Mesopore-Augmented Electrochemical CO Reduction on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon.

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (eCORR) using nitrogen-doped carbon (N-C) materials offers a promising and cost-effective approach to global carbon neutrality. Regulating the porosity of N-C materials can potentially increase the catalytic performance by suppressing the concurrence of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the augmentation of porosity usually alters the active sites or the chemical composition of catalysts, resulting in intertwined influences of various structural factors and catalytic performance.

Antibacterial Action of Zn Ions Driven by the In Vivo Formed ZnO Nanoparticles.

Antibacterial formulations based on zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are widely used for antibiotic replacement in veterinary medicine and animal nutrition. However, the undesired environmental impact of ZnO NPs triggers a search for alternative, environmentally safer solutions. Here, we show that Zn in its ionic form is a more eco-friendly antibacterial, and its biocidal action rivals that of ZnO NPs (<100 nm size), with a minimal biocidal concentration being 41(82) μg mL vs 5 μg mL of ZnO NPs, as determined for 10(10) CFU mL .

Elucidating Structural Disorder in Ultra-Thin Bi-Rich Bismuth Oxyhalide Photocatalysts.

Advancing the field of photocatalysis requires the elucidation of structural properties that underpin the photocatalytic properties of promising materials. The focus of the present study is layered, Bi-rich bismuth oxyhalides, which are widely studied for photocatalytic applications yet poorly structurally understood, due to high levels of disorder, nano-sized domains, and the large number of structurally similar compounds. By connecting insights from multiple scattering techniques, utilizing electron-, X-ray- and neutron probes, the crystal phase of the synthesized materials is allocated as layered BiOX (X = Cl, Br), albeit with significant deviation from the reported 3D crystalline model.

NHC-CDI Ligands Boost Multicarbon Production in Electrocatalytic CO Reduction by Increasing Accumulated Charged Intermediates and Promoting *CO Dimerization on Cu.

Copper-based materials exhibit significant potential as catalysts for electrochemical CO reduction, owing to their capacity to generate multicarbon hydrocarbons. The molecular functionalization of Cu electrodes represents a simple yet powerful strategy for improving the intrinsic activity of these materials by favoring specific reaction pathways through the creation of tailored microenvironments around the surface active sites. However, despite its success, comprehensive mechanistic insights derived from experimental techniques are often limited, leaving the active role of surface modifiers inconclusive.