A flexible distributed Bragg reflector is made by the infiltration of a nanocolumnar array with polydimethyl siloxane oligomers. The high optical reflectance displayed by the final material is a direct consequence of the high refractive index contrast of the columnar layers whereas the structural stability is due to the polymer properties.
To mimic nontoxic and fully biodegradable biopolymers like the plant cutin, polyester films from a natural occurring fatty polyhydroxyacid like aleuritic (9,10,16-trihydroxyhexadecanoic) acid have been prepared by noncatalyzed melt-polycondensation at moderate temperature (150 degrees C) directly in air. The course of the reaction has been followed by infrared spectroscopy, C-13 magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic…
Copper oxides in contact with anatase correspond to promising materials with high activity in the photo-production of hydrogen by aqueous reforming of alcohols. By a single pot microemulsion method we obtained a series of Cu-Ti composite systems with controlled copper content in the 0-25 wt.% range. The scanning of such a wide range of composition…
Unprecedented photoactivity of silver nanoparticles photodeposited on nanocrystalline TiO2 for the efficient reduction of 4-nitrophenol at room temperature is reported. The use of Na2SO3 as a harmless scavenger agent for the reduction of a nitroaromatic endocrine disruptor yields a valuable 4-aminophenol reagent.
Four bismuth vanadates have been synthesized by using two different precipitating agents (NH3 and triethylamine) following a hydrothermal treatment at 100 °C for 2 h and at 140 °C for 20 h. Then, solids were characterized by X-ray diffraction, BET surface area, UV–vis spectroscopy and scanning microscopy techniques. The characterization of the synthesized materials showed a well crystallized scheelite monoclinic…
UV nanosecond laser pulses have been used to produce a unique surface nanostructuration of Ag@ZnO supported nanorods (NRs). The NRs were fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at low temperature applying a silver layer as promoter. The irradiation of these structures with single nanosecond pulses of an ArF laser produces the melting and…
Erbium-doped YVO4 have been synthesized by means of a simple solution method having good photo activities under UV-like excitation for the water splitting half reactions. From the structural and morphological characterization it has been stated that the presence of Er3+ induces the promotion of luminescence. Moreover the incorporation of erbium clearly affects to the morphology YVO4 leading to…
NiSn bimetallic catalysts supported over Al2O3 modified with different promoter (Mg and/or Ce) were prepared and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 sorptometry, and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). Hydrogen production by glycerol steam reforming over these catalysts was investigated. Among the catalysts, NiSn/AlMgCe catalyst shows the highest hydrogen yield as well as the best stability during…
This study proposes a direct synthetic route to single titanate sheets through the mild and versatile conditions of the “chimie douce”. The stages of the production include the complexation of the titanium alkoxide precursor by benzoic acid, the formation of titanium oxo-clusters and their controlled transformation into single sheet titanates during the hydrolysis stage. The…
3YTZP matrix composites containing 2.5 vol% of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) were fabricated by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) at 1250°C, following different processing routines with the aim of optimizing the SWCNTs dispersion throughout the ceramic matrix. Microstructural characterization of the as-fabricated samples has been performed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The specimens have been…