Engineering Cu_(2)O/Cu/N-C interface to induce directional migration of charge for driving photocatalytic homo-coupling of terminal alkynes

The efficient utilization of visible light catalysts for organic reactions necessitates not only the effective separation of photogenerated electrons and holes to participate in the reaction,but also their ability to form key intermediates with reactant molecules.The present study successfully synthesized a crusiform-like mesoporous structure of nitrogen-doped carbon-coated Cu_(2)O/Cu(Cu_(2)O/Cu/N-C)with a Cu_(2)O/dual electron acceptor interface using etched HKUST-1 as the precursor.A series of theoretical and experimental studies have demonstrated that the Cu_(2)O/Cu/N-C interface in the photocatalytic homo-coupling of terminal alkynes not only effectively enhances the separation of photogenerated electron−hole pairs,but also facilitates the formation of the key intermediate[Cu_(2)O/Cu/N-C]-phenylacetylide and promotes the rearrangement of its internal charges.As a result,the homo-coupling reaction can be effectively facilitated.The primary reason for the functional role of Cu_(2)O/Cu/N-C interface lies in the downward bending of energy band from Cu_(2)O to N-doped C layers,induced by the different work functions of Cu_(2)O,Cu and N-doped C layers.Consequently,Cu_(2)O/Cu/N-C photocatalysts demonstrate exceptional photocatalytic activity in the homo-coupling reaction of terminal alkynes under blue-light irradiation and air atmosphere.The present study presents a novel research methodology for the development of highly efficient visible light catalysts to facilitate organic reactions in future applications.

Charge transfer interfaces across black phosphorus/Co,N Co-doped carbon heterojunction for enhanced electrocatalytic water splitting

The practicality of electrochemical water-splitting technology relies on the development of novel and efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts capable of facilitating both the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Black phosphorus(BP)holds tremendous promise for HER and OER electrocatalysis owing to its fully exposed atoms and high carrier mobility.However,the elec-trocatalytic performance of BP is still much lower than the expected theoretical limit,presenting an exciting challenge for further advancements.Herein,we embed electrochemically exfoliated few-layer BP nanosheets in higher Fermi level(EF)of cobalt,nitrogen co-doped carbons to form a new heterojunction(CoNC-BP),as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts toward HER and OER for the advancement overall water splitting applications.A directed interfacial electron transfer is realized from CoNC to BP,facilitated by the lowering Fermi level(EF).This interfacial electron transfer plays a crucial role in optimizing the adsorption and desorption of active intermediates,while also introducing an abundance of hypervalent Co sites.These factors collectively contribute to the remarkable electrocatalytic activities of HER and OER performance,leading to the efficient performance of the developed CoNC-BP heterojunction in water-splitting applications.This work demonstrates a promising breakthrough that can inspire the design of high-efficiency catalysts.

The embedded CuInS2 into hollow-concave carbon nitride for photocatalytic H2O splitting into H2 with S-scheme principle

It is still a great challenge to effectively optimize the electronic structure of photocatalysts for the sustainable and efficient conversion of solar energy to H2 energy.To resolve this issue,we report on the optimization of the electronic structure of hollow-concave carbon nitride(C3N4)by deviating the sp2-hybridized structure of its tri-s-triazine component from the two-dimensional plane.The embedded CuInS2 into C3N4(CuInS2@C3N4)demonstrates an increased light-capturing capability and the promoted directional transfer of the charge carrier.Research results reveal that the hollow structure with an apparent potential difference between the concave and convex C3N4 drives the directional transfer of the photoinduced electrons from the Cu 2p orbital of CuInS2 to the N 1s orbital of C3N4 with the S-scheme principle.The H2 evolution efficiency over CuInS2@C3N4 is up to 373μmol?h^-1 g^-1 under visible irradiation,which is 1.57 and 1.35 times higher than those over the bulk g-C3N4 with 1 wt%Pt(238μmol?h^-1 g^-1)and g-C3N4 with 3 wt%Pd(276μmol?h^-1 g^-1),respectively.This suggests that the apparent potential difference of the hollow C3N4 results in an efficient reaction between the photogenerated electrons and H2O.This work supplies a new strategy for enhancing the sustainable solar conversion performance of carbon nitride,which can also be suitable for other semiconductors.

Application of the DHCR technology in Ningbo Steel

This paper presented the application of the direct hot charge rolling （DHCR） technology in Ningbo Steel. Five aspects have been systematically addressed and analyzed, which include sales order, production schedule programming, steelmaking,continuous casting and hot-rolling. The average DHCR product rate has reached 55% and the average slab charging temperature 699℃. As a result, the production cost, the energy consumption and the CO2emission have been significantly reduced. It is concluded that a breakthrough in application of the DHCR technology has been achieved at Ningbo Steel.

A cubic triboelectric generator as a self-powered orientation sensor

Recently, triboelectric generator(TEG) has attracted a lot of attention due to its high output voltage and low-cost fabrication process. Here, a novel cubic TEG box is designed, which has separated electrodes on different surfaces. Thanks to the specially designed structure, it can scavenge vibration energy from all directions. Firstly the device is investigated through finite element method(FEM) simulation. Then the device is evaluated by experiments. The measuremental results show that this device can generate an amount of 25 n C charge during once shake by charging a 10 n F capacitor. Besides, an output voltage about 100 V is obtained, which is able to directly light up several light-emitting diodes(LEDs) simultaneously. At last, the device is utilized as a self-powered orientation sensor, which shows explicit directivity. This work extends the applications of TEG for ambient vibration energy harvesting techniques and the self-powered orientation sensor.