Catalytic Activity of Molybdenum Complexes Bearing PNP-Type Pincer Ligand toward Ammonia Formation

We newly designed and prepared a novel molybdenum complex bearing a 4-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]pyridine-based PNP-type pincer ligand, based on the bond dissociation free energies (BDFEs) of the N−H bonds in molybdenum-imide complexes bearing various substituted pyridine-based PNP-type pincer ligands. The complex worked as an excellent catalyst toward ammonia formation from the reaction of an atmospheric pressure of dinitrogen with samarium diiodide as a reductant and water as a proton source under ambient reaction conditions, where up to 3580 equivalents of ammonia were formed based on the molybdenum atom of the catalyst. The catalytic activity was significantly improved by one order of magnitude larger than that observed when using the complex before modification.     

High-performance Flexible Symmetric Supercapacitor Based on Heterostructured PANI@MoS2 Nanocomposite Electrode

Three-dimensional (3D) heterostructured molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is used as base materials for aniline monomer in situ polymerization on its surface. It is found that the aniline addition has a remarkable effect on the energy storage of the final compounds due to the improvement of the conductivity and structure stability combined with the synergistic effect between the two types of species. The optimal compound of PANI@MoS₂-150 not only shows a high capacitance value of 801.4 F ⋅ g⁻¹ at a current density of 0.5 A ⋅ g⁻¹ but also provides a high retention rate of 77.4 % after 10,000 cycles. The capacitance fading may be due to the increase of the internal resistance analyzed by EIS. Furthermore, a flexible symmetric supercapacitor based on PANI@MoS₂-150 has also been fabricated and the specific capacitance reaches 105 F ⋅ g⁻¹ at a current density of 1 A ⋅ g⁻¹. Impressively, the capacitance retention is larger than 100 % undergoing 10,000 cycles. Besides, the highest energy density of 21 Wh ⋅ kg⁻¹ was obtained. Additionally, the fabricated symmetric supercapacitor demonstrates excellent flexibility.     

扶手椅型缺陷硫化钼纳米带电子性质的第一性原理计算

We investigated the electronic properties of armchair MoS₂ nanoribbons with vacancy defects using a first-principles method based on density functional theory. It was found that defects reduced the stability of armchair MoS₂ nanoribbons. Mo vacancies and MoS₂ triple vacancies can both change the band structures of nanoribbons from semiconductor to metallic, whereas S vacancies, 2S divacancies, and MoS divacancies only decrease the bandgap. The densities of states and eigenstates of the nanoribbons indicated that impurity bands near the Fermi level basically contributed to the defect states. The relationships between the bandgap and width of four types of semiconducting nanoribbons were simulated. Nanoribbons with no defects have a bandgap that oscillates with width in a period of three, but the bandgap changes nonperiodically for nanoribbons with S vacancies, 2S divacancies, and MoS divacancies. We also found that when the concentration of defects decreased, the vacancy defects did not destroy the nanoribbon semiconducting behavior but only decreased the bandgap. These results open up possibilities for MoS₂ nanoribbon applications in novel nanoelectronic devices.     

Electrochemical Sensors Using Two‐Dimensional Layered Nanomaterials

Two‐dimensional (2D) layered nanomaterials, e.g. graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), have rapidly emerged in material sciences due to their unique physical, chemical and mechanical properties. In the meanwhile, there is a growing interest in constructing electrochemical sensors for a wide range of chemical and biological molecules by using these 2D nanomaterials. In this review, we summarize recent advances on using graphene and MoS₂ for the development of electrochemical sensors for small molecules, proteins, nucleic acids and cells detection. We also provide our perspectives in this rapidly developing field.     

Molybdenum-catalyzed reduction of molecular dinitrogen into ammonia under ambient reaction conditions

Synthesis of transition metal–dinitrogen complexes and stoichiometric transformations of their coordinated dinitrogen into ammonia and hydrazine have so far been well investigated in order to achieve a novel nitrogen fixation under ambient conditions. As an extension of our study, the dimolybdenum–dinitrogen complex bearing PNP pincer ligands has been found to work as an effective catalyst for the formation of ammonia from dinitrogen, where 52 equiv of ammonia are produced based on the catalyst (26 equiv of ammonia are produced based on the molybdenum atom of the catalyst). This is the most effective catalytic reaction system for the formation of ammonia from molecular dinitrogen catalyzed by transition metal–dinitrogen complexes as catalysts under ambient reaction conditions. Herein, we describe recent results concerning the catalytic reaction, including the proposed reaction pathway.     

MoS2 nanosheet arrays supported on hierarchical porous carbon with enhanced lithium storage properties

MoS₂ nanosheet arrays supported on hierarchical nitrogen-doped porous carbon(MoS₂@C)have been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal approach combined with high-temperature calcination.The hierarchical nitrogen-doped porous carbon can serve as three-dimensional conductive frameworks to improve the electronic transport of semiconducting MoS₂.When evaluated as anode material for lithium-ion batteries,the MoS₂@C exhibit enhanced electrochemical performances compared with pure MoS₂ nanosheets,including high capacity(1305.5 mA h g^-1 at 100 mA g^-1),excellent rate capability (438.4 mA h g^-1 at 1000 mA g^-1).The reasons for the improved electrochemical performances are explored in terms of the high electronic conductivity and the facilitation of lithium ion transport arising from the hierarchical structures of MoS₂@C.     

无定型钼硫化物/还原氧化石墨烯的辐射合成及其电催化析氢性能

钼硫化物被认为是一种高效的电催化析氢反应的催化剂,因此其合成方法受到了广泛的研究和关注。本文以四硫代钼酸铵和氧化石墨为前驱体,利用γ射线对其辐照还原,一步法制备了钼硫化物/还原氧化石墨烯(Mo S_x/RGO)复合材料。通过X射线光电子能谱、X射线衍射、透射电子显微镜、Raman光谱等表征手段确认复合材料中的Mo Sx为无定型结构,且氧化石墨烯得到了有效的还原。同时系统研究了吸收剂量、前驱体配比对复合材料作为析氢反应催化剂性能的影响。结果发现,Mo Sx/RGO复合材料具有优异的催化性能,其催化起始电压为110 m V,在电流密度为10 m A·cm~(-2)时过电势仅为160 m V,Tafel斜率为46 m V·dec~(-1),说明该催化剂催化析氢机理为Volmer-Heyrovesy机理。此外,Mo Sx/RGO复合材料还具有良好的催化稳定性。     

纳米二硫化钼的掺杂及催化电解水产氢的研究进展

电催化水分解制氢是可以形成闭环的生产过程, 起始原料与副产物均为水、 过程清洁无污染, 是极具希望的产氢策略. 目前制约其发展的瓶颈之一是价格昂贵的Pt基贵金属催化剂. 为推动电催化分解水制氢的普及, 亟待开发低成本非贵金属催化剂. 在众多备选非贵金属催化材料中, 纳米层状结构二硫化钼(MoS₂)因催化效果可期、 价格低而获得了广泛关注. 然而, 通常条件下易于获得的层状结构2H相MoS₂大面积的基面部分显示惰性, 仅在片层边缘处存在少量活性位点, 且导电性较差, 因而尚不能替代Pt基催化剂, 而如何增加其活性位点数量和提高其导电性成为亟待解决的问题; 另一方面, 1T相MoS₂虽然活性高、 导电性好, 但却存在制备困难及稳定性差的问题. 鉴于此, 研究者通过对纳米MoS₂进行掺杂改性实现了其活性与稳定性的有效提升. 本文对非贵金属纳米MoS₂催化剂掺杂改性的方法、 机理及其电催化水解制氢性能的相关研究进行了总结与讨论. 作为典型的非贵金属电解水析氢催化剂, MoS₂具有巨大发展潜力, 本文能够对相关非贵金属催化剂的研发提供有益的参考.     

碳掺杂六方氮化硼/二硫化钼吸附还原六价铬和助催化降解有机污染物

针对二硫化钼(MoS₂)因易团聚导致去除六价铬[Cr(Ⅵ)]容量低的问题, 利用六方氮化硼(BN)良好的吸附性和化学稳定性, 以多巴胺作为BN改性剂, 通过煅烧法和水热法制得碳掺杂六方氮化硼(c-BN)负载MoS₂纳米复合材料(c-BN@MoS₂). 研究了室温条件下c-BN@MoS₂对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附还原和助催化降解有机污染物的性能. 实验结果表明, c-BN@MoS₂在40 min内对50 mg/L的Cr(Ⅵ)吸附还原去除率高达95%以上, 且以将 Cr(Ⅵ)还原至Cr(Ⅲ)为主, 在pH值为2、 温度为25 ℃条件下去除Cr(Ⅵ)最大容量可达401 mg/g, 显著高于 MoS₂(98 mg/g). 分析显示, c-BN不仅提高了MoS₂的平均孔径, 还可促进MoS₂生成金属特性的1T相, 有利于吸附Cr(Ⅵ)和加快氧化还原过程中的电子转移. 在Fe²⁺/PMS(过一硫酸氢盐)催化体系加入c-BN@MoS₂, 该体系对磺胺甲恶唑的降解性能明显增强, 其反应速率常数提高3倍, 这主要归因于c-BN@MoS₂明显加快了Fe³⁺到Fe²⁺的转变, 导致更多?OH产生, 达到增强降解污染物的目标.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of deformation and failure of nanocrystals of bcc metals

Simulations of uniaxial and hydrostatic tension of Fe and Mo nanocrystal are made by molecular dynamics method. Stress versus strain are obtained while regularities of lattice rearrangement during nanocrystal plastic deformation are considered. Local instability of nanocrystal lattice, which is the cause for transition from elastic to plastic deformation of nanocrystal, is found. It is shown that local shear stresses is a driving force of nanocrystal lattice rearrangements under the conditions of both uniaxial and hydrostatic tension, so, local instability of nanocrystal of bcc metals should be considered as shear instability. Realization of “orthorhombic” path of deformation at 1 0 0 tension of Mo nanocrystal is specific case of above effect. It is demonstrated that unlike covalent nanocrystal, metallic nanocrystals display “heterogeneous” mechanism of crack nucleation, which essence is that cracks nucleate not in homogeneous elastically deformed lattice but in shear bands or near their boundaries, i.e., after non-homogeneous plastic deformation of nanocrystal.