Exploring the influence of cell configurations on Cu catalyst reconstruction during CO electroreduction.

Membrane electrode assembly (MEA) cells incorporating Cu catalysts are effective for generating C chemicals via the CO reduction reaction (CORR). However, the impact of MEA configuration on the inevitable reconstruction of Cu catalysts during CORR remains underexplored, despite its considerable potential to affect CORR efficacy. Herein, we demonstrate that MEA cells prompt a unique reconstruction of Cu, in contrast to H-type cells, which subsequently influences CORR outcomes.

Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer on CuO/TiCT MXene for Propane (CH) Synthesis from Electrochemical CO Reduction.

Electrochemical CO reduction reaction (CORR) to produce value-added multi-carbon chemicals has been an appealing approach to achieving environmentally friendly carbon neutrality in recent years. Despite extensive research focusing on the use of CO to produce high-value chemicals like high-energy-density hydrocarbons, there have been few reports on the production of propane (CH), which requires carbon chain elongation and protonation. A rationally designed 0D/2D hybrid CuO anchored-TiCT MXene catalyst (CuO/MXene) is demonstrated with efficient CORR activity in an aqueous electrolyte to produce CH.

Roll-to-plate 0.1-second shear-rolling process at elevated temperature for highly aligned nanopatterns.

The shear-rolling process is a promising directed self-assembly method that can produce high-quality sub-10 nm block copolymer line-space patterns cost-effectively and straightforwardly over a large area. This study presents a high temperature (280 °C) and rapid (~0.1 s) shear-rolling process that can achieve a high degree of orientation in a single process while effectively preventing film delamination, that can be applied to large-area continuous processes.

Toward economical application of carbon capture and utilization technology with near-zero carbon emission.

Carbon capture and utilization technology has been studied for its practical ability to reduce CO emissions and enable economical chemical production. The main challenge of this technology is that a large amount of thermal energy must be provided to supply high-purity CO and purify the product. Herein, we propose a new concept called reaction swing absorption, which produces synthesis gas (syngas) with net-zero CO emission through direct electrochemical CO reduction in a newly proposed amine solution, triethylamine.

Strategies for Increasing the Rate of Defect Annihilation in the Directed Self-Assembly of High-χ Block Copolymers.

Directed self-assembly (DSA) of high-χ block copolymer thin films is a promising approach for nanofabrication of features with length scale below 10 nm. Recent work has highlighted that kinetics are of crucial importance in determining whether a block copolymer film can self-assemble into a defect-free ordered state. In this work, different strategies for improving the rate of defect annihilation in the DSA of a silicon-containing, high-χ block copolymer film were explored.

Efficient light harvesting with micropatterned 3D pyramidal photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells.

3D TiO2 photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are fabricated by the soft lithographic technique for efficient light trapping. An extended strategy to the construction of randomized pyramid structure is developed by the conventional wet-etching of a silicon wafer for low-cost fabrication. Moreover, the futher enhancement of light absorption resulting in photocurrent increase is achieved by combining the 3D photoanode with a conventional scattering layer.