Exfoliated Ultrathin ZnIn2S4 Nanosheets with Abundant Zinc Vacancies for Enhanced CO2 Electroreduction to Formate

Vacancies on nanosheets: The Zn vacancies of ultrathin ZnIn2S4 nanosheets tune the adsorption of CO2 and intermediates, which synergistically boost the electrochemical CO2 conversion to formate. Abstract Electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) is promising for balancing carbon cycles while producing value‐added feedstocks. Herein,...

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Spent Li‐Ion Battery Graphite Turned Into Valuable and Active Catalyst for Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction

One man's trash: A novel strategy is proposed to recycle spent Li‐ion battery (SLIB) graphite and reform it as a valuable catalyst material for electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction. Catalyst material prepared from SLIB graphite has superior physical and electrochemical properties in comparison to commercial N‐doped graphene. The findings clearly...

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Effects of all‐organic interlayer surface modifiers on perovskite solar cells efficiency and stability

Surface imperfections created during fabrication process in halide perovskites (HPs) films could induce formation of various defect sites that affect device performance and stability. In this work, all‐organic surface modifiers consisting of alkylammonium cations and alkanoate anions are introduced on top of HP layer to passivate the interfacial vacancies...

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Monomers from CO2: Super‐Bases as Catalysts for Formate to Oxalate Coupling

An interesting contribution to solving the climate crisis involves the use of CO 2 as a feedstock for monomers to produce sustainable plastics. In the European Horizon 2020 project “OCEAN” we develop a continuous multistep process from CO 2 to oxalic acid and derivatives, starting with the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to potassium formate....

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Hypercrosslinked polymers as a photocatalytic platform for visible‐light‐driven CO2 photoreduction using H2O

The design of robust, high‐performance photocatalysts is key for the success of solar fuel production via CO2 conversion. Herein, we present hypercrosslinked polymer (HCP) photocatalysts for the selective reduction of CO2 to CO, combining excellent CO2 sorption capacities, good general stabilities, and low production costs. HCPs are active photocatalysts...

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Solvent‐free reactions for the synthesis of indolenine‐based squaraines and croconaines: comparison of thermal heating, mechanochemical milling and IR irradiation

Squaraines and croconaines are organic dyes characterized by intense absorption in the visible or near‐infrared (NIR) spectral regions with applications ranging from biology to material sciences. They are commonly synthesized by condensation reactions of oxocarbonic acids (squaric or croconic acid, respectively) with electron‐rich aromatic compounds...

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In Situ Characterization of Dynamic Morphological and Phase Changes of Selenium‐doped Germanium Using a Single Particle Cell and Synchrotron Transmission X‐ray Microscopy

The dynamic information of lithium ion battery active materials obtained from coin cell‐based in situ characterizations might not represent the properties of the active material itself because many other factors in the cell could have impacts on the cell performance. To address this problem, a single particle cell was developed to perform the in situ...

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Overview of glycerol electrooxidation mechanisms on Pt, Pd and Au.

In the most recent decade, glycerol electrooxidation (GEOR) has attracted extensive research interest for valorization of glycerol, i.e., the conversion of glycerol to value‐added products. These reactions at platinum, palladium, and gold electrodes have a lot of uncertainty in their reaction mechanisms, which has generated some controversies. This...

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Monomers from CO2: Super‐Bases as Catalysts for Formate to Oxalate Coupling

An interesting contribution to solving the climate crisis involves the use of CO 2 as a feedstock for monomers to produce sustainable plastics. In the European Horizon 2020 project “OCEAN” we develop a continuous multistep process from CO 2 to oxalic acid and derivatives, starting with the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to potassium formate....

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Biodegradable Plastics: Standards, Policies, and Impacts

Waste not! This critical Review of the state of the art of biodegradable plastics covers the environmental and socio‐economic impact of plastics, government policies, standards and certifications, physico‐chemical properties, and analytical techniques, highlighting the potential of bioplastics, but also the challenges and barriers towards their commercialization....

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