Synthesis and Catalytic Performance of Mo2C/MoS2 Composite Heterojunction Catalysts.

Hydrogen, as a clean, safe, and efficient energy carrier, is one of the hot energy sources that have attracted much attention. Mo2C, due to the introduction of C atoms, makes the atomic spacing of the Mo lattice decrease and changes the width of the d-band, which makes the electronic properties of Mo2C similar to that of Pt noble metals, exhibiting excellent electrochemical hydrogen precipitation performance. MoS2, due to its special crystal structure and tunable electronic structure, has been widely studied. In this paper, Mo2C nanoparticles were prepared by high-temperature carbonization, and then two-dimensional layered MoS2 were be loaded on Mo2C nanoparticles by the hydrothermal method to synthesize Mo2C/MoS2 composite catalysts. Their electrochemical hydrogen precipitation (HER) performance under acidic conditions was tested. The above catalysts were also characterized by modern material testing methods such as XRD, SEM, TEM, and XPS. The results showed that the composite catalysts exhibited the most excellent electrochemical hydrogen precipitation performance at Mo2C/MoS2-3, with the lowest overpotential at a current density of 10 mA cm-2, Tafel slope, and electrochemical impedance. At the same time, the electrochemically active area was dramatically enhanced, with good stability under prolonged testing. The catalytic activity was significantly improved compared with that of Mo2C and MoS2. The characterization and experimental results indicate that the heterogeneous structure of Mo2C and MoS2 formed a built-in electric field between the two, which accelerated the electron transfer efficiency and provided more active sites. The Mo2C/MoS2 composite catalyst is a low-cost, easy-to-prepare, and high-efficiency electrochemical hydrogen precipitation catalyst, providing a new idea for developing green and clean energy.

Hydrothermal Growth and Orientation of LaFeO3 Epitaxial Films.

LaFeO3 thin films were successfully epitaxially grown on single-crystalline SrTiO3 substrates by the one-step hydrothermal method at a temperature of 320 °C in a 10 mol/L KOH aqueous solution using La(NO3)3 and Fe(NO3)3 as the raw materials. The growth of the films was consistent with the island growth mode. Scanning electronic microscopy, elemental mapping, and atomic force microscopy demonstrate that the LaFeO3 thin films cover the SrTiO3 substrate thoroughly. The film subjected to hydrothermal treatment for 4 h exhibits a relatively smooth surface, with an average surface roughness of 10.1 nm. X-ray diffraction in conventional Bragg-Brentano mode shows that the LaFeO3 thin films show the same out-of-plane orientation as that of the substrate (i.e., (001)LaFeO3||(001)SrTiO3). The in-plane orientation of the films was analyzed by φ-scanning, revealing that the orientational relationship is [001]LaFeO3||[001]SrTiO3. The ω-rocking curve indicates that the prepared LaFeO3 films are of high quality with no significant mosaic defects.

A new polymorph of bis(2-aminopyridinium) fumarate-fumaric acid (1/1) from powder X-ray diffraction.

A new polymorph of bis(2-aminopyridinium) fumarate-fumaric acid (1/1), 2C5H7N2⁺∙C4H2O4²â»-·C4H4O4, was obtained and its crystal structure determined by powder X-ray diffraction. The new polymorph (form II) crystallizes in the triclinic system (space group P-1), while the previous reported polymorph [form I; Ballabh, Trivedi, Dastidar & Suresh (2002). CrystEngComm, 4, 135-142; Büyükgüngör, Odabasoglu, Albayrak & Lönnecke (2004). Acta Cryst. C60, o470-o472] is monoclinic (space group P21/c). In both forms I and II, the asymmetric unit consists of one 2-aminopyridinium cation, half a fumaric acid molecule and half a fumarate dianion. The fumarate dianion is involved in hydrogen bonding with two neighbouring 2-aminopyridinium cations to form a hydrogen-bonded trimer in both forms. In form II, the hydrogen-bonded trimers are interlinked across centres of inversion via pairs of N-H∙∙∙O hydrogen bonds, whereas such trimers are joined via single N-H∙∙∙O hydrogen bonds in form I, leading to different packing modes for forms I and II. The results demonstrate the relevance and application of the powder diffraction method in the study of polymorphism of organic molecular materials.

Preparation of Monolithic LaFeO3 and Catalytic Oxidation of Toluene.

Porous LaFeO3 powders were produced by high-temperature calcination of LaFeO3 precursors obtained by hydrothermal treatment of corresponding nitrates in the presence of citric acid. Four LaFeO3 powders calcinated at different temperatures were mixed with appropriate amounts of kaolinite, carboxymethyl cellulose, glycerol and active carbon for the preparation of monolithic LaFeO3 by extrusion. Porous LaFeO3 powders were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen absorption/desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Among the four monolithic LaFeO3 catalysts, the catalyst calcinated at 700 °C showed the best catalytic activity for the catalytic oxidation of toluene at 36,000 mL/(g∙h), and the corresponding T10%, T50% and T90% was 76 °C, 253 °C and 420 °C, respectively. The catalytic performance is attributed to the larger specific surface area (23.41 m2/g), higher surface adsorption of oxygen concentration and larger Fe2+/Fe3+ ratio associated with LaFeO3 calcined at 700 °C.

Preparation and Photocatalytic Performance of MoS2/MoO2 Composite Catalyst.

Solar energy is an inexhaustible clean energy providing a key solution to the dual challenges of energy and environmental crises. Graphite-like layered molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a promising photocatalytic material with three different crystal structures, 1T, 2H and 3R, each with distinct photoelectric properties. In this paper, 1T-MoS2 and 2H-MoS2, which are widely used in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, were combined with MoO2 to form composite catalysts using a bottom-up one-step hydrothermal method. The microstructure and morphology of the composite catalysts were studied by XRD, SEM, BET, XPS and EIS. The prepared catalysts were used in the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of formic acid. The results show that MoS2/MoO2 composite catalysts have an excellent catalytic effect on hydrogen evolution from formic acid. By analyzing the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of composite catalysts, it suggests that the properties of MoS2 composite catalysts with different polymorphs are distinct, and different content of MoO2 also bring differences. Among the composite catalysts, 2H-MoS2/MoO2 composite catalysts with 48% MoO2 content show the best performance. The hydrogen yield is 960 µmol/h, which is 1.2 times pure 2H-MoS2 and two times pure MoO2. The hydrogen selectivity reaches 75%, which is 22% times higher than that of pure 2H-MoS2 and 30% higher than that of MoO2. The excellent performance of the 2H-MoS2/MoO2 composite catalyst is mainly due to the formation of the heterogeneous structure between MoS2 and MoO2, which improves the migration of photogenerated carriers and reduces the possibilities of recombination through the internal electric field. MoS2/MoO2 composite catalyst provides a cheap and efficient solution for photocatalytic hydrogen production from formic acid.

Hydrothermal Synthesis of MoS2/SnS2 Photocatalysts with Heterogeneous Structures Enhances Photocatalytic Activity.

The use of solar photocatalysts to degrade organic pollutants is not only the most promising and efficient strategy to solve pollution problems today but also helps to alleviate the energy crisis. In this work, MoS2/SnS2 heterogeneous structure catalysts were prepared by a facile hydrothermal method, and the microstructures and morphologies of these catalysts were investigated using XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, XPS and EIS. Eventually, the optimal synthesis conditions of the catalysts were obtained as 180 °C for 14 h, with the molar ratio of molybdenum to tin atoms being 2:1 and the acidity and alkalinity of the solution adjusted by hydrochloric acid. TEM images of the composite catalysts synthesized under these conditions clearly show that the lamellar SnS2 grows on the surface of MoS2 at a smaller size; high-resolution TEM images show lattice stripe distances of 0.68 nm and 0.30 nm for the (002) plane of MoS2 and the (100) plane of SnS2, respectively. Thus, in terms of microstructure, it is confirmed that the MoS2 and SnS2 in the composite catalyst form a tight heterogeneous structure. The degradation efficiency of the best composite catalyst for methylene blue (MB) was 83.0%, which was 8.3 times higher than that of pure MoS2 and 16.6 times higher than that of pure SnS2. After four cycles, the degradation efficiency of the catalyst was 74.7%, indicating a relatively stable catalytic performance. The increase in activity could be attributed to the improved visible light absorption, the increase in active sites introduced at the exposed edges of MoS2 nanoparticles and the construction of heterojunctions opening up photogenerated carrier transfer pathways and effective charge separation and transfer. This unique heterostructure photocatalyst not only has excellent photocatalytic performance but also has good cycling stability, which provides a simple, convenient and low-cost method for the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants.

One-Stage Hydrothermal Growth and Characterization of Epitaxial LaMnO3 Films on SrTiO3 Substrate.

Epitaxial LaMnO3 thin films were grown on SrTiO3 substrate using a one-stage hydrothermal route from La(NO3)3, MnCl2 and KMnO4 in an aqueous solution of 10 M KOH at 340 °C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) indicate full coverage of LaMnO3 on the substrate. X-ray diffraction in the symmetric ω/2θ mode suggests the film has an out-of-plane preferred orientation along the [001] direction of the substrate. The LaMnO3 epitaxial thin film growth mechanism is proposed based on the analysis of the atomic sharp interface formed between LaMnO3 and the SrTiO3 substrate, as seen by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (AC-STEM) imaging in combination with electronic energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Compared with the conventional vapor deposition methods, the one-stage hydrothermal route opens up a new way to fabricate complex oxide epitaxial heterostructures.

When electron exchange is chemical exchange-assignment of 1H NMR spectra of paramagnetic cobalt(II)-2,2':6'2''-terpyridine complexes.

Electron exchange between [Co(terpy)2]3+ and [Co(terpy)2]2+ can be monitored by 1H NMR exchange spectroscopy and allows the cobalt(II) spectra to be fully assigned.