High‐temperature dielectric polymers are in constant demand for the multitude of high‐power electronic devices employed in hybrid vehicles, grid‐connected photovoltaic and wind power generation, to ...name a few. There is still a lack, however, of dielectric polymers that can work at high temperature (> 150 °C). Herein, a series of all‐organic dielectric polymer composites have been fabricated by blending the n‐type molecular semiconductor 1,4,5,8‐naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTCDA) with polyetherimide (PEI). Electron traps are created by the introduction of trace amounts of n‐type small molecule semiconductor NTCDA into PEI, which effectively reduces the leakage current and improves the breakdown strength and energy storage properties of the composite at high temperature. Especially, excellent energy storage performance is achieved in 0.5 vol.% NTCDA/PEI at the high temperatures of 150 and 200 °C, e.g., ultrahigh discharge energy density of 5.1 J cm−3 at 150 °C and 3.2 J cm−3 at 200 °C with high discharge efficiency of 85–90%, which is superior to its state‐of‐the‐art counterparts. This study provides a facile and effective strategy for the design of high‐temperature dielectric polymers for advanced electronic and electrical systems.
This study reports the novel all‐organic dielectric composite films of 1,4,5,8‐naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTCDA)/polyetherimide (PEI) by using a facile solution casting method. By judiciously introducing semiconducting NTCDA into PEI, electron traps are successfully constructed, effectively reducing the leakage current and improving the breakdown strength. Finally, excellent high‐temperature energy storage performance is achieved in 0.5 vol.% NTCDA/PEI at 150 and 200 °C.
Single-atom catalysts not only maximize metal atom efficiency, they also display properties that are considerably different to their more conventional nanoparticle equivalents, making them a ...promising family of materials to investigate. Herein we developed a general host-guest strategy to fabricate various metal single-atom catalysts on nitrogen-doped carbon (M
/CN, M = Pt, Ir, Pd, Ru, Mo, Ga, Cu, Ni, Mn). The iridium variant Ir
/CN electrocatalyses the formic acid oxidation reaction with a mass activity of 12.9 Formula: see text whereas an Ir/C nanoparticle catalyst is almost inert (~4.8 × 10
Formula: see text). The activity of Ir
/CN is also 16 and 19 times greater than those of Pd/C and Pt/C, respectively. Furthermore, Ir
/CN displays high tolerance to CO poisoning. First-principle density functional theory reveals that the properties of Ir
/CN stem from the spatial isolation of iridium sites and from the modified electronic structure of iridium with respect to a conventional nanoparticle catalyst.
An extremely rare non‐Kramers holmium(III) single‐ion magnet (SIM) is reported to be stabilized in the pentagonal‐bipyramidal geometry by a phosphine oxide with a high energy barrier of 237(4) cm−1. ...The suppression of the quantum tunneling of magnetization (QTM) at zero field and the hyperfine structures originating from field‐induced QTMs can be observed even from the field‐dependent alternating‐current magnetic susceptibility in addition to single‐crystal hysteresis loops. These dramatic dynamics were attributed to the combination of the favorable crystal‐field environment and the hyperfine interactions arising from 165Ho (I=7/2) with a natural abundance of 100 %.
An extremely rare non‐Kramers holmium(III) single‐ion magnet is reported. The suppression of the quantum tunneling of magnetization at zero field and the hyperfine structures were observed in AC magnetic susceptibility measurements, and were attributed to the combination of a favorable crystal‐field environment and the hyperfine interactions arising from 165Ho (I=7/2) with a natural abundance of 100 %.
Electroreduction of CO2 to acetate provides a promising strategy to reduce CO2 emissions and store renewable energy, but acetate is usually a by‐product. Here, we show a stable and conductive ...two‐dimensional phthalocyanine‐based covalent‐organic framework (COF) as an electrocatalyst for reduction of CO2 to acetate with a single‐product Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 90.3(2)% at −0.8 V (vs. RHE) and a current density of 12.5 mA cm−2 in 0.1 M KHCO3 solution. No obvious degradation was observed over 80 hours of continuous operation. Combined with the comparison of the properties of other catalysts with isolated metal active sites, theoretical calculations and in situ infrared spectroscopy revealed that the isolated copper‐phthalocyanine active site with high electron density is conducive to the key step of C−C coupling of *CH3 with CO2 to produce acetate, and can avoid the coupling of *CO with *CO or *CHO to produce ethylene and ethanol.
Compared to multiple active sites, an isolated active site with high electron density may be more suitable for electroreduction of CO2 towards the C2 product acetate, and can avoid the coupling of *CO with *CO or *CHO to produce ethylene and ethanol.
The vast majority of the reported hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts perform poorly under alkaline conditions due to the sluggish water dissociation kinetics. Herein, a hybridization ...catalyst construction concept is presented to dramatically enhance the alkaline HER activities of catalysts based on 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) (MoS2 and WS2). A series of ultrathin 2D‐hybrids are synthesized via facile controllable growth of 3d metal (Ni, Co, Fe, Mn) hydroxides on the monolayer 2D‐TMD nanosheets. The resultant Ni(OH)2 and Co(OH)2 hybridized ultrathin MoS2 and WS2 nanosheet catalysts exhibit significantly enhanced alkaline HER activity and stability compared to their bare counterparts. The 2D‐MoS2/Co(OH)2 hybrid achieves an extremely low overpotential of ≈128 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in 1 m KOH. The combined theoretical and experimental studies confirm that the formation of the heterostructured boundaries by suitable hybridization of the TMD and 3d metal hydroxides is responsible for the improved alkaline HER activities because of the enhanced water dissociation step and lowers the corresponding kinetic energy barrier by the hybridized 3d metal hydroxides.
Ultrathin 2D hybrids are designed and prepared via surface modification of monolayer MoS2 and WS2 nanosheets by metal (Ni, Co, Fe, Mn) hydroxides, which form a new class of alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts. The surface introduction of metal hydroxides can effectively reduce the kinetic barrier of the prior water dissociation step of the alkaline HER reaction.
Separating ethene (C2H4) from ethane (C2H6) is of paramount importance and difficulty. Here we show that C2H4 can be efficiently purified by trapping the inert C2H6 in a judiciously designed ...metal-organic framework. Under ambient conditions, passing a typical cracked gas mixture (15:1 C2H4/C2H6) through 1 litre of this C2H6 selective adsorbent directly produces 56 litres of C2H4 with 99.95%+ purity (required by the C2H4 polymerization reactor) at the outlet, with a single breakthrough operation, while other C2H6 selective materials can only produce ca. ⩽ litre, and conventional C2H4 selective adsorbents require at least four adsorption-desorption cycles to achieve the same C2H4 purity. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction and computational simulation studies showed that the exceptional C2H6 selectivity arises from the proper positioning of multiple electronegative and electropositive functional groups on the ultramicroporous pore surface, which form multiple C-H···N hydrogen bonds with C2H6 instead of the more polar competitor C2H4.
Porous materials capable of selectively capturing CO2 from flue‐gases or natural gas are of interest in terms of rising atmospheric CO2 levels and methane purification. Size‐exclusive sieving of CO2 ...over CH4 and N2 has rarely been achieved. Herein we show that a crystal engineering approach to tuning of pore‐size in a coordination network, Cu(quinoline‐5‐carboxyate)2n (Qc‐5‐Cu) ena+bles ultra‐high selectivity for CO2 over N2 (SCN≈40 000) and CH4 (SCM≈3300). Qc‐5‐Cu‐sql‐β, a narrow pore polymorph of the square lattice (sql) coordination network Qc‐5‐Cu‐sql‐α, adsorbs CO2 while excluding both CH4 and N2. Experimental measurements and molecular modeling validate and explain the performance. Qc‐5‐Cu‐sql‐β is stable to moisture and its separation performance is unaffected by humidity.
Sieves you right: Crystal engineering of supramolecular isomers of Cu(quinoline‐5‐carboxyate)2n metal–organic materials enables the right pore‐chemistry for ultra‐high CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 selectivity even in the presence of water vapor.
A lanthanide cluster, PCC‐72, which is the second largest, with 72 Dy(III) ions assembled into an unprecedented tubular structure, is synthesized. Remarkably, PCC‐72 exhibits superionic proton ...conductivity (>10−4 S cm−1) under both ambient (with relative humidity RH < 75%) and hot (T > 90 °C, RH = 95%) conditions. Moreover, slow magnetic relaxation is observed, making PCC‐72 the largest Dy(III) cluster that is a single‐molecule magnet.
Conventional adsorbents preferentially adsorb the small, high-polarity, and unsaturated 1,3-butadiene molecule over the other C₄ hydrocarbons from which it must be separated. We show from ...single-crystal x-ray diffraction and computational simulation that a hydrophilic metal-organic framework, Zn₂(btm)₂, where H₂btm is bis(5-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methane, has quasi-discrete pores that can induce conformational changes in the flexible guest molecules, weakening 1,3-butadiene adsorption through a large bending energy penalty. In a breakthrough operation at ambient temperature and pressure, this guest conformation–controlling adsorbent eluted 1,3-butadiene first, then butane, butene, and isobutene. Thus, 1,3-butadiene can be efficiently purified (≥99.5%) while avoiding high-temperature conditions that can lead to its undesirable polymerization.