Advanced Sustainable Systems最新文献

Sodium-Ion Batteries

Sodium-ion batteries are considered sustainable alternatives to Li-ion batteries in large scale applications including electric vehicles. However, the development of Li-ion battery cathodes took over 30 years. In article number 2400296, Eric McCalla and co-workers accelerate the development of Na-ion cathodes by testing hundreds of materials in high-throughput to yield an optimal composition.

Sustainable Electroluminescent Devices

In article number 2400140, Daniela Maria Correia, Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez, and co-workers use plant-based UV resin with ZnS:Cu doped phosphor particles to develop multifunctional electroluminescent devices capable of both efficient lighting and electric field frequency sensing, allowing the prioritization of both multifunctionality and environmental responsibility in the fabrication of electroluminescent devices.

Upcycling Waste Biomass

In article number 2300655, Marcileia Zanatta, Marta C. Corvo, and co-workers show that, by transforming paper industry waste into porous carbonaceous materials, these materials serve as effective supports in the ionic liquid-catalyzed cycloaddition of CO₂ to styrene oxide, achieving high conversion rates and selectivity.

Melon (also known as graphitic carbon nitride, g-C₃N₄) holds promise for photocatalysis, but challenges such as severe charge recombination, low oxidation potential, and sluggish exciton dissociation hinder its performance. Herein, a series of carbon-rich, melon-based photocatalysts are synthesized via one-pot, temperature-induced condensation of urea with the addition of a trace amount of citric acid. The addition of citric acid enhances crystallinity, extends melon chains, increases the C/N ratio, and improves π–π layer stacking of heptazine units, thereby enhancing charge transport properties and visible-light harvesting capacity. These carbon nitride samples are then coupled with molten salt synthesized K₄Nb₆O₁₇ crystals by a straightforward self-assembly method to construct 2D/2D heterostructure photocatalysts. Z-scheme electron transfer from K₄Nb₆O₁₇ to the melon samples is established based on their work functions and band edge positions. This efficient charge transfer in the Z-scheme heterostructure facilitates the spatial separation of charge carriers, resulting in a nearly fivefold enhancement in photocatalytic performance compared to the individual constituents.

A novel potentiometric sensor for carbon dioxide (CO₂) detection utilizing a composite membrane of Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIM-1) and 18-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene imidazolate (DBU-imidazolate) is presented. The high surface area and gas permeability of PIM-1, combined with the chemical affinity and ion-exchange properties of DBU-imidazolate, contribute to enhanced CO₂ sensitivity and selectivity. The research objectives included the synthesis of PIM-1 and DBU-imidazolate, the preparation of composite membranes, and the evaluation of their performance as CO₂ sensors. Solvent casting and impregnation methods are employed to prepare the membranes, which are characterized using Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). CO₂ absorption tests and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) are conducted to assess the sensors' performance. The PIM-1/DBU-imidazolate membrane exhibited high efficiency in CO₂ capture and release. Open circuit voltage (OCV) measurements are performed under varying concentrations of CO₂ exposure and cycles of adsorption/desorption. Results show that the membrane achieves steady state faster at higher CO₂ concentrations, with a logarithmic relationship between CO₂ concentration and voltage variation, indicating potential for CO₂ detection in human environments. These results confirm the sensor's ability to detect varying CO₂ concentrations, highlighting its potential for reliable and efficient CO₂ monitoring in environmental and industrial applications.

The high stability and persistence of nitrates in water poses a serious threat to human health and ecosystems. To effectively reduce the nitrate content in wastewater, the electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (e-NO₃RR) is widely recognized as an ideal treatment method due to its high reliability and efficiency. The selection of catalyst material plays a decisive role in e-NO₃RR performance. Copper-based catalysts, with their ease of acquisition, high activity, and selectivity for NH₃, have emerged as the most promising candidates for e-NO₃RR applications. In this paper, the mechanism of e-NO₃RR is first introduced. Then the relationship between structural properties and catalytic performance of copper-based catalysts is analyzed in detail from four aspects: nanomaterials, oxides, monoatomic, and bimetallic materials. Strategies for constructing efficient catalysts are discussed, including surface modulation, defect engineering, heteroatom doping, and coordination effects. Finally, the challenges and prospects of copper-based catalysts with high e-NO₃RR performance in practical applications are outlined.

It is a huge challenge for carbon materials to obtain high volumetric capacitance without sacrificing gravimetric capacitance for supercapacitors with limited space. Herein, B/N/O co-doped porous carbon materials are prepared by one-step carbonization method using boric acid as the template and boron source, polyacrylamide as the carbon and nitrogen sources. Boric acid and polyacrylamide can be closely combined by hydrogen bond, so as to not only give full play to the role of boric acid template, but also to achieve high content of nitrogen and boron functional groups. Benefiting from the high bulk density (1.51 g cm⁻³), suitable specific surface area (243.2 m² g⁻¹) and numerous B (7.55 at.%), N (14.38 at.%), O (8.89 at.%) functional groups, the prepared BNPC-700 electrode shows an ultrahigh volumetric specific capacitance of 545.6 F cm⁻³ at 0.5 A g⁻¹, excellent rate characteristic and superior electrochemical performance. Furthermore, the assembled BNPC-700 symmetric supercapacitor achieves a high volumetric energy density of 31.1 Wh L⁻¹ (20.6 Wh kg⁻¹) in ZnSO₄ aqueous electrolyte. More importantly, the assembled Zn//ZnSO₄//BNPC-700 hybrid supercapacitor delivers a high volumetric capacity of 210.8 mAh cm⁻³ and a high volumetric energy density of 147.7 Wh L⁻¹(97.8 Wh kg⁻¹).

Rational designing of multicomponent selenide-based composites such as Co₉Se₈/Ni₃Se₄/Cu₂Se (CNCD) is synthesized through a simplistic hydrothermal method. Several standard characterization techniques are utilized to study the structural, morphological and elemental features of the obtained samples with varying selenide content. Both electrochemically and photocatalytic performance are amplified at an optimized selenide content denoted as CNCD-0.5 due to its favourable characteristics and morphology. From the electrochemical measurements, the battery-type performance of the CNCD-0.5 is established from the well-distinguished redox peaks. For practical utility, the assembled CNCD-0.5 (+) // AC (−) device delivered an energy density of 35.97 Wh kg⁻¹ at a power density of 1210.86 W kg⁻¹ with a capacity retention of 91% for 5000 cycles of uninterrupted charge–discharge. Further, the photo-Fenton-based degradation experiments are assessed by demineralization of cationic RhodamineB (RhB) and anionic Tartrazine (Tz) dye using H₂O₂ with the minimal dosage of catalyst (0.3 g L⁻¹). At an optimized concentration of H₂O₂, CNCD-0.5 can degrade 97.14% of RhB (40 mg L⁻¹) and 94.77% of Tz (40 mg L⁻¹) for 120 min of visible-light illumination. Such designing of multinary metal selenides-based nanocomposites holds promising potential for multifunctional applications due to the synergistic advancement in the composite properties.

Hydrogen is one of the most promising alternative energy resources to replace fossil feedstocks, with so-called “green” hydrogen, derived by water splitting (WS) using renewable electricity or sunlight, the most sustainable. Photocatalytic hydrogen production, in which sunlight is the sole energy input, has been extensively studied, and requires the creation of photogenerated excitons (through irradiation of semiconductors) and their transport to aqueous media. Chemical scavengers, notably electron donating molecules, are widely used to quench photogenerated holes and thereby suppress exciton recombination which otherwise limits the hydrogen yield. Despite their prevalence, the role and significance of such scavengers (also termed sacrificial agents) in photocatalytic WS remains poorly understood, hindering their rational selection. This review focuses on the importance of electron donors in photocatalytic WS, and their participation in the reaction mechanism.