Co?N graphene encapsulated cobalt catalyst for H2O2 decomposition under acidic conditions

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) has been listed as one of the 100 most important chemicals in the world. However, huge amount of residual H₂O₂ is hard to timely decomposed into O₂ and H₂O under acidic condition, easily resulting in explosion hazard. Here, we reported a core–shell structure catalyst, that is graphene with Co N structure encapsulated Co nanoparticles. Co N graphene shell serves as the active site for the H₂O₂ decomposition, and Co core further enhance this decomposition. Benefiting from it, the H₂O₂ decomposition were close to 100% after 6 cycles without pH adjustment, which increased 6 orders of magnitude compared with no catalyst. At the same time, the O₂ generation reached 99.67% in 2 h with little metal leaching, and ·OH has been greatly inhibited to only 0.08%. This work can cleanly remove H₂O₂ with little deep oxidation and protect the process of H₂O₂ utilization to achieve a safer world.     

Phenolic profiling reveals the metabolite basis of flesh colour and fresh-cut browning in apple fruit

Flesh colour, which is affected by cultivars and browning, can largely impact consumer acceptance in fresh-cut apples. The study profiled phenolic metabolites from apple flesh of twenty-three cultivars by widely targeted metabolomics. Comparison among white- and yellow-fleshed cultivars showed fifteen phenolics, mainly quercetin 3-O-glucoside, hyperoside, hesperetin 5-O-glucoside and cymaroside, in white-fleshed apples were significantly higher than those in yellow-fleshed apples. It may indicate a metabolite basis of yellow and white flesh colour, and better potential nutrition in white-fleshed apples. In addition, ten phenolic metabolites including five cyanidin glycosides showed significant differences between the highest and the lowest browning groups, indicating them may be crucial in browning of fresh-cut apple. This work elucidates the differences of phenolic profiles among apple cultivars with different flesh colour and provides useful data to evaluate the suitability of apple for fresh-cut processing.     

Engineering A-site cation deficiency into LaCoO3 thin sheets for improved microwave absorption performance

Journal of Materials Science - Rationally designing microwave absorption materials with highly efficient and tunable bandwidth is in great demand but remains a huge challenge. In this study,...     

Stable Radicals with Protective Umbrellas Integrated on the Surface of 2D Layered Materials

Radicals are closely related to human life and health and have been widely used in biology, chemistry, functional materials, etc. However, the high reactivity, disorder, and short half-lives limit their wide applications. Therefore, it remains a great challenge to prepare stable and ordered radicals. Herein, radicals are prepared with protective umbrellas (diethylmethyleneamine, DEMA) that are integrated on the surface of 2D layered materials to isolate water and oxygen and enhance the stability of radicals. Taking 2D black phosphorus (BP) as an example: triethylamine reacts with dichloromethane to form quaternary ammonium salts with further Hoffmann elimination to produce DEMA radicals that could react with one electron of a lone pair electrons in P on the surface of BP to produce P radicals, which shows a prolonged half-life of 21 days at room temperature. First-principle calculations and electron paramagnetic resonance fitting confirm that the steric hindrance constructed by dense DEMA passivation layer acts as a protective umbrella and the 2D coupling of P radicals and other P atoms in 2D BP plane to enhance the stability and strong superexchange interaction of P radicals. Furthermore, it is a general strategy to produce stable radicals integrated on the 2D plane.     

Lower down both ohmic and cathode polarization resistances of solid oxide fuel cell via hydrothermal modified gadolinia doped ceria barrier layer

Hydrothermal reaction in Cerium and Gadolinium solution as an optimization method is developed and first reported for the densification of gadolinia doped ceria, the barrier layer between Zirconia electrolyte and (La,Sr)(Co,Fe)O_3-δ cathode. This method is based on the hydrothermal reaction for nano particles in-situly grown on porous surface, to improve barrier layer density, alongside the sintering of cathode at 1075 °C. As a result, the ohmic resistance is prominently decreased by ～16.4 % at 750 °C for electrolyte supported symmetrical cell. Whereas, the cathode polarization resistance is decreased by as much as a factor of ～3 from 0.3702 Ω·cm² to 0.1325 Ω·cm² at 750 °C and $p_{O_2}=0.21atm$. Furthermore, the anode supported cell exhibits higher open circuit voltage, smaller area specific resistance, elevated performance output and less degradation. And this modified barrier layer shows reduced Sr migration in 300 h operation at 750 °C. The hydrothermal reaction is demonstrated to prepare denser and sintering-active barrier layer with faster oxygen ion transfer and better interface connection, with large-scale application prospects and cost-competitiveness.     

Chromium-promoted preparation of forsterite refractory materials from ferronickel slag by microwave sintering

The chromium-promoted preparation of forsterite refractory materials from ferronickel slag was investigated by microwave sintering of the slag with the additions of sintered magnesia and 0–10 wt% chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃). The thermodynamic calculations revealed that the addition of Cr₂O₃ can promote the formations of spinel and liquid phase and maintain high content of forsterite below 1500 °C. The experimental results showed that there existed a stronger promoting effect of Cr₂O₃ additive on the properties of refractory materials in the microwave field than that in conventional sintering. It was attributed to the preferential formation and growth of spinel with stronger microwave absorption than other phases (e.g., enstatite), the existence of more forsterite, and the enhanced densification in association with the presence of more liquid phase at the same temperature. By microwave sintering of the mixture of ferronickel slag, 25 wt% sintered magnesia, and 4 wt% Cr₂O₃ at 1350 °C for 20 min, a superior refractory material with refractoriness of 1801 °C, thermal shock resistance of 6 times, bulk density of 2.97 g/cm³, apparent porosity of 1.4%, and compressive strength of 197 MPa was obtained. Compared with that prepared by conventional sintering at 1350 °C for 2 h, the refractoriness and thermal shock resistance were increased by 175 °C and 100%, respectively. The present study provided a novel method for preparing high-quality refractory materials from ferronickel slag and relevant industrial wastes.     

Preparation of high-strength silica aerogels by two-step surface modification via ambient pressure drying

Journal of Porous Materials - High-strength silica aerogels were prepared successfully by a new two-step surface modification (TSSM) method via ambient pressure drying (APD). Methyltrimethoxysilane...