AsianScientist (Nov. 28, 2018) – Scientists from the Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech) in Japan have developed a sustainable method to neutralize carbon monoxide, an odorless poison that can be found in car exhaust. They published their findings in Nanomaterials.
Traditionally, noble metals are required to convert toxic carbon monoxide into innocuous carbon dioxide. Given the rarity and high cost of noble metals, researchers are seeking alternatives that can perform the same catalytic reactions inexpensively.
In this study, researchers led by Assistant Professor Teruaki Fuchigami at NITech have developed a raspberry-shaped nanoparticle capable of converting carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide. Made of cobalt oxide, the nanoparticles can oxidize carbon monoxide, but they eventually clump together and lose their catalytic activity.
Hence, the researchers used sulfate ions during the formation of the cobalt oxide particles. The sulfate ions surround the particles, creating a chemically bonded bridge, known as a ligand, which holds the nanoparticles together while inhibiting clumping, allowing for stable catalysis.
“The phenomenon of crosslinking two substances has been formulated in the field of metal-organic framework research, but, as far as we can tell, this is the first report to achieve it using oxide nanoparticles,” said Fuchigami.
Fuchigami added that his team will continue to study bridging ligands with the goal of precisely controlling the design aspects of nanomaterials, such as the size and morphology of nanoparticles. They hope to discover the most stable and active chemical configurations for catalysis and other applications.
The article can be found at: Fuchigami et al. (2016) Complex Three-Dimensional Co3O4 Nano-Raspberry: Highly Stable and Active Low-temperature CO Oxidation Catalyst.
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Source: Nagoya Institute of Technology; Photo: Pexels.
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