Solvation Effect-Determined Mechanisms of Cation Exchange Reactions for Efficient Multicomponent Nanocatalysts.

Cation exchange (CE) reaction is a classical synthesis method for creating complex structures. A lock of study on intrinsic mechanism limits its understanding and practical application. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we observed that the evolution from Ru-Cl to Ru-O/OH occurs during the CE between KRuCl and CoSn(OH) in aqueous solution, while CE between KPtCl and CoSn(OH) is inhibited due to the failure of structural evolution from Pt-Cl to Pt-O/OH.

Durable Multiblock Poly(biphenyl alkylene) Anion Exchange Membranes with Microphase Separation for Hydrogen Energy Conversion.

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) and water electrolysis (AEMWE) show great application potential in the field of hydrogen energy conversion technology. However, scalable anion exchange membranes (AEMs) with desirable properties are still lacking, which greatly hampers the commercialization of this technology. Herein, we propose a series of novel multiblock AEMs based on ether-free poly(biphenyl ammonium-b-biphenyl phenyl)s (PBPA-b-BPPs) that are suitable for use in high performance AEMFC and AEMWE systems because of their well-formed microphase separation structures.

Correlation between the Humidity-Dependent Surface Microstructure and Macroconductivity of Anion Exchange Membranes.

Anion exchange membrane (AEM) fuel cells have gained significant interest in recent years due to their promising applications in cost-effective and environmentally friendly energy conversion. Among various factors that affect their performance, water content plays an important role in the conductivity and stability of AEMs. However, the effect of the hydration level on the microstructure of AEMs and the correlation between the microstructure and macroconductivity have not been systematically investigated.

Tubular palladium-based catalysts enhancing direct ethanol electrooxidation.

Direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) has the advantages of high power density, high energy conversion efficiency and environmental friendliness, but its commercialization is restricted by factors such as insufficient activity and low anti-poisoning ability of anode catalyst for incomplete oxidation of ethanol. It is of great significance to design and prepare anode catalyst with high activity and high anti-poisoning ability that can be recycled. In this work, tubular palladium-based (Pd-based) catalysts with abundant lattice defect sites were prepared by simple and reproducible electro-displacement reactions using Cu nanowires as sacrificial template.

Application of Nano-Hydroxyapatite Derived from Oyster Shell in Fabricating Superhydrophobic Sponge for Efficient Oil/Water Separation.

The exploration of nonhazardous nanoparticles to fabricate a template-driven superhydrophobic surface is of great ecological importance for oil/water separation in practice. In this work, nano-hydroxyapatite (nano-HAp) with good biocompatibility was easily developed from discarded oyster shells and well incorporated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to create a superhydrophobic surface on a polyurethane (PU) sponge using a facile solution-immersion method. The obtained nano-HAp coated PU (nano-HAp/PU) sponge exhibited both excellent oil/water selectivity with water contact angles of over 150° and higher absorption capacity for various organic solvents and oils than the original PU sponge, which can be assigned to the nano-HAp coating surface with rough microstructures.

Photosynergetic Electrochemical Synthesis of Graphene Oxide.

Here we propose a strategy of radical oxidation reaction for the high-efficiency production of graphene oxide (GO). GO plays important roles in the sustainable development of energy and the environment, taking advantages of oxygen-containing functional groups for good dispersibility and assembly. Compared with Hummers' method, electrochemical exfoliation of graphite is considered facile and green, although the oxidation is fairly low.

Lattice-Defect-Enhanced Adsorption of Arsenic on Zirconia Nanospheres: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study.

Zirconium oxide (ZrO) nanoadsorbents exhibit great potential in the remediation of arsenic-polluted water. However, physicochemical structure-adsorption performance relationship is not well-understood, which retards further development of high-performance ZrO nanoadsorbents. Herein, a facile-controlled crystallization strategy was developed to synthesize defective ZrO with the assistance of organic ligands.

Well-dispersed TiO nanoparticles anchored on FeO magnetic nanosheets for efficient arsenic removal.

Magnetic iron-titanium binary oxide as an effective adsorbent for arsenic contaminant is a challenge primarily because of their bulk structure and agglomeration effect. Herein, a novel and uniform sandwich-like magnetic FeO@TiO sheets were synthesized by utilizing a facile strategy involving amorphous-to-crystalline transformation and reduction in H, to achieve dispersed anatase TiO nanoparticles with a small size of ∼8 nm anchored on FeO sheets. The resultant FeO@TiO sheets nanocomposite possessing a high specific surface area of ∼89.

Self-recoverable Pd-Ru/TiO nanocatalysts with ultrastability towards ethanol electrooxidation.

Self-recoverable Pd-Ru/TiO2 nanocatalysts have been prepared by electrochemical stripping of Pd-Ru/TiO2 precursors. For the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR), these Pd-Ru/TiO2 nanocatalysts are used as an anode catalyst. The characterization of catalysts via chronoamperometry has been repeated 15 times.