ABSTRACT
We have shown that an exchange dilution preparation method reduces the impact of surface adsorption of the target component in high-pressure gas mixtures used for underpinning measurements of amount-of-substance fraction. Gas mixtures are diluted in the same cylinder by releasing an aliquot of the parent mixture. Additional matrix gas is then added to the cylinder. This differs from conventional methods where dilutions are achieved by transferring the parent mixture to another cylinder, which then stores the final reference material. The benefit of this revolutionary approach is that losses due to adsorption to the walls of the cylinder and the valve are reduced as the parent mixture pacifies the surface with only a negligible relative change in amount-of-substance fraction. This development allows for preparation of gas reference materials with unprecedented uncertainties beyond the existing state of the art. It has significant implications for the preparation of high accuracy gas reference materials which underpin a broad range of requirements, particularly in atmospheric monitoring of carbon dioxide, where understanding the adsorption effects is the major obstacle to advancing the measurement science. It has the potential to remove the reliance on proprietary surface pretreatments as the method provides an in situ and consistent alternative.
ABSTRACT
A novel method for the in situ generation of catalytically active small metal nanoparticles, by anion extrusion on a parent porous copper chloropyrophosphate framework, has been developed to generate gold, platinum and palladium nanoparticles for sustainable catalytic oxidations using molecular oxygen as the oxidant. Transmission electron microscopy coupled with detailed structural and physico-chemical characterisation, in combination with in-depth kinetic analysis have afforded profound insights into the nature of the active site for facilitating structure-property correlations.
