Studying the solvothermal formation of MoO3 fibers by complementary in situ EXAFS/EDXRD techniques

Kinetic and thermodynamic aspects in the microwave-assisted synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles in benzyl alcohol

A detailed study of kinetic and thermodynamic aspects in the microwave-assisted synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles from zinc acetate and benzyl alcohol is presented. The use of a nonaqueous sol-gel approach provides the unique opportunity to investigate simultaneously the organic reaction, that is, the esterification between acetate and benzyl alcohol, and the inorganic process, represented by the growth of the ZnO nanoparticles. Monitoring both the formation of the organic species as well as ZnO crystal size with time makes it possible to directly correlate the kinetics of the organic side reaction with the growth kinetics of the ZnO nanoparticles. The esterification reaction, which is the chemical basis for producing the monomers for ZnO formation, was found to be first order. The growth of the ZnO nanoparticles followed the Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner model for coarsening, pointing to a diffusion-limited process. Comparison of the microwave-mediated route with conventional heating showed that microwave irradiation greatly accelerates nanoparticle formation by (a) facilitating the dissolution of the precursor in the solvent, (b) increasing the rate constants for the esterification reaction by 1 order of magnitude, resulting in faster production of monomer and consequently in an earlier nucleation event, and (c) increasing the rate constants k(growth) for the crystal growth from 3.9 nm(3)/min (conventional heating) to 15.4 nm(3)/min (microwave heating).

Surfactant-free nonaqueous synthesis of metal oxide nanostructures

Surfactant-free nonaqueous (and/or nonhydrolytic) sol-gel routes constitute one of the most versatile and powerful synthesis methodologies for nanocrystalline metal oxides with high compositional homogeneity and purity. Although the synthesis protocols are particularly simple, involving only metal oxide precursors and common organic solvents, the obtained uniform nanocrystals exhibit an immense variety of sizes and shapes. The small number of reactants in these routes enables the study of the chemical mechanisms involved in metal oxide formation. Nonhydrolytic routes to inorganic nanomaterials that used surfactants as size- and shape-controlling agents have been discussed recently. This Minireview supplements this topic by discussing surfactant-free processes, which have become a valuable alternative to surfactant-assisted as well as to traditional aqueous sol-gel chemistry routes.

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Molybdenum Oxide Based Materials: Strategy and Structural Chemistry

The preparative flexibility of hydrothermal syntheses needs to be systemised for exploring complex structure-synthesis relationships and morphology control options in materials chemistry. This is demonstrated for the targeted hydrothermal preparation of molybdenum oxide materials: firstly, in situ studies were employed for the efficient production of MoO(3) nanofibres. Furthermore, ionic substances as structure-directing tools brought forward a new class of fluorinated polyoxomolybdates.

Molybdenum Trioxide Nanostructures: The Evolution from Helical Nanosheets to Crosslike Nanoflowers to Nanobelts

MoO(3) nanostructures with different morphologies, such as helical nanosheets, crosslike nanoflowers, and nanobelts, have been synthesized on a large scale by an environmentally friendly chemical route. The evolution process from helical nanosheets to crosslike nanoflowers to nanobelts is observed for the first time. The influences of reaction time and the molar ratio of molybdenum and H(2)O(2) on the morphologies of MoO(3) nanostructures have been investigated. The synthetic process is environmentally friendly and may be extended to synthesize nanostructures of other metal (W, Ti, and Cr) oxides.

2D-Mapping of the Catalyst Structure Inside a Catalytic Microreactor at Work: Partial Oxidation of Methane over Rh/Al2O3

Tremendous changes of the structure of Rh particles occurred during partial methane oxidation to hydrogen and carbon monoxide over a 2.5 wt % Rh/Al(2)O(3) catalyst upon ignition of the catalytic reaction. Furthermore, near the ignition temperature a variation in the Rh-valence state along the catalyst bed was observed. By combining hard X-ray absorption spectroscopy (X-ray absorption near edge structure, XANES) with a charged coupled device (CCD) camera and using a suitable spectroscopic cell with gas supply and on-line mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that 2D-mapping of the Rh-oxidation state in a catalyst bed can be achieved during the catalytic reaction. For this purpose, X-ray images were recorded with the CCD camera at each energy around the Rh K-edge with and without the spectroscopic cell. This resulted effectively in the transmitted and incident intensity at each energy and at each pixel of the spectroscopic cell. Reconstruction of the full Rh K-edge XANES spectra at each pixel revealed the local distribution of oxidized and metallic Rh-species in the catalyst bed. Along the catalyst bed, structural changes were found with a steep gradient within less than 100 microm. Furthermore, a characteristic cone toward the inlet of the spectroscopic cell was observed.

One-Pot Redox Syntheses of Heteronanostructures of Ag Nanoparticles on MoO3 Nanofibers

A new one-pot redox route has been developed for simultaneous syntheses of Ag nanoparticles on MoO(3) nanofibers. Four different synthetic reactions that have been integrated into the one-pot synthesis include the oxidation of [Na(H(2)O)(2)](0.25)MoO(3) bronze, the reduction of silver ions, and the in situ simultaneous growth of the self-organized Ag nanoparticles and the MoO(3) nanofibers. This new strategy can be generally applicable to grafting various metal nanoparticles on nanofibers for new catalysis-related applications.

In situ spectroscopic investigation of heterogeneous catalysts and reaction media at high pressure

In situ characterization of catalysts by means of complementary spectroscopic techniques can be regarded as the first step towards rational catalyst design. Spurred by the growing interest of catalytic reactions in supercritical fluids and by several industrial reactions traditionally performed at high pressure (>10 bar), new demands and challenges are put to in situ spectroscopic characterization of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. In this article, we discuss the development and the use of spectroscopic and related techniques suitable for elucidating such high-pressure reactions. Selected examples from phase behaviour studies with a view cell, investigations with transmission and attenuated total reflection (ATR) infrared spectroscopy as well as X-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS, XANES), are presented to show the strategies, opportunities and limitations of such high pressure in situ studies. Different facets appear to be important to gain insight into catalytic reactions in supercritical fluids: the identification of the phase behaviour of the reaction mixture, the behaviour of the fluid inside the porous catalyst, the processes occurring at the solid-fluid interface, the possible dissolution of active species and, similar as in gas-solid reactions, the establishment of structure-activity relationships.