Probing the optical properties and toxicological profile of zinc tungstate nanorods.

Zinc tungstate is a semiconductor known for its favorable photocatalytic, photoluminescence, and scintillation properties, coupled with its relatively low cost, reduced toxicity, and high stability in biological and catalytic environments. In particular, zinc tungstate evinces scintillation properties, namely the ability to emit visible light upon absorption of energetic radiation such as x rays, which has led to applications not only as radiation detectors but also for biomedical applications involving the delivery of optical light to deep tissue, such as photodynamic therapy and optogenetics. Here, we report on the synthesis of zinc tungstate nanorods generated via an optimized but facile method, which allows for synthetic control over the aspect ratio of the as-synthesized anisotropic motifs via rational variation of the solution pH.

Investigation of the photoluminescent properties, scintillation behaviour and toxicological profile of various magnesium tungstate nanoscale motifs.

We have synthesized several morphologies and crystal structures of MgWO using a one-pot hydrothermal method, producing not only monoclinic stars and large nanoparticles but also triclinic wool balls and sub-10 nm nanoparticles. Herein we describe the importance of reaction parameters in demonstrating morphology control of as-prepared MgWO. Moreover, we correlate structure and composition with the resulting photoluminescence and radioluminescence properties.

Assessing the Catalytic Behavior of Platinum Group Metal-Based Ultrathin Nanowires Using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy.

Ultrathin metal-based nanowires have excelled as electrocatalysts in small-molecule reactions, such as the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR), and the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR), and have consistently outperformed analogous Pt/C standards. As such, a detailed understanding of the structural and electronic properties of ultrathin nanowires is essential in terms of understanding structure-property correlations, which are crucial in the rational design of ever more sophisticated electrocatalysts. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) represents an important and promising characterization technique with which to acquire unique insights into the electronic structure and the local atomic structure of nanomaterials.

Reconciling structure prediction of alloyed, ultrathin nanowires with spectroscopy.

A number of complementary, synergistic advances are reported herein. First, we describe the 'first-time' synthesis of ultrathin RuCo nanowires (NWs) possessing average diameters of 2.3 ± 0.

Surfactant-Free Synthesis of Three-Dimensional Perovskite Titania-Based Micron-Scale Motifs Used as Catalytic Supports for the Methanol Oxidation Reaction.

We synthesized and subsequently rationalized the formation of a series of 3D hierarchical metal oxide spherical motifs. Specifically, we varied the chemical composition within a family of ATiO (wherein "A" = Ca, Sr, and Ba) perovskites, using a two-step, surfactant-free synthesis procedure to generate structures with average diameters of ~3 microns. In terms of demonstrating the practicality of these perovskite materials, we have explored their use as supports for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) as a function of their size, morphology, and chemical composition.