Influences of ultrasonic irradiation on the morphology and structure of nanoporous Co nanoparticles during chemical dealloying

The Co-61.8 wt% Al nanoparticles of 45 nm were prepared by hydrogen plasma-metal reaction (HPMR) method. The nanoparticles display core shell structure with Al13Co4 and CoAl core and aluminum oxide shell (about 2 nm). Under ultrasonic irradiation, nanoporous fcc-Co nanoparticles were produced successfully by chemically dealloying the Co-Al nanoparticles at room temperature, whereas, without ultrasonic irradiation CoAl phase could hardly react with sodium hydroxide solution. At 323 K the Co-Al nanoparticles could be dealloyed to fcc-Co and hcp-Co phases even without ultrasonic irradiation. The surface area of the dealloyed nanoparticles under ultrasonic irradiation was larger than that of the dealloyed sample without ultrasonic irradiation at the same temperature. It is believed that the microjet and shock-wave induced by ultrasonic irradiation give rise to particles size reduction, interparticle collision and surface cleaning, and accelerate the dealloying process and the phase transformation.     

Recent advances in hydrogen storage technologies based on nanoporous carbon materials

Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier that can potentially facilitate a transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources without producing harmful by-products. Prior to realizing a hydrogen economy, however, viable hydrogen storage materials must be developed. Physical adsorption in porous solids provides an opportunity for hydrogen storage under low-stringency conditions. Physically adsorbed hydrogen molecules are weakly bound to a surface and, hence, are easily released. Among the various surface candidates, porous carbons appear to provide efficient hydrogen storage, with the advantages that porous carbon is relatively low-cost to produce and is easily prepared. In this review, we summarize the preparation methods, pore characteristics, and hydrogen storage capacities of representative nanoporous carbons, including activated carbons, zeolite-templated carbon, and carbide-derived carbon. We focus particularly on a series of nanoporous carbons developed recently: metal–organic framework-derived carbons, which exhibit promising properties for use in hydrogen storage applications.     

Carbon-free nanoporous gold based membrane electrocatalysts for fuel cells

Nanoporous gold (NPG) membranes made by dealloying consist of a bicontinuous network of Au ligaments and open pore channels, which have gained considerable attention as a platform for the design of carbon-free electrodes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Benefiting from a unique combination of high electronic conductivity, high surface area, and modifiable surface chemistry, these self-supporting membrane type electrodes allow integration of various structural functions required for specific electrode reactions and simultaneously facilitate the entire fuel cell kinetic process. In this review, we summarize the major research progresses in this area, with an emphasis on how to customize the surface structures of these three-dimensional electrocatalysts for desired fuel molecule oxidation and oxidant reduction. We will also discuss these designed structural characteristics that can be readily accommodated in membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), thus effectively bridging the technological gap between electrocatalysts’ intrinsic activities and their actual performances in fuel cells.     

碳气凝胶的制备及其物性研究

气凝胶是一种新型非晶固态材料,有着广泛的应用前景,为此详细论述了有机气凝胶和碳气凝胶的制备工艺;采用高分辨率航向电镜观察气凝胶的纳米显微结构;喇曼光谱测试结果表明碳气凝胶颗粒内部存在有微晶化结构;低温氮吸附法测试结果表明,有机气凝胶和碳气凝胶的比表面积主要由溶液的配比浓度和催化剂的量决定,后者还受碳化温度的影响。     

低效纳米孔晶体硅太阳电池性能研究

晶体硅太阳电池生产中,降低表面反射率能够提高太阳电池短路电流和转换效率.纳米孔硅的表面反射率极低,但报道中所实现的太阳电池输出参数(开路电压、短路电流、填充因子)都低于金字塔结构表面.采用对比法从光学性能、表面微结构和电极接触上对纳米孔硅和金字塔太阳电池进行比较分析,来研究纳米多孔硅太阳电池转换效率的抑制因素.研究表明短时间腐蚀的纳米孔硅太阳电池表面沉积氮化硅钝化膜后的平均反射率提高.长时间腐蚀的纳米孔硅表面沉积氮化硅后在短波段的反射率极低,因此平均反射率小于金字塔结构表面.但是由于纳米孔硅太阳电池的表面复合率高,而孔壁上附着的毛刺不仅会进一步增大表面复合,还会削弱表面钝化效果,因此短波段激发的光生载流子难以被太阳电池利用.所以,光利用和表面复合是抑制纳米孔硅太阳电池开路电压和短路电流的原因,而过大的串联电阻是纳米孔硅太阳电池短路电流和填充因子低的另一个原因.     

Fabrication of fine spongy nanoporous Ag-Au alloys with improved catalysis properties

Fine NP-AgAu(nanoporous AgAu) alloys with spongy structure was fabricated by chemical dealloying from rapidly solidified amorphous precursors Ag_(38.75-x)Cu_(38.75)Si_(22.5)Au_x(x=0, 0.5, 1 and 5). The results indicate that the addition of small content Au in precursor can refine both the ligaments and pores obviously. Among the present components of the precursors, NP-AgAu alloys dealloying from Ag_(37.75)Cu_(38.75)Si_(22.5)Au_1 had the finest spongy structure. The size of pores was 5–10 nm and the grain size of ligaments was 10–20 nm. It also had the highest surface area of 106.83 m~2g~(-1) and the best catalytic activity towards electro-oxidation of formaldehyde with the peak current of 665 mA mg~(-1).