Nanocluster di metalli preparati mediante ablazione Laser in liquido

On the Relationship between Jetted Inks and Printed Biopatterns:Molecular-Thin Functional Microarrays of Glucose Oxidase

Arrays of circular spots of glucose oxidase have been obtained on functionalized silicon oxide by piezoelectric inkjet printing and the enzymatic activity toward glucose recognition has been monitored. The addition of glycerol to the molecular ink allows to obtain high spot definition and resolution (tens of micrometers wide; one molecule tall), but in spite of its well-known structural stabilizing properties, in dynamic conditions it may lead to increased protein stresses. The jetting voltage and pulse length have been found to be critical factors for both activity retention and pattern definition. High voltages and pulse lengths results in stress effects along with the loss of activity, w…

A solar photothermo-catalytic combined process for the VOCs combustion and the subsequent CO2 valorization using noble metal-free catalysts

We here investigated a solar photothermo-catalytic combined process where the toluene (as volatile organic compound model) was first oxidized to CO2 which was subsequently converted into solar fuels in a second reactor. For this aim two noble-metal free catalytic systems were used, namely MnOx-ZrO2, which gave the best results for the toluene removal, and brookite TiO2-CeO2 mixed oxides which were the most efficient in the subsequent CO2 conversion. This latter reaction was further improved by the addition of small amounts of copper-based materials on brookite-ceria, acting as co-catalysts. The key point for both the examined reactions was the synergism between the thermocatalytic and the p…

Raman Monitoring of Strain Induced Effects in Mechanically Deposited Single Layer Graphene

Graphene is a two dimensional building block for carbon allotropes of many other dimensionality and shows remarkable electronic and optical properties that attract enormous interest. In order to make graphene useful for real technology, a control of its electronic and mechanical properties is a must. In this respect, a crucial step for the use of graphene layers in device fabrication is the deposition onto suitable substrates, understanding the interaction with them. Micromechanical cleavage of graphite has been used to produce high-quality graphene sheets. The aim of this work is to study the strain effects induced in graphene by the deposition process using Raman spectroscopy and scanning…

Efficient H2 production by photocatalytic water splitting under visible light over modified TiO2-based catalysts

Efficient H2 production by photocatalytic water splitting under visible light over modified TiO2-based catalysts

Exploring the photothermo-catalytic performance of brookite tio2-ceo2 composites

The thermocatalytic, photocatalytic and photothermo-catalytic oxidation of some volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 2-propanol, ethanol and toluene, was investigated over brookite TiO2-CeO2 composites. The multi-catalytic approach based on the synergistic effect between solar photocatalysis and thermocatalysis led to the considerable decrease in the conversion temperatures of the organic compounds. In particular, in the photothermo-catalytic runs, for the most active samples (TiO2-3 wt% CeO2 and TiO2-5 wt% CeO2), the temperature at which 90% of VOC conversion occurred was about 60 &deg

Efficient H2 production by photocatalytic water splitting under UV or solar light over variously modified TiO2-based catalysts

Abstract This paper focused for the first time on the comparison between three different approach to modify the chemico-physical properties of TiO2-based photocatalysts and their effect in the H2 production by photocatalytic water splitting both under UV and solar light irradiation, under the same experimental conditions. The application of pulsed laser irradiation to aqueous TiO2 suspensions (first approach) induced structural transformations both on the bulk and on the surface of TiO2, boosting the H2 production, under UV light irradiation, of almost three times (20.9 mmol/gcat·h) compared to bare TiO2 (7.7 mmol/gcat·h). The second strategy was based on a templating method to obtain TiO2 …

Structural and in situ vibrational study of luminescent cluster assembled silicon thin films

A Low Energy Cluster Beam Deposition apparatus is employed to produce cluster assembled silicon thin films (1-500 nm thick) by using a laser vaporization source. The generated clusters are studied since their formation through time of flight mass spectra and the calculated size in the gas phase are compared with those of the deposited aggregates obtained through Dynamic Scanning Force Microscopy. The deposited material is also studied "in situ" by Raman and infrared spectroscopy. The spectra reveal that the as deposited clusters are hydrogenated with negligible amount of oxide. A comparison of the film properties before and after their air exposure shows that the exposition induces a consis…

Catalytic and photothermo-catalytic applications of TiO2-CoOx composites

Objective: The necessity to have green and sustainable industrial processes has promoted new technologies for air and water purification together with the research of new energy sources. In this contest, the TiO2-based photocatalysis can be considered a promising route for both environmental applications aIn this work, we have investigated the photocatalytic performance of TiO2-CoOx composites on both photooxidation and photoreduction reactions. Specifically, we have compared the performance of the composites in the thermo-catalytic, photo-catalytic and photothermal-catalytic oxidation of ethanol chosen as model volatile organic compound (VOC) and in the photocatalytic hydrogen production …

On the Interaction of Carbon Nanowires with Noble Metals through a Study of Their Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectra

This paper deals with the interaction of linear carbon chains (polyynes) with silver and gold surfaces in the form of nanometer-sized clusters. Surface-enhanced Raman signals have been detected rev...

Au/TiO2-CeO2 Catalysts for Photocatalytic Water Splitting and VOCs Oxidation Reactions

Photocatalytic water splitting for H2 production and photocatalytic oxidation of 2-propanol, an example of volatile organic compounds, were investigated over TiO2 catalysts loaded with gold and/or ceria. In the water splitting reaction the presence of gold only slightly affected the performance of TiO2 whereas the presence of CeO2 had a more remarkable positive effect. In the 2-propanol oxidation Au/TiO2 was the most active sample in terms of alcohol conversion whereas Au/TiO2-CeO2 exhibited the highest CO2 yield. On the basis of characterization experiments (X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis EDX, surface area measurements, Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) and …