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    Electrospinning of ultrafine metal oxide/carbon and metal carbide/carbon nanocomposite fibers
    (London : RSC Publishing, 2015) Atchison, Jennifer S.; Zeiger, Marco; Tolosa, Aura; Funke, Lena M.; Jäckel, Nicolas; Presser, Volker
    Electrospinning has emerged as a facile technology for the synthesis of ultrafine fibers and even nanofibers of various materials. While carbon nanofibers have been extensively investigated, there have also been studies reported on metal oxide and metal carbide fibers. Yet, comparative studies, especially following the same general synthesis approach, are lacking. In our comprehensive study, we use a sol gel process by which a carrier polymer (cellulose acetate or polyvinylpyrrolidone) is mixed with titanium butoxide, zirconium(IV) acetylacetonate, or niobium n-butoxide to yield nanotextured titania/carbon, zirconia/carbon, or niobia/carbon nonwoven textiles. Carbothermal reduction between 1300 °C and 1700 °C effectively transforms the metal oxide/carbon fibers to metal carbide/carbon nanocomposite while preserving the fiber integrity. As a beneficial effect, the fiber diameter decreases compared to the as-spun state and we obtained ultrafine fibers: 294 ± 108 nm for ZrC/C, 122 ± 28 nm for TiC/C, and 65 ± 36 nm for NbC/C. The highly disordered and porous nature of the carbon matrix engulfing the metal carbide nanocrystals enables a high specific surface area of up to 450 m2 g−1 (TiC/C) after carbothermal reduction.
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    Dimethyl carbonate synthesis from carbon dioxide using ceria–zirconia catalysts prepared using a templating method: characterization, parametric optimization and chemical equilibrium modeling
    (London : RSC Publishing, 2016) Kumar, Praveen; With, Patrick; Srivastava, Vimal Chandra; Shukla, Kartikeya; Gläser, Roger; Mishra, Indra Mani
    In this paper, a series of CexZr1−xO2 solid solution spheres were synthesized by exo- and endo-templating methods and tested for dimethyl carbonate (DMC) synthesis using direct conversion of CO2. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2-physisorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and CO2/NH3-temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). Formation of CexZr1−xO2 solid solutions with tetragonal and cubic crystal structures depending on cerium/zirconium compositions was confirmed by XRD analysis. The specific surface area of the mixed oxide decreased and the average pore diameter increased with an increase in the ceria content, with the exception of the mixed oxides with x = 0.4–0.5 i.e. Ce0.4Zr0.6O2 and Ce0.5Zr0.5O2. The basic and acidic site density of the synthesized catalysts was in the order: ZrO2 < CeO2 < Ce0.5Zr0.5O2, and the basic and acidic site density per unit area followed the same order. The best Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 catalyst was further used for the optimization of reaction conditions such as reaction time, reaction temperature, catalyst dose and reusability for DMC synthesis. Furthermore, study of chemical equilibrium modeling was done using the Peng–Robinson–Stryjek–Vera equation of state (PRSV-EoS) along with the van der Waals one-fluid reaction condition so as to calculate change of Gibbs free energy (ΔG°) and heat of reaction (ΔH°).