Structural and Thermodynamic Peculiarities of Core-Shell Particles at Fluid Interfaces from Triangular Lattice Models

A triangular lattice model for pattern formation by core-shell particles at fluid interfaces is introduced and studied for the particle to core diameter ratio equal to 3. Repulsion for overlapping shells and attraction at larger distances due to capillary forces are assumed. Ground states and thermodynamic properties are determined analytically and by Monte Carlo simulations for soft outer- and stiffer inner shells, with different decay rates of the interparticle repulsion. We find that thermodynamic properties are qualitatively the same for slow and for fast decay of the repulsive potential, but the ordered phases are stable for temperature ranges, depending strongly on the shape of the repulsive potential. More importantly, there are two types of patterns formed for fixed chemical potential—one for a slow and another one for a fast decay of the repulsion at small distances. In the first case, two different patterns—for example clusters or stripes—occur with the same probability for some range of the chemical potential. For a fixed concentration, an interface is formed between two ordered phases with the closest concentration, and the surface tension takes the same value for all stable interfaces. In the case of degeneracy, a stable interface cannot be formed for one out of four combinations of the coexisting phases, because of a larger surface tension. Our results show that by tuning the architecture of a thick polymeric shell, many different patterns can be obtained for a sufficiently low temperature.     

Controllably asymmetric beam splitting via gap-induced diffraction channel transition in dual-layer binary metagratings

In this work, we designed and studied a feasible dual-layer binary metagrating, which can realize controllable asymmetric transmission and beam splitting with nearly perfect performance. Owing to ingenious geometry configuration, only one meta-atom is required to design for the metagrating system. By simply controlling air gap between dual-layer metagratings, high-efficiency beam splitting can be well switched from asymmetric transmission to symmetric transmission. The working principle lies on gap-induced diffraction channel transition for incident waves from opposite directions. The asymmetric/symmetric transmission can work in a certain frequency band and a wide incident range. Compared with previous methods using acoustic metasurfaces, our approach has the advantages of simple design and tunable property and shows promise for applications in wavefront manipulation, noise control and one-way propagation.     

Splitting of coupled bright solitons in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates under parametric perturbation

We analyze the dynamics of bright-bright solitons in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) subject to parametric perturbations using the variational approach and direct numerical simulations. The system is described by a vector nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) appropriate to coupled multi-component BECs. A periodic variation of the inter-component coupling coefficient is used to explore nonlinear resonances and splitting of the coupled bright solitons. The analytical predictions are confirmed by direct numerical simulations of the vector NLSE.     

General π‐Electron‐Assisted Strategy for Ir,Pt, Ru,Pd, Fe,Ni Single‐Atom Electrocatalysts with Bifunctional Active Sites for Highly Efficient Water Splitting

Both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are crucial to water splitting, but require alternative active sites. Now, a general π‐electron‐assisted strategy to anchor single‐atom sites (M=Ir, Pt, Ru, Pd, Fe, Ni) on a heterogeneous support is reported. The M atoms can simultaneously anchor on two distinct domains of the hybrid support, four‐fold N/C atoms (M@NC), and centers of Co octahedra (M@Co), which are expected to serve as bifunctional electrocatalysts towards the HER and the OER. The Ir catalyst exhibits the best water‐splitting performance, showing a low applied potential of 1.603 V to achieve 10 mA cm^?2 in 1.0 m KOH solution with cycling over 5 h. DFT calculations indicate that the Ir@Co (Ir) sites can accelerate the OER, while the Ir@NC₃ sites are responsible for the enhanced HER, clarifying the unprecedented performance of this bifunctional catalyst towards full water splitting.     

电解水金属单原子催化剂的研究进展

氢能因其能量密度高、清洁无污染等特点,作为替代化石燃料的能源载体得到了广泛的研究.如何清洁高效地制备氢气受到了大量研究者的关注.当前,以化石能源的热反应所得副产氢气是主要来源.然而,采用该类方法不仅不能摆脱化石能源的使用以及温室气体的排放,还会造成生产氢气的纯度不高,碳氧化物杂质浓度过高的问题,严重影响氢气的后续使用.采用可再生能源(太阳能、风能等)所产富余电,进行电解水制氢,产生的氢气不含碳氧化合物杂质,纯度很高,可以真正实现碳的零排放,被认为是未来氢气来源的重要方式.目前,电解水制氢在制氢市场的所占份额较小,而造成这样局面的主要因素是该过程中的高能耗问题.为了降低能耗,开发高效催化剂加速两个电极上的电解反应的动力学尤为重要.近年,金属单原子催化剂(SACs)因其独特的结构,在很多研究中被用作电解水催化剂,进而开发出大量高性能的金属单原子电解水催化剂.本文综述了近年SACs在电解水催化方面的应用.首先,针对电解水反应本身,总结了阴阳极两侧的电极反应机制以及影响电极催化性能的关键吸附中间物种;然后,根据载体的不同,即合金、碳以及其它化合物将SACs分为三类,总结了相关电解水催化研究现状,并且针对不同类型SACs目前的发展情况,提出了它们各自存在的问题.其次,进一步总结了影响SACs电解水催化活性的因素,提出了四种决定SACs催化性能的影响因子,分别为金属原子的固有元素性质、配位环境、几何结构和负载量;同时讨论了这四类影响因素对SACs催化活性的影响机制,总结了调控各类影响因素的方法,为SACs的设计提出了一些建议.最后,展望了SACs在电解水催化中的应用,探讨了SACs在催化剂设计及催化机制研究方面的问题,提出了SACs在电解水催化中的未来发展方向.     

压力诱导相变原位构建BiVO4/Bi0.6Y0.4VO4型异质结增强光催化全解水性能

光催化完全分解水制氢是一个在粉末颗粒中实现多个串行物理化学步骤的复杂反应过程.这一过程在理论上具有体系简单、成本低、易操作等特点.然而,单步光激发系统中通常存在严重的光生载流子复合,这极大地制约了光催化的整体效率.利用能带结构不同的半导体合理构建异质结催化剂被认为是解决这一难题的重要途径之一.特别是近年来,S型异质结概念的提出为设计异质结结构以及分析不同半导体之间的载流子迁移问题提供了新的思路.本文以小粒径BiVO₄/Bi_0.6Y_0.4VO₄(BYV)为研究对象,首先利用"共沉淀-晶化"的方法制备了BYV固溶体纳米颗粒,随后利用压力诱导固溶体中四方相钒酸铋结构转变为单斜相,从而构建了BiVO₄/Bi_0.6Y_0.4VO₄复合光催化剂.XRD,Raman,HRTEM,HAADF-EDS的结果表明,经过高压后处理的BYV固溶体表面会出现粒径约为5 nm单斜钒酸铋纳米颗粒,实现了原位构建异质结结构.随后载流子动力学的相关表征以及Au选择性光沉积的结果表明,在光照条件下,所构建异质结中的光生电子主要分布在BYV固溶体上,而在表面形成的单斜相钒酸铋颗粒主要起到了类似"空穴"捕获的作用.这种在异质结中的载流子迁移路径符合S型异质结机理.电化学、稳态荧光光谱以及瞬态荧光光谱的表征结果表明,相比于单一固溶体,在S型异质结这种两步激发系统中所存在的载流子迁移路径能够大幅促进光生载流子分离,从而提高了小粒径BYV的光催化完全分解水性能.综上,构建S型异质结是一种解决小粒径光催化剂中载流子分离能力差的有效途径.同时,压力诱导材料晶型转变实现原位构建异质结的制备方法也为提高光生载流子分离效率提供了新的研究思路与机遇.     

光电解水制氢耦合生物质醇/醛氧化的研究进展

生物质醇/醛是一类重要的生物基平台化合物, 通过催化氧化重整可将其进一步转化为高值含氧化学品或燃料. 太阳能驱动的光电催化技术是实现生物质醇/醛氧化最为绿色高效的途径之一. 与传统光电解水制氢相比, 利用生物质醇/醛氧化来替代阳极析氧过程不仅可以提高阳极产物的附加值, 同时可以提升太阳能到氢能的转化效率. 因此, 光电解水制氢耦合生物质醇/醛氧化对绿氢提效降本和高值化学品合成具有重要意义. 本文综合评述了光电解水制氢耦合生物质醇/醛的氧化反应机理, 总结了目前光电催化技术在生物质醇/醛氧化方面的研究进展, 最后对该领域所面临的机遇和挑战进行了展望.     

Ni2P-NiS双助剂促进g-C3N4光催化产氢动力学

本文通过简单的一步水热法得到Ni₂P-NiS双助催化剂,之后采用溶剂蒸发法将Ni₂P-NiS与g-C₃N₄纳米片结合构建获得无贵金属的Ni₂P-NiS/g-C₃N₄异质结。研究结果表明,优化后的复合材料具有良好的光催化产氢活性,其产氢速率最高可到6892.7 μmol·g^-1·h^-1,分别为g-C₃N₄ (150 μmol·g^-1·h^-1)、15%NiS/g-C₃N₄ (914.5 μmol·g^-1·h^-1)和15%Ni₂P/g-C₃N₄ (1565.9 μmol·g^-1·h^-1)的46.1、7.5和4.4倍。这主要归因于Ni₂P-NiS相比Ni₂P和NiS单体具有更好的载流子转移能力,其与g-C₃N₄形成的肖特基势垒能有效促进光生载流子在二者界面上的分离,同时Ni₂P-NiS能进一步降低析氢过电势,进而显著增强了表面析氢反应动力学。本研究为开发稳定、高效的非贵金属产氢助剂提供了实验基础。