Investigation of the electrocatalytic oxidation of formate and ethanol at platinum black under microbial fuel cell conditions

In this communication, we discuss the electro-oxidation of the fermentation products formate and ethanol at platinum black modified electrodes under microbial fuel cell conditions, i.e., at neutral pH, room temperature, and in microbial culture solutions. The electrocatalytic oxidation was studied using cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and potentiostatic coulometry. Current densities up to 6 mA cm⁻² at 0.2 V oxidation potential and 97% coulombic efficiency were observed for the electro-oxidation of 100 mM solutions of formate in pH 7 buffer solution. Electrode deactivation could be successfully prevented using an oxidative potential reactivation procedure. Polymer coating, however, fully stopped the formate oxidation. As expected, the electro-oxidation of ethanol was less efficient—with a limiting current density being 600 μA cm⁻².Dedicated to Professor Dr. Alan M. Bond on the occasion of this 60th birthday.     

Bi/Bi_2O_3 nanoparticles supported on N-doped reduced graphene oxide for highly efficient CO_2 electroreduction to formate

Electrocatalytic CO_2 reduction(CO_2 ER) into formate is a desirable route to achieve efficient transformation of CO_2 to value-added chemicals,however,it still suffers from limited catalytic activity and poor selectivity.Herein,we develop a hybrid electrocatalyst composed of bismuth and bismuth oxide nanoparticles(NPs) supported on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide(Bi/Bi_2 O_3/NrGO) nanosheets prepared by a combined hydrothermal with calcination treatment.Thanks to the combination of undercoordinated sites and strong synergistic effect between Bi and Bi_2 O_3,Bi/Bi_2 O_3/NrGO-700 hybrid displays a promoted CO2 ER catalytic performance and selectivity for formate production,as featured by a small onset potential of-0.5 V,a high current density of-18 mA/cm~2,the maximum Faradaic efficiency of85% at-0.9 V,and a low Tafel slope of 166 mV/dec.Experimental results reveal that the higher CO_2 ER performance of Bi/Bi_2 O_3/NrGO-700 than that of Bi NPs supported on NrGO(Bi/NrGO) can be due to the partial reduction of Bi_2 O_3 NPs into Bi,which significantly increases undercoordinated active sites on Bi NPs surface,thus boosting its CO_2 ER performance.Furthermore,a two-electrode device with Ir/C anode and Bi/Bi_2 O_3/NrGO-700 cathode could be integrated with two alkaline batteries or a planar solar cell to achieve highly active water splitting and CO_2 ER.     

Capillary zone electrophoresis of orotic acid in urine with on-line isotachophoresis sample pretreatment and diode array detection

Two hydroxide-selective microbore analytical columns (the Dionex AS11 and AS15) were tested and compared for the quantitation of anionic species in 30% hydrogen peroxide. The ions of interest were fluoride, acetate, formate, chloride, bromide, nitrate, sulfate, and phosphate. Statistically sound calibration and spiking studies were carried out, investigating the range of a blank to 60 ppb. Prior to injection onto the separators, peroxides were loaded without pretreatment onto a concentrator column, which was then washed with deionized water to remove the matrix. Although retention times gradually decreased during the spiking studies, reliable quantitation was still achievable on both columns at the target concentration of 30 ppb. However, various resolution problems meant that the AS11 should not be recommended for this application.     

HCOO在Cu(110)、Ag(110)和Au(110)表面的吸附

采用密度泛函理论(DFT)以及广义梯度近似方法(GGA)计算了甲酸根(HCOO)在Cu(110)、Ag(110)和Au(110)表面的吸附. 计算结果表明, 短桥位是最稳定的吸附位置, 计算的几何参数与以前的实验和计算结果吻合. 吸附热顺序为Cu(110)(-116 kJ·mol-1)>Ag(110)(-57 kJ·mol-1)>Au(110)(-27 kJ·mol-1), 与实验上甲酸根的分解温度相一致. 电子态密度分析表明, 吸附热顺序可以用吸附分子与金属d-带之间的Pauli 排斥来关联, 即排斥作用越大, 吸附越弱. 另外还从计算的吸附热数据以及实验上HCOO的分解温度估算了反应CO2+1/2H2→HCOO的活化能, 其大小顺序为Au(110)>Ag(110)>Cu(110).     

Effect of hydrazine and hydroxylaminophosphate on chrome plating from trivalent electrolytes

The influence of hydrazine and hydroxylaminophosphate on solution chemistry and quality of chromium coatings deposited from Cr(III) formate-urea baths has been studied by FT-IR, XPS and AFM. The results have shown that hydrazine and hydroxylaminophosphate differently affect Cr plating. The morphology of Cr deposits obtained in the formate-urea electrolytes is a typical nodular structure with a less nodular and smoother fine-grained structure of Cr obtained in the presence of hydroxylaminophosphate. Hydrazine, in contrast, worsened the quality and lowered the hardness of the deposits. The current efficiency of chromium increases in the presence of both hydrazine and hydroxylaminophosphate. This may be related with the ability of these ligands to reduce the CrH content in the growing Cr deposit. The data obtained suggest that hydroxylaminophosphate improves the stability of the active [Cr(carbamide)_n(H₂O)_6−n]³ complexes providing good quality of the deposits and prolonged working lifetime in the formate-urea bath.     

Bismuth/Graphdiyne Heterostructure for Electrocatalytic Conversion of CO2 to Formate

Electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction is great promising in alleviating the excessive CO₂ emission and the conversion to valuable productions. Herein we report the in-situ controlled growth of Bismuth nanoflower/graphdiyne heterostructures(Bi/GDY) for efficient CO₂ conversion toward formate. Based on GDY, the obtained electrocatalyst exhibits a partial current density of 19.2 mA/cm² and high reaction selectivity towards formate with a high Faradic efficiency of 91.7% at ‒1.03 V vs. RHE, and an energy efficiency of 58.8%. The high formate yield rates could be maintained at around 300 μmol/(cm²·h) over a wide potential range. Detailed characterizations show that the unique interface structures between GDY and Bi can enhance the charge transfer ability, increase the number of active sites, and improve the long-term stability, and finally reach high-performance electrocatalytic conversion of CO₂ to formate.     

水对二氧化碳插入TpRu(PPh3)(CH3CN)H生成甲酸根配合物的影响

分别研究了在干燥THF及H2O/THF条件下CO2与TpRu(PPh3)(CH3CN)H(Tp=Hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate)的反应, 发现水对CO2插入TpRu(PPh3)(CH3CN)H的反应具有显著促进作用. 原位高压NMR研究显示, 在水存在下, CO2插入Ru-H键形成水合甲酸根配合物TpRu(PPh3)(CH3CN)(η1-OCHO)H2O, 其中甲酸根配体与溶剂中水分子形成分子间氢键. B3LYP水平的理论计算表明, CO2插入TpRu(PPh3)(CH3CN)H 中Ru-H键的能垒由于水的存在而显著降低; 在过渡态, CO2分子中碳原子的亲电性由于其氧原子与水分子形成氢键而得到增强. TpRu(PPh3)(CH3CN)(η1-OCHO)*H2O很快转化为另一甲酸根配合物TpRu(PPh3)(H2O)(η1-OCHO), 并与之达成平衡. 后者由于甲酸根配体与水分子配体间形成分子内氢键而稳定.     

高效二氧化碳电催化还原反应花状钴催化剂的制备及性能（英文）

随着工业的不断发展,化石燃料的大量使用导致全球大气二氧化碳浓度逐年升高.通过电还原将二氧化碳转化为燃料是实现碳循环经济最有前景的途径之一.目前,还原二氧化碳常用的方法包括热化学法,光化学法和电化学法.与另外两种方法相比,电催化还原二氧化碳具有条件简便,易于控制,转化率较高,材料易得,易于放大生产等优点,具备潜在的实际应用价值.电还原二氧化碳的催化材料主要分为金属材料,金属氧化物,有机分子,生物分子等.其中,以过渡金属催化剂的研究与应用最为普遍.我们发展了一种新型金属钴催化剂的制备方法,采用快捷,绿色的溶剂热方法,以正丁胺为保护剂,合成了具有花状形貌的金属钴催化剂.这种特殊形貌的金属钴催化剂相比体相的金属钴催化剂与层状的氢氧化钴材料,能够暴露更多的活性位点,在二氧化碳电还原反应中表现出极高的催化活性与选择性.我们采用循环伏安法和线性扫描伏安法(LSV)等电化学表征手段,进一步证明了先前其他课题组已报道过的通过溶剂热法制备得到的钴/钴氧化物二维材料在二氧化碳电催化还原过程中,金属钴/氧化钴界面的存在对二氧化碳还原反应具有决定性作用的观点.X射线衍射表明这种新型金属钴催化剂具有六方密堆积的晶体相,晶粒平均直径为17.3 nm.扫描电子显微镜直观地展示了其不同于体相的金属钴催化剂与层状的氢氧化钴材料,具有特殊的形貌.电化学表征结果显示花状金属钴催化剂比另外两种材料具有更正的起始电位(-0.7 V vs.SCE).不同扫描速度LSV研究表明,甲酸等其他还原产物的形成受二氧化碳传质控制影响.采用核磁共振分析不同电位下10 h恒电位电解产物,发现当电极电势为-0.85 V(vs.SCE)时,还原产物甲酸的法拉第效率达63.4%.另外,循环伏安曲线表明该催化剂不仅对二氧化碳还原反应具有极高的活性,同时,对还原产物的氧化也表现出极低的过电位与极高的反应活性,因此所开发催化剂可视为一类双效电催化剂.     

水滑石层间阴离子为还原剂原位负载贵金属纳米颗粒

研究了以水滑石为载体原位负载贵金属纳米颗粒(Pd、Ag、Ru、Au)的方法,通过共沉淀合成甲酸根水滑石,以层间甲酸根为还原剂原位还原贵金属前驱体制得高分散水滑石(LDH)负载纳米颗粒。本方法无需载体预处理,操作方便、适用性强,阴离子前驱体(Au)和阳离子前驱体(Pd、Ag、Ru)均可顺利得到纳米颗粒。所得水滑石负载纳米颗粒系一种潜在的纳米催化剂,作为示例,Pd/LDH在Suzuki偶联反应中显示出较高催化活性。     

Highly Selective and Active Pd‐In/three‐dimensional Graphene with Special Structure for Electroreduction CO2 to Formate

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to formate on carbon based electrodes is known to suffer from low electrochemical reaction activity and product selectivity. Pd/three‐dimensional graphene (Pd/3D‐RGO), In/3D‐RGO and Pd‐In/3D‐RGO for the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ were prepared by a mild method that combines chemical and hydrothermal. The metal/3D‐graphenes (metal/3D‐RGO) were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Cyclic voltammetry and the ion chromatography were performed to investigate the electrochemical performance of the metal/3D‐RGO. The morphology and dispersion of metal/3D‐RGO are 3D structure with amount of interconnected pores with metal NPs loading on the fold. And the Pd_0.5‐In_0.5/3D‐RGO show excellent surface performance with well dispersion and smallest particle size (12.8 nm). XPS reveal that binding energy of Pd (In) NPs is shifted to negative energy, for the metal lose electrons in metal and combine with C, which is demonstrated in the HNO₃ experiment. The peak potential of Pd_0.5‐In_0.5/3D‐RGO is −0.70 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), which is more positive than In_1.0/3D‐RGO (−0.73 V) and Pd_1.0/3D‐RGO (−1.2 V). The highest faradaic efficiency (85.3 %) happens in Pd_0.5‐In_0.5/3D‐RGO at −1.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl. In these experiments, the special structure that metal NPs combine with C and the bimetal NPs give a direction to convert CO₂ to formate.