Ordered Nanostructure Catalysts Efficient for NOx Storage/Reduction (NSR) Processes

NOx emissions in the atmosphere can cause various environmental problems, which should be strictly controlled and regulated. Furthermore, because of the limited amount of crude oil resources in the world and severe global warming, the development of fuel-efficient vehicles has long been desired. Accordingly, efficient NOx storage and reduction catalysts have been developed over the decades, called NSR (NOx storage/reduction) catalysts. In the present article, recent advances in NSR catalysts which possess ordered nanostructures will be summarized, including our noble Pt/KNO3/K-titanate nanobelt (KTN), Pt-KNO3/CeO2 and Pt-KNO3/ZrO2 catalysts, as well as nanoporous Ni-phosphate (VSB-5) and Co-substituted VSB-5 catalysts.

Straightforward Patterning of Functional Polymers by Sequential Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Irradiation

Laser-based methods have demonstrated to be effective in the fabrication of surface micro- and nanostructures, which have a wide range of applications, such as cell culture, sensors or controlled wettability. One laser-based technique used for micro- and nanostructuring of surfaces is the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). LIPSS are formed upon repetitive irradiation at fluences well below the ablation threshold and in particular, linear structures are formed in the case of irradiation with linearly polarized laser beams. In this work, we report on the simple fabrication of a library of ordered nanostructures in a polymer surface by repeated irradiation using a nanosecond pulsed laser operating in the UV and visible region in order to obtain nanoscale-controlled functionality. By using a combination of pulses at different wavelengths and sequential irradiation with different polarization orientations, it is possible to obtain different geometries of nanostructures, in particular linear gratings, grids and arrays of nanodots. We use this experimental approach to nanostructure the semiconductor polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and the ferroelectric copolymer poly[(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene] (P(VDF-TrFE)) since nanogratings in semiconductor polymers, such as P3HT and nanodots, in ferroelectric systems are viewed as systems with potential applications in organic photovoltaics or non-volatile memories.

Controlled chemical assembly of enzyme in cell lysate enabled by genetic-encoded nonstandard Amino Acid

Enzyme proteins are nanometer-sized molecules with a three-dimensional structure that can be manipulated and assembled into highly ordered nanostructures, which allows access to advanced biological materials. Here, genetically-encoded nonstandard amino...

Co-assembly and multicomponent hydrogel formation upon mixing nucleobase-containing peptides

Peptide-based hydrogels are physical gels formed through specific supramolecular self-assembling processes, leading to ordered nanostructures which constitutes the water entrapping scaffold of the soft material. Thanks to the inherent properties...

Sub-5 nm Homeotropically Aligned Columnar Structures of Hybrids Constructed by Porphyrin and Oligo(Dimethylsiloxane)

A series of tetraphenylporphyrin-based thermotropic liquid crystals containing oligo(dimethylsiloxane) were synthesized. These disc-coil hybrids form ordered nanostructures with periodic sizes on the sub-5 nm scale, including oblique columnar, lamellar, and...