Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
- 2012 (8) (entfernen)
Dokumenttyp
Referierte Publikation
- ja (8)
Schlagworte
- Polymorphism (2)
- SAXS (2)
- X-ray diffraction (2)
- AFM (1)
- Bismuth (1)
- Caffeine (1)
- Calorimetry (1)
- Carbon dioxide (1)
- Catalytic applications (1)
- Crystallization (1)
A unique direct electrodeposition technique involving very high current densities, high voltages and high electrolyte concentrations is applied for highly selective mass synthesis of stable, isolable, surfactant-free, single-crystalline Bi hexagons on a Cu wire at room temperature. A formation mechanism of the hexagons is proposed. The morphology, phase purity, and crystallinity of the material are well characterized by FESEM, AFM, TEM, SAED, EDX, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. The thermal stability of the material under intense electron beam and intense laser light irradiation is studied. The chemical stability of elemental Bi in nitric acid shows different dissolution rates for different morphologies. This effect enables a second way for the selective fabrication of Bi hexagons. Bi hexagons can be oxidized exclusively to α-Bi2O3 hexagons. The Bi hexagons are found to be promising for thermoelectric applications. They are also catalytically active, inducing the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol. This electrodeposition methodology has also been demonstrated to be applicable for synthesis of bismuth-based bimetallic hybrid composites for advanced applications.
The compound MOF-14 (Cu3(BTB)2, BTB = 4,4',4''-benzenetribenzoate) was synthesized by ball milling and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The raw material was activated using an efficient single washing step to ensure a free pore access. Nitrogen adsorption measurements were carried out to determine the specific areas of the samples before and after activation. To interpret the activation process in terms of blocking effects in the micropore channels, NLDFT evaluations (Nonlocal Density Functional Theory) of the MOF-14 nitrogen isotherms were carried out. In connection with the appearance of additional hysteresis loops in the nitrogen isotherms, calculations of the mesopore size distribution were performed using the method of Barret, Joyner, and Halenda (BJH). The results are compared to those of a structurally analogue MOF, namely HKUST-1 (Cu3(BTC)2, BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate). This comparison showed notable differences regarding the impact of the activation step on the formation of mesopores and their size distribution.
An unusually fast crystallization of the organic glass former nifedipine has been observed. The crystallization process, starting from an amorphous film to crystalline material, was investigated by time resolved Raman microspectroscopy. The crystallization rates of the initially crystallizing metastable β-form are four orders of magnitude higher than those of previous studies.
The formation mechanisms of silver nanoparticles using aqueous silver perchlorate solutions as precursors and sodium borohydride as reducing agent were investigated based on time-resolved in situ experiments. This contribution addresses two important issues in colloidal science: (i) differences and analogies between growth processes of different metals such as gold and silver and (ii) the influence of a steric stabilizing agent on the growth process. The results reveal that a growth due to coalescence is a fundamental growth principle if the monomer-supplying chemical reaction is faster than the actual particle formation.
In any given matrix control over the final particle size distribution requires a constitutive understanding of the mechanisms and kinetics of the particle evolution. In this contribution we report on the formation mechanism of silver nanoparticles embedded in a soda-lime silicate glass matrix. For the silver ion-exchanged glass it is shown that at temperatures below 410 °C only molecular clusters (diameter <1 nm) are forming which are most likely silver dimers. These clusters grow to nanoparticles (diameter >1 nm) by annealing above this threshold temperature of 410 °C. It is evidenced that the growth and thus the final silver nanoparticle size are determined by matrix-assisted reduction mechanisms. As a consequence, particle growth proceeds after the initial formation of stable clusters by addition of silver monomers which diffuse from the glass matrix. This is in contrast to the widely accepted concept of particle growth in metal–glass systems, in which it is assumed that the nanoparticle formation is predominantly governed by Ostwald ripening processes.
A systematic crystal morphology study on the pharmaceutical model compound caffeine has been conducted on different surfaces: silicon, silver, soda lime glass, and silver subsurface ion-exchanged soda-lime silicate (SIMO) glasses. The morphology of the solid caffeine deposits has been investigated using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Needle-shaped caffeine crystals have been observed by drop-casting and also by applying the rapid expansion of supercritical solutions (RESS) technique using supercritical carbon dioxide. The aspect ratio of the crystalline needles typically vary between 10 and 100, but have been observed as large as 500. The XRD data of the RESS products indicate unambiguously the presence of the thermodynamically most stable polymorph of caffeine known as the β-form. Under defined conditions we observe a unique, surface-mediated morphology for caffeine crystals with nearly perfect hexagonal shape. The relative fraction of the hexagons was seen to strongly increase especially when SIMO glasses were used. These hexagons have a distinct upper size limit depending on the solvent and substrate being used. The size distribution analysis of the hexagons yielded an average perimeter of typically 10 µm. The mechanism of the formation process of this new hexagonal motif is explained in terms of the spinodal dewetting of the thin film of caffeine solution on the surface.
Quinaldine (2-methyl quinoline) is a liquid at room temperature, which can be supercooled to reach finally the glassy state. By heating the glass above the glass transition temperature Tg = 180 K the sample performs two subsequent transitions into, likewise, dielectrically active phases. Thus, the reorientational relaxations of these phases as well as the kinetics of the phase transitions can be tracked in a highly resolved way by dielectric spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction analysis clearly shows two structurally different crystalline phases in addition to the supercooled liquid. Calorimetric measurements support the notion of first order phase transitions, occurring irreversibly in the supercooled regime, and suggest that the intermediate crystalline phase is metastable, too. Analyzing the quite distinct dielectric relaxation strengths, we discuss the possible nature of the two crystalline phases. Additionally, a very similar behavior to quinaldine is observed for 3-methyl quinoline, indicating a broad field of polymorphism among the quinoline derivatives.
CTAB-stabilized gold nanoparticles were synthesized by applying the seeding-growth approach in order to gain information about the size dependence of the catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol with sodium borohydride. Five different colloidal solutions of stabilized gold nanoparticles have been characterized by TEM, AFM, UV-Vis, SAXS, and DLS for their particle size distributions. Gold nanoparticles (mean sizes: 3.5, 10, 13, 28, 56 nm diameter) were tested for their catalytic efficiency. Kinetic data were acquired by UV-Vis spectroscopy at different temperatures between 25 and 45 °C. By studying the p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol reaction kinetics we determined the nanoparticle size which is needed to gain the fastest conversion under ambient conditions in the liquid phase. Unexpectedly, CTAB-stabilized gold nanoparticles with a diameter of 13 nm are most efficient.