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Now showing 1 - 10 of 11
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    Ambient Hydrogenation and Deuteration of Alkenes Using a Nanostructured Ni-Core-Shell Catalyst
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Gao, Jie; Ma, Rui; Feng, Lu; Liu, Yuefeng; Jackstell, Ralf; Jagadeesh, Rajenahally V.; Beller, Matthias
    A general protocol for the selective hydrogenation and deuteration of a variety of alkenes is presented. Key to success for these reactions is the use of a specific nickel-graphitic shell-based core–shell-structured catalyst, which is conveniently prepared by impregnation and subsequent calcination of nickel nitrate on carbon at 450 °C under argon. Applying this nanostructured catalyst, both terminal and internal alkenes, which are of industrial and commercial importance, were selectively hydrogenated and deuterated at ambient conditions (room temperature, using 1 bar hydrogen or 1 bar deuterium), giving access to the corresponding alkanes and deuterium-labeled alkanes in good to excellent yields. The synthetic utility and practicability of this Ni-based hydrogenation protocol is demonstrated by gram-scale reactions as well as efficient catalyst recycling experiments. © 2021 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
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    Cobalt Single-Atom Catalysts with High Stability for Selective Dehydrogenation of Formic Acid
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2020) Li, Xiang; Surkus, Annette-Enrica; Rabeah, Jabor; Anwar, Muhammad; Dastigir, Sarim; Junge, Henrik; Brückner, Angelika; Beller, Matthias
    Metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived Co-N-C catalysts with isolated single cobalt atoms have been synthesized and compared with cobalt nanoparticles for formic acid dehydrogenation. The atomically dispersed Co-N-C catalyst achieves superior activity, better acid resistance, and improved long-term stability compared with nanoparticles synthesized by a similar route. High-angle annular dark-field–scanning transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance, and X-ray absorption fine structure characterizations reveal the formation of CoIINx centers as active sites. The optimal low-cost catalyst is a promising candidate for liquid H2 generation. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.
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    Four-Dimensional Deoxyribonucleic Acid–Gold Nanoparticle Assemblies
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2020) Luo, Ming; Xuan, Mingjun; Huo, Shuaidong; Fan, Jilin; Chakraborty, Gurudas; Wang, Yixi; Zhao, Hui; Herrmann, Andreas; Zheng, Lifei
    Organization of gold nanoobjects by oligonucleotides has resulted in many three-dimensional colloidal assemblies with diverse size, shape, and complexity; nonetheless, autonomous and temporal control during formation remains challenging. In contrast, living systems temporally and spatially self-regulate formation of functional structures by internally orchestrating assembly and disassembly kinetics of dissipative biomacromolecular networks. We present a novel approach for fabricating four-dimensional gold nanostructures by adding an additional dimension: time. The dissipative character of our system is achieved using exonuclease III digestion of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fuel as an energy-dissipating pathway. Temporal control over amorphous clusters composed of spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and well-defined core–satellite structures from gold nanorods (AuNRs) and AuNPs is demonstrated. Furthermore, the high specificity of DNA hybridization allowed us to demonstrate selective activation of the evolution of multiple architectures of higher complexity in a single mixture containing small and larger spherical AuNPs and AuNRs. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA
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    Color Tuning of Electrochromic TiO2Nanofibrous Layers Loaded with Metal and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles for Smart Colored Windows
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publications, 2021) Eyovge, Cavit; Deenen, Cristian S.; Ruiz-Zepeda, Francisco; Bartling, Stephan; Smirnov, Yury; Morales-Masis, Monica; Susarrey-Arce, Arturo; Gardeniers, Han
    Co-axial electrospinning was applied for the structuring of non-woven webs of TiO2 nanofibers loaded with Ag, Au, and CuO nanoparticles. The composite layers were tested in an electrochromic half-cell assembly. A clear correlation between the nanoparticle composition and electrochromic effect in the nanofibrous composite is observed: TiO2 loaded with Ag reveals a black-brown color, Au shows a dark-blue color, and CuO shows a dark-green color. For electrochromic applications, the Au/TiO2 layer is the most promising choice, with a color modulation time of 6 s, transmittance modulation of 40%, coloration efficiency of 20 cm2/C, areal capacitance of 300 F/cm2, and cyclic stability of over 1000 cycles in an 18 h period. In this study, an unexplored path for the rational design of TiO2-based electrochromic device is offered with unique color-switching and optical efficiency gained by the fibrous layer. It is also foreseen that co-axial electrospinning can be an alternative nanofabrication technique for smart colored windows. © 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.
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    Manual Versus Microfluidic-Assisted Nanoparticle Manufacture: Impact of Silk Fibroin Stock on Nanoparticle Characteristics
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publications, 2020) Solomun, Jana I.; Totten, John D.; Wongpinyochit, Thidarat; Florence, Alastair J.; Seib, F. Philipp
    Silk has a long track record of clinical use in the human body, and new formulations, including silk nanoparticles, continue to reveal the promise of this natural biopolymer for healthcare applications. Native silk fibroin can be isolated directly from the silk gland, but generating sufficient material for routine studies is difficult. Consequently, silk fibroin, typically extracted from cocoons, serves as the source for nanoparticle formation. This silk requires extensive processing (e.g., degumming, dissolution, etc.) to yield a hypoallergenic aqueous silk stock, but the impact of processing on nanoparticle production and characteristics is largely unknown. Here, manual and microfluidic-assisted silk nanoparticle manufacturing from 60-and 90-min degummed silk yielded consistent particle sizes (100.9-114.1 nm) with low polydispersity. However, the zeta potential was significantly lower (P < 0.05) for microfluidic-manufactured nanoparticles (-28 to-29 mV) than for manually produced nanoparticles (-39 to-43 mV). Molecular weight analysis showed a nanoparticle composition similar to that of the silk fibroin starting stock. Reducing the molecular weight of silk fibroin reduced the particle size for degumming times ≤30 min, whereas increasing the molecular weight polydispersity improved the nanoparticle homogeneity. Prolonged degumming (>30 min) had no significant effect on particle attributes. Overall, the results showed that silk fibroin processing directly impacts nanoparticle characteristics. Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.
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    Mixed Cu-Fe Sulfides Derived from Polydopamine-Coated Prussian Blue Analogue as a Lithium-Ion Battery Electrode
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publications, 2022) Bornamehr, Behnoosh; Presser, Volker; Husmann, Samantha
    Batteries employing transition-metal sulfides enable high-charge storage capacities, but polysulfide shuttling and volume expansion cause structural disintegration and early capacity fading. The design of heterostructures combining metal sulfides and carbon with an optimized morphology can effectively address these issues. Our work introduces dopamine-coated copper Prussian blue (CuPB) analogue as a template to prepare nanostructured mixed copper-iron sulfide electrodes. The material was prepared by coprecipitation of CuPB with in situ dopamine polymerization, followed by thermal sulfidation. Dopamine controls the particle size and favors K-rich CuPB due to its polymerization mechanism. While the presence of the coating prevents particle agglomeration during thermal sulfidation, its thickness demonstrates a key effect on the electrochemical performance of the derived sulfides. After a two-step activation process during cycling, the C-coated KCuFeS2electrodes showed capacities up to 800 mAh/g at 10 mA/g with nearly 100% capacity recovery after rate handling and a capacity of 380 mAh/g at 250 mA/g after 500 cycles.
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    Influence of Nanoparticle Processing on the Thermoelectric Properties of (BixSb1−X)2Te3 Ternary Alloys
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Salloum, Sarah; Bendt, Georg; Heidelmann, Markus; Loza, Kateryna; Bayesteh, Samaneh; Izadi, M. Sepideh; Patrick, Kawulok; He, Ran; Schlörb, Heike; Perez, Nicolas; Reith, Heiko; Nielsch, Kornelius; Schierning, Gabi; Schulz, Stephan
    The synthesis of phase‐pure ternary solutions of tetradymite‐type materials (BixSb1−x)2Te3 (x=0.25; 0.50; 0.75) in an ionic liquid approach has been carried out. The nanoparticles are characterized by means of energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX), powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the role of different processing approaches on the thermoelectric properties ‐ Seebeck coefficient as well as electrical and thermal conductivity ‐ is demonstrated.
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    A Tunable Polymer–Metal Based Anti-Reflective Metasurface
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2020) Brasse, Yannic; Ng, Charlene; Magnozzi, Michele; Zhang, Heyou; Mulvaney, Paul; Fery, Andreas; Gómez, Daniel E.
    Anti-reflective surfaces are of great interest for optical devices, sensing, photovoltaics, and photocatalysis. However, most of the anti-reflective surfaces lack in situ tunability of the extinction with respect to wavelength. This communication demonstrates a tunable anti-reflective surface based on colloidal particles comprising a metal core with an electrochromic polymer shell. Random deposition of these particles on a reflective surface results in a decrease in the reflectance of up to 99.8% at the localized surface plasmon resonance frequency. This narrow band feature can be tuned by varying the pH or by application of an electric potential, resulting in wavelength shifts of up to 30 nm. Electrophoretic particle deposition is shown to be an efficient method for controlling the interparticle distance and thereby further optimizing the overall efficiency of the anti-reflective metasurface. © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
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    Selective Hydrogenation and Hydrodeoxygenation of Aromatic Ketones to Cyclohexane Derivatives Using a Rh@SILP Catalyst
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2020) Moos, Gilles; Emondts, Meike; Bordet, Alexis; Leitner, Walter
    Rhodium nanoparticles immobilized on an acid-free triphenylphosphonium-based supported ionic liquid phase (Rh@SILP(Ph3-P-NTf2)) enabled the selective hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation of aromatic ketones. The flexible molecular approach used to assemble the individual catalyst components (SiO2, ionic liquid, nanoparticles) led to outstanding catalytic properties. In particular, intimate contact between the nanoparticles and the phosphonium ionic liquid is required for the deoxygenation reactivity. The Rh@SILP(Ph3-P-NTf2) catalyst was active for the hydrodeoxygenation of benzylic ketones under mild conditions, and the product distribution for non-benzylic ketones was controlled with high selectivity between the hydrogenated (alcohol) and hydrodeoxygenated (alkane) products by adjusting the reaction temperature. The versatile Rh@SILP(Ph3-P-NTf2) catalyst opens the way to the production of a wide range of high-value cyclohexane derivatives by the hydrogenation and/or hydrodeoxygenation of Friedel–Crafts acylation products and lignin-derived aromatic ketones. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.
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    Synthesis and Biopharmaceutical Characterization of Amphiphilic Squalenyl Derivative Based Versatile Drug Delivery Platform
    (Lausanne : Frontiers Media, 2020) Ho, Duy-Khiet; Christmann, Rebekka; Murgia, Xabier; De Rossi, Chiara; Frisch, Sarah; Koch, Marcus; Schaefer, Ulrich F.; Loretz, Brigitta; Desmaele, Didier; Couvreur, Patrick; Lehr, Claus-Michael
    Limited drug loading capacity (LC), mostly below 5% w/w, is a significant drawback of nanoparticulate drug delivery systems (DDS). Squalenoylation technology, which employs bioconjugation of squalenyl moiety and drug, allows self-assemble of nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous media with significantly high LC (>30% w/w). The synthesis and particle preparation of squalenoylated prodrugs are, however, not facile for molecules with multiple reactive groups. Taking a different approach, we describe the synthesis of amphiphilic squalenyl derivatives (SqDs) as well as the physicochemical and biopharmaceutical characterizations of their self-assembled NPs as DDSs. The SqDs included in this study are (i) cationic squalenyl diethanolamine (ii) PEGylated SqD (PEG 750 Da), (iii) PEGylated SqD (PEG 3,000 Da), and (iv) anionic squalenyl hydrogen sulfate. All four SqDs self-assemble into NPs in a size range from 100 to 200 nm in an aqueous solution. Furthermore, all NP derivatives demonstrate appropriate biocompatibility and adequate colloidal stability in physiological relevant pH environments. The mucoprotein binding of PEGylated NPs is reduced compared to the charged NPs. Most importantly, this technology allows excellent LC (at maximum of 45% w/w) of a wide range of multifunctional compounds, varying in physicochemical properties and molecular weight. Interestingly, the drug release profile can be tuned by different loading methods. In summary, the SqD-based NPs appear as versatile drug delivery platforms.