Developments on carbon dioxide reduction: Their promise,achievements, and challenges

CO₂ reduction processes continue to be developed for electrosynthesis, energy storage applications, and environmental remediation. A number of promising materials have shown high activity and selectivity to target reduction products. However, the progress has been mainly at a small laboratory scale, and the technical challenges of large scale CO₂ reduction have not been considered adequately. This review covers recent advancements in catalyst materials and cell designs. The leading materials for CO₂ reduction to a number of useful products are presented with their corresponding cell and reactor designs. The latest efforts to progress to industrially relevant scales are discussed, along with the challenges that must be met for carbon dioxide reduction to be a viable route for mass scale production.     

Self‐Assembly Film of Zeolite Y Nanocrystals Loading Palladium on an Au Electrode for Electrochemical Applications

Nano‐scale zeolite Y crystals were synthesized, and palladium nanoparticles were prepared in the supercage of the zeolite by “ship‐in‐a‐bottle” approach. A novel method to fabricate zeolite‐modified electrode (ZME) loading Pd nanoparticles was developed, in which the zeolite Y loading Pd²⁺ ions was self‐assembled on (3‐mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane‐attached Au surface to form the stable and density packed multilayers (SAM‐ZME). The structures of zeolite Y and the SAM‐ZME were investigated by using TEM, XRD and SEM techniques. Pd²⁺ ions in the SAM‐ZME were converted into Pd nanoparticles (Pd_n⁰) by two steps consisting of the electrochemical reduction as well as the succeeding admission and release of CO. The redox couple [Fe(CN)₆]^3?/4? was used to probe the electron‐transfer barrier properties during self‐assembling process. Moreover, the special properties of the SAM‐ZME loading Pd_n⁰ were studied by using cyclic voltammetry and CO‐probe in situ FTIR spectroscopy. The results illustrated that Pd_n⁰ in the SAM‐ZME exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity for oxidation of adsorbed CO than that of ZME prepared in our previous study by zeolite coating method. The present study is of importance in design and preparation of SAM‐ZME, which poccesseses excellent properties for the immobilization of electrocatalysts or biomolecules.     

SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF SULFONATED POLY（ARYLENE ETHER） CONTAINING TRIPHENYL METHANE MOIETIES FROM ISOCYNATE MASKED BISPHENOL

A novel sulfonated poly（arylene ether） containing triphenylmethane moieties was synthesized by the sulfonation of a designed parent polymer using chlorosulfonic acid as sulfonation agent. The sulfonation took place at the para position of the pendant phenyl rings because of the specially designed parent polymer. The position and degree of sulfonation were characterized by ^1H-NMR and elemental analysis. The sulfonated polymers are highly soluble in common organic solvents, such as dimethylsulfoxide, N,N＇-dimethylacetamide, dimethylformamide, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, and can be readily cast into tough and smooth films from solutions. The films showed good thermal and hydrolysis stabilities. Moreover, Fenton＇s reagent test revealed that the films exhibited superior stability to oxidation. The proton conductivities of the films were comparable with Nation 117 under same conditions. The membrane electrode assembly （MEA） prepared with the asmade film （706 EW, 100 μm dry thickness） shows better cell performance than Nation 115-MEA in the whole current density range.     

Immunosensors Based on Layer‐by‐Layer Self‐Assembled Au Colloidal Electrode for the Electrochemical Detection of Antigen

Colloidal Au particles have been deposited on the gold electrode through layer‐by‐layer self‐assembly using cysteamine as cross‐linkers. Self‐assembly of colloidal Au on the gold electrode resulted in an easier attachment of antibody, larger electrode surface and ideal electrode behavior. The redox reactions of [Fe(CN)₆]^4?/[Fe(CN)₆]^3? on the gold surface were blocked due to antibody immobilization, which were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. The interaction of antigen with grafted antibody recognition layers was carried out by soaking the modified electrode into a phosphate buffer at pH 7.0 with various concentrations of antigen at 37 °C for 30 min. Further, an amplification strategy to use biotin conjugated antibody was introduced for improving the sensitivity of impedance measurements. Thus, the sensor based on this immobilization method exhibits a large linear dynamic range, from 5–400 μg/L for detection of Human IgG. The detection limit is about 0.5 μg/L.     

Topological polymer chemistry by dynamic selection from electrostatic polymer self-assembly

A collection of recent developments in topological polymer chemistry is presented. First, topological isomerism occurring on randomly coiled, flexible polymer molecules having cyclic and linear structures is discussed. Second, an electrostatic self-assembly and covalent fixation strategy has been developed for the synthesis of polymeric topological isomers. These isomers have double cyclic, manacle-, and theta-shaped constructions, and are prepared by using either linear or star telechelic polymer precursors having moderately strained cyclic ammonium salt groups, which carry multifunctional carboxylate counteranions. A technique of reversed-phase chromatography (RPC) is demonstrated as an effective means to separate polymers with different topologies, especially polymeric topological isomers. A further extension of topological polymer chemistry has been observed by dynamic selection from electrostatic polymer self-assembly to enable the effective formation of tadpole-shaped, cyclic-linear hybrid topologies.     

Self-assembly of amphiphilic hexapyridinium cations at the air/water interface and on HOPG surfaces.

Mono- and multilayers of a novel amphiphilic hexapyridinium cation with six eicosyl chains (3) are spread at the air/water interface as well as on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). On water, the monolayer of 3 is investigated by recording surface pressure/area and surface potential/area isotherms, and by Brewster angle microscopy (BAM). Self-organized tubular micelles with an internal edge-on orientation of molecules form at the air/water interface at low surface pressure whereas multilayers are present at high surface pressure, after a phase transition. Packing motifs suggesting a tubular arrangement of the constituting molecules were gleaned from atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayers being transferred on HOPG at different surface pressures. These LB film structures are compared to the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 3 formed via adsorption from a supersaturated solution, which is studied by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). On HOPG the SAM of 3 consists of nanorods with a highly ordered edge-on packing of the aromatic rings and an arrangement of alkyl chains which resembles the packing of molecules at the air/water interface at low surface pressure. Additional details of the molecular packing were gleaned from single-crystal X-ray structure analysis of the hexapyridinium model compound 2b, which possesses methyl instead of eicosyl residues.     

Formation of different products during photo-catalytic reaction on TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> suspension in water with and without 2-propanol under diverse ambient conditions

Studies on photo-catalytic reduction of CO₂ using TiO₂ photo-catalyst (0.1%, w/v) as a suspension in water was carried out at 350 nm light. CO₂ from both commercially available source, as well as generated in situ through 2-propanol oxidation, was used for this study. The photolytic products such as hydrogen (H₂), carbon monoxide (CO) andmethane (CH₄) generated were monitored in TiO₂ suspended aqueous solution with and without a hole scavenger, viz., 2-propanol. Similar photolytic experiments were also carried out with varying ambient such as air, O₂, N₂ and N₂O. The yields of CO and CH₄ in all these systems under the present experimental conditions were found to be increasing with light exposure time. H₂ yield in N₂-purged systems containing 2-propanol was found to be more as compared to the without 2-propanol system. The rate of H₂ production in N₂-purged aqueous solutions containing 0.1% TiO₂ suspension were evaluated to be 0.226 and 5.8 μl/h, without and with 0.5 M 2-propanol, respectively. This confirmed that 2-propanol was an efficient hole scavenger and it scavenged photo-generated holes (h⁺), allowing its counter ion, viz., e⁻, to react with water molecule/H⁺ to yield more H₂. The formation of both CO and CH₄ in the photolysis of CO₂-purged aqueous solutions containing suspended TiO₂ in absence of 2-propanol reveal that the generation of CH₄ is taking place mainly through CO intermediate. In presence of air/O₂, the yield of H₂ in the system without 2-propanol was observed to be negligible as compared to the system containing 2-propanol in which low yield of H₂ was obtained with a formation rate of approx. 0.5 μl/h.     

Novel properties of molecular assemblies of isoprenoid surfactants

Unlike micelles of straight hydrocarbon chain-surfactants, isoprenoid surfactants, CH₃ [CH(CH₃)CH₂CH₂CH₂]₃ CH(CH₃)CH₂–R (R=CH₂N⁺ (CH₃)₃ Br^–, CH₂OPO₃H^– Na⁺, CH₂OSO ₃ ^– Na⁺, CO ₂ ^– Na⁺), gave large globular and cellular assemblies in water which could be observed directly by transmission electron microscopy; critical micelle concentration of 0.31.4×10^–3 M at 20°C, aggregation number of 215×10⁴, and diameter of 200–2000 Å. A basic structure of the assemblies was a thin layer with a thickness (about 30 Å) which was close to the molecular length of the surfactants. The assemblies were decomposed during gel column chromatography; viz., they were not as stable as the liposomes of lecithins. The morphology was discussed in conjunction with a steric effect of the isoprenoid chain.     

Synthesis of conjugated polyrotaxanes

A series of conjugated polyrotaxane insulated molecular wires are synthesised by aqueous Suzuki polymerisation, using hydrophobic binding to promote threading of the cyclodextrin units. These polyrotaxanes have conjugated polymer cores based on poly(para-phenylene), polyfluorene, and poly(diphenylene-vinylene), threaded through 0.9-1.6 cyclodextrins per repeat unit. Bulky naphthalene-3,6-disulfonate endgroups prevent the macrocycles from slipping off the conjugated polymer chains. Dialysis experiments show that the cyclodextrins become unthreaded only if smaller stoppers are used. MALDI TOF mass spectra detect oligomers with up to ten threaded cyclodextrins, and reveal the presence of some defects that result for oxidative homo-coupling of boronic acids. Weight-average molecular weights were determined by analytical ultracentrifugation, demonstrating that step-growth polymerisation is efficient enough to achieve degrees of polymerisation up to approximately 20 repeat units (84 para-phenylenes). The fluorescence spectra of these polyrotaxanes indicate that the presence of the threaded cyclodextrin macrocycles reduces the flexibility of the conjugated polymer pi-systems. Both the solution and the solid-state photoluminescence quantum yields are enhanced upon threading of the conjugated polyaromatic cores through alpha- or beta-cyclodextrins, and the emission spectra of the polyrotaxanes are blue-shifted compared to the corresponding unthreaded polymers. The greater weight of the 0-0 transition in the emission spectra, as well as the smaller Stokes shift, indicate that the polyrotaxanes are more rigid than the unthreaded polymers.