Oxidative exfoliation of spent cathode carbon:A two-in-one strategy for its decontamination and high-valued application

Spent cathode carbon(SCC)from aluminum electrolysis is a potential graphite resource.However,full use of the SCC remains a challenge,since it contains many hazardous substances(e.g.,fluoride salts,cyanides),encapsulated within the thick carbon layers and thus posing serious environmental concerns.This work presents a chemical oxidative exfoliation route to achieve the recycling of SCC and the decontaminated SCC with high-valued graphene oxide(GO)-like carbon structures(SCC-GO)is applied as an excellent adsorbent for organic pollutants.Specifically,after the oxidative exfoliation,the embedded hazardous constituents are fully exposed,facilitating their subsequent removal by aqueous leaching.Moreover,benefiting from the enhanced specific surface areas along with abundant O-containing functional groups,the as-produced SCC-GO,shows an adsorption capacity as high as 347 mg·g^(-1)when considering methylene blue as a pollutant model,which exceeds most of the recently reported carbon-based adsorbents.Our study provides a feasible solution for the efficient recycling of hazardous carbonaceous wastes.

Understanding the promotional effects of trace doped Zn in Co/NC for efficient one-pot catalytic conversion of furfural to 2-methyl-tetrahydrofuran

2-methyl-tetrahydrofuran(2-MTHF)is a promising biofuel or fuel additive with excellent burning property,a versatile new-style solvent in organic synthesis,and an important medical intermediate.In this work,a one-pot selective conversion of furfural(FA)into 2-MTHF was carried out over Zn doped Co/NC catalysts.The Zn-Co/NC-1 catalyst with trace Zn dopant(0.38 wt%)exhibited the best performance(yield of 2-MTHF:93.8%).According to the characterizations,it was found that the Zn not only incorporates into the carbon support but also partially dopes into Co nanoparticles.Subsequently,theoretical calculations demonstrated that the doping of Zn in carbon support can effectively enhance the electron transfer from the support to the metallic Co particle,leading to the electron-rich Co surface.The presence of Zn was found to promote the dissociation of hydrogen and to lower the diffusion barrier of hydrogen atom,in favor of the hydrogenation/hydrodeoxygenation processes.Furthermore,the Zn doped models exhibit much lower barrier in breaking C–OH bond of FOL,resulting in higher activity for hydrodeoxygenation of FOL.These theoretical results are consistent with the in situ FT-IR analysis of adsorption substrates and intermediates over Zn doped catalyst.This work reveals the mechanism of dopant Zn tailoring the electronic structure and catalytic performance of active sites,providing a deep insight into the design of economical and high-performance catalysts for hydrogenation/hydrodeoxygenation of biomass feedstocks.