Metal-free catalysis based on nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials: a photoelectron spectroscopy point of view

• Mattia Scardamaglia and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2015–2031, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.191

• splitting of water to molecular hydrogen via hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction (HER and OER, respectively) are fundamental working mechanisms at the cathode of fuel cells, metal–air batteries and dye-sensitized solar cells [2]. However, the current working catalysts are based on expensive metals, such

• as platinum or its alloys, or metal oxides, which affect the engineering cost of fuel cells being also energy consuming and not highly selective [3]. Therefore, research efforts have been devoted towards alternative highly active catalysts from non-precious metals [4]. Repeatedly reported potential

• absorption of H2 on the catalyst lowering the cell performance [6]. In parallel, the research on the catalytic activity of low-cost and metal-free catalysts has proceeded for decades. The discovery of catalytic properties of carbon alloys with nitrogen dates back to 1926 when Rideal and Wright reported their

Synthesis of a MnO₂/Fe₃O₄/diatomite nanocomposite as an efficient heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for methylene blue degradation

• Zishun Li,
• Xuekun Tang,
• Kun Liu,
• Jing Huang,
• Yueyang Xu,
• Qian Peng and
• Minlin Ao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1940–1950, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.185

• .9.185 Abstract Heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts with the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS), which offer the advantages of fast reaction rate, wide functional pH range and cost efficiency, have attracted great interest in wastewater treatment. In this study, a novel magnetic MnO2/Fe3O4/diatomite

• diatomite, which can be readily magnetically separated from the solution. The as-prepared catalyst, compared with other Fenton-like catalysts, shows a superb MB degradation rate of nearly 100% in 45 min in the pH range of 4 to 8 and temperature range of 25 to 55 °C. Moreover, the nanocomposite shows a good

• considered as the most promising method because of the high removal efficiency and wide application scopes [6][7]. Iron-based homogeneous and heterogeneous Fenton or Fenton-like catalysts with the activation of H2O2 can effectively generate hydroxyl radicals (•OH, the main reactive species for the

Synthesis of rare-earth metal and rare-earth metal-fluoride nanoparticles in ionic liquids and propylene carbonate

• Marvin Siebels,
• Lukas Mai,
• Laura Schmolke,
• Kai Schütte,
• Juri Barthel,
• Junpei Yue,
• Jörg Thomas,
• Bernd M. Smarsly,
• Anjana Devi,
• Roland A. Fischer and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1881–1894, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.180

• obtained rare-earth fluoride particles were not phase-pure [8]. An alternative method for synthesizing rare-earth metal-fluoride nanoparticles is the use of rare-earth metal amidinates as precursors [9][10][11][12]. Metal amidinates are coordination compounds [13][14] and used, for example, as catalysts in

Improving the catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution of monolayered SnSe_2(1−x)S_2x by mechanical strain

• Sha Dong and
• Zhiguo Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1820–1827, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.173

• ; however, the high cost and limited resources of these types of catalyst restrict their usage in the mass production of hydrogen [8][9][10]. Therefore, exploring non-noble and earth-abundant elements as catalysts for hydrogen production is one of the most promising pathways for the mass production of

• in recent decades to the development of inexpensive catalysts for the electrochemical HER. Some of the recent studies have focused on monolayer SnX2 (X = S, Se). Liu et al. [43] investigated SnS2 nanosheets regarding their electrochemical behaviour and electrocatalytic properties for HER by examining

• the electronic properties of the catalyst, they will affect the catalytic behaviour. Several TMD alloy systems have been investigated as catalysts for HER, including Mo1−xWxSe2 nanoflowers [44], WS2(1−x)Se2x nanotubes [45] and MoS2(1−x)Se2x nanobelts [46]. It was reported that alloying provides an

Direct AFM-based nanoscale mapping and tomography of open-circuit voltages for photovoltaics

• Katherine Atamanuk,
• Justin Luria and
• Bryan D. Huey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1802–1808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.171

• micro-scale. Such novel SPM-based measurements can be crucial to advancing the fundamental understanding, and ultimately performance and reliability, of a wide range of photosensors, photoactivated catalysts, and photovoltaics. pcAFM measurement of a CdTe/CdS solar cell, during specimen illumination

Cryochemical synthesis of ultrasmall, highly crystalline, nanostructured metal oxides and salts

• Elena A. Trusova and
• Nikolai S. Trutnev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1755–1763, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.166

• important for creating fine-grained ceramics with specified structure and properties. Fine-grained ceramics need a homogenous structure to provide its unique properties of plasticity, high strength, wear-resistance, etc. [12]. We previously reported on the synthesis of nanostructured catalysts consisting of

Controllable one-pot synthesis of uniform colloidal TiO₂ particles in a mixed solvent solution for photocatalysis

• Jong Tae Moon,
• Seung Ki Lee and
• Ji Bong Joo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1715–1727, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.163

• Uniform colloidal TiO2 particles can be synthesized by a modified sol–gel synthesis followed by calcination under atmospheric conditions. The synthesis is conducted in the ethanol–acetonitrile mixed solvent phase in the presence of a surfactant and base catalysts for the hydrolysis and condensation of the

• . Before UV-light irradiation, the reaction mixture containing the catalyst and RhB was stirred for 30 min to ensure saturation of the RhB adsorption on the surface of the TiO2 particles. All of the TiO2 catalysts showed a similar adsorption capacity in the range of ≈9% of C/C0. In the blank experiment

• (i.e., no catalyst), the C/C0 of RhB was decreased by only ≈2% after UV–vis irradiation for 60 min, while the degradation of RhB significantly improved when the TiO2 catalysts were used. The TiO2 sample calcined at 350 °C (TiO2-350) exhibited the lowest catalytic activity among all of the catalysts

Cr(VI) remediation from aqueous environment through modified-TiO₂-mediated photocatalytic reduction

• Rashmi Acharya,
• Brundabana Naik and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1448–1470, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.137

• chemical synthesis Photocatalytic, selective, organic transformations are currently preferred over the conventional processes for synthesis of fine chemicals basically due to two reasons. The first one is to restrict the use of environmentally detrimental chemical reagents such as heavy metal catalysts

• as co-catalysts because of their intriguing properties such as small size, high dispersion, abundant surface functional groups, unique photoluminescence and good electron transfer ability [141][142]. Carbon dot–TiO2 (CD–TiO2) nanosheet composites synthesized by a hydrothermal route were studied for

Ag₂WO₄ nanorods decorated with AgI nanoparticles: Novel and efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts for the degradation of water pollutants

• Shijie Li,
• Shiwei Hu,
• Wei Jiang,
• Yanping Liu,
• Yu Liu,
• Yingtang Zhou,
• Liuye Mo and
• Jianshe Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1308–1316, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.123

• ]. However, achieving high efficiency for photocatalytic conversion under natural sunlight irradiation is still a great challenge because many catalysts only respond to ultraviolet (UV) light [5][12]. Exploring photocatalysts that can be driven by visible light, which comprises 43% of solar energy, is

• possible photocatalytic mechanism over AgI/Ag2WO4 was also elucidated in this work. Results and Discussion Preparation and characterization of catalysts Ag2WO4 nanorods decorated with AgI nanoparticles were prepared via an in situ anion-exchange method. Ag2WO4 nanorods were first synthesized by mixing

• AgNO3 and Na2WO4 aqueous solutions at room temperature [37]. Subsequently, AgI nanoparticles were readily anchored onto Ag2WO4 nanorods via an in situ anion-exchange between I− in the solution and the lattice W2O42− in Ag2WO4. The resulting catalysts were denoted as 0.1AgI/Ag2WO4, 0.2AgI/Ag2WO4, 0.3AgI

Understanding the performance and mechanism of Mg-containing oxides as support catalysts in the thermal dry reforming of methane

• Nor Fazila Khairudin,
• Mohd Farid Fahmi Sukri,
• Mehrnoush Khavarian and
• Abdul Rahman Mohamed

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1162–1183, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.108

• developments on the use of Mg as a support or promoter for DRM catalysts. Its high basicity and high thermal stability make Mg suitable for introduction into the highly endothermic reaction of DRM. The introduction of Mg as a support or promoter for Ni-based catalysts allows for good metal dispersion on the

• conditions, influence the dry reforming reactions and product yields. In this review, different strategies for enhancing catalytic activity and the effect of metal dispersion on Mg-containing oxide catalysts are highlighted. Keywords: carbon formation; catalyst development; dry reforming of methane

• support and active metal particles [16][17][18]. The loss of catalytic activity or selectivity over time of production affects the cost of catalyst replacement, process shutdown, and product quality and quantity. Numerous researchers have reported that noble metal-based catalysts, such as Pt, Rh, Pd, Ru

Review on nanoparticles and nanostructured materials: history, sources, toxicity and regulations

• Jaison Jeevanandam,
• Ahmed Barhoum,
• Yen S. Chan,
• Alain Dufresne and
• Michael K. Danquah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1050–1074, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.98

• living organism inside host cells. Generally, they are considered to be harmful as they cause disease in bacteria [121], plants [122], animals [123] and humans [124]. Advances in molecular biology have increased the possibility to genetically tailor viruses for use as catalysts and bio-scaffolds

Facile chemical routes to mesoporous silver substrates for SERS analysis

• Elina A. Tastekova,
• Alexander Y. Polyakov,
• Anastasia E. Goldt,
• Alexander V. Sidorov,
• Alexandra A. Oshmyanskaya,
• Irina V. Sukhorukova,
• Dmitry V. Shtansky,
• Wolgang Grünert and
• Anastasia V. Grigorieva

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 880–889, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.82

• long time in air. Mesoporous noble metals are mostly used as catalysts for high surface energy, gas sensor components, cell imaging mediators, etc. [5]. The most popular methods for mesoporous metal processing include acidic etching of bimetallic molts [6], electrochemical dealloying [7

• enhancement factor of 105. It was also evident that the mesoporous silver particles are of great functionality and could likely be promising not only as SERS substrates for liquid analysis, but also for gas phase SERS analysis and as catalysts in combustion and mild selective oxidation processes. This same

Facile synthesis of a ZnO–BiOI p–n nano-heterojunction with excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Mengyuan Zhang,
• Jiaqian Qin,
• Pengfei Yu,
• Bing Zhang,
• Mingzhen Ma,
• Xinyu Zhang and
• Riping Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 789–800, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.72

• significant improvement in the degradation of rhodamine B under visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm) irradiation as compared to ZnO and BiOI. The obtained catalysts with a Zn/Bi ratio of 3:1 exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity. The band gap structure and charge transfer properties are investigated by XPS in

A review of carbon-based and non-carbon-based catalyst supports for the selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide

• Shahreen Binti Izwan Anthonysamy,
• Syahidah Binti Afandi,
• Mehrnoush Khavarian and
• Abdul Rahman Bin Mohamed

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 740–761, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.68

• (ZSM-5), TiO2, and Al2O3 supported materials, were identified as the most up-to-date and recently used catalysts for the removal of NO gas. The main focus of this review is the study of catalyst preparation methods, as this is highly correlated to the behaviour of NO removal. The general mechanisms

• can cause the deactivation of the catalyst. In addition, the catalyst also has a limited temperature window (300–400 °C) and poor thermal stability [7][8]. Hence, there is an urgent need to find other catalysts that can overcome these drawbacks and also have high resistance to water (H2O) and

• temperature window of 150–500 °C in a diesel engine as well as the low energy consumption and economy of NH3-SCR [9]. In the literature, abundant catalysts at low temperature have been explored such as transitional metals (Mn, Cu, Ce, Fe, Co, Mo) [10][11][12][13], novel metals (Pt, Pd) [14], and metal ion

Perovskite-structured CaTiO₃ coupled with g-C₃N₄ as a heterojunction photocatalyst for organic pollutant degradation

• Ashish Kumar,
• Christian Schuerings,
• Suneel Kumar,
• Ajay Kumar and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 671–685, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.62

• heterojunction, a DRS study has been performed with all prepared catalysts. The DRS plots for g-C3N4, CT and CTCN heterojunction are depicted in Figure 6a. The band gap values of g-C3N4, CT and CTCN heterojunction are calculated from the transformed Kubelka–Munk plots (Figure 6b–d). Bare g-C3N4 nanosheets unveil

• , visible and sunlight). To demonstrate the photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared catalysts more precisely, the kinetics of the photodegradation of RhB aqueous solutions was studied by fitting the obtained degradation results to a pseudo-first-order reaction model [54][55] and modified Freundlich

• constant. The kinetic plots corresponding to a pseudo-first-order reaction model are presented in Figure S6, Supporting Information File 1. Figure S6a–c represents the C/C0 vs time plots for the catalysts under UV, visible and sunlight irradiation, respectively. The corresponding logarithmic plots are

Facile phase transfer of gold nanorods and nanospheres stabilized with block copolymers

• Yaroslav I. Derikov,
• Georgiy A. Shandryuk,
• Raisa V. Talroze,
• Alexander A. Ezhov and
• Yaroslav V. Kudryavtsev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 616–627, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.58

• in non-polar media. In some cases, for instance, when an organic solvent is poorly miscible with water, more complex schemes involving phase transfer catalysts [20], electrostatics [21][22] or sonication [23] are implemented. Large (>10 nm) nanoparticles are prone to aggregation in organic solvents

Facile synthesis of ZnFe₂O₄ photocatalysts for decolourization of organic dyes under solar irradiation

• Arjun Behera,
• Debasmita Kandi,
• Sanjit Manohar Majhi,
• Satyabadi Martha and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 436–446, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.42

• microstructure of the prepared catalysts were investigated by a TEM-JEOL-2010 200 kV instrument. The electrochemical analysis was carried out using an Ivium potentiostat. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) measurements were performed in a Pyrex electrochemical set up, which includes ZFO samples (deposited on FTO) as

• –540 cm−1 is due to stretching vibrations of M–O bonds (Zn-O and Fe-O). Electrochemical studies Linear-sweep voltammetry In order to know the photocurrent response of the prepared catalysts, linear-sweep voltammetry was carried out in the range of 0–1.1 V in 0.1 M Na2SO4 at a scan rate of 10 mV·s−1

Engineering of oriented carbon nanotubes in composite materials

• Razieh Beigmoradi,
• Abdolreza Samimi and
• Davod Mohebbi-Kalhori

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 415–435, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.41

• may reduce the required magnetic field [108][109][110]. Aleman et al. have recently reported the ferromagnetism of residual catalysts in CVD growth of CNTs. This work shows that adjustment of the size and shape of the catalyst nanoparticle can control the CNT ferromagnetism behavior. This phenomenon

Blister formation during graphite surface oxidation by Hummers’ method

• Olga V. Sinitsyna,
• Georgy B. Meshkov,
• Anastasija V. Grigorieva,
• Alexander A. Antonov,
• Inna G. Grigorieva and
• Igor V. Yaminsky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 407–414, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.40

• , lithium-ion batteries, catalysts, systems for water pollution treatment, nonlinear optical devices and sensors [1][2][3][4]. One of the most important applications of graphene oxide is the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide, which exhibits properties similar to graphene [4][5]. The formation of GO

BN/Ag hybrid nanomaterials with petal-like surfaces as catalysts and antibacterial agents

• Konstantin L. Firestein,
• Denis V. Leybo,
• Alexander E. Steinman,
• Andrey M. Kovalskii,
• Andrei T. Matveev,
• Anton M. Manakhov,
• Irina V. Sukhorukova,
• Pavel V. Slukin,
• Nadezda K. Fursova,
• Sergey G. Ignatov,
• Dmitri V. Golberg and
• Dmitry V. Shtansky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 250–261, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.27

• 10.3762/bjnano.9.27 Abstract BN/Ag hybrid nanomaterials (HNMs) and their possible applications as novel active catalysts and antibacterial agents are investigated. BN/Ag nanoparticle (NP) hybrids were fabricated using two methods: (i) chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of BN NPs in the presence of Ag

• . Keywords: antibacterial agents; BN/Ag hybrid nanomaterials; catalysts; chemical vapour deposition; nanomaterials; Introduction New hybrid nanomaterials are the key components of the next generation advanced catalysts and biomaterials. Novel and unique properties can be obtained while employing synergetic

• utilized toward the development of cutting-edge hybrid nanostructures. For example, BN/noble metal (Pt, Au, Ag) hybrid nanomaterials are envisaged to be the promising components of highly active catalysts, drug delivery systems, molecular probe sensors, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy techniques, and

Bombyx mori silk/titania/gold hybrid materials for photocatalytic water splitting: combining renewable raw materials with clean fuels

• Stefanie Krüger,
• Michael Schwarze,
• Otto Baumann,
• Christina Günter,
• Michael Bruns,
• Christian Kübel,
• Dorothée Vinga Szabó,
• Rafael Meinusch,
• Verónica de Zea Bermudez and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 187–204, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.21

• materials are effective water splitting catalysts and produce up to 30 mmol of hydrogen per 24 h. Overall the article demonstrates that the combination of a renewable and robust scaffold such as B. mori silk with a photoactive material provides a promising approach to new monolithic photocatalysts that can

• not exceed ca. 3 eV to most efficiently use the visible spectral range of the sunlight [6]. As a result, numerous water-splitting catalysts with various efficiencies have been reported [6][7][8][11][12][13]. Because of its bandgap of 3.0–3.2 eV (depending on the crystal structure and particle size [14

• ][15]) TiO2-based water splitting catalysts are among the most popular materials for visible light water splitting [16][17][18][19][20]. Among these, TiO2/Au nanocomposites have attracted special interest because of their synergistic mode of action between the Au nanoparticle (AuNP) plasmons and the

Dopant-stimulated growth of GaN nanotube-like nanostructures on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy

• Alexey D. Bolshakov,
• Alexey M. Mozharov,
• Georgiy A. Sapunov,
• Igor V. Shtrom,
• Nickolay V. Sibirev,
• Vladimir V. Fedorov,
• Evgeniy V. Ubyivovk,
• Maria Tchernycheva,
• George E. Cirlin and
• Ivan S. Mukhin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 146–154, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.17

• offer a new degree of freedom due to possible confinement effects. It has been previously demonstrated that GaN NTs may be synthesized using the following methods: 1) chemical vapor deposition of nitrogen precursor with gallium precursor in the presence of catalysts such as Ni, In or Au [11][12][13]; 2

Electron-driven and thermal chemistry during water-assisted purification of platinum nanomaterials generated by electron beam induced deposition

• Ziyan Warneke,
• Markus Rohdenburg,
• Jonas Warneke,
• Janina Kopyra and
• Petra Swiderek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 77–90, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.10

• paves the avenues to oxidation of the ligands which is obvious here through formation of CO and even CO2. Such a scenario is supported by the fact that Pt complexes in aqueous solution are catalysts for oxidation of alkanes and other organic compounds [30]. Electron-induced reactions involving OH

Review on optofluidic microreactors for artificial photosynthesis

• Xiaowen Huang,
• Jianchun Wang,
• Tenghao Li,
• Jianmei Wang,
• Min Xu,
• Weixing Yu,
• Abdel El Abed and
• Xuming Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 30–41, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.5

• technology by use of the microreactors. Water splitting In the early studies on optofluidic-based water splitting, the optofluidic device often employed sol–gel catalysts on planar channels. For example, Erickson et al. demonstrated a planar setup with TiO2–Pt to process the water splitting reaction [73

• for loading catalysts; (2) perturbation to the liquid flow for rapid mixing; (3) shortened transfer length and enhanced mass transfer; and (4) increased active surface area. With these advantages, the reaction rate could be increased by 56% as compared to the conventional planar microreactors. However

• , a new problem emerges: the direct coating methods are unable to load catalysts firmly and uniformly on the PDMS substrate. Zhang et al. proposed a new casting transfer method for loading catalysts on the PDMS substrate [36], as shown in Figure 5. This method exhibited critically higher durability

Facile synthesis of silver/silver thiocyanate (Ag@AgSCN) plasmonic nanostructures with enhanced photocatalytic performance

• Xinfu Zhao,
• Dairong Chen,
• Abdul Qayum,
• Bo Chen and
• Xiuling Jiao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2781–2789, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.277

• photocatalysts, Ag/AgX (X = Cl, Br, I), suffer from instability during the recycling application, mainly due to the decomposition of AgX (X = Cl, Br, I) under irradiation [19][20][21][22]. Therefore, the development of visible-light catalysts with both high catalytic activity and long-term stability is of great

• catalysts are shown in Figure 5a. The degradation rates were 29%, 81%, 84%, 61%, 49%, and 30%, respectively, in 60 min according to the absorption intensity at 364 nm. When M2 was used as a photocatalyst, the maximum degradation rate was obtained. The time-dependent UV–vis spectrum of the oxytetracycline

• showed that the photodegradation process of oxytetracycline nearly complied with the first-order kinetics, and the corresponding reaction rate constants (Ka) with M0, M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5 as catalysts were 0.0058, 0.0269, 0.02832, 0.01531, 0.01115, 0.006 min−1, respectively. The value of Ka for M2 was