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Developing a desirable ethanol dehydrogenation process necessitates a highly efficient and selective catalyst with low cost. Herein, we show that the "complex active site" consisting of atomically dispersed Au atoms with the neighboring oxygen vacancies (Vo) and undercoordinated cation on oxide supports can be prepared and display unique catalytic properties for ethanol dehydrogenation. The "complex active site" Au-Vo-Zr3+ on Au1/ZrO2 exhibits the highest H2 production rate, with above 37,964â mol H2 per mol Au per hour (385â g H2 g Au - 1 ${{\rm{g}}_{{\rm{Au}}}^{ - 1} }$ h-1) at 350 °C, which is 3.32, 2.94 and 15.0â times higher than Au1/CeO2, Au1/TiO2, and Au1/Al2O3, respectively. Combining experimental and theoretical studies, we demonstrate the structural sensitivity of these complex sites by assessing their selectivity and activity in ethanol dehydrogenation. Our study sheds new light on the design and development of cost-effective and highly efficient catalysts for ethanol dehydrogenation. Fundamentally, atomic-level catalyst design by colocalizing catalytically active metal atoms forming a structure-sensitive "complex site", is a crucial way to advance from heterogeneous catalysis to molecular catalysis. Our study advanced the understanding of the structure sensitivity of the active site in atomically dispersed catalysts.
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MXene is investigated as an electrode material for different energy storage systems due to layered structures and metal-like electrical conductivity. Experimental results show MXenes possess excellent cycling performance as anode materials, especially at large current densities. However, the reversible capacity is relatively low, which is a significant barrier to meeting the demands of industrial applications. This work synthesizes N-doped graphene-like carbon (NGC) intercalated Ti3C2Tx (NGC-Ti3C2Tx) van der Waals heterostructure by an in situ method. The as-prepared NGC-Ti3C2Tx van der Waals heterostructure is employed as sodium-ion and lithium-ion battery electrodes. For sodium-ion batteries, a reversible specific capacity of 305 mAh g-1 is achieved at a specific current of 20 mA g-1, 2.3 times higher than that of Ti3C2Tx. For lithium-ion batteries, a reversible capacity of 400 mAh g-1 at a specific current of 20 mA g-1 is 1.5 times higher than that of Ti3C2Tx. Both sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries made from NGC-Ti3C2Tx shows high cycling stability. The theoretical calculations also verify the remarkable improvement in battery capacity within the NGC-Ti3C2O2 system, attributed to the additional adsorption of working ions at the edge states of NGC. This work offers an innovative way to synthesize a new van der Waals heterostructure and provides a new route to improve the electrochemical performance significantly.
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Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of oppositely charged materials has been widely used as an approach to make two-dimensional (2D) nanosheet-based membranes, which often involves 2D nanosheets being alternately deposited with polymer-based polyelectrolytes to obtain an electrostabilized nanosheet-polymer structure. In this study, we hypothesized that using 2D nanosheets with matching physical properties as both polyanions and polycations may result in a more ordered nanostructure with better stability than a nanosheet-polymer structure. To compare the differences between nanosheet-nanosheet vs nanosheet-polymer structures, we assembled negatively charged molybdenum disulfide nanosheets (MoS2) with either positively charged graphene oxide (PrGO) nanosheets or positively charged polymer (PDDA). Using combined measurements by ellipsometer and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation, we discovered that the swelling of MoS2-PrGO in ionic solutions was 60% lower than that of MoS2-PDDA membranes. Meanwhile, the MoS2-PrGO membrane retained its permeability upon drying, whereas the permeability of MoS2-PDDA decreased by 40% due to the restacking of MoS2. Overall, the MoS2-PrGO membrane demonstrated a better filtration performance. Additionally, our X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results and analysis on layer density revealed a clearer transition in material composition during the LbL synthesis of MoS2-PrGO membranes, and the X-ray diffraction pattern suggested its resemblance to an ordered, layer-stacked structure. In conclusion, the MoS2-PrGO membrane made with nanosheets with matching size, shape, and charge density exhibited a much more aligned stacking structure, resulting in reduced membrane swelling under high salinity solutions, controlled restacking, and improved separation performance.
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Inkjet printing is a more sustainable and scalable fabrication method than spin coating for producing perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Although spin-coated SnO2 has been intensively studied as an effective electron transport layer (ETL) for PSCs, inkjet-printed SnO2 ETLs have not been widely reported. Here, we fabricated inkjet-printed, solution-processed SnOx ETLs for planar PSCs. A champion efficiency of 17.55% was achieved for the cell using a low-temperature processed SnOx ETL. The low-temperature SnOx exhibited an amorphous structure and outperformed high-temperature crystalline SnO2. The improved performance was attributed to enhanced charge extraction and transport and suppressed charge recombination at ETL/perovskite interfaces, which originated from enhanced electrical and optical properties of SnOx, improved perovskite film quality, and well-matched energy level alignment between the SnOx ETL and the perovskite layer. Furthermore, SnOx was doped with Cu. Cu doping increased surface oxygen defects and upshifted energy levels of SnOx, leading to reduced device performance. A tunable hysteresis was observed for PSCs with Cu-doped SnOx ETLs, decreasing at first and turning into inverted hysteresis afterwards with increasing Cu doping level. This tunable hysteresis was related to the interplay between charge/ion accumulation and recombination at ETL/perovskite interfaces in the case of electron extraction barriers.
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The Hume-Rothery rules governing solid-state miscibility limit the compositional space for new inorganic material discovery. Here, we report a non-equilibrium, one-step, and scalable flame synthesis method to overcome thermodynamic limits and incorporate immiscible elements into single phase ceramic nanoshells. Starting from prototype examples including (NiMg)O, (NiAl)Ox, and (NiZr)Ox, we then extend this method to a broad range of Ni-containing ceramic solid solutions, and finally to general binary combinations of elements. Furthermore, we report an "encapsulated exsolution" phenomenon observed upon reducing the metastable porous (Ni0.07Al0.93)Ox to create ultra-stable Ni nanoparticles embedded within the walls of porous Al2O3 nanoshells. This nanoconfined structure demonstrated high sintering resistance during 640 h of catalysis of CO2 reforming of methane, maintaining constant 96% CH4 and CO2 conversion at 800 °C and dramatically outperforming conventional catalysts. Our findings could greatly expand opportunities to develop novel inorganic energy, structural, and functional materials.
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Diamine-appended Mg2(dobpdc) (dobpdc4- = 4,4'-dioxidobiphenyl-3,3'-dicarboxylate) metal-organic frameworks are promising candidates for carbon capture that exhibit exceptional selectivities and high capacities for CO2. To date, CO2 uptake in these materials has been shown to occur predominantly via a chemisorption mechanism involving CO2 insertion at the amine-appended metal sites, a mechanism that limits the capacity of the material to â¼1 equiv of CO2 per diamine. Herein, we report a new framework, pip2-Mg2(dobpdc) (pip2 = 1-(2-aminoethyl)piperidine), that exhibits two-step CO2 uptake and achieves an unusually high CO2 capacity approaching 1.5 CO2 per diamine at saturation. Analysis of variable-pressure CO2 uptake in the material using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) reveals that pip2-Mg2(dobpdc) captures CO2 via an unprecedented mechanism involving the initial insertion of CO2 to form ammonium carbamate chains at half of the sites in the material, followed by tandem cooperative chemisorption and physisorption. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis, supported by van der Waals-corrected density functional theory, reveals that physisorbed CO2 occupies a pocket formed by adjacent ammonium carbamate chains and the linker. Based on breakthrough and extended cycling experiments, pip2-Mg2(dobpdc) exhibits exceptional performance for CO2 capture under conditions relevant to the separation of CO2 from landfill gas. More broadly, these results highlight new opportunities for the fundamental design of diamine-Mg2(dobpdc) materials with even higher capacities than those predicted based on CO2 chemisorption alone.
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Nanoporous carbon materials with customized structural features enable sustainable and electrochemical applications through improved performance and efficiency. Carbon spherogels (highly porous carbon aerogel materials consisting of an assembly of hollow carbon nanosphere units with uniform diameters) are desirable candidates as they combine exceptional electrical conductivity, bespoke shell porosity, tunability of the shell thickness, and a high surface area. Herein, we introduce a novel and more environmentally friendly sol-gel synthesis of resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) templated by polystyrene spheres, forming carbon spherogels in an organic solvent. By tailoring the molar ratio of resorcinol to isopropyl alcohol (R/IPA) and the concentration of polystyrene, the appropriate synthesis conditions were identified to produce carbon spherogels with adjustable wall thicknesses. A single-step solvent exchange process from deionized water to isopropyl alcohol reduces surface tension within the porous gel network, making this approach significantly time and cost-effective. The lower surface tension of IPA enables solvent extraction under ambient conditions, allowing for direct carbonization of RF gels while maintaining a specific surface area loss of less than 20% compared to supercritically dried counterparts. The specific surface areas obtained after physical activation with carbon dioxide are 2300-3600 m2 g-1. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy verify the uniform, hollow carbon sphere network morphology. Specifically, those carbon spherogels are high-performing electrodes for energy storage in a supercapacitor setup featuring a specific capacitance of up to 204 F g-1 at 200 mA g-1 using 1 M potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution as the electrolyte.
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This study presents a novel approach to developing high-performance lithium-ion battery electrodes by loading titania-carbon hybrid spherogels with sulfur. The resulting hybrid materials combine high charge storage capacity, electrical conductivity, and core-shell morphology, enabling the development of next-generation battery electrodes. We obtained homogeneous carbon spheres caging crystalline titania particles and sulfur using a template-assisted sol-gel route and carefully treated the titania-loaded carbon spherogels with hydrogen sulfide. The carbon shells maintain their microporous hollow sphere morphology, allowing for efficient sulfur deposition while protecting the titania crystals. By adjusting the sulfur impregnation of the carbon sphere and varying the titania loading, we achieved excellent lithium storage properties by successfully cycling encapsulated sulfur in the sphere while benefiting from the lithiation of titania particles. Without adding a conductive component, the optimized material provided after 150 cycles at a specific current of 250 mA g-1 a specific capacity of 825 mAh g-1 with a Coulombic efficiency of 98%.
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Electrochemical-oxidation-driven reconstruction has emerged as an efficient approach for developing advanced materials, but the reconstructed microstructure still faces challenges including inferior conductivity, unsatisfying intrinsic activity, and active-species dissolution. Herein, we present hybrid reconstruction chemistry that synergistically couples electrochemical oxidation with electrochemical polymerization (EOEP) to overcome these constraints. During the EOEP process, the metal hydroxides undergo rapid reconstruction and dynamically couple with polypyrrole (PPy), resulting in an interface-enriched microenvironment. We observe that the interaction between PPy and the reconstructed metal center (i.e., Mn > Ni, Co) is strongly correlated. Theoretical calculation results demonstrate that the strong interaction between Mn sites and PPy breaks the intrinsic limitation of MnO2, rendering MnO2 with a metallic property for fast charge transfer and enhancing the ion-adsorption dynamics. Operando Raman measurement confirms the promise of EOEP-treated Mn(OH)2 (E-MO/PPy) to stably work under a 1.2 V potential window. The tailored E-MO/PPy exhibits a high capacitance of 296 F g-1 at a large current density of 100 A g-1. Our strategy presents breakthroughs in upgrading the electrochemical reconstruction technique, which enables both activity and kinetics engineering of electrode materials for better performance in energy-related fields.
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In nature, nonheme iron enzymes use dioxygen to generate high-spin iron(IV)=O species for a variety of oxygenation reactions. Although synthetic chemists have long sought to mimic this reactivity, the enzyme-like activation of O2 to form high-spin iron(IV) = O species remains an unrealized goal. Here, we report a metal-organic framework featuring iron(II) sites with a local structure similar to that in α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases. The framework reacts with O2 at low temperatures to form high-spin iron(IV) = O species that are characterized using in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform, in situ and variable-field Mössbauer, Fe Kß x-ray emission, and nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopies. In the presence of O2, the framework is competent for catalytic oxygenation of cyclohexane and the stoichiometric conversion of ethane to ethanol.
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Methane pyrolysis (MP) is a potential technology for CO2-free hydrogen production that generates only solid carbon by-products. However, developing a highly efficient catalyst for stable methane pyrolysis at a moderate temperature has been challenging. We present a new and highly efficient catalyst created by modifying a Ni-Bi liquid alloy with the addition of Mo to produce a ternary NiMo-Bi liquid alloy catalyst (LAC). This catalyst exhibited a considerably low activation energy of 81.2 kilojoules per mole, which enabled MP at temperatures between 450 and 800 Celsius and a hydrogen generation efficiency of 4.05 ml per gram of nickel per minute. At 800 Celsius, the catalyst exhibited 100% H2 selectivity and 120 hours of stability.
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Lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries (LIBs and SIBs) are crucial in our shift toward sustainable technologies. In this work, the potential of layered boride materials (MoAlB and Mo2 AlB2 ) as novel, high-performance electrode materials for LIBs and SIBs, is explored. It is discovered that Mo2 AlB2 shows a higher specific capacity than MoAlB when used as an electrode material for LIBs, with a specific capacity of 593 mAh g-1 achieved after 500 cycles at 200 mA g-1 . It is also found that surface redox reactions are responsible for Li storage in Mo2 AlB2 , instead of intercalation or conversion. Moreover, the sodium hydroxide treatment of MoAlB leads to a porous morphology and higher specific capacities exceeding that of pristine MoAlB. When tested in SIBs, Mo2 AlB2 exhibits a specific capacity of 150 mAh g-1 at 20 mA g-1 . These findings suggest that layered borides have potential as electrode materials for both LIBs and SIBs, and highlight the importance of surface redox reactions in Li storage mechanisms.
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Lithium-excess, cation-disordered rocksalt (DRX) materials have been subject to intense scrutiny and development in recent years as potential cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. Despite their compositional flexibility and high initial capacity, they suffer from poorly understood parasitic degradation reactions at the cathode-electrolyte interface. These interfacial degradation reactions deteriorate both the DRX material and electrolyte, ultimately leading to capacity fade and voltage hysteresis during cycling. In this work, differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) and titration mass spectrometry are combined to quantify the extent of bulk redox and surface degradation reactions for a set of Mn2+/4+-based DRX oxyfluorides during initial cycling with a high-voltage charging cutoff (4.8 V vs Li/Li+). Increasing the fluorine content from 7.5 to 33.75% is shown to diminish oxygen redox and suppresses high-voltage O2 evolution from the DRX surface. Additionally, electrolyte degradation processes resulting in the formation of both gaseous species and electrolyte-soluble protic species are observed. Subsequently, DEMS is paired with a fluoride-scavenging additive to demonstrate that increasing fluorine content leads to increased dissolution of fluorine from the DRX material into the electrolyte. Finally, a suite of ex situ spectroscopy techniques (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) are employed to study the change in DRX composition during charging, revealing the dissolution of manganese and fluorine from the DRX material at high voltages. This work provides insight into the degradation processes occurring at the DRX-electrolyte interface and points toward potential routes of interfacial stabilization.
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2-Dimensional (2D) materials are attracting strong interest in printed electronics because of their unique properties and easy processability, enabling the fabrication of devices with low cost and mass scalable methods such as inkjet printing. For the fabrication of fully printed devices, it is of fundamental importance to develop a printable dielectric ink, providing good insulation and the ability to withstand large electric fields. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is typically used as a dielectric in printed devices. However, the h-BN film thickness is usually above 1 µm, hence limiting the use of h-BN in low-voltage applications. Furthermore, the h-BN ink is composed of nanosheets with broad lateral size and thickness distributions, due to the use of liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE). In this work, we investigate anatase TiO2 nanosheets (TiO2-NS), produced by a mass scalable bottom-up approach. We formulate the TiO2-NS into a water-based and printable solvent and demonstrate the use of the material with sub-micron thickness in printed diodes and transistors, hence validating the strong potential of TiO2-NS as a dielectric for printed electronics.
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Rational engineering active sites and vantage defects of catalysts are promising but grand challenging task to enhance photoreduction CO2 to high value-added C2 products. In this study, we designed an N,S-codoped Fe-based MIL-88B catalyst with well-defined bipyramidal hexagonal prism morphology via a facile and effective process, which was synthesized by addition of appropriate 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one (BIT) and acetic acid to the reaction solution. Under simulated solar irradiation, the designed catalyst exhibits high C2 H4 evolution yield of 17.7â µmol g-1 â h, which has been rarely achieved in photocatalytic CO2 reduction process. The synergistic effect of Fe-N coordinated sites and reasonable defects in the N,S-codoped photocatalyst can accelerate the migration of photogenerated carriers, resulting in high electron density, and this in turn helps to facilitate the formation and dimerization of C-C coupling intermediates for C2 H4 effectively.
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The past decade has witnessed the development of layered-hydroxide-based self-supporting electrodes, but the low active mass ratio impedes its all-around energy-storage applications. Herein, the intrinsic limit of layered hydroxides is broken by engineering F-substituted ß-Ni(OH)2 (Ni-F-OH) plates with a sub-micrometer thickness (over 700 nm), producing a superhigh mass loading of 29.8 mg cm-2 on the carbon substrate. Theoretical calculation and X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis demonstrate that Ni-F-OH shares the ß-Ni(OH)2 -like structure with slightly tuned lattice parameters. More interestingly, the synergy modulation of NH4 + and F- is found to serve as the key enabler to tailor these sub-micrometer-thickness 2D plates thanks to the modification effects on the (001) plane surface energy and local OH- concentration. Guided by this mechanism, the superstructures of bimetallic hydroxides and their derivatives are further developed, revealing they are a versatile family with great promise. The tailored ultrathick phosphide superstructure achieves a superhigh specific capacity of 7144 mC cm-2 and a superior rate capability (79% at 50 mA cm-2 ). This work highlights a multiscale understanding of how exceptional structure modulation happens in low-dimensional layered materials. The as-built unique methodology and mechanisms will boost the development of advanced materials to better meet future energy demands.
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The active site environment in enzymes has been known to affect catalyst performance through weak interactions with a substrate, but precise synthetic control of enzyme inspired heterogeneous catalysts remains challenging. Here, we synthesize hyper-crosslinked porous polymer (HCPs) with solely -OH or -CH3 groups on the polymer scaffold to tune the environment of active sites. Reaction rate measurements, spectroscopic techniques, along with DFT calculations show that HCP-OH catalysts enhance the hydrogenation rate of H-acceptor substrates containing carbonyl groups whereas hydrophobic HCP- CH3 ones promote non-H bond substrate activation. The functional groups go beyond enhancing substrate adsorption to partially activate the C = O bond and tune the catalytic sites. They also expose selectivity control in the hydrogenation of multifunctional substrates through preferential substrate functional group adsorption. The proposed synthetic strategy opens a new class of porous polymers for selective catalysis.
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Optical applications of lanthanide-doped nanoparticles require materials with low phonon energies to minimize nonradiative relaxation and promote nonlinear processes like upconversion. Heavy halide hosts offer low phonon energies but are challenging to synthesize as nanocrystals. Here, we demonstrate the size-controlled synthesis of low-phonon-energy KPb2 X5 (X=Cl, Br) nanoparticles and the ability to tune nanocrystal phonon energies as low as 128â cm-1 . KPb2 Cl5 nanoparticles are moisture resistant and can be efficiently doped with lighter lanthanides. The low phonon energies of KPb2 X5 nanoparticles promote upconversion luminescence from higher lanthanide excited states and enable highly nonlinear, avalanche-like emission from KPb2 Cl5 : Nd3+ nanoparticles. The realization of nanoparticles with tunable, ultra-low phonon energies facilitates the discovery of nanomaterials with phonon-dependent properties, precisely engineered for applications in nanoscale imaging, sensing, luminescence thermometry and energy conversion.
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Metal boride nanostructures have shown significant promise for hydrogen storage applications. However, the synthesis of nanoscale metal boride particles is challenging because of their high surface energy, strong inter- and intraplanar bonding, and difficult-to-control surface termination. Here, it is demonstrated that mechanochemical exfoliation of magnesium diboride in zirconia produces 3-4 nm ultrathin MgB2 nanosheets (multilayers) in high yield. High-pressure hydrogenation of these multilayers at 70 MPa and 330 °C followed by dehydrogenation at 390 °C reveals a hydrogen capacity of 5.1 wt%, which is ≈50 times larger than the capacity of bulk MgB2 under the same conditions. This enhancement is attributed to the creation of defective sites by ball-milling and incomplete Mg surface coverage in MgB2 multilayers, which disrupts the stable boron-boron ring structure. The density functional theory calculations indicate that the balance of Mg on the MgB2 nanosheet surface changes as the material hydrogenates, as it is energetically favorable to trade a small number of Mg vacancies in Mg(BH4 )2 for greater Mg coverage on the MgB2 surface. The exfoliation and creation of ultrathin layers is a promising new direction for 2D metal boride/borohydride research with the potential to achieve high-capacity reversible hydrogen storage at more moderate pressures and temperatures.
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Inorganic-organic hybrids, such as Te-PEDOT:PSS core/shell nanowires, have emerged as a class of promising thermoelectric materials with combined attributes of mechanical flexibility and low cost. However, the poorly understood structure-property relationship calls for further investigation for performance enhancement. Here, through precise treatments of focused electron beam irradiation and thermal annealing on individual Te-PEDOT:PSS nanowires, new, nonchemical mechanisms are introduced to specifically engineer the organic phase, and the measured results provide an unprecedented piece of evidence, confirming the dominant role of organic shell in charge transport. Paired with the Kang-Snyder model and molecular dynamics simulations, this work provides mechanistic insights in terms of heating-enabled morphological ordering of the polymer chains. The measured results show that thermal annealing on the 42 nm nanowire results in a ZT value of 0.78 at 450 K. Through leveraging the interfacial self-assembly of the organic phase to construct a high electrical conductivity domain, this work lays out a clear framework for the development of next-generation soft thermoelectrics.