This study shows that Ostwald ripening, a universal mechanism responsible for the increase of crystal size during precipitation from solutions, can be meditated by ion diffusion through condensed monolayers of water that connect separated nanocrystals. In an environmental electron microscope we have observed «in situ» the time evolution of the number, shape, size and crystallographic…
Preparation of well-interconnected TiO2 electrodes at low temperature is critical for the fabrication of highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) on plastic substrates. Herein we explore a synergistic approach using a combination of chemical and physical sintering. We formulate a binder-free TiO2 paste based on “nanoglue” as the chemical sintering agent, and use it to…
Structural and analytical characterization related to the formation mechanism of Au–Pt heterodimers from polyhedral Pt nanocrystals is reported. The observation of specific lattice strain effects and the emergence of misfit dislocations point to the relevance of the Stranski–Krastanov growth mode as a means of explaining the previously reported dimerisation reaction between Au and Pt. Two…
Silver loaded TiO2 samples were prepared by photodeposition of different amounts of Ag+ ions over commercial titanium dioxide (Evonik TiO2 P25) in aqueous media without the presence of sacrificial agents. The obtained photocatalysts were characterized by several techniques such as X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)…
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.
The aim of this study was to find a surfactant-free method for the synthesis of uniform Eu:LuPO4nanophosphors which are able to form stable colloidal suspensions in aqueous media. Uniform, ovoid Eu-doped LuPO4 fluorescent nanoparticles were obtained after aging for 30 minutes at 180 °C a butylene glycol solution containing, exclusively, lutetium acetate, europium acetate and H3PO4.…
In our previous works, Co–B–O and Co–Ru–B–O ultrafine powders with variable Ru content (xRu) were studied as catalysts for hydrogen generation through sodium borohydride hydrolysis. These materials have shown a complex nanostructure in which small Co–Ru metallic nanoparticles are embedded in an amorphous matrix formed by Co–Ru–B–O based phases and B2O3. Catalytic activity was correlated…
Experimental catalytic activity measurements, Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Spectroscopy, and Density Functional Theory calculations are used to investigate the role and dynamics of surface oxygen vacancies in the CO oxidation with O2 catalyzed by Au nanoparticles supported on a Y-doped TiO2 catalyst. Catalytic activity measurements show that the CO conversion is improved in a second…
Ternary erbium doped BiVO4/TiO2 complexes are synthesized by means of a simple impregnation method with good photoactivities under sun-like excitation for the degradation of phenol. From the structural and morphological characterization it has been stated that the presence of Er3+ induces a slight stabilization of the tetragonal phase probably due to its incorporation in the…
The one-step preparation of silver nanoparticles and dendritic structures mediated by aqueous royal jelly solutions has been investigated for the first time. It has been found that royal jelly (RJ) is a complex organic matrix that can be simultaneously used as a reducing and stabilizing agent in the chemical synthesis of colloidal silver-based nanostructures…