattern in the bridging ligands on the structural and photophysical properties of the complexes was examined in detail and rationalized by density functional theory calculations (PBE0/6-311G*).     

Temperature and Composition Dependent Optical Properties of CdSe/CdS Dot/Rod-Based Aerogel Networks

Employing nanocrystals (NCs) as building blocks of porous aerogel network structures allows the conversion of NC materials into macroscopic solid structures while conserving their unique nanoscopic properties. Understanding the interplay of the network formation and its influence on these properties like size-dependent emission is a key to apply techniques for the fabrication of novel nanocrystal aerogels. In this work, CdSe/CdS dot/rod NCs possessing two different CdSe core sizes were synthesized and converted into porous aerogel network structures. Temperature-dependent steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements were performed to expand the understanding of the optical and electronic properties of these network structures generated from these two different building blocks and correlate their optical with the structural properties. These investigations reveal the influence of network formation and aerogel production on the network-forming nanocrystals. Based on the two investigated NC building blocks and their aerogel networks, mixed network structures with various ratios of the two building blocks were produced and likewise optically characterized. Since the different building blocks show diverse optical response, this technique presents a straightforward way to color-tune the resulting networks simply by choosing the building block ratio in connection with their quantum yield.     

Synthesis and Pyrolysis of Fullerenol-stabilized Pt Nanocolloids as a unique Approach to Pt-doped Carbon

An aqueous colloidal dispersion of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) stabilized by fullerenol C₆₀(OH)₁₂ (Pt:C₆₀(OH)₁₂) was successfully synthesized via liquid-phase chemical reduction. The subsequent pyrolysis of Pt:C₆₀(OH)₁₂ at different temperatures was conducted to afford Pt-doped carbon with different chemical compositions (Pt:C60ⁿ). X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and Infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy and thermogravimetric measurements revealed that the thus-prepared nanocomposite consists of Pt NPs and high valent Pt-C₆₀(OH)₁₂ complex. One distinct feature of C₆₀(OH)₁₂ matrix as catalyst support is the suppression of size growth of Pt NPs during the pyrolysis up to 300 °C. Electrochemical experiments using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) were performed to find that Pt:C60³⁰⁰ (pyrolyzed at 300 °C) exhibited higher activity than others, that was attributed to the π-extended feature of the as-obtained carbon.     

Driving Organic Nanocrystals Dissolution Through Electrochemistry

We have recently discussed how organic nanocrystal dissolution appears in different morphologies and the role of the solution pH in the crystal detriment process. We also highlighted the role of the local molecular chemistry in porphyrin nanocrystals having comparable structures: in water-based acid solutions, protonation of free-base porphyrin molecules is the driving force for crystal dissolution, whereas metal (Zn^II) porphyrin nanocrystals remain unperturbed. However, all porphyrin types, having an electron rich π-structure, can be electrochemically oxidized. In this scenario, a key question is: does electrochemistry represent a viable strategy to drive the dissolution of both free-base and metal porphyrin nanocrystals? In this work, by exploiting electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC-AFM), we monitor in situ and in real time the dissolution of both free-base and metal porphyrin nanocrystals, as soon as molecules reach the oxidation potential, showing different regimes according to the applied EC potential.     

On the Heterogeneous Nature of Cisplatin-1-Methyluracil Complexes: Coexistence of Different Aggregation Modes and Partial Loss of NH3 Ligands as Likely Explanation

The conversion of the 1 : 1-complex of Cisplatin with 1-methyluracil (1MeUH), cis-[Pt(NH₃)₂(1MeU-N3)Cl] ( 1 a ) to the aqua species cis-[Pt(NH₃)₂(1MeU-N3)(OH₂)]⁺ ( 1 b ), achieved by reaction of 1 a with AgNO₃ in water, affords a mixture of compounds, the composition of which strongly depends on sample history. The complexity stems from variations in condensation patterns and partial loss of NH₃ ligands. In dilute aqueous solution, 1 a , and dinuclear compounds cis-[(NH₃)₂(1MeU-N3)Pt(μ-OH)Pt(1MeU-N3)(NH₃)₂]⁺( 3 ) as well as head-tail cis-[Pt₂(NH₃)₄(μ-1MeU-N3,O4)₂]²⁺ ( 4 ) represent the major components. In addition, there are numerous other species present in minor quantities, which differ in metal nuclearity, stoichiometry, stereoisomerism, and Pt oxidation state, as revealed by a combination of ¹H NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopy. Their composition appears not to be the consequence of a unique and repeating coordination pattern of the 1MeU ligand in oligomers but rather the coexistence of distinctly different condensation patterns, which include μ-OH, μ-1MeU, and μ-NH₂ bridging and combinations thereof. Consequently, the products obtained should, in total, be defined as a heterogeneous mixture rather than a mixture of oligomers of different sizes. In addition, a N₂ complex, [Pt(NH₃)(1MeU)(N₂)]⁺ appears to be formed in gas phase during the ESI-MS experiment. In the presence of Na⁺ ions, multimers n of 1 a with n=2, 3, 4 are formed that represent analogues of non-metalated uracil quartets found in tetrastranded RNA.