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A novel class of copolyesters containing the metallophthalocyanine ring [M-Pc, M=Fe(III), Co(II)] in the chain was synthesized by polycondensation of (dicarboxyphthalocyaninato) metal [M-Dapc, M=Fe(III), Co(II)] diacid chloride, terephthalic acid chloride and aliphatic diols. The structures of the copolyesters were characterized by infrared, electronic as well as ESR spectra, and viscosity measurement. The thermal stabilities of the polymers were evaluated by dynamic thermogravimetric analyses. The polymers obtained thus were easily soluble in chloroform, dichloromethane, etc. The green or blue colored fiber was formed by melt spinning of the copolyesters containing below 1 mol % M-Pc component. The copolyester containing Co(II)-Pc in the chain obtained from 1,2-ethanediol as a diol component catalysed the autoxidation of 2-mercaptoethanol in the presence of oxygen.

Atomic adsorptions of N, C and O on silicene and molecular adsorptions of N₂ and CO on silicene have been investigated using the density functional theory (DFT) calculations. For the atomic adsorptions, we find that the N atom has the most stable adsorption with a higher adsorption energy of 8.207 eV. For the molecular adsorptions, we find that the N₂ molecule undergoes physisorption while the CO molecule undergoes chemisorption, the corresponding adsorption energies for N₂ and CO are 0.085 and 0.255 eV, respectively. Therefore, silicene exhibits more reactivity towards the CO adsorption than the N₂ adsorption. The differences of charge density and the integrated charge calculations suggest that the charge transfer for CO adsorption ($\sim$0.015$e$) is larger than that for N₂ adsorption ($\sim$0.005$e$). This again supports that CO molecule is more active than N₂ molecule when they are adsorbed onto silicene.

This report presents the easily reproducible biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) at room temperature with extract prepared using three year old dried Garcinia Indica (GI) fruit rind. Due to the presence of two major bioactive compounds garcinol and hydroxy citric acid, rinds of GI fruit exhibit anti-cancer and anti-obesity properties. The quantity of fruit rind extract directed the morphology of the as synthesized particles. The nucleation and growth of AuNPs and catalytic activity are studied using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The crystalline nature of biosynthesized AuNPs is corroborated by X-ray Diffraction techniques. The morphology is studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis revealed that biomolecules were involved in the synthesis and capping of AuNPs. As the Fermi potential of noble metal NPs becomes more negative, they are used in various electron transfer processes. The AuNPs produced using GI extract showed excellent catalytic activity when used as a catalyst in the reduction of well-known toxic pollutant 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-Aminophenol (4-AP) in the presence of excess sodium borohydride.

Five iron tetraphenylporphyrins including the (TPP)FeCl and its derivatives which contain electron-withdrawing or electron-donating substituents on the meso-phenyl rings of the porphyrin macrocycle were examined as catalysts for the electoreduction of dioxygen in 1.0 M HClO₄. The investigated compounds are represented as (TpRPP)FeCl, where TpRPP is the dianion of the para-substituted tetraphenylporphyrin and R = NEt₂, OMe, H, Br or CF₃. Cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry at a rotating disk electrode (RDE) or a rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) were utilized to examine the catalytic activity of the compounds. The number of electrons transferred and the percentage of H₂O₂ produced as the product of O₂ electroreduction were calculated. The investigated iron porphyrins containing electron-withdrawing substituents (R = Br and CF₃) were shown to be more efficient catalysts for O₂ reduction than the compounds having electron-donating groups (R = NEt₂ and OMe) on the four phenyl rings of the porphyrin macrocycle.

Two metal-free porphyrins H${}_2$Pp (a, b) and four metalloporphyrins CuPp (a, b) and ZnPp (a, b) have been applied to lithium/thionyl chloride (Li/SOCl${}_2)$ battery as the high efficient catalysts for the first time. Notably, the battery discharge time in blank is only 1080 s while that of Li/SOCl₂ battery after adding porphyrin/metalloporphyrins is 1980 s for H${}_2$Pp (a), 2160 s for H${}_2$Pp (b), 1560 s for CuPp (a), 1320 s for CuPp (b), 1620 s for ZnPp (a), and 1680 s for ZnPp (b), respectively. Furthermore, the energy of the battery whose electrolyte contains the H${}_2$Pp (a, b), CuPp (a, b) and ZnPp (a, b) increases by approximately 11.88–77.14% than that of the battery without them. And the metal-free porphyrins H${}_2$Pp (a) or H${}_2$Pp (b) exhibit higher catalytic activities than that of metalloporphyrins CuPp (a, b) and ZnPp (a, b). In addition, the possible reasons to explain the excellent results were also analyzed.

Graphene oxide nanosheet is an ideal platform to capture nanoparticles for highly efficient catalysis, electrochemical sensing and biosensing. In this work, we have described a simple synthesis method for preparation graphene oxide–Au nanohybrid. Au nanodots with an average size of 1.6 nm uniformly dispersed on the surface of graphene oxide. The well-defined nanostructure has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The nanohybrid also exhibits enhanced catalytic activity toward the reduction of 4-nitrophenol by NaBH₄. Comparing with pure Au nanodots and graphene oxide, graphene oxide–Au nanohybrid shows the highest catalytic activity. This approach not only suggests a wide potential application of graphene oxide nanosheet as a host material for supporting a variety of nanoparticles, but also provides a new approach for the fabrication of graphene-based nanohybrids with multiple physical and chemical properties.

Hierarchical Cu₂O nanostructures have been successfully fabricated on a large scale using copper acetate and glucose as starting reactants, CTAB as an additive via a microwave-assisted process. The influences of CTAB dosage and reaction time on the morphology of the products were investigated. The resulting Cu₂O nanostructures were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). FESEM images show that the Cu₂O nanostructures are microsphere, which are composed of nanoparticles. The concentration of CTAB plays a key role in the growth of Cu₂O nanostructures under experimental conditions. The possible formation mechanism of these hierarchical Cu₂O nanostructures has been proposed. Meanwhile, the catalytic performances of these Cu₂O microspheres for thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) were investigated using DSC. The results revealed that Cu₂O have a great influence on the thermal decomposition of AP. The additions of Cu₂O powders lower the high decomposition temperature of AP.

In this work, a facile, environmental-friendly and cost-effective method was developed to prepare silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) in aqueous solution at room temperature. In our approach, tannic acid was employed as the reducing agent and stabilizer simultaneously, avoiding the usage of any toxic agent. The tannic acid derived silver nanoparticles (TA-Ag NPs) were fully characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The particle size of the synthesized TA-Ag NPs is tunable from 6.5nm to 19.2nm with narrow distribution by varying the molar ratio of TA to silver precursor. Efficient reduction of methylene blue (MB) catalyzed by TA-Ag NPs was observed, which was dependent upon the particle size of TA-Ag NPs or the TA concentration used for synthesis. By optimizing the TA concentration, complete reduction of MB was accomplished by TA-Ag NPs within 8min. The high catalytic activity of TA-Ag NPs was attributed to their nanosize and good dispersity as well as the electrostatic interaction between TA and MB which induces rapid enrichment of MB towards TA-Ag NPs, creating a locally concentrated layer of MB. Considering the facile and environmental-friendly preparation procedure and excellent catalytic activity, TA-Ag NPs are green, efficient and highly economical candidates for the catalysis of organic dyes and extendable of other reducible contaminants as well.

The development of highly active catalysts for the pyrolysis of ammonium perchlorate (AP) is of considerable importance for AP-based composite solid propellant. In the present study, we produced porous MgFe₂O₄ architectures by using a facile two-step strategy. A rod-like precursor of MgFe₂(C₂O${}_4{)}_3\cdot {\mathrm{\text{nH}}}_2$O (diameter: 0.5–2.5$\mu$m; length: 2–15$\mu$m) was fabricated under solvothermal conditions using metal sulfates as raw materials and oxalic acid as the precipitant. Subsequently, porous MgFe₂O₄ architectures were obtained by the thermal treatment of the as-prepared oxalate precursor, during which the mesopores were formed in situ via the liberation of volatile gases, while the rod-like morphology was well preserved. The catalytic performances of the as-synthesized porous rod-like MgFe₂O₄ architectures with respect to the AP pyrolysis were assessed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. The results indicated that the high thermal decomposition temperature and the apparent activation energy of AP with 2wt.% MgFe₂O₄ addition decreased from 445.4${}^{\circ }$C to 386.7${}^{\circ }$C and from $280.5\pm 11.8$ to $147.6\pm 4.8$kJ mol${}^{-1}$, respectively. Meanwhile, the decomposition heat of AP with MgFe₂O₄ as the additive reached up to 1230.6J g${}^{-1}$, which was considerably higher than that of its neat counterpart (695.8J g${}^{-1})$. Thus, porous rod-like MgFe₂O₄ architectures could be served as the catalyst for the AP pyrolysis.

In this study, a double-solvent radiation method is proposed to prepare silver nanoparticles in the pores of metal-organic framework MIL-101(Cr). The results reveal that well-dispersed silver nanoparticles with a diameter of about 2nm were successfully fabricated in the cages of monodisperse octahedral MIL-101(Cr) with a particle size of about 400nm. The structure of MIL-101(Cr) was not destroyed during the chemical treatment and irradiation. The resulting Ag/MIL-101 exhibits excellent catalytic performance for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. This method can be extended to prepare other single or bimetallic components inside porous materials.

Three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) CuO is prepared by colloidal crystal templated method. The obtained 3DOM structure with about 230nm pore diameter is composed of small CuO windows. The special structured CuO is used as a catalyst for thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) and its catalytic activity is measured by simultaneous thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) techniques. Test results show that thermal decomposition performance is significantly improved after adding 2wt.% 3DOM CuO.

Zn-doped Fe₃O₄ has been employed as a catalyst for the photo-Fenton process. At the present study, the influence of Zn content in the Zn-doped Fe₃O₄ on the catalytic activity for the photo-Fenton process was studied. Monodispersed Zn_xFe${}_{3-x}$O₄ particles were facilely synthesized with higher surface area and several nm of diameter, where $x=0$, 0.4 and 1.0. Rhodamine B (Rh B), as one of the positive dyes, was selected as a model pollutant. The decolorization efficiency of the Fe₃O₄ ($x=0$) for Rh B reached about 90% in 120min under visible light. The Zn content increase in the Zn-doped Fe₃O₄ inhibited the Fenton process. The higher molar ratio of Fe${}^{2+}$ to Fe${}^{3+}$, smaller band-gap, and more negative zeta potential of the Fe₃O₄ induced the most excellent photo-Fenton performance for the Rh B degradation.

In this paper, a facile, surfactant-free and mild solution chemistry route was employed to prepare copper sulfide (CuS–Cu₉S₈) nanoparticles (NPs) by using anion-controlled agents with a different electronegativity. Counterions CH₃COO⁻ were found to be suitable for regular hexagonal morphology formation, whereas in the presence of ${\text{NO}}_3^{-}$, irregular structure is obtained. By changing the anion of the copper precursor, the ratio of formation of Cu₉S₈ and CuS can be changed, and the band gap energy (Eg) of as-prepared NPs can be controlled in the presence of anion-controlled agents. Moreover, we demonstrate here the catalytic performance of the as-prepared samples for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) both under the simulated natural light and in dark, and the result shows that the CuS–Cu₉S₈ NPs exhibited better catalytic activity under visible light ($>50$%) than in darkness (45%), and CuS–Cu₉S₈ NPs with higher electronegativity of anion-controlled exhibited the higher catalytic performance. In addition, a simple and direct diagram was applied to illustrate the mechanism of the degradation of MB.

VO₂(M) nanobelts were successfully synthesized using commercial V₂O₅, ethanol and water as the starting materials by a template-free hydrothermal method and subsequent calcination. The as-obtained products were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, the study on the influence of the as-prepared VO₂(M) nanobelts on the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) were evaluated by Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis and Differential Thermal Analysis (TGA/DTA), which showed the thermal decomposition temperatures of AP in the presence of the as-prepared VO₂(M) nanobelts were reduced to 421 °C (decreased by 35 °C). The results indicated that VO₂(M) nanobelts had great influence on the thermal decomposition temperature of AP.