Ammonia is considered a promising hydrogen carrier due to its high hydrogen density and liquefaction temperature. Considering that the energy efficiency generally decreases as chemical conversion is repeated, it is more efficient to directly use ammonia as a fuel for fuel cells. However, catalysts in direct ammonia fuel cells have the critical issues of sluggish ammonia oxidation reaction (AOR) rate and poisoning of reaction intermediates. In particular, the use of precious metal as cathodic catalysts has been limited due to ammonia crossover and poisoning. In this study, we introduce Fe-based single-atom catalysts with selective activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) even in the presence of ammonia. As the Fe content increased, the single-atom structure of the catalysts changed into Fe nanoparticles or carbides. Among our Fe–N–C catalysts, FeNC-50 with a Fe loading amount of 0.34 wt% showed the highest ORR performance regardless of the ammonia concentration. In particular, the difference in activity between the catalysts increased as the concentration increased. The FeNC-50 catalyst showed remarkable stability after 1000 cycles. Therefore, we believe that single-atom dispersion is an important factor in the development of stable non-precious catalysts with high activity and inactivity for the ORR and AOR, respectively.

A promising approach to enhance catalytic performance of supported heterogeneous nano-metal catalysts is to uniformly disperse active nanoparticles on the support. In this work, N-doped carbon-modified graphene (G@NC) nanosheet is designed and prepared to anchor Pd–Fe bimetallic nanoparticles (Pd–Fe/G@NC). The N-doped carbon modification on graphene surface could construct a sandwich-like structure (G@NC), which not only prevented the re-stacking of graphene nanosheets but also provided confined space for stable anchoring of bimetallic Pd–Fe nanoparticles. Benefitted from the unique structural property and synergetic effect of metal Pd and Fe species, the as-obtained Pd–Fe/G@NC composite displays excellent catalytic activity toward 4-nitrophenol reduction reaction with a turnover frequency of 613.2 min− 1, which is far superior to that of the mono-metal counterparts (Fe/G@NC and Pd/G@NC). More importantly, Pd–Fe/G@NC catalyst also exhibits favorable catalytic performance in the reduction of other nitroaromatic compounds (nitrobenzene, 4-nitrotoluene, 4-chloronitrobenzene, and so on). In addition, Pd–Fe/G@NC can catalyze the oxidation of furfuraldehyde to furoic acid with a high yield of 88.64%. This work provides a new guide for rationally designing and developing advanced supported heterogeneous bimetallic catalyst.

Livestock production costs are heavily influenced by the cost of feed, The use of domestically grown forages is more desirable for livestock feed production. As part of this study, triticale, which is an extremely palatable and easily cultivable crop in Korea, was used to produce low moisture silage bales with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and then stored for different periods. We examined the nutrient content of silage, such as crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), as well as their organic acids, including lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, at different storage periods. The nutrient content of silages, such as crude protein, ADF, and NDF, did not change significantly throughout storage periods. Organic acid data indicated that lactic acid concentrations increased with increasing moisture contents and storage periods up to nine months. However, further extending storage to 12 months resulted in a reduction in the lactic acid content of all silages as well as an increase in their pH. Based on the present results, it suggested that the production of low moisture silage with the LAB may be able to preserve and maintain its quality without altering its nutritional composition. Also, the lactate content of the silage remained significant for at least nine months.

Starfish are creatures that destroy marine ecosystems due to their high reproductive rate and predatory nature. Instead of mass incineration, this study attempted to utilize them as functional adsorbents to control odorous organic compounds. This waste starfishbased adsorbent showed a high aldehyde capture efficiency of 91.1%. The maximum specific surface area of the prepared waste starfish adsorbent was 2.19m2/g, and the adsorption amount was 101.66mg/g. Therefore, it was confirmed that the waste starfish had the ability to perform well as an adsorbent.

유기 전구체와 금속 이온, 또는 금속-옥소 클로스터 간의 규칙적 배열을 통한 종의 다양성을 장점으로 하는 금속- 유기 골격체(Metal-Organic Frameworks, MOFs)는 에너지 사용량이 높은 상변화 기반 분리공정을 대체할 수 있는 에너지 효율 적인 막 기반 분리 기술의 개발 가능성을 열어주었다. 이에 최근 10년 동안 다결정 MOFs 분리막 합성 기술에서 상당한 진전 이 있었지만, 매우 제한된 종류의 MOFs만이 활용되고 있다. 이러한 기술 개발의 정체는 다결정 분리막의 비 선택적인 확산 경로인 결정 사이 결함(intercrystalline defects)에 대한 명확한 해결법이 없기 때문이다. 후처리 성능 제어기술(postsynthetic modifications, PSMs)은 기존 분리막을 플랫폼으로 활용하고 이를 물리적 그리고/혹은 화학적으로 처리함을 통해 분리 특성 을 개선 혹은 변경하는 기술을 말한다. PSMs 기술은 특정 분리막을 개발하는 데 있어서 새로운 MOFs를 설계하거나 막 합성 기술을 개발하지 않아도 된다는 장점이 있어서 다결정 MOF 분리막의 다양성을 제공하기 위한 새로 부상하는 전략으로 평가 된다. 본 총설에서는 PSMs 기술을 7개의 세부기술((1) 공유결합법, (2) 결정간 결함 플러깅법, (3) 결정 내부 결함 치유법, (4) 기공내 기능성 소재 함침법, (5) 기공 경화법, (6) 전구체 치환법 및 (7) 비정질화법)로 분류하고, 각 세부기술의 연구 동향 및 도전과제 그리고 향후 연구 방향에 대해 논의하고자 한다.

Consumers prefer high-quality organic agricultural products, but most organic farmers use conventional seeds. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an organic seed production technology for organic vegetable cultivation which will meet international organic standards. In this study, the effects of low temperature treatment and seedling size on flower bud differentiation and planting were investigated for the production of indigenous organic root vegetables seeds, radish, turnip, and beet. Radishes were bolted in large seedlings which were cold treated for 4 weeks after 16 days of transplantation. Turnips were bolted in small seedlings which were cold treated for 2 or 4 weeks after 28 days of transplantation. Beets were bolted in small seedlings which were cold treated for 4 weeks, 23 days after planting. It was found that small size radish seedlings were not affected by the 4 weeks low-temperature treatment, but for turnips and beets, smaller seedlings rapidly bolted as compared to larger seedlings which were treated for 2 or 4 weeks. Based on these results, it could be inferred that it is possible to increase the seed production yield of radish, turnip, and beet as well as predicting the planting time. These findings could be used as basic data to determine the appropriate seedling size and cold-treatment time.