Template Synthesis of Well-Defined Rutile Nanoparticles by Solid-State Reaction at Room Temperature
- Journal:
- Inorganic Chemistry
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c01214
- Affiliations:
- 2
- Authors:
- 3
Research Highlight
Tiny templates for perfect particles
© Yulia Reznikov/Getty
Silica templates could be the ideal way to make uniformly shaped and sized nanoparticles for green-fuel production.
A nanoparticle’s shape and size strongly influence its physical properties, including its ability to absorb light and act as a photocatalyst. One way to achieve nanoparticle uniformity is to make them using materials that contain uniformly sized nanoscale pores as a template.
Now, researchers at Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology have developed a convenient templating technique that worked in the solid state at room temperature. When titanium dioxide and mesoporous silica were combined and left for 7 days at room temperature, precisely sized, 5-nanometre-diameter nanorods of a titanium dioxide mineral called rutile formed within the silica.
Treatment with sodium hydroxide dissolved the silica template to release the nanorods. The isolated nanorods were photocatalytically active, releasing a stream of hydrogen gas from a methanol solution when exposed to ultraviolet light, the researchers showed.
References
- Inorganic Chemistry 59, 7934–7938 (2020). doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c01214
Institutions | Authors | Share |
---|---|---|
Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Thailand | 0.67 | |
Tokyo University of Science (TUS), Japan | 0.33 |