Self-Standing Carbon Fiber Electrodes Doped with Pd Nanoparticles as Electrocatalysts in Zinc-Air Batteries.

In this work, the effect of the palladium precursor on the Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) performance of lignin-based electrospun carbon fibers was studied. The fibers were spun from a lignin-ethanol solution free of any binder, where different Pd salts were added at two concentration levels. The system implemented to perform the spinning was a coaxial setup in which the internal flow contains the precursor dispersion with the metallic precursor, and ethanol was used as external flow to help fiber formation and prevent drying before generating the Taylor cone.

The Role of the Surface Functionalities in the Electrocatalytic Activity of Cytochrome C on Graphene-Based Materials.

The development of efficient electron transfer between enzymatic elements and the electrode is considered an important issue in the synthesis and design of bioelectrochemical devices. In this regard, the modification of the surface properties is an effective route to obtain a high-performance electrode using enzymatic elements. As we present here, understanding the role of surface functional groups generated by the electrochemical functionalization of graphene-based materials facilitates the design and optimization of effective electroactive bioelectrodes.

Understanding Metal-Organic Framework Densification: Solvent Effects and the Growth of Colloidal Primary Nanoparticles in Monolithic ZIF-8.

To commercialize metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), it is vital they are made easier to handle. There have been many attempts to synthesize them as pellets, tablets, or granules, though they come with innate drawbacks. Only recently have these been overcome, through the advent of self-shaping densified or monolithic MOFs (MOFs), which require minimal post-synthetic modification and avoid poor structural integrity, intractability, and pore collapse or blockage.

Pt nanoparticles for improving the performance and durability of Fe-N-C based materials towards oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline direct methanol fuel cells.

Pt-alloy nanoparticles have been reported to enhance the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) durability and boost Pt methanol tolerance. In this work, we have studied two different Pt-Fe-N-C based materials, where one of the carbon materials is derived from a biomass residue (almond shell), prepared by standard impregnation and NaBH reduction or one-pot high-temperature treatment. The materials were characterized in terms of methanol tolerance, accelerated durability tests, power density in membrane electrode assembly (MEA) configuration, and stability (100 h).