89 results match your criteria: "Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research[Affiliation]"

We report a silicon anode for lithium-ion batteries consisting of a layer of 100% nanotubes directly bonded to copper foil. The process involved silicon deposition on a sacrificial zinc oxide nanorod film and removal of zinc oxide to produce a nanotube film directly on thin copper foils. The thickness of resulting films ranged from 9 to 20 μm with Si nanotubes having diameters of 200-400 nm and lengths of 2-10 μm.

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Technoeconomic analysis (TEA) studies are vital for formulating guidelines that drive the commercialization of electrochemical CO reduction (eCOR) technologies. In this review, we first discuss the progress in the field of eCOR processes by providing current state-of-the-art metrices (e.g.

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Tin oxide (SnO) is an attractive electron transport material (ETM) for perovskite solar cells (PSCs) due to its optoelectronic properties, low-temperature solution processability, cost, and stability. However, solvent incompatibilities have largely limited its application to devices with SnO deposited below the perovskite. To expand its utility in other device structures, including inverted PSCs and tandem devices, alternate deposition strategies are needed.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how cold plasma enhances the performance and efficiency of SAPO-34 membranes for separating CO and CH gases, aiming to determine its overall impact on membrane technology.
  • Results showed that treating SAPO-34 membranes with cold plasma improved their efficiency and structural integrity, making them more effective in separating gases due to factors like polarizability and strong electrostatic interactions.
  • Overall, the research suggests that cold plasma could be a valuable method for optimizing membrane technology in applications related to carbon capture and gas separation at atmospheric pressures.
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  • * The development of electrified processes utilizing captured CO aims to eliminate traditional methods of gas compression and storage, addressing both environmental and economic concerns.
  • * This review examines the tuning of ILs and DESs for reactive capture and conversion, focusing on their mechanisms for CO chemisorption and electroreduction, as well as their bulk and interfacial properties related to the process.
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Cesium ion-guided detection of trichloroethylene in air.

Talanta

August 2024

Department of Chemistry, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA. Electronic address:

Whereas the close associations of cesium ion with organochlorine compounds have been previously documented, the present report is the first attempt to exploit these interactions to create a trichloroethylene (TCE)-selective sensor. Gold monolayer-protected clusters peripherally functionalized with Cs ions were used to prepare a chemiresistance film on MEMS-fabricated interdigitated electrodes. Vapor sensing properties of the cesium-rich chemiresistor were determined using a panel of chlorinated hydrocarbons including TCE as well as polar and non-polar VOCs for comparison.

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Ternary glassy electrolytes containing KS as a glass modifier and PS as a network former are synthesized by introducing a new type of complex and asymmetric salt, potassium triflate (KOTf), to obtain unprecedented K ion conductivity at ambient temperature. The glasses are synthesized using a conventional quenching technique at a low temperature. In general, alkali ionic glassy electrolytes of ternary systems, specifically for Li and Na ion conductivity, have been studied with the addition of halide salts or oxysalts such as MSO, MSiO, MPO (M = Li or Na), etc.

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Recently, tandem cathodic reactions have been demonstrated in non-aqueous solvents to couple CO reduction to a secondary reaction to create novel species that are not produced in aqueous CO electrolysis. One reaction that can be performed with high selectivity and durability is the electrochemical conversion of CO to formic acid and in-situ esterification with methanol to produce methyl formate. However, the translation to a high-performance flow electrolyzer is far from trivial, as the non-aqueous catholyte leads to reactor challenges including flooding the gas diffusion electrode.

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The perovskite solar cell has commercial potential due to the low-cost of materials and manufacturing processes with cell efficiencies on par with traditional technologies. Nanomaterials have many properties that make them attractive for the perovskite devices, including low-cost inks, low temperature processing, stable material properties and good charge transport. In this feature article, the use of nanomaterials in the hole transport and electron transport layers are reviewed.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on utilizing the byproduct of corn nixtamalization, called nejayote, to produce valuable chemicals like furfural through photocatalytic hydrolysis.
  • It involves the green synthesis of titania nanoparticles using plant extracts from Ricinus Communis, Moringa Oleifera, and Bougainvillea Spectabilis, which were characterized using various scientific techniques.
  • The research shows that the nanoparticles synthesized from Bougainvillea Spectabilis achieved the highest furfural yield (44%) in a shorter time compared to those from Moringa Olifera (26.4%) and Ricinus Communis (7.2%), suggesting potential for improved waste management in the tortilla industry.
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High-pressure response of vibrational properties of b-AsP:Raman studies.

Nanotechnology

August 2023

Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, United States of America.

The structural evolution of black arsenic-phosphorous (b-AsP) alloys with varying arsenic concentrations was investigated under hydrostatic pressure usingRaman spectroscopy. High-pressure experiments were conducted using a diamond anvil cell, which revealed pressure-induced shifts in vibrational modes associated with P-P bonds (,,B2g), As-As bonds (,,B2g), and As-P bonds in b-AsPalloys. Two distinct pressure regimes were observed.

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Herein, we developed the recyclable ligand-free iridium (Ir)-hydride based Ir nanoparticles (NPs) for the first regioselective partial hydrogenation of P -substituted naphthalenes. Both the isolated and in situ generated NPs are catalytically active. A control nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study revealed the presence of metal-surface-bound hydrides, most likely formed from Ir species.

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Decoupling 1D and 2D features of 2D sp-nanoribbons-the megatom model.

J Phys Condens Matter

December 2022

Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, United States of America.

The dependence of the electron energy band gap on the width of an-nanoribbon is investigated using a generalization of the 1D tight binding model for a chain of atoms. Within the proposed generalization, small linear atomic formations along lines perpendicular to the 2D ribbon axis are modeled as single large atoms calledwhose properties depend on the type, the size and the atomic conformation. Replacement of a 1D chain of atoms by that of the megatoms is accompanied by the incorporation of zeroth order 2D features into the 1D model approximation of the nanoribbon.

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A simple and environmentally benign technology for synthesizing ultrasmall Cu nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface of the food additive hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and their application in completely organic solvent-free tandem alkyne-azide cycloaddition reactions were reported. The NP catalyst was thoroughly characterized by high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis for its morphology, particle size distribution, chemical composition, and oxidation state analyses. The NP catalyst was highly efficient, affording products in 10-45 min.

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Evaluation of pectin extractions and their application in the alkaline Maillard reaction.

Sci Rep

November 2022

Ingeniería en Nanotecnología, Universidad de la Ciénega del Estado de Michoacán, Lomas de la Universidad, Avenida Universidad No. 3000, C.P. 59103, Sahuayo, Michoacán, México.

A 2 factorial design was used to evaluate the influence of temperature, catalyst and time and esterification degree (DE) of pectin obtained from mango, orange and tangerine peels as well as tamarind seeds by using the acid hydrolysis method. The study showed that a high temperature positively influenced the percentage of pectin yield for the four second generation biomasses. Nevertheless, the temperature showed a greater influence in the solubility and diffusion of the acid solvent in the tamarind seed matrix, resulting a pectin recovery 32.

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A novel strategy has been developed to spontaneously form ligand-free Pd(0) nanoparticles (NPs) from water- and air-sensitive Pddba in water. These NPs are thoroughly characterized by IR, NMR, and mass spectrometry, revealing that the metal-micelle binding plays a critical role in their stability and activity. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy supported the ultrasmall nature of NPs, whereas X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed the zero-oxidation state of Pd.

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The strong, non-covalent interactions between π-systems and cations have been the focus of numerous studies on biomolecule structure and catalysis. These interactions, however, have yet to be explored as a sensing mechanism for detecting trace levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this article, we provide evidence that cation-π interactions can be used to elicit sensitive and selective chemiresistor responses to aromatic VOCs.

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Phosphorene nanoribbons (PNRs) have inspired strong research interests to explore their exciting properties that are associated with the unique two-dimensional (2D) structure of phosphorene as well as the additional quantum confinement of the nanoribbon morphology, providing new materials strategy for electronic and optoelectronic applications. Despite several important properties of PNRs, the production of these structures with narrow widths is still a great challenge. Here, a facile and straightforward approach to synthesize PNRs via an electrochemical process that utilize the anisotropic Na diffusion barrier in black phosphorus (BP) along the [001] zigzag direction against the [100] armchair direction, is reported.

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Low Platinum-Loaded Molybdenum Co-catalyst for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline and Acidic Media.

Langmuir

August 2022

Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering Technology, Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, North Carolina 27909, United States.

Article Synopsis
  • Developing a cost-effective catalytic system for electrolysis is crucial for enhancing the hydrogen fuel economy by using less platinum (Pt) without sacrificing performance.
  • The study presents a new molybdenum (Mo) thin film with minimal Pt, showing that the Pt-Mo electrocatalyst performs similarly to bulk Pt in alkaline conditions and slightly less in acidic conditions.
  • The Pt-Mo system demonstrates excellent durability over 1000 cycles and works synergistically with Mo to maintain high performance in hydrogen production.
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In this study, we report a pair of electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) based on the noninnocent ligand diacetyl-2-(4-methyl-3-thiosemicarbazone)-3-(2-pyridinehydrazone) (HDMTH, HL). The neutral complexes NiL and PdL were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic and electrochemical methods. The complexes contain a non-coordinating, basic hydrazino nitrogen that is protonated during the HER.

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Synthesis of Fluorine-Doped Lithium Argyrodite Solid Electrolytes for Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries.

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces

March 2022

Department of Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Louisville, 332 Eastern Parkway, Louisville, Kentucky 40292, United States.

Solid-state lithium metal batteries (SSLMBs) that utilize novel solid electrolytes (SEs) have garnered much attention because of their potential to yield safe and high-energy-density batteries. Sulfide-based argyrodite-class SEs are an attractive option because of their impressive ionic conductivity. Recent studies have shown that LiF at the interface between Li and SE enhances electrochemical stability.

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Phosphine ligand-free bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) composed of Ni(0)Pd(0) catalyze highly selective 1,4-reductions of enones, enamides, enenitriles, and ketoamides under aqueous micellar conditions. A minimal amount of Pd (Ni/Pd = 25:1) is needed to prepare these NPs, which results in reductions without impacting - and -benzyl, aldehyde, nitrile, and nitro functional groups. A broad range of substrates has been studied, including a gram-scale reaction.

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Slurries of semiconductor particles individually capable of unassisted light-driven water-splitting are modeled to have a promising path to low-cost solar hydrogen generation, but they have had poor efficiencies. Tandem microparticle systems are a clear direction to pursue to increase efficiency. However, light absorption must be carefully managed in a tandem to prevent current mismatch in the subcells, which presents a possible challenge for tandem microwire particles suspended in a liquid.

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The conversion of waste CO to value-added chemicals through electrochemical reduction is a promising technology for mitigating climate change while simultaneously providing economic opportunities. The use of non-aqueous solvents like methanol allows for higher CO availability and novel products. In this work, the electrochemistry of CO reduction in acidic methanol catholyte at a Pb working electrode was investigated while using a separate aqueous anolyte to promote a sustainable water oxidation half-reaction.

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A scalable approach to topographically mediated antimicrobial surfaces based on diamond.

J Nanobiotechnology

December 2021

Kentucky Advanced Materials Manufacturing, Louisville, KY, 40209, USA.

Bio-inspired Topographically Mediated Surfaces (TMSs) based on high aspect ratio nanostructures have recently been attracting significant attention due to their pronounced antimicrobial properties by mechanically disrupting cellular processes. However, scalability of such surfaces is often greatly limited, as most of them rely on micro/nanoscale fabrication techniques. In this report, a cost-effective, scalable, and versatile approach of utilizing diamond nanotechnology for producing TMSs, and using them for limiting the spread of emerging infectious diseases, is introduced.

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