Mccoyrosenthal6893

The findings herein motivate the design of new polymer electrolyte chemistries that exploit the advantages of both RCEs and BCEs.A series of sustainable and reprocessible thermoplastic polyester elastomers P(BF-PBSS)s were synthesized using dimethyl-2,5-furandicarboxylate, 1,4-butanediol, and synthetic low-molecular-weight biobased polyester (PBSS). The P(BF-PBSS)s contain poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF) as their hard segment and PBSS as their soft segment. The microstructures of the P(BF-PBSS)s were confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance, demonstrating that a higher content of the soft segment was incorporated into P(BF-PBSS)s with higher PBSS content. Interestingly, dynamic mechanical analysis indicated that P(BF-PBSS)s comprised two domains crystalline PBF and a mixture of amorphous PBF and PBSS. Consequently, the microphase separations of P(BF-PBSS)s were mainly induced by the crystallization of their PBF segments. More importantly, the thermal, crystallization, and mechanical properties could be tailored by tuning the PBSS content. Our results indicate that the as-prepared P(BF-PBSS)s are renewable, thermally stable, and nontoxic, and have good tensile properties, indicating that they could be potentially applied in biomedical materials.Alloying with transition elements is proven to be an effective way to improve the methanol electro-oxidation reaction (MOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activities of Pt catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Through a process of rapid solidification and two-step dealloying, we have successfully fabricated three-dimensional mesoporous PtM (M = Co, Cu, Ni) nanowire catalysts, which show much enhanced electrocatalytic properties towards MOR and ORR in comparison with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Electrochemical tests indicate that alloying with Cu presents the best ORR activities, the half-wave potential of which is 42 mV positively shifted compared with the commercial Pt/C (0.892 V vs. RHE). Meanwhile, the PtM nanowire catalysts also possess good CO tolerance as well as stability for 10 000 cycles of cyclic voltammetry scanning. This convenient preparation method is promising for the development of high performance electrocatalysts for MOR and ORR in DMFCs.Conventional carbonate-based electrolyte is prone to oxidative decomposition at high voltage (over 4.5 V vs. Li/Li+), which leads to the bad oxidation stability and inferior cycling performance of lithium ion batteries (LIBs). To solve these problems, a novel ionic liquid (IL) N-butyronitrile-N-methylpiperidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (PP1,CNFSI) was synthesized and explored as the additive to the LiPF6-ethylene carbonate (EC)/dimethyl carbonate (DMC) electrolyte. For the cell performance, the addition of PP1,CNFSI not only inhibits overcharge phenomenon, but also improves discharge capacity, thus enhancing capacity retention capability. Compared to the cell with blank electrolyte, the capacity retentions of adding 15 wt% PP1,CNFSI into the electrolyte were improved to 96.8% and 97% from 82.8% and 78.7% at 0.2 C and 5 C, respectively. The effects of PP1,CNFSI on the LNMO cathode surface were further investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It reveals that PP1,CNFSI addition drives the formation of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film which suppresses oxidative decomposition of the electrolyte and protects the structure cathode material.Adopting ab initio density functional theory (DFT) technique, the spintronic and opto-electronic characteristics of MnO x (i.e., Mn, MnO, MnO2, MnO3 and MnO4) clusters intercalated bilayer AlN (BL/AlN) systems are investigated in this paper. In terms of electron transfer, charge transfer occurs from BL/AlN to the MnO x clusters. MnO x clusters intercalation induces magnetic behavior in the non-magnetic AlN system. The splitting of electronic bands occurs, thus producing spintronic trends in the electronic structure of BL/AlN system. Further, MnO x intercalation converts insulating BL/AlN to a half metal/semiconductor material during spin up/down bands depending upon the type of impurity cluster present in its lattice. For instance, Mn, MnO and MnO2 intercalation in BL/AlN produces a half metallic BL/AlN system as surface states are available at the Fermi Energy (E F) level for spin up and down band channels, accordingly. Whereas, MnO3 and MnO4 intercalation produces a conducting BL/AlN system having a 0.5 eV so as to fabricate practical layered AlN systems that are functional in the field of nano-technology.In this study, the thermal and catalytic behavior of Ni-microsphere and Cu-MOF were investigated with aspartic acid as the coordinating ligand with different morphologies. The Ni-microsphere and Cu-MOF with aspartic acid, as the coordinating ligand, were prepared via a solvothermal method. The morphology and porosity of the obtained Ni microsphere and Cu-MOF were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TGA, DSC, BET and SEM techniques. The catalytic activity of the Ni-microsphere and Cu-MOF was examined in Stille and sulfoxidation reactions. The Ni microsphere and Cu-MOF were easily isolated from the reaction mixtures by simple filtration and then recycled four times without any reduction of catalytic efficiency.In this study, hierarchical Ni-Co-Mn hydroxide hollow architectures were successfully achieved via an etching process. We first performed the synthesis of NiCoMn-glycerate solid spheres via a solvothermal route, and then NiCoMn-glycerate as the template was etched to convert into hierarchical Ni-Co-Mn hydroxide hollow architectures in the mixed solvents of water and 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. Hollow architectures and high surface area enabled Ni-Co-Mn hydroxide to manifest a specific capacitance of 1626 F g-1 at 3.0 A g-1, and it remained as large as 1380 F g-1 even at 3.0 A g-1. The Ni-Co-Mn hydroxide electrodes also displayed notable cycle performance with a decline of 1.6% over 5000 cycles at 12 A g-1. Moreover, an asymmetric supercapacitor assembled with this electrode exhibited an energy density of 44.4 W h kg-1 at 1650 W kg-1 and 28.5 W h kg-1 at 12 374 W kg-1. These attractive results demonstrate that hierarchical Ni-Co-Mn hydroxide hollow architectures have broad application prospects in supercapacitors.Wastewater reclamation is becoming a top global interest as population growth and rapid industrialization pose a major challenge that requires development of sustainable cost-effective technologies and strategies for wastewater treatment. Carbon nanomembranes (CNMs)-synthetic 2D carbon sheets-can be tailored chemically with specific surface functions and/or physically with nanopores of well-defined size as a strategy for multifunctional membrane design. Here, we explore a bifunctional design for combined secondary wastewater effluent treatment with dual action of membrane separation and advanced oxidation processes (AOP), exploiting dissolved oxygen. The bifunctional membrane consists of a CNM layer on top of a commercial ultrafiltration membrane (Microlon™) and a spray-coated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) thin film as the bottom layer. The CNM/support/rGO membrane was characterized by helium ion and atomic force microscopy, FTIR, XPS with a four-point conductivity probe, cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic measurements, and impedance spectroscopy. Combined treatment of water by nanofiltration and AOP was demonstrated, employing a unique three electrode-dead end filtration setup that enables concurrent application of potential and pressure on the integrated membrane. Opevesostat For the model organic compound methylene blue, oxidation (by the Fenton reaction) was evaluated using UV-vis (610 nm). The rejection rate and permeability provided by the CNM layer were evaluated by dissolving polyethylene glycol (400 and 1000 Da) in the feed solution and applying pressure up to 1.5 bar. This demonstration of combined membrane separation and AOP using an integrated membrane opens up a new strategy for wastewater treatment.Polymer electrolytes have attracted considerable research interest due to their advantages of shape control, excellent safety, and flexibility. However, the limited use of traditional polymer electrolytes in electric double-layer capacitors due to their unsatisfactory ionic conductivities and poor mechanical properties makes them difficult to operate for long periods of time in large-scale energy storage. Therefore, we fabricated a high-performance microporous electrolyte based on poly(arylene ether ketone) (PAEK)/poly(ethylene glycol)-grafted poly(arylene ether ketone) (PAEK-g-PEG) using a certain amount of carboxylated chitosan with a high electrolyte uptake rate of 322 wt% and a high ionic conductivity of 2 × 10-2 S cm-1 at room temperature. A symmetric solid-state supercapacitor that uses activated carbon as electrodes and a composite microporous polymer film as the electrolyte shows a high specific capacitance of 134.38 F g-1 at a current density of 0.2 A g-1, while liquid electrolytes demonstrate a specific capacitance of 126.92 F g-1. Energy density of the solid-state supercapacitor was 15.82% higher than that of the liquid supercapacitor at a current density of 5 A g-1. In addition, the solid-state supercapacitor exhibited excellent cycling stability of over 5000 charge/discharge cycles at a current density of 1 A g-1. Furthermore, solid-state supercapacitors display lower self-discharge behavior with an open-circuit potential drop of only 36% within 70 000 s, which is significantly better than that of conventional supercapacitors (52% @ 70 000 s), at a charging current density of 1 mA cm-2. The satisfactory results indicated that the PAEK/PAEK-g-PEG composite microporous polymer film demonstrates high potential as an electrolyte material in practical applications of solid-state and portable energy storage devices.We present the facile synthesis of Ni/NiO nanocomposites, via a solution combustion methodology, where the composition of metallic Ni within NiO is controlled by varying the annealing time, from 4 minutes up to 8 hours. The various Ni/NiO nanocomposites are studied via electrically wiring them upon screen-printed graphite macroelectrodes by physical deposition. Subsequently their electrochemical activity, towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), is assessed within (ultra-pure) alkaline media (1.0 M KOH). An optimal annealing time of 2 hours is found, which gives rise to an electrochemical oxidation potential (recorded at 10 mA cm-2) of 231 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl 1.46 vs. RHE). These values show the Ni/NiO nanocomposites to be significantly more electrocatalytic than a bare/unmodified SPE (460 mV vs. Ag/AgCl). A remarkable percentage increase (134%) in achievable current density is realised by the former over that of the latter. Tafel analysis and turn over frequency is reported with a likely underlying mechanism for the Ni/NiO nanocomposites towards the OER proposed. In the former case, Tafel analysis is overviewed for general multi-step overall electrochemical reaction processes, which can be used to assist other researchers in determining mechanistic information, such as electron transfer and rate determining steps, when exploring the OER. The optimal Ni/NiO nanocomposite exhibits promising stability at the potential of +231 mV, retaining near 100% of its achievable current density after 28 hours. Due to the facile and rapid fabrication methodology of the Ni/NiO nanocomposites, such an approach is ideally suited towards the mass production of highly active and stable electrocatalysts for application within the anodic catalyst layers of commercial alkaline electrolysers.