Space-Confined Atomic Clusters Catalyze Superassembly of Silicon Nanodots within Carbon Frameworks for Use in Lithium-Ion Batteries

Incorporating nanoscale Si into a carbon matrix with high dispersity is desirable for the preparation of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) but remains challenging. A space-confined catalytic strategy is proposed for direct superassembly of Si nanodots within a carbon (Si NDs⊂C) framework by copyrolysis of triphenyltin hydride (TPT) and diphenylsilane (DPS), where Sn atomic clusters created from TPT pyrolysis serve as the catalyst for DPS pyrolysis and Si catalytic growth. The use of Sn atomic cluster catalysts alters the reaction pathway to avoid SiC generation and enable formation of Si NDs with reduced dimensions. A typical Si NDs⊂C framework demonstrates a remarkable comprehensive performance comparable to other Si-based high-performance half LIBs, and higher energy densities compared to commercial full LIBs, as a consequence of the high dispersity of Si NDs with low lithiation stress. Supported by mechanic simulations, this study paves the way for construction of Si/C composites suitable for applications in future energy technologies.     

Mesoscopic Modeling of Capillarity-Induced Two-Phase Transport in a Microfluidic Porous Structure

Mesoscopic modeling at the pore scale offers great promise in exploring the underlying structure transport performance of flow through porous media. The present work studies the fluid flow subjected to capillarity-induced resonance in porous media characterized by different porous structure and wettability. The effects of porosity and wettability on the displacement behavior of the fluid flow through porous media are discussed. The results are presented in the form of temporal evolution of percentage saturation and displacement of the fluid front through porous media. The present study reveals that the vibration in the form of acoustic excitation could be significant in the mobilization of fluid through the porous media. The dependence of displacement of the fluid on physicochemical parameters like wettability of the surface, frequency along with the porosity is analyzed. It was observed that the mean displacement of the fluid is more in the case of invading fluid with wetting phase where the driving force strength is not so dominant.     

Crystallization of Poly(ethylene adipate) within γ-Phase Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Matrix

The effects of PEA on the γ-phase PVDF crystal structure and the crystallization of PEA within the pre-existing γ-phase PVDF spherulites have been investigated by optical microscopy(OM), infrared spectroscopy(IR) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The results demonstrate that the γ-phase PVDF spherulites consist of the lamellae exhibiting a highly curved scroll-like morphology and develop preferentially in PEA-rich blend. With increasing PEA concentration, the scroll diameter increases and the scrolls are better separated from each other. PEA crystallizes first in the interspherulitic region and transcrystalline layer develops. Subsequently, the transcrystalline layer of PEA continues to grow within the γ-phase PVDF spherulites, e.g., in the region between the scrolls, until impinging on other PEA transcrystalline layers or spherulites. The crystallization kinetics results indicate that the growth rate of PEA crystals in the intraspherulitic region of γ-phase PVDF shows a positive correlation with content of PEA, but a negative one with the crystallization temperature of γ-phase PVDF.     

Conversion of Methanol to Aromatic-Rich Gasoline over High-Efficiency Bifunctional Catalysts: Green Synthesis of GaZSM-5 Zeolites via Dry-Gel Conversion Strategy

Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry - Nanoscale ZSM-5 (AlZ5-D) and Ga-substituted ZSM-5 zeolites ((Al,Ga)Z5-D and GaZ5-D) were synthesized by a green dry-gel conversion strategy. For comparison,...     

Direct Transformation of Arenols Based on C—O Activation

In the view of substrate availability, atomic efficiency and cost, directly using arenols as coupling partners in cross‐coupling, would be one of the most attractive goals. Up to date, many efforts have been made to activate the C—O bond of phenols with different strategies, for example, through in‐situ formed intermediates, through a catalytic reductive dearomatization‐condensation‐rearomatization sequence or catalytic deoxygenation. In this review, we summarized recent advances in cross‐couplings of arenols as the electrophiles via C—O activation.     

Polypyrrole Shell@3D‐Ni Metal Core Structured Electrodes for High‐Performance Supercapacitors

Three‐dimensional (3D) nanometal films serving as current collectors have attracted much interest recently owing to their promising application in high‐performance supercapacitors. In the process of the electrochemical reaction, the 3D structure can provide a short diffusion path for fast ion transport, and the highly conductive nanometal may serve as a backbone for facile electron transfer. In this work, a novel polypyrrole (PPy) shell@3D‐Ni‐core composite is developed to enhance the electrochemical performance of conventional PPy. With the introduction of a Ni metal core, the as‐prepared material exhibits a high specific capacitance (726 F g^?1 at a charge/discharge rate of 1 A g^?1), good rate capability (a decay of 33 % in C_sp with charge/discharge rates increasing from 1 to 20 A g^?1), and high cycle stability (only a small decrease of 4.2 % in C_sp after 1000 cycles at a scan rate of 100 mV s^?1). Furthermore, an aqueous symmetric supercapacitor device is fabricated by using the as‐prepared composite as electrodes; the device demonstrates a high energy density (≈21.2 Wh kg^?1) and superior long‐term cycle ability (only 4.4 % and 18.6 % loss in C_sp after 2000 and 5000 cycles, respectively).