Comparative studies on electrochemical activity of graphene nanosheets and carbon nanotubes

This study compares the electrochemical activity of four kinds of carbon materials, i.e. single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), pristine graphene oxide nanosheets (GONs), chemically reduced GONs, and electrochemically reduced GONs, with potassium ferricyanide (K₃Fe(CN)₆), β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and ascorbic acid (AA) as the redox probes. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) results demonstrate that the electron transfer kinetics of the redox probes employed here at the carbon materials essentially depend on the kind of the materials, of which the redox processes of the probes at SWNTs and electrochemically reduced GONs are faster than those at the pristine and chemically reduced GONs. The different electron transfer kinetics for the redox probes at the carbon materials studied here could be possibly ascribed to the synergetic effects of the surface chemistry (e.g., C/O ratio, presence of quinone-like groups, surface charge, and surface cleanness) and conductivity of the materials. This study could be potentially useful for understanding the structure/property relationship of the carbon materials and, based on this, for screening and synthesizing advanced carbon materials for electrochemical applications.     

Enhanced oxidase-like activity of g-C3N4 nanosheets supported Pd nanosheets for ratiometric fluorescence detection of acetylcholinesterase activity and its inhibitor

The undesirable enzymatic activity of nanozymes under near neutral p H condition and the traditional single signal output always restrict the analytical application of nanozyme-based biosensors.Herein,graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets supported palladium nanosheets composite （Pd/g-C₃N₄） with both oxidase-like activity and fluorescent property is synthesized.Notably,Pd/g-C₃N₄exhibits enhanced oxidase-like activity compared to Pd NSs under p H 7.4.By c...     

高分散超薄二硫化钼/硫、氮共掺碳复合材料的电催化析氢性能

氢气是一种清洁可再生能源,有望在未来替代化石燃料成为最主要的能源物质.电催化析氢技术是最有效的产氢途径之一.目前,电催化析氢催化剂主要是贵金属铂,由于其昂贵的价格限制了它的大规模应用.所以在不减少催化剂活性的前提下尽量减少贵金属的使用或者寻找替代物质,降低成本是工业化大规模使用析氢反应(HER)催化剂的前提.二硫化钼基催化剂因其价格低廉、资源丰富且具有优异的催化析氢性能而引起研究者的广泛关注.实验和理论研究都证明了二硫化钼的催化性能和其催化活性位点有关.所以,开发一种具有丰富的活性位点、良好的导电性的二硫化钼基催化剂可以获得高的产氢性能和良好的稳定性.因此,对于提高MoS2的电催化析氢性能的研究主要集中于增加MoS2暴露活性位点的个数和导电性.然而,二硫化钼层与层之间的相互作用可能导致其发生聚集,较低的导电率都有可能降低它的电催化活性.我们通过水热的方法直接制备出了固体的硫、氮共掺杂的、具有石墨化结构的碳复合材料(SNC).将钼酸钠加入到反应中后,多钼酸盐通过化学交互作用均匀地嵌入、分散到SNC中.经高温处理后,SNC放出S2-,多钼酸盐结合S2-生成二硫化钼.SNC有效地防止了二硫化钼聚集成大的颗粒.我们成功地制备出具有较好析氢性能的、高度分散于SNC中的二硫化钼纳米片.通过透射电子显微镜(TEM)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、拉曼光谱(Raman)、元素分析、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)等测试手段对材料进行了表征,通过电催化析氢、电化学阻抗以及稳定性测试等手段研究了其电催化性能.由MoS2/SNC-900-12h的TEM图片可以看出,二硫化钼纳米片高度分散于碳复合材料中,且层数只有一到几层,暴露出了更多的催化活性位点.拉曼光谱图的D带(1341 cm-1)和G带(1584 cm-1)体现出了材料具有较好的石墨化结构,提高了材料的导电性.XPS C 1s谱图中存在C–S和C–N键,S 2p谱图中存在C–S–C、C=S和C–SOx–C键,N 1s谱图中存在吡啶氮和石墨氮,结合元素分析,说明该碳材料确为硫氮共掺杂的碳;Mo谱测试显示出Mo 3d5/2(229.4 eV)和Mo 3d3/2(232.6 eV),证明了二硫化钼成功地嵌入到了碳材料中.电化学性能表征显示MoS2/SNC-900-12h在H2SO4溶液(0.5 mol/L)中展现出较低的起始电位(115 mV)以及低的过电位(237 mV).电化学阻抗测试显示在H2SO4溶液(0.5 mol/L)中过电位为?0.2 V(vs.RHE)时Rct只有124Ω.此外,在?0.3–0 V(vs.RHE)下,经5000圈稳定性测试后性能只有约2.6%(10 mA/cm2)的衰减,说明MoS2/SNC-900-12h同样具有优异的电化学稳定性.     

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes decrease lactate dehydrogenase activity in enzymatic reaction

The oxidation of 1, 4-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) to β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) coupled with converting of pyruvic acid (PA) to lactate catalyzed by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), NADH+PA+H(+)?LDHNAD(+)+Lactate, was widely adopted to quantify the cell's death, membrane infiltration and proliferation induced by potential toxins. The differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) cathodic signal of NAD(+) at a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) showed LDH activity decreased with the elevating dosages of and the pre-contact time (t(c)) with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Comparison of kinetic rate constant of above enzymatic reaction (ER) was able to sensitively assay the adverse influence of MWCNTs. Toxic concentration of altering relative LDH activity by 50% (TC(50)) of MWCNTs was derived to be 40mg/L. TC(50) values indicated a decrease toxicity order Al (III)>MWCNTs>nano-Al(13)>50nm-Al(2)O(3)≥1000nm-Al(2)O(3). The negatively charged surfaces of these nanoparticles (NPs) might be a main cause for the decrement of LDH activity. This decrement was capable to result in the underestimation of the toxicity of NPs in classic LDH assays. This observation would highlight to settle down contradictory medium dependent toxicity of MWCNTs among the literature.     

Defect-rich and ultrathin nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets with enhanced peroxidase-like activity for the detection of urease activity and fluoride ion

Although carbon nanozymes have attracted great interest due to their good biocompatibility, low cost,and high stability, designing high-active carbon nanozymes still faces great challenges. Herein, ultrathin nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets with rich defects(d-NC) were prepared through a high-temperature annealing process, using potassium chloride and ammonium chloride as templates. Owing to the large specific surface area, rich defects and the high exposure of active sites, the proposed d-NC na...     

太阳光下高光催化活性Pr-N-P三元掺杂锐钛矿TiO2纳米片

利用溶胶-凝胶和溶剂热联合技术制备了Pr-N-P三元掺杂锐钛矿TiO₂（PrNPTO）纳米片,并采用X射线衍射、透射电镜、N₂吸附、X射线光电子能谱、UV-vis吸收谱和光致荧光光谱分析技术对其进行了表征.当Pr掺杂量为1.75wt%,焙烧温度为550℃时,制得的PrNPTO在可见和紫外光下光催化降解亚甲基蓝（MB）活性最佳.在模拟太阳光照射下,PrNPTO也表现出优越的光催化降解4-氯酚性能（k_app=3.90×10^-2min^-1）,优于未掺杂、单掺杂和双掺杂TiO₂样品,其光活性是P25TiO₂的3.33倍（k_app=1.17×10^-2min^-1）.PrNPTO光活性的提高归因于Pr-N-P三元掺杂增强了紫外和可见光吸收,降低了光生载流子复合,增加了表面羟基以及改善了表面织构特性.在模拟太阳光照射下,PrNPTO光催化效率高且光催化性能稳定,适合于环境净化领域的实际应用.     

Thermal desorption of hydrogen from carbon nanosheets

Carbon nanosheets are a unique nanostructure that, at their thinnest configuration, approach a single freestanding graphene sheet. Temperature desorption spectroscopy (TDS) has shown that the hydrogen adsorption and incorporation during growth of the nanosheets by radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition are significant. A numerical peak fitting to the desorption spectra (300-1273 K) via the Polanyi-Wigner equation showed that desorption followed a second order process, presumably by the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism. Six peaks provide the best fit to the TDS spectra. Surface desorption activation energies were determined to be 0.59, 0.63, and 0.65 eV for the external graphite surface layers and 0.85, 1.15, and 1.73 eV for desorption and diffusion from the bulk. In contrast to TDS data from previously studied a-C:H films [Schenk et al. J. Appl. Phys. 77, 2462 (1995)], a greater amount of hydrogen bound as sp(2) hybridized carbon was observed. A previous x-ray diffraction study of these films has shown a significant graphitic character with a crystallite dimension of L(a)=10.7 nm. This result is consistent with experimental results by Raman spectroscopy that show as-grown carbon nanosheets to be crystalline as commercial graphite with a crystallite size of L(a)=11 nm. Following TDS, Raman data indicate that the average crystallite increased in size to L(a)=15 nm.     

A nanocomposite prepared from FeOOH and N-doped carbon nanosheets as a peroxidase mimic,and its application to enzymatic sensing of glucose in human urine

A method is described for the synthesis of a nanocomposite containing FeOOH and N-doped carbon nanosheets. The nanocomposite was synthesized by a hydrothermal method using a Fe₃O₄/chitosan nanocomposite as the precursor. The nanocomposite displays peroxidase-like activity and catalyzes the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by H₂O₂. This results in the formation of a blue colored product with an absorption maximum at 652 nm in the UV-vis spectra. Based on these findings, colorimetric assays were worked out for both hydrogen peroxide and glucose. The H₂O₂ assay works in the 5 to 19 μM concentration range, and the limit of detection is 5 nM. The glucose assay works in the 8 μM to 0.8 mM concentration range and has a 0.2 μM detection limit. The method was successfully applied to the determination of glucose in human urine.

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Graphical abstract Schematic of the hydrothermal synthesis of a FeOOH/N-doped carbon nanocomposite. It was used to replace peroxidase enzyme for the catalytic oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in a visual colorimetric test for glucose in human urine.

     

High enzymatic activity preservation with carbon nanotubes incorporated in urease-lipid hybrid Langmuir-Blodgett films

The search for optimized architectures, such as thin films, for the production of biosensors has been challenged in recent decades, and thus, the understanding of molecular interactions that occur at interfaces is essential to improve the construction of nanostructured devices. In this study, we investigated the possibility of using carbon nanotubes in hybrid Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of lipids and urease to improve the catalytic performance of the immobilized enzyme. The molecular interactions were first investigated at the air-water interface with the enzyme adsorbed from the aqueous subphase onto Langmuir monolayers of dimyristoylphosphatidic acid (DMPA). The transfer to solid supports as LB films and the subsequent incorporation of carbon nanotubes in the hybrid film permitted us to evaluate how these nanomaterials changed the physical properties of the ultrathin film. Colorimetric measurments indicated that the presence of nanotubes preserved and enhanced the enzyme activity of the film, even after 1 month. These results show that the use of such hybrid films is promising for the development of biosensors with an optimized performance.     

Vanillin cross-linked hydrogel membranes interfacial reinforced by carbon nitride nanosheets for enhanced antibacterial activity and mechanical properties

Biopolymer based hydrogels are highly adaptable, compatible and have shown great potential in biological tissues in biomedical applications. However, the development of bio-based hydrogels with high strength and effective antibacterial activity remains challenging. Herein, a series of Vanillin-cross-linked chitosan nanocomposite hydrogel interfacially reinforced by g-C₃N₄ nanosheet carrying starch-caped Ag NPs were prepared for wound healing applications. The study aimed to enhance the strength, sustainability and control release ability of the fabricated membranes. Starch-caped silver nanoparticles were incorporated to enhance the anti-bacterial activities The fabricated membranes were assessed using various characterization techniques such as FT-IR, XRD, SEM, mechanical testing, Gel fraction and porosity alongside traditional biomedical tests i.e., swelling percentage, moisture retention ability, water vapor transmission rate, oxygen permeability, anti-bacterial activity and drug-release of the fabricated membranes. The mechanical strength reached as high as 25.9 ± 0.24 MPa for the best optimized sample. The moisture retention lied between 87–89%, gel fraction 80–85%, and water vapor transmission up to 104 ± 1.9 g/m²h showing great properties of the fabricated membrane. Swelling percentage surged to 225% for blood while porosity fluctuated between 44% ± 2.1% and 52.5% ± 2.3%. Oxygen permeability reached up to 8.02 mg/L showing the breathable nature of fabricated membranes. The nanocomposite membrane shown excellent antibacterial activity for both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria with a maximum zone of inhibition 30 ± 0.25 mm and 36.23 ± 0.23 mm respectively. Furthermore, nanoparticles maintained sustainable release following non-fickian diffusion. The fabricated membrane demonstrated the application of inorganic filler to enhance the strength of biopolymer hydrogel with superior properties. These results envisage the potential of synthesized membrane to be used as wound dressing, artificial skin and load-bearing scaffolds.     

Controllable synthesis of grain boundary-enriched Pt nanoworms decorated on graphitic carbon nanosheets for ultrahigh methanol oxidation catalytic activity

Although one-dimensional Pt nanocrystals have long been regarded as ideal electrode catalysts for fuel cells,the synthetic techniques commonly involve the use o...     

Sensitive fluorescent light-up probe for enzymatic determination of glucose using carbon dots modified with MnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanosheets

We describe a highly sensitive glucose probe based on carbon dots modified with MnO₂. A strong reduction of the green fluorescence of the carbon dots (CDs) happened due to the surface energy transfer (SET) from CDs to the deposited MnO₂. In the presence of H₂O₂ (formed via enzymatic oxidation of glucose), fluorescence is restored because the MnO₂ nanosheets are reduced to form colorless Mn(II) ions. These findings were used to design a fluorometric glucose assay that has a detection limit as low as 44 nM (at an S/N ratio of 3).

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Graphical Abstract A strong reduction of the green fluorescence of the carbon dots (CDs) occurs due to surface energy transfer (SET) from CDs to the deposited MnO₂. In the presence of H₂O₂ (formed by enzymatic action of glucose oxidase) the MnO₂ nanosheets are reduced to form colorless Mn(II) ions, and glucose can be quantified by the fluorescence restored.

     

B-incorporated,N-doped hierarchically porous carbon nanosheets as anodes for boosted potassium storage capability

Carbonaceous nanomaterials with porous structure have become the highly promising anode materials for potassium-ion batteries(PIBs) due to their abundant resources, low-cost, and excellent conductivity. Nevertheless, the sluggish reaction kinetics and inferior cycling life caused by the large radius of K ions severely restrict their commercial development. Herein, B,N co-doped hierarchically porous carbon nanosheets(BNPC) are achieved via a facile template-assisted route, followed by a simple on...     

Controlled synthesis of mesoporous carbon nanosheets and their enhanced supercapacitive performance

Mesoporous carbon nanosheets (MCNs) were synthesized using porous magnesium oxide (MgO) layer as the template precursor and resol as the carbon source. The morphology of the mesoporous carbon particles can be easily controlled by altering the mass ratio of MgO to resol. The structural characterization demonstrates that the interlaced MCNs can be formed when MgO/resol is 1:1 and they possess the carbon nanolayer with a thickness of about 5 nm and a width of about 200 nm. The quantities of mesopores and micropores endow the MCNs with a large surface area of 1,180 m²?g^?1 and a high pore volume of 1.56 cm³?g^?1. The supercapacitive performance of carbon products synthesized with various MgO/resol ratios was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge techniques. The results show that the interlaced MCNs exhibit the highest specific capacitance of 241 F?g^?1, the best rate capability and cycling stability, which are attributed to the fast electrolyte ion transport or diffusion throughout the electrode matrix and effective utilization of the electrical double-layer capacitance of carbon layer.     

Sol-gel synthesis,characterisation, and photocatalytic activity of porous spinel Co3O4 nanosheets

Mesoporous spinel Co₃O₄ nanosheets were synthesised via a simple sol-gel route using the Pluronic P123 triblock copolymer as the stabilising agent. Their structural, morphological, and textural properties were characterised. FTIR spectrum revealed the formation of cobalt oxide without any surface adsorbed impurities. Face centered cubic phase of spinel Co₃O₄ with the mean crystalline size of 26 nm was assigned by the X-ray diffraction analysis without the formation of other phases. Porous nanosheets and cave-like morphologies were identified from the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Highly agglomerated more or less spherical particles with well separated lattice fringes, representing the oriented growth of nanocrystals, were noticed on the transmission electron microscopy photographs. Surface area analysis revealed that the spinel has high surface area of about 25 m² g^?1 with monomodal mesoporosity. The average pore size distribution was found to be about 15.8 nm. The as-prepared spinel photocatalyst showed a mild photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methylene blue (2.5 mg L^?1) under UV light irradiation with air as the oxidising agent. Photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared reusable Co₃O₄ was found to be higher than that of the commercial spinel powder.     

Boosting electrocatalytic activity with the formation of abundant heterointerfaces and N,S dual-doped carbon nanotube for rechargeable Zn-air battery

Herein,a facile synthetic strategy is proposed to fabricate high-performance electrocatalysts for rechargeable Zn-air batteries(ZABs).Heterostructured NiCo/NiCo₂S₄ nanoparticles encapsulated in N-,S-co-doped CNT(NiCo/NiCo₂S₄@NSCNT) are synthesized via co-precipitation,thermal carbonization,and partial sulfidation processes.The strongly coupled NiCo/NiCo₂S₄ heterostructure can improve the redox property and charge transfer ability....