A simple physical mixing method for MnO2/MnO nanocomposites with superior Zn2+ storage performance

MnO₂/MnO cathode material with superior Zn²⁺ storage performance is prepared through a simple physical mixing method. The MnO₂/MnO nanocomposite with a mixed mass ratio of 12:1 exhibits the highest specific capacity (364.2 mA·h/g at 0.2C), good cycle performance (170.4 mA·h/g after 100 cycles) and excellent rate performance (205.7 mA·h/g at 2C). Analysis of cyclic voltammetry (CV) data at various scan rates shows that both diffusion- controlled insertion behavior and surface capacitive behavior contribute to the Zn²⁺ storage performance of MnO₂/MnO cathodes. And the capacitive behavior contributes more at high discharge rates, due to the short paths of ion diffusion and the rapid transfer of electrons.     

Larger pore volume tetraphenyladamantane-based hybrid porous polymers: Facile Friedel–Crafts preparation,CO2 capture,and Rhodamine B removal properties

Synthesis of covalently linked porous polymers with high surface area and larger pore volume for two or more task-specific functionalities is always a big challenge. In this article, the facile Friedel–Crafts reaction is employed to construct the hierarchical hybrid porous polymers (HPPs) from tetraphenyladamantane and octavinylsilsesquioxane. The resulting polymers, HPP-1 to HPP-3, possessed the surface areas from 1356 to 1511 m² g⁻¹, and the pore volumes from 2.05 to 2.67 cm³ g⁻¹. All these polymers feature micropores, mesopores, and macropores in nature. The resultant polymers exhibit high CO₂ adsorption capacity up to 2.0 mmol g⁻¹ (8.82 wt %), at 273 K, 1.0 bar, and the maximum Rhodamine B (RB) sorption capacity of 653.6 mg g⁻¹. To illustrate the adsorption process, the effects of factors, contact time, initial concentration, temperature, and pH value on the adsorption capacity of RB were studied. The adsorption equilibrium data displayed a better fitting to the Langmuir isotherm model than the Freundlich model and the adsorption kinetics fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The recycle experiments displayed that the capacity recovery was still higher than 95% after four cycles. Theses polymers are promising to be the adsorbents for capturing CO₂ and removing RB. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 136, 48572.     

Emission characteristics of vehicles fueled by hydrogen-enriched syngas under no-load condition

The emission characteristics of vehicles fueled by hydrogen-enriched syngas were investigated under the no-load condition. Syngas was produced using a fixed-bed gasification system. A Jetta car was modified and used for emission experiments with engine speed between 800 and 4800 rpm. Syngas compositions and emissions were analyzed using gas chromatography and a SPX-Tecnotest 488 exhaust gas analyzer, respectively. The results showed that syngas composition had significant effect on HC and NOx emission and air ratio (λ) was the key factor affecting CO emission. HC and NOx emissions increased significantly from 6 to 16 ppm and 139–832 ppm, respectively, when engine speed increased from 800 to 4800 rpm. CO emission did not significantly increase (lower than 0.5%) at engine speed less than 3200 rpm; at higher than 4800 rpm engine speed, CO emission increased rapidly (up to 2.7%).     

Efficient removal of Congo red from pH-unregulated aqueous solutions by lignosulfonate-based polycatecholamine

Lignosulfonate-based polycatecholamine (PCEA-LS) was synthesized by a two-stage approach involving Mannich and catechol–amine reactions, and it was directly used to adsorb Congo red (CR) from the pH-unadjusted aqueous solution. PCEA-LS was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Various factors affecting on removal of CR by PCEA-LS were investigated in depth, including contact time, adsorbent dosage, and initial concentration of CR and adsorption temperature. The adsorption kinetics, isotherm, and thermodynamics of PCEA-LS for CR were explored in detail, and then its adsorption mechanism was systematically elucidated. Results indicated that the removal process of CR followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the isotherm data fitted the Langmuir model well. The maximum adsorption capacity reached 972.6 mg g⁻¹ at 30°C in the pH-unadjusted (pH = 6.25) solution possibly due to the hydrogen bond, π–π stacking, and electrostatic interaction between PCEA-LS and CR. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48640.     

ZnO/ZnS heterostructures grown on Zn foil substrate by hydrothermal method for photoelectrochemical water splitting

ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) grown on the Zn foil substrate in the dual alkaline solution by hydrothermal method were first successfully utilized for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. ZnO NRAs were sufficiently covered on the Zn foil substrate via the reasonable match of the pH value, reaction temperature and reaction time through intensive experimental works. To enhance PEC performance, ZnS was coated on the surfaces of ZnO NRAs by ion exchange. The morphological, structural, optical and PEC characteristics of as-grown ZnO NRAs and ZnO/ZnS heterostructures were investigated. Compared with the pristine smooth and hexagonal ZnO NRAs, the surfaces of ZnO/ZnS heterostructures become rough and rounded in shape. Through the sulfidation treatment, some ZnO/ZnS heterostructures with a diameter of no more than 60 nm break and fade away, leading to a decrease in number density of ZnO/ZnS heterostructures. The texture coefficients of (002) diffraction peaks of ZnO decrease from 2.32 to 2.158. ZnO/ZnS heterostructures exhibit efficient separation rate of electron-hole pairs and enhanced visible light absorption, and thus have higher photocurrent density and photoconversion efficiency. In the polysulfide electrolyte solution, ZnO/ZnS heterostructures show good stability.     

On the local behavior of spaces of range image patches

We focus on the quantitative and local topological properties of range images. We consider the spaces M_m of m × m high-contrast patches of range images for m=?3, 5, 7, 9, 11. Using computational topological tools to analyze range image patches, we detect that M₃ (M₉, M₁₁) has core subsets with the topology of a circle, M₃, M₅, M₇, M₉ and that M₁₁ have some subspaces with the topology of a Klein bottle. We also discover that the largest subspace with the Klein bottle’s topology decreases as the measurements of patches increase, which generalizes the results in the paper of H. Adams and G. Carlsson, and demonstrates properties among optical images and range image patches, which are more similar than those established by Lee et al.

     

Structure modulation of periodic mesoporous organosilicas with organic salts

Journal of Materials Science - The design of the hierarchical structure and geometry of nanomaterials at the molecular and macroscopic level are crucial to determine their properties and...     

Ti3C2 MXene coupled with CdS nanoflowers as 2D/3D heterostructures for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production activity

As a novel co-catalyst, Ti₃C₂ MXene has an excellent prospect in the field of photocatalysis. Herein, the 2D/3D Ti₃C₂ MXene@CdS nanoflower (Ti₃C₂@CdS) composite was successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The combination of 2D Ti₃C₂ MXene and 3D CdS nanoflowers can promote carrier transfer and separation, which can improve the performance of CdS. Compared to pure CdS nanoflowers, Ti₃C₂@CdS composite presents lower photoluminescence intensity, longer fluorescence lifetime, higher photocurrent density and smaller electrochemical impedance. The Ti₃C₂@CdS composite with 15 wt% Ti₃C₂ adding amount presents high photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity (88.162 μmol g^?1 h^?1), 91.57 times of pure CdS. The improved photocatalytic activity of Ti₃C₂@CdS composite is ascribed to the addition of lamellar Ti₃C₂ MXene, which improves the electrical conductivity of the photocatalytic system and effectively accelerates the excited electrons transfer from CdS to Ti₃C₂ MXene.     

NIR photoluminescence of ZnGa2O4:Cr nanoparticles synthesized by hydrothermal process

The phase pure ZnGa₂O₄ and ZnGa₂O₄ doped with Cr ions nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method, whose average particle sizes are about 10 nm, and the doping of Cr ions can slightly increase the particle sizes. The doping Cr ions can evenly distribute in the samples by the hydrothermal method. The infrared characteristic peaks of the products are in the range of 400–1000 cm^?1. Blue emission is observed in phase pure ZnGa₂O₄, while NIR emissions are observed in the ZnGa₂O₄ products doped with Cr ions. ZnGa₂O₄:Cr nanoparticles have great application prospects in the field of biomedical imaging.

     

Embedded connectivity of some BC networks

The Journal of Supercomputing - Many interconnection networks in large-scale parallel computing have hierarchical and recursive structures. The presence of vertex failures may disconnect the entire...