Synthesis of Pt3Y and Other Early-Late Intermetallic Nanoparticles by Way of a Molten Reducing Agent.

Early-late intermetallic phases have garnered increased attention recently for their catalytic properties. To achieve the high surface areas needed for industrially relevant applications, these phases must be synthesized as nanoparticles in a scalable fashion. Herein, Pt3Y-targeted as a prototypical example of an early-late intermetallic-has been synthesized as nanoparticles approximately 5-20 nm in diameter via a solution process and characterized by XRD, TEM, EDS, and XPS. The key development is the use of a molten borohydride (MEt3BH, M = Na, K) as both the reducing agent and reaction medium. Readily available halide precursors of the two metals are used. Accordingly, no organic ligands are necessary, as the resulting halide salt byproduct prevents sintering, which further permits dispersion of the nanoscale intermetallic onto a support. The versatility of this approach was validated by the synthesis of other intermetallic phases such as Pt3Sc, Pt3Lu, Pt2Na, and Au2Y.

Isoniazid@Fe2 O3 Nanocontainers and Their Antibacterial Effect on Tuberculosis Mycobacteria.

Isoniazid-filled Fe2 O3 hollow nanospheres (INH@Fe2 O3 , diameter <30 nm, 48 wt % INH-load) are prepared for the first time and suggested for tuberculosis therapy. After dextran-functionalization, the INH@Fe2 O3 @DEX nanocontainers show strong activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb.) and M.tb.-infected macrophages. The nanocontainers can be considered as "Trojan horses" and show efficient, active uptake into both M.tb.-infected macrophages and even into mycobacterial cells.

Magnesium aminoethyl phosphonate (Mg(AEP)(H2O)): an inorganic-organic hybrid nanomaterial with high CO2:N2 sorption selectivity.

The inorganic-organic hybrid magnesium aminoethyl phosphonate (Mg(AEP)(H(2)O), particle diameter: 20 nm; specific surface area: 322(10) m(2) g(-1); pore volume: 0.9(1) cm(3) g(-1)) shows reversible CO(2) sorption (152(5) mg g(-1)) at high pressure (≤110 bar). In contrast, N(2) uptake remains below 1.0(1) mg g(-1). Based on this selectivity (∼100%) Mg(AEP)(H(2)O) expands the range of materials available for CO(2) capture.

Nanoscale copper sulfide hollow spheres with phase-engineered composition: covellite (CuS), digenite (Cu1.8S), chalcocite (Cu2S).

Covellite (CuS), digenite (Cu(1.8)S) and chalcocite (Cu(2)S) are prepared as nanoscaled hollow spheres by reaction at the liquid-to-liquid phase boundary of a w/o-microemulsion. According to electron microscopy (SEM, STEM, TEM, HRTEM) the hollow spheres exhibit an outer diameter of 32-36 nm, a wall thickness of 8-12 nm and an inner cavity of 8-16 nm in diameter. The phase composition is determined based on HRTEM, electron-energy loss spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and thermal analysis. In face of the advanced morphology of the hollow spheres, precise control of its phase composition is nevertheless possible by adjusting the experimental conditions (i.e. type and concentration of the copper precursor, concentration of ammonia inside of the micelle). Such phase-engineering of nanoscale hollow spheres is firstly observed and might allow adjusting even further compositions/structures as well as tailoring of phase-specific properties in the future.

Nanoscale Hollow Spheres: Microemulsion-Based Synthesis, Structural Characterization and Container-Type Functionality.

A wide variety of nanoscale hollow spheres can be obtained via a microemulsion approach. This includes oxides (e.g., ZnO, TiO2, SnO2, AlO(OH), La(OH)3), sulfides (e.g., Cu2S, CuS) as well as elemental metals (e.g., Ag, Au). All hollow spheres are realized with outer diameters of 10-60 nm, an inner cavity size of 2-30 nm and a wall thickness of 2-15 nm. The microemulsion approach allows modification of the composition of the hollow spheres, fine-tuning their diameter and encapsulation of various ingredients inside the resulting "nanocontainers". This review summarizes the experimental conditions of synthesis and compares them to other methods of preparing hollow spheres. Moreover, the structural characterization and selected properties of the as-prepared hollow spheres are discussed. The latter is especially focused on container-functionalities with the encapsulation of inorganic salts (e.g., KSCN, K2S2O8, KF), biomolecules/bioactive molecules (e.g., phenylalanine, quercetin, nicotinic acid) and fluorescent dyes (e.g., rhodamine, riboflavin) as representative examples.