A method of making a multicomponent photocatalyst, includes inducing precipitation from a pre-cursor solution comprising a pre-cursor of a plasmonic material and a pre-cursor of a reactive component to form co-precipitated particles; collecting the co-precipitated particles; and annealing the co-precipitated particles to form the multicomponent photocatalyst comprising a reactive component optically, thermally, or electronically coupled to a plasmonic material.

The present invention relates in part to a method of fabricating multimetallic nanoparticles, the method comprising the steps of providing a substrate; activating the substrate surface; adsorbing a cationic transition metal complex onto the substrate surface to form a substrate-supported cationic transition metal complex; adsorbing an anionic transition metal complex onto the substrate-supported cationic transition metal complex to form a substrate-supported multimetallic complex salt; and reducing the substrate-supported multimetallic complex salt to provide a plurality of multimetallic nanoparticles. The invention also relates in part to a composition of multimetallic nanoparticles comprising at least two metals M.sub.a and M.sub.b; wherein the ratio of M.sub.a to M.sub.b is between about 2:1 and about 1:2.

This invention concerns a process for the production of vinyl esters of carboxylic acids with 3 to 20 carbon atoms, via vinylation in the presence of palladium (Pd) catalyst in combination with copper (Cu) as co-catalyst stabilized by organic salts in the presence of ethylene and air or oxygen.

In a first aspect, the present invention is directed to a process for forming a metal alloy catalyst. Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a process for oxidizing a substrate that includes contacting a substrate with an oxidant in the presence of a metal alloy catalyst to form one or more carboxylic acids. Suitable substrates include sugars, polyols, furfural alcohols, and polyhydroxycarboxylic acids. The oxidation process may use the alloy catalyst formed from the process of the first aspect of the invention.

A method of and apparatus for efficient on-demand production of H.sub.2 and O.sub.2 from water and heat using environmentally safe metals are disclosed. In one aspect, the apparatus for hydrogen generation through water-decomposition reaction includes a main reactor, an oxidizer reactor, and a computer-control system. The computer system is configured to control each of the components of the hydrogen gas production system for stable hydrogen-gas production.

The present invention relates to a method for producing 1-octanol comprising a contact step between ethanol, n-hexanol and two catalysts A and B, wherein catalyst A comprises a metal oxide comprising Ga and a noble metal and catalyst B comprises a metal oxide comprising Cu, Ni or any mixture thereof.

A system and process for producing macro length carbon nanotubes is disclosed. A carbonate electrolyte including transition metal powder is provided between a nickel alloy anode and a nickel alloy cathode contained in a cell. The carbonate electrolyte is heated to a molten state. An electrical current is applied to the nickel alloy anode, nickel alloy cathode, and the molten carbonate electrolyte disposed between the anode and cathode. The resulting carbon nanotube growth is collected from the cathode of the cell.

Methods and systems are provided for a diesel oxidation catalyst. In one example, the diesel oxidation catalyst comprises a washcoat with different catalytically active portions for reacting with one or more of carbon containing compounds and NO.sub.x. The diesel oxidation catalyst is located upstream of a particulate filter in an exhaust passage.

Disclosed is a direct synthesis method of nanostructured catalyst particles on surfaces of various supports. In the disclosed synthesis method of a catalyst structure having a plurality of nanostructured catalyst particles dispersed in a support by a one-step process using a high-temperature high-pressure closed reactor, the one-step process includes supplying the support and a catalyst source into the high-temperature high-pressure closed reactor; supplying an atmosphere forming gas of the reactor into the reactor; perfectly sealing the high-temperature high-pressure closed reactor and heating the reactor to produce the catalyst structure in the reactor under self-generated pressure and synthesis temperature conditions, the catalyst structure including the plurality of nanostructured catalyst particles dispersed in the support; removing internal gases of the reactor to allow the reactor to be in a high-temperature, atmospheric pressure state and supplying an inert gas into the reactor to remove unreacted materials and byproducts remaining in the reactor; and cooling the reactor to room temperature while supplying the inert gas to synthesize the catalyst structure.

The invention provides a one pot method for generating propylene oxide, the method having the steps of contacting propane with catalyst clusters no greater than 30 atoms in the presence of oxygen for a time sufficient to directly convert the propane to the propylene oxide. The invented method eliminates the generation of intermediate compounds or intermediate reaction steps.