Morphological, sterical, and localized thermodynamics in the adsorption of CO2 by activated biocarbon from the white rot fungi Trametes gibbosa.

The capture of CO2 by biochar has recently become one of the cornerstones of circular economy models for a sustainable society. In this work, we synthesized an activated biocarbon using Trametes gibbosa (BioACTG) in a one-step synthesis. We investigated CO2 adsorption mechanisms under five different temperatures using a statistical physics approach. The data was better represented by the multilayer model with two distinguished energies, providing more accurate values for the estimated parameters. According to the number of carbon dioxide molecules per site (n) and the densities of the receptor sites (Dzif), the tendency to form a second layer increased as the temperature increased. The adsorption of CO2 on BioACTG was exothermic (the values of Qasat = 15.5 mmol/g at 273 K decrease to 10.5 mmol/g at 353 K), and the temperature influenced CO2 as well as the morphological features of the process. A computational approach was used to investigate the electronic properties of the adsorbate, showing that its lowest unoccupied orbital (LUMO) heavily contributed to the high efficiency of the process which was ruled by pore diffusion mechanisms driven by energetic fluctuations. Other molecules present in CO2-rich mixtures were also investigated, showing that their concentration limited their competitiveness with CO2.

Entropy optimized flow of Sutterby nanomaterial subject to porous medium: Buongiorno nanofluid model.

Owing to enhanced thermal impact of nanomaterials, different applications are suggested in engineering and industrial systems like heat transfer devices, energy generation, extrusion processes, engine cooling, thermal systems, heat exchanger, chemical processes, manufacturing systems, hybrid-powered plants etc. The current communication concerns the optimized flow of Sutterby nanofluid due to stretched surface in view of different thermal sources. The investigation is supported with the applications of external heat source, magnetic force and radiative phenomenon. The irreversibility investigation is deliberated with implementation of thermodynamics second law. The thermophoresis and random movement characteristics are also studied. Additionally, first order binary reaction is also examined. The nonlinear system of the governing problem is obtained which are numerically computed by s method. The physical aspects of prominent flow parameters are attributed graphically. Further, the analysis for entropy generation and Bejan number is focused. It is observed that the velocity profile increases due to Reynolds number and Deborah number. Larger Schmidt number reduces the concentration distribution. Further, the entropy generation is improved against Reynolds number and Brinkman parameter.

Influence of Nanomaterials and Other Factors on Biohydrogen Production Rates in Microbial Electrolysis Cells-A Review.

Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MECs) are one of the bioreactors that have been used to produce bio-hydrogen by biological methods. The objective of this comprehensive review is to study the effects of MEC configuration (single-chamber and double-chamber), electrode materials (anode and cathode), substrates (sodium acetate, glucose, glycerol, domestic wastewater and industrial wastewater), pH, temperature, applied voltage and nanomaterials at maximum bio-hydrogen production rates (Bio-HPR). The obtained results were summarized based on the use of nanomaterials as electrodes, substrates, pH, temperature, applied voltage, Bio-HPR, columbic efficiency (CE) and cathode bio-hydrogen recovery (C Bio-HR). At the end of this review, future challenges for improving bio-hydrogen production in the MEC are also discussed.

Graphene-WS2 heterostructures by a lithography free method: their electrical properties.

We have developed a lithography free technique for the fabrication of two-dimensional (2D) material based heterostructures. We fabricated graphene-WS2 heterostructured devices using a transmission electron microscope grid as a shadow mask and their electrical transport characteristics were studied by electrical and magneto transport measurements. Graphene was directly deposited on a Si/SiO2 substrate by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. WS2 was synthesized by first depositing WO3 followed by sulfurization. The temperature dependence of the resistance and magnetoresistance are measured for graphene, WS2, and graphene-WS2 heterostructure. At low temperatures, the transport is found to follow the variable-range hopping (VRH) process, where logarithmic R exhibits a T -1/3 temperature dependence, an evidence for the 2D Mott VRH transport. The measured low-field magnetoresistance also exhibits a quadratic magnetic field dependence ∼B 2, consistent with the 2D Mott VRH transport.

Intense pulsed light, a promising technique to develop molybdenum sulfide catalysts for hydrogen evolution.

We have demonstrated a simple and scalable fabrication process for defect-rich MoS2 directly from ammonium tetrathiomolybdate precursor using intense pulse light treatment in milliseconds durations. The formation of MoS2 from the precursor film after intense pulsed light exposure was confirmed with XPS, XRD, electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The resulting material exhibited high activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic media, requiring merely 200 mV overpotential to reach a current density of 10 mA cm-2. Additionally, the catalyst remained highly active for HER over extended durability testing with the overpotential increasing by 28 mV following 1000 cycles. The roll-to-roll amenable fabrication of this highly-active material could be adapted for mass production of electrodes comprised of earth-abundant materials for water splitting applications.