Renewable synthesis of MoO nanosheets via low temperature phase transition for supercapacitor application.

2D transition metal oxides have created revolution in the field of supercapacitors due to their fabulous electrochemical performance and stability. Molybdenum trioxides (MoO) are one of the most prominent solid-state materials employed in energy storage applications. In this present work, we report a non-laborious physical vapor deposition (PVD) and ultrasonic extraction (USE) followed by vacuum assisted solvothermal treatment (VST) route (DEST), to produce 2D MoO nanosheets, without any complex equipment requirements.

Layered Double Hydroxide-Cellulose Hybrid Beads: A Novel Catalyst for Topochemical Grafting of Pulp Fibers.

Cellulose-based materials are very attractive for emerging bioeconomy as they are renewable, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly. Cellulose beads are spherical and porous and can be highly engineered to be used as catalyst support material. This type of inorganic catalysts is cost-effective and suitable for multiple re-usage and has been rarely explored in cellulose reaction research.

Topochemical engineering of composite hybrid fibers using layered double hydroxides and abietic acid.

Topochemical engineering of hybrid materials is an efficient way of synthesizing hydrophobic and highly tensile fiber composites by utilizing the intermolecular hydrogen bonds in natural materials. These materials include wood pulp fibers, abietic acid (resin acid) and inexpensive metal salts. In this work, a hybrid composite was created using bleached and unbleached kraft pulp fibers as cellulose platform.

Topochemical Engineering of Cellulose-Based Functional Materials.

Topochemical engineering is a method of designing the fractionation (disassembly) and fabrication (assembly) of highly engineered functional materials using a combination of molecular and supramolecular techniques. Cellulose is one of the naturally occurring biopolymers, currently considered to be an important raw material for the design and development of sustainable products and processes. This feature article deals with new insights into how cellulose can be processed and functionalized using topochemical engineering in order to create functional fibers, enhance biopolymer dissolution in water-based solvents, and control the shaping of porous materials.

Selective photocatalytic oxidation of benzene for the synthesis of phenol using engineered Au-Pd alloy nanoparticles supported on titanium dioxide.

The selectivity of photocatalytic phenol production from the direct oxidation of benzene can be enhanced by fine adjustment of the morphology and composition of Au-Pd metal nanoparticles supported on titanium dioxide thereby suppressing the decomposition of benzene and evolution of phenolic compounds.

Designer titania-supported Au-Pd nanoparticles for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production.

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution may provide one of the solutions to the shift to a sustainable energy society, but the quantum efficiency of the process still needs to be improved. Precise control of the composition and structure of the metal nanoparticle cocatalysts is essential, and we show that fine-tuning the Au-Pd nanoparticle structure modifies the electronic properties of the cocatalyst significantly. Specifically, Pd(shell)-Au(core) nanoparticles immobilized on TiO2 exhibit extremely high quantum efficiencies for H2 production using a wide range of alcohols, implying that chemical byproducts from the biorefinery industry can be used as feedstocks.

High activity redox catalysts synthesized by chemical vapor impregnation.

The use of precious metals in heterogeneous catalysis relies on the preparation of small nanoparticles that are stable under reaction conditions. To date, most conventional routes used to prepare noble metal nanoparticles have drawbacks related to surface contamination, particle agglomeration, and reproducibility restraints. We have prepared titania-supported palladium (Pd) and platinum (Pt) catalysts using a simplified vapor deposition technique termed chemical vapor impregnation (CVI) that can be performed in any standard chemical laboratory.

Switching-off toluene formation in the solvent-free oxidation of benzyl alcohol using supported trimetallic Au-Pd-Pt nanoparticles.

Trimetallic Au-Pd-Pt nanoparticles have been supported on activated carbon by the sol-immobilisation method. They are found to be highly active and selective catalysts for the solvent-free aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol. The addition of Pt promotes the selectivity to the desired product benzaldehyde at the expense of toluene formation.

Promotion of phenol photodecomposition over TiO2 using Au, Pd, and Au-Pd nanoparticles.

Noble metal nanoparticles (Au, Pd, Au-Pd alloys) with a narrow size distribution supported on nanocrystalline TiO(2) (M/TiO(2)) have been synthesized via a sol-immobilization route. The effect of metal identity and size on the photocatalytic performance of M/TiO(2) has been systematically investigated using phenol as a probe molecule. A different phenol degradation pathway was observed when using M/TiO(2) catalysts as compared to pristine TiO(2).

Facile removal of stabilizer-ligands from supported gold nanoparticles.

Metal nanoparticles that comprise a few hundred to several thousand atoms have many applications in areas such as photonics, sensing, medicine and catalysis. Colloidal methods have proven particularly suitable for producing small nanoparticles with controlled morphologies and excellent catalytic properties. Ligands are necessary to stabilize nanoparticles during synthesis, but once the particles have been deposited on a substrate the presence of the ligands is detrimental for catalytic activity.

Solvent-free oxidation of primary carbon-hydrogen bonds in toluene using Au-Pd alloy nanoparticles.

Selective oxidation of primary carbon-hydrogen bonds with oxygen is of crucial importance for the sustainable exploitation of available feedstocks. To date, heterogeneous catalysts have either shown low activity and/or selectivity or have required activated oxygen donors. We report here that supported gold-palladium (Au-Pd) nanoparticles on carbon or TiO(2) are active for the oxidation of the primary carbon-hydrogen bonds in toluene and related molecules, giving high selectivities to benzyl benzoate under mild solvent-free conditions.

Direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide and benzyl alcohol oxidation using Au-Pd catalysts prepared by sol immobilization.

We report the preparation of Au-Pd nanocrystalline catalysts supported on activated carbon prepared via a sol-immobilization technique and explore their use for the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide and the oxidation of benzyl alcohol. In particular, we examine the synthesis of a systematic set of Au-Pd colloidal nanoparticles having a range of Au/Pd ratios. The catalysts have been structurally characterized using a combination of UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, STEM HAADF/XEDS, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.