In situ construction of robust artificial solid-electrolyte interphase layer on lithium-metal anode by a facile one-step solution route.

Development of high energy density lithium-metal batteries (LMBs) is markedly hindered by the interfacial instability on lithium-metal anode side. Solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) is a fundamental factor to regulate dendrite growth and enhance the stability of lithium-metal anodes. Here, trithiocyanuric acid, a triazine derivative with sulfhydryl groups, is used as an efficient promoter to favor the construction of a robust artificial SEI layer on the lithium metal surface, which greatly benefits the stability and efficiency of LMBs.

Oxophilic Ce single atoms-triggered active sites reverse for superior alkaline hydrogen evolution.

The state-of-the-art alkaline hydrogen evolution catalyst of united ruthenium single atoms and small ruthenium nanoparticles has sparked considerable research interest. However, it remains a serious problem that hydrogen evolution primarily proceeds on the less active ruthenium single atoms instead of the more efficient small ruthenium nanoparticles in the catalyst, hence largely falling short of its full activity potential. Here, we report that by combining highly oxophilic cerium single atoms and fully-exposed ruthenium nanoclusters on a nitrogen functionalized carbon support, the alkaline hydrogen evolution centers are facilely reversed to the more active ruthenium nanoclusters driven by the strong oxophilicity of cerium, which significantly improves the hydrogen evolution activity of the catalyst with its mass activity up to -10.

Engineering Molecular Heterostructured Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Introducing a second metal species into atomically dispersed metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) catalysts to construct diatomic sites (DASs) is an effective strategy to elevate their activities and stabilities. However, the common pyrolysis-based method usually leads to substantial uncertainty for the formation of DASs, and the precise identification of the resulting DASs is also rather difficult. In this regard, we developed a two-step specific-adsorption strategy (pyrolysis-free) and constructed a DAS catalyst featuring FeCo "molecular heterostructures" (FeCo-MHs).

Laser-Arc Hybrid Cladding of Al-Mg Alloy Coating on AZ80 Mg Alloy: Effect of Laser Beam Oscillations Amplitude.

The effect of beam oscillating amplitude on the microstructure and performance of AZ80 Mg alloy cladded with Al-Mg alloy coating by laser-arc hybrid welding was studied. The penetration depth decreases significantly while welds are widened because of the increase in the oscillating area of a laser beam. Alloy segregation and keyhole-induced porosity can be suppressed by the laser beam oscillation.

Modulation of the superficial electronic structure metal-support interaction for H evolution over Pd catalysts.

Electronic interactions can radically enhance the performance of supported metal catalysts and are critical for fundamentally understanding the nature of catalysts. However, at the microscopic level, the details of such interactions tuning the electronic properties of the sites on the metal particle's surface and metal-support interface remain obscure. Herein, we found polarized electronic metal-support interaction (pEMSI) in oxide-supported Pd nanoparticles (NPs) describing the enhanced accumulation of electrons at the surface of NPs (superficial Pd ) with positive Pd atoms distributed on the interface (interfacial Pd ).

Graphite Nanoarrays-Confined Fe and Co Single-Atoms within Graphene Sponges as Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalyst for Ultralong Lasting Zinc-Air Battery.

The inferior stability of bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts in the air cathode is one of the main obstacles that impedes the commercialization of zinc-air batteries (ZABs). This work describes a self-assembly technique combined with subsequent calcination to prepare a bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst of graphite nanoarrays-confined Fe and Co single-atoms within graphene sponges (FeCo-NGS). Specifically, graphene sponges overspread with graphite nanoarrays as a structure regulation, which can prevent the metal single-atoms from aggregating and accelerate the mass/electron transfer, provides a guarantee for the long-term operation.

Topological self-template directed synthesis of multi-shelled intermetallic NiGa hollow microspheres for the selective hydrogenation of alkyne.

Multi-shelled hollow structured materials featuring large void volumes and high specific surface areas are very promising for a variety of applications. However, controllable synthesis of multi-shelled hollow structured intermetallic compounds remains a formidable challenge due to the high annealing temperature commonly required for the formation of intermetallic phases. Here, a topological self-template strategy was developed to solve this problem.

Enhanced photocatalytic oxygen evolution activity by formation of Ir@IrO(OH) core-shell heterostructure.

Developing efficient catalysts to accelerate the rate of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is critical for photocatalytic water-splitting. In this work, metallic Ir, IrO(OH), and core-shell Ir@IrO(OH) were synthesized and employed as OER catalysts for photocatalytic water oxidation. It was found that the Ir@IrO(OH) core-shell heterostructure catalyst showed the best photocatalytic performance among these three catalysts, with the oxygen evolution rate as high as 59.

MOF-Confined Sub-2 nm Atomically Ordered Intermetallic PdZn Nanoparticles as High-Performance Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene.

Controllable synthesis of ultrasmall atomically ordered intermetallic nanoparticles is a challenging task, owing to the high temperature commonly required for the formation of intermetallic phases. Here, a metal-organic framework (MOF)-confined co-reduction strategy is developed for the preparation of sub-2 nm intermetallic PdZn nanoparticles, by employing the well-defined porous structures of calcinated ZIF-8 (ZIF-8C) and an in situ co-reduction therein. HAADF-STEM, HRTEM, and EDS characterizations reveal the homogeneous dispersion of these sub-2 nm intermetallic PdZn nanoparticles within the ZIF-8C frameworks.

Electrochemical performance of 2D polyaniline anchored CuS/Graphene nano-active composite as anode material for lithium-ion battery.

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) is a revolutionary step in the electric energy storage technology for making green environment. In the present communication, a LIB anode material was constructed by using graphene/polyaniline/CuS nanocomposite (GR/PANI/CuS NC) as a high-performance electrode. Initially, pure covellite CuS nanoplates (NPs) of the hexagonal structure were synthesized by hydrothermal route and then GR/PANI/CuS NC was fabricated by in-situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of CuS NPs and graphene nanosheets (GR NSs) as host matrix.

Effects of Nano-CeO₂ with Different Nanocrystal Morphologies on Cytotoxicity in HepG2 Cells.

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (nano-CeO₂) have been reported to cause damage and apoptosis in human primary hepatocytes. Here, we compared the toxicity of three types of nano-CeO₂ with different nanocrystal morphologies (cube-, octahedron-, and rod-like crystals) in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2). The cells were treated with the nano-CeO₂ at various concentrations (6.

Support Morphology-Dependent Catalytic Activity of Pd/CeO₂ for Formaldehyde Oxidation.

To eliminate indoor formaldehyde (HCHO) pollution, Pd/CeO2 catalysts with different morphologies of ceria support were employed. The palladium nanoparticles loaded on {100}-faceted CeO2 nanocubes exhibited much higher activity than those loaded on {111}-faceted ceria nanooctahedrons and nanorods (enclosed by {100} and {111} facets). The HCHO could be fully converted into CO2 over the Pd/CeO2 nanocubes at a GHSV of 10,000 h(-1) and a HCHO inlet concentration of 600 ppm at ambient temperature.

High porosity supermacroporous polystyrene materials with excellent oil-water separation and gas permeability properties.

Two types of monolith high-porosity supermacroporous polystyrene materials had been controlled synthesized from water-in-oil Pickering emulsions. The first type, closed-cell high-porosity (up to 91%) supermacroporous (ca. 500 μm) polystyrene materials (CPPs) was prepared by employing amphiphilic carbonaceous microspheres (CMs) as high internal phase emulsion stabilizer without any inorganic salts or further modifying the wettability of the particles.

The vital role of buffer anions in the antioxidant activity of CeO2 nanoparticles.

Cerium oxide (CeO(2)) nanoparticles display excellent antioxidant properties by scavenging free radicals. However, some studies have indicated that they can cause an adverse response by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). Hence, it is important to clarify the factors that affect the oxidant/antioxidant activities of CeO(2) nanoparticles.

Catalysis based on nanocrystals with well-defined facets.

Using bottom-up chemistry techniques, the composition, size, and shape in particular can now be controlled uniformly for each and every nanocrystal (NC). Research into shape-controlled NCs have shown that the catalytic properties of a material are sensitive not only to the size but also to the shape of the NCs as a consequence of well-defined facets. These findings are of great importance for modern heterogeneous catalysis research.

Multifunctional amphiphilic carbonaceous microcapsules catalyze water/oil biphasic reactions.

Multifunctional amphiphilic hollow carbonaceous spheres assembled into Pickering emulsions exhibit reversible pH-dependent phase-transfer behavior and can efficiently catalyze water/oil biphasic reactions, facilitating the recycling of the catalysts and separation of the products.

Bioavailability and distribution and of ceria nanoparticles in simulated aquatic ecosystems, quantification with a radiotracer technique.

Although the presence of manufactured nanoparticles in the aquatic environment is still largely undocumented, their release could certainly occur in the future, particularly via municipal treatment plant effluents of cities supporting nano-industries. To get an initial estimate of the environmental behavior of nanomaterials, we investigated the distribution and accumulation of ceria nanoparticles in simulated aquatic ecosystems which included aquatic plant, shellfish, fish, water, and sediment using a radiotracer technique. Radioactive ceria (141CeO2) nanoparticles with a diameter of ca.

Au-NPs enhanced SPR biosensor based on hairpin DNA without the effect of nonspecific adsorption.

Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) are usually used to amplify surface plasmon resonance (SPR) signals, however, the serious nonspecific adsorption has largely limited their practical applications. Here, we developed a novel Au-NPs enhanced biosensor without the effect of nonspecific adsorption: cutting Au-NPs off from the biosensor surface by RsaI endonuclease. In order to further improve the sensitivity, the probe DNA was designed specially.

Oxygen vacancy clusters promoting reducibility and activity of ceria nanorods.

CeO(2) is a catalytic material of exceptional technological importance, and the precise role of oxygen vacancies is crucial to the greater understanding of these oxide materials. In this work, two ceria nanorod samples with different types and distributions of oxygen vacancies were synthesized. A direct relationship between the concentration of the larger size oxygen vacancy clusters and the reducibility/reactivity of nanosized ceria was revealed.

Single-crystal CeO2 nanocubes used for the direct electron transfer and electrocatalysis of horseradish peroxidase.

A new horseradish peroxidase (HRP) third-generation electrochemical biosensor based on ceria nanocubes (CeO(2)-NCs) and chitosan (Chit) was developed. The single-crystalline, uniform and size-controlled CeO(2)-NCs have been synthesized by hydrothermal method. HRP was immobilized in CeO(2)-NCs and Chit film on the glass carbon electrode (HRP/CeO(2)/Chit/GCE).

Synergistic effect of palladium and oxygen vacancies in the Pd/perovskite catalysts synthesized by the spc method.

A series of oxygen-deficient perovskite-supported palladium catalysts were prepared by the "solid phase crystallization" (spc) method and investigated with XRD, TPR, TPD, TEM, XPS, BET analysis and CO oxidation. It was found that Pd/perovskite catalysts synthesized by the spc method were more active for CO oxidation than the calcined LaCo0.95 Pd0.