Synthesis and Structure-Activity Characterization of a Single-Site MoO2 Catalytic Center Anchored on Reduced Graphene Oxide.

Molecularly derived single-site heterogeneous catalysts can bridge the understanding and performance gaps between conventional homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, guiding the rational design of next-generation catalysts. While impressive advances have been made with well-defined oxide supports, the structural complexity of other supports and the nature of the grafted surface species present an intriguing challenge. In this study, single-site Mo(═O)2 species grafted onto reduced graphene oxide (rGO/MoO2) are characterized by XPS, DRIFTS, powder XRD, N2 physisorption, NH3-TPD, aqueous contact angle, active site poisoning assay, Mo EXAFS, model compound single-crystal XRD, DFT, and catalytic performance. NH3-TPD reveals that the anchored MoO2 moiety is not strongly acidic, while Mo 3d5/2 XPS assigns the oxidation state as Mo(VI), and XRD shows little rGO periodicity change on MoO2 grafting. Contact angle analysis shows that MoO2 grafting consumes rGO surface polar groups, yielding a more hydrophobic surface. The rGO/MoO2 DRIFTS assigns features at 959 and 927 cm-1 to the symmetric and antisymmetric Mo═O stretching modes, respectively, of an isolated cis-(O═Mo═O) moiety, in agreement with DFT computation. Moreover, the Mo EXAFS rGO/MoO2 structural data are consistent with isolated (C-O)2-Mo(═O)2 species having two Mo═O bonds and two Mo-O bonds at distances of 1.69(3) and 1.90(3) Å, respectively. rGO/MoO2 is also more active than the previously reported AC/MoO2 catalyst, with reductive carbonyl coupling TOFs approaching 1.81 × 103 h-1. rGO/MoO2 is environmentally robust and multiply recyclable with 69 ± 2% of the Mo sites catalytically significant. Overall, rGO/MoO2 is a structurally well-defined and versatile single-site Mo(VI) dioxo heterogeneous catalytic system.

Resolution of Electronic and Structural Factors Underlying Oxygen-Evolving Performance in Amorphous Cobalt Oxide Catalysts.

Non-noble-metal, thin-film oxides are widely investigated as promising catalysts for oxygen evolution reactions (OER). Amorphous cobalt oxide films electrochemically formed in the presence of borate (CoBi) and phosphate (CoPi) share a common cobaltate domain building block, but differ significantly in OER performance that derives from different electron-proton charge transport properties. Here, we use a combination of L edge synchrotron X-ray absorption (XAS), resonant X-ray emission (RXES), resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS), resonant Raman (RR) scattering, and high-energy X-ray pair distribution function (PDF) analyses that identify electronic and structural factors correlated to the charge transport differences for CoPi and CoBi. The analyses show that CoBi is composed primarily of cobalt in octahedral coordination, whereas CoPi contains approximately 17% tetrahedral Co(II), with the remainder in octahedral coordination. Oxygen-mediated 4 p-3 d hybridization through Co-O-Co bonding was detected by RXES and the intersite dd excitation was observed by RIXS in CoBi, but not in CoPi. RR shows that CoBi resembles a disordered layered LiCoO2-like structure, whereas CoPi is amorphous. Distinct domain models in the nanometer range for CoBi and CoPi have been proposed on the basis of the PDF analysis coupled to XAS data. The observed differences provide information on electronic and structural factors that enhance oxygen evolving catalysis performance.

Nuclearity effects in supported, single-site Fe(ii) hydrogenation pre-catalysts.

Dimeric and monomeric supported single-site Fe(ii) pre-catalysts on SiO2 have been prepared via organometallic grafting and characterized with advanced spectroscopic techniques. Manipulation of the surface hydroxyl concentration on the support influences monomer/dimer formation. While both pre-catalysts are highly active in liquid-phase hydrogenation, the dimeric pre-catalyst is ∼3× faster than the monomer. Preliminary XAS experiments on the H2-activated samples suggest the active species are isolated Fe(ii) sites.

Gallstone-Formation-Inspired Bimetallic Supra-nanostructures for Computed-Tomography-Image-Guided Radiation Therapy.

Inspired by the gallstone formation mechanism, we report a fast one-pot synthesis of high-surface-area bimetallic hierarchical supra-nanostructures. As gallstones are generated from metal cholate complexes, cholate bile acid molecules with Au/Ag metal precursors formed stable nanocomplexes aggregated with metal Au ions and preformed ~2 nm silver halide nanoparticles before reduction. When a reducing agent was added, the metal cholate nanocomplexes quickly formed noble bimetallic hierarchical supra-nanostructures. The morphology of bimetallic supra-nanostructures could be tailored by changing the feeding ratio of each metal precursor. In situ synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering measurement with a custom-designed reaction cell showed two-step growth and attachment behavior toward hierarchical supra-nanostructures from the gallstone-formation-inspired metal cholate nanocomplexes in a 60 s reaction. Additional wide-angle X-ray scattering, X-ray absorption near-edge structure, in situ Fourier transform infrared, and high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy investigations subsequently revealed the mechanism for the evolution of bimetallic hierarchical supra-nanostructures. The gallstone-formation-inspired synthesis mechanism can be universally applied to other metals, for example, Pt-Ag and Pd-Ag bimetallic nanostructures. Finally, the synthesized high-surface-area bimetallic supra-nanostructures demonstrated significantly enhanced X-ray computed tomography imaging contrast and radiosensitizing effect for a potential image-guided nanomedicine application. We believe that our synthetic method inspired by gallstone formation and understanding represents an important step toward the development of hierarchical nanoparticles for various applications.

Targeted multimodal nano-reporters for pre-procedural MRI and intra-operative image-guidance.

Multimodal-imaging probes offer a novel approach, which can provide detail diagnostic information for the planning of image-guided therapies in clinical practice. Here we report targeted multimodal Nd3+-doped upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP) imaging reporters, integrating both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and real-time upconversion luminescence imaging (UCL) capabilities within a single platform. Nd3+-doped UCNPs were synthesized as a core-shell structure showing a bright visible emission upon excitation at the near infrared (minimizing biological overheating and increasing tissue penetration depth) as well as providing strong MRI T2 contrast (high r2/r1 ratio). Transcatheter intra-arterial infusion of Nd3+-doped UCNPs conjugated with anti-CD44-monoclonal antibody allowed for high performance in vivo multimodal UCL and MR imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in an orthotopic rat model. The resulted in vivo multimodal imaging of Nd3+ doped core-shell UCNPs combined with transcatheter intra-arterial targeting approaches successfully discriminated liver tumors from normal hepatic tissues in rats for surgical resection applications. The demonstrated multimodal UCL and MRI imaging capabilities of our multimodal UCNPs reporters suggest strong potential for in vivo visualization of tumors and precise surgical guidance to fill the gap between pre-procedural imaging and intraoperative reality.

Resonance Raman and surface- and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy methods to study solid catalysts and heterogeneous catalytic reactions.

Resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy has several advantages over the normal Raman spectroscopy (RS) widely used for in situ characterization of solid catalysts and catalytic reactions. Compared with RS, RR can provide much higher sensitivity and selectivity in detecting catalytically-significant surface metal oxides. RR can potentially give useful information on the nature of excited states relevant to photocatalysis and on the anharmonic potential of the ground state. In this critical review a detailed discussion is presented on several types of RR experimental systems, three distinct sources of so-called Raman (fluorescence) background, detection limits for RR compared to other techniques (EXAFS, PM-IRAS, SFG), and three well-known methods to assign UV-vis absorption bands and a band-specific unified method that is derived mainly from RR results. In addition, the virtues and challenges of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) are discussed for detecting molecular adsorbates at catalytically relevant interfaces. Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS), which is a combination of SERS and near-field scanning probe microscopy and has the capability of probing molecular adsorbates at specific catalytic sites with an enormous surface sensitivity and nanometre spatial resolution, is also reviewed (300 references).

Resonance Raman spectroscopic study of alumina-supported vanadium oxide catalysts with 220 and 287 nm excitation.

We present detailed resonance Raman spectroscopic results excited at 220 and 287 nm for alumina-supported VO(x) catalysts. The anharmonic constant, harmonic wavenumber, anharmonic force constant, bond dissociation energy, and bond length change in the excited state for double bonded VO and single bonded V-O were obtained from fundamental and overtone frequencies. Totally symmetric and nontotally symmetric modes could be discerned and assigned on the basis of the overtone and combination progressions found in the resonance Raman spectra. Selective resonance enhancement of two different vibrational modes with two different excitation wavelengths was observed. This allowed us to establish a linear relationship between charge transfer energy and VO bond length and, consequently, to assign the higher-energy charge transfer band centered around 210-250 nm in the UV-vis spectra to the VO transition.

A spectroscopic and computational investigation of the vanadomolybdate local structure in the lyonsite phase Mg(2.5)VMoO(8).

The vibrational spectrum of Mg2.5VMoO8 obtained by quantum mechanical simulation is compared with the experimentally observed Raman spectrum. This simulation suggests that the observed band at 1016 cm(-1) is attributed to the Mo=O-Mg stretching from two-coordinate oxygen atoms that are adjacent to Mg2+ cation vacancies. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy supports the structural model used to simulate the vibrational modes in Mg2.5VMoO8 that match the observed Raman data.

Structure of Mg2.56V1.12W0.88O8 and vibrational raman spectra of Mg2.5VWO8 and Mg2.5VMoO8.

Mg(2.56)V(1.12)W(0.88)O(8) crystals were grown from a MgO/V(2)O(5)/WO(3) melt. X-ray single-crystal diffraction studies revealed that it is orthorhombic with space group Pnma, a = 5.0658(5) A, b = 10.333(1) A, c = 17.421(2) A, Z = 6, and is isostructural with Mg(2.5)VMoO(8). Raman spectra are reported, and the assignment of the Raman bands is made by comparing the metal-oxygen vibrations of VO(4)/WO(4) tetrahedra in Mg(2.5)VWO(8) with the metal-oxygen vibrations of VO(4)/MoO(4) tetrahedra in Mg(2.5)VMoO(8). The stretching vibrations appearing at 1016 and 1035 cm(-)(1) are assigned to Mo=O and W=O double bonds, respectively, associated with the Mg(2+) cation vacancies.

Probing the vanadyl and molybdenyl bonds in complex vanadomolybdate structures.

A solid solution was found to exist in the quaternary Li(2)O-MgO-V(2)O(5)-MoO(3) system between the two phases Mg(2.5)VMoO(8) and Li(2)Mg(2)(MoO(4))(3). Both Mg(2.5)VMoO(8) and Li(2)Mg(2)(MoO(4))(3) are isostructural with the mineral lyonsite, and substitution according to the formula square(1/4-x/6)Li(4x/3)Mg(15/4-7x/6)V(3/2-x)Mo(3/2+x)O(12) (0 < or = x < or = 1.5, where square denotes a cation vacancy) demonstrates that a complete solid solution exits coupling the addition of molybdenum and lithium with the subtraction of cation vacancies, magnesium, and vanadium and vice versa. Vibrational Raman spectroscopy indicates that molybdenum-oxo double bonds preferentially associate with the cation vacancies.

On the structure of vanadium oxide supported on aluminas: UV and visible raman spectroscopy, UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and temperature-programmed reduction studies.

Vanadia species on aluminas (delta- and gamma-Al2O3) with surface VOx density in the range 0.01-14.2 V/nm2 have been characterized by UV and visible Raman spectroscopy, UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS), and temperature-programmed reduction in hydrogen. It is shown that the alumina phase has little influence on the structure and reducibility of surface VOx species under either dehydrated or hydrated conditions. Three similar types of dispersed VOx species, i.e., monovanadates, polyvanadates, and V2O5, are identified on both aluminas under dehydrated conditions. Upon hydration, polymerized VOx species dominate on the surfaces of the two aluminas. The broad Raman band at around 910 cm(-1), observed on dehydrated V/delta-, gamma-Al2O3 at all V loadings (0.01-14.2 V/nm2), is assigned to the interface mode (V-O-Al) instead of the conventionally assigned V-O-V bond. The direct observation of the interface bond is of significance for the understanding of redox catalysis because this bond has been considered to be the key site in oxidation reactions catalyzed by supported vanadia. Two types of frequency shifts of the V=O stretching band (1013-1035 cm(-1)) have been observed in the Raman spectra of V/Al2O3: a shift as a function of surface VOx density and a shift as a function of excitation wavelength. The shift of the V=O band to higher wavenumbers with increasing surface VOx density is due to the change of VOx structure. The V=O stretching band in dispersed vanadia always appears at lower wavenumber in UV Raman spectra than in visible Raman spectra for the same V/Al2O3 sample. This shift is explained by selective resonance enhancement according to the UV-Vis DRS results. It implies that UV Raman has higher sensitivity to isolated and less polymerized VOx species while visible Raman is more sensitive to highly polymerized VOx species and crystalline V2O5. These results show that a multiwavelength excitation approach provides a more complete structural characterization of supported VOx catalysts.

Nanocrystalline todorokite-like manganese oxide produced by bacterial catalysis.

We describe the characterization of an unknown and difficult to identify but geochemically and environmentally significant MnOx structure produced by a freshwater bacterium, Leptothrix discophora SP-6, using combined transmission electron microscopy (TEM), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), and UV Raman spectroscopy. The large surface-to-volume ratio of the needle-shaped nanocrystalline MnO2 formed around the bacterial cells coupled to the porous, zeolite-like structure has the potential to catalyze reactions and oxidize and adsorb metals.