Electrolyte Design with Dual -C≡N Groups Containing Additives to Enable High-Voltage Na3V2(PO4)2F3-Based Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Na3V2(PO4)2F3 is recognized as a promising cathode for high energy density sodium-ion batteries due to its high average potential of ∼3.95 V (vs Na/Na+). A high-voltage-resistant electrolyte is of high importance due to the long duration of 4.2 V (vs Na/Na+) when improving cyclability. Herein, a targeted electrolyte containing additives with two -C≡N groups like succinonitrile has been designed. In this design, one -C≡N group is accessible to the solvation sheath and enables the other -C≡N in dinitrile being exposed and subsequently squeezed into the electric double layer. Then, the squeezed -C≡N group is prone to a preferential adsorption on the electrode surface prior to the exposed -CH2/-CH3 in Na+-solvent and oxidized to construct a stable and electrically insulating interface enriched CN-/NCO-/Na3N. The Na3V2(PO4)2F3-based sodium-ion batteries within a high-voltage of 2-4.3 V (vs Na/Na+) can accordingly achieve an excellent cycling stability (e.g., 95.07% reversible capacity at 1 C for 1,5-dicyanopentane and 98.4% at 2 C and 93.0% reversible capacity at 5 C for succinonitrile after 1000 cycles). This work proposes a new way to design high-voltage electrolytes for high energy density sodium-ion batteries.

Arsenic speciation, oxidation and immobilization in an unsaturated soil in the presence of green synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles and humic acid.

While the availability of arsenic (As) in soil is well known to be highly correlated with the presence of iron (Fe) oxides and humic acid (HA) in the soil, the relationship between Fe oxides and HA and As species in the soil is less well understood. In this study, As speciation in an unsaturated soil in the presence of external HA and green synthesized Fe oxide nanoparticles (FeNPs) showed that As(V) was mainly distributed to the specifically-bound (F2), amorphous and poorly-crystalline hydrous oxides of Fe, Al (F3) and the well-crystallized hydrous oxides of Fe and Al (F4). While As(III). This was the major component in unsaturated soil, and was mainly distributed to F4 and the residual fraction (F5). As bound to F3 and F5 was most sensitive to the addition of HA and FeNPs, while HA/FeNPs treatment increased the F3-bound As(V); however, it decreased the F5-bound As(III). Nonetheless the effect of HA on As is completely different to the HA/FeNPs treatment. The increase of As(V) in F3 resulted from F5-bound As(III) oxidation when treated by HA/FeNPs. Cyclic voltammetry confirmed that HA and Fe3+/Fe2+ redox enhanced As(III) oxidation, while FTIR revealed that HA-bound As(III) was the least available fraction in the soil. Finally, a mechanism involving a combination of HA and FeNPs was proposed for explaining the redistribution of As species in the soil.

Removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solution using modified and unmodified kaolinite clay.

Modified kaolinite clay with 25% (w/w) aluminium sulphate and unmodified kaolin were investigated as adsorbents to remove Pb(II) from aqueous solution. The results show that amount of Pb(II) adsorbed onto modified kaolin (20mg/g) was more than 4.5-fold than that adsorbed onto unmodified kaolin (4.2mg/g) under the optimized condition. In addition, the linear Langmuir and Freundlich models were used to describe equilibrium isotherm. It is observed that the data from both adsorbents fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm. The kinetic adsorption of modified and unmodified kaolinite clay fitted well to the pseudo-second-order model. Furthermore, both modified and unmodified kaolinite clay were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Finally, both modified and unmodified kaolinite clay were used to remove metal ions from real wastewater, and results show that higher amount of Pb(II) (the concentration reduced from 178 to 27.5mg/L) and other metal ions were removed by modified kaolinite clay compared with using unmodified adsorbent (the concentration reduced from 178 to 168 mg/L).

Adsorption of methylene blue and orange II onto unmodified and surfactant-modified zeolite.

Adsorption of cationic methylene blue and anionic orange II onto unmodified and surfactant-modified zeolites was studied using a batch equilibration method. The effects of equilibrium time, solution pH, and sorption temperature were examined. The results suggested that 2% sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate (SDBS)- and 3% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-modified zeolites had higher adsorption capacities for methylene blue than the unmodified zeolite, while 2% cetylpyridinium bromide hexadecyl (CPB)- and 2% hexadecylammonium bromide (HDTMA)-modified zeolites were the best adsorbents for orange II. The adsorption conditions were optimized, and the mechanisms of adsorption are briefly discussed.