Engineering nanostructures of CuO-based photocatalysts for water treatment: Current progress and future challenges

Nowadays, increasing extortions regarding environmental problems and energy scarcity have stuck the development and endurance of human society. The issue of inorganic and organic pollutants that exist in water from agricultural, domestic, and industrial activities has directed the development of advanced technologies to address the challenges of water scarcity efficiently. To solve this major issue, various scientists and researchers are looking for novel and effective technologies that can efficiently remove pollutants from wastewater. Nanoscale metal oxide materials have been proposed due to their distinctive size, physical and chemical properties along with promising applications. Cupric Oxide (CuO) is one of the most commonly used benchmark photocatalysts in photodegradation owing to the fact that they are cost-effective, non-toxic, and more efficient in absorption across a significant fraction of solar spectrum. In this review, we have summarized synthetic strategies of CuO fabrication, modification methods with applications for water treatment purposes. Moreover, an elaborative discussion on feasible strategies includes; binary and ternary heterojunction formation, Z-scheme based photocatalytic system, incorporation of rare earth/transition metal ions as dopants, and carbonaceous materials serving as a support system. The mechanistic insight inferring photo-induced charge separation and transfer, the functional reactive radical species involved in a photocatalytic reaction, have been successfully featured and examined. Finally, a conclusive remark regarding current studies and unresolved challenges related to CuO are put forth for future perspectives.     

Persistent Room Temperature Phosphorescence from Triarylboranes: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

Achieving highly efficient phosphorescence in purely organic luminophors at room temperature remains a major challenge due to slow intersystem crossing (ISC) rates in combination with effective non‐radiative processes in those systems. Most room temperature phosphorescent (RTP) organic materials have O‐ or N‐lone pairs leading to low lying (n, π*) and (π, π*) excited states which accelerate k_isc through El‐Sayed's rule. Herein, we report the first persistent RTP with lifetimes up to 0.5 s from simple triarylboranes which have no lone pairs. RTP is only observed in the crystalline state and in highly doped PMMA films which are indicative of aggregation induced emission (AIE). Detailed crystal structure analysis suggested that intermolecular interactions are important for efficient RTP. Furthermore, photophysical studies of the isolated molecules in a frozen glass, in combination with DFT/MRCI calculations, show that (σ, B p)→(π, B p) transitions accelerate the ISC process. This work provides a new approach for the design of RTP materials without (n, π*) transitions.     

NaGd(WO 4)2∶Yb^3+,Ho^3+,Cr^3+微米晶的上转换发光与温度特性

采用水热法制备了NaGd(WO4)2(NGW)∶Yb^3+,Ho^3+,Cr^3+微米晶。研究了Cr^3+离子掺杂浓度对样品的晶体结构、微观形貌、上转换发光及温度传感特性的影响。在980 nm激光激发下,所有样品均发射以546 nm为中心的较弱绿光和以660 nm为中心的强红光,分别对应于Ho^3+离子的5F4,5S2→5I8和5F5→5I8能级跃迁。随Cr^3+离子掺杂量增加,绿光发射峰强度逐渐减弱,而红光发射先增大后减小,在10%时达到最大,样品色坐标逐渐向红色区域偏移。样品的变温光谱表明,NGW∶Yb^3+,Ho^3+,10%Cr^3+微米晶具有很好的温度特性,其测温灵敏度在486 K时达到最大,约为0.0337 K^-1,比NGW∶Yb^3+,Ho^3+的灵敏度提高近1倍。     

Metastable states in high carbon C–(Fe,Ni, Co) films obtained by three-electrode ion-plasma sputtering

Abstract

The effect of ion-plasma deposition on the structure of high-carbon films (at. %) Fe–(20–84) % С, Co–(5–52) % С, Ni–(7–61) % С was investigated. The lattice periods and crystallite sizes of nonequilibrium phases in the as-deposited state and after heating are determined. The temperatures of the beginning and end of the decay of metastable phases during heating at a constant speed are established. The transition from an amorphous to an equilibrium crystalline state in Fe–C films passes through the stage of formation and subsequent decomposition of an intermediate, metastable hcp phase of variable composition. The electrical and hysteretic magnetic properties of the films were measured in the as-deposited state and after heat treatment. The compositions and conditions for producing films with low values of the temperature coefficient of electrical resistance and high coercive force are established. Thus, high-carbon films of Ni–61% C in the as-depoteted state and Fe–69% C films after heating to 900?K are characterized by small TCR values (± 10^?6 К^?1) over a wide temperature range.     

Time-resolved photoluminescence study of excited states in nanostructured melanin

Abstract

Time resolved emission spectra (TRES), 3D maps of photoluminescence excitation-emission (PLE maps), 3D maps of TRES, and kinetics of photoluminescence (PL) spectra of natural and synthetic melanin, as well as melanin composites with surfactant, sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate, have been studied. The kinetics of PL and TRES for the melanin and the composites were investigated at low temperatures that allowed to discuss melanin’s intermolecular complexation, nano-aggregation and formation of charge transfer states. Particularly, the radiation of Frenkel excitons from fragments of different degrees of conjugation that are the parts of molecular nanodisks of melanin is observed. Furthermore, charge transfer excitons (CT-excitons) can be formed and observed at both room and helium temperatures. Some bands in the PL spectra of melanin, depending on temperature, behave like excimer radiation. The studies are aiming to understand the electronic properties of various melanins, particularly natural ones.     

Monte Carlo study of the critical and the compensation behaviors of the double perovskite Sr2CrIrO6

The phase diagrams and magnetic properties of double perovskite $S{r}_{2}CrIr{O}_6$ have been studied by using Monte Carlo simulation based on the heat bath algorithm. The ground-state diagrams of the compound $S{r}_{2}CrIr{O}_6$ have been calculated for different combinations of system parameters. The diagrams obtained are very rich and they give an idea of all the most stable configurations. The effects of the exchange interactions and the crystal field on the phase diagrams and magnetic properties of the system have been examined. A number of interesting phenomena have been observed such as the compensation temperature, the first and second order phase transitions, the critical triple point and the terminal critical point.     

一种新型空气源高温热泵的热力学分析

本文提出了一种供热温度为80~100℃的新型空气源高温热泵循环(EIHP),该循环采用非共沸混合工质R290/R600a,利用内部自复叠技术和喷射器提升循环性能。针对EIHP循环建立了相应的热力学计算模型,并与传统热泵循环(CHP)进行了对比研究。根据计算结果,当冷凝器出口温度为100℃,蒸发器出口温度从25℃下降到-10℃时,相较于CHP循环,EIHP循环的COP提高了15%~27%,压缩机压比降低了20%~46%,容积制热量提高了22%~51%。此外,本文还研究了冷凝器出口温度,工质配比等参数对循环性能的影响情况。     

低喷淋密度超亲水表面水平管降液膜温度分布

水平管降液膜蒸发广泛应用在石油、化工、海水淡化等领域,对低喷淋密度温度演化规律的研究有助于拓宽其应用范围,理解其微观机理。本文在超亲水表面上结合红外热追踪技术,对水平管降液膜表面的温度演化规律进行了研究,分析了温度分区现象和温升规律。实验中首次发现了马鞍形液膜内部的高温环状结构,并结合三维数值模拟揭示了掺混作用导致的局部高温环状结构形成的内部机理。     

Electron Configuration Modulation of Nickel Single Atoms for Elevated Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

The emerging metal single‐atom catalyst has aroused extensive attention in multiple fields, such as clean energy, environmental protection, and biomedicine. Unfortunately, though it has been shown to be highly active, the origins of the activity of the single‐atom sites remain unrevealed to date owing to the lack of deep insight on electronic level. Now, partially oxidized Ni single‐atom sites were constructed in polymeric carbon nitride (CN), which elevates the photocatalytic performance by over 30‐fold. The 3d orbital of the partially oxidized Ni single‐atom sites is filled with unpaired d‐electrons, which are ready to be excited under irradiation. Such an electron configuration results in elevated light response, conductivity, charge separation, and mobility of the photocatalyst concurrently, thus largely augmenting the photocatalytic performance.