Glycerol Oligomerization over Titania-Based Catalyst Compositions

The possibility of using TiO2 -based compositions: individual and sulfated titania, and their composites with carbon nanotubes as catalysts for glycerol oligomerization has been displayed. The effect of modification of TiO2 with sulfur and carbon nanotubes on acid-base and catalytic characteristics in the glycerol conversion was investigated. The activation of glycerol on the catalysts has been studied using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Only the samples based on sulfated titania are active over glycerol transformation, showing up to 58.7 % conversion. This is explained by the presence of strong base sites. Glycerides up to pentaglycerides, both linear and nonlinear structure are formed by glycerol oligomerization over TiO2 -S. The addition of nanotubes to the catalyst reduces both the glycerol conversion (up to 10.5 %) and the yield of glycerides. However, the spectrum of the resulting products is significantly narrowed, increasing the selectivity for short-chain glycerides: the portion of diglycerides reaches 72 %, and triglycerides 21 %. Herewith, glycerides of a linear structure only formed.

Bio-interactive nanoarchitectonics with two-dimensional materials and environments

Like the proposal of nanotechnology by Richard Feynman, the nanoarchitectonics concept was initially proposed by Masakazu Aono. The nanoarchitectonics strategy conceptually fuses nanotechnology with other research fields including organic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, micro/nanofabrication, materials science, and bio-related sciences, and aims to produce functional materials from nanoscale components. In this review article, bio-interactive nanoarchitectonics and two-dimensional materials and environments are discussed as a selected topic. The account gives general examples of nanoarchitectonics of two-dimensional materials for energy storage, catalysis, and biomedical applications, followed by explanations of bio-related applications with two-dimensional materials such as two-dimensional biomimetic nanosheets, fullerene nanosheets, and two-dimensional assemblies of one-dimensional fullerene nanowhiskers (FNWs). The discussion on bio-interactive nanoarchitectonics in two-dimensional environments further extends to liquid-liquid interfaces such as fluorocarbon-medium interfaces and viscous liquid interfaces as new frontiers of two-dimensional environments for bio-related applications. Controlling differentiation of stem cells at fluidic liquid interfaces is also discussed. Finally, a conclusive section briefly summarizes features of bio-interactive nanoarchitectonics with two-dimensional materials and environments and discusses possible future perspectives.

Enhanced mixed proton and electron conductor at room temperature from chemically modified single-wall carbon nanotubes

Remarkably high mixed proton and electron conduction arising from oxidized single-wall carbon nanotubes at room temperature is demonstrated. The respective proton and electronic conductivities are 1.40 and 8.0 × 10-2 S cm-1 in the in-plane direction, and 3.1 × 10-2 and 1.1 × 10-3 S cm-1 in the out-of-plane direction, indicating their potential in a wide range of solid electrolyte membranes.

High Proton Conductivity of 3D Graphene Oxide Intercalated with Aromatic Sulfonic Acids

The development of efficient proton conductors that are capable of high power density, sufficient mechanical strength, and reduced gas permeability is challenging. Herein, we report the development of a series of aromatic sulfonic acid/graphene oxide hybrid membranes incorporating benzene sulfonic acid (BS), naphthalene sulfonic acid (NS), naphthalene disulfonic acid (DS) or pyrene sulfonic acid (PS) using a facile freeze dried method. For out-of-plane proton conductivity, the 3DGO-BS and 3DGO-NS yielded proton conductivities of 4.4×10-2  S cm-1 and 3.1×10-2  S cm-1 , respectively; this represents a two-times higher value than that which occurs for three dimensional graphene oxide (3DGO). Additionally, the respective prepared films as membranes in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) show maximum power density of 98.76 mW cm-2 for 3DGO-NS while it is 92.75 mW cm-2 for 3DGO-BS which are close to double that obtained for 3DGO (50 mW cm-2 ).