Coupled Interface and Oxygen-Defect Engineering in Co3O4/CoMoO4 Heterostructures toward Active Oxidation of Ethylbenzene

The catalytic oxidation of ethylbenzene (EB) is a promising route to produce acetophenone (AcPO). Unfortunately, it remains a great challenge to achieve the highly efficient oxidation of EB under solvent-free conditions using molecular oxygen as the sole oxidant. In this contribution, we present a facile strategy to construct hierarchical oxygen vacancy-rich Co3O4/CoMoO4 heterostructures (Vö-CCMO), which delivers a high yield value of 74.5% at 83.2% conversion of EB and selectivity of 89.6% to AcPO. Both experimental studies and theoretical calculations substantiate the important role of oxygen-defect engineering triggered by the modified chemistry environment at the interfaces between the biphasic phases, which contributes to the good catalytic performance. This work illustrates a promising paradigm for the exploit of advanced catalysts toward boosting EB oxidation reaction in a more practical way.

Interface engineered hydrangea-like ZnCo2O4/NiCoGa-layered double hydroxide@polypyrrole core-shell heterostructure for high-performance hybrid supercapacitor

Rationally constructing advanced battery-type electrodes with hierarchical core-shell heterostructure is essential for improving the energy density and cycling stability of hybrid supercapacitors. Herein, this work successfully constructs hydrangea-like ZnCo₂O₄/NiCoGa-layered double hydroxide@polypyrrole (denoted as ZCO/NCG-LDH@PPy) core-shell heterostructure. Specifically, the ZCO/NCG-LDH@PPy employs ZCO nanoneedles clusters with large open void space and rough surfaces as the core, and NCG-LDH@PPy composite as the shell, comprising hexagonal NCG-LDH nanosheets with rich active surface area, and conductive PPy films with different thicknesses. Meanwhile, density functional theory (DFT) calculations authenticate the charge redistribution at the heterointerfaces between ZCO and NCG-LDH phases. Benefiting from the abundant heterointerfaces and synergistic effect among different active components, the ZCO/NCG-LDH@PPy electrode acquires an extraordinary specific capacity of 381.4 mAh g^-1 at 1 A g^-1, along with excellent cycling stability (89.83% capacity retention) after 10,000 cycles at 20 A g^-1. Furthermore, the prepared ZCO/NCG-LDH@PPy//AC hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) exhibits a remarkable energy density (81.9 Wh kg^-1), an outstanding power density (17,003.7 W kg^-1), and superior cycling performance (a capacitance retention of 88.41% and a coulombic efficiency of 93.97%) at the end of the 10,000th cycle. Finally, two ZCO/NCG-LDH@PPy//AC HSCs in series can light up a LED lamp for 15 min, indicating its excellent application prospects.

A flexible hybrid capacitor based an NiCo2S4 nanowire electrode with an ultrahigh capacitance

It is well-known that the excellent cycling stability and high energy density of electrode materials is very important for supercapacitors. However, their actual performance falls far behind and does not satisfy the practical demand. In this study, we synthesized NiCo₂S₄ nanowire bundles on a nickel foam via facile hydrothermal routes. The as-obtained product as an electrode material possesses excellent specific surface area, which suggests that numerous active sites on the electrode surface can shorten the diffusion channel of ions. The assembled asymmetric supercapacitor delivers an energy density of 57.36 W h kg^-1 at 1412.92 W kg^-1. Also, it exhibits excellent mechanical stability even at different bending angles.