Ternary N, S, and P-Doped Hollow Carbon Spheres Derived from Polyphosphazene as Pd Supports for Ethanol Oxidation Reaction

Ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) is an important electrode reaction in ethanol fuel cells. However, there are many problems with commercial ethanol oxidation electrocatalysts today, such as poor durability, poor anti-CO poisoning ability, and low selectivity for C–C bond cleavage. Therefore, it is very meaningful to develop a high-performance EOR catalyst. Herein, we designed ternary N, S, and P-doped hollow carbon spheres (C–N,P,S) from polyphosphazene (PCCP) as Pd supports for EOR. Using SiO2 spheres as the templates, the PCCP was first coated on the surfaces of SiO2 spheres by in situ polymerization. Through high-temperature pyrolysis and hydrofluoric acid-etching, the hollow PCCP has a large surface area and porous structure. After loading Pd nanoparticles (NPs), the Pd/C–N, P, S catalysts with Pd NPs decorated on the surfaces of C–N, P, S can achieve a high mass peak current density of 1686 mA mgPd−1, which was 2.8 times greater than that of Pd/C. Meanwhile, the Pd/C–N, P, S catalyst also shows a better stability than that of Pd/C after a durability test of 3600s.

PdO/ZnO@mSiO2 Hybrid Nanocatalyst for Reduction of Nitroarenes

Development of a novel approach for synthesizing nanostructured catalysts and achieving further improvements in catalytic activity, effectiveness, and efficiency remains a major challenge. In this report, we describe the preparation of a nanostructured PdO/ZnO@mSiO2 hybrid nanocatalyst featuring well-dispersed PdO nanoparticles within hollow ZnO@mSiO2. The as-prepared PdO/ZnO@mSiO2 hybrid nanocatalyst exhibited good morphological features, derived from the controlled stepwise synthesis from Pd/PS@ZIF-8@mSiO2 (PS = polystyrene). The morphology, size, oxidation state, crystallinity, and thermal stability of the prepared PdO/ZnO@mSiO2 hybrid nanocatalyst were confirmed by a series of physicochemical techniques. The PdO/ZnO@mSiO2 hybrid nanocatalyst showed very high catalytic efficiency in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and various nitroarenes under eco-friendly conditions. Therefore, the PdO/ZnO@mSiO2 hybrid nanocatalyst is a promising alternative catalyst for applications in environmental remediation.

Three-dimensional composite of Co3O4 nanoparticles and nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide for lignin model compound oxidation

3D composite of Co₃O₄ nanoparticles and N-doped reduced graphene oxide can effectively catalyze the oxidation of lignin model compounds.

Noncontact Synergistic Effect between Au Nanoparticles and the Fe2O3 Spindle Inside a Mesoporous Silica Shell as Studied by the Fenton-like Reaction

An Au-Fe₂O₃@mesoporous SiO₂ nanoreactor with a multiyolks/shell structure was synthesized through a multistep method. In this nanoreactor, the spindle Fe₂O₃ and Au nanoparticles were inside the same mesoporous SiO₂ shell as the yolks but in a noncontact manner. The noncontact synergistic effect between Au nanoparticles and the Fe₂O₃ spindle was studied with a Fenton-like reaction. The catalytic activity of the Au-Fe₂O₃@mesoporous SiO₂ nanoreactor to the Fenton-like reaction for the degradation of organic dyes was dramatically enhanced by the noncontact synergistic effect.

Yolk/shell nanoparticles: classifications, synthesis, properties, and applications

Core/shell nanoparticles were first reported in the early 1990s with a simple spherical core and shell structure, but the area is gradually diversifying in multiple directions such as different shapes, multishells, yolk/shell etc., because of the development of different new properties of the materials, which are useful for several advanced applications. Among different sub-areas of core/shell nanoparticles, yolk/shell nanoparticles (YS NPs) have drawn significant attention in recent years because of their unique properties such as low density, large surface area, ease of interior core functionalization, a good molecular loading capacity in the void space, tunable interstitial void space, and a hollow outer shell. The YS NPs have better properties over simple core/shell or hollow NPs in various fields including biomedical, catalysis, sensors, lithium batteries, adsorbents, DSSCs, microwave absorbers etc., mainly because of the presence of free void space, porous hollow shell, and free core surface. This review presents an extensive classification of YS NPs based on their structures and types of materials, along with synthesis strategies, properties, and applications with which one would be able to draw a complete picture of this area.