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Water pollution derived from organic pollutants is one of the global environmental problems. The Fenton reaction using Fe 2+ as a homogeneous catalyst has been known as one of clean methods for oxidative degradation of organic pollutants. Here, a layered double hydroxide (Fe 2+ Al 3+ -LDH) containing Fe 2+ and Al 3+ in the structure was used to develop a "heterogeneous" Fenton catalyst capable of mineralizing organic pollutants. We found that sulfate ion (SO 4 2- ) immobilized on the Fe 2+ Al 3+ -LDH significantly facilitated oxidative degradation (mineralization) of phenol as a model compound of water pollutants to carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in a heterogeneous Fenton process. The phenol conversion and mineralization efficiency to CO 2 reached >99% and ca. 50%, respectively, even with a reaction time of only 60 min., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

To enhance the catalytic activity in a selective one-pot oxidation using in-situ generated H(2)O(2), a hydrophobically modified core-shell catalyst was synthesized by means of a simple silylation reaction using the fluorine-containing silylation agent triethoxyfluorosilane (TEFS, SiF(OEt)(3)). The catalyst consisted of a Pd-supported silica nanosphere and a mesoporous silica shell containing isolated Ti(IV) and F ions bonded with silicon (SiF bond). Structural analyses using XRD and N(2) adsorption-desorption suggested that the mesoporous structure and large surface area of the mesoporous shells were retained even after the modification. During the one-pot oxidation of sulfide, catalytic activity was enhanced significantly by increasing the amount of fluorine in the shell. A hydrophobic surface enhanced adsorption of the hydrophobic reactant into the mesopore, while the less hydrophobic oxygenated products efficiently diffused into the outside of the shell, which improved the catalytic activity and selectivity. In addition, the present methodology can be used to enhance the catalytic activity and selectivity in the one-pot oxidation of cyclohexane by using an Fe-based core-shell catalytic system., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

In the past decades, various photocatalysts such as TiO2, transition-metal-oxide moieties within cavities and frameworks, or metal complexes have attracted considerable attention in light-excited catalytic processes. Owing to high surface areas, transparency to UV and visible light as well as easily modified surfaces, mesoporous silica-based materials have been widely used as excellent hosts for designing efficient photocatalytic systems under the background of environmental remediation and solar-energy utilization. This Minireview mainly focuses on the surface-chemistry engineering of TiO2/mesoporous silica photocatalytic systems and fabrication of binary oxides and nanocatalysts in mesoporous single-site-photocatalyst frameworks. Recently, metallic nanostructures with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) have been widely studied in catalytic applications harvesting light irradiation. Accordingly, silver and gold nanostructures confined in mesoporous silica and their corresponding catalytic activity enhanced by the LSPR effect will be introduced. In addition, the integration of metal complexes within mesoporous silica materials for the construction of functional inorganic-organic supramolecular photocatalysts will be briefly described., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Plasmonic materials have drawn emerging interest, especially in nontraditional semiconductor nanostructures with earth-abundant elements and low resistive loss. However, the actualization of highly efficient catalysis in plasmonic semiconductor nanostructures is still a challenge, owing to the presence of surface-capping agents in their synthetic procedures. To fulfill this, a facile non-aqueous procedure was employed to prepare well-defined molybdenum oxide nanosheets in the absence of surfactants. The obtained MoO(3-x) nanosheets display intense absorption in a wide range attributed to the localized surface plasmon resonances, which can be tuned from the visible to the near-infrared region. Herein, we demonstrate that such plasmonic semiconductor nanostructures could be used as highly efficient catalysts that dramatically enhance the hydrogen-generation activity of ammonia borane under visible light irradiation., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) of various colors were synthesized within the mesopore structure of SBA-15 by using microwave-assisted alcohol reduction. The charge density is partially localized on the surface of these Ag NPs owing to localized surface plasmon resonance. This charge localization results in them having enhanced catalytic activity under visible light irradiation compared to Ag NPs obtained by thermal processes., (Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Silica supported amine materials are promising compositions that can be used to effectively remove CO(2) from large stationary sources, such as flue gas generated from coal-fired power plants (ca. 10 % CO(2)) and potentially from ambient air (ca. 400 ppm CO(2)). The CO(2) adsorption characteristics of prototypical poly(ethyleneimine)-silica composite adsorbents can be significantly enhanced by altering the acid/base properties of the silica support by heteroatom incorporation into the silica matrix. In this study, an array of poly(ethyleneimine)-impregnated mesoporous silica SBA-15 materials containing heteroatoms (Al, Ti, Zr, and Ce) in their silica matrices are prepared and examined in adsorption experiments under conditions simulating flue gas (10 % CO(2) in Ar) and ambient air (400 ppm CO(2) in Ar) to assess the effects of heteroatom incorporation on the CO(2) adsorption properties. The structure of the composite adsorbents, including local information concerning the state of the incorporated heteroatoms and the overall surface properties of the silicate supports, are investigated in detail to draw a relationship between the adsorbent structure and CO(2) adsorption/desorption performance. The CO(2) adsorption/desorption kinetics are assessed by thermogravimetric analysis and in situ FT-IR measurements. These combined results, coupled with data on adsorbent regenerability, demonstrate a stabilizing effect of the heteroatoms on the poly(ethyleneimine), enhancing adsorbent capacity, adsorption kinetics, regenerability, and stability of the supported aminopolymers over continued cycling. It is suggested that the CO(2) adsorption performance of silica-aminopolymer composites may be further enhanced in the future by more precisely tuning the acid/base properties of the support., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Blast furnace slag (BFS), a high-volume byproduct resulting from iron-making processes, can be considered as a low-cost and abundant precursor for preparing layered double hydroxide (LDH) compounds. Here we demonstrate that a Ca-based LDH compound (hydrocalumite) synthesized from waste BFS through facile two-step procedures and its derivatives work as useful heterogeneous base catalysts for multiple chemical reactions including the Knoevenagel condensation, oxidation of alkylaromatics with O(2), transesterification, and cycloaddition reaction of epoxides with atmospheric CO(2). Structures were verified by using XRD and thermogravimetric analysis. The surface basicity and coordination geometry of the active metal species that substantially affect the catalytic activity were investigated by CO(2)-temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements, respectively. These characterization results revealed that the slag-derived impurity elements, such as Fe, Ti, and Mn, effectively act either as active sites or as catalyst promoters in particular reactions and that the kind of guest counter anion (Cl(-) or NO(3)(-)) also plays a key role for achieving high catalytic efficiencies. In any reaction, the catalyst was easily separated by filtration and recyclable in multiple catalytic runs with retention of its activity and fine selectivity, irrespective of its considerable impurity level. It is believed that the slag-made hydrocalumite can replace existing LDH catalysts as a low-cost alternative and potentially contribute to sustainable chemical processes., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Superhydrophobic surfaces with photocatalytic self-cleaning properties are designed through coating a nanocomposite TiO(2) photocatalyst and hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene onto a structured substrate by applying a co-deposition technique. This coating realizes adequate photocatalytic activity for self-cleaning and inducing unique surface wettability changes. The nanocomposite can contain multiple functions, enabling energy-saving and maintenance-free characteristics., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A simple and practical technique to synthesize nanosized platinum particles loaded on TiO(2) (Pt-TiO(2)) by using a microwave (Mw)-assisted deposition method has been exploited in the development of a highly efficient photocatalyst for the formation of H(2) and N(2) gases from harmful nitrogen-containing chemical wastes, for example, aqueous ammonia (NH(3)). Upon Mw irradiation, a platinum precursor can be deposited quickly on the TiO(2) surface from an aqueous solution of platinum and subsequent reduction with H(2) affords the nanosized platinum metal particles with a narrow size distribution (Mw-Pt-TiO(2)). Characterization by CO adsorption, platinum L(III)-edge X-ray absorption fine structure analysis, and TEM analysis revealed that the size of the metal nanoparticles strongly depended on the preparation methods. Smaller platinum nanoparticles were obtained by the Mw heating method than those obtained by conventional preparation techniques, such as photoassisted deposition (PAD), impregnation (Imp), and equilibrium adsorption (EA) deposition by conventional convective heating. The H(2) and N(2) formation rates increased with increasing dispersity of platinum. Pt-TiO(2) prepared by the Mw heating method exhibited a specifically high H(2) formation activity in the photocatalytic decomposition of aqueous NH(3) in a nearly stoichiometric 3:1 (H(2)/N(2)) molar ratio under inert conditions. The present Mw heating method is applicable to a variety of anatase-type TiO(2) species possessing different specific surface areas to provide small and highly dispersed platinum nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)