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.     

Ni-Foam Structured Ni-Phyllosilicate Ensemble as an Efficient Monolithic Catalyst for CO2 Methanation

This work proposed a new path to synthesize Ni-phyllosilicate through the reaction of nickel hydroxide and silica sol on the surface of Ni-foam to form the monolithic Ni-phyllosilicate/Ni-foam catalyst. Ni-phyllosilicate could reprint the morphology of nickel hydroxid and firmly anchor on the framework of Ni-foam, which obtained fine Ni particles of 2.8 nm after reduction in H₂ at 650 °C, resulting in high catalytic activity for CO₂ methanation. In addition, the Ni-phyllosilicate/Ni-foam catalyst showed high long-term stability in a 100 h-lifetime test owing to the combined effects of surface confinement of Ni-phyllosilicate, firm anchoring between Ni-phyllosilicate and Ni-foam, as well as the high heat transfer property of Ni-foam.

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Ethanol dehydration on silica-aluminas: Active sites and ethylene/diethyl ether selectivities

Commercial silica-alumina catalysts prepared by different procedures have been characterized. Both present strong Lewis acidity together with Brønsted sites able to protonate pyridine. No evidence of “zeolitic” bridging OH's but significant heterogeneity of terminal silanol groups, part of which are likely “pseudobridging”, was found. Similar high activity in ethanol conversion but markedly different selectivities to ethylene and diethyl ether were found. They are less active than both zeolites and γ-Al₂O₃. Lewis sites with alumina-like acidobasic neighbor are more selective for ethylene production while Lewis sites with silica-like covalent neighbor are more selective for diethyl ether.     

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.     

A novel utilized method of tar derived from biomass gasification for fabricating binder-free all-solid-state hybrid supercapacitors

As an industrial pollutant, tar derived from biomass gasification is used as the precursor for fabricating a novel carbon-metal hydroxides composite electrode. A slurry (the mixture of tar, KOH and melamine) is daubed uniformly onto the nickel foam, which is directly carbonized to form NPC@LDH electrode material. This electrode is further coated with NiCo-LDH nanosheets using an electrodeposition method to form NF@NPC@LDH. The newly made NF@NPC@LDH electrode exhibits a high specific capacity of 9.6 F cm⁻² at a current density of 2 mA cm⁻² and good rate performance (55.3% retention). Furthermore, a hybrid NF@NPC@LDH//NF@PC all-solid-state supercapacitor is fabricated, and the device exhibits high energy density of 1.28 mWh cm⁻³ at a power density of 8.04 mW cm⁻³, low resistance and good cycling stability.     

羧酸系列集油剂的水面集油性能

研究了十二烷酸、十四烷酸、十六烷酸和十八烷酸在淡水中的集油能力。结果表明，这4种羧酸在淡水表面的表面膜压随其分子中碳数的增加而增大。其中后两者的表面膜压高达45～50mN／m，显著高于各类油膜膜压，满足集油剂对表面活性物质膜压的要求。4种脂肪羧酸在淡水中使柴油油膜的收缩率在1min时达到最大值，分别为80．0％、81．8％、83．8％和88．2％。它们的己醇、正庚醇、正辛醇、仲辛醇溶液的集油持续性，总体上随羧酸分子碳数增加而增大。其中十六烷酸和十八烷酸集油能力非常接近，它们的正庚醇、正辛醇和仲辛醇溶液使柴油膜面积收缩率在120h后仍保持在66．0％～70．2％。该类集油剂毒性低，易为生物降解，有实际应用前景。     

Modified g-C3N4 derived from ionic liquid and urea for promoting visible-light photodegradation of organic pollutants

In this work, modified g-C₃N₄ was fabricated successfully by calcination of ionic liquid (IL) and urea. The addition of IL changed the polymerization mode of urea, induced the self-assembly of urea molecules, modified the morphological structure of the tightly packed g-C₃N₄, and extended the electron conjugation system. When using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) as a modifier, the heteroatom Cl could be inserted into the g-C₃N₄ to optimize the electronic structure. The results of characterizations indicate that the unique structure of modified g-C₃N₄ has an expanded electron delocalization range, introduces an interlayer charge transmission channel, promotes the charge transmission, reduces the band gap, enhances the absorption of visible light, and inhibits electron-hole recombination. Modified g-C₃N₄ showed excellent photocatalytic performance for the degradation of rhodamine B and tetracycline. Furthermore, the effect of different anions in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium salts ([Bmim]Cl, [Bmim]Br, [Bmim][BF₄], and [Bmim][PF₆]) on the structure and function of g-C₃N₄ are discussed.     

六水氯化镁在六种多元醇中溶解度的测定和关联

六水氯化镁的溶解度是镁盐综合利用的重要基础数据。采用静态平衡法测定了六水氯化镁在1,2-丙二醇、1,3-丙二醇、1,3-丁二醇、一缩二乙二醇、二缩三乙二醇、一缩二丙二醇6种多元醇中的溶解度（278.15~328.15 K）。实验结果表明,六水氯化镁在6种多元醇中的溶解度均随着温度的升高而增大,其中在一缩二乙二醇中的溶解度最大,在二缩三乙二醇中的溶解度随着温度的变化较其他多元醇变化更为明显。使用Apelblat方程、λh方程、Van′t Hoff方程和多项式方程对溶解度数据进行了关联,结果良好,其中Apelblat方程和多项式方程拟合结果优于其他方程。利用Van′t Hoff方程计算了6种体系的溶解焓、溶解熵和吉布斯自由能。这些结果对镁盐的分离提取及镁基功能材料的制备具有重要的参考价值。     

On the involvement of radical oxygen species O− in catalytic oxidation of benzene to phenol by nitrous oxide

Catalytic oxidation of benzene to phenol by nitrous oxide over Fe-MFI zeolites was studied in relation to the active oxygen species taking part in the oxidation. A linear dependence of the reaction rate on the concentration of independently identified active sites generating O⁻ radicals (α sites) was obtained within a broad range of values. The dependence is interpreted as convincing evidence of the O⁻ involvement in the catalytic (not only stoichiometric) oxidation of benzene to phenol. This conclusion is of particular importance in connection with a long discussion in the literature on a possible role of O⁻ radicals in selective oxidation catalysis over V and Mo oxides. Reliable evidence of the catalytic role of O⁻ obtained with zeolites may renew general interest in the once-suggested but not recognized role of radical oxygen in oxidation over widely used metal oxide catalysts.