Carbon nanotubes supported Pt-Co-P ultrafine nanoparticle electrocatalysts with superior activity and stability for methanol electro-oxidation

An experimental study about the effects of phosphorus loading in river sediment on the transport of lead and cadmium at sediment-water interface

Phosphorus (P) in the river sediment plays an important role in the fate and transport of heavy metals at sediment-water interface of the aquatic eutrophication environment. To explicate the effect of P loading, the sediments with different P contents were employed in this study to experimentally investigate the adsorption/desorption of Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ and the releasing behavior of P during the adsorption/desorption processes. Results illustrated a strong affinity between Pb²⁺ ions and the P-containing sediments in both single Pb and binary Pb + Cd systems. In single-metal systems, the Pb²⁺ adsorption capacities of all types of sediments (15.04-19.44 mg g^-1) were higher than those for Cd²⁺ (4.68-5.56 mg g^-1). While in binary-metal systems, the Pb²⁺ adsorption was slightly influenced by the coexisting Cd²⁺, but the Cd²⁺ adsorption capacities were decreased by over 5 times. Moreover, the adsorption amount and retention ability of Pb²⁺ on sediment were enhanced by increasing content of P in the sediment. Meanwhile, the releasing of P was also closely depended and significantly inhibited by the Pb²⁺ attached on the sediment. The P release amounts during the desorption processes of Pb- and Pb + Cd-loaded sediments were over 50 times lower than those from the raw sediments (sediments without heavy metals adsorbed), but the values decreased by a factor of two for the single Cd-loaded sediments. Furthermore, the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated the crucial role of P loading in Pb transport in the sediment and overlaying water. The findings in this study showed important implications for the transport of heavy metals and P at the sediment-water interface and offered new insights for further explicating the mechanisms of secondary pollution caused by heavy metals and P in aquatic eutrophication environment.

Facile dual tuning of PtPdP nanoparticles by metal-nonmetal co-incorporation and dendritic engineering for enhanced formic acid oxidation electrocatalysis

Tuning the compositions and morphologies of catalysts is very important for the design of efficient formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR) electrocatalysts. Herein, unique PtPdP dendritic nanoparticles (PtPdP DNs) with uniform size and open-pore structure are fabricated by a facile method, in which the Pd and P elements are simultaneously incorporated into Pt DNs. The prepared PtPdP DNs show enhanced catalytic activity and stability for FAOR. The improved electrocatalytic activity toward FAOR for the PtPdP DNs is mainly attributed to the synergic enhancement effect of the structural and compositional advantages, which jointly promote the electrocatalytic kinetics and thus enhance the electrocatalytic performance.

Multinary PtPdNiP truncated octahedral mesoporous nanocages for enhanced methanol oxidation electrocatalysis

Multinary PtPdNiP TOMNs have been synthesized for the electrocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction with a superior electrocatalytic performance.