Characterization of Cotton Ball-like Au/ZnO Photocatalyst Synthesized in a Micro-Reactor.

Noble metal/metal oxide nanostructures are an efficient system in photocatalysis. Continuous and scalable production of advanced particle systems will be a requirement for commercial-scale deployment for many applications, including photocatalysis. In this work, Au/ZnO structures were synthesized in a continuous flow micro-reactor at room temperature and the detailed characteristics of the product indicate a specific cotton ball-like core-shell microstructure that showcases specific advantages compared to traditional batch synthesis methods. The formation pathway of the core-shell Au/ZnO structures is discussed with the pH-dependent speciation diagram, and photocatalytic activity was assessed under simulated sunlight, demonstrating the enhanced performance of the cotton ball-like Au/ZnO microstructures in photocatalytic dye degradation. This work describes the application of microreaction technology in the continuous production of metal/metal oxide photocatalysts.

Effect of non-stoichiometry on optical, radiative, and thermal characteristics of ceria undergoing reduction.

The complex refractive index of ceria has been determined at ambient temperature using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry for two chemical states-fully oxidized and partially reduced. The ellipsometric model is corroborated with complementary measurements of thickness, surface roughness, and chemical composition. Partially reduced ceria is shown to have a larger absorption index over a broad spectral range than fully oxidized ceria, including the visible and near IR regions. We use a simple model of a directly irradiated particle entrained in a gas flow to demonstrate the consequences of accounting for changes in chemical state when modeling ceria-based thermochemical process.

High-rate synthesis of Cu-BTC metal-organic frameworks.

The reaction conditions for the synthesis of Cu-BTC (BTC = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid) were elucidated using a continuous-flow microreactor-assisted solvothermal system to achieve crystal size and phase control. A high-rate synthesis of Cu-BTC metal-organic frameworks with a BET surface area of more than 1600 m(2) g(-1) (Langmuir surface area of more than 2000 m(2) g(-1)) and with a 97% production yield could be achieved with a total reaction time of 5 minutes.