@article { ISI:000341405600003,
	title = {Ambient oxidation of benzene to phenol by photocatalysis on Au/Ti0.98V0.02O2: role of holes},
	journal = {ACS Catalysis},
	volume = {4},
	number = {9},
	year = {2014},
	month = {SEP},
	pages = {2844-2853},
	publisher = {AMER CHEMICAL SOC},
	type = {Article},
	address = {1155 16TH ST, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036 USA},
	abstract = {<p>A potential photocatalyst with 2 atom \% vanadium incorporated into the 1 lattice of disordered mesoporous titania, Ti0.98V0.02O2, (TV2) was synthesized. Au was deposited on TV2 (Au/TV2) through a photodeposition method. Structural, microscopy, and spectroscopy techniques support the incorporation of vanadium into the TiO2 lattice, and Au was deposited on the surfaces of TV2. Photocatalytic oxidation of benzene was conducted at ambient temperature under UV and/or visible light to demonstrate the catalytic activity of the Au/TV2 catalyst. The TV2 lattice exhibits a quantum jump in benzene to phenol oxidation compared to that of TiO2, highlighting the importance of V for oxidation. Introduction of Au onto TV2 further increases the benzene to phenol oxidation and phenol yield by a factor of 2 under UV light compared to those of bare TV2. No significant phenol production was observed in visible light with or without gold, indicating the role of gold is indirect toward charge separation and electron storage. Nano gold clusters on TV2 selectively store photoexcited electrons and in turn maximize holes utilization on TiO2. The high photocatalytic activity of Au/TV2 is mainly attributed to the presence of Schottky junctions, disordered mesoporosity, and short diffusion lengths for charge carriers.</p>},
	keywords = {nano gold, phenol, Photocatalysis, Schottky junction, titania, Vanadium},
	issn = {2155-5435},
	doi = {10.1021/cs500724z},
	author = {Devaraji, Perumal and Sathu, Naveen K. and Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.}
}
@article {42855,
	title = {Green leaf to inorganic leaf: a case study of ZnO},
	journal = {Journal of Nanoscienceand Nanotechnology},
	volume = {16},
	year = {2016},
	month = {SEP},
	pages = {9203-9208},
	abstract = {<p>Can we use green leaves, available freely in our gardens, as a template for making inorganic leaf, while retaining the nanospace available within the leaf architecture. The answer is {\textquoteright}yes{\textquoteright}, and it is demonstrated with inorganic leaf made up of ZnO, by intercalating Zn2+ ions into the porous channels of the champa (Plumeria, Magnolia champaca) tree leaves. TEM studies reveal a variety of macro-micro-nanospace available in the inorganic leaf ZnO (IL-ZnO), and suggest the possibility of exploiting the same to produce natural nano-architecture for various applications. A speciality of the present work is the maximum suppression of defects in photoluminescence of IL-ZnO leaf, compared to the commercial ZnO, which is exploited for light harvesting through chemical conversion. Benzene to phenol conversion was studied in UV light and IL-ZnO show significant conversion and yield demonstrating C-H activation at ambient temperature.</p>},
	doi = {10.1166/jnn.2016.12912},
	author = {Sathu, Naveen K. and Devaraji, Perumal and Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.}
}
