Article
Energy & Fuels
Amir Al-Ahmed
Summary: Global warming and environmental issues are driving the adoption of clean energy sources, with hydrogen being considered one of the most promising options. Photocatalytic water splitting using graphitic carbon nitride has been shown to be a cost-effective approach with potential for high performance.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Feng Liu, Wencheng Li, Lu Wang, Xi Rao, Shaohui Zheng, Yongping Zhang
Summary: Doping sulfur and strontium elements in graphitic carbon nitride can improve its photocatalytic activity by narrowing the band gap, forming an intraplane heterojunction, enhancing light absorption and carrier transportation, increasing molecular buckling and specific surface area. These factors synergistically contribute to the improved performance of graphitic carbon nitride.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Arindam Indra, Rodrigo Beltran-Suito, Marco Mueller, Ramesh P. Sivasankaran, Michael Schwarze, Amitava Acharjya, Bapi Pradhan, Johan Hofkens, Angelika Brueckner, Arne Thomas, Prashanth W. Menezes, Matthias Driess
Summary: The study investigated the dynamics of hole transfer from Pt-loaded sol-gel-prepared graphitic carbon nitride photocatalyst, using different adsorbed hole acceptors and a sacrificial agent. A significant increase in H-2 production was achieved by employing phenothiazine as the hole acceptor, with continuous H-2 production for 3 days. The charge-transfer dynamics of the photocatalytic process in the presence of hole acceptors were examined through time-resolved photoluminescence and in situ electron paramagnetic resonance studies.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lu Chen, Shangbo Ning, Ruowen Liang, Yuzhou Xia, Renkun Huang, Guiyang Yan, Xuxu Wang
Summary: Controlling the structure of semiconductors is crucial for tailoring their physicochemical and photoelectronic properties. Graphitic carbon nitride has shown potential in photocatalysis, but its photocatalytic activity is limited by the rapid recombination of charge carriers. In this study, we demonstrate that introducing potassium doping and nitrogen defects into graphitic carbon nitride can enhance visible light absorption, improve charge separation, and significantly enhance the photocatalytic behavior for water splitting.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zhao Mo, Zhihuan Miao, Pengcheng Yan, Peipei Sun, Guanyu Wu, Xingwang Zhu, Cheng Ding, Qiang Zhu, Yucheng Lei, Hui Xu
Summary: The ideal photocatalyst for photocatalytic water splitting should have strong light absorption, fast charge separation/transfer ability, and abundant active sites. Heteroatom doping offers a promising approach for optimizing photocatalytic activity. In this study, boron (B) and sulfur (S) dopants were simultaneously introduced into graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanotubes using a supramolecular self-assembly strategy. The developed B and S co-doped g-C3N4 nanotubes exhibited outstanding photocatalytic performance, achieving a conversion rate of H2O to H-2 of 9.321 mmol g(-1)h(-1), with an external quantum efficiency of 5.3% under irradiation at λ = 420 nm. The introduction of B dopants facilitated H2O adsorption and interatomic electron transfer, while S dopants promoted the oxidation ability of g-C3N4 and inhibited recombination. Furthermore, the simultaneous introduction of B and S optimized the electronic and energy level structures of g-C3N4 for efficient charge transfer, ultimately maximizing photocatalytic performance.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Xin Bai, Man Li, Jinlun Li, Xi Rao, Shaohui Zheng, Yongping Zhang
Summary: The study showed that sulfur and yttrium co-doped graphitic carbon nitride photocatalyst exhibits outstanding photocatalytic performance due to the doping improving the separation and migration of electron-hole pairs, narrowing the band gap, and increasing visible light absorption.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Bingdi Wang, Chengkun Bai, Zhida Wang, Ping She, Hang Sun, Guolong Lu, Song Liang, Zhenning Liu
Summary: Phosphorus- and oxygen-codoped g-C3N4 (POCN) with enhanced photocatalytic performance was synthesized through a one-step process using ammonium polyphosphate (APP) as a phosphorus precursor. The introduction of APP changed the elemental composition and morphology of the obtained POCN, resulting in higher photocatalytic activity. POCN exhibited 2-fold increased H-2 evolution rate and 5-fold increased degradation rate of rhodamine B compared to pristine g-C3N4 under visible light. The improved photocatalysis was attributed to the larger surface area, abundant active sites, reduced diffusion distance, and efficient charge separation.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yuxi Shi, Qi Zhao, Jiayin Li, Guanyue Gao, Jinfang Zhi
Summary: Limited light absorption and low charge separation rate in graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)-based photocatalyst are overcome by embedding onion-liked carbon (OLC) structures in the matrix. The highly hybridized and electrically conductive OLC broadens visible light absorption, narrows the band gap of g-C3N4, and promotes the separation of photo-generated carriers. The g-C3N4/OLC composites show significantly increased hydrogen evolution rate and efficient degradation of RhB, demonstrating the potential of OLC in designing carbon-based photocatalysts for solar energy conversion and pollutant degradation.
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Siyu Wen, Luobin Sang, Guang Yang, Xin He, Jiaqi Meng, Daiyu Song, Yuxin Yang
Summary: This study presents a facile strategy to synthesize ultrasmall silver-decorated carbon-deficient g-C3N4 (Ag/D-UCN) photocatalyst using in-situ citric acid/AgNO3-assisted method. The Ag/D-UCN catalyst exhibits excellent performance in photocatalytic oxidation of organic pollutants and photocatalytic reduction for H2 evolution. The synergistic effect of ultrasmall Ag and carbon vacancy in Ag/D-UCN enhances light harvesting capacity and promotes fast charge separation, leading to its outstanding photocatalytic redox activity.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Qiushi Yang, Shaonian Hu, Yaxuan Yao, Xiangang Lin, Haiwei Du, Yupeng Yuan
Summary: Regulating interlayer distance is crucial in the development of 2D nanomaterials. A simple method for preparing unique lamellar g-C3N4 was reported, which utilizes microwave-assisted heating to expand the interlayer distance and form a lamellar structure consisting of nanosheets. The NH3-derived lamellar g-C3N4 exhibits larger specific surface area and enhanced optical absorption capability compared to bulk g-C3N4, leading to higher photocatalytic efficiency in hydrogen production.
CHINESE JOURNAL OF CATALYSIS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Haibing Che, Peng Hu, Jinshu Wang, Yongli Li, Wenyuan Zhou, Xiaobo Chen
Summary: A synergistic strategy integrating elemental doping and defect engineering has been developed to modulate the electronic and bandgap structure of g-C3N4. This strategy significantly improves the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 for hydrogen evolution, showing a twentyfold enhancement compared to pristine g-C3N4.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jinghua Li, Hao Peng, Bing Luo, Jiamei Cao, Lijing Ma, Dengwei Jing
Summary: A new heterostructure between Ti3C2 MXene quantum dot and 3D macroscopic porous graphitic carbon nitride (PGCN) was successfully obtained using in situ electrostatic self-assembly techniques. The optimized Ti3C2 QD/PGCN composites exhibit significantly enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution rate compared to pristine CN and PGCN. The improved performance is attributed to the synergistic effects of Ti3C2 quantum dots and the good photothermal conversion ability of PGCN.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Miao Ren, Xueyan Zhang, Yunqing Liu, Guang Yang, Lang Qin, Jiaqi Meng, Yihang Guo, Yuxin Yang
Summary: In this study, a palladium-single-atom-coordinated cyano-group-rich g-C3N4 (Pd/D-N-UCN) was synthesized to improve the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity. The formation mechanism of Pd single atoms on g-C3N4 nanosheets and the coordination bonding of cyano groups with Pd atoms were proposed. The synthesized 0.16%Pd/D-N-UCN exhibited enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production activity compared to electrostatically stabilized Pd single atoms.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Qiaohong Zhu, Zehong Xu, Bocheng Qiu, Mingyang Xing, Jinlong Zhang
Summary: This review summarizes recent advances in high-performance cocatalysts based on g-C3N4 towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), discussing the functions, design principles, classifications, modification strategies of cocatalysts, and their intrinsic mechanisms for enhancing photocatalytic HER activity. Furthermore, the pivotal challenges and future developments of cocatalysts in the field of HER are also proposed.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Weihong Wang, Xin Kou, Tong Li, Ruiguo Zhao, Yiguo Su
Summary: This study focuses on enhancing the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) by introducing nitrogen deficiency and tunable heptazine/triazine units through a molten salt re-polymerization process. The nitrogen deficient crystalline g-C3N4 exhibited more negative band edge potential and faster charge carrier transfer, resulting in a significantly increased hydrogen production rate.
JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY A-CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Yuzhen Xia, Hangwei Lei, Xiaojun Wu, Guilin Hu, Hao Pan, Baizeng Fang
Summary: A comprehensive test system for monitoring and controlling the parameters and safety issues of PEMFCs is designed and developed. It relies on the connection between PLC and OPC for data acquisition and output instruction. The system effectively controls the margin of error in relative humidity and introduces a hydrogen recycling system and an alarm module for safety concerns.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Gaoyang Liu, Faguo Hou, Xindong Wang, Baizeng Fang
Summary: Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is a green hydrogen production technology with great potential. Metal-based bipolar plates (BPs), such as stainless steel and titanium, have received significant attention due to their high corrosion resistance and low resistivity. However, these BPs still face challenges like oxidation and hydrogen embrittlement, affecting the performance of PEMWE. Surface modifications, including silane treatment, conductive polymers (e.g., polyaniline and polypyrrole), and nanoparticles-promoted polymer hybrid coatings, have been extensively studied to address these issues. Nanoparticle-promoted polymer hybrid coatings, in particular, offer enhanced corrosion resistance, durability, and conductivity, making them a promising choice for extending the service life of PEMWE.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gaoyang Liu, Shanlong Peng, Faguo Hou, Xindong Wang, Baizeng Fang
Summary: The purpose of this study is to optimize the catalyst ink formulation and doctor blade thickness to achieve suitable ink properties for an adherent and continuous layer formation using the doctor blade coating method. The porous structure and thickness of the doctor blade coating ACL were confirmed through SEM analysis. The effect of ink formulation and doctor blade thickness on cell performance in a PEM electrolyzer were characterized. The optimized doctor blade coating ACL showed comparable performance to the spraying method, demonstrating its capability for high-uniformity coating.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yingjie Wang, Kaibin Cui, Jiaxuan Bai, Baizeng Fang, Fei Wang
Summary: Water pollution caused by heavy metal ions has gained global attention. This study utilized gold tailings as raw materials and employed the sol-gel method along with the atmospheric pressure drying method to prepare a low-cost silica aerogel. The modified silica aerogel, which was treated with (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA-2Na), and chitosan, was used as an adsorbent for copper ions in wastewater. Various physiochemical characterizations were conducted to analyze the crystal structure, surface morphology, surface functional groups, chemical composition, and specific surface area of the aerogels and modified aerogels. The results showed that the chitosan-modified silica aerogels exhibited the highest adsorption capacity for copper ions, with a concentration of 100 mg/L, pH value of 7, and adsorption time of 2 hours. The adsorption mechanism was attributed to ion exchange and electrostatic attraction.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Lingjiang Chen, Zichen Wang, Chuanfu Sun, Hui Zhu, Yuzhen Xia, Guilin Hu, Baizeng Fang
Summary: The water management capacity of a metal foam flow field was investigated through polarization curve tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. It was found that obvious flooding phenomena occurred after water addition at both the anode and cathode, but were alleviated during a constant-potential test. Greater abilities of anti-flooding and mass transfer were observed when the same amount of water was added at the anode. The maximum current density of 1.0 A cm(-2) and the lowest R-ct of around 17 mΩ cm(2) were obtained at the optimum state after 40 and 50 min of operation with 2.0 and 2.5 g of water added, respectively.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhengdao Pan, Sheng Yu, Linfang Wang, Chenyu Li, Fei Meng, Nan Wang, Shouxin Zhou, Ye Xiong, Zhoulu Wang, Yutong Wu, Xiang Liu, Baizeng Fang, Yi Zhang
Summary: Porous carbon materials have excellent performance in various energy and environment-related applications. However, the high cost and potential environmental pollution associated with the preparation process remain significant issues. This paper provides an overview of common and emerging methods for preparing porous carbon materials, as well as recent applications as electrodes for supercapacitors.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Wei Chen, Tuanqiao Hu, Guiying Xu, Liangbo Gu, Fengyi Xiao, Baizeng Fang, Xiaohan Zhong, Binglun Chen
Summary: In this study, the co-combustion characteristics of furfural residue and oil shale were investigated under different heating rates and mixing ratios. The results showed that increasing the mixing ratio of furfural residue led to lower ignition and burnout temperatures, as well as higher burning rates and comprehensive combustion characteristics. Increasing the heating rate resulted in higher combustion temperatures and rates, and lower activation energy. The co-combustion of the mixed fuel had a lower activation energy compared to the combustion of furfural residue alone, indicating interactions between the two fuels.
BIOMASS CONVERSION AND BIOREFINERY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jun Chen, Yuanjiang Yang, Sheng Yu, Yi Zhang, Jiwei Hou, Nengfei Yu, Baizeng Fang
Summary: Nanocomposites of carbon nanotubes and N-doped porous carbon polyhedrons were synthesized and found to improve the performance of lithium-sulfur batteries. The carbon nanotubes provided an efficient charge transport environment, while the N-doped porous carbon polyhedrons acted as an efficient host for immobilizing polysulfides. The composite also had a large specific surface area, high pore volume, and short electronic/ion diffusion depth, resulting in high trapping capacity and efficient charge/mass transport.
Editorial Material
Chemistry, Physical
Guangfu Liao, Baizeng Fang, Chunxue Li
Summary: Efficient water-vapor splitting offers a new strategy for scalable and corrosion-free solar-energy harvesting systems.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Shabnam Sambyal, Rohit Sharma, Parteek Mandyal, Salar Balou, Peyman Gholami, Baizeng Fang, Pooja Shandilya, Aashish Priye
Summary: Two-dimensional carbonaceous materials have attracted great attention for energy conversion and water detoxification due to their unique properties and advantages in various applications. This review focuses on the structure, properties, and synthesis methods of different carbonaceous nanomaterials, and discusses their charge transfer pathways in various heterojunctions for photocatalytic applications. The application of these materials in water detoxification and energy conversion is also discussed, along with future prospects.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Qian-Qian Chu, Zhijian Sun, Dong Wang, Bo Cheng, Haijiang Wang, Ching-Ping Wong, Baizeng Fang
Summary: This article discusses the development direction and issues of encapsulation technology for metal halide perovskite solar cells. Due to the unique properties of perovskite, current encapsulation methods need improvement. Therefore, research on new encapsulation materials and structures is needed to address stability issues.
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Yang Li, Hui Liu, Pengfei Zhou, Ming Hao, Liang Bian, Yingjie Wang, Lijuan Wang, Baizeng Fang, Fei Wang
Summary: This study presents the synthesis of exfoliated montmorillonite (EMMT) loaded Co-CoAl2O4 composites for the degradation of refractory pollutants. The optimal sample exhibited superior activity and reusability during methyl orange degradation. The EMMT facilitated the rapid transfer of MO molecules to the active sites, while CoAl2O4 acted as a transition layer to regulate the growth of metallic Co nanoparticles.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Sheng Yu, Qiaomin Wang, Jinglei Wang, Cong Fang, Yuanzhe Li, Jiankai Ge, Baizeng Fang
Summary: Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous materials used in photocatalysis. Their structure is optimized using computational modeling. This review emphasizes the role of computational design in enhancing MOFs efficiency.
CATALYSIS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Chunxue Li, Ruilong Jia, Baizeng Fang, Guangfu Liao
Summary: The floatable hydrogel-based photocatalytic system reported in this study offers a solution to the agglomeration issue of photocatalysts, which is beneficial for scaling up solar H2 production.
APPLIED MATERIALS TODAY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Mingming Wang, Pengfei Zhou, Liang Bian, Kaibin Cui, Jiaxuan Bai, Ming Hao, Jinsheng Liang, Baizeng Fang, Fei Wang
Summary: WS2/tourmaline composite has been synthesized and shown to exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity for RhB degradation. The composite material enhances the migration efficiency of interfacial electrons and provides sufficient reactive species for photocatalytic degradation. The presence of sulfur vacancies in the composite is found to be crucial for the enhanced photocatalytic performance.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Lars odegaard Bentsen, Narada Dilp Warakagoda, Roy Stenbro, Paal Engelstad
Summary: This study investigates uncertainty modeling in wind power forecasting using different parametric and non-parametric methods. Johnson's SU distribution is found to outperform Gaussian distributions in predicting wind power. This research contributes to the literature by introducing Johnson's SU distribution as a candidate for probabilistic wind forecasting.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2024)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Xing Liu, Qiuchen Wang, Yunhao Wen, Long Li, Xinfang Zhang, Yi Wang
Summary: This study analyzes the characteristics of process parameters in three lean gas ethane recovery processes and establishes a prediction and multiobjective optimization model for ethane recovery and system energy consumption. A new method for comparing ethane recovery processes for lean gas is proposed, and the addition of extra coolers improves the ethane recovery. The support vector regression model based on grey wolf optimization demonstrates the highest prediction accuracy, and the multiobjective multiverse optimization algorithm shows the best optimization performance and diversity in the solutions.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2024)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Cairong Song, Haidong Yang, Xian-Bing Meng, Pan Yang, Jianyang Cai, Hao Bao, Kangkang Xu
Summary: The paper proposes a novel deep learning-based prediction framework, aTCN-LSTM, for accurate cooling load predictions. The framework utilizes a gate-controlled multi-head temporal convolutional network and a sparse probabilistic self-attention mechanism with a bidirectional long short-term memory network to capture both temporal and long-term dependencies in the cooling load sequences. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method, which can serve as an effective guide for HVAC chiller scheduling and demand management initiatives.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2024)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Zhe Chen, Xiaojing Li, Xianli Xia, Jizhou Zhang
Summary: This study uses survey data from the Loess Plateau in China to evaluate the impact of social interaction on the adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) technology by farmers. The study finds that social interaction increases the likelihood of farmers adopting SWC, and internet use moderates this effect. The positive impact of social interaction on SWC adoption is more pronounced for farmers in larger villages and those who join cooperative societies.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2024)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Chenghua Zhang, Yunfei Yan, Kaiming Shen, Zongguo Xue, Jingxiang You, Yonghong Wu, Ziqiang He
Summary: This paper reports a novel method that significantly improves combustion performance, including heat transfer enhancement under steady-state conditions and adaptive stable flame regulation under velocity sudden increase.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2024)
