Solid state preparation of carbon-supported PtCa nanoparticles for the oxygen reduction reaction.

PtCa nanoparticles with a mean size diameter of 6 nm can be prepared by heating KPtCl, CaH, carbon black and KCl at 400-500 °C. A mechanism study suggests that the formation of the PtCa phase at moderate temperature is enabled by the fast ion transport the vacancies in the KCl-CaH solid solution. The PtCa nanoparticles exhibit high performance for the oxygen reduction reaction in acid due to optimal adsorption energy of the oxygen intermediate.

Hydrogen generation by coupling methanol steam reforming with metal hydride hydrolysis.

Methanol steam reforming (MSR) and hydrolysis of metal hydrides are two important hydrogen generation reactions with complementary characteristics. Coupling of the above two reactions leads to better hydrogen generation performance. The CO generated from MSR can be absorbed by the hydroxide generated from hydrolysis, leading to higher H purity.

In situ ultrasound-assisted ion exchange synthesis of sphere-like AgClBr composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability.

AgClBr composites with different halogen molar ratios (Cl/Br) were prepared by a facile ultrasound-assisted ion-exchange method. The formation of close contact between AgCl and AgBr facilitated the transportation of photoexcited charge carriers and contributed to the enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of different kinds of antibiotics. The AgClBr composites had a sphere-like morphology and tunable band gaps from 2.

One-pot sonochemical synthesis of 3D flower-like hierarchical AgCl microsphere with enhanced photocatalytic activity.

A highly uniform 3D flower-like hierarchical AgCl microsphere was prepared by sonochemical method with the existence of β-dextrin. The 3D flower-like hierarchical structure can be ascribed to the existence of β-dextrin, which provides nucleation sites for the growth of nanosheets because of the strong interaction between β-dextrin and Ag. The 3D flower-like hierarchical AgCl microspheres were assembled by numerous interleaving nanosheet petals with small thickness.

Facile photo-ultrasonic assisted reduction for preparation of rGO/AgCO nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic oxidation activity for tetracycline.

Various antibiotics in the aquatic systems have threat the aquatic ecosystem balance and the human health. In this study, a degradation treatment method for tetracycline (TC), one of the commonly used antibiotics, was explored by using novel photocatalysts of rGO/AgCO under simulated sunlight, because conventional treatment methods are not efficient on the removal of TC. rGO/AgCO nanocomposites were synthesized via a facile photo-ultrasonic assisted reduction method.

Facile One-Step Sonochemical Synthesis and Photocatalytic Properties of Graphene/AgPO Quantum Dots Composites.

In this study, a novel graphene/AgPO quantum dot (rGO/AgPO QD) composite was successfully synthesized via a facile one-step photo-ultrasonic-assisted reduction method for the first time. The composites were analyzed by various techniques. According to the obtained results, AgPO QDs with a size of 1-4 nm were uniformly dispersed on rGO nanosheets to form rGO/AgPO QD composites.