Influence of interlayer water molecules in Ni-based catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction

Nickel-iron layered double hydroxides(NiFe LDHs) have been identified as one of the best promising electrocatalysts-candidates for oxygen evolution reaction(OER). However, the catalytic activity effected by interlayer water molecules is ignored and rarely reported. Herein, Ni(OH)_2, NiFe LDHs vertically aligned Ni foam are designed for OER. As a contrast, the corresponding electrocatalysts with the removal of the interlayer water molecules(Ni(OH)_2-AT, NiFe LDHs-AT) are developed to probe into the influence of the interlayer water molecules towards OER. As expected, NiFe LDH nanoplates exhibit excellent catalytic performance and durability for water electrolysis in alkaline conditions with lower overpotential and smaller Tafel slope compared to those of NiFe LDHs-AT, which are influenced mainly by stability of crystal structure due to the existence of interlayer water molecules. The discovery opens up a similar pathway by controlling the amount of water molecules to boost catalytic performance for studying other electrocatalysts with heteroatom dopant.

Ecological and geochemical aspects of interlayer water use for potable water supply of urban population:a case study in the Dnieper–Donetsk aquifer system,Ukraine

The article is devoted to the study of ecological and geochemical features of interlayer waters of the Dnieper–Donetsk aquifer system in Ukraine,used for the potable water supply of Kyiv.A wide range of methods was used,including Microsoft Excel,Statistica,and Attestat software packages,MapInfo Professional 6.5 and ArcGIS-ArcMap 9.3 programs;the method of mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma(ICP-MS)and GEMS software were performed.Monitoring study results(during 2007–2023)were analyzed for two interlayer aquifers—Cenomanian-Callovian groundwater complex and Bajocian aquifer.It was determined that the normalized value of mineralization increased with a decrease in water intake during 1980–2010,which indicates a relative increase in the content of mineral substances during longterm exploitation.A high negative correlation(Kcor.=-0.54 to-0.86)is also typical for normalized values of oxidizability,total hardness,pH,Ca,Mg,and Cl content.Comparative analysis of two different aquifers revealed that the macrocomponent composition of Bajocian aquifer remains stable,once for Cenomanian-Callovian groundwater complex,there is a tendency to decrease hydrogen carbonates and increase chlorides and sulfates,whereas the cation composition remains relatively stable.A significant increase(by 55%)of the total mineralization in the representative well located on the right bank of the Dnieper River was found.There is also a significant increase(by more than 5 times)in the iron content,which the authors associate with the unsatisfactory technical condition of the well casing pipes.Physico-chemical modeling of trace elements,performed for investigated aquifers,shows that both aquifers are characterized by the predominant migration of the following metals in the cationic form(aqua-ions):Ca,Mg,Na,Ba,Co,Cu,Mn,Ni,Sr,Zn.It was found that the predominant migration forms of metals in the studied interlayer waters are free uncomplexed ions,carbonate,and hydroxo complexes.

Effect of cations on thermal properties of montmorillonite

Based on comparison and analysis on structural cations of montmorillonite in bentonite samples collected from several typical areas in Jilin Province, relationships among type and quantity of interlayer/tetrahedral/octahedral cations and temperature and activation energy of removal of bound and hydroxyl water were investigated. The results show that the interlayer cations not only play decisive roles on removal temperature of bound water, but also influence dehydroxylation temperature and activation energy of montmorillonite. Type of octahedral cations also has an effect on dehydroxylation process.

The significance and variation characteristics of interlay water in smectite of hydrocarbon source rocks

To investigate variation characteristics of interlayer water bound up with organic matter in smectite, organo-clay complexes extracted from grinded source rock samples were determined using thermo-XRD, DTA and PY-GC. The dool diffraction peak of organo-clay complexes is postponed from 250 to 550℃ before reaching 1.00 nm and accompanied by exothermal peaks on DTA and organic matter with abundant C20-C30carbon detected by PY-GC, which is different from single smectite and indicates the existence of organic matter in the interlayer of smectite. Water desorption characteristics of organo-clay complexes are in consistent with smectite at 100 and 600℃, but different from smectite at 550℃ with an additional dehydration peak and a remaining d001 diffraction peak, suggesting the vcater removed at 550℃ is interlayer adsorption water rather than constituent water of clay minerals. Comparing the dehydration order and water loss, we conclude that part of interlayer water of smectite may act as the ＂bridge＂ that binds organic matter and smectite, which results in water-expelled lag beyond 250℃ and may provide a good medium for hydrocarbon migration and oil pool formation.