Understanding the Activity of Co‐N4−xCx in Atomic Metal Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Catalysis

Atomic metal catalysis (AMC) provides an effective way to enhance activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Cobalt anchored on nitrogen‐doped carbon materials have been extensively reported. The carbon‐hosted Co‐N₄ structure was widely considered as the active site; however, it is very rare to investigate the activity of Co partially coordinated with N, for example, Co‐N_4?xC_x. Herein, the activity of Co‐N_4?xC_x with tunable coordination environment is investigated as the active sites for ORR catalysis. The defect (di‐vacancies) on carbon is essential for the formation of Co‐N_4?xC_x. N species play two important roles in promoting the intrinsic activity of atomic metal catalyst: N coordinated with Co to manipulate the reactivity by modification of electronic distribution and N helped to trap more Co to increase the number of active sites.     

Ultrahigh‐Content Nitrogen‐doped Carbon Encapsulating Cobalt NPs as Catalyst for Oxidative Esterification of Furfural

It is an attractive and challenging topic to endow non‐noble metal catalysts with high efficiency via a nitrogen‐doping approach. In this study, a nitrogen‐doped carbon catalyst with high nitrogen content encapsulating cobalt NPs (CoO_x@N‐C(g)) was synthesized, and characterized in detail by XRD, HRTEM, N₂‐physisorption, ICP, CO₂‐TPD, and XPS techniques. g‐C₃N₄ nanosheets act as nitrogen source and self‐sacrificing templates, giving rise to an ultrahigh nitrogen content of 14.0 %, much higher than those using bulk g‐C₃N₄ (4.4 %) via the same synthesis procedures. As a result, CoO_x@N‐C(g) exhibited the highest performance in the oxidative esterification of biomass‐derived platform furfural to methylfuroate under base‐free conditions, achieving 95.0 % conversion and 97.1 % selectivity toward methylfuroate under 0.5 MPa O₂ at 100 °C for 6 h, far exceeding those of other cobalt‐based catalysts. The high efficiency of CoO_x@N‐C(g) was closely related to its high ratio of pyridinic nitrogen species that may act as Lewis basic sites as well as its capacity for the activation of dioxygen to superoxide radical O₂^.?.     

Determination of Nitrogen in Silicon Carbide by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

The emission of atomic and complex nitrogen ions, which are the main impurity determining the n type conduction of silicon carbide, is investigated. It is shown that, among all the secondary ions of the C _x N and Si _x N kind (x = 0, 1, 2, 3), the ²⁶(CN)^– fragment exhibits the highest ion yield. The use of an ion peak with a specified mass as an analytical signal provides a detection limit for nitrogen in SiC at a level of 10¹⁶ cm^–3. This result is attained in measurements at high mass resolution (M/M = 7500, interference peak ²⁶(¹³C₂)^–).     

Fluorine‐Free Synthesis of High‐Purity Ti3C2Tx (T=OH,O) via Alkali Treatment

MXenes, 2D compounds generated from layered bulk materials, have attracted significant attention in energy‐related fields. However, most syntheses involve HF, which is highly corrosive and harmful to lithium‐ion battery and supercapacitor performance. Here an alkali‐assisted hydrothermal method is used to prepare a MXene Ti₃C₂T_x (T=OH, O). This route is inspired from a Bayer process used in bauxite refining. The process is free of fluorine and yields multilayer Ti₃C₂T_x with ca. 92 wt % in purity (using 27.5 m NaOH, 270 °C). Without the F terminations, the resulting Ti₃C₂T_x film electrode (ca. 52 μm in thickness, ca. 1.63 g cm⁻³ in density) is 314 F g⁻¹ via gravimetric capacitance at 2 mV s⁻¹ in 1 m H₂SO₄. This surpasses (by ca. 214 %) that of the multilayer Ti₃C₂T_x prepared via HF treatments. This fluorine‐free method also provides an alkali‐etching strategy for exploring new MXenes for which the interlayer amphoteric/acidic atoms from the pristine MAX phase must be removed.     

Fluorine‐Free Synthesis of High‐Purity Ti3C2Tx (T=OH,O) via Alkali Treatment

MXenes, 2D compounds generated from layered bulk materials, have attracted significant attention in energy‐related fields. However, most syntheses involve HF, which is highly corrosive and harmful to lithium‐ion battery and supercapacitor performance. Here an alkali‐assisted hydrothermal method is used to prepare a MXene Ti₃C₂T_x (T=OH, O). This route is inspired from a Bayer process used in bauxite refining. The process is free of fluorine and yields multilayer Ti₃C₂T_x with ca. 92 wt % in purity (using 27.5 m NaOH, 270 °C). Without the F terminations, the resulting Ti₃C₂T_x film electrode (ca. 52 μm in thickness, ca. 1.63 g cm^?3 in density) is 314 F g^?1 via gravimetric capacitance at 2 mV s^?1 in 1 m H₂SO₄. This surpasses (by ca. 214 %) that of the multilayer Ti₃C₂T_x prepared via HF treatments. This fluorine‐free method also provides an alkali‐etching strategy for exploring new MXenes for which the interlayer amphoteric/acidic atoms from the pristine MAX phase must be removed.     

Mass spectrometry of hydroxyammoniocarboxylates: Lactonization of thermally rearranged molecules during field desorption

The field desorption mass spectral behavior of several hydroxyammoniocarboxylates was studied at both low and high emitter heating currents. The molecular weights of these thermally unstable compounds can be determined directly from the low emitter current (<10 mA) field desorption mass spectra, which are dominated by [xM+H]⁺ and [xM+H? CO₂]⁺ ions (1?x?4). At higher emitter currents (～20 mA), pyrolytic processes become important. These include intermolecular transfer of a single alkyl group yielding [M+alkyl]⁺ ions, intermolecular isomerization producing a hydroxyaminoester as the rearranged form of the molecule, and elimination of alcohol from the rearranged molecule, producing γ or δ lactones. The distribution of pyrolysis products does not depend significantly on the length of the carboxylate chain, but does appear to depend upon the chain length of the alkyl substituent on nitrogen. The spectra of molecules containing a long alkyl substituent (e.g. C₁₄H₂₉, C₂₂H₄₅) exhibit relatively high levels of [M+alkyl]⁺ ions, unlike the spectra of compounds which contain only methyl or ethyl substituents on the quaternary nitrogen. These latter compounds exhibit a relatively greater tendency toward lactone formation.     

Tunable Electric and Magnetic Properties of Transition Metal@NxCy-Graphene Materials by Different Metal and Defect Types

Transition metal@N_xC_y-graphene (TM@N_xC_y-GR) materials have been widely used as redox reaction catalysts in the field of fuel cells due to their low cost and high performance. In the present work, we systematically investigate the effect of different metal and defect types on the electro-magnetic properties of TM@N_xC_y-GR materials using first principles calculations. Our simulations show that TM@N₃-GR (the minimum defect size) and TM@N₇-GR (the maximum defect size) materials always possess metallic property regardless the metal type. However, doping different TM can regulate the medium defects (TM@N₂C₂-GR-I and TM@N₂C₂-GR-II) among metallicity, half-metallicity and semi-conductivity. In addition, we found that different TM and defect type largely affects the magnetic moment. The spin density and projected density of state calculations show that the net charges of the defect structure are mainly located near the hole, and the magnetic regulation comes from the coupling of TM-d orbital with carbon (nitrogen)-s(p) orbitals. The present study provides abundant valuable information for the TM@N_xC_y-GR materials designs and applicants in the future.     

Preparation and Characterization of Iron Manganese Carbide by Reaction of the Oxides and Carbon in Nitrogen

Fe₂O₃, Mn₂O₃, and their mixtures are reduced by carbon in nitrogen. The product depends on manganese loading. A cohenite Fe₃C type phase is stabilized by substituting manganese into the lattice. A single phase cohenite phase solid solution Fe_3-xMn_xC is prepared for 20-50% manganese loading, and a Fe₇C₃ type phase can be obtained with manganese loading of 65-80%. The nitrogen participates in the reduction of the manganese-rich oxide mixtures. A manganese carbonitride is obtained by heating the mixture of Mn₂O₃ and carbon in nitrogen. The composition of the new compound is analyzed as Mn₂C_0.60N_0.21 and it has a hexagonal structure with a₀ = 4.778 Å and c₀ = 4.486 Å.     

Biohybrid Organic Heterostructure Based on Chlorophyll-Bacteriochlorophyll Aggregates for Ecofriendly Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen energy is an abundant, clean, sustainable and environmentally friendly renewable energy source. Therefore, the production of hydrogen by photocatalytically splitting water on semiconductors has been considered in recent years as a promising and sustainable strategy for converting solar energy into chemical energy to replace conventional energy sources and to solve the growing problem of environmental pollution and the global energy crisis. However, highly efficient solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production remains a huge challenge due to the poor visible light response of available photocatalytic materials and the low efficiency of separation and transfer of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. In the present work, organic heterojunction structures based on bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) and chlorophyll (Chl) molecules were introduced and used for solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production from water under visible light. Also, noble metal-free photocatalyst was successfully constructed on Ti₃C₂T_x nanosheets by simple successive deposition of Chl and BChl, which was used for the photocatalytic splitting water to hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The results show that the optimal BChl@Chl@Ti₃C₂T_x composite has a high HER performance with 114 μmol/h/g_cat, which is much higher than the BChl@Ti₃C₂T_x and Chl@Ti₃C₂T_x composites.     

Toward Understanding the Enhanced Pseudocapacitive Storage in 3D SnS/MXene Architectures Enabled by Engineered Surface Reactions

The optimization of three-dimensional (3D) MXene-based electrodes with desired electrochemical performances is highly demanded. Here, a precursor-guided strategy is reported for fabricating the 3D SnS/MXene architecture with tiny SnS nanocrystals (≈5 nm in size) covalently decorated on the wrinkled Ti₃C₂T_x nanosheets through Ti−S bonds (denoted as SnS/Ti₃C₂T_x-O). The formation of Ti−S bonds between SnS and Ti₃C₂T_x was confirmed by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). Rather than bulky SnS plates decorated on Ti₃C₂T_x (SnS/Ti₃C₂T_x-H) by one-step hydrothermal sulfidation followed by post annealing, this SnS/Ti₃C₂T_x-O presents size-dependent structural and dynamic properties. The as-formed 3D hierarchical structure can provide short ion-diffusion pathways and electron transport distances because of the more accessible surface sites. In addition, benefiting from the tiny SnS nanocrystals that can effectively improve Na⁺ diffusion and suppress structural variation upon charge/discharge processes, the as-obtained SnS/Ti₃C₂T_x-O can generate pseudocapacitance-dominated storage behavior enabled by engineered surface reactions. As predicted, this electrode exhibits an enhanced Na storage capacity of 565 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ after 75 cycles, outperforming SnS/Ti₃C₂T_x-H (336 mAh g⁻¹), SnS (212 mAh g⁻¹), and Ti₃C₂T_x (104 mAh g⁻¹) electrodes.     

Repair of defects created by Ar+ sputtering on graphite surface by annealing as confirmed using ToF‐SIMS and XPS

Defects were created on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) by sputtering with an Ar⁺ ion beam, then characterized using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) at 500°C. In the XPS C1s spectrum of the sputtered HOPG, a sp³ carbon peak appeared at 285.3 eV, representing surface defects. In addition, 2 sets of peaks, the C_x⁻ and C_xH⁻ ion series (where x = 1, 2, 3...), were identified in the ToF‐SIMS negative ion spectrum. In the positive ion spectrum, a series of C_xH₂^+• ions indicating defects was observed. Annealing of the sputtered samples under Ar was conducted at different temperatures. The XPS and ToF‐SIMS spectra of the sputtered HOPG after 800°C annealing were observed to be similar to the spectra of the fresh HOPG. The sp³ carbon peak had disappeared from the C1s spectrum, and the normalized intensities of the C_xH⁻ and C_xH₂^+• ions had decreased. These results indicate that defects created by sputtering on the surface of HOPG can be repaired by high‐temperature annealing.     

氮掺杂泡沫碳电催化剂的制备及氧还原性能

利用水解乙烯基咪唑鎓硝酸盐（[Hvim]NO₃）作为发泡剂和一次氮源,在碳化过程中实现材料自发泡。创造性地引入二次氮源三聚氰胺（C₃H₆N₆）,通过调控一次、二次氮源比例和碳化温度,制备得到氮掺杂泡沫碳材料（HxMy-T,其中x：y为一次和二次氮源的质量比,T对应不同的碳化温度）。该方法提升了催化剂的氮掺杂含量,构建了更多有利于氧还原反应（ORR）的活性氮位点。电镜结果显示,催化剂H1M1-1000呈现出典型的泡沫碳孔洞结构和丰富的层状褶皱结构;X射线光电子能谱测试结果表明,该样品具有较高的活性氮含量（原子分数6.77%）,吡啶氮和石墨氮的原子分数分别高达22.23%和55.59%;电化学测试结果表明,该样品在碱性环境中的半波电位为0.834 V（vs RHE）,与商业Pt/C相当,且具有优于商业Pt/C的抗甲醇性能和稳定性。     

氮掺杂泡沫碳电催化剂的制备及氧还原性能

利用水解乙烯基咪唑鎓硝酸盐([Hvim]NO3)作为发泡剂和一次氮源,在碳化过程中实现材料自发泡。创造性地引入二次氮源三聚氰胺(C3H6N6),通过调控一次、二次氮源比例和碳化温度,制备得到氮掺杂泡沫碳材料(HxMy-T,其中x∶y为一次和二次氮源的质量比,T对应不同的碳化温度)。该方法提升了催化剂的氮掺杂含量,构建了更多有利于氧还原反应(ORR)的活性氮位点。电镜结果显示,催化剂H1M1-1000呈现出典型的泡沫碳孔洞结构和丰富的层状褶皱结构;X射线光电子能谱测试结果表明,该样品具有较高的活性氮含量(原子分数6.77%),吡啶氮和石墨氮的原子分数分别高达22.23%和55.59%;电化学测试结果表明,该样品在碱性环境中的半波电位为0.834 V(vs RHE),与商业Pt/C相当,且具有优于商业Pt/C的抗甲醇性能和稳定性。     

Synthesis, Characterization and Thermal Decomposition of M1[M2(C2O4)2]xH2O (x=5 for M1=Co and x=4 for M1=Cd; M2=Ni)

Cobalt bis(oxalato)nickelate pentahydrate, Co[Ni(C₂O₄)₂]5H₂O and cadmium bis(oxalato)nickelate tetrahydrate, Cd[Ni(C₂O₄)2]4H₂O have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, reflectance and IR spectral studies. Thermal decomposition studies (TG, DTG and DTA ) in air showed that both the compound of cobalt and cadmium produced the oxide, MNiO_x (x=3 for M=Co; x=2 for M=Cd ) at 325 and 360°C respectively. DSC studies in nitrogen attributed only the mixture of both the metal at the end. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Estimation of the upper limit of carbon concentration in boron carbide crystals

The existence of a boron carbide phase with ∼25 at % carbon was proven experimentally. To evaluate the maximum possible concentration of C atoms in boron carbide (B_{12 − x} C _x )(BC₂) crystals, we performed quantum-chemical calculations of (B_{12 − x} C _x )(BH₂)₆(CH₃)₆ model compounds (x = 0–4; the goal of calculations was to determine the upper limiting number of C atoms in the B_{12 − x} C _x icosahedron) by the density functional theory method (B3LYP, 6-31G** basis set, full geometry optimization). A comparison of the experimental and calculated data showed that the calculations of the model compounds reproduced the experimental dependences of the structural parameters of the icosahedron (mean bond length and volume) on the number of C atoms in it. The icosahedra were found to be stable at x ≤ 3. According to the results of the quantum-chemical calculations, the maximum carbon concentration in boron carbide was 33 at %, which corresponded to the composition B₁₀C₅ and the structural formula (B₉C₃)(BC₂).     

Tb2Mn17C3−x with filled Th2Ni17-type structure and some structural and magnetic properties of related compounds

The new compounds R₂Mn₁₇C_3−x (R = Y, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Lu) were prepared by reacting the elemental components in an arc-melting furnace with subsequent annealing at temperatures between 400 and 900°C. Their crystal structures were determined from single-crystal X-ray diffractometer data of Tb₂Mn₁₇C_3−x and refined to a residual of R = 0.035 for 27 variable parameters and 588 structure factors. It is hexagonal, space group P6₃/mmc with the lattice constants a = 873.8(1) pm, C = 851.1(1) pm and Z = 2 formula units per cell. The positions of the metal atoms correspond to those of Th₂Ni₁₇. The carbon atoms are situated in approximately octahedral voids formed by two Tb and a rectangle of Mn atoms. Of these carbon positions 81 (4)% are occupied in the crystal investigated; this corresponds to the composition Tb₂Mn₁₇C_2.43. The new carbides CeMn₁₁C_2−x, NdMn₁₁C_2−x, and ThMn₁₁C_2−x crystallize with LaMn₁₁C_2−x (filled BaCd₁₁) structure; Th₂Mn₁₇C_3−x has Pr₂Mn₁₇C_3−x (filled Th₂Zn₁₇) structure. The crystal chemistry of these and other interstitial carbides is discussed. The compounds LaMn₁₁C_2−x, CeMn₁₁C_2−x, Pr₂Mn₁₇C_3−x, and Tb₂Mn₁₇C_3−x are paramagnetic with Curie-Weiss behavior at high temperature and no magnetic order at least above about 100 K. The Mn atoms carry magnetic moments in all four compounds. Down to 1.9 K no transition to a superconducting state could be observed for LaMn₁₁C_2−x, La₂Mn₁₇C_3−x, Y₂Mn₁₇C_3−x, or Lu₂Mn₁₇C_3−x.     

Molecular complexes of C60 with tetrasulfur tetranitride

Compounds C₆₀(S₄N₄)_2−x (C₆H₆) _x (1a-d) withx=0.67 (a), 1.0 (b), 1.1 (c), and 1.2 (d), in which isomorphous replacement of S₄N₄ with benzene takes place, were obtained by the reaction of fullerence C₆₀ with tetrasulfur tetranitride in benzene. Complexes C₆₀·S₄N₄ (2) and C₆₀(S₄N₄)₂ (3) containing no solvent were isolated from toluene. The compositions of the compounds were established by elemental and thermogravimetric analyses. The data of IR and X-ray photoelectron (XP) spectroscopies show that in the complexes studied the transfer of electron density occurs mainly from the nitrogen atoms of S₄N₄. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 37–40. January 1977.     

An Expanded Family of Dysprosium–Scandium Mixed‐Metal Nitride Clusterfullerenes: The Role of the Lanthanide Metal on the Carbon Cage Size Distribution

A large family of dysprosium–scandium (Dy‐Sc) mixed‐metal nitride clusterfullerenes (MMNCFs), Dy_xSc_3?xN@C_2n (x=1, 2, 2n=68, 70, 76–86) have been successfully synthesized and isolated. Among these, the C₇₀ and C₈₂‐based MMNCFs are two new cages that have never been isolated for MMNCFs. Synthesis of Dy_xSc_3?xN@C_2n was accomplished by the “selective organic solid” route using guanidinium thiocyanate as the nitrogen source, and their isolation was fulfilled by recycling HPLC. UV/Vis‐NIR spectroscopic study indicates that almost all Dy_xSc_3?xN@C_2n MMNCFs are kinetically stable fullerenes with optical band gaps beyond 1 eV. This feature is distinctly different to their counterparts Dy₃N@C_2n (78≤2n≤88), whose for optical band‐gaps are below 1 eV for relatively large cages such as C₈₄ and C₈₆. An FTIR spectroscopic study in combination with DFT calculations enables reasonable assignments of the cage isomeric structures of all isolated Dy_xSc_3?xN@C_2n (x=1, 2, 2n=68, 70, 76–86) MMNCFs. The carbon cage size distribution of Dy_xSc_3?xN@C_2n (2n=68, 70, 76–86) is compared to the reported Dy₃N@C_2n (78≤2n≤8) homogeneous NCF and Dy_xSc_3?xN@C_2n (78≤2n≤88) MMNCF families, revealing that the medium‐sized Dy metal plays a crucial role on the expanded cage size distribution of MMNCFs. As a result, Dy_xSc_3?xN@C_2n MMNCFs are the largest MMNCF family reported to date.     

Large-scale quantification of aluminum in AlxGa1-xN alloys by ToF-SIMS: The benefit of secondary cluster ions

Precise determination of composition is requisite for Al_xGa_1-xN-based energy band engineering. Secondary cluster ions in a time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) full spectrum are introduced for accurate quantification of Al in Al_xGa_1-xN for AlGaN-based devices. It was found that statistical analysis with huge number of large secondary cluster ions (without small ions) show much better linear dependence with apparent compensation of matrix effect, particularly in negative polarity. For Al_xGa_1-xN with x = 0 to 0.7, x values calculated based on large negative cluster ions (NCIs) show excellent linear dependence with real values. Besides, atomic count ratio of C (Al)/C (Ga) and C (Ga)/C (Al) also shows great linear relationships with corresponding mole fraction ratios in a large range. Overlap of these linear ranges offers a reliable and convenient quantification protocol of Al_xGa_1-xN covering a full range of x = 0 to 1. This study verifies that the secondary cluster ions are beneficial for quantification of Al_xGa_1-xN-based materials.     

Catalytic Properties of ZrO2 Systems in the Reduction of Nitrogen Oxides by Hydrocarbons

The catalytic properties of zirconia prepared by different methods with impregnated variable-valence metals (chromium, cobalt, and cerium) as well as rhodium-promoted samples were studied in the reduction of nitrogen oxides by C₁ and C₃–C₄ hydrocarbons and also in the presence of sulfur dioxide. TPDA and IR spectroscopy showed that the different catalytic behavior of the Me _x O _y /ZrO₂ samples is related to their acid properties. The more active samples had strong Brönsted acid sites.