Transient Metal Centers at the Covalent Heterointerface Favor Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

Semiconductor heterostructures effectively promote the transfer and separation of interfacial photoinduced charges for the photocatalytic process. Herein, we constructed a direct Z-scheme SnSe/CdS heterojunction photocatalyst. N-type SnSe semiconductors are suitable candidate materials for oxidation half-reactions in Z-scheme heterojunctions.

Enhancing Visible-Light Hydrogen Evolution Performance of Crystalline Carbon Nitride by Defect Engineering.

Crystalline carbon nitride (CCN)-based semiconductors have recently attracted widespread attention in solar energy conversion. However, further modifying the photocatalytic ability of CCN always results in a trade-off between high crystallinity and good photocatalytic performance. Herein, a facile defect engineering strategy was demonstrated to modify the CCN photocatalysts.

Structure-Mediated Charge Separation in Boron Carbon Nitride for Enhanced Photocatalytic Oxidation of Alcohol.

Boron carbon nitride (BCN) is a promising earth-abundant photocatalyst for solar energy conversion. However, the photocatalytic activities of BCN materials remain moderate because of the fast electron-hole recombination. Herein, an ordered BCN structure is fabricated by a facile one-step thermal treatment strategy.

Constructing hierarchical sulfur-doped nitrogenous carbon nanosheets for sodium-ion storage.

Hierarchical sulfur-doped nitrogenous carbon (S/NC) and nitrogenous carbon (NC) nanosheets are successfully fabricated by carbonization of their corresponding precursor polymers which are synthesized through the polymerization reaction of dianhydride and multi-amine compounds. Hierarchical S/NC nanosheets deliver greatly enhanced reversible capacity, compared with hierarchical NC nanosheets, of 280 mAh g at a current density of 100 mA g after 300 cycles. It is found that the introduction of sulfur species in carbon skeleton results in increasing the turbostratic structures, rather than enlarging the interlayer distances, for boosting the specific capacity of sodium-ion storage.

Hexagonal boron nitride nanoplates as emerging biological nanovectors and their potential applications in biomedicine.

The application of nanomaterials in the biological and medical areas has attracted great attention. Cytotoxicity, stability and solubility are the prerequisites for a nanomaterial to be considered for application in the field of biomedicine. Here, we suggest a simple method to produce highly dispersed water-soluble ultrathin h-BN nanoplates whose size measures ca.

Hydrogenation of nitroarenes into aromatic amines over Ag@BCN colloidal catalysts.

The present work reports that two-dimension layered ternary boron carbon nitrogen nanosheets can serve as good carriers to support and disperse noble metal nanoparticles. The Ag@BCN colloids have thus been prepared by attaching Ag nanoparticles on the surfaces of BCN nanosheets. The detailed structures of the Ag@BCN samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscope, infrared, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Boron nitride encapsulated copper nanoparticles: a facile one-step synthesis and their effect on thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate.

Reactivity is of great importance for metal nanoparticles used as catalysts, biomaterials and advanced sensors, but seeking for high reactivity seems to be conflict with high chemical stability required for metal nanoparticles. There is a subtle balance between reactivity and stability. This could be reached for colloidal metal nanoparticles using organic capping reagents, whereas it is challenging for powder metal nanoparticles.

Carbon-doped BN nanosheets for metal-free photoredox catalysis.

The generation of sustainable and stable semiconductors for solar energy conversion by photoredox catalysis, for example, light-induced water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction, is a key challenge of modern materials chemistry. Here we present a simple synthesis of a ternary semiconductor, boron carbon nitride, and show that it can catalyse hydrogen or oxygen evolution from water as well as carbon dioxide reduction under visible light illumination. The ternary B-C-N alloy features a delocalized two-dimensional electron system with sp(2) carbon incorporated in the h-BN lattice where the bandgap can be adjusted by the amount of incorporated carbon to produce unique functions.

Dispersing molecular cobalt in graphitic carbon nitride frameworks for photocatalytic water oxidation.

The development of water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) to cooperate with light-energy transducers for solar energy conversion by water splitting and CO2 fixation is a demanding challenge. The key measure is to develop efficient and sustainable WOCs that can support a sustainable photocatalyst to reduce over-potentials and thus to enhance reaction rate of water oxidation reaction. Cobalt has been indentified as active component of WOCs for photo/electrochemical water oxidation, and its performance relies strongly on the contact and adhesion of the cobalt species with photoactive substrates.

Dispersed Cu₂O octahedrons on h-BN nanosheets for p-nitrophenol reduction.

We demonstrate here that two-dimensional boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets can be employed as a robust supporting substrate to incorporate function metal oxides. The Cu2O@h-BN composites are thus obtained by dispersing Cu2O octahedrons on the surfaces of h-BN nanosheets. The -OH and -NH groups on the surfaces of h-BN nanosheets are found to be beneficial for anchoring Cu2O octahedrons.

Tuning of an optical dimer nanoantenna by electrically controlling its load impedance.

Optical antennas are elementary units used to direct optical radiation to the nanoscale. Here we demonstrate an active control over individual antenna performances by an external electrical trigger. We find that by an in-plane command of an anisotropic load medium, the electromagnetic interaction between individual elements constituting an optical antenna can be controlled, resulting in a strong polarization and tuning response.

[Statistical comparison of independent validation results for near infrared spectroscopy models predicting calorific value of straw].

Two hundred and twenty-two straw samples, consisting of 170 rice straw samples and 50 wheat straw samples, were collected from 24 provinces of China. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)was applied to build quantitative models for calorific value of straw combining the use of principal component regression (PCR), partial least square regression (PLS)and modified partial least square regression (MPLS). Different scatter correction methods and derivative treatments were adopted to help improve the accuracy of NIRS models.

[Proximate analysis of straw by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)].

Proximate analysis is one of the routine analysis procedures in utilization of straw for biomass energy use. The present paper studied the applicability of rapid proximate analysis of straw by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technology, in which the authors constructed the first NIRS models to predict volatile matter and fixed carbon contents of straw. NIRS models were developed using Foss 6500 spectrometer with spectra in the range of 1,108-2,492 nm to predict the contents of moisture, ash, volatile matter and fixed carbon in the directly cut straw samples; to predict ash, volatile matter and fixed carbon in the dried milled straw samples.