Construction of heterostructures with well-defined size, dimension, surface and interface is an effective approach to develop enhanced and unprecedented functionality. A case in point lies in the enhanced room-temperature HCHO oxidation for indoor air purification over the core-shell α-MnO2@Layered-MnO2 heteroepitaxy. DFT simulations clearly show that α-MnO2 {100} surface facilitates adsorption and activation of O2, and the exposed layered-MnO2 {001} surface is beneficial to desorption of resultant H2O. The present study provides a rational design of manganese oxide-based catalysts for advanced environmental and energy applications, which is now accepted for publication in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental. (Oriented Growth of Layered-MnO2 Nanosheets over α-MnO2 Nanotubes for Enhanced Room-temperature HCHO Oxidation, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2017.01.083).

A good start of 2017!

Reporter: Wei Xiao