Size-dependent reactivity of Rh cationic clusters to reduce NO by CO in the gas phase at high temperatures.

The reactivity of the reduction of NO pre-adsorbed on Rh2-9+ clusters by CO was investigated using a combination of an alternate on-off gas injection method and thermal desorption spectrometry. The reduction of RhnNxOy+ clusters by CO was evaluated by varying the CO concentration at T = 903 K. Among the RhnNxOx+ clusters, the Rh3N2O2+ cluster exhibited the highest reduction activity, whereas the other clusters, Rh2,4-9NxOx+, showed lower reactivity. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations for Rh3+ and Rh6+ revealed that the rate-determining step for NO reduction in the presence of CO was NO bond dissociation through the kinetics analysis using the RRKM theory. The reduction of Rh3N2O2+ is kinetically preferable to that of Rh6N2O2+. The DFT results were in qualitative agreement with the experimental results.

Author Correction: Clear and transparent nanocrystals for infrared-responsive carrier transfer.

The original version of this Article omitted the fourth author Taizo Yoshinaga, who is from the 'Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Japan'. Consequently, the third sentence of the Author Contributions, 'M.S. and M.K. synthesized the ITO NCs and ITO/semiconductor oxides' was revised to 'M.S., M.K. and T.Y. synthesized the ITO NCs and ITO/semiconductor oxides'. This has been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

Clear and transparent nanocrystals for infrared-responsive carrier transfer.

Infrared-light-induced carrier transfer is a key technology for 'invisible' optical devices for information communication systems and energy devices. However, clear and colourless photo-induced carrier transfer has not yet been demonstrated in the field of photochemistry, to the best of our knowledge. Here, we resolve this problem by employing short-wavelength-infrared (1400-4000 nm) localized surface plasmon resonance-induced electron injection from indium tin oxide nanocrystals to transparent metal oxides. The time-resolved infrared measurements visualize the dynamics of the carrier in this invisible system. Selective excitation of localized surface plasmon resonances causes hot electron injection with high efficiency (33%) and long-lived charge separation (~ 2-200 µs). We anticipate our study not only provides a breakthrough for plasmonic carrier transfer systems but may also stimulate the invention of state-of-the-art invisible optical devices.

Boosting photocatalytic overall water splitting by Co doping into Mn3O4 nanoparticles as oxygen evolution cocatalysts.

The effect of cobalt doping into a manganese oxide (tetragonal spinel Mn3O4) nanoparticle cocatalyst up to Co/(Co + Mn) = 0.4 (mol/mol) on the activity of photocatalytic water oxidation was studied. Monodisperse ∼10 nm CoyMn1-yO (0 ≤y≤ 0.4) nanoparticles were uniformly loaded onto photocatalysts and converted to CoxMn3-xO4 nanoparticles through calcination. 40 mol% cobalt-doped Mn3O4 nanoparticle-loaded Rh@Cr2O3/SrTiO3 photocatalyst exhibited 1.8 times-higher overall water splitting activity than that with pure Mn3O4 nanoparticles. Investigation on the band structure and electrocatalytic water oxidation activity of CoxMn3-xO4 nanoparticles revealed that the Co doping mainly contributes to the improvement of water oxidation kinetics on the surface of the cocatalyst nanoparticles.

Electric-field enhancement inducing near-infrared two-photon absorption in an indium-tin oxide nanoparticle film.

An enhancing factor: the enhancement of the electric properties of a dye molecule (IR26) by indium-tin oxide nanoparticles (ITO NPs, see picture) has been shown by measuring the near-infrared two-photon-excited transient absorption spectra. The dye molecule was excited much more efficiently in the presence of an ITO NP layer.

Indium tin oxide nanoparticles with compositionally tunable surface plasmon resonance frequencies in the near-IR region.

Here we report the synthesis of conducting indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles (NPs) and their surface plasmon resonance (SPR) properties. The SPR peaks of the ITO NPs can be easily tuned by changing the concentration of Sn doping from 3 to 30 mol %. The shortest SPR wavelength of 1618 nm in 10% Sn-doped ITO NPs may reflect the highest electron carrier density in the ITO NPs. The controllable SPR frequencies of metal oxides may offer a novel approach for noble-metal-free SPR applications. Unlike noble-metal nanostructures, ITO has no inter- and intraband transitions in the vis-near-IR region and represents a free-electron conduction, allowing us to systematically study the origin of optical effects arising from the SPRs of conduction electrons.