Influence of Titania Synthesized by Pulsed Laser Ablation on the State of Platinum during Ammonia Oxidation

Optimization of Pt(II) and Pt(IV) Adsorption from a Water Solution on Biochar Originating from Honeycomb Biomass

Novel CO2- and H3PO4-modified biochars were successfully synthesized from raw honeycomb biomass. They were characterized via several instrumental techniques. The optimal Pt(II) and Pt(IV) adsorption onto the studied biochars was reached for the initial pH of 1.5 and a contact time of 5 min (Pt(II)) and 24-48 h (Pt(IV)). The highest static adsorption capacities for Pt(II) and Pt(IV) were obtained for the H3PO4-modified biochar: 47 mg g-1 and 35 mg g-1, respectively. The Freundlich model described the Pt(II) adsorption isotherms onto both materials and the Pt(IV) adsorption isotherm onto the CO2-activated material, and the Langmuir model was the best fitted to the Pt(IV) adsorption isotherm onto the H3PO4-activated biochar. The best medium for the quantitative desorption of the Pt form from the H3PO4-modified biochar was 1 mol L-1 thiourea in 1 mol L-1 HCl. The adsorption mechanism of both the studied ions onto the synthesized H3PO4-modified biochar was complex and should be further investigated. The H3PO4-modified biochar was successfully applied for the first time for Pt(IV) removal from a spent automotive catalyst leaching solution.

Ag-Decorated Si Microspheres Produced by Laser Ablation in Liquid: All-in-One Temperature-Feedback SERS-Based Platform for Nanosensing

Combination of dissimilar materials such as noble metals and common semiconductors within unified nanomaterials holds promise for optoelectronics, catalysis and optical sensing. Meanwhile, difficulty of obtaining such hybrid nanomaterials using common lithography-based techniques stimulates an active search for advanced, inexpensive, and straightforward fabrication methods. Here, we report one-pot one-step synthesis of Ag-decorated Si microspheres via nanosecond laser ablation of monocrystalline silicon in isopropanol containing AgNO₃. Laser ablation of bulk silicon creates the suspension of the Si microspheres that host further preferential growth of Ag nanoclusters on their surface upon thermal-induced decomposition of AgNO₃ species by subsequently incident laser pulses. The amount of the AgNO₃ in the working solution controls the density, morphology, and arrangement of the Ag nanoclusters allowing them to achieve strong and uniform decoration of the Si microsphere surface. Such unique morphology makes Ag-decorated Si microspheres promising for molecular identification based on the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect. In particular, the designed single-particles sensing platform was shown to offer temperature-feedback modality as well as SERS signal enhancement up to 10⁶, allowing reliable detection of the adsorbed molecules and tracing their plasmon-driven catalytic transformations. Considering the ability to control the decoration degree of Si microspheres by Ag nanoclusters via amount of the AgNO₃, the developed one-pot easy-to-implement PLAL synthesis holds promise for gram-scale production of high-quality hybrid nanomaterial for various nanophotonics and sensing applications.

Adsorption and Photocatalytic Reduction of Carbon Dioxide on TiO2

The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 depends on numerous factors, such as the chemical potential of electrons, charge transport properties, band-gap energy, and concentration of surface-active sites. A lot of research has been dedicated to determining the properties that have the most significant influence on the photocatalytic activity of semiconductors. Here, we demonstrated that the activity of TiO2 in the gas-phase reduction of CO2 is governed mainly by the desorption rate of the reaction intermediates and final products. This indicates that the specific surface area of TiO2 and binding strength of reaction intermediates and products are the main factors affecting the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 in the investigated process. Additionally, it was shown that rutile exhibits higher photocatalytic activity than anatase/rutile mixtures mainly due to its high efficiency in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.