We explore the properties of atoms confined to the interstitial regions within a carbon nanotube bundle. We find that He and Ne atoms are of ideal size for physisorption interactions, so that their binding energies are much greater there than on planar surfaces of any known material. Hence high density phases exist at even small vapor pressure. There can result extraordinary anisotropic liquids...

Detailed physisorption data from experiment for the H(2) molecule on low-index Cu surfaces challenge theory. Recently, density functional theory (DFT) has been developed to account for nonlocal correlation effects, including van der Waals (dispersion) forces. We show that the functional vdW-DF2 gives a potential-energy curve, potential-well energy levels and difference in lateral corrugation pr...

Mesoporous silica with worm-like pores of 9–10 nm in size were studied by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and high-resolution porosimetry, using nitrogen at 77 K and argon at 87 K. The pore sizes determined from SANS are in excellent agreement with those obtained from a recently developed non-local density functional theory (NLDFT) approach. Furthermore, the additional micropores in the m...

Al,Fe-pillared clay was synthesized from domestic clay from Bogovina according to a common procedure: grinding, sieving, Na exchange, pillaring, drying and calcination. Two synthesized samples differing only in calcining conditions were prepared. Phase composition and textural properties of the starting clay and synthesized pillared clays were characterized using X-ray diffraction and physisorp...

Nanoscale gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) is a promising nanomaterial with unique physicochemical properties that finds various applications ranging from biomedicine to catalysis. The preparation of highly porous Gd2O3 nanofoam greatly increases its surface area thereby boosting potential for functional use in such as water purification processes and catalytic applications. By using the combustion syn...

Thin films of crystalline and porous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have great potential in membranes, sensors, microelectronic chips. While the morphology crystallinity MOF can be evaluated using widely available techniques, characterizing their pore size, volume, specific surface area is challenging due to low amount material substrate effects. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PA...

Recently, we found a single crystal host, [M(II)2(bza)4(pyz)]n (bza and pyz = benzoate and pyrazine, M = Rh and Cu), which is suitable for the study of gas-containing structure through gas adsorption. They generated gas inclusion crystals by transition from a closed to an open phase through the process of smooth physisorption; guest gases are adsorbed into the generated narrow channels of the l...

We calculate the potential energy surfaces for graphene adsorbed on Cu(111), Ni(111), and Co(0001) using density functional theory and the random phase approximation (RPA). For these adsorption systems covalent and dispersive interactions are equally important and while commonly used approximations for exchange-correlation functionals give inadequate descriptions of either van der Waals or chem...

Carbon nanoparticles with large surface areas were produced by the reduction of carbon disulfide with metallic lithium at 500 °C. The carbon nanoparticles account for about 80% of the carbon product. The carbon nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microsc...