Interface engineering of nanoceramic hematite photoelectrode for solar energy conversion

This work addresses the role of different modifiers on the overall photocurrent response, which allowed a dual material insertion, increasing the charge separation without compromise the surface catalysis. Sn-addition onto nanoceramic hematite photoelectrodes clearly increased flat band potential, promoting a good charge separation, and shifting the onset to a higher potential, attributed to the surface-trapping state created by this modification. Notoriously, Sn-hematite photoelectrodes loaded with NiFeO_x exhibited the highest photocurrent density, suggesting a partially recovered surface-trapping states created during the electrode designing. The well-known cocatalyst acted in the overall photoelectrocatalytic response with no significant effect on the turn-on voltage, in other words, with minor effect related to catalytic efficiency. The dual modification contributes to understand the role of different modifiers allowing to satisfactorily improve charge separation while maintaining the conductivity attributed to IV-group ions.     

Efficient manganese decorated cobalt based catalysts for hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) biofuel

2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) is a promising compound in the production of biofuel with high-quality properties. In this study, it is aimed to develop new efficient catalysts to synthesize DMF from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Co, Mn/Co, and Ru/Co catalysts were prepared using the NaBH₄ reduction method. The catalysts were subjected to activity tests for the hydrogenation of HMF to DMF by changing the reaction parameters, such as temperature and time. Mn/Co catalysts prepared from metal precursors at various molar ratios of Mn/Co were found to be effective in hydrogenation reactions of HMF to DMF. A 91.8% DMF yield was achieved in the presence of a Mn/Co (50/50) catalyst without noble metal at 180°C for 4 hours. The Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) method, x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and induction coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) techniques were used to characterize the efficient Mn/Co catalyst.     

Tunable Ni/Fe-Mo carbide catalyst with high activity toward hydrogen evolution reaction

Cost-effective catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are attractive for sustainable production of H₂ fuel. Herein, a series of tunable Ni/Fe-Mo carbide catalysts have been synthesized via a sol-gel method coupling with a subsequent high temperature carbonization process. The amount of nickel and iron was tuned in the Mo₇/C precursors, accomplishing a favourable performance of noble-metal-free electrocatalysts for HER. As expected, the designed Ni₁₀Fe₄Mo₇/C catalyst displays an enhanced catalytic activity toward hydrogen production with an ultralow overpotential (η₁₀ = 110 mV) and striking kinetics (η_onset = 58 mV, k = 54 mV · dec⁻¹) in the alkaline electrolyte (1 M KOH), which are comparable to those of the commercial 20% Pt/C catalyst. Such excellent performance of Ni₁₀Fe₄Mo₇/C could be attributed to the high intrinsic activities of Ni-based alloys (NiMo₄) and Mo₂C, as well as to the lattice contraction in the Mo₂C unit cell, in accordance with its high electrochemical surface area (~133 m² · g⁻¹) and low charge-transfer resistance (~31.5 Ω) for the associated electrode.     

催化燃烧法净化碳纤维含氰废气的试验研究

使用 NZP—4型催化剂,对吉林炭素厂含氰废气进行催化燃烧试验,取得了满意的结果。     

Water purification using a BiVO4/graphene oxide multifunctional hydrogel based on interfacial adsorption-enrichment and photocatalytic antibacterial activity

Photocatalytic degradation by visible light-driven generation of reactive oxygen species shows great promise for purification of environmental water. However, such degradation is limited by the low separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers and the poor adsorption capacity of the photocatalyst itself. To solve these problems, we successfully constructed and prepared a composite hydrogel (BV-GH) combining a three-dimensional network structure composed of graphene oxide and BiVO₄ to achieve the synergistic effects of adsorption enrichment and photocatalytic degradation. The results show that the amount of methylene blue and methyl orange adsorbed by BV-GH is 258.78 mg g^?1 and 217.16 mg g^?1, respectively, which is much higher than that obtained for pure BiVO₄. Due to the synergistic effect of adsorption enrichment and photocatalytic degradation, the degradation rate of the dye by BV-GH reaches 94.18% in 60 min, which is 6.98 times higher than that obtained for pure BiVO₄. Electron spin-resonance (ESR) experiments confirm that the main factor affecting the dye degradation by BV-GH is the ability to produce more ·OH and ·O₂^?, which is an important reason for the excellent antibacterial performance of BV-GH against E. coli. This work can provide further inspiration for photocatalytic technology in water purification.     

The influence of different zeolitic supports on hydrogen production and waste degradation

The photocatalyst composition affects the chemical–physical properties and directly impacts photocatalytic activity, both in the hydrogen production and degradation of organic contaminants. In this work, the influence of zeolitic structures NaA, NaY, and ZSM-5 combined with a 10% active phase, TiO₂ catalyst doped with 1% copper, and cobalt cocatalysts was tested to mineralize the reactive blue dye (CI250) and to produce hydrogen by photocatalysis under ultraviolet radiation. The band gap energy was affected mainly by the cocatalyst, while the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method (BET) area was affected by the zeolite structure as well as the X-ray diffraction (XRD). The most active catalyst was the Cu@TiO₂/NaY, which promoted a hydrogen production rate of 240 μmolH₂gcat⁻¹ using 10% ethanol (v/v) aqueous solution as a sacrificial agent and mineralization of 53% of the organic dye, followed by the catalysts impregnated on ZSM-5 zeolites, which had discolouration up to 50% and hydrogen evolution of 92.6 and 109.7 μmolH₂gcat⁻¹ for the catalyst doped with Cu and Co, respectively.     

Kinetic study of crude oil-to-chemicals via steam-enhanced catalytic cracking in a fixed-bed reactor

This study presents new experimental results on the direct conversion of crude oil to chemicals via steam-enhanced catalytic cracking. We have organized the experimental results with a kinetics model using crude oil and steam co-feed in a fixed-bed flow reactor at reaction temperatures of 625, 650, and 675°C over the Ce-Fe/ZSM-5 catalyst. The model let us find optimum conditions for crude oil conversion, and the order of the steam cracking reaction was 2.0 for heavy oil fractions and 1.0 for light oil fractions. The estimated activation energies for the steam cracking reactions ranged between 20 and 200 kJ/mol. Interestingly, the results from kinetic modelling helped in identifying a maximum yield of light olefins at an optimized residence time in the reactor at each temperature level. An equal propylene and ethylene yield was observed between 650 and 670°C, indicating a transition from dominating catalytic cracking at a lower temperature to a dominating thermal cracking at a higher temperature. The results illustrate that steam-enhanced catalytic cracking can be utilized to effectively convert crude oil into basic chemicals (52.1% C2-C4 light olefins and naphtha) at a moderate severity (650°C) as compared to the conventional high-temperature steam cracking process.     

水/二氧化碳气氛下酒糟催化气化反应特性的研究

在固定床气化装置中,以赤泥为催化剂、水/二氧化碳为气化剂对酒糟进行气化实验。研究了赤泥添加量、气化温度和V（水）/V（二氧化碳）对酒糟气化活性的影响,并对水/二氧化碳共气化协同机理进行了探讨。结果表明：当赤泥添加量为20%（质量分数）时气化活性最佳;升高气化温度有利于提高气化反应活性;随着V（水）/V（二氧化碳）的增大,合成气产量、n（氢气）/n（一氧化碳）均增加,分别达到270.7 mmol/g和6.67;在水/二氧化碳混合气氛下共气化反应产生了明显的协同效应,协同因子在60%水-40%二氧化碳（体积分数）时达到峰值。拉曼光谱、扫描电子显微镜及比表面积分析表明：水/二氧化碳混合气氛下酒糟焦无定形碳和非晶碳结构的破坏程度比在纯水或二氧化碳中更严重,验证了二氧化碳和水在酒糟气化中存在协同效应;二氧化碳更容易在酒糟焦表面发生气化反应,形成大量微孔使其比表面积增加;水炭渗透力较强有利于形成中孔;在水/二氧化碳混合气氛下,二氧化碳与水产生的交互作用促进了孔结构的发育,使酒糟焦的微孔发展为中孔和大孔并促使气化反应向酒糟颗粒内部发展,这是协同效应产生的主要原因。     

可见光下Cu2O/TiO2催化臭氧氧化头孢曲松钠性能研究

抗生素是治疗各种传染病的常用药物,但残留在水环境中的抗生素会对生态系统造成威胁。因此,探索去除水环境中抗生素的有效方法具有重要意义。由于光催化臭氧氧化技术可以高效降解和矿化水体中的污染物,该技术受到广泛关注。本工作通过浸渍-化学还原法制备Cu₂O/TiO₂复合材料并将其作为可见光催化臭氧氧化头孢曲松钠(CRO)的催化剂。利用X射线衍射仪(XRD)、傅里叶变换红外光谱仪(FT-IR)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、比表面积分析仪(BET)和紫外-可见漫反射光谱仪(UV-Vis DRS)对Cu₂O/TiO₂形貌结构和光学性能进行表征,考察了Cu₂O/TiO₂配比、Cu₂O/TiO₂投加量、臭氧浓度、头孢曲松钠初始浓度、溶液初始pH值等因素对可见光催化臭氧氧化头孢曲松钠的影响。结果表明,Cu₂O对TiO₂的掺杂改性使材料孔容和平均孔径增大,能带宽度减小,...     

A Novel Coenzyme A Analogue in the Anaerobic,Sulfate-Reducing,Marine Bacterium Desulfobacula toluolica Tol2T

Coenzyme A (CoA) thioesters are formed during anabolic and catabolic reactions in every organism. Degradation pathways of growth-supporting substrates in bacteria can be predicted by differential proteogenomic studies. Direct detection of proposed metabolites such as CoA thioesters by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry can confirm the reaction sequence and demonstrate the activity of these degradation pathways. In the metabolomes of the anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfobacula toluolica Tol2^T grown with different substrates various CoA thioesters, derived from amino acid, fatty acid or alcohol metabolism, have been detected. Additionally, the cell extracts of this bacterium revealed a number of CoA analogues with molecular masses increased by 1 dalton. By comparing the chromatographic and mass spectrometric properties of synthetic reference standards with those of compounds detected in cell extracts of D. toluolica Tol2^T and by performing co-injection experiments, these analogues were identified as inosino-CoAs. These CoA thioesters contain inosine instead of adenosine as the nucleoside. To the best of our knowledge, this finding represents the first detection of naturally occurring inosino-CoA analogues.