Mechanistic insights into plasmonic photocatalysts in utilizing visible light

• Kah Hon Leong,
• Azrina Abd Aziz,
• Lan Ching Sim,
• Pichiah Saravanan,
• Min Jang and
• Detlef Bahnemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 628–648, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.59

• where they successfully improved the harvesting potential of visible light for Pd NPs with a particle size in the range of ≈80 nm [25]. Similar results were also obtained by Kwak et al. where Pd NPs particles of ≈15 nm diameter were integrated onto TiO2 [26]. The plasmon-assisted physico-chemical

• are quite a number of ways to synthesize plasmonic photocatalysts. The most important step in their fabrication is the incorporation or deposition of noble metals onto the surface of a semiconductor. The most commonly studied semiconductor is TiO2, which exhibits superior photocatalysis efficiency

• . Moreover, researchers have proven the possibility of using direct sunlight as an alternative to artificial UV light for such noble metal deposition. In a study by Leong and co-workers, they successfully achieved the deposition of Ag and Pd onto the surface of TiO2 via this renewable route. They also used

Fabrication and photoactivity of ionic liquid–TiO₂ structures for efficient visible-light-induced photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants in aqueous phase

• Anna Gołąbiewska,
• Marta Paszkiewicz-Gawron,
• Aleksandra Sadzińska,
• Wojciech Lisowski,
• Ewelina Grabowska,
• Adriana Zaleska-Medynska and
• Justyna Łuczak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 580–590, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.54

• photoactivity of TiO2, a series of TiO2 microspheres have been synthesized via a solvothermal method assisted by 1-methyl-3-octadecylimidazolium chloride ([ODMIM][Cl]) and 1-methyl-3-tetradecylimidazolium chloride ([TDMIM][Cl]). All as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray

• nm). The highest photoefficiency (four times higher than pristine TiO2) was observed for the TiO2 sample obtained in the presence of [TDMIM][Cl] for a IL to TiO2 precursor molar ratio of 1:3. It was revealed that interactions between the ions of the ionic liquid and the surface of the growing

• titanium dioxide spheres results in a red-shift of absorption edge for the IL–TiO2 semiconductors. In this regard, the direct increase of the photoactivity of IL–TiO2 in comparison to pristine TiO2 was observed. The active species trapping experiments indicated that O2•− is the main active species, created

Influence of the preparation method on the photocatalytic activity of Nd-modified TiO₂

• Patrycja Parnicka,
• Paweł Mazierski,
• Tomasz Grzyb,
• Wojciech Lisowski,
• Ewa Kowalska,
• Bunsho Ohtani,
• Adriana Zaleska-Medynska and
• Joanna Nadolna

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 447–459, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.43

• Poznan, 60-780 Poznan, Poland Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences,01-224 Warsaw, Poland Institute for Catalysis, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan 10.3762/bjnano.9.43 Abstract Nd-modified TiO2 photocatalysts have been obtained via hydrothermal (HT) and sol–hydrothermal

• synthesized samples was evaluated by the degradation of phenol in aqueous solution under irradiation with UV–vis (λ > 350 nm) and vis (λ > 420 nm) light, as well as by the degradation of gaseous toluene under irradiation with vis (λmax = 415 nm) light. It was found that Nd-modified TiO2 is an efficient

• photocatalytic efficiency of phenol and toluene degradation under vis irradiation in the presence of 0.25% Nd-TiO2(HT) reached 0.62 and 3.36 μmol·dm−1·min−1, respectively. Photocatalytic activity tests in the presence of Nd-TiO2 and scavenger confirm that superoxide radicals were responsible for the visible

Photocatalytic and adsorption properties of TiO₂-pillared montmorillonite obtained by hydrothermally activated intercalation of titanium polyhydroxo complexes

• Mikhail F. Butman,
• Nikolay L. Ovchinnikov,
• Nikita S. Karasev,
• Nataliya E. Kochkina,
• Alexander V. Agafonov and
• Alexandr V. Vinogradov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 364–378, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.36

• of Sciences, Akademicheskaya St. 1, Ivanovo 153045, Russian Federation ITMO University, Lomonosova St. 9, St. Petersburg 197101, Russian Federation 10.3762/bjnano.9.36 Abstract We report on a new approach for the synthesis of TiO2-pillared montmorillonite, where the pillars exhibit a high degree of

• , and liquefied nitrogen adsorption/desorption. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2-pillared materials was studied using the degradation of anionic (methyl orange, MO) and cationic (rhodamine B, RhB) dyes in water under UV irradiation. The combined effect of adsorption and photocatalysis resulted in

• removal of 100% MO and 97.5% RhB (with an initial concentration of 40 mg/L and a photocatalyst-sorbent concentration of 1 g/L) in about 100 minutes. The produced TiO2-pillared montmorillonite showed increased photocatalytic activity as compared to the commercially available photocatalyst Degussa P25

Sugarcane juice derived carbon dot–graphitic carbon nitride composites for bisphenol A degradation under sunlight irradiation

• Lan Ching Sim,
• Jing Lin Wong,
• Chen Hong Hak,
• Jun Yan Tai,
• Kah Hon Leong and
• Pichiah Saravanan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 353–363, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.35

• absorption spectra after titanium dioxide (TiO2) loading [28] and acid treatment [29], the incorporation of CDs into g-C3N4 consistently red-shifted the absorption spectra towards the visible and NIR region. However, the photocatalytic performance of the composites is possibly limited under NIR light

• the enhancement of BPA degradation. It is notable that the photosensitizing effect of CDs serves as a dominant factor for enhancing the photocatalytic activity of CD/g-C3N4 composites since the degradation rate of BPA is well consistent with the UV DRS results. Unlike CDs, TiO2 in combination with g

Synthesis and characterization of electrospun molybdenum dioxide–carbon nanofibers as sulfur matrix additives for rechargeable lithium–sulfur battery applications

• Ruiyuan Zhuang,
• Shanshan Yao,
• Maoxiang Jing,
• Xiangqian Shen,
• Jun Xiang,
• Tianbao Li,
• Kesong Xiao and
• Shibiao Qin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 262–270, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.28

• materials including SiO2 [9], TiO2 [10], MnO2 [11], Mg0.6Ni0.4O [12], TiS2 [13], CoS2 [14], and FeS2 [15] were found to be more highly effective in binding with sulfur species than carbon substrates, and were found to significantly improve the cycling behavior of Li–S batteries. However, these metal oxide

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

• only improve the colloidal stability of Ag NPs but also improve their antibacterial characteristics. A wide range of materials, such as graphene oxide [30][31], carbon nanotubes [32], SiO2 [33], Fe3O4 [34], ZnO [35], CuO [36], TiO2 [37] and others, have been tested as the supports for Ag NPs. Compared

Anchoring of a dye precursor on NiO(001) studied by non-contact atomic force microscopy

• Sara Freund,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Nathalie Marinakis,
• Edwin C. Constable,
• Ernst Meyer,
• Catherine E. Housecroft and
• Thilo Glatzel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 242–249, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.26

• photovoltaics such as dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) [1][2][3][4]. In the latter field, the wide band gap n-type semiconductor TiO2 has become one of the most common metal oxides for the design of classical n-type DSSCs, and is therefore a widely studied material, in particular in the field of scanning

• probe microscopy (SPM) [5]. Through the adsorption of a large variety of dye molecules, the ability of sensitized TiO2 to absorb light can be triggered and tuned. Thus, the possibility of designing photoactive devices with anodes consisting of nanostructured and functionalized TiO2 leads to numerous

• nor any contrast inversion, as for example in measurements on TiO2 [51], and considering that Ni vacancies are supposed to occur more frequently in NiO [52], it can be assumed that the protrusions are related to oxygen atoms. This is also in agreement with earlier experimental studies on NiO where

Al₂O₃/TiO₂ inverse opals from electrosprayed self-assembled templates

• Arnau Coll,
• Sandra Bermejo,
• David Hernández and
• Luís Castañer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 216–223, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.23

• opals is challenging, requiring large size, three-dimensional ordered layers of high dielectric constant ratio. In this article, alumina/TiO2–air inverse opals with a 98.2% reflectivity peak at 798 nm having an area of 2 cm2 and a thickness of 17 µm are achieved using a sacrificial self-assembled

• structure of large thickness, which was produced with minimum fabrication errors by means of an electrospray technique. Using alumina as the first supporting layer enables the deposition of TiO2 at a higher temperature, therefore providing better optical quality. Keywords: electrospray; metamaterials

• material deposition process with the maximum temperature that the polymeric nanoparticles can sustain, which is typically below 90–100 °C. This low temperature reduces the choices of materials that have suitable optical properties for a given application [35][36]. As an example, TiO2 deposited at <150 °C

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

• Giessen, Germany Department of Chemistry and CQ-VR, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Pt-5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal 10.3762/bjnano.9.21 Abstract The synthesis, structure, and photocatalytic water splitting performance of two new titania (TiO2)/gold(Au)/Bombyx mori silk hybrid materials are

• reported. All materials are monoliths with diameters of up to ca. 4.5 cm. The materials are macroscopically homogeneous and porous with surface areas between 170 and 210 m2/g. The diameter of the TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) – mainly anatase with a minor fraction of brookite – and the Au NPs are on the order

• the limitations of H2 is the efficient and sustainable H2 production. Currently, H2 is mainly produced by steam reforming of gas and oil, by catalytic reforming, or by water electrolysis [3][4]. In 1972 Fujishima and Honda reported that TiO2 is able to split water [5], a seminal discovery that has led

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

• energy could be offered by external light. In principle, a semiconductor photocatalyst (e.g., TiO2, C3N4) absorbs the appropriate photon (hν ≥ E0, where E0 is the bandgap of the semiconductor photocatalyst) to excite an electron in the conduction band, leaving a hole in the valence band. The electron

• 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

• and better hydrogen production rate than the conventional ones. CO2 reduction Optofluidic microreactors have been firstly applied for water purification [50], water splitting [73], photocatalytic fuel cells [75] and then CO2 reduction [76]. Chen et al. combined the optofluidics with the TiO2/carbon

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

• and environmental friendlessness. For example, as a typical semiconductor, TiO2 exhibits high photocatalytic degradation performance against a large number of organic pollutants [5][6][7]. However, it is difficult to obtain a high photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation with TiO2 as a

Impact of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on purification and contamination of nematic liquid crystals

• Dmitrii Pavlovich Shcherbinin and
• Elena A. Konshina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2766–2770, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.275

• contamination. We have examined nematic liquid crystals with low (LC1) and high (LC2) ionic contamination and their composites with TiO2 nanoparticles. The impact of TiO2 nanoparticles on purification and contamination in LCs has been experimentally shown. The plane-parallel cells consisted of two glass

• composites with TiO2 NPs, low frequency dielectric spectra were measured. All measurements were performed with a LCR-meter (Agilent E4980A) under the same conditions at room temperature. The investigation results of the low frequency dielectric spectra LCs are shown in Figure 1. The spectra were obtained in

• the range from 20 Hz to 1 kHz. In this spectral range, the dispersion of dielectric permittivity is related to ionic conductivity. Figure 1a represents real and imaginary parts of the dielectric permittivity of initially low-contaminated liquid crystals (LC1) and their composites with TiO2

CdSe nanorod/TiO₂ nanoparticle heterojunctions with enhanced solar- and visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Fakher Laatar,
• Hatem Moussa,
• Halima Alem,
• Lavinia Balan,
• Emilien Girot,
• Ghouti Medjahdi,
• Hatem Ezzaouia and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2741–2752, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.273

• rue Jean Starcky, 68093 Mulhouse, France 10.3762/bjnano.8.273 Abstract CdSe nanorods (NRs) with an average length of ≈120 nm were prepared by a solvothermal process and associated to TiO2 nanoparticles (Aeroxide® P25) by annealing at 300 °C for 1 h. The content of CdSe NRs in CdSe/TiO2 composites was

• varied from 0.5 to 5 wt %. The CdSe/TiO2 heterostructured materials were characterized by XRD, TEM, SEM, XPS, UV–visible spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. TEM images and XRD patterns show that CdSe NRs with wurtzite structure are associated to TiO2 particles. The UV–visible spectra demonstrate that

• the narrow bandgap of CdSe NRs serves to increase the photoresponse of CdSe/TiO2 composites until ≈725 nm. The CdSe (2 wt %)/TiO2 composite exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B in aqueous solution under simulated sunlight or visible light irradiation. The

Ab initio study of adsorption and diffusion of lithium on transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers

• Xiaoli Sun and
• Zhiguo Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2711–2718, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.270

• excellent cycling stability and superior rate performance. The composites exhibited a high discharge capacity of 1546 mAh/g after 300 cycles. The MoS2 composites grown on TiO2 nanotubes show better rate capability with a reversible capacity of 461 mAh/g at 1000 mA/g, compared with the capacity of pure MoS2

Increasing the stability of DNA nanostructure templates by atomic layer deposition of Al₂O₃ and its application in imprinting lithography

• Hyojeong Kim,
• Kristin Arbutina,
• Anqin Xu and
• Haitao Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2363–2375, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.236

• deposition of SiO2 and TiO2 on the DNA nanostructures and the substrate [34] were modulated to replicate the patterns of the DNA nanostructures into those of the inorganic oxides. In both cases, the patterns of the nanostructures were transferred in both positive tone and negative tone at room temperature

Evaluating the toxicity of TiO₂-based nanoparticles to Chinese hamster ovary cells and Escherichia coli: a complementary experimental and computational approach

• Alicja Mikolajczyk,
• Natalia Sizochenko,
• Ewa Mulkiewicz,
• Anna Malankowska,
• Michal Nischk,
• Przemyslaw Jurczak,
• Seishiro Hirano,
• Grzegorz Nowaczyk,
• Adriana Zaleska-Medynska,
• Jerzy Leszczynski,
• Agnieszka Gajewicz and
• Tomasz Puzyn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2171–2180, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.216

• hazardous for living organisms. Considering the ever-growing number of new types of nanoparticles that can potentially contaminate the environment, a determination of their toxicity is extremely important. The main aim of presented study was to investigate the cytotoxic effect of surface modified TiO2-based

• nanoparticles, to model their quantitative nanostructure–toxicity relationships and to reveal the toxicity mechanism. In this context, toxicity tests for surface-modified TiO2-based nanoparticles were performed in vitro, using Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells. The

• (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface, BET) of nanoparticles were discussed. Keywords: Au/Pd–TiO2 photocatalyst; bimetallic nanoparticles; nanotoxicity; nano-QSAR; second-generation nanoparticles; Introduction Unmodified titania (TiO2) nanoparticles (so-called first-generation NPs) represent a material that

In situ controlled rapid growth of novel high activity TiB₂/(TiB₂–TiN) hierarchical/heterostructured nanocomposites

• Jilin Wang,
• Hejie Liao,
• Yuchun Ji,
• Fei Long,
• Yunle Gu,
• Zhengguang Zou,
• Weimin Wang and
• Zhengyi Fu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2116–2125, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.211

• -temperature synthesis (RC-SHS) method was developed for the in situ controlled synthesis of novel, high activity TiB2/(TiB2–TiN) hierarchical/heterostructured nanocomposites using TiO2, Mg, B2O3, KBH4 and NH4NO3 as raw materials. The as-synthesized samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD

• ][20]. The heat leads to the decomposition of KBH4 and generates KH/BH3 with strong reduction capacity (Equation 3) [21][22][23]. The KH/BH3 reacts with the residual B2O3 and TiO2, then forms B*, Ti*, K2O, H2O and H2 (Equation 4–7). The B* combines with Ti* to produce TiB2 crystals (Equation 8). KOH is

• (see Supporting Information File 1). The oxidation curves of the samples were typical of those reported in previous literature [35][36][37][38]. The oxidation process can be divided into three stages. Firstly, TiB2 is oxidized to TiO2 and solid B2O3 [36][39]. Secondly, when the temperature reaches the

Synthesis and characterization of noble metal–titania core–shell nanostructures with tunable shell thickness

• Bartosz Bartosewicz,
• Marta Michalska-Domańska,
• Malwina Liszewska,
• Dariusz Zasada and
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2083–2093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.208

• formation is desired. A sol–gel based titania coating method, which allows control over the shell thickness, was developed and applied to the synthesis of Ag@TiO2 and Au@TiO2 with various shell thicknesses. The morphology of the synthesized structures was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM

• ). Their sizes and shell thicknesses were determined using tunable resistive pulse sensing (TRPS) technique. The optical properties of the synthesized structures were characterized using UV–vis spectroscopy. Ag@TiO2 and Au@TiO2 structures with shell thickness in the range of ≈40–70 nm and 90 nm, for the Ag

• characterization of metal–metal oxide core–shell nanostructures. Keywords: Ag@TiO2; Au@TiO2; core–shell nanostructures; titania coating; titanium dioxide; tunable resistive pulse sensing; Introduction In recent years, core–shell nanostructures (CSNs) have become one of the most widely studied hybrid structures

Evaluation of preparation methods for suspended nano-objects on substrates for dimensional measurements by atomic force microscopy

• Petra Fiala,
• Daniel Göhler,
• Benno Wessely,
• Michael Stintz,
• Giovanni Mattia Lazzerini and
• Andrew Yacoot

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1774–1785, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.179

• analyses of several hundreds of particles per material. The direct comparison between the mean values of nA,exp and nA,PR shows that the experimental values were mostly below 1, i.e., the samples contained fewer particles than theoretical predicted. The fractal TiO2 particles are an exception because of

• particles (60 nm) and b) Au rods (25 × 77 nm) prepared on Si wafers by conventional drop-drying. SEM images of a) spherical Ag particles (50 nm) and b) fractal TiO2 particles (<150 nm) prepared on Si wavers by conventional drop-drying. SEM overview image of spherical SiO2 particles (100 nm) prepared on Si

• (100 nm) and b) fractal TiO2 particles (<150 nm) prepared on Si wafers by electrostatic precipitation. AFM analyses: a) AFM image and b) distribution of measured heights for spherical SiO2 particles (100 nm) deposited on Si waver. Overview of analysed nanomaterials and their characteristics. Analysed

Three-in-one approach towards efficient organic dye-sensitized solar cells: aggregation suppression, panchromatic absorption and resonance energy transfer

• Jayita Patwari,
• Samim Sardar,
• Bo Liu,
• Peter Lemmens and
• Samir Kumar Pal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1705–1713, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.171

• , using time-resolved fluorescence decay measurements. The electron transfer time scales from the dyes to TiO2 have also been characterized for each dye. The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics and the wavelength-dependent photocurrent measurements of the co-sensitized DSSCs reveal that FRET between the

• carried out to explore the dynamical processes occurring between these two dyes after the attachment to the TiO2 surface. PPIX is an environmentally friendly organic sensitizer that has a strong absorption in the visible region of the solar spectrum. Application of PPIX as a sensitizer in DSSCs has been

• increased absorption window, FRET-enhanced photocurrent and the prevention of SQ2 aggregation. Experimental Reagents TiO2 nanoparticles (21 nm), protoporphyrin IX (PPIX), platinum chloride (H2PtCl6), lithium iodide (LiI), 4-tert-butylpyridine (TBP) and iodine (I2) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Squarine

Two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic energy generation and environmental remediation applications

• Suneel Kumar,
• Ashish Kumar,
• Ashish Bahuguna,
• Vipul Sharma and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1571–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.159

• achieved in 1972 by Fujishima and Honda on a TiO2 anode and Pt cathode under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation [6]. After this, research interest in exploring semiconductors for hydrogen production has grown significantly and many research groups have focussed their studies in this direction [7][8][9][10

• ]. Hence, in the recent decade, heterogeneous photocatalysis has been widely explored for the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy and for pollutant removal from water [11][12]. Up to now, various interesting semiconductors such as TiO2, ZnO, WO3, CdS, Bi2O3, Fe2O3, SnO2, BiVO4, etc. have been

• growth of nanoparticles and hence the resultant photocatalytic materials are chemically bonded with each other [53]. This method has been successfully used in the in situ preparation of various graphene–semiconductor nanocomposites, such as TiO2 on GO sheets [57]. Self-assembly is a very important method

Low-temperature CO oxidation over Cu/Pt co-doped ZrO₂ nanoparticles synthesized by solution combustion

• Amit Singhania and
• Shipra Mital Gupta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1546–1552, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.156

• acidic reaction environments [18] and a better catalyst/support than other materials such as SiO2, TiO2, and Al2O3 [19]. Recently, we reported the usage of ZrO2 and Pt-doped ZrO2 nanoparticles for CO oxidation [20]. In this paper, the synthesized ZrO2 showed 100% CO conversion at a temperature which is

Development of a nitrogen-doped 2D material for tribological applications in the boundary-lubrication regime

• Shende Rashmi Chandrabhan,
• Velayudhanpillai Jayan,
• Somendra Singh Parihar and
• Sundara Ramaprabhu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1476–1483, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.147

• tribological study on TiO2-reinforced boron/nitrogen co-doped graphene oxide and revealed that the doping of reduced graphene oxide with heteroatoms (nitrogen, boron, co-doped nitrogen/boron) successively enhanced the antiwear properties [39]. Considering aforesaid facts, the present work describes the facile

Fabrication of hierarchically porous TiO₂ nanofibers by microemulsion electrospinning and their application as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

• Jin Zhang,
• Yibing Cai,
• Xuebin Hou,
• Xiaofei Song,
• Pengfei Lv,
• Huimin Zhou and
• Qufu Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1297–1306, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.131

• China 10.3762/bjnano.8.131 Abstract Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanofibers have been widely applied in various fields including photocatalysis, energy storage and solar cells due to the advantages of low cost, high abundance and nontoxicity. However, the low conductivity of ions and bulk electrons hinder

• its rapid development in lithium-ion batteries (LIB). In order to improve the electrochemical performances of TiO2 nanomaterials as anode for LIB, hierarchically porous TiO2 nanofibers with different tetrabutyl titanate (TBT)/paraffin oil ratios were prepared as anode for LIB via a versatile single

• -nozzle microemulsion electrospinning (ME-ES) method followed by calcining. The experimental results indicated that TiO2 nanofibers with the higher TBT/paraffin oil ratio demonstrated more axially aligned channels and a larger specific surface area. Furthermore, they presented superior lithium-ion storage