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The layered double hydroxides (LDHs) of transition metals are of great interest as building blocks for the creation of composite photocatalytic materials for hydrogen production, environmental remediation and other applications. However, the synthesis of most LDHs is reported only by the conventional coprecipitation method, which makes it difficult to control the catalyst's crystallinity. In the present study, ZnCr- and NiCr-LDHs have been successfully prepared using a facile hydrothermal approach. Varying the hydrothermal synthesis conditions allowed us to obtain target products with a controllable crystallite size in the range of 2–26 nm and a specific surface area of 45–83 m2∙g−1. The LDHs synthesized were investigated as photocatalysts of hydrogen generation from aqueous methanol. It was revealed that the photocatalytic activity of ZnCr-LDH samples grows monotonically with the increase in their average crystallite size, while that of NiCr-LDH ones reaches a maximum with intermediate-sized crystallites and then decreases due to the specific surface area reduction. The concentration dependence of the hydrogen evolution activity is generally consistent with the standard Langmuir–Hinshelwood model for heterogeneous catalysis. At a methanol content of 50 mol. %, the rate of hydrogen generation over ZnCr- and NiCr-LDHs reaches 88 and 41 μmol∙h−1∙g−1, respectively. The hydrothermally synthesized LDHs with enhanced crystallinity may be of interest for further fabrication of their nanosheets being promising components of new composite photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanosheets of layered perovskite-like oxides attract researchers as building blocks for the creation of a wide range of demanded nanomaterials. However, Ruddlesden–Popper phases are difficult to separate into nanosheets quantitatively via the conventional liquid-phase exfoliation procedure in aqueous solutions of bulky organic bases. The present study has considered systematically a relatively novel and efficient approach to a high-yield preparation of concentrated suspensions of perovskite nanosheets. For this, the Ruddlesden–Popper titanates HLnTiO4 and H2Ln2Ti3O10 (Ln = La, Nd) have been intercalated by n-alkylamines with various chain lengths, exposed to sonication in aqueous tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAOH) and centrifuged to separate the nanosheet-containing supernatant. The experiments included variations of a wide range of conditions, which allowed for the achievement of impressive nanosheet concentrations in suspensions up to 2.1 g/L and yields up to 95%. The latter were found to strongly depend on the length of intercalated n-alkylamines. Despite the less expanded interlayer space, the titanates modified with short-chain amines demonstrated a much higher completeness of liquid-phase exfoliation as compared to those with long-chain ones. It was also shown that the exfoliation efficiency depends more on the sample stirring time in the TBAOH solution than on the sonication duration. Analysis of the titanate nanosheets obtained by means of dynamic light scattering, electron and atomic force microscopy revealed their lateral sizes of 30–250 nm and thickness of 2–4 nm. The investigated exfoliation strategy appears to be convenient for the high-yield production of perovskite nanosheet-based materials for photocatalytic hydrogen production, environmental remediation and other applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, geopolymers based on mechanically activated mixtures of fly ash (FA) with SrCO3 (strontianite) and BaCO3 (witherite) were synthesized. NaOH solution was used as an alkaline agent and curing was carried out under ambient conditions. XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and SEM were used to study the geopolymerization process and microstructure. The product of geopolymerization of the milled (FA + SrCO3) and (FA + BaCO3) blends was X-ray amorphous N-A-S-H gel. The beneficial impact of mechanical activation on the compressive strength of geopolymers was most evident during the initial stages of the curing process. The strength of geopolymers based on the (FA + carbonate) blends after 7 d was either less than the corresponding strength of geopolymers based on the 100% FA or, within the measurement accuracy, equal to it. With increasing curing time, the strength development of geopolymers synthesized from (70% FA + 30% carbonate) blends exceeded the strength growth of geopolymers containing less carbonates; after curing for 180 d, these geopolymers showed the highest compressive strength (20–27 MPa). This trend was more pronounced for the geopolymers based on the (FA + SrCO3) blends. The influence of SrCO3 and BaCO3 addition to the FA on the strength of composite geopolymers was explained by dilution and microfiller effects. The geopolymers based on the FA blended with SrCO3 and BaCO3 exhibit potential applications in immobilizing radioactive strontium and producing radiation shielding materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of strontium substitution in the structure of the complex oxide Gd2SrFe2O7 on the production of light olefins by CO hydrogenation was investigated. Perovskite-type oxides Gd2−xSr1+xFe2O7 (x = 0; 0.1; 0.2; 0.3; 0.4) were synthesized by sol–gel technology and characterized by XRD, Mössbauer spectroscopy, BET specific area, acidity testing, and SEM. The experimental data revealed a correlation between the state of iron atoms, acidity, and catalytic performance. It was found that with an increase in the content of Sr2+ in the perovskite phase, the basicity of the surface and the oxygen diffusion rate increased. This contributed to the CO dissociative adsorption, formation of active carbon, and its further interaction with atomic hydrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]