The Daily Bulletin Archive

Please join the Chemistry and Physics departments for the seminar "Nonprecious Metal Nanostructures: Syntheses, Properties, and Applications," presented by Jingyi Chen, Ph.D., associate professor of physical chemistry at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, on Thursday, March 21, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 173.

Controlling the 3-D morphology of nonprecious metal nanostructures is important for understanding the structure-property-performance relationship, but challenging to achieve due to their highly-reactive nature. In turn, the high reactivity of nonprecious metals opens up the possibilities to use them as templates for access to well-defined hollow nanostructures or to convert them into corresponding metal compound nanostructures. In this presentation, Dr. Chen will take Cu as an example to illustrate the research progress on the shape-controlled synthesis of nonprecious metal nanostructures in her laboratory. The metallic form of Cu exhibits a number of unique properties including distinct optical properties in the visible region; however, once metal Cu is oxidized, its unique properties will diminish. Through surface chemistry, the oxidation of Cu could be prevented to some degree as monitoring by its optical properties. On the other hand, Cu can be used as templates to synthesize well-defined hollow nanostructures and to convert into Cu compound nanostructures. These new nanostructured materials provide more tools for new discovery. Dr. Chen will share some interesting findings on the structural sensitivity of Cu2S nanoplates under electron beam irradiation and elucidate the possible mechanism and pathway of the reversible structural changes. Furthermore, she will extend the discussion to the synthesis of other nonprecious metals, the Ni-Fe-based nanostructures for the oxygen evolution reaction. This study highlights the importance of the effects of 3-D morphology, composition, and crystallinity on the electrocatalytic activity and stability of nanocatalysts.