Effects of Silica Shell Encapsulated Nanocrystals on Active χ-FeC Phase and Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis.

Among various iron carbide phases, χ-FeC, a highly active phase in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, was directly synthesized using a wet-chemical route, which makes a pre-activation step unnecessary. In addition, χ-FeC nanoparticles were encapsulated with mesoporous silica for protection from deactivation. Further structural analysis showed that the protective silica shell had a partially ordered mesoporous structure with a short range.

Mesoporous Carbon Supported Rh Nanoparticle Catalysts for the Production of C2+ Alcohol from Syngas.

Uniform rhodium nanoparticles (NP) with three different particle sizes (1.9, 2.4, and 3.

Therapeutic Ultrasound Contrast Agents for the Enhancement of Tumor Diagnosis and Tumor Therapy.

The functionality of ultrasound in early cancer detection is limited because of its relatively low contrast resolution. Because it has a high degree of echogenicity, a microbubble contrast agent is often used to overcome this intrinsic limitation of imaging at low-contrast resolution. A targeted and drug-loaded microbubble contrast agent for simultaneous diagnosis and therapy has recently been investigated.

Deletion of the budBAC operon in Klebsiella pneumoniae to understand the physiological role of 2,3-butanediol biosynthesis.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is known to produce 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO), a valuable chemical. In K. pneumoniae, the 2,3-BDO operon (budBAC) is involved in the production of 2,3-BDO.

Facile Synthesis of Nb2O5@Carbon Core-Shell Nanocrystals with Controlled Crystalline Structure for High-Power Anodes in Hybrid Supercapacitors.

Hybrid supercapacitors (battery-supercapacitor hybrid devices, HSCs) deliver high energy within seconds (excellent rate capability) with stable cyclability. One of the key limitations in developing high-performance HSCs is imbalance in power capability between the sluggish Faradaic lithium-intercalation anode and rapid non-Faradaic capacitive cathode. To solve this problem, we synthesize Nb2O5@carbon core-shell nanocyrstals (Nb2O5@C NCs) as high-power anode materials with controlled crystalline phases (orthorhombic (T) and pseudohexagonal (TT)) via a facile one-pot synthesis method based on a water-in-oil microemulsion system.

Efficient utilization of greenhouse gases in a gas-to-liquids process combined with CO2/steam-mixed reforming and Fe-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

Two process models for carbon dioxide utilized gas-to-liquids (GTL) process (CUGP) mainly producing light olefins and Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) synthetic oils were developed by Aspen Plus software. Both models are mainly composed of a reforming unit, an F-T synthesis unit and a recycle unit, while the main difference is the feeding point of fresh CO2. In the reforming unit, CO2 reforming and steam reforming of methane are combined together to produce syngas in flexible composition.

Structural influence of ordered mesoporous carbon supports for the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide to alcohols.

A series of ordered mesoporous carbon materials (OMCs) possessing well-ordered nanoporosity with different mesopore structures were synthesized by the template-synthesis route. Two different pore strucutes (2-dimensional hexagonal and 3-dimensional cubic structures) and two different framework-configurations (rod-type and hollow-type carbon frameworks) are prepared by using the two different silica templates and synthetic conditions. The ordered mesoporous carbon supported promoted-rhodium catalysts were preparted by an incipient wetness method.

Ordered mesoporous carbon nanochannel reactors for high-performance Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

A hexagonally ordered mesoporous carbon, CMK-3, was utilized as a support for a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst. Each array of elongated pore structures with Co nanoparticles can be regarded as a nanochannel reactor. Due to the pore confinement and the hydrophobic nature of the support, this catalyst demonstrated excellent catalytic performance.

Ordered mesoporous tungsten suboxide counter electrode for highly efficient iodine-free electrolyte-based dye-sensitized solar cells.

A disulfide/thiolate (T(2)/T(-)) redox-couple electrolyte, which is a promising iodine-free electrolyte owing to its transparent and noncorrosive properties, requires alternative counter-electrode materials because conventional Pt shows poor catalytic activity in such an electrolyte. Herein, ordered mesoporous tungsten suboxide (m-WO(3-x)), synthesized by using KIT-6 silica as a hard template followed by a partial reduction, is used as a catalyst for a counter electrode in T(2)/T(-)-electrolyte-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The mesoporous tungsten suboxide, which possesses interconnected pores of 4 and 20 nm, provides a large surface area and efficient electrolyte penetration into the m-WO(3-x) pores.

Efficient utilization of greenhouse gas in a gas-to-liquids process combined with carbon dioxide reforming of methane.

A process model for a gas-to-liquids (GTL) process mainly producing Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthetic oils has been developed to assess the effects of reforming methods, recycle ratio of unreacted syngas mixture on the process efficiency and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. The reforming unit of our study is composed of both steam reforming of methane (SRM) and carbon dioxide reforming of methane (CDR) to form syngas, which gives composition flexibility, reduction in GHG emission, and higher cost-competitiveness. With recycling, it is found that zero emission of CO(2) from the process can be realized and the required amount of natural gas (NG) can be significantly reduced.