Browsing by Author "Ercan, Kerem Emre"
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Item Open Access All-solution-processed, oxidation-resistant copper nanowire networks for optoelectronic applications with year-long stability(American Chemical Society, 2020) Polat-Genlik, S.; Tigan, D.; Koçak, Yusuf; Ercan, Kerem Emre; Çiçek, Melih Ogeday; Tunca, S.; Koylan, S.; Coşkun, Ş.; Özensoy, Emrah; Ünalan, H. E.Copper nanowires (Cu NWs) hold promise as they possess equivalent intrinsic electrical conductivity and optical transparency to silver nanowires (Ag NWs) and cost substantially less. However, poor resistance to oxidation is the historical challenge that has prevented the large-scale industrial utilization of Cu NWs. Here, we use benzotriazole (BTA), an organic corrosion inhibitor, to passivate Cu NW networks. The stability of BTApassivated networks under various environmental conditions was monitored and compared to that of bare Cu NW control samples. BTA passivation greatly enhanced the stability of networks without deteriorating their optoelectronic performance. Moreover, to demonstrate their potential, BTA-passivated networks were successfully utilized in the fabrication of a flexible capacitive tactile sensor. This passivation strategy has a strong potential to pave the way for large-scale utilization of Cu NW networks in optoelectronic devices.Item Open Access Enhancement of photocatalytic NOx abatement on titania via additional metal oxide NOx-storage domains: Interplay between surface acidity, specific surface area, and humidity(Elsevier, 2020) Çağlayan, Mustafa; Irfan, Muhammad; Ercan, Kerem Emre; Koçak, Yusuf; Özensoy, EmrahIn this work, we propose a simple and effective preparation procedure to obtain ternary mixed oxides composed of titania (TiO2, P25), alumina (γ-Al2O3) and calcium oxide (CaO) functioning as efficient photocatalytic NOx oxidation and storage (PHONOS) catalysts that are capable of facile NOx abatement under ambient conditions in the absence of elevated temperatures and pressures with UVA irradiation. In this architecture, titania was the photocatalytic active component and CaO and/or γ-Al2O3 provided NOx storage domains revealing dissimilar specific surface areas (SSA) and surface acidities. We show that photocatalyst formulation can be readily fine-tuned to achieve superior photocatalytic performance surpassing conventional P25 benchmark in short (1 h) and long term (12 h), as well as humidity-dependent photocatalytic tests. We demonstrate the delicate interplay between the surface acidity, SSA and humidity and provide detailed mechanistic insights regarding the origin of photocatalytic activity, selectivity and deactivation pathways.Item Open Access A highly active and stable Ru catalyst for syngas production via glycerol dry reforming: Unraveling the interplay between support material and the active sites(Elsevier, 2022-04-25) Ozden, M.; Say, Zafer; Kocak, Yusuf; Ercan, Kerem Emre; Jalal, Ahsan; Ozensoy, Emrah; Avci, A. K.Glycerol dry reforming (GDR) was studied on Ru/La2O3, Ru/ZrO2, and Ru/La2O3–ZrO2 catalysts. Impacts of the support on morphological, electronic and surface chemical properties of the catalysts were comprehensively characterized by TEM, in–situ DRIFTS, XPS, ATR–IR and XRD. Initial (5 h) CO2 conversion at 750 °C and CO2–to–glycerol ratio of 1–4 was ordered as Ru/La2O3 < Ru/ZrO2 < Ru/La2O3–ZrO2. During 72 h stability tests, Ru/ZrO2 deactivated by ~33% due to Ru sintering, structural deformation of the monoclinic zirconia support, and strong metal–support interaction. Under identical conditions, CO2 conversion on Ru/La2O3 decreased by 27% mainly due to dehydroxylation/carbonation of lanthana and severe coking. Lanthana–stabilized tetragonal zirconia phase of Ru/La2O3–ZrO2 led to finely dispersed small oxidic Ru clusters which deactivated by 15% after 72 h and demonstrated unusually high catalytic performance that was on par with the significantly more expensive Rh–based catalysts, which are known with their exceptional activity and stability in GDR.Item Open Access Influence of La and Si promoters on the anaerobic heterogeneous catalytic decomposition of ammonium dinitramide (ADN) via alumina supported iridium active sites(Elsevier, 2022-02-25) Kurt, Merve; Kap, Zeynep; Senol, Sinem; Ercan, Kerem Emre; Sika-Nartey, Abel Tetteh; Kocak, Yusuf; Koc, A.; Esiyok, H.; Caglayan, B. S.; Aksoylu, A. E.; Ozensoy, EmrahStructural origins of the promotional effects of the La or Si doping of alumina supported Ir catalysts in anaerobic ammonium dinitramide decomposition were investigated. Our findings reveal that Ir/Al2O3 and Ir/La-Al2O3 favorably lower the onset temperature of the ADN decomposition reaction, whereas Si doping boosts the pressure generation during the reaction. Formation of mostly metallic Ir nanoparticles for Ir/Al2O3 and Ir/La-Al2O3 enables the lowering of the activation energy of the reaction. On the other hand, enhancement due to Si promotion is associated to the generation of small oxidic Irnx+ clusters which are strongly interacting with the SiOx-AlOx surface domains of the support material. Fundamental structure-functionality relationships unraveled in the current work may allow design of novel catalytic systems for aerospace monopropellant propulsion systems with higher performance by simultaneous exploitation of Ir active sites with different electronic properties.Item Open Access N-O activation on precious metal-free metal oxide based NOx removal systems(Bilkent University, 2022-01) Ercan, Kerem EmreElevated operational costs of platinum group metal (PGM) based environmental catalytic systems shift the focus of catalysis research towards cost-effective materials. In search for PGM-free alternative catalytic materials for NOx removal, high catalytic performance and long catalyst lifetime emerge as two important technical challenges. Within the scope of this dissertation, novel B-site mixed perovskites LaCoxMn1-xO3 (x = 0.1-0.9) and Fe and/or Co based CeO2 catalysts were synthesized, investigated and optimized as high performance, PGM-free, and durable catalyst alternatives for NOx removal systems. The perovskite based catalytic architectures can be utilized as diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) oxidizing NO/CO to NO2/CO2, which can be coupled with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts to reduce NOx species to N2. On the other hand, Fe/Co based CeO2 systems can be exploited as catalyst candidates in SCR of NOx. In both of these NOx aftertreatment systems, NO activation is required. A simple and reproducible synthetic protocol was utilized to obtain perovskite-based DOC catalysts whose comprehensive structural characterization was carried out via XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, ICP-MS, TEM, H2-TPR, ex-situ and in-situ XANES, EXAFS, in-situ FTIR, XPS, and TPD techniques. The oxidative catalytic performance of the perovskites for CO and NO oxidation was determined in flow-mode catalytic activity tests. It was demonstrated that bulk-oxygen vacancies have a strong influence on the redox activity of the B-site mixed perovskites with the ABO3 structure (where A = La, B = Co, Mn) allowing them to efficiently switch between high and low oxidation states in a reversible fashion under relatively moderate redox conditions without requiring elevated temperatures for regeneration, unlike conventional LaMnO3 and LaCoO3-based simple perovskite systems. La1.01Co0.75Mn0.24O2.97 and La1.04Co0.65Mn0.31O2.97 were found to reveal the best NO and CO oxidation performances among the currently investigated perovskites (La1.01Co0.75Mn0.24O2.97, La1.04Co0.65Mn0.31O2.97, La0.97Co1.03O2.91, and La0.97Mn1.03O3.17), which were on par with a conventional precious-metal benchmark catalyst (i.e., 1 wt. % Pt/Al2O3). Influence of Fe and Co loading on monometallic (Fe or Co) or bimetallic (Fe- Co) catalysts with different CeO2 support materials were studied in SCR of NO to N2. The flow-mode NO reduction experiments point out that 4 wt. % Co/CeO2 is the best catalyst in the studied group of catalysts based on its high N2 selectivity at relatively low temperatures. Detailed structural characterization experiments conducted via XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, ATR-FTIR, Raman, and in-situ FTIR techniques indicate correlations between catalyst structure and SCR functionality. Our experimental findings indicate that 4 wt. % Co/CeO2 has relatively higher catalytic performance under excess H2(g) concentrations. The NO activation performance of both La1.01Co0.75Mn0.24O2.97 and La1.04Co0.65Mn0.31O2.97 B-site mixed perovskites and 4 wt. % Co/CeO2 were tested under significantly harsh conditions indicating their strong potential to be used not only in mobile applications but also in stationary NOx removal systems.Item Open Access Novel hybrid perovskite catalysts for DE-NOx applications(Bilkent University, 2015-09) Ercan, Kerem EmreThe main purpose of this study is to identify the nature of hybrid perovskites in the form of LaCoxMn1-xO3 (x=0.0-1.0) for catalytic De-NOx applications. Characteristic structure, thermal stability and NOx/SOx adsorption/release properties of perovskites were studied by XRD, BET, XPS, in-situ FTIR, ex-situ FTIR, TEM, BET, TPD and TPR. LaCo0.8Mn0.2 and LaCo0.7Mn0.3O3 were found to yield the highest NOx storage Capacity (NSC) among other investigated perovskites due to their optimized B-site composition. NOx and SOx adsorption experiments pointed out that B-site substitution did not have a significant alteration on adsorption geometries of corresponding adsorbates. NOx uptakes of the investigated perovskites were observed to be enhanced via H2 reduction as verified by IR results. Furthermore, N2 (28 a.m.u) release monitored by QMS during NOx TPD revealed direct N-O bond activation and complete reduction of NOx species under certain conditions. SOx adsorption and reduction experiments suggested that SOx reduction via H2 is more effective for Mn-enrich perovskites, since Co-enriched materials formed irreversible sulfate species. It was observed that adsorbed NOx species can be readily replaced by SOx species in the co-presence of NOx and SOx. It was also demonstrated that the oxygen-defect density and the surface oxygen concentration of hybrid perovskites can be modified by fine-tuning the substitution at the B-site. Based on ex-situ FTIR results, it was established that Co-O linkages could be gradually replaced with Mn-O linkages by increasing the Mn loading in the perovskite composition. Furthermore, specific surface areas (SSA) of hybrid perovskites were found to be enhanced by increasing the Mn loading. Current results suggest that hybrid perovskites are promising novel catalytic architectures for De-NOx applications due to their high NSC and versatile chemical structure which can be fine-tuned to enhance SOx tolerance, redox properties and thermal stability.Item Open Access Precious metal-Free LaMnO3 perovskite catalyst with an optimized nanostructure for aerobic C–H bond activation reactions: alkylarene oxidation and naphthol dimerization(American Chemical Society, 2021-02-03) Şahin, Yeşim; Sika-Nartey, Abel Tetteh; Ercan, Kerem Emre; Koçak, Yusuf; Senol, Sinem; Özensoy, Emrah; Türkmen, Yunus EmreIn this article, we describe the development of a new aerobic C–H oxidation methodology catalyzed by a precious metal-free LaMnO3 perovskite catalyst. Molecular oxygen is used as the sole oxidant in this approach, obviating the need for other expensive and/or environmentally hazardous stoichiometric oxidants. The electronic and structural properties of the LaMnO3 catalysts were systematically optimized, and a reductive pretreatment protocol was proved to be essential for acquiring the observed high catalytic activities. It is demonstrated that this newly developed method was extremely effective for the oxidation of alkylarenes to ketones as well as for the oxidative dimerization of 2-naphthol to 1,1-binaphthyl-2,2-diol (BINOL), a particularly important scaffold for asymmetric catalysis. Detailed spectroscopic and mechanistic studies provided valuable insights into the structural aspects of the active catalyst and the reaction mechanism.Item Open Access Two-dimensional bimetallic hydroxide nanostructures for catalyzing low-temperature aerobic C–H bond activation in alkylarene and alcohol partial oxidation(American Chemical Society, 2022-12-08) Sika-Nartey, Abel Tetteh; Sahin, Yesim; Ercan, Kerem Emre; Kap, Zeynep; Kocak, Yusuf; Erdali, Ayşe Dilay; Erdivan, Beyzanur; Türkmen, Yunus Emre; Ozensoy, EmrahTwo-dimensional (2D) bimetallic NixMn1–x(OH)y layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanostructures were synthesized and optimized as a remarkably active catalytic platform for low-temperature aerobic C–H bond activation in alkylarenes and partial oxidation of alcohols using a wide substrate (i.e., reactant) and diverse solvent scope. The NixMn1–x(OH)y structure consists of nonprecious and earth-abundant metals that can effectively operate at low catalyst loadings, requiring only molecular oxygen as the stoichiometric oxidant. Structurally diverse alkylarenes as well as primary and secondary alcohols were shown to be competent substrates where oxidation products were obtained in excellent yields (93–99%). Comprehensive catalyst structural characterization via XRD, ATR-IR, TEM, EDX, XPS, BET, and TGA indicated that the ultimately optimized Ni0.6Mn0.4(OH)y-9S catalyst possessed not only particular rotational faults in its β-Ni0.6Mn0.4(OH)y domains but also distinct α/β-Ni0.6Mn0.4(OH)y interstratification disorders, in addition to a relatively high specific surface area of 125 m2/g, a 2D platelet morphology, and an average Mn oxidation state of +3.5, suggesting the presence of both Mn3+ and Mn4+ species in its structure working in a synergistic fashion with the Ni2+/x+ cations (the latter is justified by the lack of catalytic activity in the monometallic LDH catalysts Ni(OH)2 and Mn(OH)2). Kinetic isotope effect studies carried out in the fluorene oxidation reaction (kH/kD = 5.7) revealed that the rate-determining step of the catalytic oxidation reaction directly involved the scission of a C–H bond. Moreover, the optimized catalyst was demonstrated to be reusable through the application of a regeneration protocol, which can redeem the full initial activity of the carbon-poisoned spent catalyst in the fluorene oxidation reaction.Item Open Access Unraveling molecular fingerprints of catalytic sulfur poisoning at the nanometer scale with near-field infrared spectroscopy(American Chemical Society, 2022-04-29) Say, Zafer; Kaya, Melike; Kaderoǧlu, Çağıl; Koçak, Yusuf; Ercan, Kerem Emre; Sika-Nartey, Abel Tetteh; Jalal, Ahsan; Türk, Ahmet Arda; Langhammer, Christoph; Jahangirzadeh Varjovi, Mirali; Durgun, Engin; Özensoy, EmrahFundamental understanding of catalytic deactivation phenomena such as sulfur poisoning occurring on metal/metal-oxide interfaces is essential for the development of high-performance heterogeneous catalysts with extended lifetimes. Unambiguous identification of catalytic poisoning species requires experimental methods simultaneously delivering accurate information regarding adsorption sites and adsorption geometries of adsorbates with nanometer-scale spatial resolution, as well as their detailed chemical structure and surface functional groups. However, to date, it has not been possible to study catalytic sulfur poisoning of metal/metal-oxide interfaces at the nanometer scale without sacrificing chemical definition. Here, we demonstrate that near-field nano-infrared spectroscopy can effectively identify the chemical nature, adsorption sites, and adsorption geometries of sulfur-based catalytic poisons on a Pd(nanodisk)/Al2O3 (thin-film) planar model catalyst surface at the nanometer scale. The current results reveal striking variations in the nature of sulfate species from one nanoparticle to another, vast alterations of sulfur poisoning on a single Pd nanoparticle as well as at the assortment of sulfate species at the active metal-metal-oxide support interfacial sites. These findings provide critical molecular-level insights crucial for the development of long-lifetime precious metal catalysts resistant toward deactivation by sulfur. ©