Article
Engineering, Environmental
Wei-Zhe Chen, Peng-Yu Liu, Lei Zhang, Yang Liu, Zhiliang Liu, Jinlu He, Yan-Qin Wang
Summary: By utilizing interfacial engineering, a novel Fe-doped urchin-like Ni2P/Ni3S2 heterostructure with MOFs as precursor grown on nickel foam is successfully constructed, exhibiting abundant hetero-interfaces and carbon-coating. The electrode shows extremely high activity for oxygen evolution reaction and high activity for hydrogen evolution reaction due to the unique surface electronic structure and d-band center, with low overpotential in alkaline electrolyte. The design and construction strategy provides a new approach for overall water splitting.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Menglong Wang, Shuai Xu, Zhaohui Zhou, Chung-Li Dong, Xu Guo, Jeng-Lung Chen, Yu-Cheng Huang, Shaohua Shen, Yubin Chen, Liejin Guo, Clemens Burda
Summary: Single-atom nickel catalysts prepared on red phosphorus using a reactive-group guided strategy exhibit elevated hydrogen evolution rate under visible-light irradiation due to their specific Janus structure.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Gokul Raj, Debanjan Das, Bidushi Sarkar, Shauvik Biswas, Karuna Kar Nanda
Summary: Transition metal carbides have attracted considerable attention as a non-precious electrocatalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction. In this study, a bifunctional electrocatalyst was developed via electronically modulated bimetallic carbides, showing exemplary activity in both acidic and basic media for HER and OER.
SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Pengyan Wang, Jiawei Zhu, Zonghua Pu, Rui Qin, Chengtian Zhang, Ding Chen, Qian Liu, Dulan Wu, Wenqiang Li, Suli Liu, Jinsheng Xiao, Shichun Mu
Summary: The study shows that by combining metallic cobalt nanoparticles with Co2C nanowires through interface engineering, a significantly reduced overpotential and high activity in water electrolysis can be achieved. The assembled electrolyzer, driven by a solar cell, presents a novel approach for the rational design of metal carbide-based highly efficient electrocatalysts.
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Riyue Ge, Juanli Zhao, Juanjuan Huo, Jiangtao Qu, Jack Yang, Ying Li, Mingyuan Zhu, Julie M. Cairney, Rongkun Zheng, Sean Li, Jiujun Zhang, Bin Liu, Wenxian Li
Summary: In this study, a Ni/Mo2C@NC electrocatalyst was fabricated through interfacial engineering, which exhibited excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity and stability in alkaline solution, providing a high-performance catalyst for water splitting.
MATERIALS TODAY NANO
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Aida Najmi Azar, Leila Nikzad, Azam Moosavi
Summary: The study investigated the impact of nickel and alumina binders on the sintering behavior, microstructure, and mechanical properties of WC-based cermets consolidated using the spark plasma sintering method. The results showed that with nickel addition and partial microstructure replacement, sintering temperature decreased, relative density increased, and improved mechanical properties were achieved, with WC-3wt%Ni-3wt% Al2O3 cermet exhibiting the best performance.
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING A-STRUCTURAL MATERIALS PROPERTIES MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROCESSING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Hui-Min Yang, Hao-Yu Wang, Ming-Lei Sun, Zhong-Yong Yuan
Summary: In this study, a bifunctional electrocatalyst Ni(OH)(2)/Ni2P/NF was successfully synthesized on nickel foam, which exhibited impressive electrocatalytic activities for both HER and HzOR. The interfacial heterogeneous structure of Ni(OH)(2)/Ni2P/NF promoted the kinetics of the two reactions. The intermittent hydrazine-assisted water electrolysis system was proposed as a potential approach for hydrazine sewage purification and energy-saving hydrogen production.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Peiwen Xu, Hehui Wang, Jun Liu, Xinzhen Feng, Weijie Ji, Chak-Tong Au
Summary: This study demonstrates the high performance achieved by Ni0.09Co2.91O4/Ti3C2Tx-HT in OER/HER and overall water splitting, with controlled facet structure and interfacial assembly. The fine-tuned Ni doping led to a highly active catalyst surface, promoting the generation of critical OH intermediates. The study highlights the significance of well-controlled interfacial assembly of transition-metal oxide/MXenes as an effective electrocatalyst.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Gang Yuan, Xinguo Ma, Jiajun Liao, Tian Xie, Qihai Xie, Zhongyong Yuan
Summary: In this study, a Janus structure, ASSiN2 (A = Cr, Mo, W) monolayers, was proposed as a potential high-performance photocatalyst with stable structure and semiconductor behaviors. The Janus structures were found to have enhanced intrinsic electric field, facilitating the separation of photogenerated carriers. Specifically, the WSSiN2 monolayer exhibited suitable band-edge potentials for photocatalytic water splitting, high electron mobility, and strong visible-light absorption ability, suggesting its great application potential in photocatalysis. These findings provide reliable evidence for the further development of 2D Janus materials as high-performance photocatalysts.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Pritam Kumar Roy, Irina Legchenkova, Shraga Shoval, Edward Bormashenko
Summary: The study shows that interfacial crystallization occurs in Janus saline marbles, which is in line with the theory of heterogeneous nucleation. The energetic barrier of heterogeneous nucleation is smaller for the saline/carbon black hemisphere, leading to crystal formation. In the case of half-coated marbles, crystallization starts from the equatorial contact line separating the coated and naked hemispheres.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yange Wang, Rongming Wang, Sibin Duan
Summary: Electrocatalytic water splitting, as a sustainable, pollution-free and convenient method of hydrogen production, has attracted the attention of researchers. Tungsten oxide-based nanomaterials have great potential in energy-related and environmental catalysis, but improving their catalytic efficiency is essential. This review discusses recent methods to enhance the catalytic activities of tungsten oxide-based nanomaterials and the structure-property relationship affected by various strategies. The development prospects and challenges in tungsten oxide-based nanomaterials are also discussed.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Tong Yu, Cong Wang, Xu Yan, Guochun Yang, Udo Schwingenschlogl
Summary: The SiP2 monolayer, identified through ab initio swarm-intelligence search calculations, exhibits excellent photocatalytic efficiency and semiconductor properties. It allows simultaneous oxygen and hydrogen evolution half reactions, has high anisotropic carrier mobility, and strong optical absorption in the visible-to-ultraviolet range of the solar spectrum, ensuring efficient utilization of solar energy.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Cheng Gong, Lei Zhao, Dongming Li, Xuan He, Hui Chen, Xing Du, Daheng Wang, Wei Fang, Xianghui Zeng, Weixin Li
Summary: Two-dimensional Co(OH)2/Fe7Se8 nanosheets with rich heterogeneous interfaces are prepared via self-transformation and in-situ selective selenization. The in-situ interfaces induced by Fe7Se8 help to regulate the electronic structure of Co(OH)2/Fe7Se8 heterostructure. The incorporation of Fe species along with selective selenization offers a strong interfacial coupling effect between Co(OH)2 and Fe7Se8, resulting in superb electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kha Thuy Nhi Le, Van Hien Hoa, Huu Tuan Le, Duy Thanh Tran, Nam Hoon Kim, Joong Hee Lee
Summary: A heterostructured electrocatalyst consisting of ultrasmall iridium-based clusters integrated with zinc phosphide-zinc phosphate nanosheets was developed. This catalyst exhibited efficient catalytic activity and stability, making it a potential bifunctional electrocatalyst for efficient water splitting and green hydrogen fuel production.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Tengteng Gu, Rongjian Sa, Linjie Zhang, Dong-Sheng Li, Ruihu Wang
Summary: A novel noble-metal-free trifunctional heterostructure electrocatalyst Mo2C/Co@NC was successfully fabricated using a metal-organic framework (MOF)-based approach. The improved structural features and strong interfacial coupling effects between Mo2C nanosheets and Co@NC polyhedron significantly enhanced the intrinsic activities and accessible active sites, boosting the electrocatalytic performance for HER, OER and ORR. This study provides a new protocol for constructing high-performance electrocatalysts for water splitting and zinc-air batteries.
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Qinping Qian, Hongyin Hu, Shaoda Huang, Yang Li, Liangliang Lin, Fang Duan, Han Zhu, Mingliang Du, Shuanglong Lu
Summary: This study reports the fabrication of porous carbon nanotubes derived from a self-supporting hyper-cross-linked polymer, and the introduction of heteroatoms by pyrolysis and oxygen plasma treatment, resulting in highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic performance and tunable selectivity.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jiace Hao, Jiale Li, Yinchao Zhu, Shuhui Sun, Shuanglong Lu, Mingliang Du, Han Zhu
Summary: FeCoNiMoRu/CNFs exhibits a low potential of 1.43 V vs. RHE (100 mA cm(-2)) and remarkable stability for 90 hours in urea electro-oxidation. In situ electrochemical Raman results strongly support the cooperative effects of different metal sites in improving the urea electro-oxidation activity by stabilizing crucial intermediates. This study will open new avenues for the application of high-entropy alloys in small molecule oxidation reactions.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Han Zhu, Shuhui Sun, Jiace Hao, Zechao Zhuang, Songge Zhang, Tongde Wang, Qi Kang, Shuanglong Lu, Xiaofan Wang, Feili Lai, Tianxi Liu, Guohua Gao, Mingliang Du, Dingsheng Wang
Summary: By regulating the atomic environment of high-entropy-alloy (HEA) electrocatalysts, inactive sites can be transformed into active sites, leading to enhanced catalytic activity. A high-entropy FeCoNiCuMn HEA nanoparticle was synthesized by integrating low-electronegativity Mn and high-electronegativity Cu with Fe, Co, and Ni base metals, which facilitated the transformation of inactive Cu to electron-enriched active sites. This resulted in reduced adsorption energies of reactants, intermediates, and products, leading to improved hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity. The HEA exhibited superior electrocatalytic activity and cycling stability, surpassing Pt/C and IrO2 catalysts. This work represents a breakthrough in the design of advanced HEA electrocatalysts for complex reactions.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shaoda Huang, Jinyan Wang, Hongyin Hu, Yang Li, Fangping Xu, Fang Duan, Han Zhu, Shuanglong Lu, Mingliang Du
Summary: This study designs bimetallic palladium-copper nanoplates with outstanding oxygen reduction activity and methanol tolerance as a new cathodic catalyst for DMFCs, exhibiting excellent activity and stability in alkaline electrolyte and holding significant importance for future applications in DMFCs.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xin Qu, Siyu Zhao, Peixiang Gao, Xin Qian, Shuanglong Lu, Fang Duan, Han Zhu, Mingliang Du
Summary: By utilizing A-site doping technique, we successfully synthesized dual-phase La0.9Sr0.1NiO3 nanofiber perovskite oxide materials with unique tubular nanofiber structure and excellent electrochemical properties, providing a promising approach for hydrogen peroxide sensing with wide linear response range, sensitivity, and stability.
NEW JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chan Wang, Yimin He, Jianfeng Huang, Laizhi Sui, Guoxia Ran, Han Zhu, Qijun Song
Summary: The study uses a steric hindrance strategy to prepare intramolecular hydrogen bond-controlled thermosensitive fluorescent carbon dots (CDs). CDs obtained from different isomers have similar morphology, surfaces, and photophysical properties but exhibit different thermal sensitivities. By incorporating the obtained CDs with reference CDs, a dual-emission probe is constructed, which can be used for sensitive and instant fluorescence color evolution to measure temperature fluctuations. This study establishes a relationship between precursors and intramolecular hydrogen bonds, allowing precise tuning of the thermal sensitivity of CDs, and provides a visual quantitative strategy for early warning of abnormal body temperatures.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jican Hao, Han Zhu, Qi Zhao, Jiace Hao, Shuanglong Lu, Xiaofan Wang, Fang Duan, Mingliang Du
Summary: In this study, a CuZn diatomic site electrocatalyst with unique coordination structure has been designed and synthesized. The CuZn-DAS/NC exhibits high activity and selectivity for CO2 electroreduction to CO. Theoretical calculations suggest that the charge redistribution caused by electron transfers between Cu and Zn atoms in CuZn-DAS/NC can lower the adsorption energy barriers, leading to improved activity and CO selectivity.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Han Zhu, Jingwen Hu, Zhili Zhang, Zechao Zhuang, Jiace Hao, Fang Duan, Shuanglong Lu, Xiaofan Wang, Mingliang Du
Summary: A C2+-producing catalyst was designed by incorporating a boron dopant into porous copper oxide nanotubes (B-CuO NTs) using an electrospinning-calcination method. The B-CuO NTs catalyst achieved a 60.5% C2+ Faraday efficiency, including 47% ethanol, which is a 4-fold increase compared to CuO in a flow cell. The introduction of boron dopant enhanced the adsorption of *CO on B-CuO NTs, facilitating hydrogenation reactions and promoting C-C coupling to form *OCCHO intermediates.
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shaoda Huang, Bingyan Zhang, Huimin Sun, Hongyin Hu, Jinyan Wang, Fang Duan, Han Zhu, Mingliang Du, Shuanglong Lu
Summary: We developed a series of single atom catalysts anchored on bipyridine-rich COFs. The optimal Py-Bpy-COF-Zn shows the highest selectivity of 99.1% and excellent stability in H2O2 production via oxygen reduction, attributed to its high *OOH dissociation barrier. As a proof of concept, it acts as a cathodic catalyst in a homemade Zn-air battery and enables efficient wastewater treatment.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Runyang Miao, Hongyin Hu, Bingyan Zhang, Han Zhu, Mingliang Du, Shuanglong Lu
Summary: The potential toxicity of nitrite in drinking water or food is a major threat to human health, emphasizing the urgent need for effective, sensitive, and stable sensors for nitrite detection. In this study, a hierarchical porous carbon foam embedded with atomic iron sites was designed and synthesized for sensitive electrochemical nitrite sensing. The optimized electrode-based electrochemical sensor exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity and high sensitivity, with a sensitivity of 654.4 μA mM(-1) cm(-2) and a detection limit of 0.158 μM (S/N = 3). This method expands the application of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) in electrochemical sensing and shows great potential for nitrite detection in food and environmental fields.
NEW JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhili Zhang, Jingwen Hu, Xuan Zheng, Wenchao Zhang, Shuanglong Lu, Fang Duan, Han Zhu, Mingliang Du
Summary: We present a solid-phase synthesis of ultra-small CuMo solid solution alloy nanoclusters (2.1 nm) anchored on electrospun carbon nanofibers (CuMo/CNFs). The optimized Cu2Mo1/CNFs exhibit excellent CO2RR performance, achieving a high faradaic efficiency (FE) of 84.5% for C2+ products and an FE of 75.7% for ethanol. In situ characterization reveals that the Cu2Mo1 alloy enhances the adsorption of the crucial intermediate and promotes C-C coupling, leading to high selectivity and efficiency for C2+ products.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shaoda Huang, Shuanglong Lu, Yiming Hu, Yongyong Cao, Yang Li, Fang Duan, Han Zhu, Yinghua Jin, Mingliang Du, Wei Zhang
Summary: Tuning the electronic structure of the active centers in covalent organic frameworks (COFs) is crucial for balancing the adsorption ability and reactivity of oxygen in the 2e(-) oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for electrocatalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). By introducing different by-design building blocks, the adsorption ability of oxygen molecule (O-2) can be finely tuned, and the binding strength of O-2 is positively correlated with the electron-donating ability of the active center. The newly designed TP-TD-COF exhibits higher 2e(-) ORR activity and selectivity due to its stronger electron-donating ability and higher adsorption strength of O-2 on the electron-rich active center. This work reveals the fundamental structure-activity relationship in H2O2 synthesis and provides a strategy for designing metal-free COF catalysts through rational modulation of their electronic properties at the molecular level.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Qi Kang, Zechao Zhuang, Yijie Liu, Zhenhui Liu, Yong Li, Bin Sun, Fei Pei, Han Zhu, Hongfei Li, Pengli Li, Ying Lin, Kunming Shi, Yingke Zhu, Jie Chen, Chaoqun Shi, Yan Zhao, Pingkai Jiang, Yongyao Xia, Dingsheng Wang, Xingyi Huang
Summary: This study proposes a design method for fiber patterned gel polymer electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and superior mechanical toughness for durable and safe solid-state lithium metal batteries. The special patterned structure provides fast lithium ion transport channels and tailors the solvation structure, enabling uniform lithium ion flux, enhancing stability against lithium anodes, and achieving ultralong lithium plating/stripping.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jican Hao, Han Zhu, Zechao Zhuang, Qi Zhao, Ruohan Yu, Jiace Hao, Qi Kang, Shuanglong Lu, Xiaofan Wang, Jinsong Wu, Dingsheng Wang, Mingliang Du
Summary: This study demonstrates the synthesis of a stable single-atom catalyst (SAC) through atomic manipulation, which allows for optimized reaction pathways. The SAC shows high current density and selectivity for CO production in CO2 electroreduction. The structure and electron transfer of the SAC play crucial roles in the catalytic performance.