3D ordered macro-/mesoporous Ni_xCo_(100-x) alloys as high-performance bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

Electrochemical water splitting is a facile and effective route to generate pure hydrogen and oxygen.However,the sluggish kinetics of hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) and especially oxygen evolution reaction(OER) hinder the water splitting efficiency.Meanwhile,the high-cost of noble-metal catalysts limit their actual application.It is thus highly urgent to exploit an economical and earthabundant bifunctional HER and OER electrocatalyst to simplify procedure and reduce cost.Herein,we synthesize the three-dimensionally ordered macro-/mesoporous(3 DOM/m) Ni_xCo_(100-x) alloys with distinctive structure and large surface area via a dual-templating technique.Among them,the3 DOM/m Ni_(61)Co_(39) shows the lowest overpotentials of 121 mV and 241 mV at 10 mA/cm~2 for HER and OER,respectively.Furthermore,when employed for water splitting,the Ni_(61)Co_(39) only requires 1.60 V to approach 10 mA/cm2 and presents excellent stability.These encouraging performances of the Ni_(61)Co_(39)render it a promising bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting.     

Ordered Mesoporous Carbon and Thiolated Polyaniline Modified Electrode for Simultaneous Determination of Cadmium(II) and Lead(II) by Anodic Stripping Voltammetry

The fabrication and evaluation of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC), 2‐mercaptoethanesulfonate (MES)‐tethered polyaniline (PANI) and bismuth for simultaneous determination of trace Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) are presented here. The morphology and electrochemical properties of the fabricated electrode were respectively characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Experimental parameters such as PANI disposition, preconcentration potential, preconcentration time and bismuth concentration were optimized. Under optimum conditions, the fabricated electrode exhibited linear calibration curves ranged from 1 to 120 nM for Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺. The limits of detection (LOD) were 0.26 nM for Cd²⁺ and 0.16 nM for Pb²⁺ (S/N=3), respectively. Additionally, repeatability, reproducibility, interference and application were also investigated, and the proposed electrode exhibited excellent performance. The proposed method could be extended for the development of other new sensors for heavy metal determination.     

Tunable Oxygen Activation for Catalytic Organic Oxidation: Schottky Junction versus Plasmonic Effects

The charge state of the Pd surface is a critical parameter in terms of the ability of Pd nanocrystals to activate O₂ to generate a species that behaves like singlet O₂ both chemically and physically. Motivated by this finding, we designed a metal–semiconductor hybrid system in which Pd nanocrystals enclosed by {100} facets are deposited on TiO₂ supports. Driven by the Schottky junction, the TiO₂ supports can provide electrons for metal catalysts under illumination by appropriate light. Further examination by ultrafast spectroscopy revealed that the plasmonics of Pd may force a large number of electrons to undergo reverse migration from Pd to the conduction band of TiO₂ under strong illumination, thus lowering the electron density of the Pd surface as a side effect. We were therefore able to rationally tailor the charge state of the metal surface and thus modulate the function of Pd nanocrystals in O₂ activation and organic oxidation reactions by simply altering the intensity of light shed on Pd–TiO₂ hybrid structures.     

Clickable Periodic Mesoporous Organosilicas: Synthesis,Click Reactions,and Adsorption of Antibiotics

Pharmaceutical antibiotics are not easily removed from water by conventional water‐treatment technologies and have been recognized as new emerging pollutants. Herein, we report the synthesis of clickable azido periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) and their use as adsorbents for the adsorption of antibiotics. Ethane‐bridged PMOs, functionalized with azido groups at different densities, were synthesized by the co‐condensation of 1,2‐bis(trimethoxysilyl)ethane (BTME) and 3‐azidopropyltrimethoxysilane (AzPTMS), in the presence of nonionic‐surfactant triblock‐copolymer P123, in an acidic medium. Four different alkynes were conjugated to azide‐terminated PMOs by means of an efficient click reaction. The clicked PMOs showed improved adsorption capacity (241 μg g^?1) for antibiotics (ciprofloxacin hydrochloride) compared with azido‐functionalized PMOs because of the enhanced π–π stacking interactions. These results indicate that click reactions can introduce multifunctional groups onto PMOs, thus demonstrating the great potential of PMOs for environmental applications.     

Control of Chiral Nanostructures by Self‐Assembly of Designed Amphiphilic Peptides and Silica Biomineralization

Peptides, the fundamental building units of biological systems, are chiral in molecular scale as well as in spatial conformation. Shells are exquisite examples of well‐defined chiral structures produced by natural biomineralization. However, the fundamental mechanism of chirality expressed in biological organisms remains unclear. Here, we present a system that mimics natural biomineralization and produces enantiopure chiral inorganic materials with controllable helicity. By tuning the hydrophilicity of the amphiphilic peptides, the chiral morphologies and mesostructures can be changed. With decreasing hydrophilicity of the amphiphilic peptides, we observed that the nanostructures changed from twisted nanofibers with a hexagonal mesostructure to twisted nanoribbons with a lamellar mesostructure, and the extent of the helicity decreased. Defining the mechanism of chiral inorganic materials formed from peptides by noncovalent interactions can improve strategies toward the bottom‐up synthesis of nanomaterials as well as in the field of bioengineering.     

Phenylene‐Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles that Boost Aqueous Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation Reactions

Phenylene‐coated organorhodium‐functionalized magnetic nanoparticles are developed through co‐condensation of chiral 4‐(trimethoxysilyl)ethyl)phenylsulfonyl‐1,2‐diphenylethylene‐diamine and 1,4‐bis(triethyoxysilyl)benzene onto Fe₃O₄ followed complexation with [{Cp*RhCl₂}₂]. This magnetic catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activity and high enantioselectivity in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation in aqueous medium. Such activity is attributed to the high hydrophobicity and the confined nature of the chiral organorhodium catalyst. The magnetic catalyst can be easily recovered by using a small external magnet and it can be reused for at least 10 times without loss of its catalytic activity. This characteristic makes it an attractive catalyst for environmentally friendly organic syntheses.     

Single‐Crystal‐like Nanoporous Spinel Oxides: A Strategy for Synthesis of Nanoporous Metal Oxides Utilizing Metal‐Cyanide Hybrid Coordination Polymers

Development of a new method to synthesize nanoporous metal oxides with highly crystallized frameworks is of great interest because of their wide use in practical applications. Here we demonstrate a thermal decomposition of metal‐cyanide hybrid coordination polymers (CPs) to prepare nanoporous metal oxides. During the thermal treatment, the organic units (carbon and nitrogen) are completely removed, and only metal contents are retained to prepare nanoporous metal oxides. The original nanocube shapes are well‐retained even after the thermal treatment. When both Fe and Co atoms are contained in the precursors, nanoporous Fe?Co oxide with a highly oriented crystalline framework is obtained. On the other hand, when nanoporous Co oxide and Fe oxide are obtained from Co‐ and Fe‐contacting precursors, their frameworks are amorphous and/or poorly crystallized. Single‐crystal‐like nanoporous Fe?Co oxide shows a stable magnetic property at room temperature compared to poly‐crystalline metal oxides. We further extend this concept to prepare nanoporous metal oxides with hollow interiors. Core‐shell heterostructures consisting of different metal‐cyanide hybrid CPs are prepared first. Then the cores are dissolved by chemical etching using a hydrochloric acid solution (i.e., the cores are used as sacrificial templates), leading to the formation of hollow interiors in the nanocubes. These hollow nanocubes are also successfully converted to nanoporous metal oxides with hollow interiors by thermal treatment. The present approach is entirely different from the surfactant‐templating approaches that traditionally have been utilized for the preparation of mesoporous metal oxides. We believe the present work proves a new way to synthesize nanoporous metal oxides with controlled crystalline frameworks and architectures.     

A Study on the Growth of Cr2O3 in Ordered Mesoporous Silica and Its Replication

A systematic study on the growth of Cr₂O₃ in three‐dimensional cubic ordered mesoporous silica (KIT‐6) and its replication through nanocasting is reported. By changing the loading time and amount of precursor, the size and shape of the obtained replica could be controlled to some extent. More interestingly, in contrast to previously published studies, when KIT‐6 with an aging temperature of 100 °C, which has a high degree of interconnectivity, was used as a hard template, a cubic ordered mesoporous Cr₂O₃ replica with an open uncoupled subframework structure and reduced symmetry was obtained. Formation of a replica with different symmetry and uncoupled subframework structure is not only related to the degree of interconnectivity of the parent, but also strongly depends on the type of metal oxide and its growth mechanism in the silica template. Nanocasting of Cr₂O₃ with a low loading results in a replica with monomodal pore size distribution that has same symmetry as the hard template, whereas increasing the loading amount alters the symmetry of the replica and yields a replica with bimodal distribution.     

A General Method for Preparing Bridged Organosilanes with Pendant Functional Groups and Functional Mesoporous Organosilicas

New organosilica precursors containing two triethoxysilyl groups suitable for the organosilica material formation through the sol‐gel process were designed and synthesised. These precursors display alkyne or azide groups for attaching targeted functional groups by copper‐catalysed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) and can be used for the preparation of functional organosilicas following two strategies: 1) the functional group is first appended by CuAAC under anhydrous conditions, then the functional material is prepared by the sol‐gel process; 2) the precursor is first subjected to the sol‐gel process, producing porous, clickable bridged silsesquioxanes or periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs), then the desired functional groups are attached by means of CuAAC. Herein, we show the feasibility of both approaches. A series of bridged bis(triethoxysilane)s with different pending organic moieties was prepared, demonstrating the compatibility of the first approach with many functional groups. In particular, we demonstrate that organic functional molecules bearing only one derivatisation site can be used to produce bridged organosilanes and bridged silsesquioxanes. In the second approach, clickable PMOs and porous bridged silsesquioxanes were prepared from the alkyne‐ or azide‐containing precursors, and thereafter, functionalised with complementary model azide‐ or alkyne‐containing molecules. These results confirmed the potential of this approach as a general methodology for preparing functional organosilicas with high loadings of functional groups. Both approaches give rise to a wide range of new functional organosilica materials.