Decorating cobalt phosphide and rhodium on reduced graphene oxide for high-efficiency hydrogen evolution reaction

Electrochemical reduction of water to hydrogen holds great promise for clean energy,while its widespread application relies on the development of efficient catalysts with large surface area,abundant exposed active sites and superior electron conductivity.Herein,we report a facile strategy to configure an electrocatalyst composed of cobalt phosphide and rhodium uniformly anchored on reduced graphene oxide for hydrogen generation.The hybrids effectively integrate the exposed active sites,electron conductivity and synergistic effect of the catalyst.Electrochemical tests exhibit that the catalyst shows superior hydrogen evolution reaction catalytic activity and stability,with a small Tafel slope of 43 m V dec-1.Overpotentials as low as 29 and 72 mV are required to achieve current densities of 2 and 10 mA cm-2in 0.5M H2SO4,respectively.The hybrid constitution with highly active sites on conductive substrate is a new strategy to synthesize extremely efficient electrocatalysts.Especially,the efficient synergistic effect among cobalt phosphide,rhodium and reduced graphene oxide provides a novel approach for configuring electrocatalysts with high electron efficiency.

A review on photo-, electro- and photoelectro- catalytic strategies for selective oxidation of alcohols

Traditional conversion of alcohols into carbonyl compounds exists a few drawbacks such as harsh reaction conditions,production of large amounts of hazardous wastes,and poor selectivity.The newly emerging conversion approaches via photo-,electro-,and photoelectro-catalysis to oxidize alcohols into high value-added corresponding carbonyl compounds as well as the possible simultaneous production of clean fuel hydrogen(H_(2))under mild conditions are promising to substitute the traditional approach to form greener and sustainable reaction systems and thus have aroused tremendous investigations.In this review,the state-of-the-art photocatalytic,electrocatalytic,and photoelectrocatalytic strategies for selective oxidation of different types of alcohols(aromatic and aliphatic alcohols,single alcohol,and polyols,etc.)as well as the simultaneous production of H_(2) in certain systems are discussed.The design of photocatalysts,electrocatalysts,and photoelectrocatalysts as well as reaction mechanism is summarized and discussed in detail.In the end,current challenges and future research directions are proposed.It is expected that this review will not only deepen the understanding of environmentally friendly catalytic systems for alcohol conversion as well as H_(2) production,but also enlighten significance and inspirations for the follow-up study of selective oxidation of various types of organic molecules to value-added chemicals.

Covalently integrated core-shell MOF@COF hybrids as efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts for selective oxidation of alcohols

Building a covalently connected structure with accelerated photo-induced electrons and charge-carrier separation between semiconductors could enhance the photocatalytic performance.In this work,we report a facile and novel seed growth method to coat NH2-MIL-125 MOFs with crystalline and porous covalent organic frameworks(COFs)materials and form a range of NH2-MIL-125@TAPB-PDA nanocomposites with different thicknesses of COF shell.The introduction of appropriate content of COF could not only modify the intrinsic electronic and optical properties,but also enhance the photocatalytic activity distinctly.Especially,NH2-MIL-125@TAPB-PDA-3 with COF shell thickness of around 20nm exhibited the highest yield(94.7%)of benzaldehyde which is approximately 2.5 and 15.5 times as that of parental NH2-MIL-125 and COF,respectively.The promoted photocatalytic performance of hybrid materials was mainly owing to the enhanced photo-induced charge carriers transfer between the MOF and COF through the covalent bond.In addition,a possible mechanism to elucidate the process of photocatalysis was explored.Therefore,this kind of MOF-based photocatalysts possesses great potentials in future green organic synthesis.

Isolating QTL controlling sugarcane leaf blight resistance using a two-way pseudo-testcross strategy

Sugarcane leaf blight(SLB),caused by Stagonospora tainanensis,is one of the most harmful fungal diseases,threatening the sugarcane industry and causing high losses of cane yield and sugar in susceptible cultivars.Using a two-way pseudo-testcross mapping strategy in combination with array genotyping,two high-density genetic maps were constructed for sugarcane cultivars YT93-159 and ROC22 with mean densities of respectively 3.0 and 3.5 cM per marker,and covering respectively 4485 and 2720 cM of genetic distance.The maps showed highly conserved colinearity with the genome of the ancestral species Saccharum officinarum,supporting the reliability of the linkage configurations of the maps.Quantitative trait loci(QTL)analysis of SLB resistance revealed six QTL(qSLB-1–qSLB-6).The major QTL qSLB-1 explaining 16.4%of phenotypic variance was assigned as the main QTL,and the total percentages of phenotypic variance explained in YT93-159 and ROC22 were 37.9%and 17.6%,respectively.Nine transcription factor and seven pathogen receptor genes lying in the qSLB-1 interval were highly expressed and are proposed as candidate causal genes for SLB resistance.

Covalent organic framework stabilized CdS nanoparticles as efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts for selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols

Noble-metal-free photocatalysts with high and stable performance provide an environmentally-friendly and cost-efficient route for green organic synthesis.In this work,CdS nanoparticles with small particle size and different amount were successfully deposited on the surface of covalent organic frameworks(COFs).The deposition of suitable content of CdS on COFs could not only modify the light adsorption ability and the intrinsic electronic properties,but also enhance the photocatalytic activity and cycling performance of CdS for the selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols under visible light.Especially,COF/CdS-3 exhibited the highest yield(97.1%)of benzalde hyde which is approximately 2.5 and 15.9 times as that of parental CdS and COF,respectively.The results show that the combination of CdS and COF can improve the utilization of visible light and the separation of photo-generated charge carriers,and COF with theπ-conjugated system as supports for CdS nanoparticles could provide efficient electron transport channels and improve the photocatalytic performance.Therefore,this kind of COF-supported photocatalysts with accelerated photo-induced electrons and charge-carrier separation between semiconductors possesses great potentials in future green organic synthesis.