Computational study of the formation of aluminum-graphene nanocrystallites

The molecular dynamics method is used to study the formation of the Al/graphene nanocomposite in the structural grains of different size under the action of internal stresses. The behavior of graphene sheets inside an individual structural grain as well as in the process of two Al grains containing graphene are joined is investigated. The motion of graphene films, starting from the middle of the aluminum matrix, ends with their location at the crystallite boundaries. Graphene moves in the Al matrix along closely packed planes. In this case, graphene sheets acquire curvature. An intergrowth of graphene sheets is also observed. A contact between two Al-C nanocrystallites through a graphene interlayer is created. The self-diffusion coefficients of atoms and the partial potential energies increased with decreasing nanocrystallite size. The angular distribution of the nearest geometric neighbors and the distribution of distances to the nearest neighbors are determined using the construction of Voronoi polyhedra.     

Theoretical study on the catalytic properties of single-atom catalyst stabilised on silicon-doped graphene sheets

ABSTRACT

The stable configurations, electronic structures and catalytic activities of single-atom metal catalyst anchored silicon-doped graphene sheets (3Si-graphene-M, M?=?Ni and Pd) are investigated by using density functional theory calculations. Firstly, the adsorption stability and electronic property of different gas reactants (O₂, CO, 2CO, CO/O₂) on 3Si-graphene-M substrates are comparably analysed. It is found that the coadsorption of O₂/CO or 2CO molecules is more stable than that of the isolated O₂ or CO molecule. Meanwhile, the adsorbed species on 3Si-graphene-Ni sheet are more stable than those on the 3Si-graphene-Pd sheet. Secondly, the possible CO oxidation reactions on the 3Si-graphene-M are investigated through Eley–Rideal (ER), Langmuir–Hinshelwood (LH) and new termolecular Eley–Rideal (TER) mechanisms. Compared with the LH and TER mechanisms, the interaction between 2CO and O₂ molecules (O₂?+?CO → CO₃, CO₃?+?CO → 2CO₂) through ER reactions (< 0.2?eV) are an energetically more favourable. These results provide important reference for understanding the catalytic mechanism for CO oxidation on graphene-based catalyst.     

Tuned CuCr layered double hydroxide/carbon-based nanocomposites inducing sonophotocatalytic degradation of dimethyl phthalate

This study is the first to explore the possibility of utilizing CuCr LDH decorated on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and graphene oxide (GO) as sonophotocatalysts for the degradation of dimethyl phthalate (DMP). CuCr LDH and its nanocomposites were successfully fabricated and characterized. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) along with high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) both evidenced the formation of randomly oriented nanosheet structures of CuCr LDH coupled with thin and folded sheets of GO and rGO. The impact of diverse processes on the degradation efficiency of DMP in the presence of the so-prepared catalysts was compared. Benefiting from the low bandgap and high specific surface area, the as-obtained CuCr LDH/rGO represented outstanding catalytic activity (100 %) toward 15 mg L⁻¹ of DMP within 30 min when subjected to light and ultrasonic irradiations simultaneously. Radical quenching experiments and visual spectrophotometry using an O-phenylenediamine revealed the crucial role of hydroxyl radicals compared to holes and superoxide radicals. Overall, outcomes disclosed that CuCr LDH/rGO is a stable and proper sonophotocatalyst for environmental remediation.     

Emergent geometry experienced by fermions in graphene in the presence of dislocations

In graphene in the presence of strain the elasticity theory metric naturally appears. However, this is not the one experienced by fermionic quasiparticles. Fermions propagate in curved space, whose metric is defined by expansion of the effective Hamiltonian near the topologically protected Fermi point. We discuss relation between both types of metric for different parametrizations of graphene surface. Next, we extend our consideration to the case, when the dislocations are present. We consider the situation, when the deformation is described by elasticity theory and calculate both torsion and emergent magnetic field carried by the dislocation. The dislocation carries singular torsion in addition to the quantized flux of emergent magnetic field. Both may be observed in the scattering of quasiparticles on the dislocation. Emergent magnetic field flux manifests itself in the Aharonov–Bohm effect while the torsion singularity results in Stodolsky effect.     

Determination of glutathione in single HepG2 cells by capillary electrophoresis with reduced graphene oxide modified microelectrode

Determination of intracellular bioactive species will afford beneficial information related to cell metabolism, signal transduction, cell function, and disease treatment. In this study, the electrochemically reduced graphene oxide modified carbon fiber microdisk electrode (ER‐GOME) was used as a detector of CZE‐electrochemical detection and developed to detect glutathione (GSH). The electrocatalytic activity of the modified microelectrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry. Under optimized experimental conditions, the concentration linear range of GSH was from 1 to 60 μM. When the S/N ratio was 3, the concentration detection limit was 1 μM. Compared with the unmodified carbon fiber microdisk electrode, the sensitivity was enhanced more than five times. With the use of this method, the average contents of GSH in single HepG2 cells were found to be 7.13 ± 1.11 fmol (n = 10). Compared with gold/mercury amalgam microelectrode, which was usually used in determining GSH, the electrochemically reduced graphene oxide modified carbon fiber microdisk electrode was friendly to environment for free mercury. Furthermore, there were several merits of the novel electrochemical detector coupled with CE, such as comparative repeatability, easy fabrication, and high sensitivity, hold great potential for the single‐cell assay.     

Submicron carbon-based hybrid nano-pour-point depressant with outstanding pour point depressant and excellent viscosity depressant

We have investigated the effective utilization potential of carbon nanomaterials in the field of pour point depressants, and reported three kind of carbon-based hybrid nano-pour-point depressants with different dimensions. In this paper, poly-α-olefins-acrylate high-carbon ester pour point depressant (PAA-18) was prepared by esterification and polymerization as the basic pour point depressant. Then, the basic pour point depressant PAA18 was modified by solvothermal method with graphene oxide (GO), carbon nanospheres (Cna) and carbon nanotubes (OCNTs). The morphology and structure of the composites were analyzed by SEM, FTIR and XRD. The results showed that PAA18 was successfully in situ polymerized on GO, Cna and OCNTs. We took the simulated oil as the experimental object, and evaluated its pour point, rheological properties and wax crystal morphology, and achieved excellent results. In the three carbon-based hybrid nano-pour-point depressants with different carbon contents, the oxidation carbon nanotubes composite pour point depressant (PAA18-1 % OCNTs) with carbon content of 1 % had the best pour point and viscosity reduction effect when the dosage was 1250 ppm, which could make the pour point of the simulated oil containing wax decrease by 16 °C. PAA18-1 % OCNTs reduced the pour point by 5 °C more than PAA18. This paper provides reference for the application of carbon nanomaterials in the field of pour point depressant.     

Development of Graphene/CdSe Quantum Dots‐Co Phthalocyanine Nanocomposite for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Nanocomposites containing CdSe quantum dots, tetra(4‐(4,6‐diaminopyrimidin‐2‐ylthio) phthalocyaninatocobalt(II)) (CoPyPc) and reduced graphene nanosheets (rGNS) were devoloped and used for the modification of a glassy carbon electrode. Characterization of the nanocomposites was done by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used for electrochemical characterization of the prepared nanocomposite for oxygen reduction reaction. The oxygen reduction activity for rGNS/CdSe‐CoPyPc nanocomposite was found to be superior over the individual nanomaterials in this study. The activity of the nanocomposite towards oxygen reduction was also tested for tolerance to methanol crossover effect using chronoamperometry (CA) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies.     

Synthesis,characterization and electrochemical performances of LiFePO4/graphene cathode material for high power lithium-ion batteries

LiFePO₄/graphene (LiFePO₄/G) cathode with exciting electrochemical performance was successfully synthesized by liquid phase method. LiFePO₄ nanoparticles wrapped with multi-layered grapheme can be fabricated in a short time. This method did not need external heating source. Heat generated by chemical reaction conduct the process and removed the solvent simultaneously. The LiFePO₄/G were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), magnetic properties analysis and electrochemical performance tests. The LiFePO₄/G delivered a capacity of 160 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1C and could tolerate various dis-charge currents with a capacity retention rate of 99.8%, 99.2%, 99.0%, 98.6%, 97.3% and 95.0% after stepwise under 5C, 10C, 15C, 20C, 25C and 30C, respectively.     

Enzyme-free and DNA-based universal platform for the construction of various logic devices based on graphene oxide and G-quadruplex

In the fields of biocomputing and biomolecular, DNA molecules are applicable to be regarded as data of logical computing platform that uses elaborate logic gates to perform a variety of tasks. Graphene oxide (GO) is a type of novel nanomaterial, which brings new research focus to materials science and biosensors due to its special selectivity and excellent quenching ability. G-quadruplex as a unique DNA structure stimulates the intelligent application of DNA assembly on the strength of its exceptional binding activity. In this paper, we report a universal logic device assisted with GO and G-quadruplex under an enzyme-free condition. Integrated with the quenching ability of GO to the TAMRA (fluorophore, Carboxytetramethylrhodamine) and the enhancement of fluorescence intensity produced by the peculiar binding of G-quadruplex to the NMM (N-methylmesoporphyrin IX), a series of basic binary logic gates (AND. OR. INHIBIT. XOR) have been designed and verified through biological experiments. Given the modularity and programmability of this strategy, two advanced logic gates (half adder and half subtractor) were realized on the basis of the same work platform. The fluorescence signals generated from different input combinations possessed satisfactory results, which provided proof of feasibility. We believe that the proposed universal logical platform that operates at the nanoscale is expected to be utilized for future applications in molecular computing as well as disease diagnosis.