Synthesis and investigation of structural,optical, magnetic,and biocompatibility properties of nanoferrites AFeO2

Sol-gel method has been used for the synthesis of biocompatible superparamagnetic nanoferrites of AFeO₂ (A = Li, Na, K, Ca). Structural study of the nanoferrites reveals that LiFeO₂ exhibits cubic phase on the other hand NaFeO₂, KFeO₂, CaFeO₂ nanoparticles possess orthorhombic phase. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) suggests that synthesized nanoferrites are nano-sized with spherical morphology. Optical properties confirm that nanoferrites emit and absorb light in a visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. International Commission on Illumination (CIE) study discloses that the nanoparticles can be used to produce light of various colors. Magnetic study reveals that the nanoferrites exhibit superparamagnetic nature with high values of saturation magnetization 40.26 emu/g, 41.69 emu/g, 57.16 emu/g, and 43.66 emu/g, respectively for LiFeO_2, NaFeO₂, KFeO₂, and CaFeO₂. Biocompatibility study of the nanoferrites has been performed using Sulforhodamine B (SRB) and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The reason behind the observed properties and behavior has been discussed.     

Recent advances on the use of active anodes in environmental electrochemistry

Active anodes, especially those consisting of metal mixed oxides (MMOs) containing Ru and/or Ir oxides, have been applied in the treatment of wastewater, especially when chloride ions are present. Their characteristics continuously drive the study of applications of these materials, be they in the degradation of different organic molecules, the preparation of new electrode materials and in the association of various processes to increase pollutant removal. Thus, this brief review aims to present some of the recent advances in the application of active anode materials in environmental electrochemistry. Focussing on the 2018–2020 period, it is possible to note many applied studies, using commercially available materials, covering a wide range of target pollutants. Still other studies aim to modify the catalyst surfaces to increase the mineralization capacity, and the use of these anodes in the production of free chlorine species to mediate indirect organic reduction is observed.     

Recent Progress on Nickel-Based Oxide/(Oxy)Hydroxide Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Developing clean and sustainable energies as alternatives to fossil fuels is in strong demand within modern society. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the efficiency-limiting process in plenty of key renewable energy systems, such as electrochemical water splitting and rechargeable metal–air batteries. In this regard, ongoing efforts have been devoted to seeking high-performance electrocatalysts for enhanced energy conversion efficiency. Apart from traditional precious-metal-based catalysts, nickel-based compounds are the most promising earth-abundant OER catalysts, attracting ever-increasing interest due to high activity and stability. In this review, the recent progress on nickel-based oxide and (oxy)hydroxide composites for water oxidation catalysis in terms of materials design/synthesis and electrochemical performance is summarized. Some underlying mechanisms to profoundly understand the catalytic active sites are also highlighted. In addition, the future research trends and perspectives on the development of Ni-based OER electrocatalysts are discussed.     

Colloidal ZnO nanostructures and functional coatings: A survey

The past research work devoted to ZnO nanocolloidal sol-gel route is reviewed. It highlights the cluster chemistry of alcoholic ZnAc₂ solutions and the results of ZnO colloid growth investigations performed worldwide. Moreover, the role of doping and co-doping in the processing of functional ZnO coatings is discussed. The possibilities of tuning the optical properties are also reported with a particular attention to luminescence. The last part of this paper deals with electrical and photoelectrochemical properties of ZnO nanocrystals and their aggregates. This contribution is dedicated to the 80th birthday of Prof. Arnim Henglein from the Hahn-Meitner-Institut in Berlin and to the memory of Prof. Jacques Mugnier from the Université Claude-Bernard Lyon 1 in France.     

A Promising MoO_x-based Catalyst for n-Heptane Isomerization

The increasing demand for higher-octane gasoline and the regulations limiting the amount of aromatics in the fuel motivate the interest in catalytic isomerization of n-alkanes. In the last ten years, transition metal oxides or oxycarbides based on molybdenum or tungstate have attracted much attention due to their high activity and isomerization selectivity compared to the conventional bifunctional supported platinum catalyst and high resistance to sulphur and nitrogen catalyst poisons1-5. Ma…     

Synthesis of molecular imprinted organic-inorganic hybrid polymer binding caffeine

Random copolymers of poly{(methacrylamide)-co-(vinyl trimethoxysilane)} and poly{(methacrylic acid)-co-(vinyl trimethoxysilane)} were synthesized via a free radical polymerization reaction. Acid catalyzed sol-gel process of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) with aforementioned polymers in the presence of methyl xanthine class of alkaloid like caffeine resulted in the formation of highly transparent monoliths. Solvent extraction of the template leaves behind the recognition sites intact with high selectivity towards the print molecule. The ionic and non-specific adsorptions, which are considered to be the main disadvantages of the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP), are prevented to a considerable extent by the end capping of surface silanol groups. The template binding efficiencies of MIP were determined by HPLC analysis.     

Growth and characterization of model oxide catalysts

Oxide catalysts are frequently used to convert toxic species to environmentally benign molecules, and to prevent the formation of toxic species in the first place. In this paper, growth and characterization of model oxide systems employed in both approaches is discussed. An example of the former approach is the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO emitted from power plants by NH₃, which employs tungsten and vanadium oxides supported on the anatase polymorph of TiO₂. To model SCR catalysts, epitaxial titanium, vanadium and tungsten oxide films were grown using molecular beam epitaxy and magnetron sputtering. Two different anatase orientations were grown on LaAlO₃ substrates and their interactions with vanadia were characterized. On LaAlO₃ (0 0 1), anatase exposed a (4 × 1) reconstructed (0 0 1) surface. Vanadia lifted the reconstruction and at 1 ML a (1 × 1) surface with mostly V⁵⁺ was observed. Continued V₂O₅ growth led to loss of order, but at high temperatures epitaxial VO₂ could be grown; vanadia behaved similarly on anatase films on LaAlO₃ (1 1 0). Results suggested that the monolayer is pseudomorphic with O adsorption oxidizing the surface V to 5+, since the anatase structure cannot accommodate more bulk oxygen, only a monolayer can be pseudomorphic and have only V⁵⁺. Thus the vanadia monolayer has unique structural and chemical properties that can help explain why vanadia monolayers on TiO₂ are much more active than bulk V₂O₅. For WO₃, a series of added row reconstructions were observed as the epitaxial films were reduced. The effect of these structures on surface chemistry was characterized by studying 1-propanol adsorption. The results indicated that the structure of the WO₃ surface did not alter its catalytic function but had a strong effect on reaction kinetics. As an example of a system where catalysts prevent the formation of toxic species, the reactivity of oxidized Pd surfaces used in CH₄ catalytic combustion were studied. An ordered PdO-like monolayer was found to be less reactive towards CO than adsorbed O on Pd. On the other hand, the PdO layer favored a lower activation energy C₃H₆ oxidation pathway. The results indicated that Pd oxidation reduces the sticking coefficient of reactive species but once molecules adsorb, the oxide surface can reduce the activation energy for subsequent reaction.     

Microwave absorption properties of composite powders with low density

The composites of barium ferrite coated on hollow ceramic microspheres were prepared using sol-gel technique. The crystal structure, morphology and microwave absorption properties of composite powders with different weight ratio of microspheres were studied with XRD, EDS, FESEM and vector network analyzer. The results show that the microwave absorption properties of composite powders are greatly improved. The maximum microwave loss of composite powders reaches 31 dB with an amount of 50 wt.% microspheres, and its density is only about 1.80 g/cm³. The effect of hollow ceramic microspheres on the microwave absorption property is also discussed.     

Electronic structure of Ti metal and TiO2 powder studied by hard and soft (Cu Kα1 and Al Kα1) X-ray photoelectron and Auger spectroscopy

High-energy X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is of particular importance for minimizing the effects of surface contamination by increasing photoelectron escape depths. In this study high-resolution high-energy Cu Kα₁ and soft Al Kα₁ XPS and Auger electron spectroscopy were used to compare the electronic structure of Ti in TiO₂ powder and Ti metal. The Ti 1s in TiO₂ XPS line is narrower and more symmetric than in Ti metal. A comparison of the relative intensities of the L₂₃M₂₃M₄₅ and L₂₃M₂₃M₂₃ Auger transitions in Ti metal and TiO₂ is consistent with the expected transfer of Ti 3d electrons away from the Ti site in the oxide. The satellites accompanying the Ti 1s XPS line excited by Cu Kα₁ X-rays occur at the same energies as the satellites accompanying the Ti 2s and 2p XPS lines excited by Al Kα₁ X-rays indicating that they do not depend on the core-level, the experimental resolution or inelastic scattering processes.     

Photoluminescence characteristics of ZnTiO3: Bi nanocrystals

The photoluminescence properties of the Bi³⁺ in sol-gel derived ZnTiO₃ nanocrystals have been investigated. An ultra-violet emission at 360 nm and a visible emission band at 506 nm have been observed, originating from two kinds of emission centers. The former is ascribed to the ³P₁-¹S₀ transition of Bi³⁺ and the latter to the recombination of the electrons with the photo-generated holes trapped in the zinc vacancies. In all cases the latter contribution is predominant.