Ordered mesoporous γ-alumina (OMA), Ce-doped, Zr-doped and Ce–Zr-codoped OMA samples were synthesized in a sol–gel system with P123 as the soft template, both salicylic acid and citric acid as the assistant templates. The results show that the incorporations of either cerium or zirconium or both are able to improve the thermal stability of OMA. The capability to preserve the structural ordering and suppress the phase transition from γ-Al2O3 to α-Al2O3 at high temperature observed on the doped OMA is due to the formation of CeO2, ZrO2 or CexZr1−xO2 phase, which is capable of protecting OMA from the structural collapse by sintering and phase transition.

CdS-OH/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) hybrid nanofibers with strong photoluminescence and photocatalytic hydrogen production efficiency were synthesized by one-step co-electrospinning for the first time. The suspension of CdS-OH nanoparticles (size: 5 nm) in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) was mixed with PAN/DMF solutions to make spinning solutions, followed by electrospinning to make CdS-OH/PAN hybrid nanofibers. Their morphology and structure were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and fluorescence spectrophotometer. TEM and XRD measurements proved that the crystallographic structure of CdS-OH nanoparticles is identical to that of CdS. The CdS-OH nanoparticles were evenly distributed in PAN nanofibers of 320 nm in diameter. Thermogravimetrical analysis demonstrated that hybrid nanofibers were more thermally stable than neat PAN nanofibers. The hybrid nanofibers displayed excellent photoluminescent property. Additionally, they showed good photocatalytic hydrogen production efficiency with a rate of 13.5 μmol/h g fiber containing 60 mg of CdS-OH nanoparticles.

A photocatalyst Sr0.4H1.2Nb2O6·H2O (HSN) nanopolyhedra with high surface area has been successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by XRD, BET, SEM, TEM and XPS. The electronic structure of HSN determined by DFT calculations and electrochemical measurement revealed that HSN is an indirect-bandgap and n-type semiconductor, respectively. HSN samples showed high photocatalytic activities for both pure water splitting and the decomposition of benzene. The rate of H2 evolution over HSN was 15 times higher than that of P25 and the conversion ratio of benzene exceeded twice that of P25. The photocatalytic activities for water splitting can be greatly improved by loading various co-catalysts on HSN, such as Au, Pt, and Pd. The photocatalytic mechanisms were proposed based on the band structure and characterization results of the photocatalyst.

A series of C/SiC composites was successfully synthesized via the carbothermal reduction of carbonaceous silicon xerogel, which was prepared from the sol gel method by using tetraethoxysilane TEOS and saccharose as the raw materials The obtained samples were characterized by X ray powder diffraction XRD and N2 physical adsorption The specific surface areas of the as prepared C/SiC composites varied from 329 to 849 m2/g The average pore diameters and the total pore volumes were in the range of 4.5–7.6 nm and 0.53–1.12 cm3/g, respectively The as prepared C/SiC composites were proved to be effective supports for Ru catalysts for ammonia synthesis At 435 °C, 10.0 MPa and a N2/H2 (1/3) flow rate of 10 000 h−1, the optimum activity of 15.9% ammonia in the effluent was reached when C/SiC-5 (C/TEOS molar ratio = 5) was used as the catalyst support.The catalytic activity of the C/SiC-supported Ru catalysts exceeds that of the traditional Fe-based catalyst (ICI-74-1) at lower temperatures. At 435 °C, 10.0 MPa and a N2/H2 (1/3) flow rate of 10 000 h−1, the optimum activity of 15.9% ammonia in the effluent can be reached when C/SiC-5 (C/TEOS molar ratio = 5) was used as the catalyst support, with the potassium promoter loaded to 16 wt%.

Ordered mesoporous γ-alumina (OMA), Ce-doped, Zr-doped and Ce–Zr-codoped OMA samples were synthesized in a sol–gel system with P123 as the soft template, both salicylic acid and citric acid as the assistant templates. The results show that the incorporations of either cerium or zirconium or both are able to improve the thermal stability of OMA. The capability to preserve the structural ordering and suppress the phase transition from γ-Al2O3 to α-Al2O3 at high temperature observed on the doped OMA is due to the formation of CeO2, ZrO2 or CexZr1−xO2 phase, which is capable of protecting OMA from the structural collapse by sintering and phase transition.