High-silica faujasite zeolite-tailored metal encapsulation for the low-temperature production of pentanoic biofuels

Zeolite-encapsulated metal nanoclusters are at the heart of bifunctional catalysts,which hold great potential for petrochemical conversion and the emerging sustainable biorefineries.Nevertheless,efficient encapsulation of metal nanoclusters into a high-silica zeolite Y in particular with good structural integrity still remains a significant challenge.Herein,we have constructed Ru nanoclusters(~1 nm)encapsulated inside a high-silica zeolite Y(SY)with a SiO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3) ratio(SAR)of 10 via a cooperative strategy for direct zeolite synthesis and a consecutive impregnation for metal encapsulation.Compared with the benchmark Ru/H-USY and other analogues,the as-prepared Ru/H-SY markedly boosts the yields of pentanoic biofuels and stability in the direct hydrodeoxygenation of biomass-derived levulinate even at a mild temperature of 180℃,which are attributed to the notable stabilization of transition states by the enhanced acid accessibility and properly sized constraints of zeolite cavities owing to the good structural integrity.

Temperature-sensing array using the metal-to-insulator transition of Nd_(x)Sm_(1-x)NiO_(3)

Rare-earth nickelates(RENiO_(3))show widely tunable metal-to-insulator transition(MIT)properties with ignorable variations in lattice constants and small latent heat across the critical temperature(TMIT).Particularly,it is worth noting that compared with the more commonly investigated vanadium oxides,the MIT of RENiO_(3)is less abrupt but usually across a wider range of temperatures.This sheds light on their alternative applications as negative temperature coefficient resistance(NTCR)thermistors with high sensitivity compared with the current NTCR thermistors,other than their expected use as critical temperature resistance thermistors.In this work,we demonstrate the NTCR thermistor functionality for using the adjustable MIT of Nd_(x)Sm_(1-x)NiO_(3)within 200–400 K,which displays larger magnitudes of NTCR(e.g.,more than 7%/K)that is unattainable in traditional NTCR thermistor materials.The temperature dependence of resistance(R–T)shows sharp variation during the MIT of Nd_(x)Sm_(1-x)NiO_(3)with no hysteresis via decreasing the Nd content(e.g.,x≤0.8),and such a R–T tendency can be linearized by introducing an optimum parallel resistor.The sensitive range of temperature can be further extended to 210–360 K by combining a series of Nd_(x)Sm_(1-x)NiO_(3)with eight rare-earth co-occupation ratios as an array,with a high magnitude of NTCR(e.g.,7%–14%/K)covering the entire range of temperatures.

Structural Phase Transitions of ZnTe under High Pressure Using Experiments and Calculations

The pressure-induced structural transitions of ZnTe are investigated at pressures up to 59.2 GPa in a diamond anvil cell by using synchrotron powder x-ray diffraction method. A phase transition from the initial zinc blende （ZB, ZnTe-Ⅰ） structure to a cinnabar phase （ZnTe-Ⅱ） is observed at 9.6 GPa, followed by a high pressure orthorhombic phase （ZnTe-Ⅲ） with Cmcm symmetry at 12.1 GPa. The ZB, cinnabar （space group P3121）, Cmcm, P31 and rock salt structures of ZnTe are investigated by using density functional theory calculations. Based on the experiments and calculations, the ZnTe-Ⅱ phase is determined to have a cinnabar structure rather than a P3 1 symmetry.

Compression behavior and phase transition of β-Si_3N_4 under high pressure

The compressibility and pressure-induced phase transition of β-Si3N4 were investigated by using an angle dispersive x-ray diffraction technique in a diamond anvil cell at room temperature. Rietveld refinements of the x-ray powder diffraction data verified that the hexagonal structure（with space group P63/m, Z = 2 formulas per unit cell） β-Si3N4 remained stable under high pressure up to 37 GPa. Upon increasing pressure, β-Si3 N4 transformed to δ-Si3N4 at about 41 GPa. The initial β-Si3N4 was recovered as the pressure was released to ambient pressure, implying that the observed pressureinduced phase transformation was reversible. The pressure–volume data of β-Si3N4 was fitted by the third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state, which yielded a bulk modulus K0= 273（2） GPa with its pressure derivative K0= 4（fixed）and K0= 278（2） GPa with K 0= 5. Furthermore, the compressibility of the unit cell axes（a and c-axes） for the β-Si3N4 demonstrated an anisotropic property with increasing pressure.

High-Pressure Phase Transitions of PbTe Using the First-Principles Calculations

High-pressure structural phase transitions in PbTe are investigated by means of the first principles total energy calculations within the generalized gradient approximation （GOAl and local density approximation CLDA） by using the density functional theory. First principle calculation shows that PbTe is stable with the NaCl-type （B1） structure under amSient conditions and transforms to the CsCl-type （B2） structure under high pressure via an intermediate phase. Two candidate structures of the intermediate phase, namely Prima and Cmcm, are chosen for total energy calculations and discussed. It indicates that the intermediate phase adopts the Pnma structure rather than the Cmcm structure, and lattice parameters of the Pnma phase calculated by using OGA and LDA are in consistent with experimental results.

High-Pressure and High-Temperature in situ X-Ray Diffraction Study of FeP2 up to 70GPa

The high-pressure and high-temperature structural behavior of FeP2 is investigated by means of synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction combined with a laser heating technique up to 70GPa and at least 1800K.No phase transition of FeP2 occurs up to 68GPa at room temperature.While a new phase of FeP2 assigned to the CuAl2-type structure (14/mcm,Z =4) is observed at 70GPa after laser-heating.This new phase presents a quenchable property on decompression to ambient conditions.Our results update previous experimental data and are consistent with theoretical studies.

Switching Optimally Balanced Fe-N Interaction Enables Extremely Stable Energy Storage

The interaction between electrode materials and charge carriers is one of the central issues dominating underlying energy storage mechanisms.To address the notoriously significant volume changes accompanying intercalation or formation of alloy/compounds,we aim to introduce and utilize a weak,reversible Fe-N interaction during the(de)intercalation of ammonium ions(NH_(4)^(+))within iron(Ⅲ)hexacyanoferrate(FeHCF),inspired by manipulating the electrostatic adsorption between N and Fe in the early stages of ammonia synthesis(Bosch-Harber Process,Chemical Engineering)and steel nitriding processes(Metal Industry).Such strategy of switching well-balanced Fe-N interaction is confirmed in between the nitrogen of ammonium ions and highspin Fe in FeHCF,as observed by using X-ray absorption spectroscopy.The resulting material provided an extremely stable energy storage(58 mAh g^(-1) after 10000 cycles at current density of 1 A g^(-1))as well as high-rate performance(23.6 mAh g^(-1) at current density of 10 A g^(-1)).

Correction of distorted X-ray absorption spectra collected with capillary sample cell

In certain exceptional cases,capillary samples must be used to measure X-ray absorption spectra(XAS).However,the inho-mogeneous thickness of capillary samples causes XAS distortion.This study discusses the distortion and correction of the XAS curve caused by the inhomogeneous thickness of capillary samples.The relationship between the distorted XAS curveμ′d_(eq)(measured values)and the real absorption coefficientμ_(s)d_(eq)(true values)of the sample was established.The distortion was slight and negligible when the vertical size(2h)of the X-ray beam spot was smaller than 60%of the capillary tube’s inner diameter(2R_(in)).When h/R_(in)>1,X-ray leakage is inevitable and should be avoided during measurement.Partial X-ray leakage caused by an X-ray beam spot size larger than the inner diameter of the capillary tube leads to serious compressed distortion of the XAS curve.When h/R_(in)<1,the distorted XAS data were well corrected.Possible errors and their influence on the corrected XAS are also discussed.Simulations and corrections for distortions verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the corrected method.

Active precursor promoting nucleation/growth of MwW zeolite and controlling its morphology

MWW zeolites is an important catalyst in petrochemical industry.However,the efficient preparation of Mww zeolites still faces challenges,and the origin of influential factors for regulating its structure properties also remains obscure.Herein,we designed a nanoscale amorphous silica-alumina species denoted as active precursor(APS),and adopt the APS in the HMI mixture to synthesize MCM-22 zeolite(APS-MWW)successfully.To reveal the distinctive role of APS in promoting the crystallization of MWW zeolites,two crystal materials(ITQ-1 and MCM-22)and one mother liquor(ML)as seeds to synthesize three types of MWW zeolites.Typically,when adding APS in the synthetic mixture,the HMI amount was reduced to less than a quarter and crystallization time was reduced to 36 h.APS-MWW sample provides a smaller particle size(2-4μm)and thinner stacked layer thickness(5-20 nm).Synchrotron radiation Small Angle X-ray Scattering(SAXS)shows each seed has a different impact on the species'fractal structure and size distribution in the mixture,which is highly related to the nucleation and growth of MWW zeolites.APS shows a large number of 6 membered ring(MR)structure units which play a sig-nificant role in boosting the rapid nucleation and growth of APS-MwW zeolite.Among the synthesized MWW zeolites,the APS-MWW performs the highest ethylbenzene yield in the alkylation reaction of benzene-ethylene,which is attributed to its moderate flake thickness,appropriate texture properties and more external surface acidity.The results will provide a new perspective for producing MwW-types zeolites by using the available and effective active precursor.

Surface Molecular Encapsulation with Cyclodextrin in Promoting the Activity and Stability of Fe Single-Atom Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Fe single-atom catalysts(Fe-SACs)have been extensively studied as a highly efficient electrocatalyst toward the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR).Nonetheless,they suffer from stability issue induced by dissolution of Fe metal center and the OH^(−)blocking.Herein,a surface molecular engineering strategy is developed by usingβ-cyclodextrins(CDs)as a localized molecular encapsulation.The CD-modified Fe-SAC(Fe-SNC-β-CD)shows obviously improved activity toward the ORR with 0.90 V,4.10 and 4.09 mA cm^(-2)for E_(1/2),J_(0)and Jk0.9,respectively.Meanwhile,the Fe-SNC-β-CD shows the excellent long-term stability against aggressive stress and the poisoning.It is confirmed through electrochemical investigation that modification ofβ-CD can,on one hand,regulate the atomic Fe coordination chemistry through the interaction between the CD and FeN_(x) moiety,while on the other mitigate the strong adsorption of OH^(−)and function as protective barrier against the poisoning molecules leading to enhanced ORR activity and stability for the Fe-SACs.The molecular encapsulation strategy demonstrates the uniqueness of post-pyrolysis surface molecular engineering for the design of single-atom catalyst.

Progress in high pressure EDXD system and research at Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility

The synchrotron radiation from a new wiggler of BEPC has been used to high pressure research. Upgraded DAC apparatus and EDXD system have been operated to determine the pressure-induced phase transition of materials at BSRF since June 1998. The improved performance of the system and the preliminary results of the research were described.

DSAS:A new macromolecular substructure solution program based on the modified phase-retrieval algorithm

Considering the pivotal role of single-wavelength anomalous diffraction(SAD) in macromolecular crystallography,our objective was to introduce DSAS,a novel program designed for efficient anomalous scattering substructure determination.DSAS stands out with its core components:a modified phase-retrieval algorithm and automated parameter tuning.The software boasts an intuitive graphical user interface(GUI),facilitating seamless input of essential data and real-time monitoring.Extensive testing on DSAS has involved diverse datasets,encompassing proteins,nucleic acids,and various anomalous scatters such as sulfur(S),selenium(Se),metals,and halogens.The results confirm DSAS’s exceptional performance in accurately determining heavy atom positions,making it a highly effective tool in the field.

Oxygen‑Coordinated Single Mn Sites for Efficient Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction has attracted increasing attention due to its goal of low carbon emission and environmental protection.Here,we report an efficient NitRR catalyst composed of single Mn sites with atomically dispersed oxygen(O)coordination on bacterial cellulose-converted graphitic carbon(Mn-O-C).Evidence of the atomically dispersed Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)moieties embedding in the exposed basal plane of carbon surface is confirmed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy.As a result,the as-synthesized Mn-O-C catalyst exhibits superior NitRR activity with an NH_(3)yield rate(RNH_(3))of 1476.9±62.6μg h^(−1)cm^(−2)at−0.7 V(vs.reversible hydrogen electrode,RHE)and a faradaic efficiency(FE)of 89.0±3.8%at−0.5 V(vs.RHE)under ambient conditions.Further,when evaluated with a practical flow cell,Mn-O-C shows a high RNH_(3)of 3706.7±552.0μg h^(−1)cm^(−2)at a current density of 100 mA cm−2,2.5 times of that in the H cell.The in situ FT-IR and Raman spectroscopic studies combined with theoretical calculations indicate that the Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)sites not only effectively inhibit the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction,but also greatly promote the adsorption and activation of nitrate(NO_(3)^(−)),thus boosting both the FE and selectivity of NH_(3)over Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)sites.

Sulfur speciation transformation during bioleaching of pyrite-containing sphalerite concentrate by thermophile Sulfolobus metallicus at 65 °C

Sulfur speciation transformation during bioleaching of pyrite-containing sphalerite concentrate by thermophile Sulfolobus metallicus (S.metallicus) at 65 °C was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD),diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy (XANES).The results show that the presence of S.metallicus effectively enhances the dissolution of the mineral.The yield of zinc increases from 0.5 g/L in sterile control to 2.7 g/L in bioleaching.The pyrite in the concentrate facilitates zinc dissolution in the early stage,but has hindrance role in the late stage for the formation of jarosite.Sulfur speciation analyses show that jarosite and elemental sulfur are main products in bioleaching process,and the accumulation of jarosite is mainly responsible for the decline of leaching efficiency.

A novel design of 3D carbon host for stable lithium metal anode

Rational design of porous conductive hosts with high electrical conductivity,large surface area,and adequate interior space is desirable to suppressing dendritic lithium growth and accommodating large volume change of lithium metal anode during the Li plating/stripping process.However,due to the conductive nature of the conductive hosts,Li is easily deposited directly on the top of the hosts,which hinders it from fully functioning.To circumvent the issue,in this study,we designed a novel porous carbon host with a gradient-pore-size structure based on one-dimensional(1D)carbon with different diameters.With this kind of host,stable cycling with high and stable Coulombic efficiency of~98%is achieved at 0.5 mA cm^(−2) with an areal capacity of 1 mAh cm^(−2) over 320 cycles.In contrast,the normal three-dimensional(3D)carbon nanotube host presents a moss-like Li morphology with wildly fluctuating Coulombic efficiency after 100 cycles.The results reveal that the unique gradient-pore-size structure of the 3D conductive host greatly improves the performance of lithium metal batteries.

Construction and Photoluminescence Properties of Zn(Ⅱ)/Cd(Ⅱ) Complexes with 4-Amino-3,5-propyl-1,2,4-triazole Ligand

Reaction of ZnCI2 and 4-amino-3,5-propyl-1,2,4-triazole （dpatrz） or CdC12, NaN3 and dpatrz, in aqueous solution at room temperature yields two neutral clusters： a dinuclear complex [Zn2（dpatrz）2Ch] （I） and a linear trinuclear complex, [Cd3（dpatrz）4（N3）2Cl4] （II）. Both complexes have been characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction, powder XRD, IR, elemental analysis, TG and fluorescence analysis. Complex I crystallizes in orthorhombic, space group Pbca with a = 11.865（2）, b = 14.464（3）, c = 15.985（3） A, V= 2743.4（9） A3, Z = 4, C16H32NsCI4Zn2, Mr = 609.4, Dc = 1.475 g.cm3, p = 2.16 mm-1, F（000） = 1248, GOOF = 1.091, the final R = 0.0295 and wR = 0.0665 for 1999 observed reflections （I 〉 2a（/））. Complex Ⅱcrystallizes in monoclinic, space group P2/c with a = 11.408（2）, b = 15.211（3）, c = 18.152（6） A, fl = 123.75（2）°, V = 2619.1（1） A3, Z = 2, C32H64N22ClaCd3, Mr = 1236.05, Dc = 1.567 g.cm3, p = 1.46 mm-1, F（000） = 1244, GOOF = 1.042, the final R = 0.0444 and wR = 0.0913 for 3466 observed reflections （I 〉 2a（/））. The analysis of X-ray revealed that both structures lie about the inversion centers： complex I adopts two pl,2-triazole bridges linking two Zn（II） ions and II forms a linear trinuclear structure with four μ1,2-triazoles and two/μIA-N3 bridging modes. There are different coordinated geometries for three Cd（II） ions in Ⅱ： one is coordinated with an octahedral environment, and the other two are distorted tetragonal pyramids （r = 0.34）. The hydrogen bonds of C-H...C1 and N-H...C1 lead to the discretes into a 3D supramolecular network in both compounds. The thermal stabilities and photoluminescence behaviors of them were also studied.

Preparation, characterization and electrochemical properties of mesoporous LiFe_(0.99)Mo_(0.01)PO_4/C

A mesoporous LiFe0.99Mo0.01PO4/C composite was synthesized by the sol-gel method using （NH4）2MoO4 as a doping starting material. The formation of conductive carbon, metal doping and mesopores was achieved simultaneously in the prepared material. The characterizations of crystal structures and microstructures were investigated using X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, extended X-ray-absorption fine-structure （EXAFS） and X-ray-absorption near-structure spectroscopy （XANES） while the surface area was determined using N2 adsorption techniques. Cyclic voltammetry （CV） and charge-discharge cycling performance were used to characterize its electrochemical properties. The sample possessed uniformly distributed mesopores with an average pore size of 4 nm, and the specific surface area was about 69.368 m^2/g. The results show that the reversible capacity of mesoporous LiFe0.99Mo0.01PO4/C is about 160 mAh/g at 0.1C, 135 mAh/g at 1C and 90 mAh/g at 5C, respectively. The capacity fading is neglectable.

Revealing the Intrinsic Peroxidase-Like Catalytic Mechanism of Heterogeneous Single-Atom Co-MoS2

The single-atom nanozyme is a new concept and has tremendous prospects to become a next-generation nanozyme.However,few studies have been carried out to elucidate the intrinsic mechanisms for both the single atoms and the supports in single-atom nanozymes.Herein,the heterogeneous single-atom Co-MoS2(SA Co-MoS2)is demonstrated to have excellent potential as a high-performance peroxidase mimic.Because of the well-defined structure of SA Co-MoS2,its peroxidase-like mechanism is extensively interpreted through experimental and theoretical studies.Due to the different adsorption energies of substrates on different parts of SA Co-MoS2 in the peroxidase-like reaction,SA Co favors electron transfer mechanisms,while MoS2 relies on Fenton-like reactions.The different catalytic pathways provide an intrinsic understanding of the remarkable performance of SA Co-MoS2.The present study not only develops a new kind of single-atom catalyst(SAC)as an elegant platform for understanding the enzyme-like activities of heterogeneous nanomaterials but also facilitates the novel application of SACs in biocatalysis.

Engineering the Coordination Sphere of Isolated Active Sites to Explore the Intrinsic Activity in Single-Atom Catalysts

Reducing the dimensions of metallic nanoparticles to isolated,single atom has attracted considerable attention in heterogeneous catalysis,because it significantly improves atomic utilization and often leads to distinct catalytic performance.Through extensive research,it has been recognized that the local coordination environment of single atoms has an important influence on their electronic structures and catalytic behaviors.In this review,we summarize a series of representative systems of single-atom catalysts,discussing their preparation,characterization,and structure-property relationship,with an emphasis on the correlation between the coordination spheres of isolated reactive centers and their intrinsic catalytic activities.We also share our perspectives on the current challenges and future research promises in the development of single-atom catalysis.With this article,we aim to highlight the possibility of finely tuning the catalytic performances by engineering the coordination spheres of single-atom sites and provide new insights into the further development for this emerging research field.

Influence of dispersant on Y_2O_3:Eu^(3+) powders synthesized by combustion method

Y2O3:Eu3+ powders were synthesized by combustion method and the influence of dispersant was investigated.XRD analysis indicated that the particle size increased with a small amount of dispersant firstly and then decreased with a further increase of dispersant.The morphologies of the powders were studied by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM).SEM images revealed that an appropriate amount of dispersant could reduce the agglomeration significantly.Due ...