Electrospun Au/CeO2 nanofibers: A highly accessible low-pressure drop catalyst for preferential CO oxidation

MOF Embedded and Cu Doped CeO2 Nanostructures as Efficient Catalyst for Adipic Acid Production: Green Catalysis

Greatly efficient chemical processes are customarily based upon a catalyst activating the process pathway to achieve higher yields of a product with desired specifications. Catalysts capable of achieving good performance without compromising green credentials are a pre-requisite for the development of a sustainable process. In this study, CeO2 nanoparticles were tested for their catalytic activity with two different configurations, one as a hybrid of CeO2 nanoparticles with Zeolitic Immidazole Framework (ZIF-67) and second being doped Cu cations into CeO2 nanoparticles. Physicochemical and catalytic activity was investigated and compared for both systems. Each hybrid was synthesized by embedding the CeO2 nanoparticles into the microporous structure of ZIF-67, and Cu doped CeO2 nanoparticles were prepared by a facile hydrothermal route. As a catalytic test, it was employed for the oxidation of cyclohexene to adipic acid (AA) as an alternative to expensive noble metal-based catalysts. Heterogeneous ZIF-67/CeO2 found catalytical activity towards the oxidation of cyclohexene with nearly complete conversion of cyclohexene into AA under moderate and co-catalyst free reaction conditions, whereas Cu doped CeO2 nanoparticles have shown no catalytic activity towards cyclohexene conversion, depicting the advantages of the porous ZIF-67 structure and its synergistic effect with CeO2 nanoparticles. The large surface area catalyst could be a viable option for the green synthesis of many other chemicals.

CeO2 supported low-loading Au as an enhanced catalyst for low temperature oxidation of carbon monoxide

A series of low loading and high activity Au/CeO₂ supported catalysts were synthesized using a coprecipitation method. Au/CeO₂ catalysts with a low Au content (0.2 wt%) showed extremely high activity for CO oxidation with 100% conversion of CO around 60 °C.

Evaluation of PVP/Au Nanocomposite Fibers as Heterogeneous Catalysts in Indole Synthesis

Electrospun nanocomposite fibers consisting of crosslinked polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) chains and gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) were fabricated, starting from highly stable PVP/Au NP colloidal solutions with different NP loadings, followed by thermal treatment. Information on the morphological characteristics of the fibers and of the embedded Au NPs was obtained by electron microscopy. Cylindrical, bead-free fibers were visualized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) while Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Energy Diffraction X-ray (EDX) analysis supported the presence of Au NPs within the fibers and gave information on their morphologies and average diameters. These materials were briefly evaluated as heterogeneous catalytic supports for the gold-catalyzed intramolecular cyclisation of 2‑(phenylethynyl)aniline to form 2-phenyl-1H-indole. The performance of the gold catalyst was strongly dependent on the Au NP size, with the system containing the smallest Au NPs being the more effective. Moreover, a slight drop of their catalytic efficiency was observed after three consecutive reaction runs, which was attributed to morphological changes as a consequence of fiber merging.

Modulation of bactericidal action in polymer nanocomposites: light-tuned Ag+ release from electrospun PMMA fibers

Silver rate release from electrospun PMMA fibers tuned by combination of silver ions and silver nanoparticles produced by UV irradiation.