Ionic liquids in electrocatalysis

The performance of an electrocatalyst, which is needed e.g. for key energy conversion reactions such as hydrogen evolution, oxygen reduction or CO2 reduction, is determined not only by the inherent structure of active sites but also by the properties of the interfacial structures at catalytic surfaces. Ionic liquids（ILs）, as a unique class of metal salts with melting point below 100 ℃, present themselves as ideal modulators for manipulations of the interfacial structures. Due to their excellent properties such as good chemical stability, high ionic conductivity, wide electrochemical windows and tunable solvent properties the performance of electrocatalysts can be substantially improved through ILs. In the current minireview, we highlight the critical role of the IL phase at the microenvironments created by the IL, the liquid electrolyte, catalytic nanoparticles and/or support materials, by detailing the promotional effect of IL in electrocatalysis as reaction media, binders, and surface modifiers. Updated exemplary applications of IL in electrocatalysis are given and moreover, the latest developments of IL modified electrocatalysts following the ＂Solid Catalyst with Ionic Liquid Layer（SCILL）＂ concept are presented.

Physical Diffusion and Electron-transfer Dynamics of Electroactive Solutes in Polymer Electrolytes Ⅱ. Effect of the Ionic Size of Supporting Electrolytes

The ditheion coefficients(Dapp) and the heterogeneous electron-transfer rate constan(ks)for ferrocene in MPEG/salt electrolytes were determined by using Steady-stae voltammetry. The temperature dependence of the two parameters obeys the Arrhenius equstion. The effect of the ionic size of sir supporting electrolytes on diffusion and electron transfer dynamics of fermcene was discussed

Salting-out effect of ionic liquids on isobaric vapor-liquid equilibrium of acetonitrile-water system

This paper presents the vapor–liquid equilibrium(VLE) data of acetonitrile–water system containing ionic liquids(ILs) at atmospheric pressure(101.3 k Pa). Since ionic liquids dissociate into anions and cations, the VLE data for the acetonitrile + water + ILs systems are correlated by salt effect models, Furter model and improved Furter model. The overall average relative deviation of Furter model and improved Furter model is 5.43% and 4.68%, respectively. Thus the salt effect models are applicable for the correlation of IL containing systems. The salting-out effect theory can be used to explain the change of relative volatility of acetonitrile–water system.

A Straightforward Method of Calculating Finely the Soft X-Ray Spectra of Hydrogenlike Highly Ionized-States

A new method of calculating finely the soft X ray spectra of hydrogenlike highly ionized states is presented. It is based on the relation of the ionicity and the ionization energies of hydrogenlike atoms and the new model of potential function of hydrogenlike atoms. The relativistic revision and the spin orbit couping of excitation energy levels are taken into account. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experiments.

A critical assessment of the roles of water molecules and solvated ions in acid-base-catalyzed reactions at solid-water interfaces

Solid-aqueous interfaces and phenomena occurring at those interfaces are ubiquitously found in a plethora of chemical systems.When it comes to heterogeneous catalysis,however,our understanding of chemical transformations at solid-aqueous interfaces is relatively limited and primitive.This review phenomenologically describes a selection of water-engendered effects on the catalytic behavior for several prototypical acid-base-catalyzed reactions over solid catalysts,and critically assesses the general and special roles of water molecules,structural moieties derived from water,and ionic species that are dissolved in it,with an aim to extract novel concepts and principles that underpin heterogeneous acid-base catalysis in the aqueous phase.For alcohol dehydration catalyzed by solid Bronsted acids,rate inhibition by water is most typically related to the decrease in the acid strength and/or the preferential solvation of adsorbed species over the transition state as water molecules progressively solvate the acid site and form extended networks wherein protons are mobilized.Water also inhibits dehydration kinetics over most Lewis acid-base catalysts by competitive adsorption,but a few scattered reports reveal substantial rate enhancements due to the conversion of Lewis acid sites to Brønsted acid sites with higher catalytic activities upon the introduction of water.For aldol condensation on catalysts exposing Lewis acid-base pairs,the addition of water is generally observed to enhance the rate when C–C coupling is rate-limiting,but may result in rate inhibition by site-blocking when the initial unimolecular deprotonation is rate-limiting.Water can also promote aldol condensation on Brønsted acidic catalysts by facilitating inter-site communication between acid sites through hydrogen-bonding interactions.For metallozeolite-catalyzed sugar isomerization in aqueous media,the nucleation and networking of intrapore waters regulated by hydrophilic entities causes characteristic enthalpy-entropy tradeoffs as these water moieties interact with kinetically relevant hydride transfer transition states.The discussed examples collectively highlight the utmost importance of hydrogen-bonding interactions and ionization of covalently bonded surface moieties as the main factors underlying the uniqueness of water-mediated interfacial acid-base chemistries and the associated solvation effects in the aqueous phase or in the presence of water.A perspective is also provided for future research in this vibrant field.

Improvements in continuum modeling for biomolecular systems

Modeling of biomolecular systems plays an essential role in understanding biological processes, such as ionic flow across channels, protein modification or interaction, and cell signaling. The continuum model described by the Poisson- Boltzmann （PB）/Poisson-Nernst-Planck （PNP） equations has made great contributions towards simulation of these pro- cesses. However, the model has shortcomings in its commonly used form and cannot capture （or cannot accurately capture） some important physical properties of the biological systems. Considerable efforts have been made to improve the con- tinuum model to account for discrete particle interactions and to make progress in numerical methods to provide accurate and efficient simulations. This review will summarize recent main improvements in continuum modeling for biomolecu- lar systems, with focus on the size-modified models, the coupling of the classical density functional theory and the PNP equations, the coupling of polar and nonpolar interactions, and numerical progress.

Interaction of cyclodextrins with 1,3-di(1-naphthyl)propane and the additive effects of ionic surfactants

The interaction between cyclodextrins (CDs) and 1,3-di(1-naphthyl)propane (1) in aqueous methanol (V: V=1:1) has been investigated by means of fluorescence emission and UV absorption. Fluorescence enhancement and absorption spectra reveal that β- or γ-CD can form inclusion complexes with 1, but α-CD cannot. One of these complexes is identified as ground state complex (2:1), i.e. the eclipsed conformer of 1 is included. Molecule 1 can be driven out of the CD cavity by sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) molecule, but cannot by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) or sodium cetylsulfate (SCS) molecules due to their alkyl chain coiling.

Current progress in glass-based nanochannels

Glass-based nanochannels have become powerful tools for chemi-cal and biological sensing due to their advantages of easy prepara-tion,flexible modification,and high sensitivity.Lately,research on ion transport behaviors in glass-based nanochannels and their applications in nanofluidic iontronics has gradually become a focus,including various ion transport behaviors such as resistive-pulse,ion rectification,ionic current memory,etc.In this review,we summarize the progress of manufacturing methods for glass-based nanochannels and discuss several typical ion transport behaviors of glass-based nanochannels,as well as the main application scenarios of glass-based nanochannels in terms of biosensing,detection,and neuromorphic functions.The enormous assistance of artificial intel-ligence in the standardized manufacturing process of glass-based nanochannels was anticipated,and the potential development of glass-based nanochannels in achieving neuromorphic functions was expected.

Electrical control of antiferromagnetic metal up to 15 nm

Manipulation of antiferromagnetic(AFM) spins by electrical means is on great demand to develop the AFM spintronics with low power consumption. Here we report a reversible electrical control of antiferromagnetic moments of FeMn up to 15 nm, using an ionic liquid to exert a substantial electric-field effect. The manipulation is demonstrated by the modulation of exchange spring in[Co/Pt]/FeMn system, where AFM moments in FeMn pin the magnetization rotation of Co/Pt. By carrier injection or extraction,the magnetic anisotropy of the top layer in FeMn is modulated to influence the whole exchange spring and then passes its influence to the [Co/Pt]/FeMn interface, through a distance up to the length of exchange spring that fully screens electric field. Comparing FeMn to IrMn, despite the opposite dependence of exchange bias on gate voltages, the same correlation between carrier density and exchange spring stiffness is demonstrated. Besides the fundamental significance of modulating the spin structures in metallic AFM via all-electrical fashion, the present finding would advance the development of low-power-consumption AFM spintronics.