Synthesis of Palladium Chloride Impregnated on Al2O3- Pillared Clay for Reduction of Nitrobenzene

Palladium chloride impregnated on Al2O3-pillared clay (Pd/Al-PILC) was synthesized by intercalation of aluminium (III) chloride into clay interlayers and calcined at 500°C for 1 h. Subsequently, impregnated with PdCl2 and calcination at 450°C for 4 h. The modified clay catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) for investigated atomic spacing of catalysts and N2 adsorption and desorption method (BET) for investigated surface area and pore volume of catalysts. The catalytic activities of Pd/Al-PILC was utilized for the reduction of nitrobenzene for synthesis aniline. The effect of various reaction factors, such as reaction time, reaction temperature, solvent system and the amount of catalyst were studied in order to optimize the reaction conditions. Aniline was prepared conveniently and efficiently via the reduction of nitrobenzene in the presence of a catalytic amount 40%Pd/Al-PILC of substrate in reflux temperature at 70°C for 4 h under extremely mild conditions.

Enzyme Mimetic Activity of ZnO-Pd Nanosheets Synthesized via a Green Route

Recent developments in the area of nanotechnology have focused on the development of nanomaterials with catalytic activities. The enzyme mimics, nanozymes, work efficiently in extreme pH and temperature conditions, and exhibit resistance to protease digestion, in contrast to enzymes. We developed an environment-friendly, cost-effective, and facile biological method for the synthesis of ZnO-Pd nanosheets. This is the first biosynthesis of ZnO-Pd nanosheets. The synthesized nanosheets were characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray. The d-spacing (inter-atomic spacing) of the palladium nanoparticles in the ZnO sheets was found to be 0.22 nm, which corresponds to the (111) plane. The XRD pattern revealed that the 2θ values of 21.8°, 33.3°, 47.7°, and 56.2° corresponded with the crystal planes of (100), (002), (112), and (201), respectively. The nanosheets were validated to possess peroxidase mimetic activity, which oxidized the 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) substrate in the presence of H2O2. After 20 min of incubation time, the colorless TMB substrate oxidized into a dark-blue-colored one and a strong peak was observed at 650 nm. The initial velocities of Pd-ZnO-catalyzed TMB oxidation by H2O2 were analyzed by Michaelis–Menten and Lineweaver–Burk plots, resulting in 64 × 10−6 M, 8.72 × 10−9 Msec−1, and 8.72 × 10−4 sec−1 of KM, Vmax, and kcat, respectively.

A facile route to fabricate double atom catalysts with controllable atomic spacing for the r-WGS reaction

Four double atom catalysts (DACs) with controllable interatomic distances were achieved via solventless ball-milling, among which double-atom Ni2/N–C showed good selectivity and superior catalytic activity to single-atom Ni1/N–C for r-WGS reactions.

Multiscale Simulation of Surface Defects Influence Nanoindentation by a Quasi-Continuum Method

Microscopic properties of nanocrystal aluminum thin film have been investigated using the quasicontinuum method in order to study the influence of surface defects in nanoindentation. Various distances between the surface defect and indenter have been taken into account. The results show that as the distance between the pit and indenter increases, the nanohardness increases in a wave pattern associated with a cycle of three atoms, which is closely related to the crystal structure of periodic atoms arrangement on {1 1 1} atomic close-packed planes of face-centered cubic metal; when the adjacent distance between the pit and indenter is more than 16 atomic spacing, there is almost no effect on nanohardness. In addition, the theoretical formula for the necessary load for elastic-to-plastic transition of Al film has been modified with the initial surface defect size, which may contribute to the investigation of material property with surface defects.

Multiscale Simulation of Surface Defect Influence in Nanoindentation by the Quasi-Continuum Method

Microscopic properties of nanocrystal Aluminum thin film have been simulated using the quasicontinuum method in order to study the surface defect influence in nanoindentation. Various distances between the surface defect and indenter have been taken into account. The results show that as the distance between the pit and indenter increases, the nanohardness increases in a wave pattern associated with a cycle of three atoms, which is closely related to the crystal structure of periodic atoms arrangement on {111} atomic close-packed planes of face-centered cubic metal; when the adjacent distance between the pit and indenter is more than 16 atomic spacing, there is almost no effect on nanohardness. In addition, the theoretical formula for the necessary load for the elastic-to-plastic transition of Al film has been modified with the initial surface defect size, which may contribute to the investigation of material properties with surface defects.

Giant heat transfer in the crossover regime between conduction and radiation

Heat is transferred by radiation between two well-separated bodies at temperatures of finite difference in vacuum. At large distances the heat transfer can be described by black body radiation, at shorter distances evanescent modes start to contribute, and at separations comparable to inter-atomic spacing the transition to heat conduction should take place. We report on quantitative measurements of the near-field mediated heat flux between a gold coated near-field scanning thermal microscope tip and a planar gold sample at nanometre distances of 0.2–7 nm. We find an extraordinary large heat flux which is more than five orders of magnitude larger than black body radiation and four orders of magnitude larger than the values predicted by conventional theory of fluctuational electrodynamics. Different theories of phonon tunnelling are not able to describe the observations in a satisfactory way. The findings demand modified or even new models of heat transfer across vacuum gaps at nanometre distances.

Bending Stiffness of a Double-Layered Graphene Sheet Using a Geometrically-Based Analytical Approach

In this article, the bending stiffness of a double-layered graphene sheet is investigated using a geometrically-based analytical approach. The analysis is based on the van der Waals interactions of atoms belonging to two neighboring sheets. The inter-atomic spacing between the adjacent layers is geometrically determined when the sheet is applied by a couple of moments in the opposite sides. The bending potential energy is obtained by summing up the potentials at discrete hexagons over the length and width of the sheet. It is observed that the bending stiffness of a double-layered graphene sheet does not depend on the length of the sheet and be a material property for the associated sheet.