Electrocatalysis of Fe-N-C Bonds Driving Reliable Interphase and Fast Kinetics for Phosphorus Anode in Sodium-Ion Batteries

Phosphorus exhibits high capacity and low redox potential, making it a promising anode material for future sodium-ion batteries. However, its practical applications are confined by poor durability and sluggish kinetics. Herein, an innovative in-situ electrochemically self-driven strategy is presented to embed phosphorus nanocrystal (≈10 nm) into a Fe-N-C-rich 3D carbon framework (P/Fe-N-C). This strategy enables rapid and high-capacity sodium ion storage. Through a combination of experimental assistance and theoretical calculations, a novel synergistic catalytic mechanism of Fe-N-C is reasonably proposed. In detail, the electrochemical formation of Fe-N-C catalytic sites facilitates the release of fluorine in ester-based electrolyte, inducing Na⁺-conducting-enhanced solid-electrolyte interphase. Furthermore, it also effectively induces the dissociation energy of the P-P bond and promotes the reaction kinetics of P anode. As a result, the unconventional P/Fe-N-C anode demonstrates outstanding rate-capability (267 mAh g⁻¹ at 100 A g⁻¹) and cycling stability (72%, 10 000 cycles). Notably, the assembled pouch cell achieves high-energy density of 220 Wh kg⁻¹.     

New Polymerized Small Molecular Acceptors with Non-Aromatic π-Conjugated Linkers for Efficient All-Polymer Solar Cells

Developing new polymerized small molecular acceptor (PSMA) is pivotal for improving the performance of all-polymer solar cells. On the basis of this newly developed CH-series small molecule acceptors, two PSMAs are reported herein (namely PZC16 and PZC17, respectively). To reduce the molecular torsion caused by the traditional aromatic π-bridges, non-aromatic conjugated units (ethynyl for PZC16 and vinylene for PZC17) are adopted as the linkers and their effect on the photo-physical properties as well as the device performance are systematically investigated. Both polymer acceptors exhibit co-planar molecular conformation, along with broad absorption ranges and suitable energy levels. In comparison with the PM6:PZC16 film, the PM6:PZC17 film exhibits more uniform phase separation in morphology with a distinct bi-continuous network and better crystallinity. The PM6:PZC17-binary-based devices exhibit a satisfactory PCE of 16.33%, significantly higher than 9.22% of the PZC16-based devices. Impressively, PM6:PZC17-based large area device (ca. 1 cm²) achieves an excellent PCE of 15.14%, which is among the top performance for reported all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs).     

Bifunctional Edge-Rich Nitrogen Doped Porous Carbon for Activating Oxygen and Sulfur

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and sulfur reduction reaction (SRR) play key roles in advanced batteries. However, they both suffer from sluggish reaction kinetics. Here, an interesting nitrogen doped porous carbon material that can simultaneously activate oxygen and sulfur is reported. The carbon precursor is a nitrogen containing covalent organic framework (COF), constituting periodically stacked 2D sheets. The COF structure is well preserved upon pyrolysis, resulting in the formation of edge-rich porous carbon with structure resembling stacked holey graphene. The nitrogen containing groups in the COF are decomposed into graphitic and pyridinic nitrogen during pyrolysis. These edge sites and uniform nitrogen doping endow the carbon product with high intrinsic catalytic activities toward ORR and SRR. The COF derived carbon delivers outstanding performances when assembling as cathodes in the Li-S and Li-O₂ batteries. Simultaneous activation of oxygen and sulfur also enables a new battery chemistry. A proof-of-concept Li-S/O₂ hybrid battery is assembled, delivering a large specific capacity of 2,013 mAh g⁻¹. This study may inspire novel battery designs based on oxygen and sulfur chemistry.     

A high-power X-band pulsed microwave induced catalytic decomposition of methane with integral acoustic measurements

A high-power microsecond pulsed microwave system operating in the X-band region was used for the catalytic conversion of methane. Microwave microsecond pulses at repetition rates of 50 and 80 Hz were used to initiate chemical reactions. The Microwave-Induced Acoustic technique was employed in combination with gas chromatography for on-line detection of chemical products. Methane was converted to C₂ and C₃ hydrocarbons. The selectivity of ethane in hydrocarbon products can be >90 %. The contribution of hydrogen evolution and carbon deposition has been shown to be important. A comparison between previous experiments performed with millisecond pulse durations is given.     

Visible light induced photocatalytic reaction of rhodamine B dye via 12-tungstosilicic acid in water

Using 12-tungstosilicic acid (SiW124-) as the catalyst, rhodamine B (RhB) dye in an aerated aqueous solution can undergo an effective photocatalytic stepwise N-deethylation process under visible light irradiation, and dioxygen is reduced to hydrogen peroxide by the reducedSiW12 4-. This provides the potential for moving polyoxometalate-based photocatalytic processes from the near-UV into the visible region of the spectrum.     

A polystyrene-supported triflating reagent for the synthesis of aryl triflates

An insoluble polystyrene-supported triflating reagent has been prepared by suspension co-polymerization of N-(4-vinylphenyl)trifluoromethanesulphonimide, styrene and the JandaJel^® cross-linker. This reagent, in the presence of triethylamine, allows for the efficient synthesis of aryl triflates from a wide range of phenols in a process that permits the desired product to be isolated from the reaction mixture in essentially pure form via several filtration and concentration operations. Adding to the utility of this reagent is its ability to be easily recovered, regenerated and reused. Both soluble and insoluble bifunctional polymers containing trialkylamine moieties in addition to triflimide groups were also prepared and examined as triflating reagents. Unfortunately these reagents afforded only modest yields of the desired products in representative reactions.