Structural regulation and polishing performance of dendritic mesoporous silica (D-mSiO2) supported with samarium-doped cerium oxide composites

Ceria (CeO₂) particles are prevalent polishing abrasive materials. Trivalent lanthanide ions are the popular category of dopants for enriched surface defects and thus improved physicochemical properties, since they are highly compatible with CeO₂ lattices. Herein, a series of dendritic-like mesoporous silica (D-mSiO₂)-supported samarium (Sm)-doped CeO₂ nanocrystals were synthesized via a facile chemical precipitation method. The relation of the structural characteristics and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) performances were investigated to explore the effect of Sm-doping amounts on the D-mSiO₂/Sm_xCe_1?xO_2?δ (x = 0–1) composite abrasives. The involved low-modulus D-mSiO₂ cores aimed to eliminate surface scratch and damage, resulting from the optimized contact behavior between abrasives and surfaces. The trivalent cerium (Ce³⁺) and oxygen vacancy (V_O) at CeO₂ surfaces were expected to be reactive sites for the material removal process over SiO₂ films. The optimal oxide-CMP performances in terms of removal efficiency and surface quality were achieved by the 40% Sm-doped composite abrasives. It might be attributed to the high Ce³⁺ and V_O concentrations and the enhancement of tribochemical reactivity between CeO₂SiO₂ interfaces. Furthermore, the relationship between the surface chemistry, polishing performance as well as the actual role in oxide-CMP of the D-mSiO₂/Sm_xCe_1?xO_2?δ abrasives were also discussed.     

以新发展理念引领高校专业基础课教学改革

以“创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享”为内核的新发展理念，是对马克思主义发展理念的继承和发扬，极具时代精神，富含问题意识，为高校思想政治教育发展、教育教学改革实践提供了强大的理论支撑。本文以“通信原理”为例，阐述了新发展理念在课程改革中的思路和方法，实现了思想政治教育与专业基础课程有机融合，为深化高校教学改革、创新人才培养模式提供了思路。     

Role and prospects of green quantum dots in photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation: A review

Eco-friendly quantum dots (QDs) can be termed green QDs which stand as an attractive choice to modify the properties of known semiconductors in the direction of getting efficient photoelectrodes for solar-induced photoelectrochemical (PEC) splitting of water, due to their peculiar properties. Thus, it is of high significance to analyze their merit/demerit as an effective scaffold in PEC cell. QDs are known for their excellent optical properties however, the coupling of green QDs with semiconductor is not only useful in improving absorption characteristics but also promotes charge transfer. This review has undertaken the critical analysis on the worldwide research going on the green QDs modified photoelectrode with respect to their optical, electrical & photoelectrochemical properties, role, usefulness, efficiency, and finally the success in PEC system for hydrogen production. Various methods on the facile synthesis & sensitization techniques of green QDs available in the literature have also been discussed. Further, recent advances on the development of green QDs based photo-electrode, along with major challenges of using green QDs in this field have also been presented.     

Optimal design and operation of integrated microgrids under intermittent renewable energy sources coupled with green hydrogen and demand scenarios

Renewable energy integration into existing or new energy hubs together with Green technologies such as Power to Gas and Green Hydrogen has become essential because of the aim of keeping the average global temperature rise within 2 ^°C with regard to the Paris Agreement. Hence, all energy markets are expected to face substantial transitions worldwide. On the other hand, investigation of renewable energy systems integrated with green chemical conversion, and in particular combination of green hydrogen and synthetic methanation, is still a scarce subject in the literature in terms of optimal and simultaneous design and operation for integrated energy grids under weather intermittency and demand uncertainty. In fact, the integration of such promising new technologies has been studied mainly in the operational phase, without considering design and management simultaneously. Thus, in this work, a multi-period mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is formulated to deal with the aforementioned challenges. Under current carbon dioxide limitations dictated by the Paris Agreement, this model computes the best configuration of the renewable and non-renewable-based generators, their optimal rated powers, capacities and scheduling sequences from a large candidate pool containing thirty-nine different equipment simultaneously. Moreover, the effect of the intermittent nature of renewable resources is analyzed comprehensively under three different scenarios for a specific location. Accordingly, a practical scenario generation method is proposed in this work. It is observed that photovoltaic, oil co-generator, reciprocating ICE, micro turbine, and bio-gasifier are the equipment that is commonly chosen under the three different scenarios. Results also show that concepts such as green hydrogen and power-to-gas are currently not preferable for the investigated location. On the other hand, analysis shows that if the emission limits are getting tightened, it is expected that constructing renewable resource-based grids will be economically more feasible.     

Diet composition and overlap for adult walleye,lake whitefish,and yellow perch in Green Bay,Lake Michigan

Interspecific interactions among walleye Sander vitreus, lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis, and yellow perch Perca flavescens in Green Bay could influence the population status of each species, but potential trophic interactions are poorly understood. Our objectives were to determine if diet assemblages for each species and diet overlap among species varied spatially and temporally within Green Bay. Adult walleye (≥381 mm total length (TL); N = 981), lake whitefish (≥432 mm TL; N = 1507), and yellow perch (≥150 mm TL; N = 1174) were collected during May-October of 2018 and 2019 from multiple locations in southern and northern Green Bay. Diet assemblages of each species varied between northern and southern Green Bay, but walleye diets were more temporally variable (among months within zones and between years) than diets of lake whitefish or yellow perch. Lake whitefish represented a seasonally important prey item for walleye in southern Green Bay, composing 10 % and 41 % of walleye diets by weight in May and June, respectively. Yellow perch generally composed <15 % of walleye diets by weight but were consumed at a broader spatiotemporal scale than lake whitefish. Diet overlap between walleye and both lake whitefish and yellow perch was generally weak or moderate, whereas diet overlap between whitefish and perch was generally strong. Our assessment of adult trophic interactions suggests that changes in the population status of one species could influence fisheries for all three, and we identify additional research questions to address potential population-level effects of these trophic interactions.     

Cooperative role of cobalt and gallium under the ethanol steam reforming on Co/CeGaOx

The performance of gallium promoted cobalt-ceria catalysts for ethanol steam reforming (ESR) was studied using H₂O/C₂H₅OH = 6/1 mol/mol at 500 °C. The catalysts were synthetized via cerium-gallium co-precipitation and wetness impregnation of cobalt. A detailed characterization by N₂-physisorption, XRD, H₂-TPR and TEM allowed the normalization of contact time and rationalization of the role of each catalysts component for ESR. The gallium promoted catalyst, Co/Ce₉₀Ga₁₀O_x, was more efficient for the ethanol conversion to H₂ and CO₂, and the production of oxygenated by-products (such as, acetaldehyde and acetone) than Co/CeO₂. The catalytic performance is explained assuming that: (i) bare ceria is able to dehydrogenate ethanol to ethylene; (ii) Ce–O–Ga interface catalyzes ethanol reforming; (iii) both Ce–O–Co and Ce–O–Ga interfaces takes part in acetone production; and (iv) cobalt sites further allow C–C scission. It is suggested that a cooperative role between Co and Ce–O–Ga sites enhance the H₂ and CO₂ yields under ESR conditions.     

A high temperature and pressure framework for supercritical water electrolysis

Water electrolysis technologies aim to provide a significant increase in green hydrogen production efficiency. In this work, a framework was developed to explore the use of supercritical water for alkaline electrolysis. This framework was used to perform Arrhenius analysis as a function of potential, and to explore activation energies for sub- and supercritical water electrolysis. An analysis of the conductivity of solution unveiled a discontinuity in the trends between sub- and supercritical potassium hydroxide solution conductivity. Unlike prior work on supercritical water electrolysis, this work investigates trends in electrochemical parameters, the sources of these trends, and how they change between the sub- and supercritical regimes.     

Towards the Hydrogen Economy in Paraguay: Green hydrogen production potential and end-uses

This study was conducted to estimate the potential for green H₂ in Paraguay. A total production potential of 22.5 × 10⁶ tons/year was obtained with a main contribution (93.34%) from solar photovoltaic. The greatest potential for producing H₂ from solar and wind resources is in the Western region, and from hydro resources is in the Eastern region of the country. Two end-uses of green H₂ were assessed: (1) automotive transportation, replacing gasoline and diesel; and (2) residential energy, replacing firewood and LPG for cooking in households across the country. In 16 of the 17 departments, green H₂ is able to replace the overall consumption of gasoline and diesel, as well as firewood and LPG. Finally, energy service cost (mobility), environmental aspects and CO₂ emissions were considered for three urban mobility technologies for the Metropolitan Area of Asunción. Results show that the mobility cost of fuel cell hybrid electric buses is still very high in comparison to diesel buses and battery electric buses. However, when a longer driving range is required, fuel cell hybrid electric buses could become a viable alternative in the long term. From an environmental point of view, green H₂ used in fuel cell hybrid electric buses has the potential to save about 96% of CO₂ emissions in comparison to diesel buses. It is concluded that the estimated green H₂ production potential favors the incorporation of the Hydrogen Economy in Paraguay.     

Techno-economic assessment of hydrogen refueling station: A case study in Croatia

Hydrogen refueling station (HRS) capacity and location depend on the users, which makes it difficult to select the most favorable option before potential users are actually identified. As in Croatia, at least for now, there are no hydrogen users, this study considers a wide range of HRS capacities and their different configurations. These include hydrogen production and charging station within one existing wind farm in Croatia or both nearby the users, the hydrogen production within the wind farm and the charging station nearby the users, while hydrogen is delivered to the station with a tube trailer, and configuration of hydrogen production within the wind farm with a mobile charging station in case of several users in different locations. Each HRS configuration is evaluated by the obtained levelized cost of hydrogen depending on the capital, and operation and maintenance costs within the HRS techno-economic analysis provided.     

Adenine-functionalized conjugated polymer as an efficient photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution from water

Conjugated polymers have emerged as a promising class of organic photocatalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water splitting due to their adjustable chemical structures and electronic properties. However, developing highly efficient organic polymer photocatalysts with high photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution remains a significant challenge. Herein, we present an efficient approach to enhance the photocatalytic performance of linear conjugated polymers by modifying the surface chemistry via introducing a hydrophilic adenine group into the side chain. The adenine unit with five nitrogen atoms could enhance the interaction between the surface of polymer photocatalyst and water molecules through the formation of hydrogen bonding, which improves the hydrophilicity and dispersity of the resulting polymer photocatalyst in the photocatalytic reaction solution. In addition, the strong electron-donating ability of adenine group with plentiful nitrogen atoms could promote the separation of light-induced electrons and holes. As a result, the adenine-functionalized conjugated polymer PF6A-DBTO2 shows a high photocatalytic activity with a hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 25.21 mmol g^?1 h^?1 under UV-Vis light irradiation, which is much higher than that of its counterpart polymer PF6-DBTO2 without the adenine group (6.53 mmol g^?1 h^?1). More importantly, PF6A-DBTO2 without addition of a Pt co-catalyst also exhibits an impressive HER of 21.93 mmol g^?1 h^?1 under visible light (λ > 420 nm). This work highlights that it is an efficient strategy to improve the photocatalytic activity of conjugated polymer photocatalysts by the modification of surface chemistry.