Sufficient Dimension Reduction and Variable Selection for Large-p-Small-n Data With Highly Correlated Predictors

Sufficient dimension reduction (SDR) is a paradigm for reducing the dimension of the predictors without losing regression information. Most SDR methods require inverting the covariance matrix of the predictors. This hinders their use in the analysis of contemporary datasets where the number of predictors exceeds the available sample size and the predictors are highly correlated. To this end, by incorporating the seeded SDR idea and the sequential dimension-reduction framework, we propose a SDR method for high-dimensional data with correlated predictors. The performance of the proposed method is studied via extensive simulations. To demonstrate its use, an application to microarray gene expression data where the response is the production rate of riboflavin (vitamin B₂) is presented.     

Edge agreement of second-order multi-agent system with dynamic quantization via the directed edge Laplacian

This work explores the edge agreement problem of second-order multi-agent systems with dynamic quantization under directed communication. To begin with, by virtue of the directed edge Laplacian, we propose a model reduction representation of the closed-loop multi-agent system depending on the spanning tree subgraph. Considering the limitations of the finite bandwidth channels, the quantization effects of second-order multi-agent systems under directed graph are considered. The static quantizers generally contain a fixed quantization interval and infinite quantization level, which are, to some extent, inefficient and impractical. To further reduce the bit depth (number of bits available) and to obtain better precision, the dynamic quantized communication strategy referring to zooming in-zooming out scheme is required. Based on the reduced model associated with the essential edge Laplacian, the asymptotic stability of second-order multi-agent systems under dynamic quantized effects with only finite quantization level can be guaranteed. Finally, the simulation of altitude alignment of micro air vehicles is provided to verify the theoretical results.     

光催化还原二氧化碳全反应的研究进展

通过光催化将二氧化碳(CO₂)还原为可持续的绿色太阳能燃料是同时解决环境问题和能源危机的极具前景的方案.尽管迄今为止已经进行了广泛的研究,但实现高转化率、高选择性和高稳定性的光催化二氧化碳还原仍有许多障碍.如将水作为电子供体而非牺牲试剂,能够使反应的吉布斯自由能变ΔG>0,这对于真正实现理想化的人工光合作用至关重要,但同时也会为光催化还原CO₂体系带来更多的挑战.我们首先简要介绍了光催化还原CO₂的机理与挑战,而后根据目前光催化还原CO₂在无牺牲剂体系中出现的问题总结了对应的策略以及最新的研究进展,包括能带结构的调整、助催化剂的负载、异质结的构建、 MOFs与COFs材料的设计等方面,最后对目前仍未解决的问题以及未来实现工业化应用的阻碍进行了总结.     

光催化剂活性位点调控及其光还原CO2制C2 产物研究进展

工业发展与人类活动导致大气中CO₂浓度逐年升高, 引发一系列生态环境问题. 将CO₂光催化转化为高附加值化学物质不仅有利于缓解环境压力,也可以带来额外经济价值. 然而, 由于多电子利用效率低和C―C偶联动力学缓慢, 光还原CO₂制多碳产品面临产率低和选择性差等挑战. 光催化剂活性位点调控能够有效解决上述问题. 我们综述了近几年用于光还原CO₂催化剂表面活性位点设计的研究进展, 主要包括缺陷位点、 金属位点以及掺杂位点等, 从活性位点的角度为光还原CO₂催化剂设计提供新视角, 并对开发高效光催化剂具有启发意义.     

金属催化剂光热催化CO2还原的研究进展

CO2的过量排放导致温室效应对环境的影响越来越严重,通过电催化、光催化、热催化、光热催化或光电催化将CO2还原成高附加值的化学品是解决CO2排放的有效途径.其中, CO2的光热催化转化是当前的主要研究领域之一.我们对光热催化进行了总结分类:热助光、光助热、光驱热和光热协同催化,并详细介绍相应的催化机理,总结了金属催化剂用于光热催化CO2还原的最新研究进展,最后提出了光热催化面临的挑战与展望.     

纳米SiC基光催化剂研究进展

Industrialization undoubtedly boosts economic development and improves the standard of living; however, it also leads to some serious problems, including the energy crisis, environmental pollution, and global warming. These problems are associated with or caused by the high carbon dioxide (CO₂) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. Photocatalysis is considered one of the most promising technologies for eliminating these problems because of the possibility of converting CO₂ into hydrocarbon fuels and other valuable chemicals using solar energy, hydrogen (H₂) production from water (H₂O) electrolysis, and degradation of pollutants. Among the various photocatalysts, silicon carbide (SiC) has great potential in the fields of photocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, and electrocatalysis because of its good electrical properties and photoelectrochemistry. This review is divided into six sections: introduction, fundamentals of nanostructured SiC, synthesis methods for obtaining nanostructured SiC photocatalysts, strategies for improving the activity of nanostructured SiC photocatalysts, applications of nanostructured SiC photocatalysts, and conclusions and prospects. The fundamentals of nanostructured SiC include its physicochemical characteristics. It possesses a range of unique physical properties, such as extreme hardness, high mechanical stability at high temperatures, a low thermal expansion coefficient, wide bandgap, and superior thermal conductivity. It also possesses exceptional chemical characteristics, such as high oxidation and corrosion resistance. The synthesis methods for obtaining nanostructured SiC have been systematically summarized as follows: Template growth, sol-gel, organic precursor pyrolysis, solvothermal synthesis, arc discharge, carbon thermal reduction, and electrospinning. These synthesis methods require high temperatures, and the reaction mechanism involves SiC formation via the reaction between carbon and silicon oxide. In the section of the review involving the strategies for improving the activity of nanostructured SiC photocatalysts, seven strategies are discussed, viz., element doping, construction of Z-scheme (or S-scheme) systems, supported co-catalysts, visible photosensitization, construction of semiconductor heterojunctions, supported carbon materials, and construction of nanostructures. All of these strategies, except element doping and visible photosensitization, concentrate on enhancing the separation of holes and electrons, while suppressing their recombination, thus improving the photocatalytic performance of the nanostructured SiC photocatalysts. Regarding the element doping and visible photosensitization strategies, element doping can narrow the bandgap of SiC, which generates more holes and electrons to improve photocatalytic activity. On the other hand, the principle of visible photosensitization is that photo-induced electrons move from photosensitizers to the conduction band of SiC to participate in the reaction, thus enhancing the photocatalytic performance. In the section on the applications of nanostructured SiC, photocatalytic H₂ production, pollutant degradation, CO₂ reduction, photoelectrocatalytic, and electrocatalytic applications will be discussed. The mechanism of a photocatalytic reaction requires the SiC photocatalyst to produce photo-induced electrons and holes during irradiation, which participate in the photocatalytic reaction. For example, photo-induced electrons can transform protons into H₂, as well as CO₂ into methane, methanol, or formic acid. Furthermore, photo-induced holes can convert organic waste into H₂O and CO₂. For photoelectrocatalytic and electrocatalytic applications, SiC is used as a catalyst under high temperatures and highly acidic or basic environments because of its remarkable physicochemical characteristics, including low thermal expansion, superior thermal conductivity, and high oxidation and corrosion resistance. The last section of the review will reveal the major obstacles impeding the industrial application of nanostructured SiC photocatalysts, such as insufficient visible absorption, slow reaction kinetics, and hard fabrication, as well as provide some ideas on how to overcome these obstacles.      

One-step synthesis of VB2 powder by epoxy-assisted borothermal reduction of V2O5

Vanadium diboride was directly synthesized by borothermal reduction of V₂O₅ with the addition of epoxy resin as a reducing agent for the low-temperature reduction of vanadium(V) to vanadium(IV), which leads to the gradual removal of oxygen by the formation of CO gas. The slow rate of gas release prevents destruction of green body, which usually occurs during conventional borothermal reduction. This makes it possible to directly obtain VB₂ powder with an average particle size of 200–300 nm without need to prepare intermediate lower vanadium oxides.     

室温快速合成Ag基金属有机骨架材料用于电催化还原CO2

选择具有强给电子能力的1,2,4-三唑为配体,成功合成了银基金属有机骨架材料(Ag-MOF)并用于电催化还原CO₂反应(CO₂RR)。借助粉末X射线衍射、透射电子显微镜、扫描电子显微镜、计时电流法等表征手段对材料的晶体结构、形貌和电催化CO₂RR性能进行了系统的研究。与商品化的纳米Ag颗粒对比,Ag-MOF展现出更优异的电催化CO₂RR产物选择性、催化活性和稳定性,在-0.9 V (vs RHE)时,CO的法拉第效率高达96.1%。当电压为-1.1 V (vs RHE)时,电流密度可达17 mA·cm^-2,且电极可以稳定运行300 min。这说明通过选择合适的配体结构,可以改变催化位点周围的化学环境,从而高效将CO₂转化为目标产物。     

Acidic Media Impedes Tandem Catalysis Reaction Pathways in Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂R) in acidic media with Cu-based catalysts tends to suffer from lowered selectivity towards multicarbon products. This could in principle be mitigated using tandem catalysis, whereby the *CO coverage on Cu is increased by introducing a CO generating catalyst (e.g. Ag) in close proximity. Although this has seen significant success in neutral/alkaline media, here we report that such a strategy becomes impeded in acidic electrolyte. This was investigated through the co-reduction of ¹³CO₂/¹²CO mixtures using a series of Cu and CuAg catalysts. These experiments provide strong evidence for the occurrence of tandem catalysis in neutral media and its curtailment under acidic conditions. Density functional theory simulations suggest that the presence of H₃O⁺ weakens the *CO binding energy of Cu, preventing effective utilization of tandem-supplied CO. Our findings also provide other unanticipated insights into the tandem catalysis reaction pathway and important design considerations for effective CO₂R in acidic media.     

Instantaneous Free Radical Scavenging by CeO2 Nanoparticles Adjacent to the Fe−N4 Active Sites for Durable Fuel Cells

To achieve the Fe−N−C materials with both high activity and durability in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, the attack of free radicals on Fe−N₄ sites must be overcome. Herein, we report a strategy to effectively eliminate radicals at the source to mitigate the degradation by anchoring CeO₂ nanoparticles as radicals scavengers adjacent (Sca^ad-CeO2) to the Fe−N₄ sites. Radicals such as ⋅OH and HO₂⋅ that form at Fe−N₄ sites can be instantaneously eliminated by adjacent CeO₂, which shortens the survival time of radicals and the regional space of their damage. As a result, the CeO₂ scavengers in Fe−NC/Sca^ad-CeO2 achieved ∼80 % elimination of the radicals generated at the Fe−N₄ sites. A fuel cell prepared with the Fe−NC/Sca^ad-CeO2 showed a smaller peak power density decay after 30,000 cycles determined with US DOE PGM-relevant AST, increasing the decay of Fe−NC_Phen from 69 % to 28 % decay.