Abstract:
Carbon nanostructure (e.g., CNF) electrodes disclosed herein may be conveniently prepared on conductive substrates by pyrolysis of an organometallic nanostructure precursor in a reducing atmosphere. Such electrodes may possess suitable properties for preparation of electrocatalytic electrodes and electrochemical sensors. High surface area nitrogen doped CNFs prepared according to certain embodiments are conductive and may exhibit high stability and improved catalytic activity for O2 reduction in aqueous solutions.
Abstract:
An electrochemical liquid-liquid-solid (LLS) process that produces unlimited amounts of crystalline semiconductor, such as Ge or Si, from aqueous or polar solutions with tunable nanostructured shapes without any physical or chemical templating agent is presented. Dissolution into, saturation within, and precipitation of the semiconductor from a liquid electrode (e.g., Hg pool) or near an electrode comprising metallic nanoparticles (e.g., In nanoparticles) yields a polycrystalline semiconductor material, as deposited. Such a process can be conducted at conditions, in a single step, and under electrochemical control, while affording control over formation of a variety of material morphologies. Materials formed by such processes are also provided.
Abstract:
This invention provides a semiconductor having a functionalized surface that is resistant to oxidation and that includes a plurality of atoms of a Group III element bonded to organic groups. The functionalized surface has less than or equal to about 1 atom of the Group III element bonded to an oxygen atom per every 1,000 atoms of the Group III element bonded to the organic groups, as determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This invention also provides a method of functionalizing the surface and includes the step of halogenating at least one of the plurality of atoms of the Group III element to form halogenated Group III element atoms. The method also includes the step of reacting at least one of the halogenated Group III element atoms with a Grignard reagent to form a bond between the at least one Group III element atom and the organic groups.