Synthesis of CaSnN2 via a High-Pressure Metathesis Reaction and the Properties of II-Sn-N2 (II = Ca, Mg, Zn) Semiconductors.

A novel ternary nitride semiconductor, CaSnN2, with a layered rock-salt-type structure (R3̅m) was synthesized via a high-pressure metathesis reaction. The properties and structures of II-Sn-N2 (II = Ca, Mg, Zn) semiconductors were also systematically studied, and the differences among them were revealed by comparison. These semiconductor materials showed a rock-salt- or wurtzite-type structure depending on the combined effect of the synthetic conditions and the characteristics of the group II elements. Additionally, the rock-salt-type structures of CaSnN2 and MgSnN2 (i.e., the ambient-pressure phase) were different from those predicted using first-principles calculations. Further, on the basis of first-principles calculations and consideration of the pressure effect, the recovered CaSnN2 sample showed an R3̅m structure. CaSnN2 and MgSnN2 showed a band gap of 2.3-2.4 eV, which is suitable for overcoming the green-light-gap problem. These semiconductors also showed a strong cathode luminescence peak at room temperature, and generalized gradient approximation (GGA) calculations revealed that CaSnN2 has a direct band gap. These inexpensive and nontoxic semiconductors (II-Sn-N2 semiconductors (II = Ca, Mg, Zn)), with mid band gaps are required as pigments to replace cadmium-based materials. They can also be used in emitting devices and as photovoltaic absorbers, replacing InxGa1-xN semiconductors.

Ordered Mesoporous Cobalt Phosphate with Crystallized Walls toward Highly Active Water Oxidation Electrocatalysts.

A hexagonally ordered mesoporous cobalt phosphate (CoPi) material is prepared by a facile one-pot soft-templating strategy using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide template. Because of its highly accessible surface area and crystalline framework with abundant active sites, the mesoporous CoPi shows a high catalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction compared to previously reported noble/transition-metal and nonmetal catalysts.

Thermal conversion of core-shell metal-organic frameworks: a new method for selectively functionalized nanoporous hybrid carbon.

Core-shell structured ZIF-8@ZIF-67 crystals are well-designed and prepared through a seed-mediated growth method. After thermal treatment of ZIF-8@ZIF-67 crystals, we obtain selectively functionalized nanoporous hybrid carbon materials consisting of nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) as the cores and highly graphitic carbon (GC) as the shells. This is the first example of the integration of NC and GC in one particle at the nanometer level. Electrochemical data strongly demonstrate that this nanoporous hybrid carbon material integrates the advantageous properties of the individual NC and GC, exhibiting a distinguished specific capacitance (270 F·g(-1)) calculated from the galvanostatic charge-discharge curves at a current density of 2 A·g(-1). Our study not only bridges diverse carbon-based materials with infinite metal-organic frameworks but also opens a new avenue for artificially designed nanoarchitectures with target functionalities.

Oxygen-Assisted Synthesis of Mesoporous Palladium Nanoparticles as Highly Active Electrocatalysts.

Mesoporous Pd nanoparticles (MPNs) enclosed by high-index facets have been successfully prepared by taking advantage of successive oxygen adsorption and desorption caused by the oxidative etching effect. The as-prepared MPNs exhibit excellent performance toward formic acid electro-oxidation, which is due to the synergetic effect between the diffusion-feasible tubular mesochannels and the high index facets.

Dual soft-template system based on colloidal chemistry for the synthesis of hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles.

A new dual soft-template system comprising the asymmetric triblock copolymer poly(styrene-b-2-vinyl pyridine-b-ethylene oxide) (PS-b-P2VP-b-PEO) and the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) is used to synthesize hollow mesoporous silica (HMS) nanoparticles with a center void of around 17 nm. The stable PS-b-P2VP-b-PEO polymeric micelle serves as a template to form the hollow interior, while the CTAB surfactant serves as a template to form mesopores in the shells. The P2VP blocks on the polymeric micelles can interact with positively charged CTA(+) ions via negatively charged hydrolyzed silica species. Thus, dual soft-templates clearly have different roles for the preparation of the HMS nanoparticles. Interestingly, the thicknesses of the mesoporous shell are tunable by varying the amounts of TEOS and CTAB. This study provides new insight on the preparation of mesoporous materials based on colloidal chemistry.

Controlled synthesis of nanoporous nickel oxide with two-dimensional shapes through thermal decomposition of metal-cyanide hybrid coordination polymers.

The urgent need for nanoporous metal oxides with highly crystallized frameworks is motivating scientists to try to discover new preparation methods, because of their wide use in practical applications. Recent work has demonstrated that two-dimensional (2D) cyanide-bridged coordination polymers (CPs) are promising materials and appropriate for this purpose (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.- 2013, 52, 1235). After calcination, 2D CPs can be transformed into nanoporous metal oxides with a highly accessible surface area. Here, this strategy is adopted in order to form 2D nanoporous nickel oxide (NiO) with tunable porosity and crystallinity, using trisodium citrate dihydrate as a controlling agent. The presence of trisodium citrate dihydrate plays a key role in the formation of 2D nanoflakes by controlling the nucleation rate and the crystal growth. The size of the nanoflakes gradually increases by augmenting the amount of trisodium citrate dihydrate in the reaction. After heating the as-prepared CPs in air at different temperatures, nanoporous NiO can be obtained. During this thermal treatment, organic units (carbon and nitrogen) are completely removed and only the metal content remains to take part in the formation of nanoporous NiO. In the case of large-sized 2D CP nanoflakes, the original 2D flake-shapes are almost retained, even after thermal treatment at low temperature, but they are completely destroyed at high temperature because of further crystallization in the framework. Nanoporous NiO with high surface area shows significant efficiency and interesting results for supercapacitor application.

Polymeric micelle assembly with inorganic nanosheets for construction of mesoporous architectures with crystallized walls.

Here we propose a novel way to construct mesoporous architectures through evaporation-induced assembly of polymeric micelles with crystalline nanosheets. As a model study, we used niobate nanosheets exfoliated by the direct reaction of K4Nb6O17⋅3 H2O crystals with an aqueous solution of propylamine. The electrostatic interaction between negatively charged nanosheets and positively charged polymeric micelles enable us to form composite micelles with the nanosheets. Removal of the micelles by calcination results in robust mesoporous oxides with the original crystalline structure.

Direct synthesis of MOF-derived nanoporous carbon with magnetic Co nanoparticles toward efficient water treatment.

Nanoporous carbon particles with magnetic Co nanoparticles (Co/NPC particles) are synthesized by one-step carbonization of zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) crystals. After the carbonization, the original ZIF-67 shapes are preserved well. Fine magnetic Co nanoparticles are well dispersed in the nanoporous carbon matrix, with the result that the Co/NPC particles show a strong magnetic response. The obtained nanoporous carbons show a high surface area and well-developed graphitized wall, thereby realizing fast molecular diffusion of methylene blue (MB) molecules with excellent adsorption performance. The Co/NPC possesses an impressive saturation capacity for MB dye compared with the commercial activated carbon. Also, the dispersed magnetic Co nanoparticles facilitate easy magnetic separation.

Displacement plating of a mesoporous Pt skin onto Co nanochains in a low-concentration surfactant solution.

Mesoporous Pt skins on Co nanochains are successfully synthesized by a displacement reaction between Pt species and a Co support with the assistance of surfactant micelles. The assembly of surfactant micelles on Co nanochains plays a key role in the formation of mesoporous Pt layers. The evolution of the mesoporous Pt layers is carefully studied at different time intervals. As the reaction time increases, the mesoporous Pt layers become thicker, and well-defined mesoporous structures gradually develop. The obtained mesoporous Pt skin exhibits high activity and superior CO tolerance in the electro-oxidation reaction of methanol. The mesoporous Pt skin also shows very high durability, and only a 20.2 % loss of the Pt electrochemical surface area is found even after a harsh durability test.

Synthesis of nanoporous carbon-cobalt-oxide hybrid electrocatalysts by thermal conversion of metal-organic frameworks.

Nanoporous carbon-cobalt-oxide hybrid materials are prepared by a simple, two-step, thermal conversion of a cobalt-based metal-organic framework (zeolitic imidazolate framework-9, ZIF-9). ZIF-9 is carbonized in an inert atmosphere to form nanoporous carbon-metallic-cobalt materials, followed by the subsequent thermal oxidation in air, yielding nanoporous carbon-cobalt-oxide hybrids. The resulting hybrid materials are evaluated as electrocatalysts for the oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen-evolution reaction (OER) in a KOH electrolyte solution. The hybrid materials exhibit similar catalytic activity in the ORR to the benchmark, commercial, Pt/carbon black catalyst, and show better catalytic activity for the OER than the Pt-based catalyst.

Single-crystal-like nanoporous spinel oxides: a strategy for synthesis of nanoporous metal oxides utilizing metal-cyanide hybrid coordination polymers.

Development of a new method to synthesize nanoporous metal oxides with highly crystallized frameworks is of great interest because of their wide use in practical applications. Here we demonstrate a thermal decomposition of metal-cyanide hybrid coordination polymers (CPs) to prepare nanoporous metal oxides. During the thermal treatment, the organic units (carbon and nitrogen) are completely removed, and only metal contents are retained to prepare nanoporous metal oxides. The original nanocube shapes are well-retained even after the thermal treatment. When both Fe and Co atoms are contained in the precursors, nanoporous Fe-Co oxide with a highly oriented crystalline framework is obtained. On the other hand, when nanoporous Co oxide and Fe oxide are obtained from Co- and Fe-contacting precursors, their frameworks are amorphous and/or poorly crystallized. Single-crystal-like nanoporous Fe-Co oxide shows a stable magnetic property at room temperature compared to poly-crystalline metal oxides. We further extend this concept to prepare nanoporous metal oxides with hollow interiors. Core-shell heterostructures consisting of different metal-cyanide hybrid CPs are prepared first. Then the cores are dissolved by chemical etching using a hydrochloric acid solution (i.e., the cores are used as sacrificial templates), leading to the formation of hollow interiors in the nanocubes. These hollow nanocubes are also successfully converted to nanoporous metal oxides with hollow interiors by thermal treatment. The present approach is entirely different from the surfactant-templating approaches that traditionally have been utilized for the preparation of mesoporous metal oxides. We believe the present work proves a new way to synthesize nanoporous metal oxides with controlled crystalline frameworks and architectures.

Synthesis of mesoporous TiO2/SiO2 hybrid films as an efficient photocatalyst by polymeric micelle assembly.

Thermally stable mesoporous TiO2/SiO2 hybrid films with pore size of 50 nm have been synthesized by adopting the polymeric micelle-assembly method. A triblock copolymer, poly(styrene-b-2-vinyl pyridine-b-ethylene oxide), which serves as a template for the mesopores, was utilized to form polymeric micelles. The effective interaction of titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) with the polymeric micelles enabled us to fabricate stable mesoporous films. By changing the molar ratio of TEOS and TTIP, several mesoporous TiO2/SiO2 hybrid films with different compositions can be synthesized. The presence of amorphous SiO2 phase effectively retards the growth of anatase TiO2 crystal in the pore walls and retains the original mesoporous structure, even at higher temperature (650 °C). These TiO2/SiO2 hybrid films are of very high quality, without any cracks or voids. The addition of SiO2 phase to mesoporous TiO2 films not only adsorbs more organic dyes, but also significantly enhances the photocatalytic activity compared to mesoporous pure TiO2 film without SiO2 phase.

Electric double-layer capacitors based on highly graphitized nanoporous carbons derived from ZIF-67.

Nanoporous carbons (NPCs) have large specific surface areas, good electrical and thermal conductivity, and both chemical and mechanical stability, which facilitate their use in energy storage device applications. In the present study, highly graphitized NPCs are synthesized by one-step direct carbonization of cobalt-containing zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67). After chemical etching, the deposited Co content can be completely removed to prepare pure NPCs with high specific surface area, large pore volume, and intrinsic electrical conductivity (high content of sp(2) -bonded carbons). A detailed electrochemical study is performed using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements. Our NPC is very promising for efficient electrodes for high-performance supercapacitor applications. A maximum specific capacitance of 238 F g(-1) is observed at a scan rate of 20 mV s(-1) . This value is very high compared to previous works on carbon-based electric double layer capacitors.

A universal approach to the preparation of colloidal mesoporous platinum nanoparticles with controlled particle sizes in a wide range from 20 nm to 200 nm.

We report a universal method for the preparation of mesoporous Pt nanoparticles (MPNs) with tunable particle sizes. MPNs with various particle sizes are simply prepared by changing the surfactant concentration in the starting solutions. Small-sized MPNs show the highest electrochemical surface area and highest current density in the methanol oxidation reaction.

Tailored design of multiple nanoarchitectures in metal-cyanide hybrid coordination polymers.

Recently, coordination polymers (CPs) with nanoscale porosity and unique property have demonstrated great potential in many applications. Encouraged by significant progress in the controlled synthesis of nanomaterials, such as metals and semiconductors, the morphologically controlled synthesis of CPs has been considered a potential way to further enhance the inherent properties and develop new functions. In particular, hollow-based CPs are promising nanoarchitectures that can bring several properties derived from crystalline thin shells and interior cavities. Here we demonstrate an exquisite construction method to synthesize CPs with multiple hollow-based nanoarchitectures. Through step-by-step CP crystal growth and subsequent etching processes, various types of CPs with shell-in-shell, yolk-shell, and yolk-double-shell hollow structures can be synthesized for the first time. This type of nanoarchitecture is powerful for the exploration of alternative properties of CPs. The resultant hollow-based nanoarchitectures significantly increase gas adsorption and bring out interesting magnetic properties.

Kinetically controlled crystallization for synthesis of monodispersed coordination polymer nanocubes and their self-assembly to periodic arrangements.

Under control: A new concept for synthesizing monodispersed coordination polymer (CP) nanoparticles is established. By utilizing a chelating agent that is coordinated to the metal ions, the subsequent coordination process between metal ions and ligands is controllable (see figure). The obtained nanocubes with uniform sizes can be self-assembled into periodically ordered arrangements. This phenomenon is useful for sensing applications, such as those with responsive photonic crystals.

Synthesis of highly strained mesostructured SrTiO(3)/BaTiO(3) composite films with robust ferroelectricity.

A new class of highly stable ferroelectric material, that is, a mesostructured SrTiO(3)/BaTiO(3) composite film, obtained by a surfactant-templated sol-gel method is reported. Due to the concave surface geometry and abundant hetero-interface between SrTiO(3) (ST) and BaTiO(3) (BT) phases, a large number of strains can be created in the composite film, thereby leading to dramatic enhancement of ferroelectric property (see scheme).

Unipolar assembly of zinc oxide rods manifesting polarity-driven collective luminescence.

Oriented assemblies of small crystals forming larger structures are common in nature and crucial for forthcoming technologies as they circumvent the difficulties of structural manipulation at microscopic scale. We have discovered two distinctive concentric assemblies of zinc oxide rods, wherein each rod has an intrinsically positive and a negative polar end induced by the noncentrosymmetric arrangement of Zn and O atoms. All the rods in a single assembly emanate out of a central core maintaining a single polar direction. Due to growth along the two polar surfaces with different atomic arrangements, these assemblies are distinct in their intrinsic properties and exhibit strong UV luminescence in the exterior of Zn-polar assemblies, unlike the O-polar assemblies. Although novel applications can be envisioned, these observations suggest that hierarchical organization with respect to internal asymmetry might be widespread in natural crystal assemblies.

pH-responsive polymeric micelles with core-shell-corona architectures as intracellular anti-cancer drug carriers.

Polymeric micelles with core-shell-corona nanoarchitecture were designed for intracellular therapeutic anti-cancer drug carriers. Poly(styrene-b-acrylic acid-b-ethylene glycol) (PS-b-PAA-b-PEG) asymmetric triblock copolymer underwent self-assembly in aqueous solution to form spherical micelles with hydrophobic PS core, anionic PAA shell and hydrophilic PEG corona. The anti-cancer drug (doxorubicin, DOX) was successfully incorporated into the polymeric micelles. The in vitro release experiment confirmed that the release of DOX from the micelles was inhibited at pH 7.4. In contrast, an accelerated release of DOX was observed at mildly acidic conditions such as pH 4.5. The excellent biocompatibility of our PS-b-PAA-b-PEG-based micelles made the synthesized nano-carrier best suited for the delivery of anti-cancer drugs.

All-metal mesoporous nanocolloids: solution-phase synthesis of core-shell Pd@Pt nanoparticles with a designed concave surface.

Colloidal Pd@Pt nanoparticles with uniform mesopores can be synthesized in one step by a facile solution-phase method involving slow reduction of metal species in strong acidic media. In this system, F127 micelles can directly act as a template to form the mesopores in the product, and the greater reducibility of the Pd species leads to the desired core-shell Pd@Pt nanocolloids.