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The synthesis of bismuth based materials with porous structures for supercapacitor application has drawn much attention due to their high specific surface area and easy access of electrolytes with the electrode surface through their hierarchical pores. In this present report, we synthesized a three dimensional (3D) BiOCOOH micro flowers by a solvothermal approach and applied to supercapacitor applications. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy results confirmed that the formation of porous BiOCOOH flowers. When BiOCOOH was used as electrode material for supercapacitors it exhibits a maximum specific capacitance value of 312 F g−1 at current density of 1 Ag−1. Additionally, the BiOCOOH flowers retained 52% of its initial specific capacity after 5000 charge–discharge cycles indicating an excellent cyclic stability. This improvement in the cycle stability of the BiOCOOH is ascribed to high surface area and enhanced ion transport through the pores of the BiOCOOH flowers. This high specific capacitance and excellent cyclic stability of the porous BiOCOOH flowers prove to be a promising candidate for supercapacitor application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulphate-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (S-CNTs) were synthesized by an efficient and convenient method and characterized by FT-IR and TEM methods. Catalytic activities of the S-CNTs were evaluated in the esterification of glycerol with acetic acid at low temperature under atmospheric pressure. The CNTs grafted with sulphate groups show activity and stability in this reaction. The catalyst can be recycled and reused for several times without any significant loss of its catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cubic calcium carbonate nanoparticles with hydrophobic properties were prepared by a carbonation route in the presence of dodecanoic acid at 20°C. The as-prepared products were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and contact angle analysis. It was found that dodecanoic acid not only inhibited the growth of CaCO3 particles but also changed the surface properties of the final products. The effects of the weight ratio of DA to CaCO3, the calcium hydroxide concentration and temperature on the morphologies of the as-prepared calcium carbonate were systematically studied. The results showed that temperature, the weight ratio of DA to CaCO3 and the calcium hydroxide concentration are important parameters for the preparation of cubic calcium carbonate nanoparticles with hydrophobic properties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this present work, we synthesized a yolk-shell shaped CuCo2S4 by a simple anion exchange method. The morphological and structural properties of the as-synthesized sample were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-vis DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The SEM and TEM results confirmed that the uniform yolk-shell structure was formed during the solvothermal process. The band gap was about 1.41 eV, which have been confirmed by UV–vis DRS analysis. The photocatalytic property was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye as a target pollutant under the visible-light irradiation. The experimental results confirmed the potential application of yolk-shell shape CuCo2S4 in visible-light photocatalytic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]