Organic Templates for Inorganic Nanocrystal Growth

Nanocrystals provide a variety of size and shape-dependent properties with applications in a wide range of areas, gaining much attention in the past few years. However, due to the nature of the kinetic nanocrystal growth, the procedures often require strict experimental conditions and the shape and size of nanocrystals are difficult to control. In such context, organic templates, which are artificially modified or synthesized, can direct inorganic nanocrystal nucleation and growth to achieve desired shape, size and ultimately properties. In this review article, two general categories of organic templates used for making inorganic nanomaterials are discussed:biotemplates(e.g., peptide, lipid, DNA, and capsid) and block copolymer templates(e.g., block copolymer micelles, star-like block copolymer unimicelles). The goal of this review is to bridge these gaps and help foster a greater awareness of the range and applicability of different organic templating techniques within the field of nanotechnology.

Fast and low-temperature elimination of organic templates from SBA-15 using dielectric barrier discharge plasma

Organic templates P-123 of mesoporous SBA-15 can be effectively removed in a few minutes （4 min） by using the dielectric-barrier discharge （DBD） plasma technique at ambient pressure and low gas temperature （around 130℃）. The mesoporous SBA-15 was characterized by FT-IR, 29Si solid sate NMR, TEM, XRD, TGA and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms. The as-made SBA-15 treated with DBD plasma exhibited a larger surface area of 790 m2 · g-1 with larger pores and microspore volume than samples prepared by using the conventional thermal calcination method （550 ℃ and 5 h, 660 m2 · g-1）. In addition to less shrinkage of the silica framework, the DBD-prepared SBA-15 showed significantly increased weight loss of 8.3% about 200℃ as compared with that of conventional calcination （5.5%）, which is attributed mainly to the dehydroxylation by condensation of silanol groups.

A New One-dimensional Aluminium Fluorophosphate Templated by Organic Amine

A new one-dimensional aluminum fluorophosphate, AlP2O5（OH）3F·0.5[H2dien] （dien=diethylenetriamine）, was solvothermally synthesized by using organic amine as the structure directing agent, and its structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The complex inorganic architecture consists of trans-corner-sharing AlO4F2 octahedra chain decorated by phosphate tetrahedra along both sides of the -F-Al-F-Al-F- backbone displaying a series of Al2P three-membered rings, which will represent a new fundamental structural type in metal phosphates. The results of CHN elemental analysis, EDS, and TGA are also presented. Crystal data： C4H18Al2F2N3O16P4, monoclinic, space group P21/c with a=6.9107（14）, b=15.749（3）, c=8.9741（18） , β=109.829（2）o, V=918.8（3） 3, Z=2, Mr=580.05, Dc=2.097 g/cm3, μ=0.618 mm-1, S=1.022, F（000）=590, the final R=0.0510 and wR=0.1284 for 1607 observed reflections （I 〉 2σ（I））.

Synthesis and Characterization of Two New Organically Templated Open-framework Uranium Phosphites

Two organically templated uranium phosphites, （C4H12N）（UO2）（HPO3）（NO3） （Mr = 486.16） 1 and （C16H36N）2（UO2）2（H2PO3）2（HPO3）（NO3）2 （Mr= 1390.95） 2, were prepared by evaporation from aqueous solution of uranyl nitrate, phosphite acid and their respective organic ammonium hydroxids. Their structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and further characterized by infrared and fluorescence spectroscopy. In 1, pentagonal [UO7] bipyramids share comers with three [HPO3]2- tetrahedra and one edge with a [NO3]- anion to form [（UO2）- （HPO3）（NO3）]^- ladder-like chains parallel to the b axis. The structure of 2 is also based upon one-dimensional anionic [（UO2）2（H2PO3）2（HPO3）（NO3）2]2-chains of comer-sharing penta- gonal [UOT] bipyramids with [H2PO3]- and [HPO3] tetrahedra, which is still unknown in structural chemistry of uranium so far. Crystal data for 1： monoclinic, space group C2/m, a = 21.808（7）, b = 6.9605（15）, c = 8.357（2） A, β = 98.327（15）°, V= 1255.2（6） A^3, Z = 4, Dc = 2.573 g/cm^3, F（000） = 888, μ = 13.086 mm^-1 the final R = 0.0418 and wR = 0.0906 （I 〉 2σ（I））; and those for 2： monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 36.4549（8）, b = 14.5296（11）, c = 20.8253（11） A, β = 101.7440（8）°, V= 10799.7（10） A3, Z = 8, Dc= 1.711 g/cm^3, F（000） = 5424,μ = 6.144 mm^-1, the final R= 0.0368 and wR= 0.0865 （I〉 2σ（I））.

Hydrothermal Synthesis and Characterization of a Novel Organically-templated Tungsten Heteropolyacid with a Microporous Structure

A microporous organically-templated tungsten heteropolyacid, (C2N2H10)2 [H2P2W18O62]?8H2O, with a new type was hydrothermally synthesized by using ethylenediamine as the structure-directing agent. Its structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Crystal data: monoclinic, space group P21/c, a = 14.633(4), b = 19.432(5), c = 26.776(5) ?, β = 117.849(11)o, V = 6732(3) ?3, Z = 4, Mr = 4615.48, Dc = 4.554 g/cm3, μ(MoKα) = 30.781 mm-1, F(000) = 7976, the final R = 0.0678 and wR = 0.1359. The crystal of the title compound is constructed by Dawson anions and organic dications forming a novel “hollow” channel system.

Studies and Characterisations of Activated Carbons Used for Carbon/Carbon Supercapacitors

Activated carbon was fabricated by using oil asphalt as carbon source, KOH as activator. The samples were analyzed by N2 adsorption, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge were used to characterize the electrochemical performance of the samples. The results showed that the pore size was mainly in the range of 0.5-9.0 nm. Supercapacitors based on the sample AC （Activated carbon） have low ESR and excellent power property.

Syntheses and Crystal Structures of Two New Metal Phosphonates:[Mn(H_2O)_2(C_(12)H_8N_2)(HO_3PCH_2CH_2CO_2)] and [Co(H_2O)_4(C_(10)H_8N_2)]·(HO_3PCH_2CH_2CO_2)

By the reactions of manganese（if） acetate, 2-sulfoethylphosphonic acid, 1,10-phen （1,10-phen = 1, 10-phenanthroline） or cobalt（Ⅱ） acetate, 4,4＇-bipy and 2-carboxyethylphosphonic acid, two novel compounds of [Mn（H2O）2（C12H8N2） （HO3PCH2CH2CO2） ] （1） and[Co（H2O）4（C10H8N2）]-（HOaPCH2CH2CO2） （2） have been synthesized and characterized by IR spectroscopy, elemental analyses and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 has a 0D structure. Two Mn（ii） ions are linked by two 2-carboxyethylphosphonic acid ligands, forming a centrosymmetric dimer. These dimers are further interlinked into a 2D layer structure by π-π stacking interactions and hydrogen bonds. Compound 2 has a 1D chain structure. The 2-carboxyethylphosphonic acid remains uncoordinated and acts as the organic template. By the bridge of 4,4＇-bipy, the [Co（4,4＇-bipy）]^2＋ chains are formed.

Study on Activated Carbon for Electrode Material

Activated carbon （AC） was fabricated by Coconut shell as carbon source, KOH as activator. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge were used to characterize the electrochemical performance of the samples. The results showed that： Supercapacitors based on the sample AC-3 have low Equivalent series resistanceb （ESR） and excellent power property.

Study on Electrode Material for Carbon Based Double-layer Capacitors

Activated carbon （AC） was fabricated by using phenolic resin as carbon source, silica gel as inorganic template, KOH as activator. The samples were analyzed by N2 adsorption, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge were used to characterize the electrochemical performance of the samples. The results showed that the pore size was mainly in the range of 0.5 9.0 nm. Supercapacitors based on the sample AC-3 have low equivalent series resistanceb （ESR） and excellent power property.

Theoretical design for zeolite synthesis

Zeolites,an important class of microporous crystals,have been widely utilized in the fields of catalysis,ion-exchange,separation,and sorption for a long time.In general,zeolites are synthesized in the presence of costly organic templates under hydrothermal conditions by trial-and-error method,which is not only environmentally unfriendly but also labor-intensive.In recent years,novel concepts of design for zeolite synthesis,which are sustainable,cheap,simple,and efficient,have been developed.In this review,the recent advances in design for zeolite synthesis will be briefly summarized,mainly including the design of organic templates for directing the formation of zeolites,design of organotemplate-free route for zeolite synthesis,design of solvent-free strategy for zeolite synthesis,design for novel interzeolite transformation,and targeted control of zeolite morphologies.This review might be helpful for developing sustainable routes for targeted synthesis of zeolites in the future.

Solvent-Free Synthesis of ITQ-12, ITQ-13, and ITQ-17 Zeolites

Development of the sustainable routes for synthesis of ITQ-family zeolites is very important because of their unique structures and excellent catalytic and adsorptive properties.The burden of costly raw materials and low efficiency of synthesis put a strong challenge for their widespread commercial application.Here,we show an alternative and simple route for synthesis of ITQ-12,ITQ-13,and ITQ-17 zeolites using commercially available organic templates by a facile grinding process of anhydrous starting raw solids,followed by heating at 140-180 ℃.Compared with the conventional hydrothermal synthesis,this approach has obvious advantages such as employment of low-cost organic templates with very high effectiveness,high yield of zeolite products,short crystallization time,and relatively simple procedures.This methodology might open a pathway to synthesize ITQ zeolites with more sustainable manner.