Recent advances in electrocatalysts for seawater splitting in hydrogen evolution reaction

Electrocatalytic water splitting is an important method to produce green and renewable hydrogen (H₂). One of the hindrances for wide applications of electrocatalysis in H₂ production is the lack of freshwater resources. Comparatively, seawater splitting has become an effective approach for large-scale H₂ production due to its abundant reserves. However, the increased complexity of seawater content emerged more problems in electrocatalytic seawater splitting. Recently, various strategies have been reported on improving the performance of electrocatalysts applied in seawater. Herein, this review firstly analyzed the mechanisms and challenges of electrocatalytic seawater splitting to evolve H₂, and summarized the recent progress on H₂ production in electrocatalytic seawater splitting. Furthermore, suggestions for future work have been provided for guidance.     

Mechanical properties of graphene films enhanced by homo-telechelic functionalized polymer fillers via π–π stacking interactions

Most researches on graphene/polymer composites are focusing on improving the mechanical and electrical properties of polymers at low graphene content instead of paying attention to constructing graphene’s macroscopic structures. In current study the homo-telechelic functionalized polyethylene glycols (FPEGs) were tailored with π-orbital-rich groups (namely phenyl, pyrene and di-pyrene) via esterification reactions, which enhanced the interaction between polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules and chemical reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets. The π–π stacking interactions between graphene sheets and π-orbital-rich groups endowed the composite films with enhanced tensile strength and tunable electrical conductivity. The formation of graphene network structure mediated by the FPEGs fillers via π–π stacking non-covalent interactions should account for the experimental results. The experimental investigations were also complemented with theoretical calculation using a density functional theory. Atomic force microscope (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to monitor the step-wise preparation of graphene composite films.     

Mg/Fe-LDHO/PES复合膜吸附材料的制备与除氟性能

以层状氢氧化镁铁的焙烧产物(Mg/Fe-LDHO)和聚醚砜(PES)为原料,采用共混法制备了Mg/Fe-LDHO/PES复合膜吸附材料,并研究了其对水中氟离子的吸附性能,考察了初始pH值、初始F-浓度、吸附温度、吸附时间以及共存阴离子等因素对吸附效果的影响。结果表明:在25℃条件下,该复合膜饱和吸附容量为12.34mg/g,能在pH=4~10范围内保持稳定的吸附性能,吸附速率较高,前5min内即可达到平衡吸附容量的75%;低温有利于提高复合膜的吸附性能,吸附过程符合准二级动力学模型。通过傅里叶变换红外光谱仪(FT-IR)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对复合膜的形貌及结构进行了表征,采用电位滴定法测得复合膜的零电位点pH值(pHpzc)为9.4。     

异噻唑啉酮衍生物近10年的制备和应用研究进展

异噻唑啉酮衍生物是一种新型的杀菌防腐剂,因其杀菌防腐效果良好且无污染而被应用于防污涂料、工业用水、皮革、医药、化妆、造纸等领域。简单概述了异噻唑啉酮衍生物的杀菌机理和环境影响因素,重点概述了异噻唑啉酮衍生物近10年的制备和在各个领域的应用以及杀菌效果的研究进展。     

含辣素衍生结构单体及其聚合物的合成、抑菌与抑藻性能

以取代芳烃和N-羟甲基丙烯酰胺为原料,采用傅克烷基化反应合成了四种含辣素衍生结构单体:4-羟基-2-甲基-5-甲硫基苄基丙烯酰胺(A)、2-羟基-4-丙烯酰胺甲基-5-甲硫基-6-甲基苄基丙烯酰胺(B)、3-丙烯酰胺甲基-2-羟基苯甲酰胺(C)和1-丙烯酰胺甲基-2-萘酚(D),并通过红外光谱(IR)和核磁氢谱(1 H NMR)对其结构进行了表征。抑菌实验结果表明化合物D对两种受试菌(金黄色葡萄球菌和大肠杆菌)的抑制活性最高,最小抑菌浓度均可达到0.187 5mg/mL,且D对两种受试藻(三角褐指藻和新月菱形藻)的抑制活性也最高。以四种化合物为功能单体合成出树脂,树脂对受试藻均具有较高的抑制活性,含化合物D的树脂的抑制活性最高,72h后抑制率均可达到50%以上。     

Simultaneous degradation of RhB and reduction of Cr(VI) by MIL-53(Fe)/Polyaniline (PANI) with the mediation of organic acid

MIL-53(Fe)/polyaniline (PANI) composite was prepared by in situ depositing PANI on the surface of MIL-53(Fe) and their catalytic performances on the simultaneous removal of RhB and Cr(VI) were investigated. The elimination efficiency of both RhB and Cr(VI) reached more than 98% under pH=2 where hydrochloric acid and citric acid were used to adjust the pH. The results indicated that MIL-53(Fe)/PANI revealed an obvious pH response to the degradation of RhB, while citric acid promoted the Cr(VI) photoreduction. UV-Vis spectra, EIS, and photocurrent response experiments showed that MIL-53(Fe)/PANI had a better light response and carrier migration ability than MIL-53(Fe). The transient absorption spectra also exhibited that the lifetimes of photo-generated carriers were prolonged after the conductive polymer deposition on the MIL-53(Fe) surface. Scavenger experiments demonstrated that the main active species were ·O₂^- and OH. Combined with activity evaluation results, and the possible photocatalytic mechanism of MIL-53(Fe)/PANI on RhB oxidation and Cr(VI) reduction was proposed. The addition of conductive polymer can effectively improve the light response of the catalyst under acidic conditions, and meanwhile citric acid also provided a new mediation for the synergistic degradation of multiple pollutants. Good activity and stability of the catalysts made the scale-up purification of acid water feasible under UV-Vis light.     

2-叔丁基对甲基酚酰胺衍生物的合成及其抑菌和防污性能的研究

通过Friedel-Crafts反应合成了N-(5-甲基-3-叔丁基-2-羟基苄基)丙烯酰胺(MBHBA)和N-(5-甲基-3-叔丁基-2-羟基苄基)苯甲酰胺(MBHBB),并通过红外光谱(FT-IR)和核磁波谱(1HNMR)对其结构进行了表征。对比了MBHBA和MBHBB的抑菌性能和防污性能,结果显示2种化合物均有良好的抑制金黄色葡萄球菌和大肠杆菌的性能,且MBHBA的最小抑菌浓度可达0.125 mg/mL;以MBHBA和MBHBB为防污剂制备海洋防污涂料,60 d的实海挂板仍无明显的污损生物附着。     

Influences of the three‐phase boundary on the electrochemical corrosion characteristics of carbon steel under droplets

The potential/current distributions of carbon steel were investigated under 0.001 M sodium chloride droplets of various sizes using a wire beam electrode. During the corrosion process, carbon steel exhibited heterogeneous electrochemical characteristics with the major anodes located near the edge of the droplets. The three‐phase boundary (TPB) plays a vital role in determining the electrochemical distribution and the corrosion degree of carbon steel. With the increase of droplet size, the average anodic current density and the corrosion degree decreased, which is believed to be due to the decrease of the TPB length per unit area.     

Effects of thin film processing on pentacene/C60 bilayer solar cell performance

Solar cells based on pentacene/C₆₀ bilayer heterojunctions have been fabricated with a structure of ITO/poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/pentacene (40 nm)/fullerene (C₆₀)(40 nm)/2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP) (10 nm)/Al. The effect of pentacene crystalline domain size on performance was investigated by controlling the pentacene deposition rate. The devices show improved light-to-electricity conversion efficiencies from 0.49% to 1.12% under an AM 1.5 solar simulator (100 mW/cm²), when the pentacene evaporation rate is in a range of 5 Å/s–0.5 Å/s. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements show that the pentacene films deposited by a slow evaporation rate have larger crystalline domains and a fewer amorphous domains, compared to films obtained by faster evaporation rates. Upon thermal annealing at 200 °C for 1 min, there is merging of pentacene crystalline domains. These changes in film morphology impact the charge separation at the donor/acceptor interface and the hole and electron mobilities, and hence, directly affect the device performance.