Phase reconfiguration of heterogeneous CoFeS/CoNiS nanoparticles for superior battery-type supercapacitors

Developing advanced battery-type materials with abundant active sites,high conductivity,versatile morphologies,and hierarchically porous structures is crucial for realizing high-quality hybrid supercapacitors.Herein,heterogeneous FeS@NiS is synthesized by cationic Co doping via surface-structure engineering.The density functional theory(DFT)theoretical calculations are firstly performed to predict the advantages of Co dopant by improving the OH^(−)adsorption properties and adjusting electronic structure,benefiting ions/electron transfer.The dynamic surface evolution is further explored which demonstrates that CoFeS@CoNiS could be quickly reconstructed to Ni(Co)Fe_(2)O_(4)during the charging process,while the unstable structure of the amorphous Ni(Co)Fe_(2)O_(4)results in partial conversion to Ni/Co/FeOOH at high potentials,which contributes to the more reactive active site and good structural stability.Thus,the free-standing electrode reveals excellent electrochemical performance with a superior capacity(335.6 mA h g^(−1),2684 F g^(−1))at 3 A g^(−1).Furthermore,the as-fabricated device shows a quality energy density of 78.1 W h kg^(−1)at a power density of 750 W kg^(−1)and excellent cycle life of 92.1%capacitance retention after 5000 cycles.This work offers a facile strategy to construct versatile morphological structures using electrochemical activation and holds promising applications in energy-related fields.

Breaking the scaling relations for efficient N_(2)-to-NH_(3) conversion by a bowl active site design:Insight from LaRuSi and isostructural electrides

The design of optimal heterogeneous catalysts for N_(2)-to-NH_(3) conversion is often dictated by the scaling relations,which result in a volcano curve that poses a limit on the catalytic performance.Herein,we reveal a bowl active site that can break the scaling relations,through investigating the catalytic mechanisms of N_(2)-to-NH_(3) conversion on the lanthanide intermetallic electride catalyst LaRuSi by first-principles modeling.This bowl active site,composed of four surface La cations and one subsurface Si atom rich in electrons,plays the key role in enabling efficient catalysis.With adaptive electrostatic and orbital interactions,the bowl active site promotes the adsorption and activation of N_(2) that delivers facile cleavage of N-N bond,while destabilizes the adsorptions of ^(*)NH_(x)(x=1,2,3)species,which facilitates the release of the final NH_(3) product.By comparison with other electride catalysts isostructural to LaRuSi,we confirm the breaking of scaling relations between the adsorptions of ^(*)NH_(x) species and that of^(*)N on the bowl active site.Thus,this bowl active site presents a design concept that breaks the scaling relations for highly efficient heterogeneous catalysis of N_(2)-to-NH_(3) conversion.

Influence of geometric design characteristics on safety under heterogeneous traffic flow

This paper focuses on analysing the influence of geometric design characteristics on traffic safety using bi-directional data on a divided roadway operated under heterogeneous traffic conditions in India. The study was carried out on a four lane divided inter-city highway in plain and rolling terrain. Statistical modelling approach by Poisson regression and Negative binomial regression were used to assess the safety performance as occurrence of crashes are random events and to identify the influence of the geometric design variables on the crash frequency. Negative binomial regression model was found to be more suitable to identify the variables contributing to road crashes. The study enabled better understanding of the factors related to road geometrics that influence road crash frequency. The study also established that operating speed has a significant contribution to the total number of crashes. Negative binomial models are found to be appropriate to predict road crashes on divided roadways under heterogeneous traffic conditions.