Controllable Pulse Reverse Electrodeposition of Mesoporous Li xMnO2 Nano/Microstructures with Enhanced Electrochemical Performance for Li-Ion Storage

Potential Oscillated Electrochemical Metal Recovery System with Improved Conversion Kinetics and High Levelized Quality

Electrodeposition, which is an eco-friendly process with high efficiency, is one of the most promising technologies for metal recovery. However, the kinetics are often limited by the polarization and uncontrollable quality of deposits during the electrodeposition process, which restrict the efficiency and controllability of metal recovery. To ameliorate the limitations of the deposition rate and as-formed deposit quality, transient electrodeposition was introduced to control the microinterfacial reaction by regulating the relationship between charge and mass transfer. The Cu²⁺ removal efficiency and kinetic coefficient during 1 kHz transient electrodeposition were 17.4 and 17.7% higher than those under the conventional steady electric stimulus, respectively. Based on the combined results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), it was found that the chemical composition of the deposits from transient electrodeposition was more homogenous, as indicated by the low content of metal oxides. The in situ Raman spectra explained the homogenous composition based on the weak interaction of the electrode with the anions during the transient electrodeposition, which was mainly due to the enhanced dehydration under the oscillating or alternating electric field. The potential oscillation induced by the transient electric field also facilitated dehydration, charge transport, and mass transfer, which led to rapid and high-quality metal recovery. Transient electrodeposition will have a great guidance value in the field of metal electroplating and heavy metal recovery from wastewater by electrodeposition.

An antifouling impedimetric sensor based on zinc oxide embedded polyvinyl alcohol nanoplatelets for wide range dopamine determination in the presence of high concentration ascorbic acid

Dopamine determination is of great importance for the early diagnosis of neurological diseases. However, dopamine sensors mostly encounter important challenges such as surface fouling and interference of co-existing biochemicals. Here, nanoplatelets of zinc oxide embedded polyvinyl alcohol (NP-ZnO/PVA) were utilized for providing an efficient fouling-free surface for selective dopamine determination in concentrations as high as 3 mM of dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid interference. The fouling-free properties was provided mainly by pH-inducibility of the NP-ZnO/PVA nanocomposite at the rationally adjusted sensing conditions. ZnO plays a vital role in the electrocatalytic oxidation of dopamine, and PVA provides surface functional groups that minimize the surface interactions with interferences or fouling agents. The NP-ZnO/PVA nanocomposite fabrication process was performed by PVA assisted ZnO electro-synthesis onto the surface of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conducting glass. The fabricated FTO/NP-ZnO/PVA sensor was characterized utilizing FE-SEM, EDX, XRD, TGA-DTG, BET-BJH and FTIR techniques. Impedimetric determination of dopamine was performed in the wide linear range from 20.0 nM to 3.0 mM with a low detection limit of 5.0 nM. The applicability of FTO/NP-ZnO/PVA for dopamine determination was successfully tested in real samples. The NP-ZnO/PVA provides a great prospective to be an efficacious material for the construction of dopamine electrochemical sensing platforms.