Development of advanced anion exchange membrane from the view of the performance of water electrolysis cell

Green hydrogen produced by water electrolysis combined with renewable energy is a promising alternative to fossil fuels due to its high energy density with zero-carbon emissions.Among water electrolysis technologies,the anion exchange membrane(AEM) water electrolysis has gained intensive attention and is considered as the next-generation emerging technology due to its potential advantages,such as the use of low-cost non-noble metal catalysts,the relatively mature stack assembly process,etc.However,the AEM water electrolyzer is still in the early development stage of the kW-level stack,which is mainly attributed to severe performance decay caused by the core component,i.e.,AEM.Here,the review comprehensively presents the recent progress of advanced AEM from the view of the performance of water electrolysis cells.Herein,fundamental principles and critical components of AEM water electrolyzers are introduced,and work conditions of AEM water electrolyzers and AEM performance improvement strategies are discussed.The challenges and perspectives are also analyzed.

Seed-solution-induced Synthesis of FER Zeolite and Its Catalytic Application in the Skeletal Isomerization of n-Butene

A series of Ferrierite(FER)zeolites were prepared via hydrothermal synthesis in the absence of organic templates with the aid of sodium-type FER zeolite(NaFER)or NaFER suspensions(NaFERsus)acquired by NaOH solution treatment as seeds.The differences in the structures and acid sites of the obtained FER zeolite catalysts arising from the choice of seed were investigated,and the catalytic performances of the obtained FER zeolites were evaluated in the skeletal isomerization of n-butene.The results indicate that the samples synthesized using NaFERsus feature more Br?nsted acid sites(BAS)in the 10-membered-ring(10-MR)at the expense of strong acid and Lewis acid sites(LAS),compared with samples derived from NaFER.Therefore,the FER samples synthesized using NaFERsus outperformed the NaFER counterparts as the BAS in 10-MR and LAS were the main active sites,while BAS in 8-MR and LAS were responsible for side reactions,such as polymerization,cracking,and carbon deposition in n-butene isomerization.The optimized FER catalyst was continuously used for 720 h at 350℃ at 0.1 MPa under an n-butene space velocity of 2.0 h^(-1),during which the n-butene conversion remained at>40%,and the isobutylene yield was>37.5%.

Structural Isomers:Small Change with Big Difference in Anion Storage

Organic electrode materials are promising for batteries.However,the reported organic electrodes are often facing the challenges of low specific capacity,low voltage,poor rate capability and vague charge storage mechanisms,etc.Isomers are good platform to investigate the charge storage mechanisms and enhance the performance of batteries,which,however,have not been focused in batteries.Herein,two isomers are reported for batteries.As a result,the isomer tetrathiafulvalene(TTF)could store two monovalent anions reversibly,deriving an average discharge voltage of 1.05 V and a specific capacity of 220 mAh g−1 at a current density of 2 C.On the other hand,the other isomer tetrathianaphthalene could only reversibly store one monovalent anion and upon further oxidation,it would undergo an irreversible solid-state molecular rearrangement to TTF.The molecular rearrangement was confirmed by electrochemical performances,X-ray diffraction patterns,nuclear magnetic resonance spectra,and 1H detected heteronuclear multiple bond correlation spectra.These results suggested the small structural change could lead to a big difference in anion storage,and we hope this work will stimulate more attention to the structural design for boosting the performance of organic batteries.

Synergistic anionic/zwitterionic mixed surfactant system with high emulsification efficiency for enhanced oil recovery in low permeability reservoirs

Emulsification is one of the important mechanisms of surfactant flooding. To improve oil recovery for low permeability reservoirs, a highly efficient emulsification oil flooding system consisting of anionic surfactant sodium alkyl glucosyl hydroxypropyl sulfonate(APGSHS) and zwitterionic surfactant octadecyl betaine(BS-18) is proposed. The performance of APGSHS/BS-18 mixed surfactant system was evaluated in terms of interfacial tension, emulsification capability, emulsion size and distribution, wettability alteration, temperature-resistance and salt-resistance. The emulsification speed was used to evaluate the emulsification ability of surfactant systems, and the results show that mixed surfactant systems can completely emulsify the crude oil into emulsions droplets even under low energy conditions. Meanwhile,the system exhibits good temperature and salt resistance. Finally, the best oil recovery of 25.45% is achieved for low permeability core by the mixed surfactant system with a total concentration of 0.3 wt%while the molar ratio of APGSHS:BS-18 is 4:6. The current study indicates that the anionic/zwitterionic mixed surfactant system can improve the oil flooding efficiency and is potential candidate for application in low permeability reservoirs.

Towards high-performance and robust anion exchange membranes(AEMs)for water electrolysis:Super-acid-catalyzed synthesis of AEMs

The increasing demand for hydrogen energy to address environmental issues and achieve carbon neutrality has elevated interest in green hydrogen production,which does not rely on fossil fuels.Among various hydrogen production technologies,anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer(AEMWE)has emerged as a next-generation technology known for its high hydrogen production efficiency and its ability to use non-metal catalysts.However,this technology faces significant challenges,particularly in terms of the membrane durability and low ionic conductivity.To address these challenges,research efforts have focused on developing membranes with a new backbone structure and anion exchange groups to enhance durability and ionic conductivity.Notably,the super-acid-catalyzed condensation(SACC)synthesis method stands out due to its user convenience,the ability to create high molecular weight(MW)polymers,and the use of oxygen-tolerant organic catalysts.Although the synthesis of anion exchange membranes(AEMs)using the SACC method began in 2015,and despite growing interest in this synthesis approach,there remains a scarcity of review papers focusing on AEMs synthesized using the SACC method.The review covers the basics of SACC synthesis,presents various polymers synthesized using this method,and summarizes the development of these polymers,particularly their building blocks including aryl,ketone,and anion exchange groups.We systematically describe the effects of changes in the molecular structure of each polymer component,conducted by various research groups,on the mechanical properties,conductivity,and operational stability of the membrane.This review will provide insights into the development of AEMs with superior performance and operational stability suitable for water electrolysis applications.

Theoretical investigation of excited dipole bound states of alkali-containing diatomic anions

Information about electronic excited states of molecular anions plays an important role in investigating electron attachment and detachment processes.Here we present a high-level theoretical study of the electronic structures of 12 alkali-metal-containing diatomic anions MX-(MX = LiH,LiF,LiCl,NaF,NaCl,NaBr,RbCl,KCl,KBr,RbI,KI and CsI).The equation-of-motion electron-attachment coupled-cluster singles and doubles(EOM-EA-CCSD) method is used to calculate the electron binding energies(EBEs) of 10 electronic excited states of each of the 12 molecule anions.With addition of different s-/p-/d-type diffusion functions in the basis set,we have identified possible excited dipole bound states(DBSs) of each anion.With the investigation of EBEs on the 12 MXs with dipole moment(DM) up to 12.1 D,we evaluate the dependence of the number of anionic excited DBSs on molecular DM.The results indicate that there are at least two or three DBSs of anions with a molecular DM larger than 7 D and a molecule with DM > 10 D can sustain a π-DBS of the anion.Our study has some implications for the excited DBS electronic states of alkali-metal-containing diatomic molecules.

Hybrid anionic block copolymerization:From organocatalysis-streamlined crossover to internally microphase-separated aggregates

Polyolefin-b-poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO)represents the most widely investigated amphiphilic block copolymers.So far,one-pot continuous synthesis of such hybrid block copolymers has only been fulfilled by anionic polymerization through sequen-tial addition of vinyl monomers and ethylene oxide(EO).It still remains challenging to achieve altogether high block efficiency,high polymerization efficiency,and high molar mass for PEO.Here,we report a one-pot hybrid block copolymerization approach to polyisoprene/polystyrene(PI/PS)-b-PEO,in which PI/PS are formed by sBuLi-initiated anionic vinyl-addition polymerization,then in situ employed as macroinitiators for the anionic ring-opening polymerization(ROP)of EO aided by an organic Lewis pair.The cooperative(dual-ion-complexing)catalytic effect of organobase and triethylborane is proven,for thefirst time,effective for lithium alkoxide initiator system,allowing to achieve at room temperature high ROP activity(complete EO conversion and PEO of 3–64 kg/mol reached in 1–6 h),narrow molar mass distribution,controlled block lengths and composition.Density functional the-ory calculation shows that phosphazene bases are particularly effective,compared with N-heterocyclic bases,for complexing with Li+and enhancing the nucleophilic-ity of oxyanion.The rate of ROP is also affected by Li+-induced aggregation of the chain-end ion pairs,which though can be offset by adequate catalyst loadings.The versatility of this approach is further demonstrated in the one-pot synthesis of tri-/tetrablock ter-/quaterpolymers constituted by PI,PS,PEO,and poly(propylene oxide).Of great interest,PS-b-PI-b-PEO triblock terpolymer with a specific com-position is found to form internally microphase-separated micellar aggregates when dispersed in water.

Effects of anions on the structural regulation of Zn‑salen‑modified metal‑organic cage

By virtue of a 3∶1 complementary coordination strategy,a chiral heteroleptic metal-organic cage that con-tains divergent functional units,Pd‑R(Zn),was precisely constructed via self-assembly of monodentate variational Zn-salen ligands RZn and NADH(reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide)mimic modified tridentate ligands with square-planar Pd ions.UV-Vis and luminescence spectra experiments reveal that different anions could selec-tively interact with different sites of Zn-salen modified metal-organic cages to achieve the structural regulation of cage compound,by using the differentiated host-guest electrostatic interactions of counter ions with metal-organic hosts.Compared to other anions,the presence of chloride ions caused the most significant fluorescence emission enhancement of Pd‑R(Zn),meanwhile,the UV-Vis absorption band attributed to the salen aromatic backbone showed an absorption decrease,and the metal-to-ligand induced peak displayed a blue shift effect.Circular dichro-ism and ^(1)H NMR spectra further demonstrate that the introduction of chloride anions is beneficial to keeping a more rigid scaffold.

Anion exchange membranes with a semi-interpenetrating polymer network using 1,6-dibromohexane as bifunctional crosslinker

An anion exchange membrane(AEM)is generally expected to possess high ion exchange capacity(IEC),low water uptake(WU),and high mechanical strength when applied to electrodialysis desalination.Among different types of AEMs,semi-interpenetrating polymer networks(SIPNs)have been suggested for their structural superiorities,i.e.,the tunable local density of ion exchange groups for IEC and the restrained leaching of hygroscopic groups by insolubility for WU.Unfortunately,the conventional SIPN AEMs still struggle to balances IEC,WU,and mechanical strength simultaneously,due to the lack of the compact crosslinking region.In this work,we proposed a novel SIPN structure of polyvinylidene difluoride/polyvinylimidazole/1,6-dibromohexane(PVDF/PVIm/DBH).On the one hand,DBH with two cationic groups of imidazole groups are introduced to enhance the ion conductivity,which is different from the conventional monofunctional modifier with only one cationic group.On the other hand,DBH has the ability to bridge with PVIm,where the mechanical strength of the resulting AEM is increased by the increase of crosslinking degree.Results show that a low WU of 38.1%to 62.6%,high IEC of 2.12—2.22 mmol·g^(-1),and excellent tensile strength of 3.54—12.35 MPa for PVDF/PVIm/DBH membrane are achieved.This work opens a new avenue for achieving the high-quality AEMs.

Simultaneous Degradation, Dehalogenation, and Detoxification of Halogenated Antibiotics by Carbon Dioxide Radical Anions

Despite the extensive application of advanced oxidation processes(AOPs)in water treatment,the efficiency of AOPs in eliminating various emerging contaminants such as halogenated antibiotics is constrained by a number of factors.Halogen moieties exhibit strong resistance to oxidative radicals,affecting the dehalogenation and detoxification efficiencies.To address these limitations of AOPs,advanced reduction processes(ARPs)have been proposed.Herein,a novel nucleophilic reductant—namely,the carbon dioxide radical anion(CO_(2)^(·-))—is introduced for the simultaneous degradation,dehalogenation,and detoxification of florfenicol(FF),a typical halogenated antibiotic.The results demonstrate that FF is completely eliminated by CO_(2)^(·-),with approximately 100%of Cland 46%of Freleased after 120 min of treatment.Simultaneous detoxification is observed,which exhibits a linear response to the release of free inorganic halogen ions(R^(2)=0.97,p<0.01).The formation of halogen-free products is the primary reason for the superior detoxification performance of this method,in comparison with conventional hydroxyl-radical-based AOPs.Products identification and density functional theory(DFT)calculations reveal the underlying dehalogenation mechanism,in which the chlorine moiety of FF is more susceptible than other moieties to nucleophilic attack by CO_(2)^(·-).Moreover,CO_(2)^(·-)-based ARPs exhibit superior dehalogenation efficiencies(>75%)in degrading a series of halogenated antibiotics,including chloramphenicol(CAP),thiamphenicol(THA),diclofenac(DLF),triclosan(TCS),and ciprofloxacin(CIP).The system shows high tolerance to the pH of the solution and the presence of natural water constituents,and demonstrates an excellent degradation performance in actual groundwater,indicating the strong application potential of CO_(2)^(·-)-based ARPs in real life.Overall,this study elucidates the feasibility of CO_(2)^(·-)for the simultaneous degradation,dehalogenation,and detoxification of halogenated antibiotics and provides a promising method for their regulation during water or wastewater treatment.

In situ generation of oxyanions-decorated cobalt(nickel)oxyhydroxide catalyst with high corrosion resistance for stable and efficient seawater oxidation

The development of efficient and robust anode materials for stable alkaline seawater electrolysis is severely limited by chlorine evolution reaction and chloride corrosion.Here,the sulfur-doped cobalt-nickel bimetallic phosphides(CoNiPS)are specifically designed as a pre-catalyst for navigating a surface reconstruction to fabricate the anions(PO^(3-)_(4) and SO^(2-)_(4))-decorated Co(Ni)OOH catalyst(R-CoNiPS)with exceptional durability and high activity for stable alkaline seawater oxidation(ASO).Various experiment techniques together with theoretical simulations both demonstrate that the in situ-generated PO^(3-)_(4) and SO^(2-)_(4) anions on catalyst surface can improve the oxygen evolution reaction(OER)activity,regulating and stabilizing the catalytic active species Co(Ni)OOH,as well as make a critical role in inhibiting the adsorp-tion of chloride ions and extending the service life of electrode.Therefore,this R-CoNiPS electrode exhi-bits superb OER activity toward AsO and stands out among the non-precious ASO electrocatalysts reported recently,requiring low overpotentials of 420 and 440 mV to attain large current densities of 500 and 1000 mA cm^(-2) in an alkaline natural seawater electrolyte,respectively.Particularly,the catalyst displays a negligible chloride corrosion at room temperature during ASO operation(>200 h)at 500 mA cm^(-2).This work opens up a new viewpoint for designing high-activity and durable electrocata-lystsforseawaterelectrolysis.

Durable poly(binaphthyl-co-p-terphenyl piperidinium)-based anion exchange membranes with dual side chains

Building well-developed ion-conductive highways is highly desirable for anion exchange membranes(AEMs).Grafting side chain is a highly effective approach for constructing a well-defined phaseseparated morphological structure and forming unblocked ion pathways in AEMs for fast ion transport.Fluorination of side chains can further enhance phase separation due to the superhydrophobic nature of fluorine groups.However,their electronic effect on the alkaline stability of side chains and membranes is rarely reported.Here,fluorine-containing and fluorine-free side chains are introduced into the polyaromatic backbone in proper configuration to investigate the impact of the fluorine terminal group on the stability of the side chains and membrane properties.The poly(binaphthyl-co-p-terphenyl piperidinium)AEM(QBNp TP)has the highest molecular weight and most dimensional stability due to its favorable backbone arrangement among ortho-and meta-terphenyl based AEMs.Importantly,by introducing both a fluorinated piperidinium side chain and a hexane chain into the p-terphenyl-based backbone,the prepared AEM(QBNp TP-QFC)presents an enhanced conductivity(150.6 m S cm^(-1))and a constrained swelling at 80℃.The electronic effect of fluorinated side chains is contemplated by experiments and simulations.The results demonstrate that the presence of strong electro-withdrawing fluorine groups weakens the electronic cloud of adjacent C atoms,increasing OH^(-)attack on the C atom and improving the stability of piperidinium cations.Hence QBNp TP-QFC possesses a robust alkaline stability at 80℃(95.3%conductivity retention after testing in 2 M Na OH for 2160 h).An excellent peak power density of 1.44 W cm^(-2)and a remarkable durability at 80℃(4.5%voltage loss after 100 h)can be observed.

Anion storing,oxygen vacancy incorporated perovskite oxide composites for high-performance aqueous dual ion hybrid supercapacitors

Dual ion storage hybrid supercapacitors(HsCs)are considered as a promising device to overcome the limited energy density of existing supercapacitors while preserving high power and long cyclability.However,the development of high-capacity anion-storing materials,which can be paired with fast charg-ing capacitive electrodes,lags behind cation-storing counterparts.Herein,we demonstrate the surface faradaic OH-storage mechanism of anion storing perovskite oxide composites and their application in high-performance dual ion HsCs.The oxygen vacancy and nanoparticle size of the reduced LaMnO_(3)(r-LaMnO_(3))were controlled,while r-LaMnO_(3) was chemically coupled with ozonated carbon nanotubes(oCNTs)for the improved anion storing capacity and cycle performance.As taken by in-situ and ex-situ spectroscopic and computational analyses,OH-ions are inserted into the oxygen vacancies coordi-nating with octahedral Mn with the increase in the oxidation state of Mn during the charging process or vice versa.Configuring OH-storing r-LaMnO_(3)/oCNT composite with Na*storing MXene,the as-fabricated aqueous dual ion HSCs achieved the cycle performance of 73.3%over 10,000 cycles,delivering the max-imum energy and power densities of 47.5 w h kg^(-1) and 8 kw kg^(-1),respectively,far exceeding those of previously reported aqueous anion and dual ion storage cells.This research establishes a foundation for the unique anion storage mechanism of the defect engineered perovskite oxides and the advancement of dual ion hybrid energy storage devices with high energy and power densities.

The effect of salt anion in ether‐based electrolyte for electrochemical performance of sodium‐ion batteries:A case study of hard carbon

Compared with the extensively used ester‐based electrolyte,the hard carbon(HC)electrode is more compatible with the ether‐based counterpart in sodium‐ion batteries,which can lead to improved cycling stability and robust rate capability.However,the impact of salt anion on the electrochemical performance of HC electrodes has yet to be fully understood.In this study,the anionic chemistry in regulating the stability of electrolytes and the performance of sodium‐ion batteries have been systematically investigated.This work shows discrepancies in the reductive stability of the anionic group,redox kinetics,and component/structure of solid electrolyte interface(SEI)with different salts(NaBF_(4),NaPF_(6),and NaSO_(3)CF_(3))in the typical ether solvent(diglyme).Particularly,the density functional theory calculation manifests the preferred decomposition of PF_(6)−due to the reduced reductive stability of anions in the solvation structure,thus leading to the formation of NaF‐rich SEI.Further investigation on redox kinetics reveals that the NaPF_(6)/diglyme can induce the fast ionic diffusion dynamic and low charge transfer barrier for HC electrode,thus resulting in superior sodium storage performance in terms of rate capability and cycling life,which outperforms those of NaBF_(4)/diglyme and NaSO_(3)CF_(3)/diglyme.Importantly,this work offers valuable insights for optimizing the electrochemical behaviors of electrode materials by regulating the anionic group in the electrolyte.

Lowering Sodium-Storage Lattice Strains of Layered Oxide Cathodes by Pushing Charge Transfer on Anions

Due to a high energy density,layered transition-metal oxides have gained much attention as the promising sodium-ion batteries cathodes.However,they readily suffer from multiple phase transitions during the Na extraction process,resulting in large lattice strains which are the origin of cycledstructure degradations.Here,we demonstrate that the Na-storage lattice strains of layered oxides can be reduced by pushing charge transfer on anions(O^(2-)).Specifically,the designed O3-type Ru-based model compound,which shows an increased charge transfer on anions,displays retarded O3-P3-O1 multiple phase transitions and obviously reduced lattice strains upon cycling as directly revealed by a combination of ex situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy,in situ X-ray diffraction and geometric phase analysis.Meanwhile,the stable Na-storage lattice structure leads to a superior cycling stability with an excellent capacity retention of 84%and ultralow voltage decay of 0.2 mV/cycle after 300 cycles.More broadly,our work highlights an intrinsically structure-regulation strategy to enable a stable cycling structure of layered oxides meanwhile increasing the materials’redox activity and Nadiffusion kinetics.

Effect of solvent on the initiation mechanism of living anionic polymerization of styrene:A computational study

For living anionic polymerization(LAP),solvent has a great influence on both reaction mechanism and kinetics.In this work,by using the classical butyl lithium-styrene polymerization as a model system,the effect of solvent on the mechanism and kinetics of LAP was revealed through a strategy combining density functional theory(DFT)calculations and kinetic modeling.In terms of mechanism,it is found that the stronger the solvent polarity,the more electrons transfer from initiator to solvent through detailed energy decomposition analysis of electrostatic interactions between initiator and solvent molecules.Furthermore,we also found that the stronger the solvent polarity,the higher the monomer initiation energy barrier and the smaller the initiation rate coefficient.Counterintuitively,initiation is more favorable at lower temperatures based on the calculated results ofΔG_(TS).Finally,the kinetic characteristics in different solvents were further examined by kinetic modeling.It is found that in benzene and n-pentane,the polymerization rate exhibits first-order kinetics.While,slow initiation and fast propagation were observed in tetrahydrofuran(THF)due to the slow free ion formation rate,leading to a deviation from first-order kinetics.

Electrochemical synthesis of trimetallic nickel-iron-copper nanoparticles via potential-cycling for high current density anion exchange membrane water-splitting applications

Hydrogen is known for its elevated energy density and environmental compatibility and is a promising alternative to fossil fuels.Alkaline water electrolysis utilizing renewable energy sources has emerged as a means to obtain high-purity hydrogen.Nevertheless,electrocatalysts used in the process are fabricated using conventional wet chemical synthesis methods,such as sol-gel,hydrothermal,or surfactantassisted approaches,which often necessitate intricate pretreatment procedures and are vulnerable to post-treatment contamination.Therefore,this study introduces a streamlined and environmentally conscious one-step potential-cycling approach to generate a highly efficient trimetallic nickel-iron-copper electrocatalyst in situ on nickel foam.The synthesized material exhibited remarkable performance,requiring a mere 476 mV to drive electrochemical water splitting at 100 mA cm^(-2)current density in alkaline solution.Furthermore,this material was integrated into an anion exchange membrane watersplitting device and achieved an exceptionally high current density of 1 A cm^(-2)at a low cell voltage of2.13 V,outperforming the noble-metal benchmark(2.51 V).Additionally,ex situ characterizations were employed to detect transformations in the active sites during the catalytic process,revealing the structural transformations and providing inspiration for further design of electrocatalysts.

Electrochemical reconstruction of non-noble metal-based heterostructure nanorod arrays electrodes for highly stable anion exchange membrane seawater electrolysis

Direct seawater electrolysis for hydrogen production has been regarded as a viable route to utilize surplus renewable energy and address the climate crisis.However,the harsh electrochemical environment of seawater,particularly the presence of aggressive Cl^(-),has been proven to be prone to parasitic chloride ion oxidation and corrosion reactions,thus restricting seawater electrolyzer lifetime.Herein,hierarchical structure(Ni,Fe)O(OH)@NiCoS nanorod arrays(NAs)catalysts with heterointerfaces and localized oxygen vacancies were synthesized at nickel foam substrates via the combination of hydrothermal and annealing methods to boost seawater dissociation.The hiera rchical nanostructure of NiCoS NAs enhanced electrode charge transfer rate and active surface area to accelerate oxygen evolution reaction(OER)and generated sulfate gradient layers to repulsive aggressive Cl^(-).The fabricated heterostructure and vacancies of(Ni,Fe)O(OH)tuned catalyst electronic structure into an electrophilic state to enhance the binding affinity of hydroxyl intermediates and facilitate the structural transformation into amorphousγ-NiFeOOH for promoting OER.Furthermore,through operando electrochemistry techniques,we found that theγ-NiFeOOH possessing an unsaturated coordination environment and lattice-oxygen-participated OER mechanism can minimize electrode Cl^(-)corrosion enabled by stabilizing the adsorption of OH*intermediates,making it one of the best OER catalysts in the seawater medium reported to date.Consequently,these catalysts can deliver current densities of 100 and 500 mA cm-2for boosting OER at minimal overpotentials of 245and 316 mV,respectively,and thus prevent chloride ion oxidation simultaneously.Impressively,a highly stable anion exchange membrane(AEM)seawater electrolyzer based on the non-noble metal heterostructure electrodes reached a record low degradation rate under 100μV h-1at constant industrial current densities of 400 and 600 mA cm-2over 300 h,which exhibits a promising future for the nonprecious and stable AEMWE in the direct seawater electrolysis industry.

Anion competition for Li^(+)solvated coordination environments in poly(1,3 dioxolane)electrolyte to enable high-voltage lithium metal solid-state batteries

Gel-based polymer electrolytes are limited by the polarity of the residual solvent,which restricts the coupling-breaking behaviour during Li^(+)conduction,resulting in the Li^(+)transport kinetics being greatly affected.Here,we designed anion competitive gel polymer electrolyte(ACPE)by introducing lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate(LiDFOB)anion into the 1,3-dioxolane(DOL)in situ polymerisation system.ACPE enhances the ionic dipole interaction between Li^(+)and the solvent molecules and synergizes with Li^(+)across the solvation site of the polymer ethylene oxide(EO)unit,combination that greatly improves the Li^(+)transport efficiency.As a result,ACPE exhibits 1.12 mS cm^(−1)ionic conductivity and 0.75 Li^(+)transfer number at room temperature.Additionally,this intra-polymer solvation sheath allows preferential desolvation of DFOB−,which contributes to the formation of kinetically stable anion-derived interphase and effectively mitigates side reactions.Our results demonstrate that the assembled Li||NCM622 solid-state battery exhibits lifespan of over 300 cycles with average Coulombic efficiency of 98.8%and capacity retention of 80.3%.This study introduces a novel approach for ion migration and interface design,paving the way for high-safety and high-energy-density batteries.

Alkylation of naphthalene with n-butene catalyzed by liquid coordination complexes and its lubricating properties

With the development of coal chemical industry,large amounts of naphthalene and n-butene are produced,and converting them into high value-added products through alkylation has gained particular importance and interest.In this work,liquid coordination complexes(LCCs)were used as acid catalysts for the first time in the naphthalene alkylation reaction under mild conditions to obtain multibutylnaphthalenes with high yield.Various reaction conditions were thoroughly investigated.The LCC consisting of urea and AlCl_(3) showed excellent catalytic performance under optimal reaction conditions,giving 100%conversion of naphthalene and 99.66%selectivity towards multi-butylnaphthalenes.Combining the catalyst properties and catalytic results,a plausible reaction mechanism was proposed.The lubricating properties of the synthesized products were investigated for their potential application as lubricating base oils.The synthesized multi-butylnaphthalenes showed comparable physicochemical properties and tribological performances as the commercial cycloalkyl base oil.