Nickel Particles Selectively Confined in the Mesoporous Channels of SBA-15 Yielding a Very Stable Catalyst for DRM Reaction

A series of four Ni catalysts supported on SBA-15 and on a high SiO2 surface area have been prepared by modified impregnation (ImU) and deposition-precipitation (DP) methods. The catalysts have been extensively characterized, including in situ XAS (bulk sensitive) and XPS (surface sensitive) techniques, and their catalytic activities evaluated in the dry reforming reaction of…

Microstructural engineering and use of efficient poison resistant Au-doped Ni-GDC ultrathin anodes in methane-fed solid oxide fuel cells

Ultrathin porous solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anodes consisting of nickel-gadolinia-dopedceria (Ni-GDC) cermets with a unique porous micro-columnar architecture with intimate contact between the GDC and the Ni phases were made by magnetron sputtering at an oblique deposition angle and characterised in detail by a variety of methods prior to use in hydrogen or methane-fuelled…

Enhanced photocatalytic removal of phenol from aqueous solutions using ZnO modified with Ag

Different photocatalysts based on commercial ZnO modified by silver photodeposition were prepared in this work. The samples were characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), specific surface area (SSA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV–vis diffuse reflectance (UV–vis DRS). XRD and XPS showed that Ag/ZnO samples are composed of…

Nickel/Copper Bilayer-modified Screen Printed Electrode for Glucose Determination in Flow Injection Analysis

This work reports about the performance of a Ni/Cu-modified screen printed electrodes (SPE/Ni/Cu), prepared by physical vapor deposition (PVD) in an oblique angle configuration (OAD), for non-enzymatic glucose sensing applications. SPE/Ni/Cu electrodes showed an excellent reversibility and a catalytic behavior for detection of glucose that were controlled by the diffusion of reactants up to the…

Ir-Catalysed Nitrous oxide (N2O) Decomposition: Effect of Ir Particle Size and Metal-Support Interactions

The effect of the morphology of Ir particles supported on.-Al2O3, 8 mol% Y2O3-stabilized -ZrO2 (YSZ), 10 mol%Gd2O3-doped CeO2 (GDC) and 80 wt%Al2O3-10 wt%CeO2-10 wt%ZrO2 (ACZ) on their stability on oxidative conditions, the associated metal-support interactions and activity for catalytic decomposition of N2O has been studied. Supports with intermediate or high oxygen ion lability (GDC and…

A new combustion route for synthesis of TaB2 nanoparticles

Tantalum diboride (TaB2) nanoparticles were synthesized through a mechanically induced self-sustaining reaction (MSR). In this method, the ternary system of Mg/Ta2O5/B was employed in which, magnesium was used as a reducing agent for reduction of tantalum oxides in a combustive regime. The processing route of TaB2 by the solid-state combustion was very short-term and the…

Nanostructured hybrid device mimicking bone extracellular matrix as local and sustained antibiotic delivery system

A fluidic permeable and stable in wet media, MBG-NfGel, device consisting of a mesoporous ceramic embodied in a nanofibrillar biodegradable polymer has been processed using appropriate thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) processing variables of 5.4% (wt/v) gelatin in 50/50 water/ethanol (v/v) ratio. The device comprises high surface area mesoporous bioactive glass (MBG) microparticles within a…

Phase-Contact Engineering in Mono- and Bimetallic Cu-Ni Co-catalysts for Hydrogen Photocatalytic Materials

Understanding how a photocatalyst modulates its oxidation state, size, and structure during a photocatalytic reaction under operando conditions is strongly limited by the mismatch between (catalyst) volume sampled by light and, to date, the physicochemical techniques and probes employed to study them. A synchrotron micro-beam X-ray absorption spectroscopy study together with the computational simulation and…

Packing Defects in Fatty Amine Self-Assembled Monolayers on Mica as Revealed from AFM Techniques

Self-assembled monolayers of n-octadecylamine (ODA-SAMs) on mica have been prepared and studied by contact and jumping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM). Adhesion and friction data show that the compactness of the monolayers spontaneously increases as they are allowed to ripen. Molecular packing can also be induced by the controlled mechanical perturbation exerted by the probe…

Development of a novel fcc structure for an amorphous-nanocrystalline Ti-33Nb-4Mn (at.%) ternary alloy

In this work, a novel amorphous-nanocrystalline titanium-niobium-manganese solid solution ternary alloy with a Ti-33Nb-4Mn (at.%) nominal composition was developed by a High-Energy Mechanical Alloying. Nb and Mn were added to the elemental Ti as a beta-phase (bcc) stabilizer and an amorphization promoter, respectively. The system evolved from the elemental Ti, Nb and Mn raw materials…