Hierarchical nickel carbonate hydroxide nanostructures for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water splitting.

Metal carbonate hydroxides have emerged as novel and promising candidates for water splitting due to their good electrochemical properties and eco-friendly features. In this study, the hierarchical mesoporous structure of nickel carbonate hydroxide hydrate (Ni(CO)(OH)·4HO) was synthesized by a one-pot facile hydrothermal method. It demonstrated photocatalytic properties for the first time, exhibiting a hydrogen evolution reaction yield of 10 μmol g h under white light irradiation with a nominal power of 0.

Hydrothermally synthesized poorly-crystalline binary oxides with ZrWO composition: preparation, structural analysis, and catalytic activity for the alkylation of anisole with benzyl alcohol.

Hydrothermally synthesized poorly-crystalline metastable Zr-W binary hydroxide (W/Zr = 2), after calcination, was confirmed to be a strong solid acid catalyst to promote the alkylation of anisole with benzyl alcohol. The preparation conditions, structure of the as-prepared catalysts and the calcined hydroxides were investigated using XRD, nitrogen adsorption isotherms, TG-DTA, and XANES/EXAFS techniques. The crystalline phase was controlled by the hydrochloric acid concentration used for preparing a mother gel, and 5-9 M HCl was suitable for preparing the active phase.

Synthesis and evaluation of the SERS effect of FeO-Ag Janus composite materials for separable, highly sensitive substrates.

FeO-Ag Janus composites were synthesized using a two-step solvothermal method. The optimal growth process was determined by investigating the relationship between the particle morphologies and reaction time. Magnetic and Raman spectroscopic measurements showed that the as-synthesized Janus composites have both good magnetic response and significant surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effects, as well as reproducibility.

(13)C/(15)N-Enriched l-Dopa as a Triple-Resonance NMR Probe to Monitor Neurotransmitter Dopamine in the Brain and Liver Extracts of Mice.

In an attempt to monitor μm-level trace constituents, we applied here (1)H-{(13)C-(15)N} triple-resonance nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to (13)C/(15)N-enriched l-Dopa as the inevitable precursor of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. The perfect selectivity (to render endogenous components silent) and μm-level sensitivity (700 MHz spectrometer equipped with a cryogenic probe) of triple-resonance allowed the unambiguous and quantitative metabolic and pharmacokinetic analyses of administered l-Dopa/dopamine in the brain and liver of mice. The level of dopamine generated in the brain (within the range 7-76 μm, which covers the typical stimulated level of ∼30 μm) could be clearly monitored ex vivo, but was slightly short of the detection limit of a 7 T MR machine for small animals.