Reversible CO Capture and On-Demand Release by an Acidity-Matched Organic Photoswitch.

Separation of carbon dioxide (CO) from point sources or directly from the atmosphere can contribute crucially to climate change mitigation plans in the coming decades. A fundamental practical limitation for the current strategies is the considerable energy cost required to regenerate the sorbent and release the captured CO for storage or utilization. A directly photochemically driven system that demonstrates efficient passive capture and on-demand CO release triggered by sunlight as the sole external stimulus would provide an attractive alternative.

Membrane-Electrolyte System Approach to Understanding Ionic Conductivity and Crossover in Alkaline Flow Cells.

Membrane transport properties are crucial for electrochemical devices, and these properties are influenced by the composition and concentration of the electrolyte in contact with the membrane. We apply this general membrane-electrolyte system approach to alkaline flow batteries, studying the conductivity and ferricyanide crossover of Nafion and E-620. We report undetectable crossover for as-received Nafion and E-620 after both sodium and potassium exchange but high ferricyanide permeability of 10 to 10 cm s for Nafion subjected to pretreatment prevalent in the flow battery literature.

Kinetic Isotope Effect as a Tool To Investigate the Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Pt-based Electrocatalysts - Part I: High-loading Pt/C and Pt Extended Surface.

The front cover artwork is provided by the groups of Prof. Atanassov and Prof. Zenyuk (University of California Irvine, USA).

Kinetic Isotope Effect as a Tool To Investigate the Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Pt-based Electrocatalysts - Part I: High-loading Pt/C and Pt Extended Surface.

Kinetic isotope effect (KIE) was used to study the rate-determining step for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on dispersed Pt/C electrocatalyst and polycrystalline Pt (Pt-poly). KIE is defined as the ratio of the kinetic current measured in protonated electrolyte versus deuterated electrolyte, with KIE values larger than one indicating proton participation in the rate-determining step. The effect of poisoning anions on the platinum rate determining step is investigated by assessing the KIE in perchloric (non-poisoning) and sulfuric acid-based electrolytes.