A facile synthesis of hierarchical porous carbon derived from renewable lignin for high-performance supercapacitor

In this work, we proposed a facile one-pot pyrolysis method to conveniently manufacture lignin-derived carbon materials with graded porous construction for use in supercapacitors. The renewable lignin was selected as precursor, while the potassium citrate was used as a pore-forming agent. The properties of the prepared lignin-derived carbon (LAC) and the performance for supercapacitor application were thoroughly evaluated. The LAC at optimal preparation conditions shows a layered porous structure with a large specific surface area of 3174 cm² g⁻¹ and pore volume of 2.796 cm³ g⁻¹, where the specific capacitance reach to 241 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ scan rate in 6 M KOH electrolyte solution. At the same time, the specific capacitance remains at 220 F g⁻¹ even at an excessive scan velocity of 20 A g⁻¹, while the capacitance retention is still close to 91.3%. The capacitance retention rate is stable above 95% after 10,000 charge/discharge cycles, which shows the desired long-time stability. All these results demonstrate the outstanding properties of the new prepared LAC material and the considerable application potential in the field of electrical energy storage.     

Discontinuous Galerkin method for solving the black‐oil problem in porous media

We introduce a new algorithm for solving the three‐component three‐phase flow problem in two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional heterogeneous media. The oil and gas components can be found in the liquid and vapor phases, whereas the aqueous phase is only composed of water component. The numerical scheme employs a sequential implicit formulation discretized with discontinuous finite elements. Capillarity and gravity effects are included. The method is shown to be accurate and robust for several test problems. It has been carefully designed so that calculation of appearance and disappearance of phases does not require additional steps.     

Concerning the regularity of the anisotropic porous medium equation

We show that a locally bounded nonnegative weak solution of the anisotropic porous media equation is locally continuous. The proof is based on DiBenedetto's technique called intrinsic scaling; by choosing an appropriate geometry one can deduce energy and logarithmic estimates from which one can implement an iterative method to obtain the regularity result.     

Side Chain Functional Conjugated Porous Polymers for NIR Controlled Carbon Dioxide Adsorption and Release

Conjugated porous polymers exhibit considerable advantage as attractive candidate for carbon dioxide(CO₂) capture. However, the regeneration of the CO₂ still faces the problem of high energy cost. Here we synthesize a near-infrared region(NIR) light responsive conjugated porous polymer(PDPP-Gu) {DPP=3,6-di(thiophen-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione} by constructing porous amorphous networks with a side chain engineering strategy to regulate CO₂ adsorption and release through photothermal conversion. The PDPP-Gu is featured by a torsional conjugated backbone as well as a functional side chain of guanidino group. The donor-acceptor configuration of PDPP-Gu afforded strong absorption in the NIR and an excellent photothermal conversion capability of up to 48.8%, as well as a high surface energy. Moreover, guanidine modified side chain further enhanced the CO₂-polymers interactions, resulting in a high CO₂ selective adsorption capacity(0.8 mmol/g) at 273 K, 1 bar(1 bar=10⁵ Pa). The adsorbed CO₂ can be released under NIR light irradiation. This strategy of molecule design combined the dual features of photothermal conversion and gas adsorption, which is beneficial for the development of materials to dynamically control the adsorption and release of CO₂ through NIR light.     

Mesoporous carbons from self-assembled polymers

Polymer self-assembly provides a robust and cost-efficient nanomanufacturing platform for enabling a broad range of applications, such as microelectronics, drug delivery, and separation membranes. This review focuses on discussing the progress and opportunities of self-assembled polymer in the synthesis of mesoporous carbons (MCs), which have aroused significant research interests over the past decades. Specifically, we will discuss the two most established approaches for converting nanostructured polymers to MCs, including templating-based and direct pyrolysis-based methods. We will also review the fundamental ordering mechanisms and kinetics of these polymeric systems and discuss the recent development of engineering methods for providing on-demand control over the pore size and morphology of MCs. Additionally, this review article also includes a section focusing on the strategies to further functionalize these materials from self-assembled polymers to enhance their performance, such as chemical activation, heteroatom doping, introduction of nanoparticles into the carbon matrix, and enhancing graphitization degree of carbon walls. Finally, a brief perspective is provided about the emerging research opportunity in this exciting field.     

Research on the implementing conditions of inverse emulsion-breath figure method

The relationships between three steps of the inverse emulsion-breath figure (Ie-BF) method, including emulsion preparation, film casting and hydrophilic component loading, are explored by adjusting the experimental factors of the three implementing processes. For emulsion preparation step, the influence of the ultrasonification, the concentration of emulsifier and the addition of polymer on the size of the emulsion droplets are investigated. For film casting step, the influence of environmental humidity and several factors concerning the emulsion preparation on the porous structure of the resultant films are studied. It has been proved that high humidity is a necessity for obtaining surface pores, and multi-layered pores with disordered distribution can be formed in the bulk layer of the film when high water/oil ratio is used in making the emulsion. Bovine serum albumin is loaded into the emulsion water droplets, and by implementing the Ie-BF method under the condition of water/oil ratio being as low as 0.02 vol%, selective protein enrichment within the interior of the top-layer pores is still realized. It reflects the characteristics of “high efficiency, targeted assembly” in the step of hydrophilic component loading.     

Solid Base Assisted Dual-Promoted Heterogeneous Conversion of PVC to Metal-Free Porous Carbon Catalyst

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is widely used in daily life, but its waste has become a serious environmental problem. A solid base assisted low-temperature solvothermal dehalogenation was developed in this work to sustainably and efficiently transform PVC into high-value dimethylamine hydrochloride (DMACl) chemical and N,O co-doped carbon monolith with hierarchically porous structure. The synergistic promotion of solid-base catalyst and solvent decomposition with the removal of HCl can shift forward the chemical equilibrium to promote the dechlorination of PVC and increase the carbon yield. Meanwhile, the solid-base catalyst can also act as a pore-forming additive to fabricate the carbon monolith with hierarchical pores. Induced by the high specific surface area, hierarchical pores and N,O co-doped structure, the generated carbon monolith exhibits superior electrocatalytic performance towards H₂ evolution. These discoveries shed light on the design of synergistically coupled solvent and solid catalyst to promote the heterogeneous conversion of waste chlorinated plastics into high-value chemicals for a sustainable future.     

Modular Construction of Porous Hydrogen-Bonded Molecular Materials from Melams

Ordered materials with predictable structures and properties can be made by a modular approach, using molecules designed to interact with neighbors and hold them in predetermined positions. Incorporating 4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl (DAT) groups in modules is an effective way to direct assembly because each DAT group can form multiple N−H⋅⋅⋅N hydrogen bonds according to established patterns. We have found that modules with high densities of N(DAT)₂ groups can be made by base-induced double triazinylations of readily available amines. The resulting modules can form structures held together by remarkably large numbers of hydrogen bonds per molecule. Even simple modules with only 1–3 N(DAT)₂ groups and fewer than 70 non-hydrogen atoms can crystallize to form highly open networks in which each molecule engages in over 20 N−H⋅⋅⋅N hydrogen bonds, and more than 70 % of the volume is available for accommodating guests. In favorable cases, guests can be removed to create rigorously porous crystalline solids analogous to zeolites and metal–organic frameworks.     

Porous Frameworks Based on Supramolecular Ball Joints: Bringing Flexibility to Ordered 3D Lattices

XOFs-type materials (X=M, C, S, that is, metal–organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks and supramolecular organic frameworks, respectively) share a common unifying feature: mutual spatial orientation of constituting components is strictly directional and unchanging by design. Herein, we illustrate an alternate design for porous architectures, as rigid joints constituted by coordinative (MOFs), covalent (COFs), or hydrogen-donor/acceptor (SOFs) bonds, are replaced by supramolecular ball joints, which confer unprecedented flexibility, especially angular, to porous networks. The obtained frameworks remain highly organized but are also permutable: lacking a forced convergence towards an immutable minimum energy structure, these systems remain able to adjust depending on external conditions. Results of POF (permutable organized framework) synthesis is a family of structures rather than a single pre-determined three-dimensional arrangement, as we demonstrate with an illustrative set of 5 XRD structures.     

Enhanced NiO Dispersion on a High Surface Area Pillared Heterostructure Covered by Niobium Leads to Optimal Behaviour in the Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane

A Nb-containing siliceous porous clay heterostructure (PCH) with Nb contents from 0 to 30 wt %) was prepared from a bentonite and used as support in the preparation of supported NiO catalysts with NiO loading from 15 to 80 wt %. Supports and NiO-containing catalysts were characterised by several physicochemical techniques and tested in the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethane. The characterisation studies on Nb-containing supports showed the presence of well-anchored Nb⁵⁺ species without the formation of Nb₂O₅ crystals. High dispersion of nickel oxide with low crystallinity was observed for the Nb-containing PCH supports. In addition, when NiO is supported on these Nb-containing porous clays, it is more effective in the ODH of ethane (ethylene selectivity of ca. 90 %) than NiO supported on the corresponding Nb-free siliceous PCH or on Nb₂O₅ (ethylene selectivities of ca. 30 and 60 %, respectively). Factors such as the NiO–Nb⁵⁺ interaction, the NiO particle size and the properties of surface Niⁿ⁺ species were shown to determine the catalytic performance.