Oppositely Charged Ti3C2Tx MXene Membranes with 2D Nanofluidic Channels for Osmotic Energy Harvesting

Membrane‐based reverse electrodialysis (RED) is considered as the most promising technique to harvest osmotic energy. However, the traditional membranes are limited by high internal resistance and low efficiency, resulting in undesirable power densities. Herein, we report the combination of oppositely charged Ti₃C₂T_x MXene membranes (MXMs) with confined 2D nanofluidic channels as high‐performance osmotic power generators. The negatively or positively charged 2D MXene nanochannels exhibit typical surface‐charge‐governed ion transport and show excellent cation or anion selectivity. By mixing the artificial sea water (0.5 m NaCl) and river water (0.01 m NaCl), we obtain a maximum power density of ca. 4.6 Wm^?2, higher than most of the state‐of‐the‐art membrane‐based osmotic power generators, and very close to the commercialization benchmark (5 Wm^?2). Through connecting ten tandem MXM‐RED stacks, the output voltage can reach up 1.66 V, which can directly power the electronic devices.     

On the Role of Heterogeneous Nanopore Junction in Osmotic Power Generation

Osmotic power generated by mixing ionic solutions of different concentration is an underutilized clean energy resource that satisfy potentially the ever‐growing energy demand. For decades, substantial efforts are made to enhance the power density. Toward this goal, we once developed a heterogeneous nanoporous membrane comprising of heterojunctions between negatively charged mesoporous carbon and positively charged macroporous alumina to harvest electric power from salinity difference and achieved outstanding performance (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014 , 136, 12265). The heterogeneous nanopore junction effectively suppresses ion concentration polarization (ICP) at low concentration end, and consequently promotes the overall power density. However, to date, a systematic understanding of the role of the heterogeneous nanopore junction in osmotic energy conversion remains urgent and largely unexplored. Herein, we provide an in‐depth theoretical investigation on this issue with special emphasis on several influential factors, such as the ionic concentration, the surface charge density, and the geometry of heterogeneous part. To balance the suppression of ICP and maintenance of charge selectivity, we find that these influential factors in the heterogeneous part should be restricted to a specific range. These findings provide direct guidance for design and optimization of high‐performance nanofluidic power sources.     

Membranes with Fast and Selective Gas‐Transport Channels of Laminar Graphene Oxide for Efficient CO2 Capture

Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were engineered to be assembled into laminar structures having fast and selective transport channels for gas separation. With molecular‐sieving interlayer spaces and straight diffusion pathways, the GO laminates endowed as‐prepared membranes with excellent preferential CO₂ permeation performance (CO₂ permeability: 100 Barrer, CO₂/N₂ selectivity: 91) and extraordinary operational stability (>6000 min), which are attractive for implementation of practical CO₂ capture.     

Laser-Assisted Scalable Pore Fabrication in Graphene Membranes for Blue-Energy Generation

The osmotic energy from a salinity gradient (i. e. blue energy) is identified as a promising non-intermittent renewable energy source for a sustainable technology. However, this membrane-based technology is facing major limitations for large-scale viability, primarily due to the poor membrane performance. An atomically thin 2D nanoporous material with high surface charge density resolves the bottleneck and leads to a new class of membrane material the salinity gradient energy. Although 2D nanoporous membranes show extremely high performance in terms of energy generation through the single pore, the fabrication and technical challenges such as ion concentration polarization make the nanoporous membrane a non-viable solution. On the other hand, the mesoporous and micro porous structures in the 2D membrane result in improved energy generation with very low fabrication complexity. In the present work, we report femtosecond (fs) laser-assisted scalable fabrication of μm to mm size pores on Graphene membrane for blue energy generation for the first time. A remarkable osmotic power in the order of μW has been achieved using mm size pores, which is about six orders of magnitudes higher compared to nanoporous membranes, which is mainly due to the diffusion-osmosis driven large ionic flux. Our work paves the way towards fs laser-assisted scalable pore creation in the 2D membrane for large-scale osmotic power generation.     

Nanostructured Three‐Dimensional (3D) Assembly of 2D MoS2 and Graphene Directly Build From Acidic Graphite Oxide

A 3D highly interconnected macroporous network of reduced GO having finely dispersed few‐layered 2D MoS₂ nanosheets was constructed through direct use of acidic graphite oxide (GO) for the first time. This facile and technologically scalable process can afford efficient hydrodesulfurization electrocatalysts as potential anode materials at lower cost, and can circumvent the poor thermal stability and recyclability of the material. The strategy provided here can be the basis to design and develop practical processes to address the ultimate goal of large‐scale manufacturing of hybrids composed of 2D materials for various energy and catalysis applications.     

Nanofluidic Ion Transport and Energy Conversion through Ultrathin Free‐Standing Polymeric Carbon Nitride Membranes

Ions transport through confined space with characteristic dimensions comparable to the Debye length has many applications, for example, in water desalination, dialysis, and energy conversion. However, existing 2D/3D smart porous membranes for ions transport and further applications are fragile, thermolabile, and/or difficult to scale up, limiting their practical applicability. Now, polymeric carbon nitride alternatively allows the creation of an ultrathin free‐standing carbon nitride membrane (UFSCNM), which can be fabricated by simple CVD polymerization and exhibits excellent nanofluidic ion‐transport properties. The surface‐charge‐governed ion transport also endows such UFSCNMs with the function of converting salinity gradients into electric energy. With advantages of low cost, facile fabrication, and the ease of scale up while supporting high ionic currents, UFSCNM can be considered as an alternative for energy conversion systems and new ionic devices.     

石墨烯包覆富锂层状材料的制备及其电化学性能

应用共沉淀结合固相烧结合成了富锂层状氧化物（Li-rich layered oxide,LLO）Li_1.2Ni_0.13Co_0.13Mn_0.54O₂. 对制备的富锂材料用氧化石墨烯（Graphene Oxide,GO）包覆后,再经300 ^oC空气中煅烧,制备了石墨烯（Graphene,Gra）卷绕包覆的复合材料（LLO/Gra）. 使用扫描电镜（SEM）、透射电镜（TEM）、X射线衍射（XRD）和X射线光电子能谱（XPS）及电化学方法表征所得样品. 结果表明,富锂层状氧化物均匀地卷绕在石墨烯中. 与原始富锂材料相比,石墨烯包覆后的复合材料表现出更加优异的电化学性能. 尤其是石墨烯卷绕可以改善富锂材料的导电性,提高材料的放电倍率性能,在2.0至4.8 V电压范围内,0.1C（20 mA·g^-1）电流充放电下,容量达270 mAh·g^-1,1C倍率下复合物的放电容量接近200 mAh·g^-1,比原始LLO材料170 mAh·g^-1提高了15%.     

三维氮掺杂石墨烯对水中铅和镉的吸附

采用多巴胺(DA)作为还原剂和功能化试剂,进行了氧化石墨烯的功能化,制备了三维结构的氮掺杂石墨烯材料(rGO-DA)。与还原性氧化石墨烯(rGO)对比,rGO-DA具有更大的吸附容量。rGO-DA对Pb~(2+)和Cd~(2+)的吸附容量分别为91.4,43.5 mg/g。考察了吸附时间、pH值、初始浓度对Pb~(2+)和Cd~(2+)吸附效果的影响。结果表明,rGO-DA对Pb~(2+)和Cd~(2+)吸附达到平衡的时间为120 min,最佳pH值为5.0。在Pb~(2+)和Cd~(2+)初始浓度小于30μg/m L时,二者的吸附去除率分别为100%和87.7%。在吸附Pb~(2+),Cd~(2+)后,rGO-DA可轻松从水体中移除。用HCl脱附,循环使用3次后,rGO-DA对Pb~(2+)和Cd~(2+)的吸附容量无明显变化,可再生并重复使用。     

Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon Materials Derived from Graphene Oxide/Melamine Resin Composites for CO2 Adsorption

CO₂ adsorption in porous carbon materials has attracted great interests for alleviating emission of post-combustion CO₂. In this work, a novel nitrogen-doped porous carbon material was fabricated by carbonizing the precursor of melamine-resorcinol-formaldehyde resin/graphene oxide (MR/GO) composites with KOH as the activation agent. Detailed characterization results revealed that the fabricated MR(0.25)/GO-500 porous carbon (0.25 represented the amount of GO added in wt.% and 500 denoted activation temperature in °C) had well-defined pore size distribution, high specific surface area (1264 m²·g⁻¹) and high nitrogen content (6.92 wt.%), which was mainly composed of the pyridinic-N and pyrrolic-N species. Batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that the fabricated MR(0.25)/GO-500 porous carbon delivered excellent CO₂ adsorption ability of 5.21 mmol·g⁻¹ at 298.15 K and 500 kPa, and such porous carbon also exhibited fast adsorption kinetics, high selectivity of CO₂/N₂ and good recyclability. With the inherent microstructure features of high surface area and abundant N adsorption sites species, the MR/GO-derived porous carbon materials offer a potentially promising adsorbent for practical CO₂ capture.     

氧化石墨烯基柔性发电机的构筑及其水蒸发发电性能

如何利用自然界广泛存在的水蒸发能是一个具有挑战性的课题。 以表面具有丰富官能团和优异亲水性的氧化石墨烯(GO)做发电材料,以肼还原制备的还原氧化石墨烯(RGO)作电极材料,通过简单滴注法在聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯(PET)衬底上构筑GO/RGO的柔性发电机,并研究其水蒸发诱导的发电性能。 结果表明,固定GO薄膜发电机的工作面积为4.5 cm×1.5 cm,以室温自然水蒸发为驱动力,可以输出90 mV的开路电势(V_oc)以及0.6 μA的短路电流(I_sc),最大功率密度可达1.25 μW/cm³。 该驱动器同时展示出优异的柔性和较高的稳定性。 通过控制体系的水蒸发发生与否,并基于经典流动电势理论,提出了水蒸发诱导的GO/RGO柔性发电机的发电机制。 提出了步骤简易、成本低廉、性能稳定的水蒸发驱动的发电机制备新思路,为新型水蒸发能的利用提供了新途径。     

原位合成钴/还原氧化石墨烯纳米粒子催化氨硼烷制氢

采用简单的原位还原合成方法,利用具有温和还原性能的氨硼烷作为还原剂,在室温下一步还原氧化石墨烯和氯化钴混合溶液制备了还原氧化石墨烯负载钴纳米复合材料催化剂. 利用所制备的钴/还原氧化石墨烯催化剂催化氨硼烷水解制氢,发现钴/还原氧化石墨烯具有优异的催化性能. 相对于没有负载的钴纳米粒子以及采用硼氢化钠作为还原剂制备的钴/还原氧化石墨烯催化剂,采用氨硼烷还原制备的钴/还原氧化石墨烯催化剂表现出更加优越的催化性能. 动力学测试表明,钴/还原氧化石墨烯催化氨硼烷水解反应为零级反应,同时钴/还原氧化石墨烯催化剂催化氨硼烷水解反应的活化能为27.10 kJ·mol^-1,低于大部分已报道的其它催化剂,甚至一些贵金属催化剂的活化能. 钴/还原氧化石墨烯催化剂有着稳定的循环使用性,特别是其具有的磁性使得它能够直接从溶液中通过磁力回收,极具应用前景. 这种简单有效的合成方法有望推广到其它的金属-还原氧化石墨烯纳米复合材料体系.     

Bismuth-Oxide-Decorated Graphene Oxide Hybrids for Catalytic and Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2

Global warming challenges are fueling the demand to develop an efficient catalytic system for the reduction of CO₂, which would contribute significantly to the control of climate change. Herein, as-synthesized bismuthoxide-decorated graphene oxide (Bi₂O₃@GO) was used as an electro/thermal catalyst for CO₂ reduction. Bi₂O₃@GO is found to be distributed uniformly, as confirmed by scanning electron and transmission electron microscopic analysis. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern shows that the Bi₂O₃ has a β-phase with 23.4 m² g⁻¹ BET surface area. Significantly, the D and G bands from Raman spectroscopic analysis and their intensity ratio (I_D/I_G) reveal the increment in defective sites on GO after surface decoration. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis shows clear signals for Bi, C, and O, along with their oxidation states. An ultra-low onset potential (−0.534 V vs. RHE) for the reduction of CO₂ on Bi₂O₃@GO is achieved. Furthermore, potential-dependent (−0.534, −0.734, and −0.934 vs. RHE) bulk electrolysis of CO₂ to formate provides Faradaic efficiencies (FE) of approximately 39.72, 61.48, and 83.00 %, respectively. Additionally, in time-dependent electrolysis at a potential of −0.934 versus RHE for 3 and 5 h, the observed FEs are around 84.20 % and 87.17 % respectively. This catalyst is also used for the thermal reduction of CO₂ to formate. It is shown that the thermal reduction provides a path for industrial applications, as this catalyst converts a large amount of CO₂ to formate (10 mm ).     

基于内嵌钴/氮掺杂多孔碳三维石墨烯笼的抗团聚高效氧还原电催化剂

氧还原反应是决定燃料电池、金属-空气电池等多种新型清洁能源存储与转化技术之性能与应用的关键反应. 铂及其合金是目前催化活性最好的氧还原反应催化剂,但其高昂的成本限制了规模化应用. 在小尺寸效应作用下,微纳米结构催化剂颗粒在电极制备与电化学反应过程中的团聚限制了催化剂本征催化活性的充分发挥. 本文基于喷雾热解技术,发展了一种基于内嵌钴/氮掺杂多孔碳三维石墨烯笼的高活性、抗团聚非贵金属氧还原反应催化剂. 此结构中,金属有机骨架化合物ZIF-67衍生的钴/氮掺杂多孔碳纳米结构是催化氧还原反应的活性中心,包覆其外的三维石墨烯笼不仅可在钴/氮掺杂碳纳米结构之间构建连续的三维载流子传导网络,且可高效抑制其在催化剂制备与电化学反应过程中的团聚与活性损失. 在碱性电解液中,此类非贵金属催化剂表现出可与铂基催化剂媲美的氧还原反应活性和优异的稳定性.     

Shedding Light Onto the Nature of Iron Decorated Graphene and Graphite Oxide Nanohybrids for CO2 Conversion at Atmospheric Pressure

We report on the design and testing of new graphite and graphene oxide-based extended π-conjugated synthetic scaffolds for applications in sustainable chemistry transformations. Nanoparticle-functionalised carbonaceous catalysts for new Fischer Tropsch and Reverse GasWater Shift (RGWS) transformations were prepared: functional graphene oxides emerged from graphite powders via an adapted Hummer's method and subsequently impregnated with uniform-sized nanoparticles. Then the resulting nanomaterials were imaged by TEM, SEM, EDX, AFM and characterised by IR, XPS and Raman spectroscopies prior to incorporation of Pd(II) promoters and further microscopic and spectroscopic analysis. Newly synthesised 2D and 3D layered nanostructures incorporating carbon-supported iron oxide nanoparticulate pre-catalysts were tested, upon hydrogen reduction in situ, for the conversion of CO₂ to CO as well as for the selective formation of CH₄ and longer chain hydrocarbons. The reduction reaction was also carried out and the catalytic species isolated and fully characterised. The catalytic activity of a graphene oxide-supported iron oxide pre-catalyst converted CO₂ into hydrocarbons at different temperatures (305, 335, 370 and 405 °C), and its activity compared well with that of the analogues supported on graphite oxide, the 3-dimensional material precursor to the graphene oxide. Investigation into the use of graphene oxide as a framework for catalysis showed that it has promising activity with respect to reverse gas water shift (RWGS) reaction of CO₂ to CO, even at the low levels of catalyst used and under the rather mild conditions employed at atmospheric pressure. Whilst the γ-Fe₂O₃ decorated graphene oxide-based pre-catalyst displays fairly constant activity up to 405 °C, it was found by GC-MS analysis to be unstable with respect to decomposition at higher temperatures. The addition of palladium as a promoter increased the activity of the iron functionalised graphite oxide in the RWGS. The activity of graphene oxide supported catalysts was found to be enhanced with respect to that of iron-functionalised graphite oxide with, or without palladium as a promoter, and comparable to that of Fe@carbon nanotube-based systems tested under analogous conditions. These results display a significant step forward for the catalytic activity estimations for the iron functionalised and rapidly processable and scalable graphene oxide. The hereby investigated phenomena are of particular relevance for the understanding of the intimate surface morphologies and the potential role of non-covalent interactions in the iron oxide-graphene oxide networks, which could inform the design of nano-materials with performance in future sustainable catalysis applications.     

还原氧化石墨烯/金纳米修饰电极在新冠病毒检测中的应用

研究使用电化学沉积法在丝网印刷碳电极表面制备了还原氧化石墨烯和金纳米颗粒,构建了一种用于新冠病毒检测的石墨烯电化学传感器。通过扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和相应的电化学方法对纳米复合材料在电极表面的成功修饰进行了表征分析。并采用差分脉冲伏安法对传感器的性能进行检测,实验构建的电化学传感器具有良好的灵敏度,该传感器检线性范围为10_-10^-10_-6^mol/L,具有良好的重复性和特异性。     

Synergistic Catalysis of SnO2/Reduced Graphene Oxide for VO2+/VO2+ and V2+/V3+ Redox Reactions

In spite of their low cost, high activity, and diversity, metal oxide catalysts have not been widely applied in vanadium redox reactions due to their poor conductivity and low surface area. Herein, SnO₂/reduced graphene oxide (SnO₂/rGO) composite was prepared by a sol–gel method followed by high-temperature carbonization. SnO₂/rGO shows better electrochemical catalysis for both redox reactions of VO²⁺/VO₂⁺ and V²⁺/V³⁺ couples as compared to SnO₂ and graphene oxide. This is attributed to the fact that reduced graphene oxide is employed as carbon support featuring excellent conductivity and a large surface area, which offers fast electron transfer and a large reaction place towards vanadium redox reaction. Moreover, SnO₂ has excellent electrochemical activity and wettability, which also boost the electrochemical kinetics of redox reaction. In brief, the electrochemical properties for vanadium redox reactions are boosted in terms of diffusion, charge transfer, and electron transport processes systematically. Next, SnO₂/rGO can increase the energy storage performance of cells, including higher discharge electrolyte utilization and lower electrochemical polarization. At 150 mA cm⁻², the energy efficiency of a modified cell is 69.8%, which is increased by 5.7% compared with a pristine one. This work provides a promising method to develop composite catalysts of carbon materials and metal oxide for vanadium redox reactions.     

Electrochemical Synthesis of β‐Cyclodextrin Functionalized Silver Nanoparticles and Reduced Graphene Oxide Composite for the Determination of Hydrazine

β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) functionalized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) via one step electrochemical potentiodyanamic method has been prepared. Scanning electron microscopy, Energy‐Dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were used to study the role of β‐CD on preparation of AgNPs and RGO. RGO/β‐CD/AgNPs modified GCE showed good electrochemical activity towards electro‐oxidation of hydrazine in terms of decreasing the over potential and increasing the peak current. The kinetic parameters such as electron transfer coefficient (α) and diffusion coefficient (Do) of the modified electrode towards hydrazine were determined to be 0.66 and 0.97×10^?6 cm² s^?1, respectively. The LOD of our sensor was many folds lower than that of recommended concentration of hydrazine in drinking water by United States Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization. The sensor exhibited a wide linear range from 0.08 to 1110 µM and a very low detection limit (LOD) of 1.4 nM. In addition, the sensor selectively determined hydrazine even in the presence of common interferents.     

纳米Fe(OH)3为模板的三维石墨烯类多孔碳的制备及其催化氧还原性能研究

以煤焦油沥青为碳源,纳米Fe(OH)₃为模板制备了一种三维石墨烯类多孔碳材料,通过测试氧还原性能,确定了最佳制备工艺为：反应物煤沥青,纳米Fe(OH)₃,KOH的质量配比为6:8:4,热解温度为800 ℃. 扫描电镜（SEM）测试结果表明,制得的产品具有明显的孔结构且分布均匀. 透射电镜（TEM）测试结果进一步表明,产品具有泡沫状的多孔结构,高分辨透射电子显微镜图像表明该产品具有多层的三维石墨烯结构. X射线衍射（XRD）数据表明,在29^o位置出现的衍射峰是多层石墨烯结构,42^o位置的衍射峰表明,产品具有一定程度的石墨化. 由拉曼光谱结果计算I_G与I_2D的比值表明产品为多层石墨烯结构. X射线光电子能谱分析（XPS）检测到的C元素含量约为88.7%,主要包含C-C键,图谱中未发现铁元素的存在,证明纳米Fe(OH)₃模板已被洗净. 根据比表面积测定（BET）可知,多孔碳的比表面积为2040 m²•g^-1,孔径集中分布在10~400 nm,这与TEM测试得到的结果一致. 在0.1 mol•L^-1 KOH中进行催化氧还原性能测试,起始还原电位为0 V (vs. Hg/HgO),电子转移数为3.58。测试结果表明,制得的三维石墨烯类多孔碳具有良好的催化氧还原性能.     

Mo2C/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites with Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity and Biocompatibility for Microbial Fuel Cells

A simple, cost-effective strategy was developed to effectively improve the electron transfer efficiency as well as the power output of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) by decorating the commercial carbon paper (CP) anode with an advanced Mo₂C/reduced graphene oxide (Mo₂C/RGO) composite. Benefiting from the synergistic effects of the superior electrocatalytic activity of Mo₂C, the high surface area, and prominent conductivity of RGO, the MFC equipped with this Mo₂C/RGO composite yielded a remarkable output power density of 1747±37.6 mW m⁻², which was considerably higher than that of CP-MFC (926.8±6.3 mW m⁻²). Importantly, the composite also facilitated the formation of 3D hybrid biofilm and could effectively improve the bacteria–electrode interaction. These features resulted in an enhanced coulombic efficiency up 13.2 %, nearly one order of magnitude higher than that of the CP (1.2 %).