Ovadia Lev

Institute of Chemistry
Faculty of Science
The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
Tel: +972-2-6584191; Fax: +972-2-6586155
Email: Ovadia@vms.huji.ac.il

Advanced Material for Analytical and Environmental Chemistry

Our research concerns advanced materials for analytical and environmental chemistry. I shall describe here only one example of a research demonstrating the way nanomaterial are used in our laboratory.

Preparation of hydrogen peroxide rich materials:
Transition-element peroxoacids are frequently used as precursors for metal oxide film and particle formation. However, when it comes to the long term storage of hydrogen peroxide in solid state materials, the transition metals are much inferior compared to the more inert main group element matrices. Our laboratory is engaged in studies towards the preparation of hydrogen peroxide rich nontransition metal peroxyparticles.

Three properties of hydrogen peroxide are responsible for much of its contemporary popularity. Hydrogen peroxide is an environmentally friendly oxidant; it is relatively stable and can be stored for a long duration with minimal deterioration; and its activity can be regulated, i.e. activated or neutralized by peroxidase and catalase mimics. Main group peroxy-nanoparticles promise advantages for all three applications. They benefit from the relative inertness and lack of toxicity of hydrogen peroxide as well as most main group elements, the reaction and discharge of the peroxide is not diffusion limited due to the nanoparticles' dimension, and the stability and discharge can, in principle, be regulated by the addition of a transition metal or enzymatic moiety.

Our group synthesize different forms of inorganic and well as organic peroxide rich materials and devise methods to increase their stability in aqueous solutions. Hydrogen peroxide rich materials storing the peroxide in perhydrates, hydroperoxo- and peroxo- forms are synthesized and used.

Coating by the hydrogen peroxide route:
A generic method for conductive film coating of minerals and acid sensitive materials by antimony ? doped tin oxide was introduced. The coating was performed from hydrogen peroxide stabilized stannate and antimonate and related precursor solutions. This was the first demonstration of ATO coating from organic ligand-free solution. Uniform coating of different clays and other minerals by monosized, 5 nm ATO particles was demonstrated. The deposition mechanism and the observed preference for mineral surface coating over homogeneous agglomeration of the tin oxide particles are explained by hydrogen peroxide capping mechanism and hydrogen bonding of the hydroperoxo nanoparticles to the H2O2 activated mineral surfaces.

Post transition element oxide - graphene oxide composites and their application in lithium battery anodes:
Lithium intercalation batteries are currently the most successful energy storage medium with billions of rechargeable batteries serving the communication and electric vehicle industries. In fact, the largest piece of electronics in any portable device, be it a children toy or a sophisticated smart-phone is the battery. Reducing size and increasing power and power availability are of vital importance for future progress of portable devices. Composites of reduced graphene oxides and post-transition elements, their oxides and sulfides are useful anode materials in lithium batteries since the flexible graphene sheets can distribute and collect the charge very efficiently from the lithium intercalation sites. We have demonstrated that it is possible to coat graphene oxides by thin films of different peroxoelements from hydrogen peroxide rich aqueous solutions. Then, heat treatment can be used to produce the respective oxide nanoparticles, which at a further step can be further converted to the oxides or to the respective elements by reaction with the graphene supports. Sulfurization of the peroxo elements followed by heat treatment can be used to convert the materials to the respective sulfides.

The strategy is demonstrated by the transformations of peroxoantimonate nanoparticles. First a graphene oxide (GO) supported amorphous hydroperoxoantimonate is produced. Then several pathways exist: A) Gentle heat treatment yields graphene oxide supported antimony oxide. B) Heat treatment of the peroxoantimonate in vacuum or in argon to higher temperature yields trigonal Sb(0). C) Sulfurization of the peroxoantimonate coated graphene oxide yields after heat treatment stibnite supported reduced graphene oxide.

Specific research topics related to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology:

• Perhydrates, hydroperoxo- and peroxo-post transition elements.
• Development of diagnostic tools for coupled electrochemistry ? mass spectrometry techniques.
• Development of generic method for coating of ATO and other non-transition metal oxides and mixed oxides on different substrates and their applications.

List of publications in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (2009-2012)

• Y. Wolanov, O. Lev, A.V. Churakov, A.G. Medvedev, V.M. Novotortsev, P.V. Prikhodchenko, Preparation of pure hydrogen peroxide and anhydrous peroxide solutions from crystalline serine perhydrate, Tetrahedron, 66, 5130-5133 (2010)
• A.V. Churakov, S. Sladkevich, O. Lev, T.A. Tripol?skaya, P.V. Prikhodchenko, Cesium Hydroperoxostannate: First complete structural characterization of a homoleptic hydroperoxocomplex, Inorganic Chemistry, 49 4762-4 (2010)
• G. Gasser, M. Rona, A. Voloshenko, R.Shelkov, N. Tal, I. Pankratov, S. Elhanany, O. Lev Quantitative evaluation of tracers for quantification of wastewater contamination of potable water sources, Environmental Science and Technology, 44, 3919-3925 (2010)
• S. Sladkevich,,A. Mikhaylov,P.V. Prikhodchenko,T.A. Tripol?skaya, O.Lev Antimony Dope Tin Oxide (ATO) nanoparticle formation from H2O2 solutions: a new generic film coating from basic solutions, Inorganic Chemistry, 49, 9110-9112 (2010)
• J. Gun, S. Bharathi, V. Gutkin, D. Rizkov, A. Voloshenko, R. Shelkov, S. Sladkevich, N. Kyi, M. Rona, Y. Wolanov, D., M. Koch, S. Mizrahi, P. V Pridkhochenko, A. Modestov, O. Lev, Highlights in coupled electrochemical flow cell - mass spectrometry, EC/MS, Israel J. of Chemistry, 50, 360-373 (2010)
• O. Lev, O and D. Mandler, Exciting New directions in electrochemistry: Honoring 2008 Wolf prize recipient Allen J. Bard , Israel Journal of Chemistry, 50, 249-251 (2010)
• D. Rizkov, S. Mizrahi, S. Cohen and O. Lev ??-amino alcohol selectors for enantioselective separation of amino acids by ligand exchange capillary zone electrophoresis in a low molecular weight organogel, Electrophoresis, 31, 3921?3927 (2010)
• A Churakov, P. Prikhodchenko, O. Lev, A. Medvedev, T. Tripol'skaya, and M. Vener, A model proton-transfer system in condensed phase: NH4+OOH- crystal with short intermolecular H-bonds, Journal of Physical Chemistry, 50, 360-373 (2010)
• Voloshenko, J. Gun and O. Lev, GC determination of N-nitrosamines by supersonic molecular beam MS equipped with triple quadrupole analyzer, GC/SMB/QQQ/MS , Analytica Chimica Acta, 685, 162-169 (2011)
• P V. Prikhodchenko, AG. Medvedev, TA. Tripol'skaya, AV. Churakov, Y Wolanov, JAK. Howard and Olev, Crystal structures of natural amino acid perhydrates, CrystEngComm, 13, 2399-2407 (2011)
• G. Gasser, M. Rona, A. Voloshenko, R. Shelkov, O. Lev, S. Elhanany, F. T. Lange, M. Scheurer, and I. Pankratov Evaluation of micropollutant tracers. II. Carbamazepine tracer for wastewater contamination from a nearby water recharge system and from non-specific sources, Desalination, 273, 398?404 (2011)
• Gun, Jenny; Gutkin, Vitaly; Boyen, Hans-Gerd; Saitner, Marc; Wagner, Patrick; D'Olieslaeger, Marc; Abouzar, Maryam; Poghossian, A.; Schoening,Michael, Tracing Gold Nanoparticle Charge by Electrolyte-Insulator-Semiconductor Devices, J. Physical Chemistry C 115, 4439?4445 (2011)
• V. Gitis, C. Dlugy, J. Gun, O. Lev, Studies of inactivation, retardation and accumulation of viruses in porous media by a combination of dye labeled and native bacteriophage probes, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 124, 43?49 (2011)
• Scheurer, M. R?diger F. Graf, C. Brauch, H-G. Ruck, W. Lev O.and Lange, F-T. Correlation of six anthropogenic markers in wastewater, surface water, bank filtrate, and soil aquifer treatment J. Environmental Monitoring 13, 966 ? 973, (2011)
• S. Sladkevich, N. Kyi, J. Gun, P. Prikhodchenko, S. Ischuk, O. Lev. Antimony doped tin oxide coating of muscovite clays by the Pechini route, Thin solid Films, 520, 152-158, 2011
• Hitrik M. Gutkin, V. Lev* O and Mandler,D. Preparation and Characterization of Mono and Multilayer Films of Polymerizable 1,2 Polybutadiene Using the Langmuir?Blodgett Technique, Langmuir, 27 11889-11898, 2011
• Gitis, V, Dlugy, C, Ziskind, G, Sladkevich, S, Lev, O, Fluorescent clays-Similar transfer with sensitive detection , Chem. Engineering J. 174, 482-488, 2011
• Vener, MV, Medvedev, AG, Churakov, AV, Prikhodchenko, PV, Tripol'skaya, TA, Lev, O, 3H-Bond Network in Amino Acid Cocrystals with H2O or H2O2. The DFT Study of Serine-H2O and Serine-H2O2, Phys. Chem. A 115, 13657-13663, 2011
• Mikhaylov, AA, Mel'nik, EA, Churakov, AV, Novotortsev, VM, Howard, JAK, Sladkevich, S, Gun, J, Bharathi, S, Lev, O, Prikhodchenko, PV, Synthesis, crystal structure and characterization of alkali metal hydroxoantimonates, Inorganica Chimica Acta, 378, 24-29, 2011
• Medvedev, AG, Mikhaylov, AA, Churakov, AV, Prikhodchenko, PV, Lev, O , Ammonium and caesium carbonate peroxosolvates: supramolecular networks formed by hydrogen bonds, Acta Crystalographica Section C-Crystal Structure Commun. 68I20-I24, 2012
• Gasser, G, Pankratov, I, Elhanany, S, Werner, P, Gun, J, Gelman, F, Lev, O , Field and laboratory studies of the fate and enantiomeric enrichment of venlafaxine and O-desmethylvenlafaxine under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, Chemosphere 88, 98-105 2012
• Gun, J, Kulkarni, SA., Xiu, W. Batabyal, SK. Prikhodchenko, PV, Gutkin, V, Lev, O Graphene oxide organogel electrolyte for quasi solid dye sensitized solar cells, Electrochemistry Communications 19, 108-110, 2012
• Sladkevicha,S. Gun, J Prikhodchenkob, PV, Gutkin, V, Mikhaylovb, AA, Medvedev, SG Tripol?skaya, TA, Lev, O The formation of a peroxoantimonate thin film coating on graphene oxide (GO) and the influence of the GO on its transformation to antimony oxides and elemental antimony, Carbon, DOI information: 10.1016/j.carbon.2012.07.033

• O. Lev and S. Sampath, Sol-gel Electrochemistry, in Electroanalytical Chemistry, A.J. Bard, C.G. Zoski (Eds.) Volume 23, pp, 301-390 (2010)

Three most significant publications in the last five years:

• P V. Prikhodchenko, AG. Medvedev, TA. Tripol'skaya, AV. Churakov, Y Wolanov, JAK. Howard and O Lev, Crystal structures of natural amino acid perhydrates, CrystEngComm, 13, 2399-2407 (2011)
• S. Sladkevich,,A. Mikhaylov,P.V. Prikhodchenko,T.A. Tripol'skaya, O.Lev Antimony Dope Tin Oxide (ATO) nanoparticle formation from H2O2 solutions: a new generic film coating from basic solutions, Inorganic Chemistry, 49, 9110-9112 (2010)
• A.V. Churakov, S. Sladkevich, O. Lev, T.A. Tripol'skaya, P.V. Prikhodchenko, Cesium Hydroperoxostannate: First complete structural characterization of a homoleptic hydroperoxocomplex, Inorganic Chemistry, 49 4762-4 (2010)

Cooperation with industries and defense projects (2008-2011):

• 2010- Mafeat Project for the IDF.
• 2010 ?Collaboration with the National Water Authority
• 2010- Collaboration with the Trade Ministry

Distinctions and awards:

• 2008-: Fellow of the international Society of Electrochemistry
• 2011: Visiting Professor, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Students, postdocs and researchers (include those graduated in 2009-2010):

Staff scientist: Dr. Rimma Shelkov.
Post Docs: Dr. Rizkov, A. Jabareen, A. Mikhaylov, AG. Medvedev
Ph.D. students:Guy Gasser, Michael Rona, Sergey Sladkevich, Yitzik Wolanov, Maria Hitrik (with D. Mandler), Anna Voloshenko
M.Sc. Students: Roe Elkayam, Shifra Yemmer.

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