Stabilizing Carbonic Anhydrase at Elevated Temperatures via Amine-Functionalized Boron Nitride Nanosheets.

Capturing carbon dioxide (CO) remains a critical challenge in mitigating climate change due to its stability and low reactivity. Carbonic anhydrase (CA), a highly efficient enzyme capable of converting CO to bicarbonate at a turnover rate of up to 1 × 10 s, presents a promising solution for carbon capture and storage (CCS). However, its industrial application is limited by poor thermal and chemical stability, especially under harsh conditions such as those found in flue gas streams.

Modulating Electrical Double Layers: Facile Approach for Promoting Noncovalent Interactions between Boron Nitride Nanosheets and Gold Nanoparticles.

Electrical double layer (EDL) plays a crucial role in colloidal chemistry, which can be modified by changing the pH and ionic strength of a solution. Even though EDL is well-recognized, there are limited studies exploring interactions between two-dimensional (2D) and zero-dimensional nanoparticles. Herein, we demonstrate a simple pH-based approach to control the EDL of boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that plays a crucial role in their interaction, displaying a one-way gate effect.

A mechanochemical process to capture and separate carbon dioxide from natural gas using boron nitride nanosheets.

Addressing climate change is a critical and pressing matter that requires immediate attention to mitigate its severe repercussions. In order to enhance the capture and separation of carbon dioxide from natural gas and nitrogen gas, it is imperative to develop new capture materials and more efficient storage processes. In this study, we introduce an innovative environmentally friendly storage and separation technique.

A Thermoregulatory Flexible Phase Change Nonwoven for All-Season High-Efficiency Wearable Thermal Management.

Phase change materials have a key role for wearable thermal management, but suffer from poor water vapor permeability, low enthalpy value and weak shape stability caused by liquid phase leakage and intrinsic rigidity of solid-liquid phase change materials. Herein, we report for the first time a versatile strategy for designed assembly of high-enthalpy flexible phase change nonwovens (GB-PCN) by wet-spinning hybrid graphene-boron nitride (GB) fiber and subsequent impregnating paraffins (e.g.

Hybrid Artificial Solid Electrolyte Interphase with Dendrite-Free Lithium Deposition and High Ion Transport Kinetics.

Interfacial issues and dendritic Li deposition in lithium metal batteries (LMBs) hamper the practical application of liquid or solid-state cells. Here, a hybrid solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), based on hydroxyl-functionalized boron nitride (BN) nanosheets and poly(vinyl alcohol), is designed to solve the unstable nature of the Li anode-electrolyte interface. Rather than acquiring a rich Li halide environment through intense electrolyte decomposition, the hybrid SEI effectively regulates electrolyte decomposition and guarantees uniform Li plating via boosting interfacial Li ion transport at the interface.

Nanomaterials enhancing the solid-state storage and decomposition of ammonia.

Hydrogen is ideal for producing carbon-free and clean-green energy with which to save the world from climate change. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells use to hydrogen to produce 100% clean energy, with water the only by-product. Apart from generating electricity, hydrogen plays a crucial role in hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Boron Nitride Nanosheet Dispersion at High Concentrations.

There is an increasing demand for boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) for a range of applications such as advanced composite materials, ion/gas selective membranes, and energy storage. These applications require stable, high-concentration BNNS dispersions as a precursor, which is a challenge because BNNSs do not disperse easily. We report a simple, yet efficient, mechanochemical exfoliation technique to prepare functionalized BNNSs with excellent dispersibility in water and organic solvents.

Mechanochemistry: A force in disguise and conditional effects towards chemical reactions.

Mechanochemistry refers to unusual chemical reactions induced by mechanical energy at room temperatures. It has attracted increased attention because of advantages, such as being a solution-free, energy saving, high-productivity and low-temperature process. However, there is limited understanding of the mechanochemical process because mechanochemistry is often conducted using closed milling devices, which are often regarded as a black box.

An Ultra-Long-Life Flexible Lithium-Sulfur Battery with Lithium Cloth Anode and Polysulfone-Functionalized Separator.

Flexible and high-performance batteries are urgently required for powering flexible/wearable electronics. Lithium-sulfur batteries with a very high energy density are a promising candidate for high-energy-density flexible power source. Here, we report flexible lithium-sulfur full cells consisting of ultrastable lithium cloth anodes, polysulfone-functionalized separators, and free-standing sulfur/graphene/boron nitride nanosheet cathodes.

production of a two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide/graphene hybrid nanosheet anode for lithium-ion batteries.

A solvent-free, low-cost, high-yield and scalable single-step ball milling process is developed to construct 2D MoS/graphene hybrid electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. Electron microscopy investigation reveals that the obtained hybrid electrodes consist of numerous nanosheets of MoS and graphene which are randomly distributed. The MoS/graphene hybrid anodes exhibit excellent cycling stability with high reversible capacities (442 mA h g for MoS/graphene (40 h); 553 mA h g for MoS/graphene (20 h); 342 mA h g for MoS/graphene (10 h)) at a high current rate of 250 mA g after 100 cycles, whereas the pristine MoS electrode shows huge capacity fading with a retention of 37 mA h g at 250 mA g current after 100 cycles.

Atomically Thin Boron Nitride as an Ideal Spacer for Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence.

Metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) considerably enhances the luminescence for various applications, but its performance largely depends on the dielectric spacer between the fluorophore and plasmonic system. It is still challenging to produce a defect-free spacer having an optimized thickness with a sub-nanometer accuracy that enables reusability without affecting the enhancement. In this study, we demonstrate the use of atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride (BN) as an ideal MEF spacer owing to its multifold advantages over the traditional dielectric thin films.

Highly Compressive Boron Nitride Nanotube Aerogels Reinforced with Reduced Graphene Oxide.

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), structural analogues of carbon nanotubes, have attracted significant attention due to their superb thermal conductivity, wide bandgap, excellent hydrogen storage capacity, and thermal and chemical stability. Despite considerable progress in the preparation and surface functionalization of BNNTs, it remains a challenge to assemble one-dimensional BNNTs into three-dimensional (3D) architectures (such as aerogels) for practical applications. Here, we report a highly compressive BNNT aerogel reinforced with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) fabricated using a freeze-drying method.

Boron Radicals Identified as the Source of the Unexpected Catalysis by Boron Nitride Nanosheets.

Atomically thin boron nitride (BN) nanosheets were generally considered to be chemically inert until the recent discovery of the surprising catalysis. However, the origin of this unusual catalytic activity remains unclear. We have observed the free boron radicals at the edges and defective sites of BN nanosheets and demonstrated with both experimental and theoretical approaches that the boron radicals in the nanosheets can catalyze the chromogenic reaction of 3,5,3',5'-tetramethylbenzidine and serve as a source of reactive radicals for the co-reactant electrogenerated chemiluminescence of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(2+).

K-ion and Na-ion storage performances of CoO-FeO nanoparticle-decorated super P carbon black prepared by a ball milling process.

The hybridisation of CoO and FeO nanoparticles dispersed in a super P carbon matrix is proposed as a favourable approach to improve the electrochemical performance (reversible capacity, cycling stability and rate capability) of the metal oxide electrodes in metal-ion batteries. Hybrid CoO-FeO/C is prepared by a simple, cheap and easily scalable molten salt method combined with ball-milling and used in sodium-ion and potassium-ion batteries for the first time. The electrode exhibits excellent cycling stability and superior rate capability in sodium-ion cells with a capacity recovery of 440 mA h g (93% retention) after 180 long-term cycles at 50-1000 mA g and back to 50 mA g.

Gas Protection of Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials from High-Energy Impacts.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials can be produced using ball milling with the help of liquid surfactants or solid exfoliation agents, as ball milling of bulk precursor materials usually produces nanosized particles because of high-energy impacts. Post-milling treatment is thus needed to purify the nanosheets. We show here that nanosheets of graphene, BN, and MoS can be produced by ball milling of their bulk crystals in the presence of ammonia or a hydrocarbon ethylene gas and the obtained nanosheets remain flat and maintain their single-crystalline structure with low defects density even after a long period of time; post-milling treatment is not needed.

Boron Nitride Nanosheet-Veiled Gold Nanoparticles for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering.

Atomically thin boron nitride (BN) nanosheets have many properties desirable for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). BN nanosheets have a strong surface adsorption capability toward airborne hydrocarbon and aromatic molecules. For maximized adsorption area and hence SERS sensitivity, atomically thin BN nanosheet-covered gold nanoparticles have been prepared for the first time.

Boron Nitride Nanosheets Improve Sensitivity and Reusability of Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a useful multidisciplinary analytic technique. However, it is still a challenge to produce SERS substrates that are highly sensitive, reproducible, stable, reusable, and scalable. Herein, we demonstrate that atomically thin boron nitride (BN) nanosheets have many unique and desirable properties to help solve this challenge.

Ex situ electrochemical sodiation/desodiation observation of Co₃O₄ anchored carbon nanotubes: a high performance sodium-ion battery anode produced by pulsed plasma in a liquid.

Liquid plasma, produced by nanosecond pulses, provides an efficient and simple way to fabricate a nanocomposite architecture of Co3O4/CNTs from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and clusters of Co3O4 nanoparticles in deionized water. The crucial feature of the composite's structure is that Co3O4 nanoparticle clusters are uniformly dispersed and anchored to CNT networks in which Co3O4 guarantees high electrochemical reactivity towards sodium, and CNTs provide conductivity and stabilize the anode structure. We demonstrated that the Co3O4/CNT nanocomposite is capable of delivering a stable and high capacity of 403 mA h g(-1) at 50 mA g(-1) after 100 cycles where the sodium uptake/extract is confirmed in the way of reversible conversion reaction by adopting ex situ techniques.