Bridging Together Theoretical and Experimental Perspectives in Single-Atom Alloys for Electrochemical Ammonia Production.

Ammonia is an essential commodity in the food and chemical industry. Despite the energy-intensive nature, the Haber-Bosch process is the only player in ammonia production at large scales. Developing other strategies is highly desirable, as sustainable and decentralized ammonia production is crucial.

In Situ Incorporation of Atomically Precise Au Nanoclusters within Zeolites for Ambient Temperature CO Oxidation.

Preserving ultrasmall sizes of metal particles is a key challenge in the study of heterogeneous metal-based catalysis. Confining the ultrasmall metal clusters in a well-defined crystalline porous zeolite has emerged as a promising approach to stabilize these metal species. Successful encapsulation can be achieved by the addition of ligated metal complexes to zeolite synthesis gel before hydrothermal synthesis.

Recent Advances in Self-Supported Semiconductor Heterojunction Nanoarrays as Efficient Photoanodes for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting.

Growth of semiconductor heterojunction nanoarrays directly on conductive substrates represents a promising strategy toward high-performance photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. By controlling the growth conditions, heterojunction nanoarrays with different morphologies and semiconductor components can be fabricated, resulting in greatly enhanced light-absorption properties, stabilities, and PEC activities. Herein, recent progress in the development of self-supported heterostructured semiconductor nanoarrays as efficient photoanode catalysts for water oxidation is reviewed.

The Itinerant 2D Electron Gas of the Indium Oxide (111) Surface: Implications for Carbon- and Energy-Conversion Applications.

Transparent conducting oxides (TCO) have integral and emerging roles in photovoltaic, thermoelectric energy conversion, and more recently, photocatalytic systems. The functional properties of TCOs, and thus their role in these applications, are often mediated by the bulk electronic band structure but are also strongly influenced by the electronic structure of the native surface 2D electron gas (2DEG), particularly under operating conditions. This study investigates the 2DEG, and its response to changes in chemistry, at the (111) surface of the model TCO In O , through angle resolved and core level X-ray photoemission spectroscopy.

Instability of hydrogenated TiO2.

Hydrogenated TiO2 (H-TiO2) is touted as a viable visible light photocatalyst. We report a systematic study on the thermal stability of H-implanted TiO2 using nuclear reaction analysis (NRA), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Protons (40 keV) implanted at a ∼2 atom % level within a ∼120 nm wide profile of rutile TiO2(110) were situated ∼300 nm below the surface.

Contamination of PDMS microchannels by lithographic molds.

By use of synchrotron X-ray fluorescence and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, we show the SU-8 soft lithographic process contaminates PDMS. Residues of the antimony containing photoinitiator are transferred from the master mold to the surface of PDMS, uncontrollably intensifying the surface potential, leading to electroosmotic flow variability in PDMS microfluidic devices.