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Solid-state electrolytes for sodium batteries have been studied for many years, however, have not advanced much since at ambient temperature solid-state electrolytes still exhibit a magnitude huge gap in ionic conductivity than the commercial organic liquid electrolytes. In this paper, the solid-state electrolyte Na 5 YSi 4 O 12 (NYS) is synthesized employing the solution-assisted solid-state reaction (SASSR) method with the ionic conductivity (σ t) reaching up to 1.52 mS cm−1 sintered at 1050 °C for 6 h, demonstrating a significant progress improvement over the conventional solid-phase reaction method. On this basis, Y3+ is further substituted with the other Lanthanides including Yb3+, Dy3+, Gd3+, Eu3+, and Sm3+ to form the solid electrolytes Na 5 MSi 4 O 12 (M = Yb3+, Dy3+, Gd3+, Eu3+, and Sm3+). The conductivity evolution is found increasing with the increase in the ionic radius of the substituted elements. The X-ray diffractometer analysis reveals a wider sodium ion transport channel and larger ionic radius which lead to higher sodium ion concentration. However, the sintering temperature and impurity phase are reduced with an increase in ionic radius. Notably, among the six solid-state electrolytes, Na 5 SmSi 4 O 12 (NSS) exhibits the highest conductivity of 2.41 mS cm−1 and the lowest sintering temperature of 950 °C. The low sintering temperature and high ionic conductivity make NSS a fast sodium conductor that can meet industrial needs. [Display omitted] • The solution-assisted solid-state reaction was used to synthesize Na 5 YSi 4 O 12. • The conductivity of Na 5 YSi 4 O 12 can reach 1.52 mS cm−1 at room temperature. • Lanthanides Yb3+, Dy3+, Gd3+, Eu3+and Sm3+ were substituted for Y3+ in Na 5 YSi 4 O 12. • Na 5 SmSi 4 O 12 exhibits the highest conductivity of 2.41 mS cm−1. • XRD revealed that enhancing the ionic radius of Lanthanides increased the Na + transport channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To obtain a recyclable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) material, we developed a composite of Fe3O4\SiO2\Ag with core\shell\particles structure. The designed particles were synthesized via an ultrasonic route. The Raman scattering signal of Fe3O4 could be shielded by increasing the thickness of the SiO2 layer to 60nm. Dye rhodamine B (RB) was chosen as probe molecule to test the SERS effect of the synthesized Fe3O4\SiO2\Ag particles. On the synthesized Fe3O4\SiO2\Ag particles, the characteristic Raman bands of RB could be observed when the RB solution was diluted to 5ppm (1×10−5 M). Furthermore, the synthesized particles could keep their efficiency till four cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) and aluminium isopropoxide (AIP) as the reactants, through a one-step nonsurfactant route based on PMHS–TEOS–AIP co-polycondensation, hydrothermally stable mesoporous aluminosilicates with different Si/Al molar ratios were successfully prepared. All samples exclusively showed narrow pore size distribution centered at 3.6nm. To assess the hydrothermal stability, samples were subjected to 100°C distilled water for 300h. The boiled mesoporous aluminosilicates have nearly the same N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms and the same pore size distributions as those newly synthesized ones, indicating excellent hydrothermal stability. The 29Si MAS NMR spectra confirmed that PMHS and TEOS have jointly condensed and CH3 groups have been introduced into the materials. The 27Al MAS NMR spectra indicated that Al atoms have been incorporated in the mesopore frameworks. The NH3 temperature-programmed desorption showed strong acidity. Due to the existence of large amount of CH3 groups, the mesoporous aluminosilicates obtained good hydrophobicity. Owing to the relatively large pore and the strong acidity provided by the uniform four-coordinated Al atoms, the excellent catalytic performance for 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene cracking was acquired easily. The materials may be a profitable complement for the synthesis of solid acid catalysts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A series of dye-modified TiO2 photocatalysts were synthesized using dye Chrysoidine G (CG), tolylene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI), and commercial TiO2 (Degussa P25) as starting materials. TDI was used as a bridging molecule whose two –NCO groups reacted with Ti–OH of TiO2 and –NH2 groups of CG, respectively. As a result, special organic complexes were formed on the TiO2 surface via stable π-conjugated chemical bonds between TiO2 and dye molecules, confirmed by FT-IR, XPS, and UV–vis spectra. Due to the existence of π-conjugated surface organic complexes, the as-synthesized photocatalysts showed a great improvement in visible absorption (400–550nm). Methylene blue, as a photodegradation target, was used to evaluate the photocatalytic performance, and the dye-modified TiO2 exhibited much better activity under the visible light irradiation than bare TiO2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A visible light-activated TiO2 photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by the surface organic modification to sol–gel–hydrothermal synthesized TiO2. The surface hydroxyls of TiO2 nanoparticles reacted with the active –NCO groups of tolylene diisocyanate (TDI) to form a surface complex that was confirmed by the FT–IR and XPS spectra. Due to the existence of surface complex, the absorption edge of as-prepared TDI-modified TiO2 nanomaterial extended well into visible region. Compared with unmodified TiO2 and Degussa P25, the TDI-modified TiO2 photocatalysts showed higher activity for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A series of pure silica MSU and carboxylic-modified MSU materials were prepared. The formation of mesoporous silica materials with terminal carboxylic groups on pore surface was performed by the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of cyano to carboxylic. Then their potential applications in controlled drug delivery carriers were investigated. Drug famotidine was selected as a model molecule out of the consideration of the terminal amino groups in its molecule. The adsorption experiments show significant adsorption of famotidine on the carboxylic-modified MSU materials. And, the functionalization level of carboxylic groups has been found to be the key factor affecting the adsorption capacities of the modified MSU materials for famotidine. Subsequently, three kinds of release fluids, including simulated gastric medium, simulated intestinal medium, and simulated body fluid, were used to test the famotidine release rate from the carboxylic-modified MSU material. Obvious delayed effect has been observed for the famotidine release from the carboxylic-modified mesoporous silica material under the in vitro assays. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Zirconia nanoparticles have been synthesized from zirconium hydroxide precipitates followed by a supercritical CO2 extraction. The microstructure evolution of these zirconia nanoparticles during the calcination at the moderate temperature has been investigated. Assisted by the analyses of TEM and XRD, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) study offers possibilities to a comprehensive and quantitative characterization of the structural evolution on the nanometer scales. The as-synthesized zirconia sample exhibits a mass fractal structure constructed by the surface fractal particles. Such a structure can be preserved up to 300°C. After calcination at 400°C, considerable structural rearrangement occurs. In the interior of nanoparticles zirconia nanocrystallites emerge. It is the scattering from such zirconia nanoparticles that give rise to the broadened crossover in the ln[J(q)] vs. ln q plot and the scattering peak in the ln[q 3 J(q)] vs. q 2 plot. With a further increase in the calcination temperature, the power-law region at large-q in ln J(q) vs. ln q plot expands, and the peak in ln[q 3 J(q)] vs. q 2 plot shifts towards lower q values, indicating size increases in both the nanocrystallites and nanoparticles. Besides, the mass fractal structure constructed by zirconia nanoparticles can be largely preserved during the moderate temperature calcination. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A first-principles calculation based on the density functional theory (DFT) was used to investigate the energetic and electronic properties of Si-doped anatase TiO2 with various silicon concentrations. The theoretical calculations showed that with Si-doping the valence band and conduction band of TiO2 became hybrid ones with large dispersion, which could benefit the mobility of the photo-generated carriers. This result is in agreement with the experimental reports. At lower doping levels, the band gap of Si-doped anatase TiO2 decreases about 0.2eV. With the increase of silicon concentration, the band gap increases gradually and larger formation energies are required during the synthesis of Si-doped TiO2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Serial of trimethylsilyl-carboxyl bifunctionalized SBA-15 (TMS/COOH/SBA-15) have been studied as carriers for controlled release of drug famotidine (Famo). To load Famo with large capacity, SBA-15 with high content of carboxyl groups was successfully synthesized by one-pot synthesis under the assistance of KCl. The mesostructure of carboxyl functionalized SBA-15 (COOH/SBA-15) could still be kept even though the content of carboxyl groups was up to 57.2%. Increasing carboxyl content could effectively enhance the loading capacity of Famo. Compared with pure SBA-15, into which Famo could be hardly adsorbed, the largest drug loading capacity of COOH/SBA-15 could achieve 396.9mg/g. The release of Famo from mesoporous silica was studied in simulated intestine fluid (SIF, pH=7.4). For COOH/SBA-15, the release rate of Famo decreased with narrowing pore size. After grafting TMS groups on the surface of COOH/SBA-15 with hexamethyldisilazane, the release of Famo was greatly delayed with the increasing content of TMS groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Titania–silica composite nanoparticles were prepared by sol–gel-hydrothermal and sol–gel routes, respectively, and their physico-chemical and photocatalytic properties were compared. The results of XRD, TEM and BET surface areas showed that sol–gel-hydrothermal route led to anatase titania–silica composite nanoparticles with large specific surface area, but the sol–gel route tended to form mixture of anatase and rutile. The composite nanoparticles prepared by sol–gel-hydrothermal route had better thermal stability against phase transformation from anatase to rutile, agglomeration and particle growth than those prepared by sol–gel route. On the basis of XRD, FT-IR, XPS and 29Si MAS-NMR, a strong interaction was found between SiO2 and TiO2, and Ti–O–Si bonds formed during both the two routes. But more Ti–O–Si bonds formed in the composite nanoparticles prepared by sol–gel-hydrothermal route than those prepared by sol–gel route. As a result, the titania–silica composite nanoparticles prepared by sol–gel-hydrothermal route exhibited higher photocatalytic activity in decomposition of methylene blue than that prepared by sol–gel route, and it had excellent photocatalytic activity even after calcined at 1000°C. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dimethylsilyl (DMS) modified mesoporous silicas were successfully prepared via co-condensation and post-grafting modification methods. The post-grafting modification was carried out by the reaction of the as-synthesized MCM-41 material (before CTAB removal) with diethoxydimethylsinale (DEDMS). N2 adsorption–desorption and 29Si MAS NMR characterization demonstrated that different amount of DMS groups were successfully incorporated into the co-condensation modified samples, and the functional DMS groups were placed selectively on the pore openings and external pore surfaces in the post-grafting modified samples. Subsequently, the controlled drug delivery properties from the resulting DMS-modified mesoporous silicas were investigated in detail. The drug adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption capacities were mainly depended on the content of silanol group (CSG) in the corresponding carriers. The in vitro tests exhibited that the incorporation of DMS groups greatly retarded the ibuprofen release rate. Moreover, the ibuprofen release profiles could be well modulated by varying DMS modification levels and site-selective distribution of functional groups in mesoporous carriers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]