Magnetic shepherding of nanocatalysts through hierarchically-assembled Fe-filled CNTs hybrid

Mechanically robust, chemically stable and electronically active carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are widely used as supports in catalysis. Synergistic effects between CNT and the active phase critically depend on the homogeneity of the carbon/inorganic interface, whose assembly is difficult to achieve witho...

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Main Authors: Melchionna, Michele, Beltram, Alessandro, Stopin, Antoine, Montini, Tiziano, Lodge, Rhys W, Khlobystov, Andrei N., Bonifazi, Davide, Prato, Maurizio, Fornasiero, Paolo
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Published: Elsevier 2018
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51943/
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author Melchionna, Michele
Beltram, Alessandro
Stopin, Antoine
Montini, Tiziano
Lodge, Rhys W
Khlobystov, Andrei N.
Bonifazi, Davide
Prato, Maurizio
Fornasiero, Paolo
author_facet Melchionna, Michele
Beltram, Alessandro
Stopin, Antoine
Montini, Tiziano
Lodge, Rhys W
Khlobystov, Andrei N.
Bonifazi, Davide
Prato, Maurizio
Fornasiero, Paolo
author_sort Melchionna, Michele
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Mechanically robust, chemically stable and electronically active carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are widely used as supports in catalysis. Synergistic effects between CNT and the active phase critically depend on the homogeneity of the carbon/inorganic interface, whose assembly is difficult to achieve without admixtures of free-standing inorganic matrix. Here we show that Fe-filled CNTs, employed as nanocatalyst supports, allow a facile preparation of highly pure and uniform CNT/nanocatalyst materials, by taking advantage of magnetic separation from poorly-defined components (e.g. aggregates of inorganic nanocatalysts). The higher homogeneity translates into higher catalytic activity in two industrially important processes: the photocatalytic hydrogen production and the water-gas shift reaction, WGSR (increase of ∼48% activity for the former and up to ∼45% for the latter as compared to catalysts isolated by standard filtration). In addition, the magnetic Fe core in the nanotubes enables effective separation and re-use of the nanocatalyst without loss of activity. This study demonstrates significant potential of magnetic CNTs as next generation of sustainable catalyst supports that can improve production of hydrogen and reduce the use of precious metals.
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spelling nottingham-519432020-05-04T19:44:59Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51943/ Magnetic shepherding of nanocatalysts through hierarchically-assembled Fe-filled CNTs hybrid Melchionna, Michele Beltram, Alessandro Stopin, Antoine Montini, Tiziano Lodge, Rhys W Khlobystov, Andrei N. Bonifazi, Davide Prato, Maurizio Fornasiero, Paolo Mechanically robust, chemically stable and electronically active carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are widely used as supports in catalysis. Synergistic effects between CNT and the active phase critically depend on the homogeneity of the carbon/inorganic interface, whose assembly is difficult to achieve without admixtures of free-standing inorganic matrix. Here we show that Fe-filled CNTs, employed as nanocatalyst supports, allow a facile preparation of highly pure and uniform CNT/nanocatalyst materials, by taking advantage of magnetic separation from poorly-defined components (e.g. aggregates of inorganic nanocatalysts). The higher homogeneity translates into higher catalytic activity in two industrially important processes: the photocatalytic hydrogen production and the water-gas shift reaction, WGSR (increase of ∼48% activity for the former and up to ∼45% for the latter as compared to catalysts isolated by standard filtration). In addition, the magnetic Fe core in the nanotubes enables effective separation and re-use of the nanocatalyst without loss of activity. This study demonstrates significant potential of magnetic CNTs as next generation of sustainable catalyst supports that can improve production of hydrogen and reduce the use of precious metals. Elsevier 2018-07-05 Article PeerReviewed Melchionna, Michele, Beltram, Alessandro, Stopin, Antoine, Montini, Tiziano, Lodge, Rhys W, Khlobystov, Andrei N., Bonifazi, Davide, Prato, Maurizio and Fornasiero, Paolo (2018) Magnetic shepherding of nanocatalysts through hierarchically-assembled Fe-filled CNTs hybrid. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 227 . pp. 356-365. ISSN 0926-3373 Carbon nanotubes ; Hierarchical nanostructures ; Hydrogen evolution ; Water-gas shift ; Pd nanoparticles ; Magnetic nanomaterials https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926337318300651 doi:10.1016/j.apcatb.2018.01.049 doi:10.1016/j.apcatb.2018.01.049
spellingShingle Carbon nanotubes ; Hierarchical nanostructures ; Hydrogen evolution ; Water-gas shift ; Pd nanoparticles ; Magnetic nanomaterials
Melchionna, Michele
Beltram, Alessandro
Stopin, Antoine
Montini, Tiziano
Lodge, Rhys W
Khlobystov, Andrei N.
Bonifazi, Davide
Prato, Maurizio
Fornasiero, Paolo
Magnetic shepherding of nanocatalysts through hierarchically-assembled Fe-filled CNTs hybrid
title Magnetic shepherding of nanocatalysts through hierarchically-assembled Fe-filled CNTs hybrid
title_full Magnetic shepherding of nanocatalysts through hierarchically-assembled Fe-filled CNTs hybrid
title_fullStr Magnetic shepherding of nanocatalysts through hierarchically-assembled Fe-filled CNTs hybrid
title_full_unstemmed Magnetic shepherding of nanocatalysts through hierarchically-assembled Fe-filled CNTs hybrid
title_short Magnetic shepherding of nanocatalysts through hierarchically-assembled Fe-filled CNTs hybrid
title_sort magnetic shepherding of nanocatalysts through hierarchically-assembled fe-filled cnts hybrid
topic Carbon nanotubes ; Hierarchical nanostructures ; Hydrogen evolution ; Water-gas shift ; Pd nanoparticles ; Magnetic nanomaterials
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51943/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51943/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51943/