Ethylenediamine-assisted solvothermal synthesis of ZnS/ZnO photocatalytic heterojunction for high-efficiency hydrogen production.

Organic-inorganic hybrid materials have emerged as a class of novel materials over the last two decades, as they combine functional organic components and inorganic building blocks into unique materials through various chemical or physical interactions. In the present work, the importance of the use of ethylenediamine in sulfided materials applied to photocatalytic processes in the H2 production is demonstrated. The ZnS/ZnO heterojunction was prepared by the solvothermal synthesis in the presence and absence of ethylenediamine. The photocatalytic behavior showed that the addition of ethylenediamine increases the photocatalytic efficiency up to eight times compared to the photocatalyst without the organic agent. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, infrared and UV-visible spectroscopies of solids, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and photoelectrochemical characterization. The ethylenediamine plays a double role: to stabilize the cubic phase of zinc sulfide and to act as a promoter molecule of charge transfer on the surface of ZnS/ZnO/en heterojunction, slowing down the rate of recombination of the electron-hole pair, which is reflected in a decrease in the resistance to transfer of charge carriers, improving the H2 production rate until 1564 µmol h-1 g-1.

Al2O3-Phosphated Green Catalysts with High Selectivity to Ecological Gasoline C8= by Dimerization of Isobutene.

In this paper, phosphated-alumina prepared from boehmite and phosphoric acid (1, 4, and 6 mmol of PO4(3-)) is proposed as a good alternative catalyst to obtain ecological gasoline by the reaction of dimerization of butenes in gas phase using a flow reactor and mild conditions (60 degrees C and a C4/C4= molar ratio = 1). XRD spectra of the samples showed the formation of the gamma-alumina phase in the solids. BET specific surface area values of the bare alumina were not notably modified when these materials were phosphate, from 180-m2/g to 170 m2/g. All the solids are mesoporous structured materials. FTIR pyridine-adsorption spectra showed the formation of strong Lewis acid sites, which remains stable even at desorption temperatures above 300 degrees C. Brönsted acid sites were not observed on the materials. The phosphated-alumina catalysts were active for the dimerization of isobutene in mild conditions and 100% selectivitiy to C8= olefins was reached without the presence of olefinic compounds with higher molecular weight (trimers, tetramers).

Effect of the Method of Synthesis in the Photoactivity of TiO2-Co and TiO2-CoCe Materials.

Cobalt modified TiO2 and cobalt-cerium modified TiO2 were synthesized by sol gel technique using two different routes. In the first case the material was prepared by adding directly the precursor of metal (Co) during the sol-gel synthesis (In situ). The second one consisted in the impregnation of the supports of TiO2 and Ce-TiO2 prepared by sol-gel with a cobalt solution (Impregnated). The materials obtained were characterized by XRD and their textural properties were determined. The effect of the technique of synthesis as well as the presence of cerium in the photocatalytic properties of the material was evaluated in the photodegradation of phenol in aqueous phase. According to the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that both, the integration of the metals during the sol-gel synthesis and the presence of cerium significantly improves the photocatalytic activity of TiO2.

Room temperature olefins oligomerization over sulfated titania.

Oligomerization reaction was carried out at room temperature using sulfated titania as catalyst. Total isobutene conversion was obtained with high stability for a long period of time. In case of deactivation, total reactivation of the catalyst was reached.