Revealing the Effect of Surface Composition on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Supported Pt-Fe Alloy Electrocatalysts for Methanol Oxidation Performance

The designs of efficient and inexpensive Pt-based catalysts for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) are essential to boost the commercialization of direct methanol fuel cells. Here, the highly catalytic performance PtFe alloys supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) decorating nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) have been successfully prepared via co-engineering of the surface composition and electronic structure. The Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst with moderate Fe³⁺ feeding content (0.86 mA/mg_Pt) exhibits 2.26-fold enhancement in MOR mass activity compared to pristine Pt/C catalyst (0.38 mA/mg_Pt). Furthermore, the CO oxidation initial potential of Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst is lower relative to Pt/C catalyst (0.71 V and 0.80 V). Benefited from the optimal surface compositions, the anti-corrosion ability of MWCNT, strong electron interaction between PtFe alloys and MWCNTs and the N-doped carbon (NC) layer, the Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst presents an improved MOR performance and anti-CO poisoning ability. This study would open up new perspective for designing efficient electrocatalysts for the DMFCs field.     

铅基堆超临界CO2复合循环发电系统热力学分析

本文对比了再压缩超临界CO2 (S-CO2)循环、蒸汽朗肯循环、He布雷顿循环分别应用于铅基堆的最优热学性能,明确了S-CO2循环与铅基堆结合较传统循环的热力学优势。为进一步提高再压缩S-CO2循环的效率,以跨临界CO2 (T-CO2)循环为底循环构建了再压缩S-CO2/T-CO2复合循环,探讨了不同顶循环透平入口温度、压力和压缩机入口温度条件下系统性能的变化规律,对比了S-CO2/T-CO2复合循环和S-CO2循环的热学性能。结果表明:铅基堆再压缩S-CO2循环发电系统较传统循环形式具有更高的热效率;构建的S-CO2/T-CO2复合循环能够有效提高S-CO2循环的效率,在所研究参数范围内,S-CO2/T-CO2复合循环的热效率和效率比S-CO2循环分别最大可提高约4.8%和8.3%;再压缩S-CO2循环和S-CO2/T-CO2复合循环热学性能随顶循环关键参数变化规律具有一致性。     

Phase Modulating of Cu–Ni Nanowires Enables Active and Stable Electrocatalysts for the Methanol Oxidation Reaction

The design and development of non-noble metal alternatives with superior performance and promising long-term stability that is comparable or even better than those of noble-metal-based catalysts is a significant challenge. Here, we report the thermal-induced phase engineering of non-noble-metal-based nanowires with superior electrochemical activity and stability for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) under alkaline conditions. The optimized Cu–Ni nanowires deliver an unprecedented mass activity of 425 mA mg⁻¹, which is 4.3 times higher than that of the untreated one. Detailed catalytic investigations show that the enhanced performance is due to the large active area, the increased number of active sites (NiOOH), and fast methanol electrooxidation kinetics. In addition, the generated hollow feature in the nanowires provides a unique void space to release the volume expansion, where the activity can be maintained for 5 h without a distinct activity decay. The present work emphasizes the importance of precisely phase modulating of nanomaterials for the design of non-noble metal electrocatalysts towards the MOR, which opens up a new pathway for the design of cost-effective electrocatalysts with promising activity and long-term stability.     

浮升力和流动加速对超临界CO2管内流动传热影响

基于单相流体的概念,超临界流体的异常传热行为已经被研究很多年了,但是关于其流动传热机理仍没有统一的认识.本文通过理论分析和实验研究了超临界二氧化碳在竖直管内向上流动过程中,浮升力和流动加速效应对其流动结构和传热过程的影响.结果表明,没有确凿的实验证据表明超临界流体的异常传热行为是浮升力和流动加速直接导致的,存在的估计浮升力和流动加速效应准则均是在常物性流体的基础上,做了大量假设得出的,不同的研究者采用浮升力和流动加速准则分析超临界流体的传热恶化得出的结论不一致.最后,基于拟沸腾理论分析超临界流体的传热恶化过程,提出超临界沸腾数区分了超临界流体正常传热与恶化传热的转换边界,为超临界流体流动传热研究提供新思路,超临界沸腾数对建立用于不同技术的超临界流体动力循环的最佳运行条件具有重要意义.     

Isolation of oxidative degradation products of atorvastatin with supercritical fluid chromatography

The isolation of four oxidative degradation products of atorvastatin using preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography applying at least two chromatographic steps is known from the literature. In this paper it is shown that the same four impurities could be isolated from similarly prepared mixtures in only one step using supercritical fluid chromatography. The methods for separation were developed and optimized. The preparation of the mixtures was altered in such a way as to enhance the concentration of desired impurities. Appropriate solvents were applied for collection of separated impurities in order to prevent degradation. The structures of the isolated impurities were confirmed and their purity determined. The preparative supercritical fluid chromatography has proven to be superior to preparative HPLC regarding achieved purity of standards applying fewer chromatographic as well as isolation steps. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A detailed chemical kinetic model for the supercritical water oxidation of methylamine: The importance of imine formation

A detailed chemical kinetic model has been developed for supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) of methylamine, CH₃NH₂, providing insight into the intermediates and final products formed in this process as well as the dominant reaction pathways. The model was adapted from previous mechanisms, with a revision of the peroxyl radical chemistry to include imine formation, which has recently been identified as the dominant gas-phase pathway in amine oxidation. The developed model can reproduce previous experimental data on methylamine consumption and major product formation to reasonable accuracy, although with deficiencies in describing the induction time. Our simulations indicate that oxidation of the ^•CH₂NH₂ radical to methanimine, CH₂NH, is the major channel in methylamine SCWO, with subsequent hydrolysis of CH₂NH providing the experimentally observed reaction products ammonia and formaldehyde. Integral-averaged reaction rates were used to identify major reaction pathways, and a first-order sensitivity analysis indicated that the concentration of CH₃NH₂ is most sensitive to OH radical kinetics. Overall, this work clarifies the importance of imine chemistry in the oxidation of nitrogen-containing compounds and indicates that they are necessary to model these compounds in SCWO processes.     

Ultrafine PtRu Dilute Alloy Nanodendrites for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Methanol Oxidation

Dilute alloy nanostructures have been demonstrated to possess distinct catalytic properties. Noble-metal-induced reduction is one effective synthesis strategy to construct dilute alloys and modify the catalytic performance of the host metal. Herein, we report the synthesis of ultrafine PtRu dilute alloy nanodendrites (PtRu NDs, molar ratio Ru/Pt is 1:199) by the reduction of Ru^III ions induced by Pt metal. For the methanol oxidation reaction, PtRu NDs showed the highest forward peak current density (2.66 mA cm⁻², 1.14 A/mg_Pt) and the best stability compared to those of pure-Pt nanodendrites (pure-Pt NDs), commercial PtRu/C and commercial Pt/C catalysts.     

A Facile Method for the Separation of Methionine Sulfoxide Diastereomers,Structural Assignment,and DFT Analysis

Methionine (Met) oxidation is an important biological redox node, with hundreds if not thousands of protein targets. The process yields methionine oxide (MetO). It renders the sulfur chiral, producing two distinct, diastereomerically related products. Despite the biological significance of Met oxidation, a reliable protocol to separate the resultant MetO diastereomers is currently lacking. This hampers our ability to make peptides and proteins that contain stereochemically defined MetO to then study their structural and functional properties. We have developed a facile method that uses supercritical CO₂ chromatography and allows obtaining both diastereomers in purities exceeding 99 %. ¹H NMR spectra were correlated with X-ray structural information. The stereochemical interconversion barrier at sulfur was calculated as 45.2 kcal mol⁻¹, highlighting the remarkable stereochemical stability of MetO sulfur chirality. Our protocol should open the road to synthesis and study of a wide variety of stereochemically defined MetO-containing proteins and peptides.     

Crystalline Nitridophosphates by Ammonothermal Synthesis

Nitridophosphates are a well-studied class of compounds with high structural diversity. However, their synthesis is quite challenging, particularly due to the limited thermal stability of starting materials like P₃N₅. Typically, it requires even high-pressure techniques (e.g. multianvil) in most cases. Herein, we establish the ammonothermal method as a versatile synthetic tool to access nitridophosphates with different degrees of condensation. α-Li₁₀P₄N₁₀, β-Li₁₀P₄N₁₀, Li₁₈P₆N₁₆, Ca₂PN₃, SrP₈N₁₄, and LiPN₂ were synthesized in supercritical NH₃ at temperatures and pressures up to 1070 K and 200 MPa employing ammonobasic conditions. The products were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy. Moreover, we established red phosphorus as a starting material for nitridophosphate synthesis instead of commonly used and not readily available precursors, such as P₃N₅. This opens a promising preparative access to the emerging compound class of nitridophosphates.