Effects of thermal activation conditions on the microstructure regulation of corncob-derived activated carbon for hydrogen storage

Activated carbons derived from corncob （CACs） were prepared by pyrolysis carbonization and KOH activation. Through modifying activation conditions, samples with large pore volume and ultrahigh BET specific surface area could be obtained. The sample achieved the highest hydrogen uptake capacity of 5.80 wt% at 40 bar and -196℃ The as-obtained samples were characterized by N2-sorption, transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. Besides, thermogravimetric analysis was also employed to investigate the activation behavior of CACs. Detailed investigation on the activation parameters reveals that moderate activation temperature and heating rate are favorable for preparing CACs with high surface area, large pore volume and optimal pore size distribution. Meanwhile, the micropore volume between 0.65 nm and 0.85 nm along with BET surface area and total pore volume has great effects on hydrogen uptake capacities. The present results indicate that CACs are the most promising materials for hydrogen storage application.

Characterization and Methanol Adsorption of Walnutshell Activated Carbon Prepared by KOH Activation

Walnut-shellactivated carbons（WSACs）were prepared by the KOH chemicalactivation.The effects of carbonization temperature,activation temperature,and ratio of KOH to chars on the pore development of WSACs were investigated.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FTIR）,X-ray powder diffraction（XRD）,and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）were employed to characterize the microstructure and morphology of WSACs.Methanoladsorption performance onto the optimalWSAC and the coal-based AC were also investigated.The results show that the optimalpreparation conditions are a carbonization temperature of 700 ℃,an activation temperature of 700 ℃,and a mass ratio of 3.The BET surface area,the micropore volume,and the micropore volume percentage of the optimalWASC are 1636 m^2/g,0.641 cm^3/g and 81.97%,respectively.There are a lot of micropores and a certain amount of meso-and macropores.The characteristics of the amorphous state are identified.The results show that the optimalWSAC is favorable for methanoladsorption.The equilibrium adsorption capacity of the optimalWSAC is 248.02mg/g.It is shown that the equilibrium adsorption capacity of the optimalWSAC is almost equivalent to that of the common activated carbon.Therefore the optimalWSAC could be a potentialadsorbent for the solar energy adsorption refrigeration cycle.

Particle swarm optimization algorithm for simultaneous optimal placement and sizing of shunt active power conditioner(APC)and shunt capacitor in harmonic distorted distribution system

Due to development of distribution systems and increase in electricity demand,the use of capacitor banks increases.From the other point of view,nonlinear loads generate and inject considerable harmonic currents into power system.Under this condition if capacitor banks are not properly selected and placed in the power system,they could amplify and propagate these harmonics and deteriorate power quality to unacceptable levels.With attention of disadvantages of passive filters,such as occurring resonance,nowadays the usage of this type of harmonic compensator is restricted.On the other side,one of parallel multi-function compensating devices which are recently used in distribution system to mitigate voltage sag and harmonic distortion,performs power factor correction,and improves the overall power quality as active power conditioner(APC).Therefore,the utilization of APC in harmonic distorted system can affect and change the optimal location and size of shunt capacitor bank under harmonic distortion condition.This paper presents an optimization algorithm for improvement of power quality using simultaneous optimal placement and sizing of APC and shunt capacitor banks in radial distribution networks in the presence of voltage and current harmonics.The algorithm is based on particle swarm optimization(PSO).The objective function includes the cost of power losses,energy losses and those of the capacitor banks and APCs.

Preparation of Anatase Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticle Powders Submitting Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) under Dark Conditions

Recently, under the circumstances of pandemic of COVID-19 much attention has been paid to titanium dioxide TiO2 as bactericidal agent;however, conventional TiO2 requires ultraviolet radiation or visible light to exercise its photocatalytic properties and its induced antimicrobial activity. In order to expand its applications directed at wide civil life, antibacterial TiO2 being usable under dark conditions has been demanded. The present paper describes the powder characterization of newly developed potassium K and phosphorous P co-doped nanometer-size anatase TiO2 powders using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM & TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method (BET), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), electron spin resonance (ESR) and chemiluminescence (CL). It was found for the first time that thus prepared anatase TiO2 could submit much reactive oxygen species (ROS) even in the dark, which has close relation with bactericidal activity in light interception.

Synergically regulated silver species and surface oxygen on manganese oxide for promoted activity of formaldehyde oxidation

Formaldehyde(HCHO)is a common indoor pollutant that is detrimental to human health.Its efficient removal has become an urgent demand to reduce the public health risk.In this work,Ag-MnO_(x)-based catalysts were prepared and activated under different atmosphere(i.e.,air,hydrogen(H_(2))and carbon monoxide(CO))for efficient oxidation of HCHO.The catalyst activated with CO(Ag/Mn-CO)displayed the highest activity among the tested samples with 90% conversion at 100℃ under a gas space velocity of 75,000 mL/(g_(cat)·hr).Complementary characterizations demonstrate that CO reduction treatment resulted in synergically regulated content of surface oxygen on support to adsorb/activate HCHO and size of Ag particle to dissociate oxygen to oxidize the adsorbed HCHO.In contrast,other catalysts lack for either abundant surface oxygen species or metallic silver with the appropriate particle size,so that the integrate activity is limited by one specific reaction step.This study contributes to elucidating the mechanisms regulating the oxidation activity of Ag-based catalysts.

Palladium-catalyzed allylation of active methylene compounds with allyl perfluoroalkanoates under neutral conditions

Palladium-catalyzed allylation of carbonucleophiles has been widely used for carbon-carbon bond formation.Among the allylic compounds studied,allylic acetates were mostwidely used as precursors of(π-allyl)palladium intermediates.However,bases such as NaHmust be used to generate anions in this reaction.Recently,research on carrying out the palla-

Effects of sulfate-reducing bacteria on methylmercury at the sediment–water interface

Sediment cores（containing sediment and overlying water） from Baihua Reservoir（SW China）were cultured under different redox conditions with different microbial activities, to understand the effects of sulfate-reducing bacteria（SRB） on mercury（Hg） methylation at sediment–water interfaces. Concentrations of dissolved methyl mercury（DMe Hg） in the overlying water of the control cores with bioactivity maintained（BAC） and cores with only sulfate-reducing bacteria inhibited（SRBI） and bacteria fully inhibited（BACI） were measured at the anaerobic stage followed by the aerobic stage. For the BAC and SRBI cores, DMe Hg concentrations in waters were much higher at the anaerobic stage than those at the aerobic stage, and they were negatively correlated to the dissolved oxygen concentrations（r =- 0.5311 and r =- 0.4977 for BAC and SRBI, respectively）. The water DMe Hg concentrations of the SRBI cores were 50% lower than those of the BAC cores, indicating that the SRB is of great importance in Hg methylation in sediment–water systems, but there should be other microbes such as iron-reducing bacteria and those containing specific gene cluster（hgc AB）, besides SRB,causing Hg methylation in the sediment–water system.