A Multiple Structure‐Design Strategy towards Ultrathin Niobate Perovskite Nanosheets with Thickness‐Dependent Photocatalytic Hydrogen‐Evolution Performance

Hydrogen production by catalytic water splitting using sunlight holds great promise for clean and sustainable energy source. Despite the efforts made in the past decades, challenges still exist in pursuing solid catalysts with light‐harvesting capacity, large surface areas and efficient utilities of the photogenerated carrier, at the same time. Here, a multiple structure design strategy leading to highly enhanced photocatalytic performance on hydrogen production from water splitting in Dion–Jacobson perovskites KCa₂Na_{n ‐3}Nb_n O_{3n +1} is described. Specifically, chemical doping (N/Nb⁴⁺) of the parent oxides via ammoniation improved the ability of sunlight harvesting efficiently; subsequent liquid exfoliation of the doped perovskites yielded ultrathin [Ca₂Na_{n ‐3}Nb_n O_{3n +1}]⁻ nanosheets with greatly increased surface areas. Significantly, the maximum hydrogen evolution appears in the n =4 nanosheets, which suggests the most favorable thickness for charge separation in such perovskite‐type catalysts. The optimized black N/Nb⁴⁺‐[Ca₂NaNb₄O₁₃]⁻ nanosheets show greatly enhanced photocatalytic performance, as high as 973 μmol h⁻¹ with Pt loading, on hydrogen evolution from water splitting. As a proof‐of‐concept, this work highlights the feasibility of combining various chemical strategies towards better catalysts and precise thickness control of two‐dimensional materials.     

β‐Co(OH)2 Nanosheets: A Superior Pseudocapacitive Electrode for High‐Energy Supercapacitors

In this work, β‐Co(OH)₂ nanosheets are explored as efficient pseudocapacitive materials for the fabrication of 1.6 V class high‐energy supercapacitors in asymmetric fashion. The as‐synthesized β‐Co(OH)₂ nanosheets displayed an excellent electrochemical performance owing to their unique structure, morphology, and reversible reaction kinetics (fast faradic reaction) in both the three‐electrode and asymmetric configuration (with activated carbon, AC). For example, in the three‐electrode set‐up, β‐Co(OH)₂ exhibits a high specific capacitance of ∼675 F g⁻¹ at a scan rate of 1 mV s⁻¹. In the asymmetric supercapacitor, the β‐Co(OH)₂∥AC cell delivers a maximum energy density of 37.3 Wh kg⁻¹ at a power density of 800 W kg⁻¹. Even at harsh conditions (8 kW kg⁻¹), an energy density of 15.64 Wh kg⁻¹ is registered for the β‐Co(OH)₂∥AC assembly. Such an impressive performance of β‐Co(OH)₂ nanosheets in the asymmetric configuration reveals the emergence of pseudocapacitive electrodes towards the fabrication of high‐energy electrochemical charge storage systems.     

Highly Efficient,Green, and Scalable β‐Cyclodextrin‐Assisted Aqueous Exfoliation of Transition‐Metal Dichalcogenides: MoS2 and ReS2 Nanoflakes

The β‐cyclodextrin‐assisted aqueous‐exfoliation method was used to prepare transition‐metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanosheets, in a cheap, highly efficient, scalable and environmentally friendly manner. As study cases, MoS₂ and ReS₂ nanoflakes were prepared according to this method. Particularly, the effective exfoliation of ReS₂ crystals in an aqueous environment was observed for the first time. Moreover, exfoliated nanomaterials can be readily utilized in hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) as noble‐metal‐free catalysts. This work provides new opportunities for highly efficient exfoliation of TMDs and other 2D nanomaterials into few‐layer nanosheets in aqueous media. Their production process showed high biocompatibility, broad applicability and excellent sustainability.     

V2O5纳米片固载Pt纳米粒子催化剂的构建及其增强催化空气氧化脱硫性能

以铂系金属为代表的贵金属催化剂在工业反应中通常表现出优异的催化性能,这是因为其具有独特的d带电子结构和较高的价电子比.近年来,由于大气排放法规愈发严苛,铂系贵金属催化剂在催化空气氧化燃油脱硫方面的研究引起了广泛关注.在该催化反应中,铂系金属纳米粒子可以有效活化空气中的氧气,产生的活性氧物种可以将油品中的噻吩类硫化物氧化为其对应的强极性砜类物质,从而可以将其从非极性的油品中分离出来,有效实现油品中硫化物的深度氧化脱除.然而,在反应过程中铂系贵金属纳米粒子易发生流失和烧结,从而导致催化剂的失活.因此,急需寻找一类可以有效固载铂系贵金属纳米粒子的载体.在目前已报道的众多载体中,以ZrO₂、TiO₂、CeO₂、ZnO等为代表的过渡金属氧化物引起了广泛的关注.通常认为,铂系贵金属纳米粒子的d轨道电子和过渡金属氧化物之间可形成金属-载体强相互作用.然而,目前所使用的过渡金属氧化物载体的比表面积较小,从而导致铂系贵金属纳米粒子难以有效且均匀地分散于其表面.本文采用热膨胀气相剥离法制备了超薄V2O5纳米片,并通过超声辅助沉积法将Pt纳米粒子固载于其表面,从而得到一系列可高效活化空气氧化脱硫的催化剂(Pt NPs-n/V₂O₅纳米片).通过电感耦合等离子体光谱、高倍透射电镜、原子力显微镜、X射线光电子能谱、X射线衍射、拉曼光谱和氮气吸附脱附等方法对催化剂的结构和形貌进行了表征.结果表明,尺寸为4-5 nm的Pt纳米粒子可有效均匀分散于层数约为6层的V2O5纳米片表面;在空气氧化脱硫反应中,当催化剂中Pt理论负载量为2 wt%时,反应5 h后,油品的脱硫率可达99.1%,实现了硫化物的深度氧化脱除.该反应体系对不同硫浓度、不同含硫底物的油品均有较好的脱除效果,但对含有烯烃、芳烃的油品脱除效果较差.此外,催化剂循环使用7次后,其脱硫活性仍无明显下降,表现出优异的重复使用性能.对反应后的催化剂进行表征,发现Pt几乎不发生流失,这可能是由于Pt纳米粒子和V₂O₅纳米片之间形成了金属-载体强相互作用.该结果为其他空气氧化反应的有效进行提供了新思路.     

具有光控氧空缺的钼掺杂Bi5O7Br纳米片用于光催化氮气合成氨

氨(NH3)作为合成燃料、化肥和潜在能源载体的重要前体,是现代化学工业中最重要的化学品之一.工业中主要通过高能耗的Haber-Bosch工艺在高温高压下将氮气和氢气转化为NH3,而原料氢气由天然气蒸汽获得,因而不仅消耗大量能源,而且导致温室气体二氧化碳的大量排放,对环境造成危害.光催化固氮以光能为驱动力,以水为质子源,为合成NH3提供了一种温和、绿色和可持续的方法.然而,传统固氮催化剂具有与N2结合弱、成键难以及电子转移效率低的缺点.为了克服上述问题,在催化剂中引入氧空缺和过渡金属作为给电子中心和活性位点的策略被广泛研究.本文以半导体Bi5O7Br纳米片作为研究对象,通过在水热合成过程中添加Na2MoO4前驱盐在Bi5O7Br中掺杂钼元素,合成了不同摩尔含量的钼掺杂Bi5O7Br(Mo-Bi5O7Br)纳米片,并将其应用于光催化N2还原反应,发现Mo-Bi5O7Br的光催化固氮性能显著优于空白Bi5O7Br的催化性能.扫描电镜、透射电镜、能量色散X射线元素映射以及X射线光电子能谱的结果表明,掺杂过程不会影响Bi5O7Br纳米片的晶相和形貌,掺杂后钼元素均匀地分布在Bi5O7Br纳米片晶格中.采用紫外可见漫反射光谱、电子自旋共振光谱、氮气程序升温脱附谱以及光电化学测试等方法研究了Mo-Bi5O7Br相较于空白Bi5O7Br纳米片在光催化N2还原反应中催化性能提升的原因.UV-vis DRS结果表明,钼掺杂对Bi5O7Br可见光吸收能力具有增强作用.以催化NH3产率最高的Mo-Bi5O7Br-1(Mo摩尔百分含量为1％)为研究样本,EPR结果表明,在黑暗条件下,只有Mo-Bi5O7Br-1样品可以检测到明显的表面氧空位(OVs)信号;在光照条件下,Bi5O7Br和Mo-Bi5O7Br-1两种样品都出现OVs的信号峰,但同等光照时间下的Mo-Bi5O7Br-1具有更高的信号强度.此外,OVs信号会随着光照时间的延长逐渐增强;当移除光源后,信号强度逐渐降低.这表明Mo-Bi5O7Br-1在光照下会产生更高浓度的表面光控OVs.N2-TPD结果表明,光控OVs作为活性位点促进催化剂对N2的吸附.关闭光源后,OVs被环境中的水或氧气中的氧原子重新填充,避免了OVs易被氧化而导致反应失活的缺点,有助于保持Mo-Bi5O7Br-1催化N2还原反应的活性和稳定性.光电化学表征结果表明,Mo-Bi5O7Br-1中的光生载流子的分离和迁移效率明显提高.以上结果表明,掺杂过渡金属钼有助于Bi5O7Br纳米片表面光控OVs的生成,光控OVs作为活性位点提升了Bi5O7Br吸附和活化N2的能力,钼掺杂和光控OVs协同提高Bi5O7Br内部光生载流子的分离迁移效率,增强Bi5O7Br光催化固氮合成氨的反应性能.     

Fabrication of an Electrochemical L‐Cysteine Sensor Based on Graphene Nanosheets Decorated Manganese Oxide Nanocomposite Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

The graphene nanosheets/manganese oxide nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode (GC/GNSs/MnOx) was simply prepared by casting a thin film of GNSs on the GC electrode surface, followed by performing electrodeposition of MnOx at applied constant potential. The GC/GNSs/MnOx modified electrode shows high catalytic activity toward oxidation of L ‐cysteine. Hydrodynamic amperometry determination of L ‐cysteine gave linear responses over a concentration range up to 120 µM with a detection limit of 75 nM and sensitivity of 27 nA µM^?1. The GC/GNSs/MnOx electrode appears to be a highly efficient platform for the development of sensitive, stable and reproducible L ‐cysteine electrochemical sensors.     

C_9N_4 as excellent dual electrocatalyst: A first principles study

We perform first principles calculations to investigate the catalytic behavior of C_9 N_4 nanosheet for water splitting.For the pristine C_9 N_4,we find that,at different hydrogen coverages,two H atoms adsorbed on the 12-membered ring and one H atom adsorbed on the 9-membered ring show excellent performance of hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).Tensile strain could improve the catalytic ability of C_9 N_4 and strain can be practically introduced by building C_9 N_4/BiN,and C_9 N_4/GaAs heterojunctions.We demonstrate that the HER performance of heterojunctions is indeed improved compared with that of C_9 N_4 nanosheet.Anchoring transition metal atoms on C_9 N_4 is another strategy to apply strain.It shows that Rh@C_9 N_4 exhibits superior HER property with very low Gibbs free energy change of-30 meV.Under tensile strain within ～2%,Rh@C_9 N_4 could catalyze HER readily.Moreover,the catalyst Rh_9 C_9 N_4 works well for oxygen evolution reaction(OER)with an overpotential of 0.58 V.Our results suggest that Rh@C_9 N_4 is favorable for both HER and OER because of its metallic conductivity,close-zero Gibbs free energy change,and low oneset overpotential.The outstanding performance of C_9 N_4 nanosheet could be attributed to the tunable porous structure and electronic structure compatibility.     

In Situ Anchoring of Pyrrhotite on Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheet for Efficient Immobilization of Uranium

Enrichment of U^VI is an urgent project for nuclear energy development. Herein, magnetic graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets were successfully prepared by in situ anchoring of pyrrhotite (Fe₇S₈) on the graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet (CNNS), which were used for capturing U^VI. The structural characterizations of Fe₇S₈/CNNS-1 indicated that the CNNS could prevent the aggregation of Fe₇S₈ and the saturation magnetization was 4.69 emu g⁻¹, which meant that it was easy to separate the adsorbent from the solution. Adsorption experiments were performed to investigate the sorption properties. The results disclosed that the sorption data conformed to the Langmuir isotherm model with the maximum adsorption capacity of 572.78 mg g⁻¹ at 298 K. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) demonstrated that the main adsorption mechanism are as follows: U^VI is adsorbed on the surface of Fe₇S₈/CNNS-1 through surface complexation initially, then it was reduced to insoluble U^IV. Thereby, this work provided an efficient and easy to handle sorbent material for extraction of U^VI.     

A Near-Infrared-Controllable Artificial Metalloprotease Used for Degrading Amyloid-β Monomers and Aggregates

Proteolysis of amyloid-β (Aβ) is a promising approach against Alzheimer's disease. However, it is not feasible to employ natural hydrolases directly because of their cumbersome preparation and purification, poor stability, and hazardous immunogenicity. Therefore, artificial enzymes have been developed as potential alternatives to natural hydrolases. Since specific cleavage sites of Aβ are usually embedded inside the β-sheet structures that restrict access by artificial enzymes, this strongly hinders their efficiency for practical applications. Herein, we construct a NIR (near-IR) controllable artificial metalloprotease (MoS₂-Co) using a molybdenum disulfide nanosheet (MoS₂) and a cobalt complex of 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (Codota). Evidenced by detailed experimental and theoretical studies, the NIR-enhanced MoS₂-Co can circumvent the restriction by simultaneously inhibition of β-sheet formation and destroying β-sheet structures of the preformed Aβ aggregates in living cell. Furthermore, our designed MoS₂-Co is an easy to graft Aβ-target agent that prevents misdirected or undesirable hydrolysis reactions, and has been demonstrated to cross the blood brain barrier. This method can be adapted for hydrolysis of other kinds of amyloids.