Photoelectrocatalytic Reduction of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> to Chemicals via ZnO@Nickel Foam: Controlling C–C Coupling by Ligand or Morphology

The CO₂ reduction is a very attracting research field in the environmental, material and chemical sciences in light of the energy crisis and greenhouse effect. A new photoelectrocatalytic system composed of a photoanode BiVO₄ and a photocathode of nickel foam supported ZnO semiconductor was designed, assembled and applied to CO₂ reduction in water. The photocathodes with different morphology could be made from electrochemical deposition method and well characterized by SEM, UV–Vis, XRD, and XPS. The photoelectrocatalytic cell of ZnO/Ni-30|KHCO₃|BiVO₄ can produce ethanol and acetic acid in a rate of 12.5 µM h^?1 cm^?2 with 100% selectivity for C₂ product, attributing to the controlling of 3D-spaces of nanorod. The cell of A-ZnO/Ni-15|KHCO₃|BiVO₄ produces ethanol and acetic acid with 75% selectivity for C₂ product under 100 mW cm^?2 simulated sunlight irradiation, attributing to controlling of both amine ligand and morphology of ZnO, which reveal a new way to increase the selectivity of products.     

Preparation of proanthocyanidin–chitosan complex and its antioxidant and antibacterial properties

Chitosan (CS) is a natural polysaccharide with beneficial effects on human health. To further strengthen its biological properties, a CS-based complex was prepared by combining it with proanthocyanidin (PA) and named it as PA–CS in this study. The successful preparation of PA–CS was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The size of PA–CS particles was distributed between 10 and 100 µm with a mean value of 30.6 µm and low pH and high salt concentration could increase their swelling ratio. The loading capacity of PA in PA–CS particles was 82.2?±?1.7 mg/g, and an increased release of PA from the complex occurred at low pH and high salt concentration. After combination, PA–CS complex exhibited better antioxidant activity than CS, which is a result of the synergistic effects of PA and CS. The reducing power and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity of PA–CS complex are mainly attributed to PA, whereas the superoxide radical scavenging activity of PA–CS complex largely depends on CS. Moreover, PA–CS complex showed similar diameters of inhibitory zone and identical minimal inhibitory concentrations compared with CS, suggesting that the antibacterial potential of PA–CS complex is similar to that of CS. In addition, after 20 days storage, PA–CS complex did not exhibit significant changes in DPPH radical scavenging activity and antibacterial activity, indicating the good stability of this complex.     

Gold-Nanoparticle-Decorated Metal-Organic Frameworks for Anticancer Therapy

Confinement of Au nanoparticles (NPs) within the porous materials with few nanometers (2-3 nm) has been a well established research area in the past decades in heterogeneous catalysis mainly due to the unique behaviour of Au NPs than its bulk counterpart. In this aspect, Au NPs encapsulated within the pore volumes of metal−organic frameworks (MOFs) have been intensively explored as heterogeneous solid catalysts for wide range of reactions. In recent years, Au NPs confined within the porous MOFs along with the photosensitizer or drug have been effectively used for the treatment of tumor cells through the generation of reactive oxygen species via cascade reactions. This work highlights the benefits of MOFs pores in the preparation of nanomedicine with high efficiency by assembling Au NPs, photosensitizer/drug with the combination of laser either for imaging or treatment of tumor cells. Further, the existing literature is grouped based on the nature of porous materials employed in the preparation of nanomedicine. The final section comments on our view on future developments in the field.     

The Effect of Interface Cracks on the Electrical Performance of Solar Cells

Among a variety of solar cell types, thin-film solar cells have been rigorously investigated as cost-effective and efficient solar cells. In many cases, flexible solar cells are also fabricated as thin films and undergo frequent stress due to the rolling and bending modes of applications. These frequent motions result in crack initiation and propagation (including delamination) in the thin-film solar cells, which cause degradation in efficiency. Reliability evaluation of solar cells is essential for developing a new type of solar cell. In this paper, we investigated the effect of layer delamination and grain boundary crack on 3D thin-film solar cells. We used finite element method simulation for modeling of both electrical performance and cracked structure of 3D solar cells. Through simulations, we quantitatively calculated the effect of delamination length on 3D copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cell performance. Moreover, it was confirmed that the grain boundary of CIGS could improve the solar cell performance and that grain boundary cracks could decrease cell performance by altering the open circuit voltage. In this paper, the investigated material is a CIGS solar cell, but our method can be applied to general polycrystalline solar cells.     

Variables Applicable to Benchmarking of Tap-Hole Life-Cycle Management Practices in Coke-Bed-Based Ferroalloy Production

Benchmarking is a tool available to furnace operators to evaluate their tap-hole life-cycle management practices against those of their peers. It allows furnace operators to challenge their own practices in order to increase furnace utilization. To facilitate the benchmarking process, it is necessary to define the variables to be considered and how they relate to one another. This article develops, from the literature and industry interviews, a holistic conceptualization of the variables that form part of tap-hole lifecycle management and performance. Specifically, the article focuses on the variables related to coke-bed-based processes (FeCr, SiMn, and HCFeMn) applying SAF technology of circular design.     

Removal of Antimony and Bismuth from Copper Electrorefining Electrolyte: Part II—An Investigation of Two Proprietary Solvent Extraction Extractants

Antimony and bismuth recovery from copper electrorefining electrolyte could reduce the impacts of these problem elements and produce a new primary source for them. Two proprietary phosphonic acid ester extractants were examined (REX-1 and REX-2) for the removal of antimony and bismuth from copper electrorefining electrolytes. Experimentation included shakeout and break tests to determine the basic parameters for the extractants in terms of maximum loading, break times, and extraction and stripping efficiency. Five permutations of extractant mixtures (100 wt.% REX-1 and 25 wt.%, 50 wt.%, 75 wt.% and 100 wt.% REX-2) were studied. It was determined that REX-2 was able to extract Sb and Bi from the electrolyte, but required some mixture with REX-1 to better facilitate stripping with 400 g/L sulfuric acid. The laboratory electrorefining electrolyte containing glue had faster disengagement times than a synthetic solution without glue.     

Synthesis of Flexible Graphene/Polymer Composites for Supercapacitor Applications

In this paper, the graphene was synthesized using biocompatible cellulosic component from onions. Onion epidermal cells were chosen as raw material. During heating at high temperature, the bonding among atoms in material was rearranged and forms two-dimensional hexagonal carbon layer (graphene). The characterization of synthesized graphene was done by x-ray diffractometer, Raman spectrometer and field emission scanning electron microscopy, respectively. An attempt has been taken to form the capacitors with two different current collector electrodes, anticipating the performance of the supercapacitors. The observed capacitance values as-obtained for Al and Au current collector were 1.3 μF and 6.08 μF, respectively. However, when thermally exfoliated graphene was used as an electrode on Al and Au current collector, the capacitance value was drastically increased and found to be 1.6 and 41.25 μF, respectively.