reconstruction of thermally treated BiS nanorods in H followed by O enhances CO electroreduction.

An efficient electrocatalyst was fabricated by thermally treating BiS nanorods in H followed by O, demonstrating much superior performance compared to pristine BiS and that treated just in H for CO electroreduction to formate with 39.5 mA cm partial current density at -1.0V and 97.

Unique Oxygen-Bridged Nickel Atomic Pairs Efficiently Boost Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide.

Benefiting from the synergism between adjacent bimetallic atoms, in comparison with single atom catalysts, the dual atom catalysts have displayed great potential in electrocatalytic CO reduction reaction (CORR). However, the further modulation of the electronic structure of dual atom sites to enhance CORR performance still remains a challenge. Herein, an atomically dispersed oxygen-bridged NiNO/NC catalyst with unique Ni-O-Ni sites is successfully synthesized through the microwave pyrolysis of the supported mixture containing the dinuclear nickel phthalocyanine and glucose on N-doped carbon nanosheets.

Observation of induction period and oxygenated intermediates in methane oxidation over Pt catalyst.

Selective oxidation of methane is one of the most attractive routes for methane to chemicals. However, mechanistic understanding and avoiding over-oxidation have great challenges because of its very rapid reaction rate. Herein, a capillary micro-reaction system was introduced to monitor the initial stage of methane oxidation over platinum.

Efficient FeC-CF Cathode Catalyst Based on the Formation/Decomposition of LiO for Li-O Batteries.

Lithium-oxygen batteries have attracted considerable attention in the past several years due to their ultra-high theoretical energy density. However, there are still many serious issues that must be addressed before considering practical applications, including the sluggish oxygen redox kinetics, the limited capacity far from the theoretical value, and the poor cycle stability. This study proposes a surface modification strategy that can enhance the catalytic activity by loading FeC particles on carbon fibers, and the microstructure of FeC particle-modified carbon fibers is studied by multiple materials characterization methods.

Partial Sulphidation to Regulate Coordination Structure of Single Nickel Atoms on Graphitic Carbon Nitride for Efficient Solar H Evolution.

To develop a non-precious highly efficient cocatalyst to replace Pt on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C N ) for solar H production is great significant, but still remains a huge challenge. The emerging single-atom catalyst presents a promising strategy for developing highly efficient non-precious cocatalyst owing to its unique adjustability of local coordination environment and electronic structure. Herein, this work presents a facile approach to achieve single Ni sites (Ni -N S) with unique local coordination structure featuring one Ni atom coordinated with two nitrogen atoms and one sulfur atom, confirmed by high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculation.

Regulating electron configuration of single Cu sites via unsaturated N,O-coordination for selective oxidation of benzene.

Developing highly efficient catalyst for selective oxidation of benzene to phenol (SOBP) with low HO consumption is highly desirable for practical application, but challenge remains. Herein, we report unique single-atom Cu-NO coordination-structure on N/C material (Cu-NO SA/CN), prepared by water molecule-mediated pre-assembly-pyrolysis method, can efficiently boost SOBP reaction at a 2:1 of low HO/benzene molar ratio, showing 83.7% of high benzene conversion with 98.

Plastering Sponge with Nanocarbon-Containing Slurry to Construct Mechanically Robust Macroporous Monolithic Catalysts for Direct Dehydrogenation of Ethylbenzene.

Nanocarbons have shown great potential as a sustainable alternative to metal catalysts, but their powder form limits their industrial applications. The preparation of nanocarbon-based monolithic catalysts is a practical approach for overcoming the resulting pressure drop associated with their powder form. In our previous work, a ploycation-mediated approach was used to successfully prepare nanocarbon-containing monoliths.

Correction: Effect of molybdenum carbide concentration on the Ni/ZrO catalysts for steam-CO bi-reforming of methane.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/C5RA22237K.].

Capsule-Structured Copper-Zinc Catalyst for Highly Efficient Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol.

Invited for this month's cover is the Advanced Catalytic Materials Research Group of Prof. Zhongkui Zhao at Dalian University of Technology. The image shows an innovative capsule strategy with a core-shell structure containing different Cu-based catalyst components for more efficient conversion of CO to methanol.

Capsule-Structured Copper-Zinc Catalyst for Highly Efficient Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol.

To develop a new and efficient CO -to-methanol catalyst is of extreme significance but still remains a challenge. Herein, an innovative indirect two-step strategy is reported to synthesize a highly efficient capsule-structured copper-based CO -to-methanol catalyst (CZA-r@CZM). It consists of a structurally reconstructed millimeter-sized Cu/ZnO/Al O core (CZA-r) with intensified Cu-ZnO interactions, which is made by a facile hydrothermal treatment in an alkaline aqueous solution, and a Cu/ZnO/MgO (CZM) shell prepared by an ethylene glycol-assisted physical coating method.

Catalyst-Free Selective Oxidation of Diverse Olefins to Carbonyls in High Yield Enabled by Light under Mild Conditions.

The selective oxidation of olefins, in particular, aromatic olefins to carbonyls, is of significance in organic synthesis. In general, stoichiometric toxic oxidants or a high-cost catalyst is required. Herein we report a novel and practical light-enabled protocol for the synthesis of carbonlys in high yield through a catalyst-free oxidation of olefins using HO as a clean oxidant.

Preassembly Strategy To Fabricate Porous Hollow Carbonitride Spheres Inlaid with Single Cu-N Sites for Selective Oxidation of Benzene to Phenol.

Developing single-atom catalysts with porous micro-/nanostructures for high active-site accessibility is of great significance but still remains a challenge. Herein, we for the first time report a novel template-free preassembly strategy to fabricate porous hollow graphitic carbonitride spheres with single Cu atoms mounted via thermal polymerization of supramolecular preassemblies composed of a melamine-Cu complex and cyanuric acid. Atomically dispersed Cu-N moieties were unambiguously confirmed by spherical aberration correction electron microscopy and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy.

Reconstructing Supramolecular Aggregates to Nitrogen-Deficient g-CN Bunchy Tubes with Enhanced Photocatalysis for H Production.

Developing a facile method to overcome the intrinsic shortcomings of g-CN photocatalyst concerning its insufficient visible light absorption and dissatisfactory separation efficiency of charge carriers is of great significance but remains a challenge. In this work, we report, for the first time, a sapiential strategy for preparing highly efficient nitrogen-deficient g-CN featuring bunchy microtubes [R-tubular carbon nitride (TCN)] via a KOH-assisted hydrothermal treatment of rodlike melamine-cyanuric acid (RMCA) supramolecular aggregates followed by heating the reconstructed RMCA, in which KOH serves as an all-rounder for breaking hydrogen bonds, accelerating hydrolysis of melamine and nitrogen defects forming. This approach endows R-TCN with unique bunchy microtube morphology, enriched nitrogen defects, textural properties, and electronic structure, which result in narrower band gap, higher electric conductivity, more active sites, more negative conductive band, significantly increased visible light harvesting capability, and improved separation efficiency of charge carriers.

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes via a facile two-step approach as an efficient catalyst for the direct dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene.

A novel and efficient nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (A-M-CNT) catalyst has been prepared by a facile two-step method, including prior air activation and subsequent pyrolysis of the carbon nanotubes with melamine. The as-synthesized A-M-CNT affords superior catalytic activity to the nitrogen-doped CNT without air activation (M-CNT) and pristine CNT, ascribed to its unique microstructure and surface chemical properties.

Explosive decomposition of a melamine-cyanuric acid supramolecular assembly for fabricating defect-rich nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes with significantly promoted catalysis.

A facile and scalable approach for fabricating structural defect-rich nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (MCSA-CNTs) through explosive decomposition of melamine-cyanuric acid supramolecular assembly is presented. In comparison to pristine carbon nanotubes, MCSA-CNT exhibits significantly enhanced catalytic performance in oxidant- and steam-free direct dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene, demonstrating the potential for metal-free clean and energy-saving styrene production. This finding also opens a new horizon for preparing highly-efficient carbocatalysts rich in structural defect sites for diverse transformations.

On-line determination of 4-nitrophenol by combining molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction and fiber-optic spectrophotometry.

In the present paper, we describe a new on-line SPE system where molecular imprinting, fiber-optic detection and flow injection analysis were combined for the first time. This new system has been applied for the on line detection of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). Initially, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) have been prepared for the selective extraction of 4-NP using 4-vinylpyridine and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as functional and cross-linking monomers, respectively.