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Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Effects of synthesis catalyst and temperature on broadband dielectric properties of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube/polyvinylidene fluoride nanocomposites
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Pergamon Press, 2016) Ameli, A.; Arjmand, M.; Pötschke, Petra; Krause, Beate; Sundararaj, U.
    This study reports on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (N-CNT)/polymer nanocomposites exhibiting relatively high and frequency independent real permittivity (ϵ′) together with low dielectric loss (tan δ). N-CNTs were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition, and their nanocomposites were prepared by melt-mixing with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). In the synthesis of N-CNTs, three catalysts of Co, Fe and Ni, and three temperatures of 650, 750 and 950 °C were employed. The morphology, aspect ratio, synthesis yield, remaining residue, nitrogen content, nitrogen bonding type, and powder conductivity of N-CNTs, and the morphology, polar crystalline phase, and broadband dielectric properties of N-CNT/PVDF nanocomposites were investigated. The results revealed that by proper selection of synthesis catalyst (Fe) and temperature (650 °C and 950 °C), nitrogen doping generated polarizable nanotubes via providing local polarization sites, and resulted in nanocomposites with favorable dielectric properties for charge storage applications at N-CNT loadings as low as 1.0 wt%. As a result, 3.5 wt% (N-CNT)Fe/950°C/PVDF nanocomposites exhibited an insulative behavior with ϵ' = 23.12 and tan δ = 0.05 at 1 kHz, a combination superior to that of PVDF, i.e., ϵ' = 8.4 and tan δ = 0.03 and to those of percolative nanocomposites, e.g., ϵ' = 71.20 and tan δ = 63.20 for 3.5 wt% (N-CNT)Fe/750°C/PVDF. Also, the relationships between the dielectric properties, N-CNT structure, and nanocomposite morphology were identified.
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    Effect of synthesis catalyst on structure of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes and electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding of their polymeric nanocomposites
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Pergamon Press, 2016) Arjmand, Mohammad; Chizari, Kambiz; Krause, Beate; Pötschke, Petra; Sundararaj, Uttandaraman
    Different catalysts including Co, Fe, and Ni were used to synthesize nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) by chemical vapor deposition technique. Synthesized N-CNTs were melt mixed with a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix using a small scale mixer at different concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 3.5 wt%, and then compression molded. The characterization techniques revealed significant differences in the synthesis yield and the morphological and electrical properties of both N-CNTs and nanocomposites depending on the catalyst type. Whereas Co and Fe resulted in yields comparable to industrial multiwalled CNTs, Ni was much less effective. The N-CNT aspect ratio was the highest for Co catalyst, followed by Ni and Fe, whereas nitrogen content was the highest for Ni. Raman spectroscopy revealed lowest defect number and highest N-CNT crystallinity for Fe catalyst. Characterization of N-CNT/PVDF nanocomposites showed better dispersion for N-CNTs based on Co and Fe as compared to Ni, and the following order of electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding (from high to low): Co > Fe > Ni. The superior electrical properties of (N-CNT)Co nanocomposites were ascribed to a combination of high synthesis yield, high aspect ratio, low nitrogen content and high crystallinity of N-CNTs combined with a good state of N-CNT dispersion.
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    Controlling the speciation and reactivity of carbon-supported gold nanostructures for catalysed acetylene hydrochlorination
    (Cambridge : RSC, 2018) Kaiser, Selina K.; Lin, Ronghe; Mitchell, Sharon; Fako, Edvin; Krumeich, Frank; Hauert, Roland; Safonova, Olga V.; Kondratenko, Vita A.; Kondratenko, Evgenii V.; Collins, Sean M.; Midgley, Paul A.; López, Núria; Pérez-Ramírez, Javier
    Carbon-supported gold catalysts have the potential to replace the toxic mercuric chloride-based system applied industrially for acetylene hydrochlorination, a key technology for the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride. However, the design of an optimal catalyst is essentially hindered by the difficulties in assessing the nature of the active site. Herein, we present a platform of carbon supported gold nanostructures at a fixed metal loading, ranging from single atoms of tunable oxidation state and coordination to metallic nanoparticles, by varying the structure of functionalised carbons and use of thermal activation. While on activated carbon particle aggregation occurs progressively above 473 K, on nitrogen-doped carbon gold single atoms exhibit outstanding stability up to temperatures of 1073 K and under reaction conditions. By combining steady-state experiments, density functional theory, and transient mechanistic studies, we assess the relation between the metal speciation, electronic properties, and catalytic activity. The results indicate that the activity of gold-based catalysts correlates with the population of Au(i)Cl single atoms and the reaction follows a Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism. Strong interaction with HCl and thermodynamically favoured acetylene activation were identified as the key features of the Au(i)Cl sites that endow their superior catalytic performance in comparison to N-stabilised Au(iii) counterparts and gold nanoparticles. Finally, we show that the carrier (activated carbon versus nitrogen-doped carbon) does not affect the catalytic response, but determines the deactivation mechanism (gold particle aggregation and pore blockage, respectively), which opens up different options for the development of stable, high-performance hydrochlorination catalysts. © 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
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    A robust iron catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of substituted (iso)quinolones
    (Cambridge : RSC, 2018) Sahoo, Basudev; Kreyenschulte, Carsten; Agostini, Giovanni; Lund, Henrik; Bachmann, Stephan; Scalone, Michelangelo; Junge, Kathrin; Beller, Matthias
    By applying N-doped carbon modified iron-based catalysts, the controlled hydrogenation of N-heteroarenes, especially (iso)quinolones, is achieved. Crucial for activity is the catalyst preparation by pyrolysis of a carbon-impregnated composite, obtained from iron(ii) acetate and N-aryliminopyridines. As demonstrated by TEM, XRD, XPS and Raman spectroscopy, the synthesized material is composed of Fe(0), Fe3C and FeNx in a N-doped carbon matrix. The decent catalytic activity of this robust and easily recyclable Fe-material allowed for the selective hydrogenation of various (iso)quinoline derivatives, even in the presence of reducible functional groups, such as nitriles, halogens, esters and amides. For a proof-of-concept, this nanostructured catalyst was implemented in the multistep synthesis of natural products and pharmaceutical lead compounds as well as modification of photoluminescent materials. As such this methodology constitutes the first heterogeneous iron-catalyzed hydrogenation of substituted (iso)quinolones with synthetic importance.
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    Prussian blue and its analogues as functional template materials: control of derived structure compositions and morphologies
    (London [u.a.] : RSC, 2023) Bornamehr, Behnoosh; Presser, Volker; Zarbin, Aldo J. G.; Yamauchi, Yusuke; Husmann, Samantha
    Hexacyanometallates, known as Prussian blue (PB) and its analogues (PBAs), are a class of coordination compounds with a regular and porous open structure. The PBAs are formed by the self-assembly of metallic species and cyanide groups. A uniform distribution of each element makes the PBAs robust templates to prepare hollow and highly porous (hetero)nanostructures of metal oxides, sulfides, carbides, nitrides, phosphides, and (N-doped) carbon, among other compositions. In this review, we examine methods to derive materials from PBAs focusing on the correlation between synthesis steps and derivative morphologies and composition. Insights into catalytic and electrochemical properties resulting from different derivatization strategies are also presented. We discuss challenges in manipulating the derivatives' properties, give perspectives of synthetic approaches for the target applications and present an outlook on less investigated grounds in Prussian blue derivatives.
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    Cobalt as a promising dopant for producing semi-insulating β -Ga2O3crystals: Charge state transition levels from experiment and theory
    (Melville, NY : AIP Publ., 2022) Seyidov, Palvan; Varley, Joel B.; Galazka, Zbigniew; Chou, Ta-Shun; Popp, Andreas; Fiedler, Andreas; Irmscher, Klaus
    Optical absorption and photoconductivity measurements of Co-doped β-Ga2O3 crystals reveal the photon energies of optically excited charge transfer between the Co related deep levels and the conduction or valence band. The corresponding photoionization cross sections are fitted by a phenomenological model considering electron-phonon coupling. The obtained fitting parameters: thermal ionization (zero-phonon transition) energy, Franck-Condon shift, and effective phonon energy are compared with corresponding values predicted by first principle calculations based on density functional theory. A (+/0) donor level ∼0.85 eV above the valence band maximum and a (0/-) acceptor level ∼2.1 eV below the conduction band minimum are consistently derived. Temperature-dependent electrical resistivity measurement at elevated temperatures (up to 1000 K) yields a thermal activation energy of 2.1 ± 0.1 eV, consistent with the position of the Co acceptor level. Furthermore, the results show that Co doping is promising for producing semi-insulating β-Ga2O3 crystals.
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    Spin-glass state and reversed magnetic anisotropy induced by Cr doping in the Kitaev magnet α-RuCl3
    (College Park, MD : American Physical Society, 2019) Bastien, G.; Roslova, M.; Haghighi, M.H.; Mehlawat, K.; Hunger, J.; Isaeva, A.; Doert, T.; Vojta, M.; Büchner, B.; Wolter, A.U.B.
    Magnetic properties of the substitution series Ru1-xCrxCl3 were investigated to determine the evolution from the anisotropic Kitaev magnet α-RuCl3 with Jeff=1/2 magnetic Ru3+ ions to the isotropic Heisenberg magnet CrCl3 with S=3/2 magnetic Cr3+ ions. Magnetization measurements on single crystals revealed a reversal of the magnetic anisotropy under doping, which we argue to arise from the competition between anisotropic Kitaev and off-diagonal interactions on the Ru-Ru links and approximately isotropic Cr-Ru and isotropic Cr-Cr interactions. In addition, combined magnetization, ac susceptibility, and specific-heat measurements clearly show the destabilization of the long-range magnetic order of α-RuCl3 in favor of a spin-glass state of Ru1-xCrxCl3 for a low doping of x≤0.1. The corresponding freezing temperature as a function of Cr content shows a broad maximum around x ≤ 0.45.