Contents:Introduction: Nano- (and micro-)materials and human wellbeing; 1 Coating antibacterial nanoparticles on textiles: Towards the future hospital in which all textiles will be antibacterial; 1.1 Introduction: Application of nanotechnology for "smart" textiles; 1.2 Sonochemical method for the synthesis of nanostructured materials and their adherence to solid substrates; 1.3 Ultrasound assisted deposition of metal nano-oxides on textiles and their antibacterial properties; 1.3.1 Synthesis and deposition of CuO nanoparticles
1.3.2 Finishing of textiles with crystalline TiO2 nanoparticles via a one-step process1.3.3 Synthesis and deposition of ZnO; 1.3.4 Enzymatic pretreatment as a means of enhancing antibacterial activity and stability of ZnO nanoparticles sonochemically coated on cotton fabrics; 1.3.5 Size dependence of the antibacterial activity of ZnO NPs; 1.4 Conclusion; Bibliography; 2 Automated solutions for high-throughput experimentation in heterogeneous catalyst research; 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 The preparation of solid catalysts; 2.3 Automation challenges examples
2.3.1 Integration of commercially available devices2.4 A fully-automated solution; 2.4.1 SOPHAS-CAT HT; 2.4.2 The loading; 2.4.3 The synthesizer; 2.4.4 Extrudate preparation; 2.4.5 Impregnation and drying; 2.4.6 Calcination; 2.4.7 Scraping and pelletizing; 2.4.8 Grinding; 2.4.9 Sieving; 2.5 Conclusion; Bibliography; 3 Insights from XPS on nanosized inorganic materials; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 XPS in the nanodomain; 3.3 Conclusions; Bibliography; 4 Single crystal and powder XRD techniques: An overview; 4.1 The single crystal XRD technique; 4.1.1 Basics of the radiation-matter interaction
4.1.2 Basics of crystallography and X-ray diffraction by crystal4.1.3 Solving the phase problem by direct methods; 4.2 The powder XRD technique; 4.2.1 Indexation; 4.2.2 Space group determination; 4.2.3 Profile decomposition and intensity extraction; 4.2.4 Structure solution; 4.2.5 Rietveld refinement; 4.2.6 Examples; 4.3 Conclusions; Bibliography; 5 Structural and electronic characterization of nanosized inorganic materials by X-ray absorption spectroscopies; 5.1 Introduction; 5.2 XAS spectroscopy: Basic background; 5.2.1 Theoretical background of XAS spectroscopy; 5.2.2 The XANES region
5.2.3 The EXAFS region5.2.4 Advantages and drawbacks of the technique; 5.3 CuCl2/Al2O3-based catalysts for ethylene oxychlorination; 5.3.1 Industrial relevance of the CuCl2/Al2O3 system; 5.3.2 Preliminary in situ XAFS experiments; 5.3.2.1 The determination of the Cu-aluminate phase: How to avoid possible pitfalls in the EXAFS data analysis; 5.3.2.2 Catalyst reactivity with the separate reactants: In situ XAFS experiments; 5.3.3 Operando experiments and criteria used to face the presence of more than one phase in the sample
5.4 Structural and electronic configuration of Cp2Cr molecules encapsulated in PS and Na-Y zeolite and their reactivity towards CO