Nanowires catalytic

Attention has been given to the synthesis of bimetallic silver-gold clusters [71] due to their effective catalytic properties, resistance to poisoning, and selectivity [72]. Recently molecular materials with gold and silver nanoclusters and nanowires have been synthesized. These materials are considered to be good candidates for electronic nanodevices and biosensors [73]. 

Zeolites have ordered micropores smaller than 2nm in diameter and are widely used as catalysts and supports in many practical reactions. Some zeolites have solid acidity and show shape-selectivity, which gives crucial effects in the processes of oil refining and petrochemistry. Metal nanoclusters and complexes can be synthesized in zeolites by the ship-in-a-bottle technique (Figure 1) [1,2], and the composite materials have also been applied to catalytic reactions. However, the decline of catalytic activity was often observed due to the diffusion-limitation of substrates or products in the micropores of zeolites. To overcome this drawback, newly developed mesoporous silicas such as FSM-16 [3,4], MCM-41 [5], and SBA-15 [6] have been used as catalyst supports, because they have large pores (2-10 nm) and high surface area (500-1000 m g ) [7,8]. The internal surface of the channels accounts for more than 90% of the surface area of mesoporous silicas. With the help of the new incredible materials, template synthesis of metal nanoclusters inside mesoporous channels is achieved and the nanoclusters give stupendous performances in various applications [9]. In this chapter, nanoclusters include nanoparticles and nanowires, and we focus on the synthesis and catalytic application of noble-metal nanoclusters in mesoporous silicas. 

Duan, X. Lieber, C. M. 2000. Laser-assisted catalytic growth of single crystal GaN nanowires. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 122 188-189. 

The range of Ti02 ID material (nanorods, nanofibers and nanowires) which have been reported in the literature is therefore increasing exponentially, although their characteristics in relation to catalytic applications are not always clear. It is also surprising the still very limited effort to use these materials for preparing catalysts. The few attempts to use them as photocatalysts should deserve further attention. 

Our approach utilized the metals gold, platinum, then later gold, platinum, and nickel electroplated in succession because the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide reaction we tested was most efficiently catalyzed with platinum.After fabrication of the nanowires they were freed by removing the conductive silver backing with nitric acid and the sacrificial template with a strong base, sodium hydroxide. Then nanorods were washed with deionized water and ultracentrifuged to achieve a neutral pH. 

A Dual Catalytic Role of Co Nanoparticles in Bulk Synthesis of Si-Based Nanowires... 

Growth Mechanisms. Growth mechanisms have been investigated, andsev-eral theories have been proposed. There are two general models that are used to explain catalytic synthesis of nanowires or nanotubes. The first is called tip growth, in which... 

In many cases, metal silicides may very well be the catalysts. For example, FeSi2 is being considered to be the catalyst in Fe-assisted nanowire synthesis. This is similar to the silicon mono-oxide case, although it is much easier to understand the mechanisms in the FeSi2 case. It is also possible that during the catalytic processes that silicon diffuses relatively freely through the metal catalyst and consequently, the observed silicides at the end of reaction may be different from those during the catalytic reaction. No direct evidence is available to show whether metal or metal silicide nanoparticles are the tme catalyst. 

However, it is unclear what the growth mechanisms are because no Si feedstock was fed in the gas form, which is required for the tip-growth model to work. In the following, we will discuss the composition and growth mechanisms of the nanowires made in this work, and show that the Co nanoparticles may play a dual-catalytic role by helping form gaseous silicon species and catalyze the growth of Si-based nanowires. 

This leaves to only one possibility, namely that Si gets first into the gas phase to enable the catalytic growth of nanowires via Co or Co silicide nanoparticles. For silicon... 

A schematic of the proposed growth model is shown in Fig. 10.23. In this model, Co nanoparticles play a dual catalytic role. On the one hand, they catalyze silane formation by reacting first with silicon to form Co silicides, and then react with hydrogen to form silane while being reduced to Co metal. The second role of Co nanoparticles is their classic catalytic ability of making nanowires by first dissolving the silane and precipitating out Si nanowires. 

The ability to modulate electrochemical reactivity and effectively switch OFF the reaction was extended further by Wang and coworkers [174] to control, on-demand, the separation and detection processes in microfiuidic devices. In this work, the catalytic nickel nanowires were placed, reoriented and removed on-demand at the exit of the separation channel of the microfiuidic chip, offering unique possibilities for controlling externally, events inside and outside a microchannel. 

This chapter deals with the selective preparation, TEM/EXAFS/XPS characterization and catalysis of mono- and bimetallic nanowires and nanoparticles highly ordered in silica FSM-16, organosilica HMM-1 and mesoporous silica thin films. The mechanism of nanowire formation is discussed with the specific surface-mediated reactions of metal precursors in the restraint of nanoscale void space of mesoporous silica templates. The unique catalytic performances of nanowires and particles occluded in mesoporous cavities are also reviewed in terms of their shape and size dependency in catalysis as well as their unique electronic and magnetic properties for the device application. 

We have overviewed some strategies for the surface-mediated fabrication of metal and alloy nanoscale wires and particles in mesoporous space, and their structural characterization and catalytic performances. Extension of the present approaches for metal/alloy nanowires may lead to the realization of the prospechve tailored design of super active, selective and stable catalysts applicable in industrial processes. The organometallic clusters and nanowires offer exciting and prospechve opportunities for the creahon of new catalysts for industry. Various metal/ alloy nanowires and nanoparhcles in the anisotropic arrangement in porous supports would help in understanding the unexpected electronic and optic properties due to the quantum effect, which are relevant to the rational design of advanced electronic and optic devices. 

Enzymes functionalized with metallic NPs were used as biocatalytic hybrids for the growth of metallic nanowires. The catalytic enlargement of metal nanoparticles by products generated by different enzymes was used to develop different optical sensors that follow the activities of enzymes and analyze their substrates.57 For example, hydrogen peroxide generated by the biocatalyzed oxidation of glucose by O2 in the... 

Nucleic acids can be conjugated to nano-objects, such as nanoparticles, nanowires, or nanotubes. The resulting nucleic acids-nano-objects hybrids combine the tailored recognition and catalytic properties of the nucleic acids with the electronic, optical, and catalytic features of the nano-objects. The forthcoming chapter will address the organization of nanoscale supramolecular structures of nucleic acids on... 

The synthesis of conductive metallic nanowires that bridged two microelectrodes separated by a gap of 12-16 im was demonstrated by the growth of a silver nanowire on a DNA template that bridged the gap (Fig. 12.26).92 Short thiolated nucleic acids (12 bases long) were attached to the microelectrodes, and these acted as sticky ends for the hybridization of /.-DNA that bridged the gap. The association of Ag+ to the phosphate groups of the template, followed by their reduction with hydroquinone under basic conditions, resulted in the formation of Ag° nanoclusters on the DNA template. The subsequent enlargement of the Ag° seeds by the catalytic reduction of Ag+ by hydroquinone, under acidic conditions, yielded continuous Ag nanowires with a width of ca. lOOnm. The nanowires revealed nonlinear I—V... 

Fukuoka, A., Higashimoto, N., Sakamoto, Y., Sasaki, M., Sugimoto, N., Inagaki, S., Fukushima, Y. and Ichikawa, M. Ship-in-bottle synthesis and catalytic performances of platinum carbonyl clusters, nanowires, and nanoparticles in microporous and mesoporous materials, Catal. Today, 2001, 66, 23-31. 

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