Facile growth of novel morphology correlated Ag/Co-doped ZnO nanowire/flake-like composites for superior photoelectrochemical water splitting activity

In this paper, novel morphology correlation between silver nanowires (AgNWs) and cobalt (Co)-doped ZnO (Co-ZnO) flake-like thin films (nanowire/flake-like) has been proposed for enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting activity. Here in, high-quality AgNWs/Co-ZnO heterostructures enabled superior visible light water splitting activity compared to the pure ZnO and AgNWs/ZnO. To address the strategic effect of AgNWs coupling and transition metal (Co-2?at%) doping into the ZnO host lattice, we have carried out the X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–Vis transmittance, water contact angle and PEC analyses. In this way, PEC water splitting activity was mainly examined by linear sweep voltammetry (I-V), amperometric I-t and photoconversion efficiency (η) studies. The experimental results provide clear evidence of morphology correlation between AgNWs and Co-ZnO flake-like structures for strong visible light absorption. Specifically, AgNWs/Co-ZnO composites exhibited significant enhancement in the photocurrent density (7.0?×?10^?4 A/cm²) than AgNWs/ZnO (3.2?×?10^?4 A/cm²) and pure ZnO (1.5?×?10^?6 A/cm²). As a result, detailed AgNWs/Co-ZnO geometry has great potential for photoconversion efficiency (0.73%). In a word, the merits of controllable AgNWs/Co-ZnO heterostructure are proposed to improve the visible light harvesting and charge carrier generation for energy conversion devices.     

Functionalization of carbon support and its influence on the electrocatalytic behaviour of Pt/C in H2 and CO electrooxidation

Chemical modification of Carbon Vulcan XC-72R for fuel cell applications has been undertaken. Treated carbons were used as carriers for the deposition of Pt nanoparticles and used as electrocatalysts. The influence of the carbon treatment, as well as that of the Pt nanoparticles generation and their deposition route has been studied. The behaviour of the electrocatalysts in the CO and hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) has been studied. It was observed that carbon pre-treatment lead to difference behaviour in the CO oxidation reaction compared with the performance over non treated supports. In this way, CO oxidation was controlled by the nature of the support rather than by the nature of the Pt particles alone.     

Tetragonal pencil-like VO2(R) as electrode materials for high-performance redox activities

Pencil-like tetragonal vanadium dioxide has been synthesized via one-step hydrothermal treatment. The compounds were analyzed through X-ray powder diffraction; scanning electron microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The optical properties of the as-synthesized material were studied by UV–visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy and room temperature photoluminescence. Thin films of VO₂(R) deposited on ITO substrates were electrochemically characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The voltammograms show a reversible redox behavior with a doping/dedoping process corresponding to reversible cation intercalation/de-intercalation into the crystal lattice of the pencil. This process is easier in propylene carbonate than in aqueous solvent. It is also easier for the small Li⁺ cation than larger ones, Na⁺ and K⁺. This is attributed to a probable presence of one tunnel cavities in the structure of VO₂(R). The good electrochemical property of the VO₂(R) is attributed to its unique ultralong nanopencils structure with a good structural stability.     

A review of cobalt monoxide and its composites for supercapacitors

Cobalt monoxide is a low–valence compound with a face–centered cubic structure and has been deemed as a promising electrode material for energy storage, such as batteries and supercapacitors (SC). In this work, the recent progress of CoO and its composites for SC application is briefly reviewed. The preparation methods for CoO are summarized at first. With the development of nanotechnologies, various CoO nanostructures are thus synthesized for SC, but most architectures grown on conductive substrates show higher specific capacitance than the corresponding power materials. If integrated with some typical guest materials, such as transition metal oxides, hydroxides, sulfides, and carbon materials (including carbon nanotubes, graphene and porous carbon) as well as conductive polymers, the CoO composites usually deliver promoted electrochemical performances. Thus, much attention is focused on the composites of CoO. An outlook for future work is finally put forward.     

Preparation of ractopamine-tetraphenylborate complexed nanoparticles used as sensors to rapidly determine ractopamine residues in pork

In this work, we reported a simple, fast, and sensitive determination of ractopamine (RAC) residues in pork by using novel ractopamine-tetraphenylborate complexed nanoparticles (RT NPs) as sensors. The prepared RT NPs exhibited a fast response time of 10 s, a wide linear range from 0.1 to 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol/L, and a very low detection limit of 7.4 × 10⁻⁸ mol/L. The prepared sensor also presents a high selectivity for ractopamine under different pH conditions ranged from 2.85 to 7.18. These results reveal that the fabricated RT NPs can be used as efficient electrochemical sensors to determine ractopamine in animal productions.     

Study of Pre-Treatment of Oil Refinery Wastewater by EEF-Enhanced Micro-Electrolysis

Oil refinery wastewater is rich in organic pollutants and cannot be treated easily. This study involves the pre-treatment of oil refinery wastewater by external electric field (EEF)-enhanced micro-electrolysis technology. The anode was titanium net plated with ruthenium, the cathode was barbed wire, and the Fe/C/Al micro-electrolysis filler as particle electrode. The optimum conditions for EEF-enhanced micro-electrolysis were determined to be as initial pH of 3.0, 10 V EEF voltage, and 0.06 mol/L electrolyte concentrations by studying the influence of different experimental parameters. It was also found that EEF-enhanced micro-electrolysis had a higher efficiency than the traditional micro-electrolysis in the degradation of the organic pollutants present in the oil refinery wastewater. Continuous running results showed the removal rate of COD (chemical oxygen demand), ammonia nitrogen and oil of the effluent was stable, and the average value of the effluent B/C (biochemical oxygen demand/chemical oxygen demand) ratio was 0.454 ± 0.013. The values of EC (energy consumption) and ICE (instantaneous current efficiency) were 9.8 kWh/Kg COD and 340.5%, respectively, when the reaction time was 60 min in oil refinery wastewater pre-treatment by EEF-enhanced micro-electrolysis technology. GC/MS was used to analyze the organic compounds present in the wastewater before and after treatment. UV-visible absorption spectroscopy was used to analyze the degradation process of the organic compounds present in the oil refinery wastewater. The results of these analyses confirmed the technical feasibility of EEF-enhanced micro-electrolysis in the pre-treatment of the oil refining wastewater. Finally, the main mechanism involved in the treatment of refinery wastewater by EEF-enhanced micro-electrolysis technology has been discussed.     

Corrosion behavior in simulated environments of ITZO films prepared by two targets co-sputtering

Indium tin zirconium oxide (ITZO) films were deposited by a co-sputtering technique with ITO and zirconium targets. The stability and corrosion behavior of films in simulated environments were studied on account of microstructure and optical–electrical properties. The results show that ITZO films possess a better crystalline structure and optical–electrical properties. Zirconium-doping changes the preferred orientation of ITO films, and ITZO films under the optimum parameters have sheet resistance of 10 Ω/sq and transmittance of above 85%. According to the polarization measurements and the relative resistance change of the films in simulated environments such as acidic climate, oceanic climate and industrial climate, the doping films show better chemical and thermal stabilities than ITO films. Besides the influence of crystal structure, the better stability of zirconium oxide can improve the chemical and thermal stabilities. ITZO films have better electrical stability and chemical antcaustic properties, and the films could find more extensive applications.