Efficient and selective capture of thorium ions by a covalent organic framework.

The selective separation of thorium from rare earth elements and uranium is a critical part of the development and application of thorium nuclear energy in the future. To better understand the role of different N sites on the selective capture of Th(IV), we design an ionic COF named Py-TFImI-25 COF and its deionization analog named Py-TFIm-25 COF, both of which exhibit record-high separation factors ranging from 10 to 10. Py-TFIm-25 COF exhibits a significantly higher Th(IV) uptake capacity and adsorption rate than Py-TFImI-25 COF, which also outperforms the majority of previously reported adsorbents.

Formation of a PVP-protected C/UO/Pt catalyst in a direct ethanol fuel cell.

In order to solve the problem that UO in direct ethanol fuel cell anode catalysts is easily lost in acidic solution, resulting in the degradation of catalytic performance, this paper prepared a C/UO/PVP/Pt catalyst in three steps by adding polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The test results by XRD, XPS, TEM and ICP-MS showed that PVP had a good encapsulation effect on UO, and the actual loading rates of Pt and UO were similar to the theoretical values. When 10% PVP was added, the dispersion of Pt nanoparticles was significantly improved, which reduced the particle size of Pt nanoparticles and provided more ethanol electrocatalytic oxidation reaction sites.

Research on UO modification of a direct ethanol fuel cell Pt/C catalyst.

Radioactive UO powder was prepared by hydrothermal method and a set of Pt-UO/C catalysts were synthesized by impregnation method for solving the problem of low activity and easy poisoning of anode Pt/C catalysts for a direct ethanol fuel cell. XRD, TEM, EDS, XPS and ICP-MS characterization showed the successful loading of Pt and UO onto the carbon carrier. Electrochemical workstation and single cell test results confirm that the catalytic performance of Pt-10% UO/C is significantly better than Pt/C-eg.

Improved performance of self-reactivated Pt-ThO/C catalysts in a direct ethanol fuel cell.

A novel self-reactivated catalyst Pt-ThO/C was prepared for the first time by selecting radioactive material ThO as the catalytic additive to address the low activity and toxicity of the anode Pt/C catalyst in a direct ethanol fuel cell. The catalytic activity and resistance to CO poisoning of Pt-6.67 wt%ThO/C were found to be superior to those of Pt/C-NaBH in electrochemical workstation and single-cell tests.

Porous MOF-808@PVDF beads for removal of iodine from gas streams.

The removal of radioiodine from the exhaust gas streams produced in spent fuel reprocessing plants is of paramount importance for the nuclear fuel cycle's security. Here, millimeter-sized poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) composites containing zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks, MOF-808, were synthesized by a facile phase inversion method to adsorb the volatile iodine. MOF-808@PVDF composites have inherited the crystallinity and pore accessibility of MOF-808, as well as its outstanding iodine capture performance.

Fabrication of 2D-2D Heterojunction Catalyst with Covalent Organic Framework (COF) and MoS for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants.

In this work, for the first time, we fabricated a novel covalent organic framework (COF)-based 2D-2D heterojunction composite MoS/COF by a facile hydrothermal method. The results of photocatalytic degradation of TC and RhB under simulated solar light irradiation showed that the as-prepared composite exhibited outstanding catalytic efficiency compared with pristine COFs and MoS. The significantly enhanced catalytic efficiency can be ascribed to the formation of 2D-2D heterojunction with a well-matched band position between COF and MoS, which can effectively restrain the recombination of charge carriers and increase the light absorption as well as the specific surface area.

Switching Xe/Kr adsorption selectivity in modified SBMOF-1: a theoretical study.

The separation of Xe/Kr mixtures in used nuclear fuel (UNF) has attracted lots of attention, but no report on the adsorption and separation of Kr from mixed Kr/Xe at room temperature can be found. From grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation, it is found that by replacing the metal center Ca of SBMOF-1 with Mg, due to the appropriate pore size, the adsorption selectivity ( ) was extremely high (250 000) and the adsorption capacity for Kr on Mg-SBMOF-1 modified with -NH was increased by 300% to 1.020 from 0.

Fabrication of Hierarchical CoS@ZnAgInS Heterostructured Cages for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation and Pollutants Degradation.

In the present study, a hierarchical CoS@ZnAgInS heterostructural cage was developed for the first time which can photocatalytically produce hydrogen and degrade organic pollutants with high efficiency. First, the CoS dodecahedron was synthesized using a metal-organic framework (MOFs) material, ZIF-67, as a precursor, then two kinds of metal sulfide semiconductors were elaborately integrated into a hierarchical hollow heterostructural cage with coupled heterogeneous shells and 2D nanosheet subunits. The artfully designed hollow heterostructural composite exhibited remarkable photocatalytic activity without using any cocatalysts, with a 9395.