Yunfeng Lu

Bio: Yunfeng Lu is an academic researcher from University of California, Los Angeles. The author has contributed to research in topics: Mesoporous material & Mesoporous silica. The author has an hindex of 79, co-authored 425 publications receiving 27858 citations. Previous affiliations of Yunfeng Lu include West Virginia University & Sandia National Laboratories.

Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly: Nanostructures Made Easy**

Abstract: As we look toward the next millennium, we envision new technologies based on nanoscale machines and devices. Key to the realization of this nanotech world are simple, efficient methods of organizing materials (molecules, molecular clusters, polymers, or, generally speaking, building blocks) into precise, predetermined nanostructures that can be preserved in a robust engineering form. Marine organisms like diatoms and radiolaria provide us with many examples of intricately organized architectures preserved in silica or calcium carbonate. Such natural microstructures are formed by biomineralization, a templated self-assembly process in which preorganized organic surfaces regulate the nucleation, growth, morphology and orientation of inorganic crystals. To date, a variety of synthetic pathways that mimic aspects of biomineralization have been explored to prepare patterned ceramic materials. In an early attempt to achieve antigen/ antibodyselectivity inaporousadsorbent,Dickey prepared silicagels inthepresenceofthetargetmoleculetobeadsorbed (in this case methyl orange). After methyl orange extraction, the resulting templated silicas showed preferential selectivity for methyl orange over its alkyl orange homologues. In the 1960s researchers at the Mobil Oil Corporation used alkylammonium ions as templates to control the pore size, shape and periodicity of zeolites, crystalline solids that define 1-, 2-, or 3-dimensional (1-, 2-, or 3-D, respectively) networks of microporous channels. More recently Kresge and colleagues at Mobil used longer-chain alkylammonium ions in an attempt to increase the maximum pore size of zeolites beyond ~1.2 nm. They observed honeycomb-like arrays of ~4 nm pores and, based on analogies with hexagonal liquidcrystalline systems, proposed a supramolecular liquid-crystalline templating mechanism. Although excellent progress has been made in the preparationofawidevarietyofpatternedceramicmaterials, current synthetic methods have several inherent drawbacks fromthestandpointofnanotechnology:First,mosttemplating procedures are conducted in time-consuming batch operations often employing hydrothermal processing conditions. Second, the resultant products are typically ill-defined powders, precluding their general use in thin film technologies. Third, procedures developed to date are often limited to forming patterns of pores. For many envisioned nanotechnologies, it would be desirable to create patterned nanocomposites consisting of periodic arrangements of two or more dissimilar materials. This article summarizes a simple evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) process, that enables the rapid production of patterned porous or nanocomposite materials in the form of films, fibers, or powders.

Continuous formation of supported cubic and hexagonal mesoporous films by sol–gel dip-coating

Abstract: Thin films of surfactant-templated mesoporous materials1,2 could find applications in membrane-based separations, selective catalysis and sensors. Above the critical micelle concentration of a bulk silica–surfactant solution, films of mesophases with hexagonally packed one-dimensional channels can be formed at solid–liquid and liquid–vapour interfaces3,4,5. But this process is slow and the supported films3,5 are granular and with the pore channels oriented parallel to the substrate surface, so that transport across the films is not facilitated by the pores. Ogawa6,7 has reported a rapid spin-coating procedure for making transparent mesoporous films, but their formation mechanism, microstructure and pore accessibility have not been elucidated. Here we report a sol–gel-based dip-coating method for the rapid synthesis of continuous mesoporous thin films on a solid substrate. The influence of the substrate generates film mesostructures that have no bulk counterparts, such as composites with incipient liquid-crystalline order of the surfactant–silica phase. We are also able to form mesoporous films of the cubic phase, in which the pores are connected in a three-dimensional network that guarantees their accessibility from the film surface. We demonstrate and quantify this accessibility using a surface-acoustic-wave nitrogen-adsorption technique. We use fluorescence depolarization to monitor the evolution of the mesophase in situ, and see a progression through a sequence of lamellar to cubic to hexagonal structures that has not previously been reported.

Mesoporous titania spheres with tunable chamber stucture and enhanced photocatalytic activity.

Abstract: Urchinlike TiO2 spheres with tunable chamber structure were synthesized using a template-free solvothermal method. The unique sphere-in-sphere chamber structure allows multiple reflections of UV light resulting in greatly enhanced photocatalytic activity. This work provided novel structural platforms for novel materials and device applications.

Aerosol-assisted self-assembly of mesostructured spherical nanoparticles

Abstract: Nanostructured particles exhibiting well-defined pore sizes and pore connectivities (1-, 2-, or 3-dimensional) are of interest for catalysis, chromatography, controlled release, low dielectric constant fillers, and custom-designed pigments and optical hosts During the last several years considerable progress has been made on controlling the macroscopic forms of mesoporous silicas prepared by surfactant and block copolymer liquid crystalline templating procedures Typically interfacial phenomena are used to control the macroscopic form (particles, fibers, or films), while self-assembly of amphiphilic surfactants or polymers is used to control the mesostructure To date, although a variety of spherical or nearly-spherical particles have been prepared, their extent of order is limited as is the range of attainable mesostructures They report a rapid, aerosol process that results in solid, completely ordered spherical particles with stable hexagonal, cubic, or vesicular mesostructures The process relies on evaporation-induced interfacial self-assembly (EISA) confined to a spherical aerosol droplet The process is simple and generalizable to a variety of materials combinations Additionally, it can be modified to provide the first aerosol route to the formation of ordered mesostructured films

High-performance supercapacitors based on intertwined CNT/V2O5 nanowire nanocomposites.

Abstract: An ideal electrical energy storage device provides both high energy and power density. [ 1 , 2 ] Supercapacitors exhibit signifi cantly higher power densities compared to batteries and would be excellent candidates for numerous electronic devices and industrial applications if their energy density could be improved. [ 3 , 4 ] Since the energy density ( E ) of a capacitor is governed by E = 1/2 CV 2 , where C is the capacitance and V is the cell potential, increasing the potential or capacitance leads to higher energy density. [ 5 ] In this context, the most commonly used electrode material (porous carbon) generally possesses double layer capacitances of around 100 F g − 1 , which can provide a specifi c energy density up to 25 Wh kg − 1 in an organic-electrolyte-based symmetric device. Somewhat greater energy densities can be reached as specifi c capacitances of up to 150 F g − 1 with carbide-derived carbon have been reported. [ 6 ]

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Semiconductor-based Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

Abstract: 2.3. Evaluation of Photocatalytic Water Splitting 6507 2.3.1. Photocatalytic Activity 6507 2.3.2. Photocatalytic Stability 6507 3. UV-Active Photocatalysts for Water Splitting 6507 3.1. d0 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6507 3.1.1. Ti-, Zr-Based Oxides 6507 3.1.2. Nb-, Ta-Based Oxides 6514 3.1.3. W-, Mo-Based Oxides 6517 3.1.4. Other d0 Metal Oxides 6518 3.2. d10 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6518 3.3. f0 Metal Oxide Photocatalysts 6518 3.4. Nonoxide Photocatalysts 6518 4. Approaches to Modifying the Electronic Band Structure for Visible-Light Harvesting 6519

Nonionic Triblock and Star Diblock Copolymer and Oligomeric Surfactant Syntheses of Highly Ordered, Hydrothermally Stable, Mesoporous Silica Structures

Abstract: A family of highly ordered mesoporous (20−300 A) silica structures have been synthesized by the use of commercially available nonionic alkyl poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) oligomeric surfactants and poly(alkylene oxide) block copolymers in acid media. Periodic arrangements of mescoscopically ordered pores with cubic Im3m, cubic Pm3m (or others), 3-d hexagonal (P63/mmc), 2-d hexagonal (p6mm), and lamellar (Lα) symmetries have been prepared. Under acidic conditions at room temperature, the nonionic oligomeric surfactants frequently form cubic or 3-d hexagonal mesoporous silica structures, while the nonionic triblock copolymers tend to form hexagonal (p6mm) mesoporous silica structures. A cubic mesoporous silica structure (SBA-11) with Pm3m diffraction symmetry has been synthesized in the presence of C16H33(OCH2CH2)10OH (C16EO10) surfactant species, while a 3-d hexagonal (P63/mmc) mesoporous silica structure (SBA-12) results when C18EO10 is used. Surfactants with short EO segments tend to form lamellar mesost...

Ordered porous materials for emerging applications

Abstract: "Space—the final frontier." This preamble to a well-known television series captures the challenge encountered not only in space travel adventures, but also in the field of porous materials, which aims to control the size, shape and uniformity of the porous space and the atoms and molecules that define it. The past decade has seen significant advances in the ability to fabricate new porous solids with ordered structures from a wide range of different materials. This has resulted in materials with unusual properties and broadened their application range beyond the traditional use as catalysts and adsorbents. In fact, porous materials now seem set to contribute to developments in areas ranging from microelectronics to medical diagnosis.