A series of cobalt ferrite thin films was prepared via pulsed spray evaporation chemical vapour deposition (PSE-CVD). The samples were comprehensively characterised in terms of structure, surface, morphology, and optical and redox properties. Both X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman analysis show that all samples exhibited an inverse spinel structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicate that the films were mainly composed of Co, Fe and O species, and an increase in the Co : Fe ratio with Fe substitution by Co was observed. Helium ion microscopy (HIM) images show the film morphology to be dependent on the Co : Fe ratio. The investigation of the optical property using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy reveals that the increase in the Co content results in an increase in the band gap energy. In situ emission FTIR spectroscopy was used to evaluate the redox properties of the samples, and a shift of the redox temperature to higher values was observed upon increase in the Co content. The effect of Fe substitution by Co in the mixed oxide systems on their catalytic performance for CO oxidation was investigated. Co–Fe oxides exhibit substantially better catalytic performance than the single α-Fe₂O₃. The catalytic performance of the Co–Fe oxides towards CO oxidation was discussed with respect to the participation of surface and lattice oxygen in the oxidation process. According to XPS and temperature-programmed reduction/oxidation (TPR/TPO) results, a suprafacial mechanism where CO molecules react with surface-adsorbed oxygen functions to form CO₂ was proposed as the dominant mechanism.

Nanomaterials are present everywhere today and represent the new industrial revolution. Depending on the application, there are many ways to synthesize nanomaterials with different properties. The industrial production of nanomaterials faces various challenges at different stages, going from conception and design to implementation and scaling-up of the production process, which can limit the growth of practical application at a large-scale scope, such as due to the lack of reproducibility, safety, and environmental impact. Here, we discuss current advances achieved for nanomaterial production at a large scale, encompassing a range of synthetic strategies and post-treatment modifications used to enhance the nanomaterials’ performance. A particular interest is devoted to highlighting the progress of MoS₂ nanomaterials’ application. Thus, overcoming those discussed challenges becomes a new prospect for the future perspectives of industrial nanomaterials and nanotechnologies.

The conversion of CH₄ and CO₂ to syngas using low-cost nickel catalysts has attracted considerable interest in the clean energy and environment field. Nickel nanoparticles catalysts suffer from serious deactivation due mainly to carbon deposition. Here, we report a facile synthesis of Ni single-atom and nanoparticle catalysts dispersed on hydroxyapatite (HAP) support using the strong electrostatic adsorption (SEA) method. Ni single-atom catalysts exhibit excellent resistance to carbon deposition and high atom efficiency with the highest reaction rate of 1186.2 and 816.5 mol.g_Ni⁻¹.h⁻¹ for CO₂ and CH₄, respectively. Although Ni single-atom catalysts aggregate quickly to large particles, the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-assisted synthesis exhibited a significant improvement of Ni single-atom stability. Characterizations of spent catalysts revealed that carbon deposition is more favorable over nickel nanoparticles. Interestingly, it was found that, separately, CH₄ decomposition on nickel nanoparticle catalysts and subsequent gasification of deposit carbon with CO₂ resulted in CO generation, which indicates that carbon is reacting as an intermediate species during reaction. Accordingly, the approach used in this work for the design and control of Ni single-atom and nanoparticles-based catalysts, for dry reforming of methane (DRM), paves the way towards the development of stable noble metals-free catalysts.