A molecular fluorophore in citric acid/ethylenediamine carbon dots identified and quantified by multinuclear solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance

The composition of fluorescent polymer nanoparticles, commonly referred to as carbon dots, synthesized by microwave-assisted reaction of citric acid and ethylenediamine was investigated by ¹³C, ¹³C{¹H}, ¹H─¹³C, ¹³C{¹⁴N}, and ¹⁵N solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. ¹³C NMR with spectral editing provided no evidence for significant condensed aromatic or diamondoid carbon phases. ¹⁵N NMR showed that the nanoparticle matrix has been polymerized by amide and some imide formation. Five small, resolved ¹³C NMR peaks, including an unusual ═CH signal at 84 ppm (¹H chemical shift of 5.8 ppm) and ═CN₂ at 155 ppm, and two distinctive ¹⁵N NMR resonances near 80 and 160 ppm proved the presence of 5-oxo-1,2,3,5-tetrahydroimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-7-carboxylic acid (IPCA) or its derivatives. This molecular fluorophore with conjugated double bonds, formed by a double cyclization reaction of citric acid and ethylenediamine as first shown by Y. Song, B. Yang, and coworkers in 2015, accounts for the fluorescence of the carbon dots. Cross-peaks in a ¹H─¹³C HETCOR spectrum with brief ¹H spin diffusion proved that IPCA is finely dispersed in the polyamide matrix. From quantitative ¹³C and ¹⁵N NMR spectra, a high concentration (18 ± 2 wt%) of IPCA in the carbon dots was determined. A pronounced gradient in ¹³C chemical-shift perturbations and peak widths, with the broadest lines near the COO group of IPCA, indicated at least partial transformation of the carboxylic acid of IPCA by amide or ester formation.     

Engineering Carbon Distribution in Silicon-Based Anodes at Multiple Scales

The successful commercialization of promising silicon-based anode materials has been hampered by their poor cycling stability caused by the huge volume change. Integration of the carbon matrix with silicon-based (C/Si-based) anode materials has been demonstrated to be a powerful solution to achieve satisfactory electrochemical performance. This minireview aims to outline recent developments on C/Si-based composites, with the emphasis on the importance of carbon distribution at multiple scales. In addition, the forms of the carbon framework (carbon sources and doping of heteroatoms) have been summarized. Particularly, a novel C/Si-based hybrid with carbon distributed at the atomic scale has been highlighted.     

Micro/Nanoengineered α-Fe2O3 Nanoaggregate Conformably Enclosed by Ultrathin N-Doped Carbon Shell for Ultrastable Lithium Storage and Insight into Phase Evolution Mechanism

The Fe-based transition metal oxides are promising anode candidates for lithium storage considering their high specific capacity, low cost, and environmental compatibility. However, the poor electron/ion conductivity and significant volume stress limit their cycle and rate performances. Furthermore, the phenomena of capacity rise and sudden decay for α-Fe₂O₃ have appeared in most reports. Here, a uniform micro/nano α-Fe₂O₃ nanoaggregate conformably enclosed in an ultrathin N-doped carbon network (denoted as M/N-α-Fe₂O₃@NC) is designed. The M/N porous balls combine the merits of secondary nanoparticles to shorten the Li⁺ transportation pathways as well as alleviating volume expansion, and primary microballs to stabilize the electrode/electrolyte interface. Furthermore, the ultrathin carbon shell favors fast electron transfer and protects the electrode from electrolyte corrosion. Therefore, the M/N-α-Fe₂O₃@NC electrode delivers an excellent reversible capacity of 901 mA h g⁻¹ with capacity retention up to 94.0 % after 200 cycles at 0.2 A g⁻¹. Notably, the capacity rise does not happen during cycling. Moreover, the lithium storage mechanism is elucidated by ex situ XRD and HRTEM experiments. It is verified that the reversible phase transformation of α↔γ occurs during the first cycle, whereas only the α-Fe₂O₃ phase is reversibly transformed during subsequent cycles. This study offers a simple and scalable strategy for the practical application of high-performance Fe₂O₃ electrodes.     

烧结烟气脱硫脱硝用活性炭混合钢渣复合材料的光谱学分析

钢渣是冶金工业中产生的主要固体废弃物,其产量约为每年粗钢产量的15%~20%。由于技术的局限,导致我国钢渣利用率较低,仅为年钢渣产量的10%,同时加之管理制度的不健全,导致钢渣大量露天堆放,对土地资源、地下水源,以及空气质量形成严重影响。固体废弃物再利用是资源可持续发展的重要途径之一,钢渣的主要化学成分为CaO, SiO2, Al2O3, MgO, Fe2O3, MnO, f-CaO等。面对上述问题,利用冶金固体废弃物与活性炭开发一种价格低廉且性能优越的活性炭混合钢渣复合材料,既是冶金固体废弃物的高附加值利用与资源可持续发展的重要途径之一,也是大幅降低改性活性炭生产成本与提高经济效益的重要途径之一。该研究创新性以活性炭与钢渣为研究对象,利用钢渣中含有的金属氧化物对活性炭进行改性处理制备用于烧结烟气脱硫脱硝的活性炭混合钢渣复合材料,通过搭建实验反应装置对活性炭混合钢渣复合材料的脱硫脱硝性能进行测试。利用X射线荧光光谱仪(XRF)对钢渣的化学成分进行测试与分析,比表面积及孔径测定仪(BET)对活性炭混合钢渣复合材料的孔结构进行测试与分析,傅里叶变换红外光谱仪(FTIR)对钢渣的结构组成进行测试与分析,扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对活性炭混合钢渣复合材料的微观结构进行测试与分析,以揭示活性炭与钢渣制备活性炭混合钢渣复合材料的机理,以及活性炭混合钢渣复合材料对烧结烟气脱硫脱硝的机理。结果表明:当钢渣为电炉热泼渣、钢渣与活性炭质量比为2∶4、钢渣与活性炭细度为400目时,活性炭混合钢渣复合材料具有良好的脱硫脱硝性能与合理的经济性,即脱硫效率为100%、脱硝效率为58%。活性炭混合钢渣复合材料具有的多孔结构对SO2和NO进行有作用,钢渣中Fe2O3与MnO2促使活性炭官能团进行催化还原反应提高脱硫脱硝性能,其中吸附作用是主导与前提,催化还原反应是辅助与协同。以期为高附加值的钢渣利用提供新途径,实现钢铁企业以废治废、以废增效的目的。     

碳纳米管的可控长度拾取及导电性分析

拾取指定长度的半导体性碳纳米管对大规模制造碳纳米管场效应管具有重要意义.本文提出了一种利用原子力显微镜探针和钨针对碳纳米管进行可控长度拾取的方法并进行了碳纳米管导电性分析.在扫描电子显微镜下搭建微纳操作系统,针对切割操作过程中原子力显微镜探针、钨针和碳纳米管的接触情况进行了力学建模和拾取长度误差分析.建立了单根金属性碳纳米管、单根半导体性碳纳米管及碳纳米管束与钨针接触的电路模型,推导了接入不同性质碳纳米管后电路的电流电压特性方程.使用原子力显微镜探针对碳纳米管的空间位姿进行调整,控制钨针对碳纳米管上目标位置进行通电切割,同时获取切割电路中的电流电压数据.实验结果表明,本文提出的方法能够有效控制所拾取碳纳米管的长度,增加碳纳米管与原子力显微镜探针的水平接触长度能够减小碳纳米管形变导致的拾取长度误差,建立的电流电压特性方程能够用于分析碳纳米管的导电性.     

Hierarchically Designed Three‐Dimensional Macro/Mesoporous Carbon Frameworks for Advanced Electrochemical Capacitance Storage

Mesoporous carbon (m‐C) has potential applications as porous electrodes for electrochemical energy storage, but its applications have been severely limited by the inherent fragility and low electrical conductivity. A rational strategy is presented to construct m‐C into hierarchical porous structures with high flexibility by using a carbon nanotube (CNT) sponge as a three‐dimensional template, and grafting Pt nanoparticles at the m‐C surface. This method involves several controllable steps including solution deposition of a mesoporous silica (m‐SiO₂) layer onto CNTs, chemical vapor deposition of acetylene, and etching of m‐SiO₂, resulting in a CNT@m‐C core–shell or a CNT@m‐C@Pt core–shell hybrid structure after Pt adsorption. The underlying CNT network provides a robust yet flexible support and a high electrical conductivity, whereas the m‐C provides large surface area, and the Pt nanoparticles improves interfacial electron and ion diffusion. Consequently, specific capacitances of 203 and 311 F g^?1 have been achieved in these CNT@m‐C and CNT@m‐C@Pt sponges as supercapacitor electrodes, respectively, which can retain 96 % of original capacitance under large degree compression.     

Carbon Dots (C‐dots) from Cow Manure with Impressive Subcellular Selectivity Tuned by Simple Chemical Modification

Improved cellular selectivity for nucleoli staining was achieved by simple chemical modification of carbon dots (C‐dots) synthesized from waste carbon sources such as cow manure (or from glucose). The C‐dots were characterized and functionalized (amine‐passivated) with ethylenediamine, affording amide bonds that resulted in bright green fluorescence. The new modified C‐dots were successfully applied as selective live‐cell fluorescence imaging probes with impressive subcellular selectivity and the ability to selectively stain nucleoli in breast cancer cell lineages (MCF‐7). The C‐dots were also tested in four other cellular models and showed the same cellular selection in live‐cell imaging experiments.     

The kinetics of solid-phase microextraction measured for freshly added and aged hydrophobic compounds in two different soils

The proper choice of exposure times is critical if the freely dissolved concentration of chemicals in soil porewater is to be measured via the equilibrium solid-phase microextraction (SPME) as the times to equilibrium may vary depending on compound and soil properties. To reveal the effects of compound hydrophobicity, ageing and soil organic matter content on times to equilibrium, the SPME uptake was measured for five freshly added and aged hydrophobic organic compounds (phenanthrene, pyrene, lindane, p,p′-DDT and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) 153) in two contrasted soils (arable and forest soil). The tested compound-soil systems behaved kinetically different. Longer equilibrium times were observed with increasing hydrophobicity of compounds for aged compared to freshly added chemicals and for the forest soil in comparison to the arable soil. The calculated soil–porewater partition coefficients (i.e. sorption coefficients, K_d) of chemicals differed between soil types mainly due to various organic carbon (OC) contents as evidenced by the comparable K_oc values (i.e. K_d values normalised to soil OC content). Similar K_oc values were also found with the various extent of ageing, indicating that both the freshly added and aged compounds linearly partitioned between the soil organic matter and porewater. Our results suggest that, for a respective compound, variations in equilibrium times may be expected depending upon the residence time and the organic matter content in soil where the longest equilibrium times seems to appear for a combination of aged compounds and high organic soils. With regard to this outcome, the effect of the level of sample depletion due to the SPME extraction (LD_SPME) on equilibrium times was assessed. At LDs_SPME of up to 10%, equilibrium times increases linearly with LDs_SPME for p,p′-DDT and PCB 153. For phenanthrene (LD_SPME<10%), and for lindane and pyrene (1.2% < LD_SPME > 40%), no clear relationships were observed.