Effect of Holmium Oxide Loading on Nickel Catalyst Supported on Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia in Methane Dry Reforming.

The carbon dioxide reforming of methane has attracted attention from researchers owing to its possibility of both mitigating the hazards of reactants and producing useful chemical intermediates. In this framework, the activity of the nickel-based catalysts, supported by yttria-stabilized zirconia and promoted with holmium oxide (Ho2O3), was assessed in carbon dioxide reforming of methane at 800 °C. The catalysts were characterized by N2-physisorption, H2 temperature-programmed reduction, temperature-programmed desorption of CO2, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) together with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. The effect of holmium oxide weight percent loading (0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3,0, 4.0, and 5.0 wt %) was examined owing to its impact on the developed catalysts. The optimum loading of Ho2O3 was found to be 4.0 wt %, where the methane and carbon dioxide conversions were 85 and 91%, respectively. The nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms specified the mesoporous aspect of the catalysts, while the SEM images displayed a morphology of agglomerated, porous particles. The TEM images of the spent catalyst displayed the formation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes. TGA of the 4.0 wt % of Ho2O3 catalyst, experimented over 7-hour time-on-stream, displayed little weight loss (<14.0 wt %) owing to carbon formation, indicating the good resistance of the catalyst to carbon accumulation due to the enhancing ability of Ho2O3 and its adjustment of the support.

Utilization of Incense Stick Ash in Hydrometallurgy Methods for Extracting Oxides of Fe, Al, Si, and Ca.

With rapid industrialization, there is an ever-increasing demand for iron oxides, calcium oxides, aluminum oxides, silica, and zeolites as raw materials for various industries, but reserves of such metal oxides are continuously diminishing. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore new alternatives for such value-added minerals. One such material is incense stick ash (ISA), which is among the most unexplored byproducts from residential and holy places. Currently, ISA is of no use and it is disposed of in millions of tons (MTs) in rivers and other water bodies in India due to its sacred value. The major chemical composition of ISA is calcium, silica, alumina, ferrous minerals, magnesium, and traces of Na, K, P, Ti, etc. Major fractions of ISA, i.e., 50-60%, are made up of calcium and magnesium oxides; 20-30% of ISA is made up of silica, alumina, and ferrous minerals, as revealed by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). In the present research work, methods of recovery of value-added micro and nano minerals from ISA are suggested, using cost-effective techniques and an eco-friendly approach. Firstly, magnetic fractions were recovered by a magnetic separation method; then, alumina, silica, and calcium oxides were synthesized from non-magnetic fractions. The confirmation of the synthesized and extracted nanomaterials was done by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), particle size analyzer (PSA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy with electron diffraction spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The purity of synthesized particles varied from 40-80%. In the future, ISA will prove to be an alternative resource material for Fe, Ca, Si, C, Al, and zeolites, which will minimize solid waste pollution and water pollution arising due to the disposal of ISA into water bodies.

Ordered Macro/Mesoporous TiO2 Hollow Microspheres with Highly Crystalline Thin Shells for High-Efficiency Photoconversion.

Well ordered, uniform 3D open macro/mesoporous TiO2 hollow microspheres with highly crystalline anatase thin shells have been successfully synthesized by a simple solvent evaporation-driven confined self-assembly method. The 3D open macro/mesoporous TiO2 hollow microspheres show high energy-conversion efficiency (up to 9.5%) and remarkable photocatalytic activity (with photodegradation of 100% for methylene blue in 12 min under UV light irradiation).

Radially oriented mesoporous TiO2 microspheres with single-crystal-like anatase walls for high-efficiency optoelectronic devices.

Highly crystalline mesoporous materials with oriented configurations are in demand for high-performance energy conversion devices. We report a simple evaporation-driven oriented assembly method to synthesize three-dimensional open mesoporous TiO2 microspheres with a diameter of ~800 nm, well-controlled radially oriented hexagonal mesochannels, and crystalline anatase walls. The mesoporous TiO2 spheres have a large accessible surface area (112 m(2)/g), a large pore volume (0.164 cm(3)/g), and highly single-crystal-like anatase walls with dominant (101) exposed facets, making them ideal for conducting mesoscopic photoanode films. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on the mesoporous TiO2 microspheres and commercial dye N719 have a photoelectric conversion efficiency of up to 12.1%. This evaporation-driven approach can create opportunities for tailoring the orientation of inorganic building blocks in the assembly of various mesoporous materials.

Crystal structure of cyclo-hexyl-ammonium thio-cyanate.

In the title salt, C6H11NH3 (+)·SCN(-), the cyclo-hexyl-ammonium ring adopts a slightly distorted chair conformation. The ammonium group occupies an equatorial position to minimize 1,3 and 1,5 diaxial inter-actions. In the crystal, the components are linked by N-H⋯N and N-H⋯S hydrogen-bonding inter-actions, resulting in a three-dimensional network.

Cyclo-hexyl-ammonium nitrate.

In the title salt, C6H14N(+)·NO3 (-), the cyclo-hexyl ring adopts a chair conformation. The ammonium group occupies an equatorial position and the crystal struture is stabilized by inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter-actions, resulting in a three-dimensional network.

γ-Cyclodextrin cuprate sandwich-type complexes.

Three structures, based on γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) and metal ions (Cu(2+), Li(+), Na(+), and Rb(+)), have been prepared in aqueous and alkaline media and characterized structurally by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Their dimeric assemblies adopt cylindrical channels along the c axes in the crystals. Coordinative and hydrogen bonding between the cylinders and the solvent molecules lead to the formation of two-dimensional sheets, with the identity of the alkali-metal ion strongly influencing the precise nature of the solid-state structures. In the case of the Rb(+) complex, coordinative bonding involving the Rb(+) ions leads to the formation of an extended two-dimensional structure. Nonbound solvent molecules can be removed, and gas isotherm analyses confirm the permanent porosity of these new complexes. Carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorption studies show that the extended structure, obtained upon crystallization of the Rb(+)-based sandwich-type dimers, has the highest CO2 sequestration ability of the three γ-CD complexes reported.

A study of laser-induced blue emission with nanosecond decay of silicon nanoparticles synthesized by a chemical etching method.

Silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs), exhibiting a strong visible photoluminescence (PL), have found many applications in optoelectronics devices, biomedical tags and flash memories. Chemical etching is a well-known method for synthesizing orange-luminescent, hydride-capped silicon nanoparticles (H/Si NPs). However, a blueshift in emission wavelength occurs when reducing the particle size to exciton Bohr radius or less. In this paper, we attempted to synthesize and characterize H/Si NPs that emit lower wavelengths at room temperature. We proved that our method succeeded in synthesizing H/Si NPs with emission in the blue region. The wavelength-resolved and time-resolved studies of the PL were executed for H/Si NPs in methanol (MeOH), pyridine (py) and furan, using the 355 nm pulsed radiation from a Nd:YAG laser. In addition, excitation wavelength-dependent and PL studies were executed using the spectrofluorometer with a xenon (Xe) broad band light source. We noticed solvent-dependent PL spectra with sharp peaks near 420 nm and a short lifetime less than 100 ns. The morphology and particle size were investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). Particles as small as one nanometer were observed in MeOH and py suspensions while two-nanometer particles were observed in the furan suspension.