Efficient Photocatalytic Propane Direct Dehydrogenation to Propylene Over PtO Clusters.

The direct dehydrogenation of alkanes to olefins under mild conditions is challenging due to the inert nature of alkyl C─H bonds. Herein, an efficient photocatalytic system is developed for propane direct dehydrogenation (PDH) to propylene, consisting of ≈1.30 nm sized PtO clusters immobilized on a layered double hydroxide -derived ZnO/AlO support (LD-Pt).

LiZrF-based electrolytes for durable lithium metal batteries.

Lithium (Li) metal batteries (LMBs) are promising for high-energy-density rechargeable batteries. However, Li dendrites formed by the reaction between highly active Li and non-aqueous electrolytes lead to safety concerns and rapid capacity decay. Developing a reliable solid-electrolyte interphase is critical for realizing high-rate and long-life LMBs, but remains technically challenging.

Electrochemically synthesized HO at industrial-level current densities enabled by in situ fabricated few-layer boron nanosheets.

Carbon nanomaterials show outstanding promise as electrocatalysts for hydrogen peroxide (HO) synthesis via the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction. However, carbon-based electrocatalysts that are capable of generating HO at industrial-level current densities (>300 mA cm) with high selectivity and long-term stability remain to be discovered. Herein, few-layer boron nanosheets are in-situ introduced into a porous carbon matrix, creating a metal-free electrocatalyst (B-C) with HO production rates of industrial relevance in neutral or alkaline media.

Highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for lead ions based on Bi-MOF/conducting polymer composites.

Herein, conductive polyaniline (PANI) was chemically polymerized on the surface of a bismuth-based metal-organic framework (Bi-MOF) to form conductive PANI@Bi-MOF composites. FT-IR and PXRD measurements verified the successful production of PANI@Bi-MOF, whereas SEM, TEM, and EDAX mapping demonstrated that PANI was uniformly coated on the surface of Bi-MOF. The resulting PANI@Bi-MOF composites were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), then used to develop a sensitive electrochemical sensor for the detection of lead ions based on differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV).

Controlling the Reaction Pathways of Mixed NOH Reactants in Plasma-Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis.

Electrochemical activation of dinitrogen (N) is notoriously challenging, typically yielding very low ammonia (NH) production rates. In this study, we present a continuous flow plasma-electrochemical reactor system for the direct conversion of nitrogen from air into ammonia. In our system, nitrogen molecules are first converted into a mixture of NO species in the plasma reactor, which are then fed into an electrochemical reactor.