Miniaturized electrochemical sensors and their point-of-care applications

Most of the current analytical methods depend largely on laboratory-based analytical techniques that require expensive and bullky equipment,potentially incur costly testing,and involve lengthy detection processes.With increasing requirements for point-of-care testing(POCT),more attention has been paid to miniaturized analytical devices.Miniaturized electrochemical(MEC)sensors,including different material-based MEC sensors(such as DNA-,paper-,and screen electrode-based),have been in strong demand in analytical science due to their easy operation,portability,high sensitivity,as well as their short analysis time.They have been applied for the detection of trace amounts of target through measuring changes in electrochemical signal,such as current,voltage,potential,or impedance,due to the oxidation/reduction of chemical/biological molecules with the help of electrodes and electrochemical units.MEC sensors present great potential for the detection of targets including small organic molecules,metal ions,and biomolecules.In recent years,MEC sensors have been broadly applied to POCT in various fields,including health care,food safety,and environmental monitoring,owing to the excellent advantages of electrochemical(EC)technologies.This review summarized the state-of-the-art advancements on various types of MEC sensors and their applications in POCT.Furthermore,the future perspectives,opportunities,and challenges in this field are also discussed.     

Machine Learning towards Screening Solid-state Lithium Ion Conductors

Machine learning is an emerging method to discover new materials with specific characteristics.An unsupervised machine learning research is highlighted to discover new potential lithium ionic conductors by screening and clustering lithium compounds,providing inspirations for the development of solid-state electrolytes and practical batteries.     

等浓度的氯化铵和硫酸铵溶液哪个pH高

有中学化学参考资料题:0.10 mol/L的NH4Cl和(NH4)2SO4溶液哪个pH值高?这似乎是个中学生可做的简单题目,仔细考虑不是如此.如果简单地认为盐酸和硫酸都是强酸,而硫酸是二元酸,硫酸铵溶液中铵盐浓度为0.20 mol/L,那么NH4Cl溶液pH高,那是不妥的.硫酸是二元酸,第一个氢离子能完全电离,第二个氢离子部分电离,如此考虑情况怎么样呢?是不是答案发生变化?这要通过计算来说明.     

Surface defect-rich ceria quantum dots anchored on sulfur-doped carbon nitride nanotubes with enhanced charge separation for solar hydrogen production

Designing defect-engineered semiconductor heterojunctions can effectively promote the charge carrier separation.Herein,novel ceria(CeO2) quantum dots(QDs) decorated sulfur-doped carbon nitride nanotubes(SCN NTs) were synthesized via a thermal polycondensation coupled in situ depositionprecipitation method without use of template or surfactant.The structure and morphology studies indicate that ultrafine CeO2 QDs are well distributed inside and outside of SCN NTs offering highly dispersed active sites and a large contact interface between two components.This leads to the promoted formation of rich Ce³⁺ ion and oxygen vacancies as confirmed by XPS.The photocatalytic performance can be facilely modulated by the content of CeO2 QDs introduced in SCN matrix while bare CeO2 does not show activity of hydrogen production.The optimal catalyst with 10% of CeO2 loading yields a hydrogen evolution rate of 2923.8 μmol h-1 g-1 under visible light,remarkably higher than that of bare SCN and their physical mixtures.Further studies reveal that the abundant surface defects and the created 0 D/1 D junctions play a critical role in improving the separation and transfer of charge carriers,leading to superior solar hydrogen production and good stability.     

Superfast and solvent-free core-shell assembly of sulfur/carbon active particles by hail-inspired nanostorm technology for high-energy-density Li-S batteries

The demand on low-carbon emission fabrication technologies for energy storage materials is increasing dramatically with the global interest on carbon neutrality.As a promising active material for metal-sulfur batteries,sulfur is of great interest due to its high-energy-density and abundance.However,there is a lack of industry-friendly and low-carbon fabrication strategies for high-performance sulfur-based active particles,which,however,is in critical need by their practical success.Herein,based on a hail-inspired sulfur nano-storm(HSN)technology developed in our lab,we report an energy-saving,solvent-free strategy for producing core-shell sulfur/carbon electrode particles(CNT@AC-S)in minutes.The fabrication of the CNT@AC-S electrode particles only involves low-cost sulfur blocks,commercial carbon nanotubes(CNT)and activated carbon(AC)micro-particles with high specific surface area.Based on the above core-shell CNT@AC-S particles,sulfur cathode with a high sulfur-loading of 9.2 mg cm^-2 delivers a stable area capacity of 6.6 mAh cm^-2 over 100 cycles.Furthermore,even for sulfur cathode with a super-high sulfur content(72 wt%over the whole electrode),it still delivers a high area capacity of 9 mAh cm^-2 over50 cycles in a quasi-lean electrolyte condition.In a nutshell,this study brings a green and industryfriendly fabrication strategy for cost-effective production of rationally designed S-rich electrode particles.     

Unraveling the stabilization mechanism of solid electrolyte interface on ZnSe by rGO in sodium ion battery

Transition metal selenides have been widely studied as anode materials of sodium ion batteries(SIBs),however,the investigation of solid-electrolyte-interface(SEI)on these materials,which is critical to the electrochemical performance of SIBs,remains at its infancy.Here in this paper,ZnSe@C nanoparticles were prepared from ZIF-8 and the SEI layers on these electrodes with and without reduced graphene oxide(rGO)layers were examined in details by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies at varied charged/discharged states.It is observed that fast and complicated electrolyte decomposition reactions on ZnSe@C leads to quite thick SEI film and intercalation of solvated sodium ions through such thick SEI film results in slow ion diffusion kinetics and unstable electrode structure.However,the presence of rGO could efficiently suppress the decomposition of electrolyte,thus thin and stable SEI film was formed.ZnSe@C electrodes wrapped by rGO demonstrates enhanced interfacial charge transfer kinetics and high electrochemical performance,a capacity retention of 96.4%,after 1000 cycles at 5 A/g.This study might offer a simple avenue for the designing high performance anode materials through manipulation of SEI film.     

CXN天然沸石的研究2: 吸附性质

采用N~2,NH~3,CO~2,乙烯,丙烯,水,甲醇,乙醇,丙醇等作为吸附剂,研究了由我国CXN天然沸石改性制得的H-STI和Na-STI沸石的吸附性质,H-STI和Na-STI沸石的BET表面积及微孔孔体积约为420m^2/g和0.20m^3/g。根据NH~3和CO~2在H-STI沸石上的吸附等温线计算得到它们的吸附热分别为44.8和26.5kJ/mol。乙烯,丙烯,甲醇,乙醇,丙醇等在Na-STI沸石上的吸附等温线表明该沸石对有机分子的吸附具有链长选择性。在低分压下水相对于甲醇的吸附量表明沸石具有一定的疏水性质。     

常温常湿条件下Au/MeO~x催化剂上CO氧化性能

利用共沉淀法制备了Au/MeO~x催化剂(Me=Al,Co,Cr,Cu,Fe,Mn,Ni,Zn)。在常温常湿条件下,考察了不同氧化物负载的金基催化剂的CO氧化性能。结果表明,氧化物种类对催化剂的活性和稳定性均有较大的影响。Cu,Mn,Cr等氧化物负载的金基催化剂的活性较差,而Zn,Fe,Co,Ni,Al等金属氧化物负载的金基催化剂可将CO完全氧化,又具有一定的稳定性,在相同反应条件下,CO完全转化时的稳定性顺序为Au/ZnO>Au/α-Fe~2O~3>Au/Co~3O~4>Au/γ-Al~2O~3≈Au/NiO。还发现水对Au/MnO~x催化剂的活性和稳定性有负作用,而对180℃焙烧制备的Au/ZnO-180催化剂的活性和稳定性均有明显的湿度增强作用。     

Enhanced efficiency and stability in Sn-based perovskite solar cells with secondary crystallization growth

The conversion efficiencies reported for Tin(Sn)halide-based perovskite solar cells(PSCs)fall a large gap behind those of lead halide-based PSCs,mainly because of poor film quality of the former.Here we report an efficient strategy based on a simple secondary crystallization growth(SCG)technique to improve film quality for tin halide-based PSCs by applying a series of functional amine chlorides on the perovskite surface.They were discovered to enhance the film crystallinity and suppress the oxidation of Sn²⁺remarkably,hence reduce trap state density and non-irradiative recombination in the absorber films.Furthermore,the SCG film holds the band levels matching better with carrier transport layers and herein favoring charge extraction at the device interfaces.Consequently,a champion device efficiency of 8.07% was achieved alo ng with significant enhancements in VOC and JSC,in contrast to 5.35% of the control device value.Moreover,the SCG film-based devices also exhibit superior stability comparing with the control one.This work explicitly paves a novel and general strategy for developing high performance lead-free PSCs.     

Boost oxygen reduction reaction performance by tuning the active sites in Fe-N-P-C catalysts

Cost-effective atomically dispersed Fe-N-P-C complex catalysts are promising to catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and replace Pt catalysts in fuel cells and metal-air batteries.However,it remains a challenge to increase the number of atomically dispersed active sites on these catalysts.Here we report a highly efficient impregnation-pyrolysis method to prepare effective ORR electrocatalysts with large amount of atomically dispersed Fe active sites from biomass.Two types of active catalyst centers were identified,namely atomically dispersed Fe sites and Fe_xP particles.The ORR rate of the atomically dispersed Fe sites is three orders of magnitude higher than it of Fe_xP particles.A linear correlation between the amount of the atomically dispersed Fe and the ORR activity was obtained,revealing the major contribution of the atomically dispersed Fe to the ORR activity.The number of atomically dispersed Fe increases as the Fe loading increased and reaching the maximum at 1.86 wt%Fe,resulting in the maximum ORR rate.Optimized Fe-N-P-C complex catalyst was used as the cathode catalyst in a homemade Zn-air battery and good performance of an energy density of 771 Wh kgZn^-1,a power density of 92.9 m W cm^-2 at 137 m A cm^-2 and an excellent durability were exhibited.     

A new experimental method to distinguish two different mechanisms for a category of oscillators involving mass transfer

We present new experimental evidence that further confirms that a combination of electrochemical reactions and diffusion–convection (ERDC) mass transfer accounts for the potential oscillations that appear under conditions of transport limited current. A typical example is given for the reduction of Fe(CN)₆³⁻ in alkaline solution accompanying periodic hydrogen evolution. No potential oscillations occur by simply replacing the hydrogen evolution with IO₃⁻ reduction as the second current carrier. That replacement removes only the convection mass transfer induced by the hydrogen evolution, and retains the negative differential resistance (NDR) from the Frumkin repulsive effect. The key role of hydrogen evolution is thus to restore the Fe(CN)₆³⁻ surface concentration after its depleting to zero by diffusion-limited reduction, rather than purely a second current carrier. Therefore, the other mechanism, which emphasizes the NDR from the Frumkin interaction due to electrostatic repulsion, is excluded because it does not have a direct connection with the oscillations. Moreover, a crossing cycle in cyclic voltammograms is a more convincible criterion for this category of electrochemical oscillators than the negative impedance.     

Sub-millivolt amplitude potential oscillations observed in the noise of hydrogen evolution on Ag and Cu microelectrodes

A strange effect was observed while using the method of quasi-simultaneous determination of electrochemical voltage noise and impedance to obtain information on the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction on Ag and Cu microelectrodes. Beyond a certain polarizing current density we found microvolt-amplitude potential oscillations on both electrodes with a frequency in the 5 Hz–5 kHz range. The oscillations were observed in every single experiment with Ag and Cu, while no oscillatory behavior was observed during the control experiments with the Pt microelectrode. The presence of the oscillations indicates that the mechanism of hydrogen evolution is more complex compared to the original assumption.      

Structures of chaos in open reaction systems

By numerically simulating the Bray-Liebhafsky (BL) reaction (the hydrogen peroxide decomposition in the presence of hydrogen and iodate ions) in a continuously fed well stirred tank reactor (CSTR), we find "structured" types of chaos emerging in regular order with respect to flow rate as the control parameter. These chaotic "structures" appear between each two successive periodic states, and have forms and evolution resembling to the neighboring periodic dynamics. More precisely, in the transition from period-doubling route to chaos to the arising periodic mixture of different mixed-mode oscillations, we are able to recognize and qualitatively and quantitatively distinguish the sequence of "period-doubling" chaos and chaos consisted of mixed-mode oscillations (the "mixed-mode structured" chaos), both appearing in regular order between succeeding periodic states. Additionally, between these types of chaos, the chaos without such recognizable "structures" ("unstructured" chaos) is also distinguished. Furthermore, all transitions between two successive periodic states are realized through bifurcation of chaotic states. This scenario is a universal feature throughout the whole mixed-mode region, as well as throughout other mixed-mode regions obtained under different initial conditions.     

Complex and chaotic oscillations in a model for the catalytic hydrogen peroxide decomposition under open reactor conditions

Numerous periodic and aperiodic dynamic states obtained in a model for hydrogen peroxide decomposition in the presence of iodate and hydrogen ions (the Bray-Liebhafsky reaction) realized in an open reactor (CSTR), where the flow rate was the control parameter, have been investigated numerically. Between two Hopf bifurcation points, different simple and complex oscillations and different routes to chaos were observed. In the region of the mixed-mode evolution of the system, the transitions between two successive mixed-mode simple states are realized by period-doubling of the initial state leading to a chaotic window in which the next dynamic state emerges mixed with the initial one. It appears in increasing proportions in concatenated patterns until total domination. Thus, with increasing flow rate the period-doubling route to chaos was obtained, whereas with decreasing flow rate the peak-adding route to chaos was obtained. Moreover, in very narrow regions of flow rates, chaotic mixtures of mixed-mode patterns were observed. This evolution of patterns repeats until the end of the mixed-mode region at high flow rates that corresponds to chaotic mixtures of one large and many small amplitude oscillations. Starting from the reverse Hopf bifurcation point and decreasing the flow rate, simple small amplitude sinusoidal oscillations were encountered and then the period-doubling route to chaos. With a further decreasing flow rate, the mixed-mode oscillations emerge inside the chaotic window.     

The electrochemical behavior of ad-atoms and their effect on hydrogen evolution: Part V. Selenium ad-atoms on gold

Hydrogen evolution on a platinum electrode proceeds through the atom + atom step which needs pairs of two nearest neighbor sites available for hydrogen evolution. The activity for hydrogen evolution decreases with the decrease of the number of pairs of platinum sites with the deposition of foreign ad-atoms. But on a gold electrode it proceeds through the atom + ion step so it does not need such pairs. In this paper, selenium ad-atoms were put on a gold electrode, in order to examine the difference in their effect on hydrogen evolution, which is expected from the difference in hydrogen evolution mechanism mentioned above. The activity decreases not with the number of pairs of gold surface sites but linearly with the number of gold surface sites with the deposition of Se ad-atoms on a gold electrode as expected. This affords experimental evidence for the validity of the electrochemical mechanism of hydrogen evolution on a gold electrode, from molecular level.     

Recent advances in one-dimensional nanostructures for energy electrocatalysis

Catalysts play decisive roles in determining the energy conversion efficiencies of energy devices. Up to now, various types of nanostructured materials have been studied as advanced electrocatalysts. This review highlights the application of one-dimensional (1D) metal electrocatalysts in energy conversion, focusing on two important reaction systems—direct methanol fuel cells and water splitting. In this review, we first give a broad introduction of electrochemical energy conversion. In the second section, we summarize the recent significant advances in the area of 1D metal nanostructured electrocatalysts for the electrochemical reactions involved in fuel cells and water splitting systems, including the oxygen reduction reaction, methanol oxidation reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, and oxygen evolution reaction. Finally, based on the current studies on 1D nanostructures for energy electrocatalysis, we present a brief outlook on the research trend in 1D nanoelectrocatalysts for the two clean electrochemical energy conversion systems mentioned above.     

Energy‐Saving Electrolytic Hydrogen Generation: Ni2P Nanoarray as a High‐Performance Non‐Noble‐Metal Electrocatalyst

It is highly attractive but challenging to develop earth‐abundant electrocatalysts for energy‐saving electrolytic hydrogen generation. Herein, we report that Ni₂P nanoarrays grown in situ on nickel foam (Ni₂P/NF) behave as a durable high‐performance non‐noble‐metal electrocatalyst for hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) in alkaline media. The replacement of the sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction with such the more thermodynamically favorable HzOR enables energy‐saving electrochemical hydrogen production with the use of Ni₂P/NF as a bifunctional catalyst for anodic HzOR and cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction. When operated at room temperature, this two‐electrode electrolytic system drives 500 mA cm⁻² at a cell voltage as low as 1.0 V with strong long‐term electrochemical durability and 100 % Faradaic efficiency for hydrogen evolution in 1.0 m KOH aqueous solution with 0.5 m hydrazine.     

Mechanism for hydrogen evolution reaction on pipeline steel in near-neutral pH solution

Cyclic voltammetry, hydrogen permeation tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements were combined to study the mechanism for hydrogen evolution reaction on X-70 pipe steel in near-neutral pH solution. It is found that hydrogen evolution reaction is dominated by the reduction of water molecules, followed by either an electrochemical hydrogen recombination reaction or a hydrogen absorption reaction. The near-neutral pH environment is capable of generating catalytic surface effect on hydrogen evolution on the pipe steel. The increasing dissolution of the cathodically pre-polarized steel could be due to the enhanced activation of the steel, rather than the increasing amount of hydrogen atoms in the steel. These results provide mechanistic information to understand the near-neutral pH stress corrosion cracking of pipelines.     

Effects of hydrogen on current oscillations during electro-oxidation of X70 carbon steel in phosphoric acid

It is the first time that the oscillatory electrodissolution of metals is used to study hydrogen-promoted corrosion, and the primary results prove that it is an effective method for investigating the effect of hydrogen on both the formation and dissolution of a passive film. Effects of hydrogen on the electrochemical oscillations of X70 carbon steel are investigated in 5.0 M H₃PO₄ solution. During the oscillatory electrodissolution of X70 steel electrode, the chemical environment near the surface of the electrode is changed artificially by the oxidation of hydrogen diffused from X70 electrode to surface. With increasing hydrogen pre-charging current density, both the induction time and the ratio of active time to passive time of the current oscillations increase, and the Flade potential also shifts positively. Oxidation of hydrogen decreases the pH value at the interface between the electrode and solution, which retards the formation of a passive film and subsequently promotes its dissolution. This investigation provides further understanding of the effect of hydrogen on the formation and dissolution processes of passive films. It is the first time to observe the periodical changes in the potential at the electrode/electrolyte interface during current oscillations by using scanning reference electrode technology. The scanning reference electrode technology is also used to verify the effect of hydrogen on the current oscillations.     

Catalytic Activity Towards Hydrogen Evolution Dependent of the Degree of Conjugation and Absorption of Six Organic Chromophores

Conjugated materials can, in many cases, absorb visible light because of their delocalized π electron system. Such materials have been widely used as a photoactive layers in organic photovoltaic devices and as photosensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells. Additionally, these materials have been reported for applications in solar fuel production, working as photocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The synthesis of three flexible vinyl groups-containing chromophores is reported. The catalytic activity towards hydrogen evolution of these chromophores has been investigated and compared to their non-vinyl-containing analogues. The catalytic effect was confirmed using two different approaches: electrochemical, using the chromophores to modify a working electrode, and photocatalytic, using the chromophores combined with platinum nanoparticles. A relationship between the degree of conjugation and the catalytic activity of the chromophores has been observed with the electrochemical method, while a relationship between the UV absorption in the solid state and the photocatalytic effect with platinum nanoparticles was observed.