TY - JOUR A1 - Wintzheimer, S. A1 - Szczerba, Wojciech A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Kashiwaya, S. A1 - Klein, A. A1 - Jaegermann, W. A1 - Toupance, T. A1 - Shmeliov, A. A1 - Nicolosi, V. A1 - Heuzé, K. A1 - Mandel, K. A1 - Dembski, S. T1 - Discovering the determining parameters for the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 colloids based on an anomalous dependence on the specific surface area JF - Particle & Particle Systems Characterization N2 - The photocatalytic (PC) performance of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles strongly depends on their specific surface, the presence of crystal defects, their crystal phase, and the exposed crystal facets. In order to understand which of these factors contributes most significantly to the PC activity of TiO2 colloids, all of them have to be individually analyzed. This study entails the synthesis of five anatase nanocrystal samples. By maintaining the same reactant ratios as well as hydrothermal sol–gel synthesis route and only varying the autoclaving time or temperature, different crystallite sizes are obtained under comparable experimental conditions. A decrease in PC performance with increase in specific surface area is found. Such an unexpected counterintuitive result establishes the basis for a better understanding of the crucial factors that ultimately determine the PC activity. These are investigated by studying nanocrystals bulk and surface structure and morphology using a selection of complementary analysis methods (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), X-ray diffraction (XRD)…). It is found that a change in the nanocrystal morphology from an equilibrium state truncated tetragonal bipyramid to a more elongated rod-like structure accompanied by an increase in oxygen vacancies is responsible for an augmented PC activity of the TiO2 nanocrystals. KW - Ti-based colloids KW - Photocatalysis KW - Spectroscopy KW - XAFS PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/ppsc.201800216 SN - 0934-0866 SN - 1521-4117 VL - 35 IS - 9 SP - 1800216, 1 EP - 10 PB - Wiley Online Library AN - OPUS4-46068 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Szczerba, Wojciech A1 - Schneider, M. A1 - Żukrowski, J. A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Riesemeier, Heinrich A1 - Sikora, M. A1 - Mandel, K. T1 - Spectroscopic Study of the Role of Metal Ions in the Adsorption Process of Phosphate in Nanoscaled Adsorbers Based on Metal (Zn/ Fe/Zr) Oxyhydroxides JF - The Journal of Physical Chemistry C N2 - Currently great effort is made to find materials and technologies for the recycling of phosphate from wastewater. Herein, we present an in-depth study of the Phosphate adsorption mechanism of a promising adsorber material, a Zn−Fe−Zr oxyhydroxide-based nanostructured precipitate. The behavior of the multicomponent nanomaterial, consisting of both crystalline and amorphous parts, is investigated via X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy, revealing the importance of the nanostructured composition for the phosphate adsorption. We found evidence that adsorption takes place especially in the vicinity of iron sites in the amorphous part of the material. KW - Zn-Fe-Zr nanoparticles KW - Adsorption of phosphate KW - XAFS KW - Catalysis PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b04773 SN - 1932-7447 VL - 121 IS - 45 SP - 25033 EP - 25042 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-43348 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wahl, S. A1 - El-Refaei, S. M. A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Amsalem, P. A1 - Lee, K.-S. A1 - Koch, N. A1 - Doublet, M.-L. A1 - Pinna, N. T1 - Zn0.35Co0.65O – A Stable and highly active oxygen evolution catalyst formed by zinc leaching and tetrahedral coordinated cobalt in wurtzite structure JF - Advanced Energy Materials N2 - To arrive to sustainable hydrogen-based energy solutions, the understanding of water-splitting catalysts plays the most crucial role. Herein, state-of-the-art hypotheses are combined on electrocatalytic active metal sites toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to develop a highly efficient catalyst based on Earth-abundant cobalt and zinc oxides. The precursor catalyst Zn0.35Co0.65O is synthesized via a fast microwaveassisted approach at low temperatures. Subsequently, it transforms in situ from the wurtzite structure to the layered γ-Co(O)OH, while most of its zinc leaches out. This material shows outstanding catalytic Performance and stability toward the OER in 1 m KOH (overpotential at 10 mA cm−2 ηinitial = 306 mV, η98 h = 318 mV). By comparing the electrochemical results and ex situ analyses to today’s literature, clear structureactivity correlations are able to be identified. The findings suggest that coordinately unsaturated cobalt octahedra on the surface are indeed the active centers for the OER. KW - Oxygen Evolution Catalyst KW - XAFS KW - Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) KW - Cobalt and zinc oxides PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201900328 SN - 1614-6832 SN - 1614-6840 VL - 9 IS - 20 SP - 1900328,1 EP - 10 PB - WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-48200 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -