Electrodeposition of B,Ni co-doped diamond-like carbon films on AZ91D magnesium alloy: Corrosion and wear resistance

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) possesses brilliant and excellent properties, including excellent corrosion resistance as well as outstanding wear resistance. Ni and B co-doped DLC films were deposited on AZ91D magnesium alloy by electrodeposition under mild conditions (300 V and 25°C). Uniform and dense morphology of co-doped DLC films were observed, and Ni and B were uniformly incorporated into the carbon-based films. Among all the electrodeposits, the appearance of D and G peaks near 1330 and 1570 cm⁻¹ revealed that the as-deposited films were typical DLC films. As the addition of Ni was increased to 0.05 g, the highest microindentation hardness, the lowest friction coefficient, and wear loss were achieved to be 164.5 HV, 0.3, and 0.6 × 10⁻⁵ kg/m, respectively. The amorphous carbon films fabricated at 0.05 g Ni had the lowest corrosion current density and the most positive corrosion potential, which was mainly due to the small and dense granular structure effectively hindering the penetration of corrosion media.     

One-step synthesis of Co2P/N-P co-doped porous carbon composites derived from soybean derivatives as acidic and alkaline HER electrocatalysts

Developing inexpensive and efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in both acidic and alkaline mediums is of great significance to the hydrogen energy industry. Hereby, we prepared a mixture of precursors with homogeneous composition by using the chelating ability of soybean protein isolate (C and N source) and phytic acid (dopant and phosphating agent) with cobalt ions, and achieved one-step synthesis and construction of Co₂P/N–P co-doped porous carbon composite by carbonization at 800 °C. The as-synthesized Co₂P/NPPC-800 electrocatalyst exhibits low HER overpotentials of 121 and 125 mV at 10 mA cm^?2 in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ and 1.0 M KOH, which are close to those of the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Additionally, the NPPC substrate surrounding the Co₂P could diminish the corrosion during the HER, and Co₂P/NPPC-800 displays good stability and durability. Furthermore, this work offers a convenient synthesis strategy for phosphide/doped porous carbon composites in other electrochemical energy technologies.     

Preparation,structural and photocatalytic activity of Sn/Fe co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles by sol-gel method

Pure and Sn/Fe co-doped (0.2 at.% Sn and 0.6 at.% Fe, 0.6 at.% Sn and 0.2 at.% Fe, 1.0 at.% Sn and 1.0 at.% Fe) TiO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized via a sol-gel method and subsequently calcined at different temperatures. Furthermore, the particles were analyzed by TG-DSC, XRD, TEM, HRTEM, EDS, SAED and UV–Vis for investigating the influences of dopant and calcination temperature on the thermal effect, composition, morphology, energy band gap (E_g) and the degradation efficiency of methyl orange (MO) under various light irradiations respectively. Results indicated that Sn/Fe co-doping inhibited the crystallization transformation from anatase to rutile phase of TiO₂ and decreased the E_g. The increased calcination temperature and Sn/Fe co-doped effect brought about the abnormal grain growth of TiO₂ nanoparticles. 0.6 at.% Sn/0.2 at.% Fe and 1.0 at.% Sn/1.0 at.% Fe co-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles presented better photocatalytic performance than pure and 0.2 at.% Sn/0.6 at.% Fe co-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles under visible light irradiation mainly due to the decreased E_g. On the contrary, 0.2 at.% Sn and 0.6 at.% Fe co-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles calcined at 650 °C showed the most excellent photocatalytic performance under UV light irradiation, which was about twice as large as that of pure TiO₂ possibly due to the formed hybrid structure of anatase and rutile phase as well as the h⁺-mediated decomposition pathway.     

Synthesis and color tuning of titanium oxide inorganic pigment by phase control and mixed-anion co-doping

B and N co-doped anatase, rutile, and brookite TiO₂ (abbreviated as BN-Ana, BN-Rut, and BN-Bro) were successfully synthesized. The apparent color of as-obtain BN-Ana, BN-Rut and BN-Bro was red, cyan and yellow-green, respectively. The mechanisms of various coloring were concluded as the different band gap configurations and the formation of covalent B-N bonding. The nitridation time expressed less effect on changing the color. On the contrary, nitridation temperature enabled the distinct color changes by altering the brightness. Lower temperature, fewer doping concentration, and brighter apparent color, vice versa. Through tuning the brightness, a gradient of yellow-orange-red was achieved in the case of BN-Ana, as well the transitions of grey-to-cyan and white-to-pale-yellow were achieved in BN-Rut and BN-Bro, respectively. This research proposed a method for the synthesis of color-full titania pigment without the addition of other toxic transition metal elements.     

Fabrication and investigation of Ca/Tb co-doped HfO2 infrared coatings

In this study, Ca/Tb co-doped HfO₂ coatings were prepared by atmosphere plasma spraying. The chemical composition, morphology and infrared property of the coatings were characterized. The coatings possessed a layer-stacked morphology. When the Ca/Tb doping atomic ratio was 1:1, the phase of the coatings gradually changed from monoclinic to cubic with increasing the doping mass. The CTH2 coating had the highest emissivity which was 0.820 in 0.75–6.5 µm and 0.902 in 6.5–15 µm respectively. The enhancement in short band was mainly due to the introduction of Ca²⁺ and Tb³⁺ ions that generated oxygen vacancies in the lattice forming impurity levels within the forbidden band, moreover, the transfer of Tb³⁺ to Tb⁴⁺ increased the concentration of free electrons, which promoted the absorption of free carriers. The increase in long band attributed to the lattice distortion that reduced the lattice symmetry and strengthened the absorption of lattice polar vibration.     

溅射气压对Li-W共掺杂ZnO薄膜性能的影响

通过RF磁控溅射在不同溅射气压环境中,在石英衬底上制备得到Li-W共掺杂Zn O薄膜(LWZO)。对样品进行X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)、透过率以及电阻率的测试。结果表明:适当溅射气压环境下,有助于提高LWZO薄膜的结晶质量;SEM结果显示随着溅射气压增加LWZO薄膜表面晶粒粒径更小,表面更平整;薄膜的透光率保持在85%左右。光致发光光谱表明:LWZO的光致发光由本征发光及缺陷发光组成,结晶度高以及择优取向好,本征发光强度强。同时,薄膜的最低电阻率也达到了6.9×10-3Ωcm。     

Pt supported on boron,nitrogen co-doped carbon nanotubes (BNC NTs) for effective methanol electrooxidation

The research for electrocatalyst with high electroactivity and great CO-resistance ability for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) is still a huge challenge. In this report, we develop Boron, Nitrogen co-doped carbon nanotubes (BNC NTs) as a support for Pt. Owing to the doping of boron, the catalyst not only provides extremely active sites for methanol oxidation reactions (MOR) but also protects Pt nanoparticles from agglutinating, performing superior electroactivity and excellent ability to anti CO poisoning. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results demonstrate the strong electron effect between Pt and B. Notably, the Pt/BNC NTs catalyst exhibits higher catalytic activity towards MOR and more superior durability in comparison with Pt/NC NTs and commercial JM Pt/C catalyst. The accelerated durability test (ADT) illustrates that Pt/BNC NTs catalyst can improve the issue of electrochemical surface area (ECSA) conservation, with only 30% diminish in comparison with the initial ECSA after 5000 cycles. The experiment result demonstrate that boron doping is the key step to improve the catalytic activities and CO-resistance ability due to the combination effects, involving firm B–C and N–C bonds, the stronger electron transfer in the nanotube structure among Pt, B and N, the stronger adsorption intensity of oxygen species from doped B.     

Sucrose-nitrate auto combustion synthesis of Ce0.85Ln0.10Sr0.05O2-δ (Ln = La and Gd) electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells

Nanocrystalline powders of co-doped ceria oxides Ce_0.85La_0.10Sr_0.05O_2-δ (CLSO) and Ce_0.85Gda_0.10Sr_0.05O_2-δ (CGSO) have been synthesized by auto combustion method at 100°C using sucrose as fuel. Thermal analysis (TGA/DSC) of as-prepared powders indicated calcination above 400°C to remove organic residue. The average grain size of the pellets sintered at 1200°C for 4 hours is 436 and 683 nm for CLSO and CGSO, respectively. The electrical conductivity of the sintered samples was determined by impedance measurements in the temperature range 300°C to 600°C and the frequency range 20 Hz to 2 MHz. At 600°C, the total electrical conductivity (σ_t) of CGSO is 6.78 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹, 2.5 times higher than 2.72 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ of CLSO. Further, it is found that the value of grain boundaries blocking factor (α_gb) of CGSO is 0.47 which is 30% lesser than 0.68 of CLSO at 600°C. The higher value of electrical conductivity of CGSO as compared to CLSO is attributed to the lesser blocking effect of grain boundaries, smaller lattice distortion and denser microstructure of CGSO as compared to CLSO. The electrical conductivity of synthesized samples has been compared with the electrical conductivity of similar compositions of co-doped CeO₂ oxides. Our study indicated that the sintering temperature, and hence, the morphology of sintered samples has a significant role in determining the electrical conductivity. The presence of oxygen vacancies in the synthesized samples is experimentally supported by using UV-visible spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and thermal analysis techniques.     

A novel anions and cations co-doped strategy for developing high-performance cobalt-free cathode for intermediate-temperature proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells

The sluggish activity of cathode at intermediate-temperature limits commercialization of proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (H-SOFCs). In this investigation, a novel cathode of Ba_0.95Ca_0.05Fe_0.85Sn_0.05Y_0.1O_2.9−δF_0.1 was successfully developed by co-doping of anion F and cations Ca, Sn, Y. We studied the effect of F⁻-doping on phase structure, electrical conductivity and electrochemical properties of the cell. Compared with Ba_0.95Ca_0.05Fe_0.85Sn_0.05Y_0.1O_3−δ, F⁻-doped Ba_0.95Ca_0.05Fe_0.85Sn_0.05Y_0.1O_3−δ exhibited higher conductivity. Composite cathode consisting of Ba_0.95Ca_0.05Fe_0.85Sn_0.05Y_0.1O_2.9−δF_0.1 and Sm_0.2Ce_0.8O_2−δ was applied in H-SOFCs with BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3−δ electrolyte which achieves an encouraging performance with the maximum power density of 1050 mW cm⁻² and polarization resistance of 0.04 Ω cm² at 700 °C. The result of First-principles calculations based on spin-polarized Density Functional Theory shows that doping of F⁻ reduces the activation energy required for migration of oxygen ions. These results demonstrate that the anions and cations co-doped strategy can provide a new horizon for the cathode in H-SOFCs.     

Tunable Fe/N co-doped 3D porous graphene with high density Fe-Nx sites as the efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst for Zn-air batteries

Nitrogen-doped transition metal materials display promising potential as bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, Fe/N co-doped three-dimensional (3D) porous graphene (FeN-3D-PG) is prepared via a template method using sodium alginate as the carbon source and low polymerization degree melamine resin as the nitrogen source. The low polymerization degree melamine resin can form complexes with Fe³⁺ in the aqueous solution and further forms high density Fe-N_x active sites during pyrolysis. Meanwhile, the formed 3D porous structure efficiently promotes the uniform distribution of Fe-N_x active sites. The FeN-3D-PG catalyst exhibits pH-independent ORR activity. For OER, the catalyst possesses a low over potential (370 mV at 10 mA cm⁻²) in alkaline electrolyte. The Zn-air batteries (ZABs) using FeN-3D-PG as cathode exhibits a power density up to 212 mW cm⁻², a high specific capacity of 651 mAh g⁻¹, and the charge-discharge stability of 80 h. This work provides new sight to transition metal materials based ZABs with excellent performance.