High-Rate CO2 Electrolysis to Formic Acid over a Wide Potential Window: An Electrocatalyst Comprised of Indium Nanoparticles on Chitosan-Derived Graphene

Realizing industrial-scale production of HCOOH from the CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is very important, but the current density as well as the electrochemical potential window are still limited to date. Herein, we achieved this by integration of chemical adsorption and electrocatalytic capabilities for the CO₂RR via anchoring In nanoparticles (NPs) on biomass-derived substrates to create In/X−C (X=N, P, B) bifunctional active centers. The In NPs/chitosan-derived N-doped defective graphene (In/N-dG) catalyst had outstanding performance for the CO₂RR with a nearly 100 % Faradaic efficiency (FE) of HCOOH across a wide potential window. Particularly, at 1.2 A ⋅ cm⁻² high current density, the FE of HCOOH was as high as 96.0 %, and the reduction potential was as low as −1.17 V vs RHE. When using a membrane electrode assembly (MEA), a pure HCOOH solution could be obtained at the cathode without further separation and purification. The FE of HCOOH was still up to 93.3 % at 0.52 A ⋅ cm⁻², and the HCOOH production rate could reach 9.051 mmol ⋅ h⁻¹ ⋅ cm⁻². Our results suggested that the defects and multilayer structure in In/N-dG could not only enhance CO₂ chemical adsorption capability, but also trigger the formation of an electron-rich catalytic environment around In sites to promote the generation of HCOOH.     

Modelling of Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy depth profiles of metal (Cr,Ti) multilayer coatings

The broadening effects found in the depth profiles of abrupt periodic multilayers obtained by Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy (GDOES) have been modelled by assuming that the resulting absolute concentration profiles can be described by Gaussian functions of constant area (equal to that of the cross section of the individual layers) and decreasing amplitude. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of these functions has been assumed to increase with depth z according to a power law of the type: FWHM (z) = a + bz^c, using for a and c, values estimated from previous works. In this model, the parameter b, defining the broadening and degradation of the layer interfaces, is obtained by fitting the experimental profiles with the theoretical spectra. We have found a correlation between b and the erosion rate of the material layers. In general, the model properly describes the depth profiles of multilayer structures made of alternating Ti and Cr layers in the nanometre range, and can be an useful tool to explain the profiles of more complex systems.     

钒取代多金属氧酸盐/聚酰胺-胺多层膜的制备及其电催化性能

用层接层自组装的方法制备了过渡金属钒取代的多金属氧酸盐PMo11VO4-40/聚酰胺-胺多层纳米复合膜. X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、紫外-可见光谱(UV-Vis)、循环伏安(CV)测定和分析结果表明, PMo11VO4-40和聚酰胺-胺通过静电相互作用形成了纳米交替多层膜,且膜的增长均匀. 复合膜的循环伏安图呈现出四对氧化还原峰(一个V的单电子和三个Mo的双电子), 峰电流与扫描速率成正比, 其式量电位随着pH 的增加而线性负移, 表明电极过程属于表面控制过程, 电荷传递很快且有氢离子参与多金属氧酸盐的氧化还原反应. 该方法制备的多层膜修饰电极稳定性好, 对NO-2、BrO-3及H2O2具有良好的催化还原活性.     

The analysis of seasonal air pollution pattern with application of neural networks

Air pollution monitoring includes measuring the concentrations of air contaminants such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs), suspended particulate matter (PM) and tar substances. The purpose of this study was to determine the possibility of using artificial neural networks for identification of any patterns occurring during heating and nonheating seasons. The samples included in the study were collected over a period of 5 years (1997–2001) in the area of the city of Gdansk and the levels of pollutants measured in the samples collected were used as inputs to two different types of neural networks: multilayer perceptron (MLP) and self-organizing map (SOM). The MLP was used as a tool to predict in what heating season a certain sample was collected, and the SOM was applied for mapping all samples to recognize any similarities between them. This study also presents the comparison between two projection methods—linear (principal component analysis, PCA) and nonlinear (SOM)—in extracting valuable information from multidimensional environmental data. In the research the MLP model with 13-12-1 topology was developed and successfully trained for classification of air samples from different seasons. The sensitivity analysis on the inputs to the MLP indicated benz[α]anthracene, benzo[α]pyrene, PM₁, SO₂, tar substances and PM₁₀ as the most distinctive variables, while PCA pointed to PAHs and PM₁.     

Modeling multilayer adsorption of interacting polyatomic species on heterogeneous surfaces

In the present work, a generalized lattice-gas model to study multilayer adsorption of interacting polyatomic species on heterogeneous surfaces is introduced. Using an approximation in the spirit of the well-known Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) model, a new theoretical isotherm is obtained in one- and two-dimensional lattices and compared with Monte Carlo simulation. In addition, the BET approach is used to analyze these isotherms and to estimate the monolayer volume. In all cases, the application of the BET equation leads to an underestimate of the true monolayer capacity. However, significant compensation effects were observed for heterogeneous surfaces and attractive lateral interactions.     

Multilayer adsorption by Monte Carlo simulation

Adsorption phenomena are characterized by models that include free parameters trying to reproduce experimental results. In order to understand the relationship between the model parameters and the material properties, the adsorption of small molecules on a crystalline plane surface has been simulated using the bond fluctuation model. A direct comparison between the Guggenheim–Anderson–de Boer (GAB) model for multilayer adsorption and computer simulations allowed us to establish correlations between the adsorption model parameters and the simulated interaction potentials.     

7T动物磁共振成像超导磁体的漏热分析

准确计算分析超导磁体低温系统的漏热量,是评价超导磁体低温绝热性能的重要依据。文中以一台自制的7 T磁共振成像系统(MRI)的超导磁体作为研究对象,对其低温系统进行了详细的漏热计算,分别得到了液氦容器和液氮容器的理论漏热量。将计算结果与实测数据进行比较,分析了磁体实际的低温性能。     

Evaluation of multilayer film stability by Raman spectroscopy after gamma-irradiation sterilization process

Polymers such as polyethylene (PE) and ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) are primary constituents of single use plastic systems in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. These devices are sterilized by gamma-irradiation prior to be used, the usual dose being between 25 and 45 kGy. Optical spectroscopies are of great interest for chemical analysis and are used to obtain information on the composition of materials such as polymers. Raman spectroscopy provides information on the fundamental vibrations of molecules, using excitation in the visible wavelength range. The purpose of this study is to unveil the impact of gamma-sterilization on polymers in industry-like experimental conditions. Cross-sections of films are analyzed before and after sterilization using different radiation doses: their compositions and chemical evolution of the material are examined using micro-Raman spectroscopy. As the chemical composition of the layers is complex, due to the presence of additive compounds, there is considerable overlap between the spectral data. In this case, the use of spectral curve resolution chemometric methods is unique for unravelling the complex identification of the layers and to study the degree of chemical modifications.