A general strategy for facile synthesis of ultrathin transition metal hydroxide nanosheets

FeOOH nanosheet assisted metal ion coordination with porphyrins for rapid detection and removal of cadmium ions in water

Excessive cadmium ions in water bodies pose a severe challenge to ecology and human health, and the development of cadmium metal ion sensors is imperative. Here, we showed a dual-signal sensor based on colorimetry and fluorescence that was self-assembled from FeOOH nanosheets and TMPyP4. This nanocomposite enabled quick, selective cadmium ion detection. The Soret band at 442 nm in the UV absorption spectrum represented the coordination of cadmium ions with FeOOH@TMPyP4, and the absorbance increased linearly with increasing cadmium ion concentration (R² = 0.989 and linear range: 0.5-10 μM). In the presence of FeOOH nanosheets, the coordination of cadmium ions with FeOOH@TMPyP4 took only 70 min, and the detection limit of cadmium ions was as low as 0.24 μM. In addition, Cd²⁺ could be effectively removed from the nanocomposite due to its easy separation from water. This research developed a simple and efficient approach for detecting and removing heavy metal ions from water bodies.

Flower-like Ni3Sn2@Ni3S2 with core-shell nanostructure as electrode material for supercapacitors with high rate and capacitance

To enhance the specific capacitance as well as maintain satisfactory rate performance of nickel hydroxide and nickel sulfide, in this work, the ultra-fine nickel-tin nanoparticles with high conductivity are selected to synthesize Ni₃Sn₂@Ni(OH)₂ and Ni₃Sn₂@Ni₃S₂ nanoflowers. Alloy as the core material improves the electrical conductivity of the composite, and the nanosheets prepared by electrochemical corrosion effectively avoid aggregation as well as increase the active sites of the electrode material. By adjusting the corrosion time, the Ni₃Sn₂@Ni(OH)₂ with better morphology displays a high specific capacitance (1277.37C g^-1 at 1 A g^-1) and good rate performance (1028C g^-1 at 20 A g^-1). After sulfurization, the optimal Ni₃Sn₂@Ni₃S₂ perfectly retains the morphological characterizations of the precursor and exhibits ultra-high specific capacitance (1619.02C g^-1 at 1 A g^-1) as well as outstanding rate performance (1312C g^-1 at 20 A g^-1). The samples before and after vulcanization both have the excellent electrochemical properties, which is attributed to the rational design and construction of the alloy-based core-shell nanostructures. Besides, the all-solid-state hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) is assembled by Ni₃Sn₂@Ni₃S₂ as the positive electrode and activated carbon as the negative electrode, displaying outstanding energy density of 70.54 Wh kg^-1 at 808.67 W kg^-1 and excellent cycling stability (93.21 % after 10,000 cycles). This work provides a novel ingenuity for synthesizing high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.

Anomalous self-optimization of sulfate ions for boosted oxygen evolution reaction

Broadly, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has been deeply understood as a significant part of energy conversion and storage. Nevertheless, the anions in the OER catalysts have been neglected for various reasons such as inactive sites, dissolution, and oxidation, amongst others. Herein, we applied a model catalyst s-Ni(OH)₂ to track the anionic behavior in the catalyst during the electrochemical process to fill this gap. The advanced operando synchrotron radiation Fourier transform infrared (SR-FTIR) spectroscopy, synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy (SRPES) depth detection and differential X-ray absorption fine structure (Δ-XAFS) spectrum jointly point out that some oxidized sulfur species (SO₄^2-) will self-optimize new Ni-S bonds during OER process. Such amazing anionic self-optimization (ASO) behavior has never been observed in the OER process. Subsequently, the optimization-derived component shows a significantly improved electrocatalytic performance (activity, stability, etc.) compared to reference catalyst Ni(OH)₂. Theoretical calculation further suggests that the ASO process indeed derives a thermodynamically stable structure of the OER catalyst, and then gives its superb catalytic performance by optimizing the thermodynamic and kinetic processes in the OER, respectively. This work demonstrates the vital role of anions in the electrochemical process, which will open up new perspectives for understanding OER and provide some new ideas in related fields (especially catalysis and chemistry).

Iron-Mineralization-Induced Mesoporous Metal-Organic Frameworks Enable High-Efficiency Synergistic Catalysis of Natural/Nanomimic Enzymes

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have become a promising accommodation for enzyme immobilization and protection. However, the integration of multienzymes into MOFs may result in compromise of individual enzymatic activity. In this work, we report an iron mineralization strategy to facilely construct a mesoporous MOF, possessing excellent peroxidase-mimic bioactivity. Furthermore, the feasibility of in situ encapsulating natural enzymes within the developed mesoporous MOF nanozymes endows these natural/nanomimic enzyme hybrids with remarkably enhanced synergistic catalysis ability. Such activity enhancement is mainly due to (1) the fast flux rate of substances through the interconnected mesoporous channels and (2) the simultaneously increased loading amount of enzymes and iron within the MOFs caused by the iron mineralization process.