Template-directed synthesis of nitrogen- and sulfur-codoped carbon nanowire aerogels with enhanced electrocatalytic performance for oxygen reduction

Heteroatom doping,precise composition control,and rational morphology design are efficient strategies for producing novel nanocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells.Herein,a cost-effective approach to synthesize nitrogen-and sulfur-codoped carbon nanowire aerogels using a hard templating method is proposed.The aerogels prepared using a combination of hydrothermal treatment and carbonization exhibit good catalytic activity for the ORR in alkaline solution.At the optimal annealing temperature and mass ratio between the nitrogen and sulfur precursors,the resultant aerogels show comparable electrocatalytic activity to that of a commercial Pt/C catalyst for the ORR.Importantly,the optimized catalyst shows much better long-term stability and satisfactory tolerance for the methanol crossover effect.These codoped aerogels are expected to have potential applications in fuel cells.     

苯酚-间甲酚-糠醛基炭气凝胶的制备及微结构控制

以苯酚、间甲酚和糠醛为原料,在正丙醇溶剂中以盐酸为催化剂经溶胶-凝胶过程合成了醇凝胶,直接超临界正丙醇干燥得到有机气凝胶,在氮气保护下裂解制备出富含中孔的炭气凝胶.用IR、N2吸附、SEM、TEM等表征气凝胶的结构特征,考察了问甲酚苯酚摩尔比对凝胶结构的影响.结果发现:提高间甲酚的含量能够增强聚合物的交联密度,减小聚合物与溶剂的相溶性,缩短相分离时间,有利于得到较小的纳米颗粒和孔径的炭气凝胶.所制得的炭气凝胶平均中孔孔径随间甲酚含量的增加从47 nm逐渐减小至13 nm,BET比表面积和中孔孔容在m-C/P=0.33时达到最大值.     

Versatile Aerogels for Sensors

Aerogels are unique solid‐state materials composed of interconnected 3D solid networks and a large number of air‐filled pores. They extend the structural characteristics as well as physicochemical properties of nanoscale building blocks to macroscale, and integrate typical characteristics of aerogels, such as high porosity, large surface area, and low density, with specific properties of the various constituents. These features endow aerogels with high sensitivity, high selectivity, and fast response and recovery for sensing materials in sensors such as gas sensors, biosensors and strain and pressure sensors, among others. Considerable research efforts in recent years have been devoted to the development of aerogel‐based sensors and encouraging accomplishments have been achieved. Herein, groundbreaking advances in the preparation, classification, and physicochemical properties of aerogels and their sensing applications are presented. Moreover, the current challenges and some perspectives for the development of high‐performance aerogel‐based sensors are summarized.     

预测纤维增强气凝胶复合材料热导率的研究进展

SiO2气凝胶复合材料具有纳米尺度结构和极低热导率,作为隔热保温材料在航天航空、建筑和其他工业领域具有重要的科学和应用价值。根据纤维在气凝胶基体中的不同分布方式,概述了预测 SiO2气凝胶复合材料的气固耦合热导率的研究进展;基于纤维和气凝胶的消光系数的不同计算方法,概述了预测 SiO2气凝胶复合材料的辐射热导率的研究进展。并提出了纤维增强气凝胶复合材料体系存在的跨尺度、多物相、分级及相互耦合等仍需进一步解决的难题,结合最新发展的格子 Boltzmann 方法(LBM),指出了预测 SiO2气凝胶复合材料等效热导率的可能发展方向。     

Ice‐Templated Assembly Strategy to Construct 3D Boron Nitride Nanosheet Networks in Polymer Composites for Thermal Conductivity Improvement

Owing to the growing heat removal issue of modern electronic devices, polymer composites with high thermal conductivity have drawn much attention in the past few years. However, a traditional method to enhance the thermal conductivity of the polymers by addition of inorganic fillers usually creates composite with not only limited thermal conductivity but also other detrimental effects due to large amount of fillers required. Here, novel polymer composites are reported by first constructing 3D boron nitride nanosheets (3D‐BNNS) network using ice‐templated approach and then infiltrating them with epoxy matrix. The obtained polymer composites exhibit a high thermal conductivity (2.85 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹), a low thermal expansion coefficient (24–32 ppm K⁻¹), and an increased glass transition temperature (T_g) at relatively low BNNSs loading (9.29 vol%). These results demonstrate that this approach opens a new avenue for design and preparation of polymer composites with high thermal conductivity. The polymer composites are potentially useful in advanced electronic packaging techniques, namely, thermal interface materials, underfill materials, molding compounds, and organic substrates.     

Advances in tailoring resorcinol-formaldehyde organic and carbon gels

An overview on the preparation and properties of resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) organic and carbon gels reveals the fascinating and remarkably flexible properties of RF carbon and organic gels and how these properties are related to the synthesis and processing conditions. The structural properties can be easily tailored by rigidly controlling such conditions. However, slight variations in some conditions may cause drastic variations in the structural characteristics, and hence properties. Therefore, the effects of different conditions must be well-understood before attempting to tailor organic or carbon gels to specific applications. The most important factors that affect the properties of an organic gel are the precursor concentrations, the catalyst type and concentration, the time and temperature of curing, and the drying method. In addition to these factors, characteristics of activated carbon gels also depend on the pyrolysis temperature and the activation method. These conditions impact the structural and performance characteristics significantly.     

二氧化硅气凝胶棉毡保温性能的研究

根据圆管导热仪的原理,建立实验台,通过试验测量二氧化硅气凝胶毡的导热系数,得出计算温差与导热系数的曲线,并进行误差分析,再与传统保温材料的导热系数进行对比,体现出二氧化硅气凝胶毡在同类产品中的优越性.     

Photoluminescent Polymer Aerogels with R,G and B Emission

In this work, three new polymer aerogels based on 2-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate (HEMA) complexes with Eu(III), Tb(III) and La(III) are prepared and investigated. The polymer aerogels present strong photoluminescence with emissions located in the red, green and blue regions of the visible spectrum. Depending on the water content used during the preparation path, the consistency of the photoluminescent aerogels varies from rigid, regularly shaped monoliths to a flexible, fibrous material with very low density. The morpho-structural investigation was performed by FT-IR, XPS and SEM. Thermal behavior was also evaluated, while steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, absolute PLQY and lifetime were used for the investigation of their luminescent properties. The impressive photoluminescent emission located in the red, green and blue areas of the visible spectrum is preserved irrespective of the selected porosity. Their photo-emissive properties, tunable porosity and the convenience of the preparation path could be some arguments for applications as photonic conversion mediums in special-purpose optoelectronic devices or sensors.     

稠油热采注汽管线新型节能保温材料

针对稠油热采注汽管线保温技术差,散热损失大等问题,从影响注汽管线保温效果的关键环节入手,采用先进的保温工艺和材料,重点做好管线保温材料的优选、保温层结构的优化和管线支架的散热保温三个方面工作。通过应用效果比较,对注汽管线保温采用纳米气凝毯复合反射式保温结构和节能支架进行技术改造,节能效果明显。