Mechanisms of the surface reaction and crystal growth of cerium oxide by supercritical hydrothermal treatment with carboxylic acids

The surface reaction and particle growth mechanisms of cerium oxide and decanoic acid revealed in this study.

Synthesis of CeO2 assemblies through interaction with short-chain dicarboxylic acids under facile hydrothermal conditions

CeO₂ assemblies with various morphologies were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method using short-chain dicarboxylic acids as the only added agent. It is demonstrated that the morphology of CeO₂ assemblies depends on the chain-length of the dicarboxylic acids. The reaction with propanedioic acid (PA) results in durian-like ceria assemblies. Comparatively, ethanedioic acid (EA) tends to precipitate with Ce³⁺ at the beginning, and then guides the formation of lamellar octahedral assemblies. The catalytic performance towards CO oxidation of the as-synthesized CeO₂ with different morphologies was investigated. Compared with lamellar octahedral assemblies, durian-like CeO₂ assemblies showed better catalytic performance, giving complete CO conversion at 350 °C, due to its properties of unique oxygen vacancies, loosely packed pore structure and larger specific surface area.

CeO₂ assemblies with various morphologies are hydrothermally synthesized using short-chain dicarboxylic acids as the only added agent.

Nitroxide supported on nanometric metal oxides as new hybrid catalysts for selective sugar oxidation

A new series of supported organocatalysts, prepared by a simple method, were used for selective sugar oxidation. This approach is based on the immobilization of a nitroxide derivative through a carboxylic function on nanometric metal oxides (TiO₂, Al₂O₃ and CeO₂), allowing the recovery of the catalyst. These hybrid materials were carefully characterized by Diffuse Reflectance FT-IR spectroscopy (DRIFT), ThermoGravimetric Analysis (TGA), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmet-Teller surface area measurements (B.E.T.), elemental and electrochemical analyses, showing different characteristics and behaviors depending on the nature of the metal oxide used. The activity of the supported nitroxide catalyst was evaluated on methyl α-d-glucoside oxidation, used as model reaction. In all cases, high catalytic activity was highlighted, with up to 25 times less nitroxyl radical required for complete conversion than under homogeneous conditions. The influence of several experimental conditions such as the use of phosphate buffer and recyclability of the catalyst were also investigated.

Chemistry in supercritical fluids for the synthesis of metal nanomaterials

The supercritical flow synthesis of metal nanomaterials is sustainable and scalable for the efficient production of materials.

Ozone-mediated synthesis of ceria nanoparticles

We report a rapid, room temperature methodology to synthesize fluorite-structured ceria nanoparticles using cerium(iii) salts and ozone in the presence of short chain primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols. This simple technique produced nanoparticles with higher oxygen vacancy compared to that of bulk ceria.

Rapid One-Pot Solvothermal Batch Synthesis of Porous Nanocrystal Assemblies Composed of Multiple Transition-Metal Elements

The ability of a rapid-heating solvothermal process to synthesize porous nanocrystal assemblies composed of the multiple transition metals was demonstrated. The rapid heating facilitated the quick formation of nascent nanocrystals to generate homogeneous mixed transition-metal oxides. Systematic studies of the synthesis of mixed-metal oxides under various experimental conditions indicated that the present simple method is suitable to develop a wide variety of binary and ternary transition-metal systems such as Co/Mn, Ni/Mn, and Co/Mn/Fe mixed-metal oxides. The products obtained from the rapid heating process were hierarchically assembled porous nanospheres composed of sub-10 nm nanocrystals, which had an extraordinarily high surface area and nano/mesopores. Electrochemical tests revealed the high catalytic ability of the porous nanocrystal assemblies in water oxidation.

Continuous Hydrothermal Synthesis of Inorganic Nanoparticles: Applications and Future Directions

Nanomaterials are at the leading edge of the emerging field of nanotechnology. Their unique and tunable size-dependent properties (in the range 1-100 nm) make these materials indispensable in many modern technological applications. In this Review, we summarize the state-of-art in the manufacture and applications of inorganic nanoparticles made using continuous hydrothermal flow synthesis (CHFS) processes. First, we introduce ideal requirements of any flow process for nanoceramics production, outline different approaches to CHFS, and introduce the pertinent properties of supercritical water and issues around mixing in flow, to generate nanoparticles. This Review then gives comprehensive coverage of the current application space for CHFS-made nanomaterials including optical, healthcare, electronics (including sensors, information, and communication technologies), catalysis, devices (including energy harvesting/conversion/fuels), and energy storage applications. Thereafter, topics of precursor chemistry and products, as well as materials or structures, are discussed (surface-functionalized hybrids, nanocomposites, nanograined coatings and monoliths, and metal-organic frameworks). Later, this Review focuses on some of the key apparatus innovations in the field, such as in situ flow/rapid heating systems (to investigate kinetics and mechanisms), approaches to high throughput flow syntheses (for nanomaterials discovery), as well as recent developments in scale-up of hydrothermal flow processes. Finally, this Review covers environmental considerations, future directions and capabilities, along with the conclusions and outlook.