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.     

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.     

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。     

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。     

Regulation of carbon distribution to construct high-sulfur-content cathode in lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)battery is regarded as one of the most promising next-generation energy storage systems due to the ultra-high theoretical energy density of 2600 Wh kg^-1.To address the insulation nature of sulfur,nanocarbon composition is essential to afford acceptable cycling capacity but inevitably sacrifices the actual energy density under working conditions.Therefore,rational structural design of the carbon/sulfur composite cathode is of great significance to realize satisfactory electrochemical performances with limited carbon content.Herein,the cathode carbon distribution is rationally regulated to construct high-sulfur-content and high-performance Li-S batteries.Concretely,a double-layer carbon(DLC)cathode is prepared by fabricating a surface carbon layer on the carbon/sulfur composite.The surface carbon layer not only provides more electrochemically active surfaces,but also blocks the polysulfide shuttle.Consequently,the DLC configuration with an increased sulfur content by nearly 10 wt%renders an initial areal capacity of 3.40 mAh cm^-2 and capacity retention of 83.8%during 50 cycles,which is about two times than that of the low-sulfur-content cathode.The strategy of carbon distribution regulation affords an effective pathway to construct advanced high-sulfur-content cathodes for practical high-energy-density Li-S batteries.     

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.     

Confined Ni-In intermetallic alloy nanocatalyst with excellent coking resistance for methane dry reforming

Carbon dioxide and methane are two main greenhouse gases which are contributed to serious global warming.Fortunately,dry reforming of methane(DRM),a very important reaction developed decades ago,can convert these two major greenhouse gases into value-added syngas or hydrogen.The main problem retarding its industrialization is the seriously coking formation upon the nickel-based catalysts.Herein,a series of confined indium-nickel(In-Ni)intermetallic alloy nanocatalysts(In_xNi@SiO₂)have been prepared and displayed superior coking resistance for DRM reaction.The sample containing 0.5 wt.%of In loading(In_0.5Ni@SiO₂)shows the best balance of carbon deposition resistance and DRM reactivity even after 430 h long term stability test.The boosted carbon resistance can be ascribed to the confinement of core–shell structure and to the transfer of electrons from Indium to Nickel in In-Ni intermetallic alloys due to the smaller electronegativity of In.Both the silica shell and the increase of electron cloud density on metallic Ni can weaken the ability of Ni to activate C–H bond and decrease the deep cracking process of methane.The reaction over the confined InNi intermetallic alloy nanocatalyst was conformed to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood(L-H)mechanism revealed by in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy(in-situ DRIFTS).This work provides a guidance to design high performance coking resistance catalysts for methane dry reforming to efficiently utilize these two main greenhouse gases.     

碳纳米管表面的无钯活化化学镀镍研究

本文提出碳纳米管表面无钯活化的化学镀镍方法.碳纳米管经硝酸氧化和碱中和后表面生成羧基,利用羧基吸附镍离子,之后吸附的镍离子被化学还原为镍的纳米微粒并成为化学镀镍的催化活性中心.红外吸收光谱和电子显微镜观察等证实了上述活化过程的机理.实验表明,新的活化方法对碳纳米管表面化学镀是切实可行的,文中同时对化学沉积层的不同形貌进行讨论.     

Template‐Synthesized Copper Nanotubes via Electroless Plating

Template synthesis method of preparing copper nanotubes via electroless plating has been investigated in this paper. The tubular structures were obtained by calcinring copper‐coated carbon nanofibers. The final products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and x‐ray diffractometer (XRD). The results show that copper nanotubes can be synthesized by this method. The inner diameter of the prepared copper nanotubes is about 100 nm, and the wall thickness is about 25 nm. In this method, it is convenient to control the dimension or the shape of the obtained copper nanotubes by using different nanofibers as templates.     

Attachment of Gold Nanoparticles to Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes were initially chemically modified with an H2SO4-HNO3 treatment, and subsequently activated with Pd-Sn catalytic nuclei via a one-step activation approach. These activated nanotubes were used as precursors for obtaining gold nanoparticles-attached nanotubes via simple electroless plating. This approach provides an efficient method for attachment of metal nanostructures to carbon nanotubes. Such novel hybrid nanostructures are attractive for many applications.     

Influence of acid treatments of carbon nanotube precursors on Ni/CNT in the synthesis of carbon nanotubes

The Ni/CNT catalyst was fabricated by directly dipping carbon nanotube precursors refluxed in 4 M of nitric acid into Ni electroless plating bath, and used to synthesize new carbon nanotubes. The experimental results indicate that the duration of acid-treatment of carbon nanotubes precursors exerts a great influence on the catalysis of Ni/CNT in the synthesis of carbon nanotubes and hence the structures of the new carbon nanotubes. When the carbon nanotubes precursors were refluxed for 0.5 h in 4 M of nitric acid, bamboo-shaped carbon nanotubes (BSCNT) or Y junction carbon nanotubes in the carbon products were obtained. As the duration of acid-treatment of carbon nanotubes precursors increased to 6 h, the as-prepared Ni/CNT displayed higher activity, and the carbon nanotube products were high pure without any Y junction structure or any separation layers in hollow.     

High-electromagnetic-shielding cotton fabric prepared using multiwall carbon nanotubes/nickel–phosphorus electroless plating

High-electromagnetic-shielding cotton fabric (CF) was prepared using carboxyl-functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-COOH)/nickel–phosphorus (Ni-P) electroless plating. Firstly, MWCNTs-COOH was loaded on CF used to chelate the metal catalyst followed by electroless plating to impart outstanding electrical conductivity and electromagnetic shielding properties. The intermediate MWCNTs-COOH layer not only improves the bonding strength via the chelating effect, but also can be used as a conductive material. This synergistic action of MWCNTs-COOH and Ni-P layer can work together to improve the electromagnetic interference shielding performance. The features of Ni-P/MWCNTs-COOH/CF were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The resulting Ni-P/MWCNTs-COOH/CF fabrics show high surface resistance of 1.66 Ω sq⁻¹ and robust electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of 40.2 dB. Furthermore, benefiting from the strong interface interaction, the as-prepared composite fabrics retain stable performances after undergoing a series of physical and chemical tests, confirming promising practical applications even under harsh conditions.     

2,2′-联吡啶在化学镀铜中的作用研究

研究了以次磷酸钠作还原剂的化学镀铜体系,添加剂2,2′-联吡啶对化学镀铜沉积速率、次磷酸钠阳极氧化和铜离子阴极还原、以及镀层形貌、结构和组分存在状态的影响.结果表明,2,2′-联吡啶对化学沉积起阻化作用.电化学线性伏安扫描实验显示,镀液中加入2,2′-联吡啶,次磷酸钠的氧化峰电势有所负移,但峰电流减小;铜离子的还原峰电势负移,但峰电流逐渐增大.扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、能量色散谱(EDS)、X射线衍射(XRD)及X射线光电子能谱(XPS)等实验分别表明,添加剂使镀层致密和光亮、镍含量降低;镀层为Cu-Ni合金,呈面心立方结构,无明显晶面择优取向现象;镀层中铜和镍以金属态存在,磷的质量含量小于0.05%.     

以诺卡氏菌为模板的微纳米Ni-Fe-P吸波材料的制备及性能研究

采用化学镀技术在经过敏活处理的诺卡氏菌表面制备微纳米Ni-Fe-P吸波材料. 通过SEM(扫描电子显微镜), EDS(), XRD(X射线衍射), VSM()对材料形貌、成分、结构及磁性能进行了分析, 并探讨了菌体化学镀前处理机理以及装载量对镀层质量、镀液利用率以及磁性能的影响. 结果表明: 采用敏活一步法可使菌体表面具备化学沉积的条件. 随着诺卡氏菌装载量的提高, 诺卡氏菌表面镀层粗糙化、球形颗粒增多且分解产物增多, 当装载量为80 mL时, 镀层的质量以及镀液的利用率最好. 装载量的变化对镀层成分的影响不大, 当装载量为80 mL时, 镀层中Ni, Fe, P的质量分数分别为83.17%, 6.12%, 10.71%; 装载量的变化对镀层的磁性能影响不大且镀层为典型的非晶态结构. 采用矢量网络分析仪(VNA)对镀层的电磁参数进行了测量, 结果表明: 镀层在10～12, 15～17 GHz频段具有较好的吸波性能, 当吸收剂厚度为2 mm时, 反射损耗可达27 dB.     

Ni-P化学镀反应速率及机理研究

通过镀层分析和析氢量测量得到Ni-P镀层的沉积速度和H2PO2的分解速度·以混合电位理论为基础，对Ni－P电极在不同组成饮液中的极化曲线进行分解得到以化学镀电流形式所表示的反应速率·将两种方法所得结果进行对照，确定H2PO2氧化时电子迁移数为1，并用原子红-电化学联合理论解释溶液PH对反应速率及化学镀效率的景响．     

低温低内应力化学镀镍工艺的研究

化学镀广泛应用于非金属的电镀、电铸前的施加导电层。化学镀沉积层质量与其在零件上的附着力有着密切的关系 ,重视对化学镀沉积层内应力的研究 ,开发一个低温、低内应力的化学镀镍工艺 ,对于化学镀沉积层的推广应用有着十分重要的意义。本文采用正交实验方法对低温、低内应力化学镀镍工艺进行了系统研究 ,开发出了一个低温、低内应力的化学镀镍工艺。在实验过程中发现沉积层内应力同其在零件上的结合力具有密切关系并对其进行了初步探讨。1　实验方法1 1　正交实验根据探索性实验结果分析 ,影响化学镀镍层内应力σ和沉积层速率ｒ的主要因…     

聚合物基ZnO纳米线的制备和生长机理研究

采用独特的高分子溶液自组装生长方法, 在经化学镀预处理的基底上利用高分子溶液的网络络合效应制备了ZnO纳米线. 通过场发射扫描电子显微镜(FE-SEM), X射线能谱仪(EDS)等对样品的表面形貌及组成进行了观测表征. 结果显示, 纳米线直径约50 nm, 长度达到了数微米; 产物Zn、O化学计量比接近1∶1. 通过Si基底经化学镀工艺预处理和未经化学镀预处理对ZnO纳米结构、紫外吸收和PL性能影响的分析比较, 发现了化学镀Ni对于纳米线长度和直径尺寸的控制更为有效; 在PL图谱中, 经化学镀预处理的样品在中心波长385 nm出现了由激子碰撞复合所形成的近紫外发光峰. 进一步还分析了在不同的pH值和反应时间下样品的紫外吸收和光致发光性能. 通过以上实验, 讨论并提出了ZnO纳米线的生长机理及过程, 认为纳米线的生长是在化学镀催化剂和高分子双重作用下进行的.