Au core-PtAu alloy shell nanowires for formic acid electrolysis

Inefficient electrocatalysts and high-power consumption are two thorny problems for electrochemical hydrogen(H2)production from acidic water electrolysis.Herein we report the one-pot precise synthesis of ultrafine Au core-Pt Au alloy shell nanowires(Au@PtxAu UFNWs).Among them,Au@Pt_0.077 Au UFNWs exhibit the best performance for formic acid oxidation reaction(FAOR)and hydrogen evolution reaction(HER),which only require applied potentials of 0.29 V and-22.6 m V to achieve a current density of 10 m A cm^-2,respectively.The corresponding formic acid electrolyzer realizes the electrochemical H2 production at a voltage of only 0.51 V with 10 m A cm^-2 current density.Density functional theory(DFT)calculations reveal that the Au-riched Pt Au alloy structure can facilitates the direct oxidation pathway of FAOR and consequently elevates the FAOR activity of Au@Pt_0.077 Au UFNWs.This work provides meaningful insights into the electrochemical H₂ production from both the construction of advanced bifunctional electrocatalysts and the replacement of OER.     

Layered Ag-graphene films synthesized by Gamma ray irradiation for stable lithium metal anodes in carbonate-based electrolytes

Lithium metal batteries are considered as high energy density battery systems with very promising prospects and have bee n widely studied.However,The uncon trollable plating/strippi ng behavior,infinite volume change and den drites formation of lithium metal anode restrict the applicati on.The unc on trolled n ucleati on of lithium caused by the non uniform multi-physical field distributions,can lead to the undesirable lithium deposition.Herein,a graphene composite uniformly loaded with Ag nano-particles(Ag NPs)is prepared through a facile Gamma ray irradiation method and assembled into self-supported film with layered structure(Ag-rGO film).Whe n such film is used as a lithium metal an ode host,the uncontrolled deposition is converted into a highly nucleation-induced process.On one hand,the Ag NPs distributed between the in terlayers of graphe ne can preferentially induce lithium nu cleati on and en able uniform deposition morphology of lithium between interlayers.On the other hand,the stable layered graphene structure can accommodate volume change,stabilize the interface between anode and electrolyte and inhibit dendrites formation.Therefore,the layered Ag-rGO film as anode host can reach a high Coulombic efficiency over 93.3% for 200 cycle(786 h)at a current density of 1 mA cm^-2 for 2 mAh cm^-2 in carbonate-based electrolyte.This work proposes a facile Gamma ray irradiation method to prepare metal/3D-skeleton structure as lithium anode host and demonstrates the potential to regulate the lithium metal deposition behaviors via manipulating the distribution of lithiophilic metal(e.g.Ag)in 3D frameworks.This may offer a practicable thinking for the subsequent design of the lithium metal anode.     

中国纤维素乙醇技术的研究进展

中国面临着严重的能源短缺和环境污染问题,中国政府正在局部几个省份内政策性鼓励燃料乙醇生产和使用.尽管当前主要是用玉米和谷物作为生产乙醇的原料,然而中国具有大量潜在的低成本的纤维素生物质原料,可以极大地扩大乙醇的产量,降低原料成本.近20年来,由于技术的革命性进步,已使得纤维素乙醇的生产成本从4美元/加仑以上,降低至约1.2-1.5美元/加仑.其中,每吨生物质约44美元.因此,目前乙醇掺汽油具有十分强的市场竞争力.已有几个公司正在建造首批商业纤维素乙醇工厂,虽然这些刚起步的小型设施在合理利用和管理上风险较小,但规模经济需要较大型工厂.尽管配送生物质原料的成本会随需求的增加而增加,但在乙醇生产基础上的生物精炼技术的发展,尤其是化工产品和动力的协同生产,将会使全过程的经济可行性大大提高.进一步深入的基础研究,将解决低成本下实现纤维素的完全利用,以确保在无政策性补贴的前提下,真正使纤维素乙醇成为具有市场竞争力的低成本纯液体燃料.     

Binary ligand strategy toward interweaved encapsulation-nanotubes structured electrocatalyst for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Hierarchically porous architecture of ir on-nitroge n-carb on(Fe-N-C)for oxyge n reducti on reaction(ORR)is highly desired towards efficient mass transfer in the fuel cell device manner.Herein,we reported a binary ligand strategy to prepare zeolitic imidazolate frameworks(ZIFs)-derived precursors,wherein the addition of secondary ligand endows precursors with the capabilities to transform into porously interweaved encapsulation-nanotubes structured composites after calcination.The optimal catalyst,i.e.,termed as Fe₆-M/C-3,exhibits excellent durability with 88.8%current retention after 50,000 seconds in 0.1 M HClO₄solution by virtue of nanoparticles-encapsulation features,which is more positive than the benchmark commercial 20 wt%Pt/C catalyst.Moreover,a promising maximum power density of Fe₆-M/C-3 as cathode catalyst was also dem on strated in proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs)measurements.Therefore,this binary ligand approach to the fabrication of hierarchically porous structures would also have significant implications for various other electrochemical reactions.     

Molten salt as ultrastrong polar solvent enables the most straightforward pyrolysis towards highly efficient and stable single-atom electrocatalyst

Currently,pyrolysis as the most widely used method still has some key issues not well resolved for synthesis of carbon-supported single-atom catalysts(C-SACs),e.g.,the sintering of metal atoms at high temperature as well as the high cost and complicated preparations of precursors.In this report,molten salts are demonstrated to be marvellous medium for preparation of C-SACs by pyrolysis of small molecular precursors(ionic liquid).The ultrastrong polarity on one hand establishes robust interaction with precursor and enables better carbonization,resulting in largely enhanced yield.On the other hand,the aggregation of metal atoms is effectively refrained while no nanoparticle or cluster is formed.By this strategy,a C-SAC with atomically dispersed Fe-N₄ sites and a high specific area over 2000 m² g^-1 is obtained,which illustrates high ORR activity in both acid and alkaline media.Moreover,this SAC exhibits superior methanol tolerance and stability after acid soaking at 85℃ for 48 h.It is believed that the molten-salts-assisted pyrolysis can be developed into a routine strategy as it not only can largely simply the synthesis of C-SACs,but also can be extended to prepare other types of SACs.     

镧对Mg-Si合金中Mg2Si相变质的影响

研究了Mg-5Si合金中La的添加对初生Mg2Si相变质的影响。结果表明,适量的La能够有效地变质初生Mg2Si相。基于本文的研究,在添加约0.5%La时,获得了最佳的变质效果,此时,初生Mg2Si相的尺寸减小到25μm以下,其形态从粗大的树枝形状变为多面体形状。然而,当La增加到0.8%或者更高时,初生Mg2Si相又生长为粗大的树枝形态。而且,在凝固过程中发现形成了一些LaSi2化合物,这些化合物的数量随着La的增加而呈现逐渐增加的趋势。     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定天然水体中19种元素

建立STD/KED模式-电感耦合等离子体质谱（ICP-MS）法同时测定天然水体中铍、硼、钛、钒、铬、锰、钴、镍、铜、锌、钼、镉、锑、钡、铊、铅、铁、砷和硒19种元素的分析方法。仪器调谐校准后,样品在线加入锂、钪、铑、铋校准溶液校正,以标准曲线内标法定量分析。标准曲线相关系数均大于0.999,样品加标回收率为92.6%～103.6%,质控样品测定值相对标准偏差为0.20%～2.6%(n=6),方法检出限为0.01～0.70μg/L。该方法灵敏度高,操作简便,节省人力,能满足天然水体中19种元素的同时检测需要。     

电解质-非电解质混合溶液活度系数的关联及溶解的推算 II:NH3-NaCl-Na2SO4-H2O体系的液固平衡热力学

由于在研究的体系中, Na2SO4是非对称电解质, 且能生成水合盐, 故推导了由非对称型电解质与非电解质所构成的混合溶液的各组分的活度系数关联通式, 并在此基础上讨论了水合盐液固平衡的计算方法.     

黄花棘豆化学成分的研究II:两种三萜皂苷的结构

从黄花棘豆的总皂苷中分离出两个新皂苷1和2.经光谱分析及化学方法确证,1为3-O-[α-L-鼠李吡喃糖基(1→2)-β-D-葡萄吡喃糖基(1→4)-β-D-葡萄吡喃糖醛酸基]-黄豆醇B;2为3-O-[α-L-鼠李吡喃糖基(1→2)-α-L-阿拉伯吡喃糖基(1→4)-β-D-葡萄吡喃糖醛酸基]-黄豆醇B.     

二氧化钛纳米管的研究进展

二氧化钛纳米管由于其新奇的光电、催化、气敏等性能引起了广泛的关注,在太阳能电池、光催化、环境净化、气体传感器等领域有潜在的应用价值.本文概述了近年来在制备方法、反应机理和组成、晶型和形貌及掺杂和应用方面的进展,并讨论了今后可能的研究发展方向.     

稳态时剪应力作用下肢体簇团形成/破裂的机理

胶体簇团形成／破裂过程机理研究一直是胶体研究中一个十分活跃的领域．因为不同的聚团机理导致胶体不同的物理化学性质：粘度、空隙度、导电性甚至光学特性等，因而使其备受注目．当前，实验研究证明了簇团边缘的胶体颗粒和介质有着频繁的交换’‘’，特别是在受到外力的作用下，这种交换会更加激烈．计算机模拟研究证实了簇团和介质间颗粒交换的机理可以是颗粒一颗粒型的，也可以是簇团一簇团型的”、”．所谓颗粒一颗粒型机理是指（接近或完全）由单个颗粒互相结合，或单个颗粒被结合进大的簇团．在结合期间，被结合的颗粒可以在簇团边缘…     

Sonofragmentation of molecular crystals

Possible mechanisms for the breakage of molecular crystals under high-intensity ultrasound were investigated using acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) crystals as a model compound for active pharmaceutical ingredients. Surprisingly, kinetics experiments ruled out particle-particle collisions as a viable mechanism for sonofragmentation. Two other possible mechanisms (particle-horn and particle-wall collisions) were dismissed on the basis of decoupling experiments. Direct particle-shock wave interactions are therefore indicated as the primary mechanism of sonofragmentation of molecular crystals.     

Population balance modeling of aggregation and breakage in turbulent Taylor-Couette flow

An experimental and computational study of aggregation and breakage processes for fully destabilized polystyrene latex particles under turbulent-flow conditions in a Taylor-Couette apparatus is presented. To monitor the aggregation and breakage processes, an in situ optical imaging technique was used. Consequently, a computational study using a population balance model was carried out to test the various parameters in the aggregation and breakage models. Very good agreement was found between the time evolution of the cluster size distribution (CSD) calculated with the model and that obtained from experiment. In order to correctly model the left-hand side of the CSD (small clusters), it was necessary to use a highly unsymmetric fragment-distribution function for breakage. As another test of the model, measurements with different solid volume fractions were performed. Within the range of the solid volume fractions considered here, the steady-state CSD was not significantly affected. In order to correctly capture the right-hand side of the CSD (large aggregates) at the higher solid volume fraction, a modified aggregation rate prefactor was used in the population balance model.     

Rheological properties and particle behaviors of a nondilute colloidal dispersion composed of ferromagnetic spherocylinder particles subjected to a simple shear flow: analysis by means of mean-field approximation for the two typical external magnetic field directions

We have analyzed the orientational distributions and rheological properties of a nondilute colloidal dispersion composed of ferromagnetic spherocylinder particles subjected to a simple shear flow. In order to understand the effects of the magnetic interactions between the particles, we have applied the mean-field theory to a nondilute colloidal dispersion for the two typical external magnetic field directions, that is, the direction parallel to the shear flow and the direction parallel to the angular velocity vector of the shear flow. The main results are summarized as follows. The particle-particle interactions suppress the Brownian motion of the particles and, therefore, make the particles incline toward the same direction. For the magnetic direction parallel to the shear flow, the influence of the particle-particle interactions makes the peak of the orientational distribution sharper and higher. The viscosity generally increases as the interactions between particles become stronger in the case where the effects of the shear flow and magnetic field are relatively small. For the magnetic direction parallel to the angular velocity vector of the shear flow, the influence of the particle-particle interactions on the orientational distribution appears significantly, when the influences of the shear flow and magnetic field are not so strong that the particles can be aligned sufficiently to form stable chainlike clusters in a certain direction.     

Nonlinear behavior of polyethylene/layered double hydroxide nanocomposites under shear flow

The structural evolution of filler clusters in polyethylene/layered double hydroxide-based nanocomposites is investigated under application of a simple shear flow and is described in the framework of a modified Wagner model. Overall, the structural behavior of these polymer-clay nanocomposites is found to be similar to the behavior of filled elastomers for which breakdown of filler clusters at increasing strain and their reaggregation at decreasing strain were observed under oscillatory shear (Payne effect). Similar to the filled elastomers and other jammed systems, the polymer-clay nanocomposites demonstrate an asymmetric behavior upon approaching the steady state depending on whether the system was initially at higher or lower shear strain. In particular, the reaggregation time of filler structure in the quiescent state is found to be about one order of magnitude larger than the characteristic breakage time in the nonlinear shear regime. Published in Russian in Vysokomolekulyarnye Soedineniya, Ser. A. 2008, Vol. 50, No. 5, pp. 868–881. This article was submitted by the authors in English.     

Three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations of internal aggregate structures in a colloidal dispersion composed of rod-like particles with magnetic moment normal to the particle axis

We have treated a suspension composed of ferromagnetic rod-like particles with a magnetic moment normal to the particle axis in order to investigate aggregation phenomena of such a suspension by means of cluster-moving Monte Carlo simulations. In the present study, we have considered a three-dimensional mono-dispersed model system composed of such rod-like particles. Internal structures of self-assembled clusters have been discussed quantitatively in terms of radial distribution, pair correlation, orientational pair correlation functions, number distributions of clusters, and order functions. The main results obtained here are summarized as follows. Rod-like particles tend to aggregate to form raft-like clusters along the magnetic moment direction more significantly with magnetic particle-particle interactions. In such raft-like clusters, the direction of each particle axis has a tendency to incline in parallel formation, but is not so parallel as in a two-dimensional dispersion. As the volumetric fraction increases, longer raft-like clusters are formed, but such raft-like clusters do not aggregate further to form thicker clusters, which is in significantly contrast with a dispersion of spherical particles, where thicker chain-like clusters are observed under certain conditions. For the case of strong magnetic particle-particle interactions, sufficiently long raft-like clusters are formed along the magnetic field direction, even if the influence of an external magnetic field is of the same order of that of the thermal energy. However, rod-like particles in such clusters do not necessarily incline in significantly parallel formation along a certain direction. Self-assembled tube-like clusters are formed when magnetic particle-particle interactions are much more dominant than the rotational Brownian motion under circumstances of rod-like particles inclining in a certain direction.     

Monte Carlo studies of the coalescence and breakage characteristics of solid-liquid suspensions under shear

Summary A simple model for the breakage frequency of solid aggregates in a suspension under shear is developed based on the concept of bound liquid. This model is superior to the artificial models used by earlier workers. This is used along withSmoluchowski's expression for the coalescence frequency to simulate the aggregation-desaggregation behavior of suspensions using the Monte Carlo technique. The effect of initial particle size distribution, shear rate, viscosity of the medium, etc., are studied and are found to be in accord with intuitive expectations.With 5 figures     

Thermal restructuring of fractal clusters: the case of a strawberry-like core-shell polymer colloid

Thermal restructuring of fractal styrene-acrylate copolymer clusters dispersed in water has been investigated experimentally in the temperature range between 313 and 363 K. The particles constituting the clusters are of strawberry-like core-shell structure with a soft core and a rigid shell grafted on the core polymer chains. Due to the incomplete coverage of the core, the rather soft core may "flow out" through the open areas of the shell, leading to coalescence with the neighboring particles. The clusters were generated under diffusion-limited cluster aggregation conditions, and the restructuring kinetics was monitored by small-angle light scattering. Two sets of thermal restructuring experiments have been performed at various temperatures: (1) restructuring of growing clusters during aggregation and (2) restructuring of preformed clusters in the absence of aggregation. It is found that restructuring occurs only at temperature values above 323 K. In the absence of aggregation, restructuring leads to an increase of the fractal dimension and a decrease of the radius of gyration of the clusters. At sufficiently long times, both quantities reach a plateau value due to the presence of the grafted rigid shell, which constrains the coalescence of the soft core. A simple model, based on coalescence theory of liquid droplets and accounting for the incomplete coalescence and its dependence on temperature, has been developed to interpret the restructuring kinetics in the absence of aggregation. It is found that the proposed model can represent the measured experimental data well.     

Experimental and modeling study of breakage and restructuring of open and dense colloidal aggregates

In this work we present experimental and simulation analysis of the breakage and restructuring of colloidal aggregates in dilute conditions under shear. In order to cover a broad range of hydrodynamic and interparticle forces, aggregates composed of primary particles with two sizes, d(p) = 90 and 810 nm, were generated. Moreover, to understand the dependence of breakage and restructuring on the cluster structure, aggregates grown under stagnant and turbulent conditions, having substantially different initial internal structures with fractal dimension d(f) equal to 1.7 and 2.7, respectively, were used. The aggregates were broken by exposing them to a well-defined elongational flow produced in a nozzle positioned between two syringes. To investigate the evolution of aggregate size and morphology, respectively, the mean radius of gyration, , and d(f) were monitored during the breakup process using light scattering and confocal laser scanning microscopy. It was found that the evolution of aggregates' fractal dimension during breakage is solely controlled by their initial structure and is independent of the primary particles size. Similarly, the scaling of the steady-state vs the applied hydrodynamic stress is independent of primary particle size, however, depends on the history of aggregate structure. To quantitatively explain these observations, the breakage process was modeled using stokesian dynamics simulations incorporating DLVO and contact interactions among particles. The required flow-field for these simulations was obtained from computational fluid dynamics. The complex flow pattern was simplified by considering a characteristic stream line passing through the zone with the highest hydrodynamic stress inside the nozzle, this being the most critical flow condition experienced by the clusters. As the flow-field along this streamline was found to be neither pure simple shear nor pure extensional flow, the real flow was approximated as an elongational flow followed by a simple shear flow, with a stepwise transition between them. Using this approach, very good agreement between the measured and simulated aggregate size values and structure evolution was obtained. The results of this study show that the process of cluster breakup is very complex and strongly depends on the initial aggregate structure and flow-field conditions.     

Breakage rate of colloidal aggregates in shear flow through stokesian dynamics

We study the first breakage event of colloidal aggregates exposed to shear flow by detailed numerical analysis of the process. We have formulated a model, which uses stokesian dynamics to estimate the hydrodynamic interactions among the particles in a cluster, van der Waals interactions and Born repulsion to describe the normal interparticle interactions, and the tangential interactions through discrete element method to account for contact forces. Fractal clusters composed of monodisperse spherical particles were generated using different Monte Carlo methods, covering a wide range of cluster masses (N(sphere) = 30-215) and fractal dimensions (d(f) = 1.8-3.0). The breakup process of these clusters was quantified for various flow magnitudes (γ), under both simple shear and extensional flow conditions, in terms of breakage rate constant (K(B)), mass distribution of the produced fragments (FMD, f(m,k)), and critical stable aggregate mass (N(c)), defined as the largest cluster mass that does not break under defined flow conditions. The breakage rate K(B) showed a power law dependence on the product of the aggregate size and the applied stress, with values of the corresponding exponents depending only on the aggregate fractal dimension and the type of flow field, whereas the prefactor of the power law relation also depends on the size of the primary particles comprising a cluster. The FMD was fitted by Schultz-Zimm distribution, and the parameter values showed an analogous dependence on the product of the aggregate size and the applied stress similar to the rate constant. Finally, a power law relation between the applied stress and corresponding largest stable aggregate mass was found, with an exponent value depending on the aggregate fractal dimension. This unique and detailed analysis of the breakage process can be directly utilized to formulate a breakage kernel used in solving population balance equations.