Andrés Zelcer

Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of titania monoliths prepared with controlled macro- and mesopore structure.

Herein, we report a one-pot synthesis of crack-free titania monoliths with hierarchical macro-mesoporosity and crystalline anatase walls. Bimodal macroporosity is created through the polymer-induced phase separation of poly(furfuryl alcohol). The cationic polymerization of furfuryl alcohol is performed in situ and subsequently the polymer becomes immiscible with the aqueous phase, which includes titanic acid. Addition of template, Pluronic F127, increases the mesopore volume and diameter of the resulting titania, as the poly(ethylene glycol) block interacts with the titania precursor, leading to assisted assembly of the metal oxide framework. The hydrophobic poly(propylene glycol) micelle core could itself be swollen with monomeric and oligomeric furfuryl alcohol, allowing for mesopores as large as 18 nm. Variations in synthesis parameters affect porosity; for instance furfuryl alcohol content changes the size and texture of the macropores, water content changes the grain size of the titania and Pluronic F127 content changes the size and volume of the mesopore. Morphological manipulation improves the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. Light can penetrate several millimeters into the porous monolith, giving these materials possible application in commercial devices.

Gold nanoparticles supported in zirconia-ceria mesoporous thin films: a highly active reusable heterogeneous nanocatalyst.

Gold nanoparticles (NP) trapped in the mesopores of mixed zirconia-ceria thin films are prepared in a straightforward and reproducible way. The films exhibit enhanced stability and excellent catalytic activity in nitro-group reduction by borohydride and electrocatalytic activity in CO and ethanol oxidation and oxygen reduction.

One-step preparation of UV transparent highly ordered mesoporous zirconia thin films

Highly ordered mesoporous ZrO2 thin films were prepared by evaporation induced self-assembly. Complexing agents and low pH were simultaneously employed in order to control the hydrolysis–condensation kinetics, permitting to cast films in one step. Many commercially available PPO-based surfactants can be used as templates, yielding different pore sizes. The mesoporosity is well preserved at high temperatures (600 °C) and after exposing the films to extreme alkaline conditions (1 M NaOH, 18 h). The procedure has been used to cast multilayer films, paving the way to mesoporous thin films-based UV photonics.

A convenient synthesis of a 2,7-difunctional tetra(alkoxy)triphenylene involving 4,4′-diacetoxy-3,3′-dialkoxybiphenyl as a key precursor and its conversion to extended hybrid mesogenic compounds

A new rational pathway to 2,7-difunctionalised-β-hexa-substituted triphenylenes is presented, requiring less protection/deprotection and purification steps than more conventional synthetic procedures in the framework of the ‘biphenyl route’. Main improvements are deprotection via alkaline hydrolysis of an ester in ethanol/water medium instead of using toxic and pyrophoric reagents like lithium diphenylphosphide, and the use of easily prepared brominated precursors instead of iodinated reagents for biphenyl synthesis. 4,4′-Diacetoxy-3,3′-bis(hexyloxy)biphenyl has been synthesised under this scheme, and characterised by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectrometry, elemental analysis and single-crystal crystallography. It crystallises in the P-1 space group, and exhibits a layered structure built-up through dipolar, C–H … π and C–H … O=C non-covalent interactions. This compound has been oxidatively coupled with 1,2-bis(hexyloxy)benzene to yield 2,7-dihydroxy-3,6,10,11-tetrakis(hexyloxy)triphenylene, a non-mesogen key precursor for the synthesis of the corresponding liquid-crystalline 2,7-difunctional triphenylenes. Indeed, a reactive 2,7-difunctional mesogen was prepared and used to produce new triphenylene-siloxane hybrid monomeric, trimeric and polymeric mesogens. All of them exhibited columnar hexagonal (Colh) mesophases.

Carbonaceous submicron sized islands: a surface patterning route to hierarchical macro/mesoporous thin films

A simple patterning method is presented, using dewetting as a surface exotemplate generating technique, to produce disk-like features of micron to submicron size. The localization of the templates is such that a large area of the substrate is covered when compared with other techniques like colloidal templating or nanosphere lithography. The method is accessible and convenient and can be used to pattern areas of several dm2. Hierarchically ordered mesoporous SiO2 thin films possessing submicron sized cavities were prepared by combining this patterning method with sol–gel and surfactant templation. The mesopore arrangement was found to be severely influenced by the constraints imposed by the surface topology, leading to a different crystalline orientation.

Mixed-valent diruthenium (II,III) aliphatic carboxylates: columnar mesophases in dodecylsulfate and octylsulfonate derivatives

Two series of polymeric mixed-valent diruthenium (II,III) aliphatic carboxylates of formula Ru2[O2C(CH2) n−2CH3]4X (where X=dodecylsulfate (DOS) anion and n=8, 9, 16 and 18, or X=octylsulfonate (OS) anion and n=8, 10, 12, 14 and 18) were synthesized and characterized. Their liquid crystalline properties and crystalline (Cr) structures were analysed; the Cr phases are lamellar in all cases. For long chain DOS derivatives (n=16 and 18) hexagonal and rectangular columnar mesophases (Colh and Colr) with melting temperatures close to 140°C were observed. For long chain OS derivatives (n≥10) a Colh mesophase was observed, with melting temperatures between 140 and 190°C.

Thermotropic mesomorphism of mixed-valent diruthenium aliphatic carboxylates with axial anion bearing two aliphatic chains

A homologous series of binuclear mixed-valent diruthenium tetracarboxylates, Ru2(O2C(CH2)n−2CH3)4DHDP (DHDP = di(hexadecyl)phosphate axial anion, n = 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18), have been synthesized and characterized, and the liquid crystalline properties of these compounds were examined. All the compounds exhibit a room-temperature crystalline lamellar phase and a high temperature (above 140°) Colh mesophase. Another, probably semi-crystalline, lamellar intermediate phase has also been found for all the studied compounds but for the n = 18 derivative. Comparison with related mesogenic homologous series where the equatorial ligands are also linear carboxylates, but the axial anions bear just one aliphatic chain (carboxylates, octylsulfonate, and dodecylsulfate), shows that the presence of a second aliphatic chain in the axial anion both lowers the transition temperatures and modifies the nature of the intermediate lamellar phase. Structural models at the molecular level are suggested for the crystalline lamellar and the Colh phases.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Liquid-Crystalline Dendritic Architectures

We report here a few examples of the self-organization behaviour of some novel materials based on liquid-crystalline dendritic architectures. The original design of the molecules imposes the use of all-atomic methods to model correctly every intra- and intermolecular effects. The selected materials are octopus dendrimers with block anisotropic side-arms, segmented amphiphilic block codendrimers, multicore and star-shaped oligomers, and multi-functionalized manganese clusters. The molecular organization in lamellar or columnar phases occurs due to soft/rigid parts self-recognition, hydrogen-bonding networks or from the molecular shape intrinsically.