Synthesis Of Nanoarchitectures Research Articles

Facile preparation of hierarchical MgCo2O4/MgCo2O4 nanochain array composites on Ni foam as advanced electrode materials for supercapacitors

Schematic illustration of the two-step synthesis of MgCo2O4/MgCo2O4 directly grown on Ni foam.

One-Step Conversion from Core-Shell Metal-Organic Framework Materials to Cobalt and Nitrogen Codoped Carbon Nanopolyhedra with Hierarchically Porous Structure for Highly Efficient Oxygen Reduction.

Rational design of porous structure is an effective way to fabricate the nonprecious metal electrocatalysts (NPMCs) toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with high activity comparable or even superior to Pt-based electrocatalysts. Herein, we demonstrate a facile synthetic route to fabricate cobalt and nitrogen codoped carbon nanopolyhedra with hierarchically porous structure (Co,N-HCNP) by one-step carbonization of core-shell structured ZIF-8@ZIF-67 crystals. The resultant Co,N-HCNP electrocatalyst possesses a unique hierarchically micro/mesoporous structure with internal micropores and external mesopores, of which sufficient exposure and accessibility of ORR active sites can be achieved due to the large specific surface area and efficient transport pathway. More importantly, the existence of ZIF-8 core in the core-shell structured ZIF-8@ZIF-67 can promote the homogeneous pyrolysis of ZIF-67 shell, leading to a uniform distribution of Co-Nx active sites for Co,N-HCNP. As a result, the well-designed Co,N-HCNP electrocatalyst exhibits remarkable ORR activity with a high onset potential comparable to the commercial Pt/C, a half-wave potential of 0.855 V (9 mV more positive than that of Pt/C), and a kinetic current density of 63.84 mA cm-2 at 0.8 V (2.3-fold enhancement compared with that of Pt/C) in alkaline electrolyte. Furthermore, the Co,N-HCNP electrocatalyst also presents outstanding electrochemical durability and methanol tolerance in comparison with Pt/C. The unique hierarchically porous structure of Co,N-HCNP achieved in this work provides a new insight into the design and synthesis of nanoarchitecture with targeted pore structure and opens a new avenue for the synthesis of highly efficient NPMCs for ORR.

Facile synthesis of AgInS2 hierarchical flowerlike nanoarchitectures composed of ultrathin nanowires

In this work, AgInS(2) hierarchical flowerlike nanoarchitectures, which are composed of ultrathin nanowires, were synthesized by thermolysis of a mixed solution of AgNO(3), InCl(3)·4H(2)O and n-dodecanethiol at elevated temperature. The average diameter and length of the nanowires composing the nanoarchitectures can reach 5 nm and ∼300 nm, respectively. We investigated the growth process of the nanoarchitectures and the effects of reaction parameters by XRD, SEM and TEM. In particular, the use of InCl(3)·4H(2)O played a decisive role in the synthesis of the nanoarchitectures. Moreover, it was found that polyhedra formed in the initial reaction time, and then the nanowires grew on the facets of these polyhedra, which resulted in the nanoarchitectures. The reaction temperature and the concentration of metal salts could influence the size of the nanowires.