CuP/CoP Heterostructure for Efficient Electrosynthesis of Ammonia from Nitrate Reduction Reaction.

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction (ENORR) for ammonia production is one of the potential alternatives to Haber-Bosch technology for the realization of artificial ammonia synthesis. However, efficient ammonia production remains challenging due to the complex electron transfer process in ENORR. In this study, we fabricated a CuP/CoP heterostructure on carbon cloth (CC) by electrodeposition and vapor deposition, which exhibits an exceptional ENORR performance in alkaline medium, and showcases a Faradaic efficiency of ammonia (FE) and an ammonia yield rate as high as 97.

A Cu/FeO@CN tandem catalyst for efficient ammonia electrosynthesis from nitrate reduction.

Electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (ENORR) is a green technology for value-added ammonia production meanwhile treating waste water at ambient conditions. However, it remains a great challenge to construct efficient catalysts due to the complex multiple proton and electron transfer process. Herein, we report a tandem catalyst Cu/FeO@CN composed of N-doped carbon layer coated Cu/FeO heterostructure toward highly efficient electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia production in alkaline medium.

Boron Doping Induced Strong Anchor Effect Between Bimetal NiCo Alloy and Carbon Support for Efficient Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia.

The electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia presents a promising alternative to the conventional Haber-Bosch process. In this study, a bimetallic NiCo alloy embedded in metal-organic framework derived carbon layer with B doping electrocatalyst NiCo@BC was first successfully developed, which exhibits excellent electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia (ENORR) performance. In-depth in situ experiments and a machine-learning potential (MLP)-based simulation reveal that B doping within the carbon layer has a crucial anchor effect that induces strong binding between bimetal NiCo alloy and carbon support.

Nitrogen-doped carbon layer coated Co(OH)F/CoP nanosheets for high-current hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline freshwater and seawater.

Utilizing renewable energy such as offshore wind power to electrolyze seawater for hydrogen production offers a sustainable development pathway to address energy and climate change issues. In this study, by incorporating nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CDs) into precursors, we successfully synthesized a nitrogen-doped carbon (NC)-layer-coated Co(OH)F/CoP catalyst NC@Co(OH)F/CoP/NF loaded on nickel foam (NF). The introduction of N-CDs induced significant morphology change of the catalyst, facilitating the exposure of numerous active sites, ensuring the presence of catalytically active species CoP in nanoparticle form and avoiding agglomeration, which was advantageous to enhancing the overall hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity of the catalyst.

FeO/ZnO heterojunction for efficient electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia.

Electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia (ENORR) has attracted great attention owing to its characteristics of treating wastewater while producing high value-added ammonia. In this study, we successfully prepared a heterojunction electrocatalyst FeO/ZnO consisting of FeO nanosheets and ZnO nanoparticles, where the construction of the FeO/ZnO heterojunction not only increased the exposure of the active sites of the catalyst, accelerated the interfacial electron transfer, and improved the conductivity of the catalyst but also optimized its overall electronic structure. Thus, FeO/ZnO demonstrated a high Faraday efficiency of 97.

CuCoO/CuO Heterostructure with Oxygen Vacancies Induced by Plasma for Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia.

Electrochemical nitrate reduction (NORR) to ammonia production is regarded as one of the potential alternatives for replacing the Haber-Bosch technology for realizing artificial ammonia synthesis. In this study, a CuCoO/CuO-Ar heterostructure in the shape of dandelion nanospheres formed by nanoarrays has been successfully constructed, demonstrating excellent NORR performance. Experimental results indicate that Ar plasma etching of CuCoO/CuO-Ar significantly increases the content of oxygen vacancies compared to the sample of CuCoO/CuO-Air etched by air plasma, resulting in improved NORR performance.

A photoluminescent hydrogen-bonded biomass aerogel for sustainable radiative cooling.

Passive radiant cooling is a potentially sustainable thermal management strategy amid escalating global climate change. However, petrochemical-derived cooling materials often face efficiency challenges owing to the absorption of sunlight. We present an intrinsic photoluminescent biomass aerogel, which has a visible light reflectance exceeding 100%, that yields a large cooling effect.

Ce-doped copper oxide and copper vanadate CuVO hybrid for boosting nitrate electroreduction to ammonia.

The electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia reaction (ENORR) holds great potential as a cost-effective method for synthesizing ammonia. This work designed a cerium (Ce) doped CuO/CuVO catalyst. The coupling of vanadium-based oxides with CuO effectively adjusts the catalyst's electronic structure, addressing the inherent issues of limited activity and low conductivity in typical copper-based oxides; moreover, Ce doping generates oxygen vacancies (O), providing more active sites and thereby enhancing the ENORR performance.

Controllable proton-reservoir ordered gel towards reversible switching and reliable electromagnetic interference shielding.

Smart and dynamic electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials possess a remarkable capacity to modify their EMI shielding abilities, rendering them invaluable in various civil and military applications. However, the present response mechanism of switch-type EMI shielding materials is slightly restricted, as it primarily depends on continuous pressure induction, thereby resulting in concerns regarding their durability and reliability. Herein, for the first time, we demonstrate a novel method for achieving solvent-responsive, reversible switching, and robust EMI shielding capabilities using a controlled proton-reservoir ordered gel.

Cu/NiO nanorods for efficiently promoting the electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia.

The electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (ENORR) is a green ammonia synthesis method under ambient conditions relative to the traditional Haber-Bosch technology, which does not require high-temperature or high-pressure conditions and can convert nitrate pollutants in the environment into value-added NH, thus achieving a dual purpose. However, more electrocatalysts with a remarkable performance towards high-efficiency ENORR need to be developed. In this work, a Cu/NiO-NF composite electrocatalyst with a nanorod structure on nickel foam was successfully fabricated, which contains heterogeneous interfaces between Cu and NiO toward selective electrocatalytic nitrate reduction for ammonia synthesis.

FeNi(PO)/NiP Heterostructure for Boosting Alkaline Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Fresh Water and Real Seawater at High Current Density.

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a limiting reaction for highly efficient water electrolysis. Thus, the development of cost-effective and highly efficient OER catalysts is the key to large-scale water electrolysis for hydrogen production. Herein, by using an interfacial engineering strategy, a unique nanoflower-like FeNi(PO)/NiP/NF heterostructure with abundant heterogeneous interfaces is successfully fabricated.

Gradient Hierarchical Hollow Heterostructures of TiCT@rGO@MoS for Efficient Microwave Absorption.

Heterostructure engineering has emerged as a promising approach for creating high-performance microwave absorption materials in various applications such as advanced communications, portable devices, and military fields. However, achieving strong electromagnetic wave attenuation, good impedance matching, and low density in a single heterostructure remains a significant challenge. Herein, a unique structural design strategy that employs a hollow structure coupled with gradient hierarchical heterostructures to achieve high-performance microwave absorption is proposed.

CuO/Ag Heterostructure for Boosting the Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia Performance.

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (ENORR) is an alternative, sustainable, and environmentally friendly value-added NH synthesis method under ambient conditions relative to the traditional Haber-Bosch process; however, its low NH yield, low Faradaic efficiency (FE), low selectivity, and low conversion rate severely restrict the development. In this work, a CuO/Ag-CC heterostructured electrocatalyst was successfully fabricated by constructing a heterogeneous interface between CuO and Ag for selective electrochemical nitrate-to-ammonia conversion. The construction of the heterogeneous interface effectively promotes the synergistic effect of the catalytically active components CuO and Ag, which enhances the material conductivity, accelerates the interfacial electron transfer, and exposes more active sites, thus improving the performance of ENORR.

A One-Step Self-Flowering Method toward Programmable Ultrathin Porous Carbon-Based Materials for Microwave Absorption and Hydrogen Evolution.

Ultrathin 2D porous carbon-based materials offer numerous fascinating electrical, catalytic, and mechanical properties, which hold great promise in various applications. However, it remains a formidable challenge to fabricate these materials with tunable morphology and composition by a simple synthesis strategy. Here, a facile one-step self-flowering method without purification and harsh conditions is reported for large-scale fabrication of high-quality ultrathin (≈1.

Hierarchical TiCT@ZnO Hollow Spheres with Excellent Microwave Absorption Inspired by the Visual Phenomenon of Eyeless Urchins.

Ingenious microstructure design and rational composition selection are effective approaches to realize high-performance microwave absorbers, and the advancement of biomimetic manufacturing provides a new strategy. In nature, urchins are the animals without eyes but can "see", because their special structure composed of regular spines and spherical photosensitive bodies "amplifies" the light-receiving ability. Herein, inspired by the above phenomenon, the biomimetic urchin-like TiCT@ZnO hollow microspheres are rationally designed and fabricated, in which ZnO nanoarrays (length: ~ 2.

Microbial community structure and co-occurrence are essential for methanogenesis and its contribution to phenanthrene degradation in paddy soil.

Although polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) degradation under methanogenesis is an ideal approach to remediating PAH-polluted soil, the contribution of methanogenesis to soil PAH elimination and the relationships between microbial ecological characteristics and PAH degradation during this process remain unclear. Here, we conducted a short-term (60 days) incubation using a paddy soil amended with phenanthrene and examined the effects of a specific methanogenic inhibitor (2-bromoethanesulfonate, BES) on this process. As treatment assessments, the methane production activity (MPA), phenanthrene degradation rate (PDR), and microbial ecological characteristics were determined.

A water stable Eu(III)-organic framework as a recyclable multi-responsive luminescent sensor for efficient detection of -aminophenol in simulated urine, and Mn and Cr anions in aqueous solutions.

A novel 3D Eu(iii) metal-organic framework (Eu-MOF-1) formulated as [Eu(L)(H2O)(DMA)] (L = 2-(2-nitro-4-carboxylphenyl)terephthalic acid) has been successfully synthesized under solvothermal conditions and characterized by structural analyses. Eu-MOF-1 displays a new 3D framework containing EuIII ions, ligand L, and coordinated DMA molecules and water molecules. The fluorescence investigations indicate that Eu-MOF-1 emits bright red luminescence, and shows relatively high water stability and outstanding chemical stability under a relatively wide range of pH conditions.

Water-stable Cd(ii)/Zn(ii) coordination polymers as recyclable luminescent sensors for detecting hippuric acid in simulated urine for indexing toluene exposure with high selectivity, sensitivity and fast response.

Three novel Cd(ii)/Zn(ii) coordination polymers (CPs), namely [Cd(L)(BPDC)HO]·0.5HO (1), [Zn(L)(BPDC)]·2HO (2) and [Cd(L)(BTC)HO]·3HO (3) (L = 4-(tetrazol-5-yl)phenyl-4,2':6',4''-terpyridine, HBPDC = 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid, and HBTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid), have been successfully synthesized and characterized. CP 1 and CP 2 display new two-dimensional double-layered honeycomb frameworks containing uncoordinated nitrogen atoms from pyridine and tetrazole rings, which can easily form hydrogen bonds with various analytes.

Kidney and lung tissue modifications after BDL-induced liver injury in mice are associated with increased expression of IGFBPrP1 and activation of the NF-κB inflammation pathway.

Background: Hepatorenal and hepatopulmonary syndrome are common clinical diseases; however, their mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Our aim was to determine whether liver injury by bile duct ligation (BDL) causes modifications in kidney and lung tissue in mice, and to explore the possible mechanism of these changes.

Methods: BDL in mice was used as a research model.

The linkage between methane production activity and prokaryotic community structure in the soil within a shale gas field in China.

Soil methane generation mainly driven by soil prokaryotic microbes can be coupled with the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs); however, the relationship between prokaryotic community structure and methane production activity in soil with the potential risk of PHC contamination is seldom reported. In this study, 3 soil samples (CS-1 to CS-3) in the area nearby an exploratory gas well and 5 soil samples (DC-1 to DC-5) in a drill cutting dump area were obtained from the Fuling shale gas field (Chongqing City, China). Then, the prokaryotic community structure was examined by Illumina Miseq sequencing, and the linkage between soil methane production rate (MPR) and prokaryotic community composition was analyzed.