Asymmetric electrode design with built-in nitrogen transfer channel achieving maximized three-phase reaction region for electrochemical ammonia synthesis

Carbon-free electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR)is an appealing strategy for green ammonia synthesis,but there is still a significant performance bottleneck.Conventional working electrode is usually flooded by the electrolyte during the NRR test,and only the surface material could get access to the nitrogen,which inevitably gives rise to sluggish reaction rate.Herein,an asymmetric electrode design is proposed to tackle this challenge.An aerophilic layer is constructed on one face of the electrocatalyst-loaded electrode,while the other side maintains its original structure,aiming to achieve facilitated nitrogen transfer and electrolyte permeation within the conductive skeleton simultaneously.This asymmetric architecture affords extensive threephase reaction region within the electrode as demonstrated by the combination of theoretical simulations and experimental measurements,which gives full play to the loaded electrocatalyst.As expected,the proofof-concept asymmetric electrode delivers an NH_(3)yield rate of 40.81μg h^(−1)mg^(−1)and a Faradaic efficiency of 71.71%at−0.3 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode,which are more than 4 and 7 times that of conventional electrode,respectively.This work presents a versatile strategy for enhancing the interfacial reaction kinetics and is instructive to electrode design for gas-involved electrochemical reactions.

Effect of mono-/divalent metal ions on the conductivity characteristics of DNA solutions transferring through a microfluidic channel

Interactions between deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA) and metal ions are vital for maintaining life functions, however,there are still unsolved questions about its mechanisms. It is of great practical significance to study these issues for medical chip design, drug development, health care, etc. In this investigation, the conductivity properties of λ-DNA solutions with mono-/divalent metal ions(Na+, K^(+), Mg^(2+), and Ca^(2+)) are experimentally studied as they are electrically driven through a 5 μm microfluidic channel. Experimental data indicate that the conductivities of λ-DNA solutions with metal ions(M+/M2+) basically tend to reduce firstly and then increase as the voltage increases, of which the turning points varied with the metal ions. When the voltage surpasses turning points, the conductivity of λ-DNA-M+solutions increases with the concentration of metal ions, while that of λ-DNA-M^(2+)solutions decrease. Moreover, the conductivity of λ-DNA-M^(2+)solutions is always smaller than that of λ-DNA-M+solutions, and with high-concentration M^(2+), it is even smaller than that of the λ-DNA solution. The main reasons for the above findings could be attributed to the polarization of electrodes and different mechanisms of interactions between metal ions and λ-DNA molecules. This investigation is helpful for the precise manipulation of single DNA molecules in micro-/nanofluidic space and the design of new biomedical micro-/nanofluidic sensors.

Capacitance and voltage matching between MnO2 nanoflake cathode and Fe2O3 nanoparticle anode for high-performance asymmetric micro-supercapacitors

Planar micro-supercapacitors show great potential as the energy storage unit in miniaturized electronic devices. Asymmetric structures have been widely inves- tigated in micro-supercapacitors, and carbon-based materials are commonly applied in the electrodes. To integrate different metal oxides in both electrodes in micro-supercapacitors, the critical challenge is the pairing of different faradic metal oxides. Herein, we propose a strategy of matching the voltage and capadtance of two faradic materials that are fully integrated into one high-performance asymmetric micro-supercapacitor by a facile and controllable fabrication process. The fabricated micro-supercapacitors employ MnO2 as the positive active material and Fe203 as the negative active material, respectively. The planar asymmetric micro-supercapacitors possess a high capacitance of 60 F-cm-3, a high energy density of 12 mW.h.cm-3, and a broad operation voltage range up to 1.2 V.