Facile synthesis of Ti3C2 MXene-modified Bi2.15WO6 nanosheets with enhanced reactivity for photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI)

Through a facile hydrothermal method, we have successfully prepared Ti₃C₂/Bi_2.15WO₆ (TC/BWO) composite, and systematically investigated their reactivity for the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) under visible light. X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis confirm the formation of heterostructure between Bi_2.15WO₆ and Ti₃C₂. The resultant 7TC/BWO composite exhibits enhanced photoactivity toward Cr(VI) reduction. After 120 min irradiation, the conversion of Cr(VI) reaches 92.5% with the quasi-first-order kinetic constant of k = 0.0145 min^?1, which is higher than that of pure BWO (30% and k = 0.0005 min^?1). The electrochemical and photoluminescent characterization confirm that the introduction of Ti₃C₂ is conducive to the separation of carriers, thus significantly improves the photocatalytic performance of TC/BWO. Furthermore, the radical capture experiments verify that the electrons are important for enhancing reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). As a result, this research provides a comprehensive understanding of the reduction of Cr(VI) by TC/BWO composite under visible light.     

An analytical model for gas leakage through contact interface in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Sealing performance between two contacting surfaces is of significant importance to stable operation of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In this work, an analytical micro-scale approach is first established to predict the gas leakage in fuel cells. Gas pressure and uneven pressure distribution at the interface are also included in the model. At first, the micro tortuous leakage path at the interface is constructed by introducing contact modelling and fractal porous structure theory. In order to obtain the leakage at the entire surface, contact pressure distribution is predicted based on bonded elastic layer model. The gas leakage through the discontinuous interface can be obtained with consideration of convection and diffusion. Then, experiments are conducted to validate the numerical model, and good agreement is obtained between them. Finally, influences of surface topology, gasket compression and gasket width on leakage are studied based on the model. The results show that gas leakage would be greatly amplified when the asperity standard deviation of surface roughness exceeds 1.0 μm. Gaskets with larger width and smaller thickness are beneficial to sealing performance. The model is helpful to understand the gas leakage behavior at the interface and guide the gasket design of fuel cells.     

Real time power management strategy for fuel cell hybrid electric bus based on Lyapunov stability theorem

The fuel cell/battery durability and hybrid system stability are major considerations for the power management of fuel cell hybrid electric bus (FCHEB) operating on complicated driving conditions. In this paper, a real time nonlinear adaptive control (NAC) with stability analyze is formulated for power management of FCHEB. Firstly, the mathematical model of hybrid power system is analyzed, which is established for control-oriented design. Furthermore, the NAC-based strategy with quadratic Lyapunov function is set up to guarantee the stability of closed-loop power system, and the power split between fuel cell and battery is controlled with the durability consideration. Finally, two real-time power management strategies, state machine control (SMC) and fuzzy logic control (FLC), are implemented to evaluate the performance of NAC-based strategy, and the simulation results suggest that the guaranteed stability of NAC-based strategy can efficiently prolong fuel cell/battery lifespan and provide better fuel consumption economy for FCHEB.     

Enhanced oxygen evolution reaction kinetics through biochar-based nickel-iron phosphides nanocages in water electrolysis for hydrogen production

Highly-efficient and stable non-noble metal electrocatalysts for overcoming the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is urgent for water electrolysis. Biomass-derived biochar has been considered as promising carbon material because of its advantages such as low-cost, renewable, simple preparation, rich structure, and easy to obtain heteroatom by in-situ doping. Herein, Ni₂P–Fe₂P bimetallic phosphide spherical nanocages encapsulated in N/P-doped pine needles biochar is prepared via a simple two-step pyrolysis method. Benefiting from the maximum synergistic effects of bimetallic phosphide and biochar, high conductivity of biochar encapsulation, highly exposed active sites of Ni₂P–Fe₂P spherical nanocages, rapid mass transfer in porous channels with large specific surface area, and the promotion in adsorption of reaction intermediates by high-level heteroatom doping, the (Ni_0.75Fe_0.25)₂P@NP/C demonstrates excellent OER activity with an overpotential of 250 mV and a Tafel slope of 48 mV/dec at 10 mA/cm² in 1 M KOH. Also it exhibits a long-term durability in 10 h electrolysis and its activity even improves during the electrocatalytic process. The present work provides a favorable strategy for the inexpensive synthesis of biochar-based transition metal electrocatalysts toward OER, and improves the water electrolysis for hydrogen production.     

A triptycene derived hypercrosslinked polymer for gas capture and separation applications

This work describes facile synthesis of a porous polymeric material ( T-HCP ) using readily available reagents. Specifically, T-HCP is a thermally stable and hypercrosslinked polymer (HCP) that is essentially microporous with a high BET specific surface area (940 m² g^?1). Triptycene based polymers are known to feature internal free volume. Thus, the incorporation of triptycene units and extensive crosslinking by an external cross-linker in T-HCP makes it a promising adsorbent for small gas capture applications. Experimental results show that T-HCP demonstrated good CO₂ capture capacity of 132 mg g^?1 (273 K, 1 bar). Molecular hydrogen storage capacity of T-HCP is estimated to be 17.7 mg g^?1 (77 K, 1 bar). T-HCP revealed high CO₂/N₂ selectivity (up to 63) as well as promising CO₂/CH₄ (up to 9.1) selectivity suggesting its potential applicability for CO₂ separation from flue and natural gases.     

高效液相色谱法测定化妆品中依克多因的含量

建立高效液相色谱法测定化妆品中依克多因的分析方法,采用Agilent Poroshell 120 EC-C₁₈色谱柱（100 mm×3.0 mm,2.7μm）分离,以甲醇和p H为3.0的40 mmol/L磷酸二氢钠-10 mmol/L 1-庚烷磺酸钠缓冲溶液梯度洗脱,流速0.8 m L/min,柱温30℃,检测波长210 nm。采用外标法定量测定化妆品中的依克多因含量。结果表明,依克多因在5～800 mg/L的质量浓度范围内呈现良好线性关系,相关系数为0.999 8,方法的检出限和定量限分别为0.3和1.0 mg/L。该方法具有分离效率高、分析时间短、节省溶剂等优点,解决了依克多因在C₁₈色谱柱上保留弱的问题。     

Montmorillonite-perlite-iron ceramic membranes for the adsorption/removal of As(III) and other constituents from surface water

In this study, ceramic membranes made of montmorillonite, perlite and iron were used to remove As(III) from water. Membranes prepared with 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt% of iron content were used to filtrate As(III) synthetic water and surface water solutions. As(III) adsorption capacity and removal efficiency, and other parameters such as cations and anions content, turbidity, pH, electrical conductivity were used to evaluate the membranes' performance. Results show that the As(III) adsorption/removal capacity of membranes was improved by the addition of iron. Adsorption capacity of 7.5 μg As(III)/g and removal efficiency of 97% can be achieved in membranes with 1.0 wt% of iron filings content for surface water; however, a greater amount of iron in the membrane structure limits the adsorption capacity of As(III). Besides the capacity of ceramic membranes to adsorb/remove As(III), membranes were also effective to remove other ions, turbidity, and electrical conductivity from the surface water. The addition of iron to the ceramic membranes enhanced their capacity to remove such surface water constituents. These results are important from the practical viewpoint showing the potential of ceramic membranes for the removal of metalloids and other water constituents. Langmuir isotherm model best described the adsorption process in ceramic membranes, suggesting that adsorption of As(III) happened on a monolayered surface of the ceramic membrane.     

Research and demonstration on hydrogen compatibility of pipelines: a review of current status and challenges

Hydrogen transportation by pipelines gradually becomes a critical engineering route in the worldwide adaptation of hydrogen as a form of clean energy. However, due to the hydrogen embrittlement effect, the compatibility of linepipe steels and associated welds with hydrogen is a major concern when designing hydrogen-carrying pipelines. When hydrogen enters the steels, their ductility, fracture resistance, and fatigue properties can be adversely altered. This paper reviews the status of several demonstration projects for natural gas-hydrogen blending and pure hydrogen transportation, the pipeline materials used and their operating parameters. This paper also compares the current standards of materials specifications for hydrogen pipeline systems from different parts of the world. The hydrogen compatibility and tolerance of varying grades of linepipe steels and the relevant testing methods for assessing the compatibility are then discussed, and the conservatism or the inadequacies of the test conditions of the current standards are pointed out for future improvement.     

Manufacturing catalyst-coated membranes by ultrasonic spray deposition for PEMFC: Identification of key parameters and their impact on PEMFC performance

This study deals with the manufacturing of catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) for newcomers in the field of coating. Although there are many studies on electrode ink composition for improving the performance of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), there are few papers dealing with electrode coating itself. Usually, it is a know-how that often remains secret and constitutes the added value of scientific teams or the business of industrialists. In this paper, we identify and clarify the role of key parameters to improve coating quality and also to correlate coating quality with fuel cell performance via polarization curves and electrochemical active surface area measurements. We found that the coating configurations can affect the performance of lab-made CCMs in PEMFCs. After the repeatability of the performance obtained by our coating method has been proved, we show that: (i) edge effects, due to mask shadowing - cannot be neglected when the active surface area is low, (ii) a heterogeneous thickness electrode produces performance lower than a homogeneous thickness electrode, and (iii) the origin and storage of platinum on carbon powders are a very important source of variability in the obtained results.