Latest ArticlesA facile preparation strategy was proposed for preparation of compact zeolite LTA membranes on polyethyleneimine (PEI) modified substrates without seeding. Through the functionalization of substrates by using PEI, compact LTA membranes can be formed on various kinds of substrates. A well-intergrown and phase-pure LTA membrane with a thickness of about 3.0 μm is successfully prepared on the α-Al2O3 disk after crystallization for 24 h at 60 ℃. Besides LTA membrane, well-intergrown zeolite FAU membranes can also be formed on PEI-modified α-Al2O3 substrates, suggesting the universality of this strategy. The zeolite LTA membranes synthesized on PEI-modified α-Al2O3 tubes were evaluated for the separation of alcohols/water mixture through pervaporation. The as-synthesized zeolite LTA membranes display high pervaporation performances. For the separation of 10 wt% iso-propanol/water solution at 90 ℃, a high separation factor of 44991 and a water flux of 1.73 kg m-2 h-1 are achieved.
Size-controlled flow synthesis of nanoporous particles are of considerable interest for future industrial applications, however, is facing challenges due to lack of in-situ method for size-characterization in fluidic environment. We present that ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) absorption spectroscopy can be integrated into a flow-synthesis system which was produced by femtosecond laser micromachining. The shift of the absorption peak position of the ex-situ and in-situ UV–vis spectra correlates to variation of size of porous metal-organic frameworks crystals. ZIF-67 crystals with a size in the range from 200 nm to 1025 nm are fabricated with the assistance of tri-ethylamine under monitoring of in-situ UV–vis spectra. The ZIF-67 crystals are converted into nanoporous carbons particles with controlled sizes. These materials show size-dependent performance in Na-ion battery and size-independent performance in metal/H2O seawater battery.
The 1D microwires based on π-extended azaBODIPY were successfully prepared and characterized for the first time. The bisphenanthrene-fused azaBPP-12C with four hydrophobic chains was prepared through de novo synthesis method involving the Suzuki reaction and subsequent oxidative ring-fused coupling. The microwires and aggregation behavior were studied using SEM, XRD and absorption spectroscopy. Finally, an H-type aggregation was confirmed in the solution process.
MoS2 has emerged for catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction. Various notable strategies have been developed to downsize the MoS2 particles and expose more active edges. However, the restacking issue, which reduces the exposure degree, has rarely been taken into account. Herein, we report on a facile proton-induced fast hydrothermal approach to produce size-controllable MoS2 nanocatalysts and demonstrate that along the varying of sheet sizes, there is a trade-off between the intrinsic catalytic activity (mainly determined by the unsaturated sulfur on the sheet edges) and the active edge accessibility (influenced by the assembly structure). The size-optimized catalyst delivers a high performance of a low overpotential of ~200 mV at 10 mA/cm2, a Tafel slope of 46.3 mV/dec, and a stable working state, which is comparable to the recent notable works. Our findings will provide a pathway for its large-scale application and enhance the water electrolysis performance.
Catalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have garnered great attention as the key character in metal-air batteries. Herein, we developed a superior nonprecious bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst, fabricated through spatial confinement of Fe/Fe3C nanocrystals in pyridinic N and Fe-Nx rich carbon nanotubes (Fe/Fe3C-N-CNTs). During ORR, the resultant electrocatalyst exhibits positive onset potential of 1.0 V (vs. RHE), large half-wave potentials of 0.88 V (vs. RHE), which is more positive than Pt/C (0.98 V and 0.83 V, respectively). Remarkably, Fe/Fe3C-N-CNTs exhibits outstanding durability and great methanol tolerance, exceeding Pt/C and most reported nonprecious metal-based oxygen reduction electrocatalysts. Moreover, Fe/Fe3C-N-CNTs show a markedly low potential at j =10 mA/cm2, small Tafel slopes and extremely high stability for OER. Impressively, the Fe/Fe3C-N-CNTs-based Zn-air batteries demonstrate high power density of 183 mW/cm2 and robust charge/discharge stability. It is revealed that the spatial confinement effect can impede the aggregation and corrosion of Fe/Fe3C nanocrystals. Meanwhile, Fe/Fe3C and Fe-Nx play synergistic effect on boosting the ORR/OER activity, which provides an important guideline for construction of inexpensive nonprecious metal-carbon hybrid nanomaterials.
The development of novel anode materials, with superior rate capability, is of utmost significance for the successful realization of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Herein, we present a nanocomposite of Nb2O5 and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by using hydrothermal-assisted microemulsion route. The water-in-oil microemulsion formed nanoreactors, which restrained the particle size of Nb2O5 and shortened the diffusion length of ions. Moreover, the rGO network prevented agglomeration of Nb2O5 nanoparticles and improved electronic conductivity. Consequently, Nb2O5@rGO nanocomposite is employed as anode material in SIBs, delivering a capacity of 195 mAh/g after 200 charge/discharge cycles at 0.2 A/g. Moreover, owing to conductive rGO network, the Nb2O5@rGO electrode rendered a specific capacity of 76 mAh/g at high current density of 10 A/g and maintained 98 mAh/g after 1000 charge/discharge cycles at 2 A/g. The Nb2O5@rGO electrode material prepared by microemulsion method shows promising possibilities for application of SIBs.
An unexpected in-situ hydrolysis reaction occurred during the solvothermal reaction of N, N'-bis(4-carboxy-2-methylphenyl)pyromellitic di-imide) and Ba(NO3)2, and a novel porous Ba-MOF, [H2N(CH3)2]0.5[Ba1.5(L)(DMA)]·1.5DMA·1.5H2O (UPC-70, H3L = 2-(4-carboxy-2-methylphenyl)-1, 3-dioxoisoin-doline-5, 6-dicarboxylic acid, DMA = N, N-dimethylacetamide), was obtained on the basis of the partial hydrolysate. The as-synthesized 3D network with 1D open channels of different sizes (24 Å and 10 Å) contains abundant open metal sites after removal of solvents, which is conducive to the preferential adsorption of CO2. The subsequent gas sorption measurement reveals the high separation selectivity of UPC-70 for CO2/CH4 (15) and CO2/N2 (32) at ambient conditions, and GCMC theoretical simulation provides good verification of the experimental results, indicating that UPC-70 is a potential candidate for CO2 capture from flue gas and natural gas.
Charge transfer via electron hopping from an electron donor (D) to an acceptor (A) in nanoscale, plays a crucial role in optoelectronic materials, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs). Here, we propose a strategy for binding D/A units in space, where intramolecular charge-transfer can take place. The resulted material DM-Me-B is able to give bright emission in this molecular architecture because of the good control of D/A interaction and conformational rigidity. Moreover, DM-Me-B presents small singlet-triplet splitting energy, enabling thermally activated delayed fluorescence. Therefore, the DM-Me-B exhibits ~20% maximum external quantum efficiency and low efficiency roll-off at 1000cd/m2, certifying an effective strategy in controlling D/A blocks through space.
In this work, various Co3O4-ZSM-5 catalysts were prepared by the microwave hydrothermal method (MH-Co3O4@ZSM-5), dynamic hydrothermal method (DH-Co3O4@ZSM-5), and conventional hydrothermal method (CH-Co3O4/ZSM-5). Their catalytic oxidation of dichloromethane (DCM) was analyzed. Detailed characterizations such as X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), temperature-programmed desorption of O2 (O2-TPD), temperature-programmed desorption of NH3 (NH3-TPD), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier-transform spectra with NH3 molecules (NH3-DRIFT), and temperature-programmed surface reaction (TPSR) were performed. Results showed that with the assistance of microwave, MH-Co3O4@ZSM-5 formed a uniform core-shell structure, while the other two samples did not. MH-Co3O4@ZSM-5 possessed rich surface adsorbed oxygen species, higher ratio of Co3+/Co2+, strong acidity, high reducibility, and oxygen mobility among the three Co3O4-ZSM-5 catalysts, which was beneficial for the improvement of DCM oxidation. In the oxidation of dichloromethane, MH-Co3O4@ZSM-5 presented the best activity and mineralization, which was consistent with the characterizations results. Meanwhile, according to the TPSR test, HCl or Cl2 removal from the catalyst surface was also promoted in MH-Co3O4@ZSM-5 by their abundant Brønsted acid sites and the promotion of Deacon reaction by Co3O4 or the synergistic effect of Co3O4 and ZSM-5. According to the results of in situ DRIFT studies, a possible reaction pathway of DCM oxidation was proposed over the MH-Co3O4@ZSM-5 catalysts.
A simple and efficient visible-light-induced photoredox-catalyzed diarylation of N-methacryloyl-2-arylbenzoimidazoles with aryl diazonium salts was developed. The reaction provides a convenient access to a variety of benzimidazoisoquinolinones through the construction of two CC bonds in one step under mild reaction conditions.