Eric C. Njagi

Biosynthesis of Iron and Silver Nanoparticles at Room Temperature Using Aqueous Sorghum Bran Extracts

Iron and silver nanoparticles were synthesized using a rapid, single step, and completely green biosynthetic method employing aqueous sorghum extracts as both the reducing and capping agent. Silver ions were rapidly reduced by the aqueous sorghum bran extracts, leading to the formation of highly crystalline silver nanoparticles with an average diameter of 10 nm. The diffraction peaks were indexed to the face-centered cubic (fcc) phase of silver. The absorption spectra of colloidal silver nanoparticles showed a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak centered at a wavelength of 390 nm. Amorphous iron nanoparticles with an average diameter of 50 nm were formed instantaneously under ambient conditions. The reactivity of iron nanoparticles was tested by the H(2)O(2)-catalyzed degradation of bromothymol blue as a model organic contaminant.

Light-Assisted Synthesis of Metal Oxide Heirarchical Structures and Their Catalytic Applications

Short reaction times and morphology control in the synthesis of inorganic materials under nonthermal conditions remain a challenge. Herein we report a rapid, self-templating, and nonthermal method based on ultraviolet light to prepare metal oxide hierarchical structures. With this method, the morphology of the metal oxides was controlled readily without using templates.

Self-assembly of manganese oxide nanoparticles and hollow spheres. Catalytic activity in carbon monoxide oxidation

Reactions between MnSO(4) and KMnO(4) in the presence of carboxylic acids provide a facile, one-pot route to nanostructured manganese oxides with high surface areas. Acetic and propionic acid induce formation of hierarchical nanosphere morphologies whereas butyric acid promotes assembly of hollow spheres. The materials are active catalysts for CO oxidation.

Facile One-Step Template-Free Synthesis of Uniform Hollow Microstructures of Cryptomelane-Type Manganese Oxide K-OMS-2

Hollow microstructures of cryptomelane-type manganese oxide were produced in a template-free one-step process based on the fine-tuning of the oxidation rate of manganese species during the synthesis. The tuning of the reaction rate brought about by a mixture of the oxidants oxone and potassium nitrate becomes apparent from the gradual physical changes taking place in the reaction medium at early times of the synthesis. The successful synthesis of the hollow uniform structures could be performed in the ranges 120-160 degrees C and 8.2-10.7 for temperature and mass ratio oxone/potassium nitrate, respectively. Independent of the conditions of the synthesis, all of the complex microstructures showed the same pattern for the array of very long nanofibers in which some of these elongated around the surface confining the cavity and the other fibers grew normal to the surface created by the previous arrangement. A mechanism based on the heterogeneous nucleation of the cryptomelane phase on the surface of an amorphous precursor and the growth of the nanoscale fibers by processes such as dissolution-crystallization and lateral attachment of primary nanocrystalline fibers is proposed to explain the formation of the hollow structures.

Structural Distortion of Molybdenum-Doped Manganese Oxide Octahedral Molecular Sieves for Enhanced Catalytic Performance.

Due to the excellent catalytic performance of manganese oxide (K-OMS-2) in a wide range of applications, incorporation of various dopants has been commonly applied for K-OMS-2 to acquire additional functionality or activities. However, the understanding of its substitution mechanism with respect to the catalytic performance of doped K-OMS-2 materials remains unclear. Here we present the structural distortion (from tetragonal to monoclinic cell) and morphological evolution in K-OMS-2 materials by doping hexavalent molybdenum. With a Mo-to-Mn ratio of 1:20 (R-1:20) in the preparation, the resultant monoclinic K-OMS-2 shows a small equidimensional particle size (∼15 nm), a high surface area of 213 m(2) g(-1), and greatly improved catalytic activity toward CO oxidation with lower onset temperatures (40 °C) than that of pristine K-OMS-2 (above 130 °C). HR-TEM analyses reveal direct evidence of structural distortion on the cross-section of 2 × 2 tunnels with the absence of 4-fold rotation symmetry expected for a tetragonal cell, which are indexed using a monoclinic cell. Our results suggest that substitution of Mo(6+) for Mn(3+) (rather than Mn(4+)) coupled with the vacancy generation results in a distorted structure and unique morphology. The weakened Mn-O bonds and Mn vacancies associated with the structural distortion may be mainly responsible for the enhanced catalytic activity of monoclinic K-OMS-2 instead of dopant species.