Scientific Papers in SCI
2023
2023
Materiales y Procesos Catalíticos de Interés Ambiental y Energético
Facile Synthesis of Heterogeneous Indium Nanoparticles for Formate Production via CO2 Electroreduction
Perez-Sequera, AC; Diaz-Perez, MA; Angulo, MAL; Holgado, JP; Serrano-Ruiz, JCNanomaterials, 13 (2023) 3052
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In this study, a simple and scalable method to obtain heterogeneous indium nanoparticles and carbon-supported indium nanoparticles under mild conditions is described. Physicochemical characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed heterogeneous morphologies for the In nanoparticles in all cases. Apart from In-0, XPS revealed the presence of oxidized In species on the carbon-supported samples, whereas these species were not observed for the unsupported samples. The best-in-class catalyst (In-50/C-50) exhibited a high formate Faradaic efficiency (FE) near the unit (above 97%) at -1.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl, achieving a stable current density around -10 mA center dot cm(geo)(-2), in a common H-cell. While In-0 sites are the main active sites for the reaction, the presence of oxidized In species could play a role in the improved performance of the supported samples.
April, 2023 | DOI: 10.3390/nano13081304
Materiales Ópticos Multifuncionales
Origin of anomalously stabilizing ice layers on methane gas hydrates near rock surface
Li, Y; Corkery, RW; Carretero-Palacios, S; Berland, K; Esteso, V; Fiedler, J; Milton, KA; Brevik, I; Bostrom, MPhysical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 25 (2023) 6636-6652
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![](https://icms.us-csic.es/sites/icms.us-csic.es/files/Get_13.png)
Gas hydrates (GHs) in water close to freezing temperatures can be stabilised via the formation of ice layers. In a recent work [Bostrom et al., Astron. Astrophys., A54, 650, 2021], it was found that a surface region with partial gas dilution could be essential for obtaining nano- to micron-sized anomalously stabilizing ice layers. In this paper, it is demonstrated that the Casimir-Lifshitz free energy in multi-layer systems could induce thinner, but more stable, ice layers in cavities than those found for gas hydrates in a large reservoir of cold water. The thickness and stability of such ice layers in a pore filled with cold water could influence the leakage of gas molecules. Additional contributions, e.g. from salt-induced stresses, can also be of importance, and are briefly discussed.
March, 2023 | DOI: 10.1039/d2cp04883c
Química de Superficies y Catálisis
Engineering exsolved catalysts for CO2 conversion
Ali, SA; Safi, M; Merkouri, LP; Soodi, S; Iakovidis, A; Duyar, MS; Neagu, D; Reina, TR; Kousi, KFrontiers in Energy Research, 11 (2023) 1150000
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Introduction: Innovating technologies to efficiently reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emission or covert it into useful products has never been more crucial in light of the urgent need to transition to a net-zero economy by 2050. The design of efficient catalysts that can make the above a viable solution is of essence. Many noble metal catalysts already display high activity, but are usually expensive. Thus, alternative methods for their production are necessary to ensure more efficient use of noble metals.Methods: Exsolution has been shown to be an approach to produce strained nanoparticles, stable against agglomeration while displaying enhanced activity. Here we explore the effect of a low level of substitution of Ni into a Rh based A-site deficienttitanate aiming to investigate the formation of more efficient, low loading noblemetal catalysts.Results: We find that with the addition of Ni in a Rh based titanate exsolution is increased by up to similar to 4 times in terms of particle population which in turn results in up to 50% increase in its catalytic activity for CO2 conversion.Discussion: We show that this design principle not only fulfills a major research need in the conversion of CO2 but also provides a step-change advancement in the design and synthesis of tandem catalysts by the formation of distinct catalytically active sites.
March, 2023 | DOI: 10.3389/fenrg.2023.1150000
Fotocatálisis Heterogénea: Aplicaciones
Boosting the photocatalytic properties of NaTaO3 by coupling with AgBr
Puga, F; Navío, JA; Hidalgo, MCPhotochemical & Photobiological Sciences, 22 (2023) 549-566
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AgBr/NaTaO3 composites, with different molar % of NaTaO3 (Br/NTO(X%)), have been synthesized by simple precipitation methods; bare NaTaO3 was synthesized by hydrothermal procedure, while AgBr was synthesized by a precipitation procedure using cetyl-tri-methyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB) and AgNO3. Samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared photo-catalysts was evaluated through photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO) and caffeic acid (CAFA) under UV and visible illumination. Single AgBr material and Br/NTO(X%) composites displayed the ability to absorb light in the visible region, while NaTaO3 is only photoactive under UV irradiation. Based on the position of conduction and valence bands of AgBr and NaTaO3, the heterojunction between these two photo-catalysts corresponds to a type II junction. In the case of photocatalytic degradation of RhB and CAFA, Br/NTO(x%) composites have highest photocatalytic activity than that obtained by both parental materials under the same operational conditions. AgBr and Br/NTO(x%) composites achieve a fast degradation of MO, together with a considerable adsorption capacity, attributed to the presence of a remaining amount of residual CTAB on the AgBr surface. In summary, coupling AgBr with NaTaO3 improves the photocatalytic activity under both UV and visible illumination with respect to the parental components, but the performance of the composites is highly dependent on the type of substrate to be degraded and the illumination conditions.
March, 2023 | DOI: 10.1007/s43630-022-00334-9
Materiales Coloidales
Persistent Luminescence Zn2GeO4:Mn2+Nanoparticles Functionalized with Polyacrylic Acid: One-Pot Synthesis and Biosensing Applications
Calderon-Olvera, RM; Arroyo, E; Jankelow, AM; Bashir, R; Valera, E; Ocana, M; Becerro, AIACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 15 (2023) 20613-20624
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![](https://icms.us-csic.es/sites/icms.us-csic.es/files/images_large_am2c21735_0013.png)
Zinc germanate doped with Mn2+ (Zn2GeO4:Mn2+) is known to be a persistent luminescence green phosphor with potential applications in biosensing and bioimaging. Such applications demand nanoparticulated phosphors with a uniform shape and size, good dispersibility in aqueous media, high chemical stability, and surfacefunctionalization. These characteristics could be major bottlenecks and hence limit their practical applications. This work describes a one-pot, microwave-assisted hydrothermal method to synthesize highly uniform Zn2GeO4:Mn2+ nanoparticles (NPs) using polyacrylic acid (PAA) as an additive. A thorough characterization of the NPs showed that the PAA molecules were essential to realizing uniform NPs as they were responsible for the ordered aggregation of their building blocks. In addition, PAA remained attached to the NPs surface, which conferred high colloidal stability to the NPs through electrostatic and steric interactions, and provided carboxylate groups that can act as anchor sites for the eventual conjugation of biomolecules to the surface. In addition, it was demonstrated that the as-synthesized NPs were chemically stable for, at least, 1 week in phosphate buffer saline (pH range = 6.0-7.4). The luminescence properties of Zn2GeO4 NPs doped with different contents of Mn2+ (0.25-3.00 mol %) were evaluated to find the optimum doping level for the highest photoluminescence (2.50% Mn) and the longest persistent luminescence (0.50% Mn). The NPs with the best persistent luminescence properties were photostable for at least 1 week. Finally, taking advantage of such properties and the presence of surface carboxylate groups, the Zn2GeO4:0.50%Mn2+ sample was successfully used to develop a persistent luminescence-based sandwich immunoassay for the autofluorescence-free detection of interleukin-6 in undiluted human serum and undiluted human plasma samples. This study demonstrates that our persistent Mndoped Zn2GeO4 nanophosphors are ideal candidates for biosensing applications.
March, 2023 | DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c21735
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