Latest ArticlesIn recent years, especially when there is increasing concern about the safety issue of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) have been getting a lot of attention because of their cost-effectiveness, materials abundance, high safety, and ecological friendliness. Their working voltage and specific capacity are mainly determined by their cathode materials. Vanadium oxides are promising cathode materials for aqueous ZIBs owing to their low cost, abundant resources, and multivalence. However, vanadium oxide cathodes still suffer from unsatisfactory capacity, poor stability, and low electrical conductivity. In this work, cascading V2O3/nitrogen doped carbon (V2O3/NC) hybrid nanosheets are prepared for high-performance aqueous ZIBs by pyrolyzing pentyl viologen dibromide (PV) intercalated V2O5 nanosheets. The unique structure features of V2O3/NC nanosheets, including thin sheet-like morphology, small crystalline V2O3 nanoparticles, and conductive NC layers, endow V2O3/NC with superior performance compared to most of the reported vanadium oxide cathode materials for aqueous ZIBs. The V2O3/NC cathode exhibits the discharge capacity of 405 mAh/g at 0.5 A/g, excellent rate capability (159 mAh/g at 20 A/g), and outstanding cycling stability with 90% capacity retention over 4000 cycles at 20 A/g.
van der Waals (vdWs) heterostructures based on two-dimensional (2D) materials have become a promising candidate for photoelectrochemical (PEC) catalyst not only because of the freedom in materials design that enable the band-offset construction and facilitate the charge separation. They also provide a platform for the study of various of interface effect in PEC. Here, we report a new kind of mixed-dimensional vdWs heterostructure photoelectrode and investigate the strain enhanced PEC performance at vdWs interfaces. Our heterostructures are composed of 2D n-type MoS2 nanosheets and three-dimensional (3D) p-type Cu2O nanorod arrays (NRAs), where Cu2O NRAs introduce periodically strain in the p-n junction interface. We find a promotion of the HER catalytic activities in heterostructure based PEC photoelectrodes using in-situ measurement techniques including the scanning electrochemical cell microscopy and various local spectrum probe measurements. This is attributed to the efficient charge separation at the strained heterointerface. Our results demonstrate an interesting venue for understanding the local interface effects with high spatial resolution, and shed light on design and developing high-efficiency photoelectrodes. 1L MoS2/Cu2O vdWs heterostructure photocathodes were prepared by nanoindentation technology. The effects of strain on promoting charge separation at the heterointerface were verified by the enhanced performances in PEC hydrogen evolution reaction of vdWs heterostructure through scanning electrochemical cell microscopy technique and various local spectrum probe measurements.
Carbon materials hold the great promise for application in energy storage devices owing to their low cost, high thermal/chemical stability, and high electrical conductivity. However, it remains challenging to synthesize high-performance carbon electrodes in a simple, scalable and sustainable way. Here, we report a facile method for scalable synthesis of porous carbon anode by using cheap and easily accessible zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 as a template and polyvinylpyrrolidone as an additional carbon source. The obtained porous carbon shows the macroscopic sheet-like morphology, which has the highly disordered structure, expanded interlayer spacing, abundant pore structure, and nitrogen doping properties. This porous carbon anode is demonstrated to have the excellent K+ charge storage properties in specific capacity, rate capability, and cycling stability. A potassium-ion capacitor assembled by using this porous carbon as the anode, delivers a maximum energy density of 85.12 Wh/kg and power density of 11860 W/kg as well as long cycle life exceeding 3000 cycles. This represents a critical advance in the design of low cost and scalable carbon material for applications in energy storage devices.
Because the widely used perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is harmful to both environment and human health, it is of great significance and urgency to develop sensitive and selective sensors for the detection of trace PFOS in water. In this study, a tetraphenylethylene-derived macrocycle BowtieCyclophane has been developed as a fluorescent sensor based on aggregation-induced emission enhancement and fluorochromism. Sensitive detection of PFOS has been achieved with a limit of detection (LOD) of 47.3 ± 2.0 nmol/L (25.4 ± 1.1 µg/L) accompanied by visual fluorescence color changes.
The effects of two solid-based hydrogen peroxides sodium percarbonate (SPC) and calcium peroxide (CP) on waste activated sludge (WAS) disintegration were investigated. Both oxidants achieved efficient WAS disintegration for the synergistic effect of alkaline and oxidation. The strong alkaline condition led to the leakage of ammonia and the existence of abundant calcium ions accelerated the fixation of phosphorus via precipitation in CP WAS disintegration process. However, the spongy-like layer and low pH condition retarded the release of gaseous ammonia in SPC group. Hydroxyl radical was the main oxygen reactive species in SPC approaches which were more intense than CP by electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis. CP treated WAS contented more small particle size matter and total suspended solids (TSS) increased dramatically. In conclusion, CP pretreated sludge was more suitable for fertilization, while SPC was in favor of anaerobic digestion. This study clarified the differences between these two oxidants and their intermediates on nutrients release in sludge disintegration.
Developing all-solid-state polymer electrolytes (SPEs) with high electrochemical performances and stability is of great importance for exploiting of high energy density and safe batteries. Herein, ether linkage and imidazolium ionic liquid (ILs) are incorporated into the multi-armed polymer backbone though the series and parallel way. The parallel polymeric ionic liquid (P-P (PEGMA-IM)) maximizes the synergistic effect of ILs and ether linkage, which endowed the material with low crystallinity and high flame retardancy. The P-P (PEGMA-IM) based P-SPE presents a high ionic conductivity of 0.489 mS/cm at 60 ℃, an excellent lithium-ion transference number of 0.46 and a wide electrochemical window of 4.87 V. The assembled lithium metal battery using P-SPE can deliver a capacity of 151 mAh/g at 0.2 C, and the capacity retention ratio reaches 82% with a columbic efficiency beyond 99%. The overpotential of P-SPE based symmetric battery is 0.08 V, and there is no apparent magnifying even after 130 h cycling. This new design provides a new avenue for exploitation of advanced SPEs for the next-generation batteries.
The process of selectively introducing a CF3 group into an organic molecule using inexpensive, stable, and solid sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate has rapidly advanced in recent years to become an eco-friendly method used by organic chemists to synthesize various natural and bioactive molecules. This review focuses on advances made within the last five years regarding C–H functionalisation, namely thermochemical C(sp2)–H (thio)trifluoromethylations, photochemical C(sp2)–H trifluoromethylations, and electrochemical C(sp2)–H trifluoromethylations, using Langlois' reagent (NaSO2CF3).
The preparation of intelligent-responsive materials with controllable topology structure has long been a significant objective for chemists in the field of materials science. In this paper, we designed and prepared a linear-cyclic reversible topological structure polymer based on the bistable [1]rotaxane molecular shuttle. A ferrocene-functionalized [1]rotaxane and naphthalimide fluorophore group are introduced into the both ends of the polymer, which exhibit distance-induced photo-electron transfer effect. The structural transformation between linear and cyclic state of polymer is demonstrated by simple acid-base stimuli, accompanying visual fluorescence changes. The transformation process was characterized by 1H NMR spectra and fluorescence spectra. This work provides a novel strategy to construct functionalized polymers with topological structure.
A facile and sustainable approach for the amination of benzothiazoles with KSeCN using iodine as the catalyst in water has been disclosed under transition-metal free conditions. The reaction proceeded smoothly to afford various primary 2-amino benzothiazoles in up to 96% yield. A series of control experiments were performed, suggesting a ring-opening mechanism was involved via a radical process. This protocol provides efficient synthesis of primary 2-aminobenzothiazoles
Biopolymers, including DNA and peptides have been used as excellent self-assembling building blocks for programmable single-component or hybrid materials, due to their controlled molecular interactions. However, combining two assembling principles of DNA-based programmability and peptide-based specific molecular interactions for hybrid structures to microscale has not yet been achieved. In this study, we describe a hybrid microsystem that emerges from the co-assembly of DNA origami structure and short elastin-like polypeptide conjugated oligonucleotides, and initiates liquid-liquid phase separation to generate microdroplets upon heating above the transition temperature. Moreover, the hybrid microdroplets are capable for guest molecule trapping and perform bi-/tri-enzymatic cascades with rate enhancements as open "microreactors". Our programmed assembled DNA-peptide microsystem represents a new combination of DNA nanotechnology and peptide science and opens potential application routes toward life-inspired biomaterials.
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