Black phosphorus (BP), a promising 2D material, has sparked a research boom in various areas, while its fatal atmospheric instability seriously obstructs the progress of most practical applications. To realize the novel scalable concept of can-sealing protection, the selective deposition of a series of hydrophobically- or hydrophilically-functionalized Al2O3 nanostructured capping layers has been successfully achieved to seal the top surface of the exfoliated BP flake assemblies on Ag-patterned substrates. The hydrophobic Al2O3 columnar capping is evidenced as the most promising candidate to provide comprehensive protection against the severe rapid degradation of pristine BP even under a very high-humidity environment (RH = 85%) for a long period of time. The present work provides valuable insight into the distinct anisotropic degradation of the sealed BP flake assemblies evidently induced by the deposited hydrophobically- or hydrophilically-functionalized Al2O3 capping.

The innovative three-dimensional (3-D) nanocrystals constructed by 1-D stalactite-like branches with a diameter of 107 ± 27 nm and a varied length of a few hundred nanometers were successfully synthesized via a facile tri-block copolymer assisted chemical approach. The highly-branched Ag nanocrystals were applied as promising electrical conducting fillers to form PVP-based composites for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding applications. In comparison with the dense Ag-flakes based film, the slip-coated sponge-like Ag film exhibits a comparably-high electrical conductivity after annealing and a stably-excellent EMI shielding effectiveness of 47−53 dB over the frequency from 500 MHz to 10 GHz.

Zirconium phosphate (ZrP) nanosheets were synthesized and modified with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBA) to form ZrP nanosheets. The ZrP nanosheet surface was modified with organosilane N1-(3- trimethoxysilylpropyl) diethylene triamine molecules to generate an amine-terminated surface that prevents the aggregation of Au nanoparticles (Au NPs). These Au NPs anchor to ZrP in a single, high-density layer through their affinity for the amino functional groups to produce a Au/ZrP composite catalyst. Structure confirmation and characterization were performed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, field-emission transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The Au/ZrP composites demonstrated excellent performance and stability as catalysts for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) within 180 s. These composites have potential for industrial applications where separation and recycling are imperative. (C) 2018 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Innovative Pt and Co3O4 nanostructure co-decorated In2O3 nanobundles have been successfully developed and demonstrated as high-performance room-temperature CO gas sensors.