Size-controllable synthesis of monodispersed SnO2 nanoparticles and application in electrocatalysts

Size-controllable tin oxide nanoparticles are prepared by heating ethylene glycol solutions containing SnCl2 at atmospheric pressure. The particles were characterized by means of transmission electron microscopic (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. TEM micrographs show that the obtained material are spherical nanoparticles, the size and size distribution of which depends on the initial experimental conditions of pH value, reaction time, water concentration, and tin precursor concentration. The XRD pattern result shows that the obtained powder is SnO2 with tetragonal crystalline structure. On the basis of UV/vis and FTIR characterization, the formation mechanism of SnO2 nanoparticles is deduced. Moreover, the SnO2 nanoparticles were employed to synthesize carbon-supported PtSnO2 catalyst, and it exhibits surprisingly high promoting catalytic activity for ethanol electrooxidation.

The effect of Rh particle size on the catalytic performance of porous silica supported rhodium catalysts for CO hydrogenation

Silica-supported Rh catalysts with different Rh particle dimensions were investigated for CO hydrogenation. The catalysts were characterized by various techniques such as TEM, H-2-TPR and N-2 adsorption to study the catalyst morphology, the size distributions of Rh particles and the silica pores. It was found that the distribution and the size of Rh particles were affected by the silica pores, and the metal grains were enclosed in the pores of the support, and thereby their growth was limited. The catalytic activity and selectivity to C-2-oxygenates for CO hydrogenation were found to be significantly controlled by the Rh particle sizes, and the higher activity and selectivity to C2-oxygenates were obtained over bigger Rh particles, within the range of the reported particle sizes.