Interfacial Electronic Modulation of Dual-Monodispersed Pt-NiS as Efficacious Bi-Functional Electrocatalysts for Concurrent H Evolution and Methanol Selective Oxidation.

Constructing the efficacious and applicable bi-functional electrocatalysts and establishing out the mechanisms of organic electro-oxidation by replacing anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are critical to the development of electrochemically-driven technologies for efficient hydrogen production and avoid CO emission. Herein, the hetero-nanocrystals between monodispersed Pt (~ 2 nm) and NiS (~ 9.6 nm) are constructed as active electrocatalysts through interfacial electronic modulation, which exhibit superior bi-functional activities for methanol selective oxidation and H generation.

Lithium-compatible and air-stable vacancy-rich LiNCl for high-areal capacity, long-cycling all-solid-state lithium metal batteries.

Attaining substantial areal capacity (>3 mAh/cm) and extended cycle longevity in all-solid-state lithium metal batteries necessitates the implementation of solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) capable of withstanding elevated critical current densities and capacities. In this study, we report a high-performing vacancy-rich LiNCl SSE demonstrating excellent lithium compatibility and atmospheric stability and enabling high-areal capacity, long-lasting all-solid-state lithium metal batteries. The LiNCl facilitates efficient lithium-ion transport due to its disordered lattice structure and presence of vacancies.

Constrained C adsorbate orientation enables CO-to-acetate electroreduction.

The carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide electroreduction reactions, when powered using low-carbon electricity, offer pathways to the decarbonization of chemical manufacture. Copper (Cu) is relied on today for carbon-carbon coupling, in which it produces mixtures of more than ten C chemicals: a long-standing challenge lies in achieving selectivity to a single principal C product. Acetate is one such C compound on the path to the large but fossil-derived acetic acid market.

Epitaxially grown silicon-based single-atom catalyst for visible-light-driven syngas production.

Improving the dispersion of active sites simultaneous with the efficient harvest of photons is a key priority for photocatalysis. Crystalline silicon is abundant on Earth and has a suitable bandgap. However, silicon-based photocatalysts combined with metal elements has proved challenging due to silicon's rigid crystal structure and high formation energy.

Realizing High-Performance Li-S Batteries through Additive Manufactured and Chemically Enhanced Cathodes.

Numerous efforts are made to improve the reversible capacity and long-term cycling stability of Li-S cathodes. However, they are susceptible to irreversible capacity loss during cycling owing to shuttling effects and poor Li transport under high sulfur loading. Herein, a physically and chemically enhanced lithium sulfur cathode is proposed to address these challenges.

Bias-Adaptable CO-to-CO Conversion via Tuning the Binding of Competing Intermediates.

CO electroreduction powered by renewable electricity represents a promising method to enclose anthropogenic carbon cycle. Current catalysts display high selectivity toward the desired product only over a narrow potential window due primarily to unoptimized intermediate binding. Here, we report a functional ligand modification strategy in which palladium nanoparticles are encapsulated inside metal-organic frameworks with 2,2'-bipyridine organic linkers to tune intermediate binding and thus to sustain a highly selective CO-to-CO conversion over widened potential window.

New Insights into the High-Performance Black Phosphorus Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Black phosphorus (BP) is a promising anode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its high electrical conductivity and capacity. However, the huge volume change of BP during cycling induces rapid capacity fading. In addition, the unclear electrochemical mechanism of BP hinders the development of rational designs and preparation of high-performance BP-based anodes.

Electrochemical ammonia synthesis via nitrate reduction on Fe single atom catalyst.

Electrochemically converting nitrate, a widespread water pollutant, back to valuable ammonia is a green and delocalized route for ammonia synthesis, and can be an appealing and supplementary alternative to the Haber-Bosch process. However, as there are other nitrate reduction pathways present, selectively guiding the reaction pathway towards ammonia is currently challenged by the lack of efficient catalysts. Here we report a selective and active nitrate reduction to ammonia on Fe single atom catalyst, with a maximal ammonia Faradaic efficiency of ~ 75% and a yield rate of up to ~ 20,000 μg h mg (0.

Towards designing reactive glasses for alkali activation: Understanding the origins of alkaline reactivity of Na-Mg aluminosilicate glasses.

Alkali-activated materials (AAMs), sometimes called geopolymers, are eco-friendly cementitious materials with reduced carbon emissions when compared to ordinary Portland cement. However, the availability of most precursors used for AAM production may decline in the future because of changes in industrial sectors. Thus, new precursors must be developed.

Variable-Energy Hard X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy: A Nondestructive Tool to Analyze the Cathode-Solid-State Electrolyte Interface.

All-solid-state batteries are expected to be promising next-generation energy storage systems with increased energy density compared to the state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries. Nonetheless, the electrochemical performances of the all-solid-state batteries are currently limited by the high interfacial resistance between active electrode materials and solid-state electrolytes. In particular, elemental interdiffusion and the formation of interlayers with low ionic conductivity are known to restrict the battery performance.

Copper-on-nitride enhances the stable electrosynthesis of multi-carbon products from CO.

Copper-based materials are promising electrocatalysts for CO reduction. Prior studies show that the mixture of copper (I) and copper (0) at the catalyst surface enhances multi-carbon products from CO reduction; however, the stable presence of copper (I) remains the subject of debate. Here we report a copper on copper (I) composite that stabilizes copper (I) during CO reduction through the use of copper nitride as an underlying copper (I) species.

Insights into Biochemical Alteration in Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts by using Novel Correlative Spectroscopy.

The microenvironment of a tumor changes chemically and morphologically during cancer progression. Cancer-stimulated fibroblasts promote tumor growth, however, the mechanism of the transition to a cancer-stimulated fibroblast remains elusive. Here, the multi-modal spectroscopic methods Fourier transform infrared imaging (FTIRI), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray fluorescence imaging (XFI) are used to characterize molecular and atomic alterations that occur in cancer-stimulated fibroblasts.

Medium-energy microprobe station at the SXRMB of the CLS.

Micro-XAFS and chemical imaging techniques have been widely applied for studies of heterogeneously distributed systems, mostly in hard X-ray (>5 keV) or in soft X-ray (<1.5 keV) energies. The microprobe endstation of the SXRMB (soft X-ray microcharacterization beamline) at the Canadian Light Source is optimized at the medium energy (1.

Safe and Durable High-Temperature Lithium-Sulfur Batteries via Molecular Layer Deposited Coating.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is a promising high energy storage candidate in electric vehicles. However, the commonly employed ether based electrolyte does not enable to realize safe high-temperature Li-S batteries due to the low boiling and flash temperatures. Traditional carbonate based electrolyte obtains safe physical properties at high temperature but does not complete reversible electrochemical reaction for most Li-S batteries.

Enhancement of the cycling performance of Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃/C by stabilizing the crystal structure through Zn²⁺ doping.

A series of Li3V(2-2/3x)Zn(x)(PO4)3/C phases were synthesized by carbon thermal reduction assisted by the ball-mill process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the irregular morphology of the pristine Li3V2(PO4)3/C could be transformed to spherical upon doping with a suitable amount of zinc. The structural stability of the pristine and the Zn doped Li3V2(PO4)3/C were investigated via X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD).