Mix and print: fast optimization of mesoporous CuCeZrO(w) for catalytic oxidation of n-hexane.

Fast optimization of mesoporous ternary metal oxide (CuCeZrO(w)) catalysts for n-hexane oxidation is achieved via a newly developed combinatorial approach based on ink-jet printing assisted synthesis and multi-dimensional group testing.

Scanning droplet cell for high throughput electrochemical and photoelectrochemical measurements.

High throughput electrochemical techniques are widely applied in material discovery and optimization. For many applications, the most desirable electrochemical characterization requires a three-electrode cell under potentiostat control. In high throughput screening, a material library is explored by either employing an array of such cells, or rastering a single cell over the library. To attain this latter capability with unprecedented throughput, we have developed a highly integrated, compact scanning droplet cell that is optimized for rapid electrochemical and photoeletrochemical measurements. Using this cell, we screened a quaternary oxide library as (photo)electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution (water splitting) reaction. High quality electrochemical measurements were carried out and key electrocatalytic properties were identified for each of 5456 samples with a throughput of 4 s per sample.

Inkjet printing assisted synthesis of multicomponent mesoporous metal oxides for ultrafast catalyst exploration.

We describe an inkjet printing assisted cooperative-assembly method for high-throughput generation of catalyst libraries (multicomponent mesoporous metal oxides) at a rate of 1,000,000-formulations/hour with up to eight-component compositions. The compositions and mesostructures of the libraries can be well-controlled and continuously varied. Fast identification of an inexpensive and efficient quaternary catalyst for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is achieved via a multidimensional group testing strategy to reduce the number of performance validation experiments (25,000-fold reduction over an exhaustive one-by-one search).

Defect-less, layered organo-titanosilicate with superhydrophobicity and its catalytic activity in room-temperature olefin epoxidation.

A new type of defect-less, layered organo-titanosilicate is synthesized using a simple, template-free, evaporation-induced self-assembly process. The obtained layered material has superhydrophobicity and exhibits promising catalytic activity in the epoxidation of olefins using 30% H(2)O(2) aqueous solution as oxidant at room temperature.

Silver-based intermetallic heterostructures in Sb2Te3 thick films with enhanced thermoelectric power factors.

In this work, Ag(x)Te(y)-Sb(2)Te(3) heterostructured films are prepared by ligand exchange using hydrazine soluble metal chalcogenide. Because of the created interfacial barrier, cold carriers are more strongly scattered than hot ones and thereby an over 50% enhanced thermoelectric power factor (~2 µW/(cm·K(2))) is obtained at 150 °C. This shows the possibility of engineering multiphases to further improve thermoelectric performance beyond phonon scattering through a low-temperature solution processed route.

Enhanced photoinduced surface reactivity of mesoporous titania modified with benzene siloxane.

Mesoporous TiO(2) modified with benzene siloxane displays a capability to generate more hydroxyl radicals upon photo-illumination, which substantially enhances its surface reactivity for the degradation of organic dyes.