Direct Dynamic Evidence of Charge Separation in a Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cell Obtained under Operando Conditions by Raman Spectroscopy

Interfaces play an important role in enhancing the energy conversion performance of dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The interface effects have been studied by many techniques, but most of the studies only focused on one part of a DSC, rather than on a complete solar cell. Hence, monitoring the interface evolution of a DSC is still very challenging. Here, in situ/operando resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopic analyses were carried out to monitor the dynamics of the photovoltaic conversion processes in a DSC. We observed the creation of new species (i.e., polyiodide and iodine aggregates) in the photosensitization process. We also obtained molecular‐scale dynamic evidence that the bands from the C=C and C=N bonds of 2,2′‐bipyridyl (bpy), the S=C=N bonds of the NCS ligand, and photochemical products undergo reasonably strong intensity and frequency changes, which clearly demonstrates that they are involved in charge separation. Furthermore, RR spectroscopy can also be used to quickly evaluate the performance of DSCs.     

Electrocatalytically Active Fe‐(O‐C2)4 Single‐Atom Sites for Efficient Reduction of Nitrogen to Ammonia

Single‐atom catalysts have demonstrated their superiority over other types of catalysts for various reactions. However, the reported nitrogen reduction reaction single‐atom electrocatalysts for the nitrogen reduction reaction exclusively utilize metal–nitrogen or metal–carbon coordination configurations as catalytic active sites. Here, we report a Fe single‐atom electrocatalyst supported on low‐cost, nitrogen‐free lignocellulose‐derived carbon. The extended X‐ray absorption fine structure spectra confirm that Fe atoms are anchored to the support via the Fe‐(O‐C₂)₄ coordination configuration. Density functional theory calculations identify Fe‐(O‐C₂)₄ as the active site for the nitrogen reduction reaction. An electrode consisting of the electrocatalyst loaded on carbon cloth can afford a NH₃ yield rate and faradaic efficiency of 32.1 μg h^?1 mg_cat.^?1 (5350 μg h^?1 mg_Fe^?1) and 29.3 %, respectively. An exceptional NH₃ yield rate of 307.7 μg h^?1 mg_cat.^?1 (51 283 μg h^?1 mg_Fe^?1) with a near record faradaic efficiency of 51.0 % can be achieved with the electrocatalyst immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode.     

高分散Fe-N-C氧还原反应电催化剂及其在直接甲醇燃料电池中的应用

氧还原反应(ORR)是燃料电池和金属空气电池等洁净发电装置中阴极的主要反应,该反应动力学过程慢,电化学极化严重. Pt基电催化剂具有较好的ORR活性,然而Pt资源有限、价格昂贵,研制高活性、低成本的代Pt电催化剂意义重大.经过几十年的探索,研究者发现将含有C, N和Fe等元素的前体进行高温热处理得到的Fe-N-C电催化剂对ORR具有良好的活性,然而在高温热解过程中Fe容易发生聚集而形成大块颗粒,导致Fe的利用率不高,影响了电催化剂的ORR活性.
　　本文分别以聚吡咯和乙二胺四乙酸二钠(EDTA-2Na)为C和N的前驱体,利用高温热解形成的富含微孔的碳材料对铁前体的吸附及锚定作用,获得了一种Fe高度分散的Fe-N-C电催化剂.采用物理吸脱附技术、高分辨透射电镜(HRTEM)和扫描电镜对Fe-N-C及其制备过程中相关电催化剂的孔结构及表面形貌进行了表征.结果表明,在第一步热解过程中, EDTA-2Na的Na对碳材料起到了活化作用,形成富含微孔的N掺杂碳材料(N-C-1),其BET比表面积达到1227 m2/g,孔径约1.1 nm.在第二步热解过程中, N-C-1有效地抑制了Fe的聚集,产物Fe-N-C中的Fe元素均匀地分布在碳材料中,其比表面积高达1501 m2/g.
　　电化学测试结果表明,在碱性介质(0.1 mol/L NaOH)中, Fe-N-C电催化剂对ORR具有良好的催化活性, ORR起始电位(Eo)为1.08 V (vs. RHE),半波电位(E1/2)0.88 V,电子转移数n接近4, H2O2产率<3%,与商品20%Pt/C(Johnson Matthey)接近.电化学加速老化测试结果表明, Fe-N-C的E1/2未发生明显变化,而Pt的负移45 mV,表明Fe-N-C具有很好的稳定性;在酸性介质(0.1 mol/L HClO4)中, Fe-N-C的Eo为0.85 V, E1/2为0.75 V,其E1/2比Pt/C负移约0.15 V,表明在酸性介质中Fe-N-C对ORR的催化活性还有待提高.采用TEM、X射线衍射、X射线光电子能谱以及穆斯堡尔谱等方法研究了电催化剂构效关系.结果表明, Fe-N-C较好的ORR活性主要来自于高分散的Fe-N4结构,此外, N(吡啶N和石墨N)掺杂的C也对反应具有一定的催化活性.
　　与Pt/C相比, Fe-N-C电催化剂具有很好的耐甲醇性能.本文对比了Fe-N-C和Pt/C作为阴极催化剂的直接醇类燃料电池(DMFC)性能,采用质子交换膜的DMFC最大功率密度分别为47(Fe-N-C)和79 mW/cm2(Pt/C),而采用碱性电解质膜的则分别为33(Fe-N-C)和8 mW/cm2(Pt/C).结合半电池结果表明, Fe-N-C电催化剂在碱性介质中具有比Pt更为优秀的催化活性和稳定性,有望用作DMFC阴极代Pt催化剂.     

Relationship between grain boundary diffusion in nanocrystals and amorphous microstructure

The effects of microstructure on diffusion behaviors of Ni in Zr₄₈Cu₃₆Ag₈Al₈ alloy were investigated by transmission electron microscope and secondary ion mass spectrum. The temperature dependence of Ni diffusivities in Zr₄₈Cu₃₆Ag₈Al₈ alloy with different states (metallic glass, nanocrystals and coarse crystals) has been measured in the temperature range of 693–723 K. The results show that diffusion behavior is microstructure dependence, and the relations between the microstructure and diffusion are discussed. The activity energy of the grain boundary diffusion in nanocrystals calculated by the Suzuoka solution is about 1.433 eV/atom. It is equivalent with that of metallic glass, which is attributed to the similar microstructure between the two. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and characterization of imprinted microspheres for clopyralid

In this work, the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and non-imprinted polymers (NIPs) for clopyralid (3,6-DCP) were successfully synthesized via precipitation polymerization using methacrylic acid (MAA) as functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as crosslinker and a mixture of butanone (MEK) and n-heptane as porogen under the existence of azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). The morphologies, particle sizes, structures, adsorption properties and selective recognitions of polymers were investigated systematically. The average particle sizes of MIP3 and NIP3 were 2.76 μm and 2.15 μm. The apparent maximum binding amount (Q_max) of MIP3 and NIP3 were 67.50 mg·g^?1 and 65.02 mg·g^?1 in Scatchard analysis. Langmuir isotherm displayed that the Langmuir constant (K_l) of MIP3 and NIP3 were 0.015 L·mg^?1 and 0.0065 L·mg^?1, the saturation adsorption capacity (Q_max) of MIP3 and NIP3 were 63.23 mg·g^?1 and 58.17 mg·g^?1. Lagergren pseudo-second-order kinetic plot described that the adsorption process of MIP3 was visualized as chemical absorption. Selectivity analysis revealed that MIP3 possessed highly specific recognition for 3,6-DCP.     

Mesoporous carbon material as cathode for high performance lithium-ion capacitor

The mesoporous carbon material with large pore volume and high surface area by a simple situ MgO template method is synthesized, which is utilized as cathode to assemble a high performance lithium ion capacitor.     

Aromaticity of Bare Iridium Trimers and Ir3M0/+ and $$\rm{Ir}_3M_2^{+/3+}$$ (M = Li,Na, K,and Be,Ca) Bimetallic Clusters

The structural stabilities, bonding nature, electronic properties, and aromaticity of bare iridium trimers \(\rm{Ir}_3^{+/-}\) with different geometries and spin multiplicities are studied at the DFT/B3LYP level of theory. The ground state of the \(\rm{Ir}_3^{+}\) cation is found to be the ³A₂ (C_2v) triplet state and the ground state of the \(\rm{Ir}_3^{-}\) anion the ⁵A₂ (C_2v) quintet state. A detailed molecular orbital (MO) analysis indicates that the ground-state \(\rm{Ir}_3^{+}\) ion (C_2v, ³A₂) possesses double (σ and partial δ) aromaticity as well as the ground-state \(\rm{Ir}_3^{-}\) ion (C_2v, ⁵A₂). The multiple d-orbital aromaticity is responsible for the totally delocalized three-center metal-metal bond of the triangular Ir₃ framework. \(\rm{Ir}_3^{-}\) (C_2v, ¹A₁) structure motif is perfectly preserved in pyramidal Ir₃M^0/+ (C_s, ¹A′) and bipyramidal \(\rm{Ir}_3M_2^{+/3+}\) (C_2v, ¹A₁) (M = Li, Na, K and Be, Ca) bimetallic clusters which also possess the corresponding d-orbital aromatic characters.     

高效液相色谱法测定化妆品中4种禁用醛酮化合物

建立了同时测定化妆品中4种禁用醛酮化合物(巴豆醛、苯乙酮、2,4-二羟基-3-甲基苯甲醛和2-亚戊基环己酮)的高效液相色谱(HPLC)分析方法。样品使用50%乙腈(体积比)溶液提取,经AQ-C18(4.6 mm×150 mm,5μm)色谱柱分离后,高效液相色谱/二极管阵列检测器检测,以保留时间和紫外吸收光谱定性,外标法定量,高效液相色谱-质谱/质谱法确证。结果表明,4种醛酮化合物在0.05~2.0 mg/L质量浓度范围内呈良好的线性关系,相关系数均不小于0.999 9;方法检出限和定量下限分别为0.5~1.0 mg/kg和1.5~3.0 mg/kg。样品加标回收率为89.0%~106.7%,相对标准偏差(RSDs,n=6)为2.0%~6.9%。该方法准确可靠,适用于化妆品中4种禁用醛酮化合物的测定。     

松散接触下 Au-Ce强相互作用对 Au/CeO2/3DOM Al2O3催化剂催化柴油炭烟燃烧活性的影响

与汽油发动机相比,柴油发动机具有热效率高、CO2排放低、寿命长、续航距离远和经济性好等优点,可大大缓解能源短缺,降低 CO2排放量.因此,机动车柴油化是当前发展趋势.然而,柴油发动机在使用过程中会排放大量炭烟颗粒物,对人体危害极大.因此,控制炭烟颗粒排放成为环境催化研究的重点之一.
　　炭烟颗粒物催化燃烧反应是典型的固(炭烟颗粒)-固(催化剂)-气(O2)多相催化反应.三维有序大孔氧化物(3DOM)具有大孔径和内部贯通的孔道结构,能有效提高炭烟颗粒与催化活性中心的接触性能.同时,纳米 Au颗粒在大孔氧化物表面的负载可有效提高催化剂本征活性,但纳米 Au颗粒催化剂热稳定性较差. CeO2具有较好的储放氧性能,可与贵金属活性组分发生相互作用,从而提高贵金属纳米颗粒的分散度和稳定性.因此,本文从柴油炭烟颗粒物催化燃烧反应本质出发,设计制备了高炭烟燃烧催化活性的3DOM氧化物担载 Au基催化剂,研究了 Au与 CeO2强相互作用对炭烟燃烧活性的影响.
　　采用胶体晶体模板法制备3DOM Al2O3载体,由微孔膜氨沉淀法制备 CeO2/3DOM Al2O3催化剂,以还原-沉积法制备 Au/3DOM Al2O3和 Au/CeO2/3DOM Al2O3催化剂,并利用扫描电镜、N2物理吸附-脱附、X射线衍射、透射电镜、紫外漫反射光谱、H2程序升温还原和 X射线光电子能谱等手段对催化剂形貌、比表面积、物理化学性质和氧化还原性进行了表征.结果表明,在 CeO2/3DOM Al2O3中, Al3+可进入到氧化铈晶格内,形成 Al-Ce-O固溶体,产生氧空位,这有利于氧物种转移.此外, Au/CeO2/3DOM Al2O3催化剂中 Au和 CeO2之间的强相互作用能增加 Au纳米颗粒表面活性氧物种数量,从而促进柴油炭烟燃烧反应.纳米颗粒 Au的担载使得催化柴油炭烟燃烧的起燃温度明显降低,其中 Au/CeO2/3DOM Al2O3催化剂表现出最高的催化活性,T10,T50和T90分别为273,364和412oC.     

Effects of non-smooth characteristics on bionic bulldozer blades in resistance reduction against soil

The phenomenon of soil adhesion occurs widely when terrain machines and construction machines work; this adhesion increases their working resistance. Bionics is one of the most effective methods to reduce resistance against soil. Several non-smooth convex form bulldozer blades were tested to study the effects of non-smooth characteristics on resistance reduction against soil. Under the same soil and test conditions, the draft forces of different non-smooth samples were obtained, and were lower than those of smooth samples. The sample with largest convex base diameter had the lowest draft force. The experiments with smooth and non-smooth samples were repeated to observe soil adhesion and test resistance. A minimum amount of soil adhered to the surface of the non-smooth sample, and the draft force varied smoothly. The smooth sample was different in soil adhesion and draft force.