Synthesis of Nanostructured/Macroscopic Low-Density Copper Foams Based on Metal-Coated Polymer Core-Shell Particles.

A robust, millimeter-sized low-density Cu foam with ∼90% (v/v) porosity, ∼30 nm thick walls, and ∼1 μm diameter spherical pores is prepared by the slip-casting of metal-coated polymer core-shell particles followed by a thermal removal of the polymer. In this paper, we report our key findings that enable the development of the low-density Cu foams. First, we need to synthesize polystyrene (PS) particles coated with a very thin Cu layer (in the range of tens of nanometers).

Encapsulated liquid sorbents for carbon dioxide capture.

Drawbacks of current carbon dioxide capture methods include corrosivity, evaporative losses and fouling. Separating the capture solvent from infrastructure and effluent gases via microencapsulation provides possible solutions to these issues. Here we report carbon capture materials that may enable low-cost and energy-efficient capture of carbon dioxide from flue gas.

Developing an approach for first-principles catalyst design: application to carbon-capture catalysis.

An approach to catalyst design is presented in which local potential energy surface models are first built to elucidate design principles and then used to identify larger scaffold motifs that match the target geometries. Carbon sequestration via hydration is used as the model reaction, and three- and four-coordinate sp(2) or sp(3) nitrogen-ligand motifs are considered for Zn(II) metals. The comparison of binding, activation and product release energies over a large range of interaction distances and angles suggests that four-coordinate short Zn(II)-Nsp(3) bond distances favor a rapid turnover for CO2 hydration.

Atomic layer deposition-derived ultra-low-density composite bulk materials with deterministic density and composition.

A universal approach for on-demand development of monolithic metal oxide composite bulk materials with air-like densities (<5 mg/cm(3)) is reported. The materials are fabricated by atomic layer deposition of titania (TiO2) or zinc oxide (ZnO) using the nanoscale architecture of 1 mg/cm(3) SiO2 aerogels formed by self-organization as a blueprint. This approach provides deterministic control over density and composition without affecting the nanoscale architecture of the composite material that is otherwise very difficult to achieve.