Developments on carbon dioxide reduction: Their promise,achievements, and challenges

CO₂ reduction processes continue to be developed for electrosynthesis, energy storage applications, and environmental remediation. A number of promising materials have shown high activity and selectivity to target reduction products. However, the progress has been mainly at a small laboratory scale, and the technical challenges of large scale CO₂ reduction have not been considered adequately. This review covers recent advancements in catalyst materials and cell designs. The leading materials for CO₂ reduction to a number of useful products are presented with their corresponding cell and reactor designs. The latest efforts to progress to industrially relevant scales are discussed, along with the challenges that must be met for carbon dioxide reduction to be a viable route for mass scale production.     

Electrochemical Characteristics of Mg0.9Ti0.1-xZrxNi （x=0.02, 0.04, 0.06） Alloys

Mg-based hydrogen storage alloys Mg0.9Ti0.1-xZrxNi (x=0.02, 0.04, 0.06) were successfully prepared by means of mechanical alloying (MA). The effects of Zr addition on the discharge capacity and the cycle performance of the Mg-based electrodes were also studied. It was found that the discharge capacities were improved with addition of a small amount of Zr and the cycle performances of the alloy were stabilized with the addition of Ti. The effects of surface modification or coating on the properties of Mg0.9Ti0.06Zr0.04Ni were also studied. The results indicated that coating with graphite improved both the discharge capacity and cycle life of the amorphous Mg0.9Ti0.06Zr0.04Ni electrode.     

Mg／Mgl．8La0．2Ni纳米复合材料的吸放氢性能研究

应用高能球磨法制备Mg-x％Mg1.8La0.2Ni（x=10、20和30）纳米复合储氢材料．X射线衍射（XRD）、透射电镜（TEM）和选区电子衍射（SAED）测试表明，该复合材料具有纳米晶和非晶态混合结构的性质，吸氢温度降低，较好的吸放氢动力学性能，在423K，2．5MPa氢压的条件下，50s内即可达到最大吸氢量．     

Preparation and Characterization of Microencapsulated Hexadecane Used for Thermal Energy Storage

Polyurea microcapsules about 2.5μm in diameter containing phase change material for thermal energy storage application were synthesized and characterized by interfacial polycondensation method with toluene-2,4-diisocyanate and ethylenediamine as monomers in an emulsion system. Hexadecane was used as a phase change material and OP, which is nonionic surfactant, and used as an emulsifier. The chemical structure and thermal behavior of the microcapsules were investigated by FTIR and thermal analysis respectively. The results show encapsulated hexadecane has a good potential as a solar energy storage material.     

Charge storage mechanism of copper hexacyanoferrate nanocubes for supercapacitors

The widely accepted theory concerning the electrochemical energy storage mechanism of copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF) for supercapacitors is that CuHCF stores charge by the reversible redox processes of Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ couple and Cu cations are electrochemically inactive. In this work, CuHCF nanocubes (CuHCF-NC) were synthesized in the presence of potassium citrate and its electrochemical properties were tentatively studied in 1 mol/L Na₂SO₄ aqueous electrolyte. Good supercapacitive performance was exhibited. The combined analyses of cyclic voltammogram (CV) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) disclosed that the CuHCF nanocubes underwent the redox reactions of Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ and Cu²⁺/Cu⁺ couples to store charges. The Cu²⁺/Cu⁺ redox couple was activated due to the strong coordination interaction between the carboxylate groups of citrate ions and surface Cu cations.     

络合氢化物Ti-NaAlH4的制备与储氢特性

采用Ti粉为催化剂前驱体、预处理Al粉和NaH为合成原料, 通过机械球磨-加氢方法合成出络合氢化物Ti-NaAlH4, 系统研究了球磨保护气氛、球磨时间和氢化加氢压力等制备参数对其储氢性能的影响. 结果表明, 制备方法对Ti-NaAlH4储氢特性有很大影响. 与氩气保护气氛相比, 在氢气气氛中球磨制备的复合物具有更高的吸放氢性能. 在氢气保护气氛下, 随着球磨时间从6 h增至24 h, 复合物的吸氢容量和吸氢速率先增后减, 12 h时达到最佳值, 而复合物的放氢容量和放氢速率则逐渐增高; 进一步延长球磨时间会使颗粒发生团聚, 从而导致吸氢性能下降. 随着氢化加氢压力从7.5 MPa升至13.5 MPa, 复合物的吸氢容量(质量分数)由2.83%逐渐增至4.21%. 复合物球磨后出现的Na3AlH6中间氢化物相表明, 在氢气下掺Ti球磨对NaH和Al的氢化反应起到很好的促进作用.     

Influence of Cycle Temperatures on the Thermochemical Heat Storage Densities in the Systems Water/Microporous and Water/Mesoporous Adsorbents

The adsorption equilibrium of water on microporous adsorbents (zeolites of NaA-, NaY- and NaX-type as well as their ion exchanged forms) and on mesoporous adsorbents (different silica gels and composite material i.e. silica gel + salt hydrate) has been studied experimentally and theoretically. Using the Dubinin theory of pore filling the characteristic curves of the adsorption systems and other relevant dependences such as isotherms, isobars, isosteres and the curve of the differential heat of adsorption were calculated. For all systems investigated the adsorption were calculated. A_ads and the desorption potential A_des of the closed heat storage system were estimated. These values define the working range of the adsorption/desorption cycle and allow to calculate the specific heat storage density Δ h_sp. On the basis of Δ h_sp the different adsorbents were compared in order to select the optimal porous storage material for a given application. The presented experimental and theoretical investigations show that the adsorption systems water-zeolite and water-composites are promising working pairs for thermochemical heat storage processes for hot tap water supply and space heating of single family dwellings. The advantage of the water-composite system is the low desorption temperature (solar energy) the main shortcoming the low temperature lift. The advantage of the water zeolite system is the high temperature lift, the shortcoming are the relative high desorption temperatures.     

The detection of oxygen in magneto-optical layers with SIMS

The detection of oxygen in magneto-optical layers is of fundamental importance for the characterization of the stability of RE-TM material. The magnetic properties are directly influenced by oxide formation. Oxygen depth profiles are carried out by using the SIMS technique. A comparison with magnetic measurements showed a clear conformity. We were able to study the oxidation behaviour of various layers at room temperature and at higher values up to 250° C for several hours. It could be shown that aluminum is a successful material for the protection of RE-films against oxidation. The difficulties of translating SIMS counting rates into concentration values were overcome by using EPMA. Specially prepared reference samples were measured by this technique and could then be used as standard samples for SIMS.     

金属元素在氢能利用过程中的作用

将金属元素分为主族、Ⅷ、镧系、其他d区等4个类别,综述了它们在氢气的生产、储存、氢燃料电池等3个氢能利用的主要过程中的作用。对现有研究结果的不完全统计表明,在元素周期表中除放射性金属元素之外的65种金属元素中,有46种金属元素以单质、合金、氧化物、盐等多种形式参与了氢能利用过程,包括作为载体、反应物、催化剂等,其中以铂系为代表的d区金属元素和以镧为代表的轻稀土金属元素应用最为广泛。     

Sorption equilibrium of methanol on new composite sorbents “CaCl<Subscript>2</Subscript>/silica gel”

This paper presents experimental data on methanol sorption on new composite sorbents which consist of mesoporous silica gels and calcium chloride confined to their pores. Sorption isobars and XRD analysis showed the formation of a solid crystalline solvate CaCl₂⋅2MeOH at low methanol uptake, while at higher uptake the formation of the CaCl₂–methanol solution occurred. The solution confined to the silica pores showed the sorption properties similar to those of the CaCl₂–methanol bulk solution. Calorimetric and isosteric analyses showed that the heat of methanol sorption depends on the methanol uptake, ranging from 38±2 kJ/mol for the solution to 81±4 kJ/mol for the solid crystalline phase CaCl₂⋅2MeOH. The above mentioned characterizations allowed the evaluation of the methanol sorption and the energy storage capacities, clearly showing that the optimal applications of these new composite sorbents are the methanol removal from gaseous mixtures, heat storage and sorption cooling driven by low temperature heat.