Exploring the Solvation of Acetic Acid in Water Using Liquid Jet X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Core Level Electron Binding Energy Calculations.

Liquid jet X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to investigate changes in the local electronic structure of acetic acid in the bulk of aqueous solutions induced by solvation effects. These effects manifest themselves as shifts in the difference in the carbon 1s binding energy (ΔBE) between the methyl and carboxyl carbons of acetic acid. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations, coupled with correlated electronic structure calculations of the first solvation sphere, provide insight into the number of water molecules directly interacting with the carboxyl group that are required to match the ΔBE from the photoelectron spectroscopy experiments.

Electronic Properties of Bimetallic Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs): Tailoring the Density of Electronic States through MOF Modularity.

The development of porous well-defined hybrid materials (e.g., metal-organic frameworks or MOFs) will add a new dimension to a wide number of applications ranging from supercapacitors and electrodes to "smart" membranes and thermoelectrics.

Liquid-Jet X-ray Photoelectron Spectra of TiO(2) Nanoparticles in an Aqueous Electrolyte Solution.

Titania has attracted significant interest due to its broad catalytic applications, many of which involve titania nanoparticles in contact with aqueous electrolyte solutions. Understanding the titania nanoparticle/electrolyte interface is critical for the rational development of such systems. Here, we have employed liquid-jet ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) to investigate the solid/electrolyte interface of 20 nm diameter TiO2 nanoparticles in 0.

Platinum-ruthenium bimetallic clusters on graphite: a comparison of vapor deposition and electroless deposition methods.

Bimetallic Pt-Ru clusters have been grown on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surfaces by vapor deposition and by electroless deposition. These studies help to bridge the material gap between well-characterized vapor deposited clusters and electrolessly deposited clusters, which are better suited for industrial catalyst preparation. In the vapor deposition experiments, bimetallic clusters were formed by the sequential deposition of Pt on Ru or Ru on Pt.

Novel recirculating loop reactor for studies on model catalysts: CO oxidation on Pt/TiO2(110).

A novel recirculating loop microreactor coupled to an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) chamber has been constructed for the kinetic evaluation of model catalysts, which can be fully characterized by UHV surface science techniques. The challenge for this reactor design is to attain sufficient sensitivity to detect reactions on model single-crystal surfaces, which have a low number of active sites compared to conventional catalysts of equivalent mass. To this end, the total dead volume of the reactor system is minimized (32 cm(3)), and the system is operated in recirculation mode so that product concentrations build up to detectable levels over time.