A self-supported porous NiMo electrocatalyst to boost the catalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction.

To develop hydrogen energy production and address the issues of global warming, inexpensive, effective, and long-lasting transition metal-based electrocatalysts for the synthesis of hydrogen are crucial. Herein, a porous electrocatalyst NiMo/Ni/NF was successfully constructed by a two-step electrodeposition process, and was used in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of electrocatalytic water decomposition. NiMo nanoparticles were coated on porous Ni/NF grown on nickel foam (NF), leading to a resilient porous structure with enhanced conductivity for efficient charge transfer, as well as distinctive three-dimensional channels for quick electrolyte diffusion and gas release. Notably, the low overpotential (42 mV) and fast kinetics (Tafel slope of 44 mV dec-1) at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in 1.0 M KOH solution demonstrate the excellent HER activity of the electrode, which was superior to that of recently reported non-noble metal-based catalysts. Additionally, NiMo/Ni/NF showed extraordinary catalytic durability in stability tests at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 for 70 h. The porous structure catalyst and the electrodeposition-electrocatalysis technique examined in this study offer new approaches for the advancement of the electrocatalysis field because of these benefits.

High-power tunable Raman soliton generation in large core diameter passive fibers via a precise fundamental-mode matching technique.

We demonstrate tunable high-power, high-energy Raman solitons with the range of 1.9-2.3 µm in large mode area (LMA) fibers and an optimized fundamental-mode matching technique for coupling LMA silica fibers. Finally, we obtained Raman solitons with a maximum output power of 5.8 W and a maximum pulse energy of 105 nJ in a LMA passive fiber with 32 µm core diameter, the tuning range of Raman soliton is 1.96-2.35 µm. In addition, we obtained Raman solitons with a maximum output power of 7.3 W and a maximum pulse energy of 126 nJ in a LMA passive fiber with 48 µm core diameter, the tuning range of Raman soliton is 1.96-2.27 µm. The output power of 7.3 W is the highest Raman soliton power currently available in silica fibers, and the result fills a gap in the generation of both high-power and high-energy Raman solitons in a LMA silica fiber.

Endoscopic Surgery Versus Stereotactic Aspiration in Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively compare the safety and efficacy of endoscopic surgery (ES) and stereotactic aspiration (SA) in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH). METHODS: We searched Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from inception to July 31, 2023. Studies comparing ES and SA for sICH treatment were also included. Outcome measures included primary outcomes (mortality and good functional outcome [GFO]) and secondary outcomes (evacuation rate, residual hematoma, perihematomal edema (PHE), operation time, volume of intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay duration, intensive care unit stay duration, hospital cost, complications, and reoperation). Subgroup analyses assessed the influence of age, hematoma volume, Glasgow Coma Scale score, and time to surgery on the outcomes. RESULTS: Nine studies (1 randomized controlled trial and 8 observational studies) with 2105 patients (705 and 1400 in the ES and SA groups, respectively) were included in this meta-analysis. The final analysis indicated that compared with SA, ES was associated with enhanced GFO and a higher evacuation rate 1 day post-surgery along with reduced mortality and residual hematoma. Conversely, ES did not confer benefits in terms of perihematomal edema, operation time, intraoperative blood loss volume, or hospital stay duration compared with SA. Subgroup analysis highlighted the significant influences of age and hematoma volume on mortality, whereas hematoma volume and Glasgow Coma Scale score affected GFO. CONCLUSIONS: ES is a safe and effective approach for sICH treatment, leading to improved patient prognosis and quality of life compared to SA.

Influence of ammonium nitrate on the crystallisation of ammonium sulfate.

This study aims to explore the influence mechanism of ammonium nitrate produced by ozone denitrification on the crystallisation of ammonium sulfate, a by-product of ammonia desulfurisation. The laser method was used to study the influence of ammonium nitrate on the solubility and metastable zone width of ammonium sulfate. An experiment on the influence of ammonium nitrate on the particle size of ammonium sulfate was designed, and the influence mechanism was explored through scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The findings showed that the addition of ammonium nitrate increased the size and aspect ratio of ammonium sulfate crystals. The addition of ammonium nitrate inhibited the dissolution of ammonium sulfate and widened its metastable zone. The addition of ammonium nitrate covered the active sites of crystal nucleus growth, which inhibited the formation of crystal nuclei to a certain extent, and crystal growth dominated the crystallisation process. Moreover, the addition of ammonium nitrate induced the preferred orientation of the specific crystal plane of ammonium sulfate, and the addition of a small concentration of ammonium nitrate decreased the crystallinity of ammonium sulfate. The research results can provide a reference for crystallisation optimisation and quality improvement of ammonium sulfate in the ammonia desulfurisation process.

Electrolyzing spent cupronickel to fabricate superhydrophilic electrocatalysts for enhanced water splitting.

Herein, novel and efficient IF-supported NiCu (NiCu/IF) and NiMn (NiMn/IF) electrocatalysts are successfully deposited on iron foam (IF) via electrolysis of spent cupronickel (SCN), with outstanding performance for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in an alkaline solution, respectively. The physical and electrochemical characterization results demonstrate that the catalysts possess a large active surface area, remarkable performance, and excellent durability.

One-step electrodeposition of V-doped NiFe nanosheets for low-overpotential alkaline oxygen evolution.

As a non-noble metal electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the binary NiFe layer double hydroxide (LDH) is expected to replace Ru-based and Ir-based anode materials for water decomposition. To attain threshold current density, nevertheless, a somewhat significant overpotential is still needed. In this work, layered double hydroxides of NiFe LDH are doped with V to form the terpolymer NiFeV LDH, which greatly increases the intrinsic activity of NiFe LDH and improves OER performance. This process is a straightforward and quick one-step electrodeposition process. Notably, NiFeV/NF has a low overpotential (218 mV at 10 mA cm-2) and faster kinetics (Tafel slope of 31 mV dec-1) as well as excellent durability and stability in 1 M KOH solution. In addition, the OER performance of the catalyst prepared in this work is better than that of a non-valuable metal catalyst that was recently reported. The V-doped NiFe LDH layered double hydroxides and the investigation of electrodeposition electrocatalytic methods in this work offer a fresh opportunity for the advancement of electrochemical technology.

Study on crystal growth of Ge/Si quantum dots at different Ge deposition by using magnetron sputtering technique.

We investigated the growth and evolution of Si-based Ge quantum dots (Ge/Si QDs) under low Ge deposition (1.2-4.4 nm thick) using magnetron sputtering. The morphology and structure of QDs were analyzed with the help of an atomic force microscope (AFM), scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, Raman, surface energy theory and dynamics theory, the photoelectric properties of QDs were characterized by photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The results showed that the growth mechanism of QDs conformed to Stranski-Krastanow mode, but the typical thickness of the wetting layer was nearly three times higher than those derived from conventional technologies such as molecular beam epitaxy, chemical vapor deposition, solid phase epitaxy and so on. Meanwhile, the shape evolution of QDs was very different from existing reports. The specific internal causes of these novel phenomena were analyzed and confirmed and reported in this paper. In addition, the AFM, Raman, and PL tests all indicated that the QDs grown when 3.4 nm Ge was deposited have the most excellent morphology, structure, and optoelectronic performance. Our work lays a foundation for further exploration of the controllable growth of QDs at high deposition rates, which is a new way to realize the industrialization of QDs used for future devices.

CO + NH3 coupling denitration at low temperatures over manganese/activated carbon catalysts.

To explore the mechanism of low-temperature carbon monoxide and ammonia (CO + NH3) coupling denitration of manganese/activated carbon (Mn/AC) catalysts, Mn/AC series catalysts were prepared using the impregnation method with AC activated by nitric acid as a precursor and manganese nitrate as a precursor. We characterized the surface morphology, pore structure, active component phase, functional group, and active component valence change law of the Mn/AC catalyst. The denitration rate order with different Mn loadings is 7Mn/AC > 9Mn/AC > 5Mn/AC. When the Mn loading was 7%, the catalyst's surface was smooth, with a good pore structure and uniform surface distribution of metal particles. These features increased the reacting gas's contact area, improving the denitration rate. The reason for this was oxygen chemisorption on the catalyst's surface. The Mn4+ and the number of oxygen-containing functional groups on the catalyst surface increase after Mn loading increases; this provides more active sites for denitration and promotes the reaction's conversion to fast selective catalytic reduction. The low-temperature CO + NH3 coupling denitration of Mn/AC catalysts conforms to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism when the temperature is lower than 230 °C and the Eley-Rideal mechanism when the temperature is higher than 230 °C. The research results can provide new ideas for low-temperature flue gas denitration.

CNTs support 2D NiMOF nanosheets for asymmetric supercapacitors with high energy density.

In addition to complex preparation and low-yield syntheses, attaining high energy density while maintaining high power density remains a significant challenge for supercapacitor applications in the field of energy storage. Herein, two-dimensional (2D) nickel-based metal-organic framework (NiMOF) nanosheets are grown around carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to form NiMOF/CNTs composite, which is synthesized via a one-step solvothermal method at various temperatures. Thereinto, the NiMOF/CNTs composite synthesized at 180 °C (NiMOF/CNTs 180) exhibits enhanced electrical conductivity for ion and electron transport due to the addition of the CNTs, as well as the highest specific capacitance due to the unique 3D vine-like structure, which provides abundant active sites for electrochemical reactions. Specifically, the NiMOF/CNTs 180 composite demonstrates outstanding electrochemical performance with high specific capacitance (1855.0 F g-1 at 1 A g-1) and an excellent capacitance retention of 87.7% at 10 A g-1, indicating a favorable rate performance. The NiMOF/CNTs 180//AC asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) device assembled with NiMOF/CNTs 180 and activated carbon (AC) has a high specific capacitance of 320.0 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 and a maximum energy density of 113.8 W h kg-1 at 800.0 W kg-1. Therefore, the present work provides a handy and efficient synthesis strategy for supercapacitor devices with high energy density.

Two-step facile synthesis of Co3O4@C reinforced PbO2 coated electrode to promote efficient oxygen evolution reaction for zinc electrowinning.

The conventional Pb-Ag alloy possesses a high oxygen evolution reaction overpotential, poor stability, and short service life in acidic solutions, making it an unsuitable sort of anode material for the zinc electrowinning process. Therefore, a layered carbon-covered cobalt tetroxide (Co3O4@C)-reinforced PbO2-coated electrode is fabricated via a facile two-step pyrolysis-oxidation and subsequent electrodeposition process. As a result, the reinforced PbO2-coated electrode exhibits a low OER overpotential of 517 mV at 500 A m-2 and a Tafel slope of 0.152 V per decade in a zinc electrowinning simulation solution (0.3 M ZnSO4 and 1.53 M H2SO4). The reduced overpotential of 431 mV at 500 A m-2 compared to traditional Pb-0.76%Ag alloy leads to improved energy savings, which is attributable to the presence of Co3O4@C to refine the grain size and thus increase the effective contact area. Moreover, the reinforced PbO2-coated electrode has a prolonged service life of 93 h at 20 000 A m-2 in 1.53 M H2SO4. Therefore, an accessible and efficient strategy for preparing a coated electrode to improve OER performance for zinc electrowinning is presented in this research.

Facile synthesis MnCo2O4.5@C nanospheres modifying PbO2 energy-saving electrode for zinc electrowinning.

The oxygen evolution reaction kinetics in industrial zinc electrowinning is sluggish, resulting in low electrocatalytic activity and substantial energy expenditure (about one-third of energy was wasted due to the strong polarization effect). Herein, the paper described a core-shell structured MnCo2O4.5@C modified PbO2 electrode through the pyrolysis and co-electrodeposition as a promising candidate for zinc electrowinning. As a result, the obtained Pb-0.2%Ag/α-PbO2/ß-PbO2-MnCo2O4.5@C composite electrode showed a sandwich-like structure, where Pb-0.2%Ag as a core, α-PbO2 as a mid-layer, and ß-PbO2-MnCo2O4.5@C served as an electrocatalytic layer. It also possessed improved OER catalytic activity, only required 680 mV to achieve a current density of 50 mA cm-2 and a Tafel slope of 216.04 mV dec-1 in an acidic solution containing 50 g L-1 Zn2+ and 150 g L-1 H2SO4. The current efficiency increased by 0.7% and the cell voltage reduced by 360 mV as compared to a conventional Pb-0.76%Ag alloy electrode, leading to a remarkable energy-consumption reduction of 283.5 kW h for producing per ton metallic zinc. Furthermore, Pb-0.2%Ag/α-PbO2/ß-PbO2-MnCo2O4.5@C exhibited a prolonged service life, which worked about 44 h under an ultra-high current density of 2 A cm-2. Hence, this paper provides the strategy to design and construct non-precious, high-performance catalyst for electrolysis and other applications.

All-fiber high-power supercontinuum laser source over 3.5 µm based on a germania-core fiber.

In this Letter, a high-power all-fiber mid-infrared (MIR) supercontinuum (SC) laser source based on 9 cm long germania-core fiber (GCF) pumped by a high-power thulium-doped fiber amplifier is presented. As the pump power was set as 60 W, we obtained a 21.34 W broadband SC source extending from 1742 to 3512 nm with a slope efficiency of 32.5%. The 10 dB spectral bandwidth was over 1000 nm, spanning 1.97 to 3.04 µm. Furthermore, the numerical simulation of SC generation in GCF was in good agreement with the experimental results. As far as we know, this is the highest average output power over 3.5 µm in GCF based on a MIR SC laser source.

Phosphorus-Doped Iron Nitride Nanoparticles Encapsulated by Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanosheets on Iron Foam In Situ Derived from Saccharomycetes Cerevisiae for Electrocatalytic Overall Water Splitting.

It is vitally essential to propose a novel, economical, and safe preparation method to design highly efficient electrocatalysts. Herein, phosphorus-doped iron nitride nanoparticles encapsulated by nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets are grown directly on the iron foam substrate (P-Fe3 N@NC NSs/IF) by in situ deriving from Saccharomycetes cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae), where anion elements of C, N, and P all from S. cerevisiae replace the hazardous CH4 , NH3 , and H3 P. The diffusion pattern of N, P in S. cerevisiae and contact form between metal and S. cerevisiae observably affect the composition and phase of the product during high-temperature calcination. The obtained P-Fe3 N@NC NSs/IF demonstrates superior electrocatalytic performance for the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction, also satisfying durability. Theoretical calculation confirms that Fe sites of P-Fe3 N serve as the active center, and N sites and P doping regulate the hydrogen binding strength to enhance catalytic ability. Additionally, the two-electrode electrolyzer assembled by P-Fe3 N@NC NSs/IF as both anode and cathode electrodes needs only 1.61 V to reach 10 mA cm-2 for overall water splitting with a superb stability. The S. cerevisiae-based process presents a feasible approach for synthesis of nitrides, carbides, phosphides, and electrocatalytic applications.

A Universal Process: Self-Templated and Orientated Fabrication of XMoO4 (X: Ni, Co, or Fe) Nanosheets on MoO2 Nanoplates as Electrocatalysts for Efficient Water Splitting.

Fabrication of superior nonprecious electrocatalysts is essential for water electrolysis. Herein, the epitaxial growth of the XMoO4 (X = Ni, Co, Fe) nanosheets on the hexagonal MoO2 nanoplates are carried out. The preoxidation of MoO2 nanoplate is fatal to the epitaxial growth of a nanosheets array on MoO2 nanoplates. The hierarchical heterostructure of the vertically aligned NiMo nanosheets on MoO2 nanoplate (NiMo/MoO2) is well-maintained in the process of in situ topotactic reduction transformation from NiMoO4·xH2O/MoO2. Attributing it to the rich electroactive sites from nanosheets array, together with the intrinsic electrocatalytic performance of NiMo alloy, the as-engineered NiMo/MoO2 as electrocatalyst exhibits admirable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity with a small onset potential of -12 mV vs RHE (1 mA cm-2) and a tafel value of 43.6 mV dec-1 at alkaline media. Furthermore, the obtained CoMoO4/MoO2 possesses excellent oxygen evolution performance, which is verified by an ultralow overpotential of 230 mV@10 mA cm-2, small Tafel slope (51 mV dec-1), and robust durability. The developed NiMo/MoO2 and CoMoO4/MoO2 electrocatalysts are assembled into an alkaline electrolyzer, which affords a cell potential of 1.51 V at 10 mA cm-2, as well as outstanding operational durability, which is superior to the typically constructed 20 wt % Pt/C-RuO2 system (1.59 V at 10 mA cm-2). Hence, the universal strategy using MoO2 nanoplates as Mo source and epitaxial substrate may be extended to explore and construct economical and superior Mo-based electrocatalysts for water electrolysis.

Tailored synthesis of Zn-N co-doped porous MoC nanosheets towards efficient hydrogen evolution.

Developing non-precious metal catalysts with both high efficiency and long-term stability is the top priority for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER). Herein, we present a facile two-step method to synthesize Zn, N co-doped molybdenum carbide nanosheets (Zn-N-MoC-H NSs) by using bi-metal oxides of ZnMoO4 as a unique precursor. Zn not only serves as a template to form a porous structure on MoC nanosheets during volatilizing at high temperatures, but also acts as a doping source for Zn doping in MoC. The N-containing carbon source realizes N doping of MoC. Benefitting from Zn, N co-doping and the porous nanosheet structure with a large electrochemical surface area, Zn-N-MoC-H NSs lead to enhanced HER activity in an acidic electrolyte (0.5 M H2SO4) with a low onset potential of -66 mV vs. RHE (1 mA cm-2), overpotential of 128 mV (10 mA cm-2), small Tafel slope of 52.1 mV dec-1 and persistent long-term stability. Density functional theory calculations reveal that Zn, N co-doping can synergistically weaken the strong Mo-H bonding, improve absorbed hydrogen atom (Hads) desorption and lead to faster HER kinetics. This study provides new insights into the use of Zn as a template and electronic regulator toward efficient catalysis and applications in energy storage and conversion.

Co-N-doped MoO2 modified carbon felt cathode for removal of EDTA-Ni in electro-Fenton process.

Metal ions removal is inhibited in aqueous solution containing ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). In this study, the non-noble metals-based Co-N-doped MoO2 nanowires (Co-N-MoO2) were successfully synthesized using cyanamide and Co(Ac)2 as precursors by pyrolysis, then immobilized on carbon felt (CF), and firstly used as cathode to remove EDTA-Ni complex through oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in electro-Fenton (EF) process. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicated that a synergetic coupling effect of doping of N and Co induced structural modifications of MoO2 lattice, and produced more lattice defects. The electrochemical analysis results showed that the superior ORR electrochemical catalysis activities were obtained at pH = 3 with the lowest cathodic peak potentials (- 0.157 V vs. Ag/AgCl), the highest electrochemical active surface area (EASA: 3.971 mC cm-2), the extraordinarily high of the ring current (35.5 µA) and high H2O2 yield (> 20%). Under the optimum conditions, about 68% of EDTA-Ni was removed with the Co-N-MoO2/CF as cathode after 120 min with lower specific energy consumption (0.0226 kW h mg-1 (DOC)) in EF system. Mechanism analysis indicated that the production of strong oxidizing property of hydroxyl radical (•OH) on the cathode played an important role in the removal of EDTA-Ni in the EF process, synergetic effect of cobalt and nitrogen co-doped could facilitate the high generation of H2O2, which greatly promote the formation of •OH. The EF system with Co-N-MoO2/CF cathode has a potential for breaking metal-complex with good stability, showing that this cathode is a candidate for application for applications in EAPOs.

TiO2 nanodots anchored on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes encapsulated cobalt nanoparticles as photocatalysts with photo-enhanced catalytic activity towards the pollutant removal.

Constructing hierarchical structure is an effective approach to improve the activities of catalysts. Herein, a novel hierarchical structure of TiO2 nanodots anchored on N-doped carbon nanotubes encapsulated Co nanoparticles (TiO2/Co@NCT) was synthesized by a simple pyrolysis method. Their catalytic performances were examined in the oxidative and light-assisted degradation of recalcitrant pollutants in the presence of the peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The Orange II removal efficiency within 15 min reached about 98.48% in TiO2/Co@NCT/PMS system. In this system, Co0 is used to react with PMS to generate free radicals for the degradation of dyes. The carbon shell benefits the adsorption of dyes and prevents the catalysts from dissolving in the solution. Besides, under light irradiation, TiO2 nanodots can be excited to generate photo-induced electrons, which can reduce inner Co2+ to Co0 in the degradation process, thus TiO2/Co@NCT exhabited high activity and outstanding stability in degradation process. The as-prepared TiO2/Co@NCT catalyst showed efficient degradation and superior stability, which would make it a great promise in practical applications for sewage treatment.

Regulated Synthesis of Mo Sheets and Their Derivative MoX Sheets (X: P, S, or C) as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reactions.

Electrochemical H2 generation from H2O has been focused on the exploration of non-noble metals as well as earth-rich catalysts. In our practical work, we provide a simple cost-efficient fabrication process to prepare large Mo sheets via the controlled equilibrium between sublimation of MoO3 and reduction of H2. Porous MoP sheets were synthesized from the obtained Mo sheets as the Mo source and template which exhibit notable activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction with a low onset potential of -88 mV vs RHE, small Tafel value of 54.5 mV/dec, and strong catalytic stability. With Mo sheets as the universal Mo source and template, MoS2 and Mo2C sheets were synthesized by a similar process, and the corresponding catalytic activities were calculated by density functional theory.

Metal Nickel Foam as an Efficient and Stable Electrode for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Electrolyte under Reasonable Overpotentials.

Acidic electrolytes are advantageous for water electrolysis in the production of hydrogen as there is a large supply of H(+) ions in the solution. In this study, with the applied overpotential larger than the equilibrium potential of Ni(0)/Ni(2+), Ni foam as HER electrode exhibits excellent and stable HER activity with an onset potential of -84 mV (vs RHE), a high current density of 10 mA cm(-2) at -210 mV (vs RHE), and prominent electrochemical durability (longer than 5 days) in acidic electrolyte. The results presented herein may has potential large-scale application in hydrogen energy production.

Porous metallic MoO2-supported MoS2 nanosheets for enhanced electrocatalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction.

Advanced materials for electrocatalytic water splitting are central to renewable energy research. In this work, MoS2 nanosheets supported on porous metallic MoO2 (MoS2/MoO2) were produced by sulfuration treatments of porous and highly conductive MoO2 for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Porous MoO2 with one-dimensional channel-like structures was prepared by calcination at elevated temperatures using phosphomolybdic acid as the precursor and mesoporous silica (SBA-15) as the template, and the subsequent hydrothermal treatment in the presence of thioacetamide led to the transformation of the top layers to MoS2 forming MoS2/MoO2 composites. Electrochemical studies showed that the obtained composites exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity for HER with an onset potential of -104 mV (vs. RHE), a large current density (10 mA cm(-2) at -0.24 V), a small Tafel slope of 76.1 mV dec(-1) and robust electrochemical durability. The performance might be ascribed to the high electrical conductivity and porous structures of MoO2 with one-dimensional channels of 3 to 4 nm in diameter that allowed for fast charge transport and collection.