Surface functional groups and degree of carbonization of selected chars from different processes and feedstock.

The knowledge of the structural and chemical properties of biochars is decisive for their application as technical products. For this reason, methods for the characterization of biochars that are generally applicable and allow quality control are highly desired. Several methods that have shown potential in other studies were used to investigate two activated carbons and seven biochars from different processes and feedstock.

Multistep Sulfur Leaching for the Development of a Highly Efficient and Stable NiS/Ni(OH)/NiOOH Electrocatalyst for Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis.

Nickel (poly)sulfides have been widely studied as anodic catalysts for alkaline water electrolysis owing to their diverse morphologies, high catalytic activities in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and low cost. To utilize low-cost and high-efficiency polysulfides with industry-relevant cycling stability, we develop a Ni-rich NiS/Ni(OH)/NiOOH catalyst derived from NiS/NiS nanocubes. Ni-rich NiS/Ni(OH)/NiOOH shows improved OER catalytic activity (η = 374 mV@50 mA cm) and stability (0.

Migration Kinetics of Surface Ions in Oxygen-Deficient Perovskite During Topotactic Transitions.

Oxygen diffusivity and surface exchange kinetics underpin the ionic, electronic, and catalytic functionalities of complex multivalent oxides. Towards understanding and controlling the kinetics of oxygen transport in emerging technologies, it is highly desirable to reveal the underlying lattice dynamics and ionic activities related to oxygen variation. In this study, the evolution of oxygen content is identified in real-time during the progress of a topotactic phase transition in La Sr MnO epitaxial thin films, both at the surface and throughout the bulk.

Nickel Structures as a Template Strategy to Create Shaped Iridium Electrocatalysts for Electrochemical Water Splitting.

Low-cost, highly active, and highly stable catalysts are desired for the generation of hydrogen and oxygen using water electrolyzers. To enhance the kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction in an acidic medium, it is of paramount importance to redesign iridium electrocatalysts into novel structures with organized morphology and high surface area. Here, we report on the designing of a well-defined and highly active hollow nanoframe based on iridium.

Correction: Tantalum(v) 1,3-propanediolate β-diketonate solution as a precursor to sol-gel derived, metal oxide thin films.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/D0RA02558E.].

Tantalum(v) 1,3-propanediolate β-diketonate solution as a precursor to sol-gel derived, metal oxide thin films.

Tantalum oxide is ubiquitous in everyday life, from capacitors in electronics to ion conductors for electrochromic windows and electrochemical storage devices. Investigations into sol-gel deposition of tantalum oxide, and its sister niobium oxide, has accelerated since the 1980s and continues to this day. The aim of this study is to synthesize a near UV sensitive, air stable, and low toxicity tantalum sol-gel precursor solution for metal oxide thin films - these attributes promise to reduce manufacturing costs and allow for facile mass production.

Direct Synthesis of Methyl Formate from CO With Phosphine-Based Polymer-Bound Ru Catalysts.

Methyl formate was produced in one pot through the hydrogenation of CO to formic acid/formate followed by an esterification step. The route offers the possibility to integrate renewable energy into the fossil-based chemical value chain. In this work, a phosphine-polymer-anchored Ru complex was shown to be an efficient solid catalyst for the direct hydrogenation of CO to methyl formate.

Hydrogenation of CO to Formate over Ruthenium Immobilized on Solid Molecular Phosphines.

Formic acid is a promising hydrogen storage medium and can be produced by catalytic hydrogenation of CO . Molecular ruthenium complexes immobilized on phosphine polymers have been found to exhibit excellent productivity and selectivity in the catalytic hydrogenation of CO under mild conditions. The polymeric analog of 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane exhibited the highest activity and turnover numbers up to 13 170 were obtained in a single run.

[From Geomorphological Research in the Canton of Aargau to European Military Pathologies. Entangling Anthropological Discourses of Crisis through the Army, 1860-1900].

Military statistics and medical research were closely related over the 19th century. The army not only made use of these new forms of knowledge, but also provided an important institutional setting through the military medicine, which was of crucial importance to medical research in the 19th century. Besides that, Swiss military also played a crucial role in new geographical and geological research, resulting in a series of new mapping projects.

Kinetically limited CO adsorption: spill-over as a highly effective adsorption pathway on bimetallic surfaces.

We demonstrate that the (local) adsorbed carbon monoxide, COad , coverage on the Pt-free areas of bimetallic Pt/Ru(0001) surfaces (a Ru(0001) substrate partly covered by Pt monolayer islands) can be increased to ∼0.80 monolayers (ML), well above the established saturation COad coverage of 0.68 ML, even under ultrahigh vacuum conditions by using spill-over of CO adsorbed on the Pt islands to the Ru areas as an highly effective adsorption channel.

Stability and chemisorption properties of ultrathin TiO(x)/Pt(111) films and Au/TiO(x)/Pt(111) model catalysts in reactive atmospheres.

The stability of three ultrathin TiO(x)/Pt(111) films with different stoichiometry and defectivity and the corresponding Au/TiO(x)/Pt(111) model catalysts in CO or a CO-O(2) (1 : 1) gas mixture up to a pressure of 100 mbar has been investigated. According to previous studies, the ultrathin films proved to be effective substrates to deposit in UHV Au nanoparticles with specific morphologies and lateral sizes ranging between 1 and 6 nm. The films have been characterized before and after the exposure using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM).