Ultra-selective uranium separation by in-situ formation of π-f conjugated 2D uranium-organic framework.

With the rapid development of nuclear energy, problems with uranium supply chain and nuclear waste accumulation have motivated researchers to improve uranium separation methods. Here we show a paradigm for such goal based on the in-situ formation of π-f conjugated two-dimensional uranium-organic framework. After screening five π-conjugated organic ligands, we find that 1,3,5-triformylphloroglucinol would be the best one to construct uranium-organic framework, thus resulting in 100% uranium removal from both high and low concentration with the residual concentration far below the WHO drinking water standard (15 ppb), and 97% uranium capture from natural seawater (3.

Cascade anchoring strategy for general mass production of high-loading single-atomic metal-nitrogen catalysts.

Although single-atomically dispersed metal-N on carbon support (M-NC) has great potential in heterogeneous catalysis, the scalable synthesis of such single-atom catalysts (SACs) with high-loading metal-N is greatly challenging since the loading and single-atomic dispersion have to be balanced at high temperature for forming metal-N. Herein, we develop a general cascade anchoring strategy for the mass production of a series of M-NC SACs with a metal loading up to 12.1 wt%.

In Situ Reduction from Uranyl Ion into a Tetravalent Uranium Trimer and Hexamer Featuring Ion-Exchange Properties and the Alexandrite Effect.

By utilizing zinc amalgam as an in situ reductant and pH regulator, mild hydrothermal reaction between UO(CHCOO)·2HO, HSO, and CsCO or between UO(CHCOO)·2HO, CH(SOH), and KCO yielded a novel cesium U sulfate trimer Cs[UO(SO)]·2.2HO (1) and a new potassium U disulfonic hexamer K[UO(OH)(HO)][CH(SO)]·6HO (2), respectively. Compound 1 features a lamellar structure with a honeycomb lattice, and it represents an unprecedented trimeric U cluster composed of purely inorganic moieties.

Understanding the High Activity of Fe-N-C Electrocatalysts in Oxygen Reduction: Fe/Fe3C Nanoparticles Boost the Activity of Fe-N(x).

Understanding the origin of high activity of Fe-N-C electrocatalysts in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is critical but still challenging for developing efficient sustainable nonprecious metal catalysts in fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Herein, we developed a new highly active Fe-N-C ORR catalyst containing Fe-N(x) coordination sites and Fe/Fe3C nanocrystals (Fe@C-FeNC), and revealed the origin of its activity by intensively investigating the composition and the structure of the catalyst and their correlations with the electrochemical performance. The detailed analyses unambiguously confirmed the coexistence of Fe/Fe3C nanocrystals and Fe-N(x) in the best catalyst.

Heterovalent-Doping-Enabled Efficient Dopant Luminescence and Controllable Electronic Impurity Via a New Strategy of Preparing II-VI Nanocrystals.

Substitutional heterovalent doping represents an effective method to control the optical and electronic properties of nanocrystals (NCs). Highly monodisperse II-VI NCs with deep substitutional dopants are presented. The NCs exhibit stable, dominant, and strong dopant fluorescence, and control over n- and p-type electronic impurities is achieved.

High-Tc ferromagnetism in a Co-doped ZnO system dominated by the formation of a zinc-blende type Co-rich ZnCoO phase.

The modulation of the distribution of magnetic ions embedded in the host is crucial for the functionality of dilute magnetic semiconductors. Through an element-specific structural characterization, we observe the formation and enhancement of an unrevealed Co-doped ZnO phase and consequently magnetic properties from paramagnetism to ferromagnetism are controlled by surface-modification.