Heterointerface Engineering of ZnO/CdS Heterostructures through ZnS Layers for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

Solar-driven water splitting to produce clean and renewable hydrogen offers a green strategy to address the energy crisis and environmental pollution. Heterostructure catalysts are receiving increasing attention for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. ZnO/ZnS/CdS and ZnO/CdS heterostructures have been successfully designed and prepared according to two different strategies. By introducing a heterointerface layer of ZnS between ZnO and CdS, a Z scheme charge-transfer channel was promoted and achieved superior photocatalytic performance. A highest hydrogen generation rate of 156.7 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ was achieved by precise control of the thickness of the heterointerface layer and of the CdS shell. These findings demonstrated that heterostructures are promising catalysts for solar-driven water splitting, and that heterointerface engineering is an effective way to improve the photocatalytic properties of heterostructures.     

Revealing the Reaction and Fading Mechanism of FeSe2 Cathodes for Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries

Rechargeable Mg batteries (RMBs) are advantageous large-scale energy-storage devices because of the high abundance and high safety, but exploring high-performance cathodes remains the largest difficulty for their development. Compared with oxides and sulfides, selenides show better Mg-storage performance because the weaker interaction with the Mg²⁺ cation favors fast kinetics. Herein, nanorod-like FeSe₂ was synthesized and investigated as a cathode for RMBs. Compared with microspheres and microparticles, nanorods exhibit higher capacity and better rate capability with a smaller particle size. The FeSe₂ nanorods show a high capacity of 191 mAh g⁻¹ at 50 mA g⁻¹ and a good rate performance of 39 mAh g⁻¹ at 1000 mA g⁻¹. Ex situ characterizations demonstrate the Mg²⁺ intercalation mechanism for FeSe₂, and a slight conversion reaction occurs on the surface of the particles. The capacity fading is mainly because of the dissolution of Fe²⁺, which is caused by the reaction between Fe²⁺ and Cl⁻ of the electrolyte during the charge process on the surface of the particles. The surface of FeSe₂ is mainly selenium after long cycling, which may also dissolve in the electrolyte during cycling. The present work develops a new type of Mg²⁺ intercalation cathode for RMBs. More importantly, the fading mechanism revealed herein has considered the specificity of Mg battery electrolyte and would assist a better understanding of selenide cathodes for RMBs.     

q value and parent energy optimization using a low-voltage ionization approach increases resolution in linear ion trap mass spectrometry

In this work, the isolation step in the linear ion trap was performed using different “q values” conditions at a low collision-induced dissociation (CID) energy leading to the parent ion resolution improvements, reasonably due to better ion energy distribution. According to the results, we obtained a greater resolution and mass accuracy operating in both traditional electrospray and low voltage ionization near the q value = 0.778 and with a CID energy of 10%. This effect was evaluated with low-molecular-mass compounds (skatole and arginine). The proposed optimization yielded a superior instrument performance without adding technological complexity to mass spectrometry analyses.     

Ion chromatograph with three-dimensional printed absorbance detector for indirect ultraviolet absorbance detection of phosphate in effluent and natural waters

An ion chromatography system employing a low-cost three-dimensional printed absorbance detector for indirect ultraviolet detection towards portable phosphate analysis of environmental and industrial waters has been developed. The optical detection cell was fabricated using stereolithography three-dimensional printing of nanocomposite material. Chromatographic analysis and detection of phosphate were carried out using a CS5A 4 × 250 mm analytical column with indirect ultraviolet detection using a 255 nm light-emitting diode. Isocratic elution using a 0.6 mM potassium phthalate eluent combined with 1.44 mM sodium bicarbonate was employed at a flow rate of 0.75 mL/min. A linear calibration range of 0.5 to 30 mg/L PO₄³⁻ applicable to environmental and wastewater analysis was achieved. For retention time and peak area repeatability, relative standard deviation values were 0.68 and 4.09%, respectively. Environmental and wastewater samples were analyzed with the optimized ion chromatography platform and the results were compared to values obtained by an accredited ion chromatograph. For the analysis of environmental samples, relative errors of <14 % were achieved. Recovery analysis was also carried out on both freshwater and wastewater samples and recovery results were within the acceptable range for water analysis using standard ion chromatography methods.     

Simultaneous analysis of six inorganic anions in urine by double-suppress ion-exchange chromatography

This study is aimed to establish a simple, rapid, and accurate ion chromatography approach for the simultaneous detection of six inorganic anions in urine. Various performance parameters affecting the determination of anions were optimized, including the selection of sample protein precipitation agent, eluent, and flow rate. The final eluent was 3.6 mmol/L sodium carbonate and 12% isopropanol with a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. Acetonitrile was used for pretreatment to precipitate proteins, and the volume ratio of urine to acetonitrile was 1:4. The correlation coefficient of the target anion calibration curve ranged from 0.9973 to 0.9999. The limit of detection ranged from 1.50 to 12.0 μg/L, and the method detection limit ranged from 15.0 to 120 μg/L. The standard recovery rate for low, medium, and high concentrations ranged from 90 to 110%. The inter-day and intra-day relative standard deviations were <5%. The method has high accuracy and good reproducibility and is suitable for the separation and determination of anions in urine.     

金属铁络合物光催化二氧化碳还原

二氧化碳(CO₂)光催化还原技术因兼具解决能源和全球变暖问题的潜力而受到关注。金属铁络合物作为分子型催化剂,具有价格低廉、量子效率高、结构可调控和选择性好等优势,表现出优异的CO₂光催化还原性能,成为CO₂光催化还原领域的研究热点。本文综述了近年来基于金属铁络合物光催化二氧化碳还原研究进展。介绍了铁金属络合物(如:铁卟啉、铁多吡啶、五齿铁配合物)CO₂均相光催化还原体系,总结了体系的构成以及作用机理等,着重关注了体系的催化效率和产物的选择性。此外,综述了以半导体纳米材料/量子点作为光敏剂,金属铁络合物作为催化剂的非均相催化体系的研究进展。最后,对该领域未来的研究方向和所面临的挑战做出展望。     

金属草酸盐基负极材料——离子电池储能材料的新选择

商业化锂离子电池石墨负极和锂盐过渡金属氧化物正极材料的储锂容量都已接近各自的理论值,探索下一代高能量密度电极材料是解决现阶段锂离子电池容量限制的关键。近年来,新型金属草酸基负极材料,借助其在金属离子电池中多元化储能机制诱发的较高储能效应在碱金属离子电池绿色储能材料领域备受关注。本文就金属草酸基材料在锂、钠、钾金属离子电池方面的最新研究进行了综述,着重介绍了材料的晶型结构、多元化储能机制及储能过程中的动力学特征,简单阐述了材料在电化学储能中存在的问题,分析了金属草酸基负极材料在形貌晶型控制、界面碳复合改性和金属元素掺杂方面的改性策略。最后,预测了金属草酸基负极材料在碱金属离子电池体系的发展方向。     

微生物铁氧化还原作用对水中砷锑去除影响的研究进展

砷锑污染在全球领域广泛存在,与常规的铁氧化物相比,微生物铁氧化生成的含Fe(Ⅲ)矿物对水中砷/锑(As/Sb)具有更强的吸附能力,并因其高效、实用和环境友好而具有广阔的应用前景,但微生物铁还原也可能导致被吸附的As/Sb再次释放。本文综述了微生物铁氧化还原作用对As/Sb去除影响的研究进展,归纳了铁矿物“合成-溶解-转化”的微生物循环过程以及该循环伴随的水中As/Sb固定、溶解与转化机理,整合了微生物合成Fe(Ⅲ)矿物的矿物学性质、对As/Sb固定的热动力学规律和络合机制,总结了微生物合成Fe(Ⅲ)矿物对As/Sb去除的影响因素,基于该研究的现存问题展望了利用微生物铁氧化还原作用去除As/Sb的发展方向。     

零价铁去除水中(类)金属(含氧)离子技术发展的黄金十年(2011-2021)

应用零价铁(ZVI)去除水中(类)金属(含氧)离子是近年来研究的热点。在ZVI除污染过程中,同步提升ZVI除污的反应活性与电子效率对该技术进一步推广应用至关重要。本文综述了近十年(2011-2021年)ZVI的提升技术,主要涉及硫化、外加弱磁场、投加Fe²⁺、投加氧化剂以及其他新型技术。从不同体系广谱研究以及单一体系具体研究的角度,系统分析了这些技术对ZVI去除含氧水体中(类)金属(含氧)离子的反应活性、去除容量、电子效率的提升表现及作用机制。最后,对ZVI技术未来的研究方向作出了展望,以期促进ZVI技术的进一步完善与发展。本文有望为增强零价铁去除污染物的实际效能提供新的探索方向并完备相关理论基础。     

Significant Enhancement of the Capacity and Cycling Stability of Lithium-Rich Manganese-Based Layered Cathode Materials via Molybdenum Surface Modification

Lithium-rich manganese-based layered cathode materials are considered to be one of the best options for next-generation lithium-ion batteries, owing to their ultra-high specific capacity (>250 mAh·g⁻¹) and platform voltage. However, their poor cycling stability, caused by the release of lattice oxygen as well as the electrode/electrolyte side reactions accompanying complex phase transformation, makes it difficult to use this material in practical applications. In this work, we suggest a molybdenum surface modification strategy to improve the electrochemical performance of Li_1.2Mn_0.54Ni_0.13Co_0.13O₂. The Mo-modified Li_1.2Mn_0.54Ni_0.13Co_0.13O₂ material exhibits an enhanced discharge specific capacity of up to 290.5 mAh·g⁻¹ (20 mA·g⁻¹) and a capacity retention rate of 82% (300 cycles at 200 mA·g⁻¹), compared with 261.2 mAh·g⁻¹ and a 70% retention rate for the material without Mo modification. The significantly enhanced performance of the modified material can be ascribed to the formation of a Mo-compound-involved nanolayer on the surface of the materials, which effectively lessens the electrolyte corrosion of the cathode, as well as the activation of Mo⁶⁺ towards Ni²⁺/Ni⁴⁺ redox couples and the pre-activation of a Mo compound. This study offers a facile and effective strategy to address the poor cyclability of lithium-rich manganese-based layered cathode materials.