Exploring cheap and efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts is extremely vital for the commercial application of advanced energy storage and conversion systems. Herein, a self-supporting Co3S4/ S-doped reduced graphene oxide ( Co3S4/S-rGO) film catalyst is successfully prepared by a blade coating coupled with high-temperature annealing strategy, and its morphology, structure and composition are measured and analyzed. It is substantiated that the as-synthesized Co3S4/ S-rGO film possesses unique self-supporting structure, and is composed of uniformly dispersed Co3S4 nanoparticles and highly conductive S-rGO, which benefit the exposure of catalytic sites and electron transfer. By reason of the synergistic effect of the two individual components, the self-supporting Co3S4/ S-rGO film catalyst displays outstanding catalytic performance towards OER. As a consequence, the Co3S4/ S-rGO film catalyst delivers an overpotential of 341 mV at 10 mA cm-2, and the current attenuation rate is only 2.6% after continuous operation for 4 h, verifying excellent catalytic activity and durability. Clearly, our results offers a good example for the construction of high-performance self-supporting carbon-based composite film catalysts for critical electrocatalytic reactions.

Organic wastewater causes serious environmental pollution, and catalytic oxidation is promising technique for wastewater treatment. Developing green and effective catalysts is currently challenging. In this work, green synthesis of nano zerovalent iron loaded onto porous biochar derived from popcorn is conducted, and catalytic oxidation of Rhodamine B (RhB) is evaluated in the presence of H2O2. Effect of process factors is examined on catalytic performance for RhB removal. The mechanism of RhB removal is discussed by characterizations (Fourier transform infrared spectra and Raman) and UV–vis spectra. RhB removal is improved with high catalyst dosage, low initial RhB concentration, and high reaction temperature, while it is slightly influenced by carbonization temperature of biochar, H2O2 dosage and pH value. Under conditions of BC-250 1.0 g/L, H2O2 0.01 mol/L, pH 6.1, and temperature 30 °C, the removal rate of RhB is 92.27% at 50 min. Pseudo first-order kinetics is used to fitting experimental data, and the activation energy for RhB removal in BC-250/H2O2 system is 39 kJ/mol. RhB removal in BC-250/H2O2 system can be attributed to adsorption effect and catalytic oxidation with the dominant role of hydroxyl radical. This work gives insights into catalytic oxidation of organic wastewater using green catalyst.

In this study, a THC removal system was developed using an oxidation catalyst to solve the problems of the existing thermal oxidation methods, RTO and RCO. In addition, this system was applied to industrial sites to confirm the VOCs removal efficiency. As a result of testing to remove THC and VOCs by applying the reaction system for THC removal in industrial sites, the THC removal efficiency range is between 99.5% and 99.9%. The treatment efficiency of individual VOCs treated through this system was the lowest at 79.0% for methylethylketone and the highest at 91.3% for acetaldehyde, and the average treatment efficiency was about 85.4%. From these numbers, the performance was superior to the existing RTO and RCO systems that showed THC removal performance. This is due to the fact that the oxidation reaction of the oxidation catalyst is a very fast catalyst surface reaction, and the characteristics of the catalytic oxidation reaction are complete oxidation and oxidation reaction under rarefied conditions. In this study, the catalyst role in the reaction system for THC removal is to process THC simultaneously with the system heat source. This is believed to be because the reaction of the oxidation catalyst is a strongly exothermic reaction and can sufficiently provide the amount of heat necessary for the system. At the same time, an oxidation reaction that breaks the bonds of the THC component also occurs. This reaction is a strong exothermic reaction, which can help the system maintain a high temperature during the reaction, and is considered an effective system for processing high concentrations of THC in actual industrial sites where THC concentrations are high, as in this study.

This study presents the synthesis, characterization, and utilization of marine macroalgae-derived bio-carbon catalysts (BC and KOH-AC) for the efficient conversion of waste cooking oil (WCO) into biodiesel. The biochar (BC) was produced through slow pyrolysis of macroalgal biomass, which was subsequently activated with potassium hydroxide (KOH) to produce a KOH-modified activated carbon (KOH-AC) catalyst. Advanced characterization techniques, including SEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR, and TGA, were used to examine the physicochemical characteristics of the catalysts. The synthesized catalysts were utilized to produce biodiesel from WCO, and the results revealed that the highest biodiesel yields, 98.96%, and 47.54%, were obtained using KOH-AC and BC catalysts, respectively, under optimal reaction conditions of 66 °C temperature, 12.3 M/O molar ratio, 130 min time, and 3.08 wt.% catalyst loading via RSM optimization. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters, such as k, Ea, ΔH, ΔS, and ΔG, were determined to be 0.0346 min− 1, 43.31 kJ mol− 1, 38.98 kJ mol− 1, − 158.38 J K− 1 mol− 1, and 92.58 kJ mol− 1, respectively. The KOH-AC catalyst was recycled up to five times, with a significant biodiesel yield of 80.37%. The fuel properties of the biodiesel met ASTM (D6751) specifications, ensuring that it has excellent fuel characteristics and can be used as an alternative fuel.

In this study, the synthesis of nitrobenzene was carried out using sulfated silica catalyst. The study delved into H2SO4/SiO2 as a solid acid catalyst and the effect of its weight variation, as well as the use of a microwave batch reactor in the synthesis of nitrobenzene. SiO2 was prepared using the sol-gel method from TEOS precursor. The formed gel was then refluxed with methanol and calcined at a temperature of 600 °C. SiO2 with a 200-mesh size was impregnated with 98 % H2SO4 by mixing for 1 h. The resulting 33 % (w/w) H2SO4/SiO2 catalyst was separated by centrifugation, dried, and calcined at 600 °C. The catalyst was then used as a solid acid catalyst in the synthesis of nitrobenzene. The weights of catalyst used were 0.5; 1; and 1.5 grams. The synthesis of nitrobenzene was carried out with a 1:3 ratio of benzene to nitric acid in a microwave batch reactor at 60 °C for 5 h. The resulting nitrobenzene liquid was analyzed using GC-MS to determine the selectivity of the catalyst. Likewise, the use of a microwave batch reactor was found to be appropriate and successful for the synthesis of nitrobenzene. The thermal energy produced by the microwave batch reactor was efficient enough to be used for the nitration reaction. Reactivity and selectivity tests demonstrated that 1 g of H2SO4/SiO2 could generate an average benzene conversion of 40.33 %.

본 연구에서는 공정 간소화, 균일한 나노 입자 형성, 백금 저감 및 활용도를 높이기 위하여 원자층 증착법 (Atomic Layer Deposition, ALD)을 통하여 양이온 교환막 연료전지용 촉매를 제조하고 증착 온도에 따른 백금 입자 형성 거동 을 확인하였다. 증착 온도는 250 °C, 300 °C, 350 °C로 조절하여 백금 촉매를 형성하였으며 각 각의 촉매의 증착 양 상을 확인하기 위하여 Thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction 및 Transmission electron microscopy를 도입하여 담지량, 백금 입자 분포, 크기 및 결정구조 등을 확인하였다. 합성된 백금 촉매를 연료전지에 적용하기 위해서 Cyclic Voltammetry 기법을 통해서 전기화학적 활성 표면적를 구하고, Membrane Electrode Assembly 셀을 제작하여 전지 특성을 확보하였다. 최종적으로, 백금 촉매 제조 시 ALD 증착 온도는 300 °C 이하에서 합성해야 됨을 밝혀냈으며, ALD으로 제작된 백금 촉매가 기존 습식 촉매보다 더 우수한 특성을 보임을 확인하였다. 해당 연구는 ALD을 통하여 다양한 접근법으로 촉매를 제조할 시, 기본적인 ALD 공정 정보 및 ALD 촉매 합성 방향성을 제공할 수 있다.

Core–shell ZIFs wrapped CuO hybrid materials (CuO@ZIF-67(Co)) were designed, synthesized, characterized, and employed as peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activators to degrade methylene blue (MB). It demonstrated outstanding catalytic activity on account of the unique structure and the synergistic effect between CuO cores and ZIF-67(Co) shells, resulting in complete degradation of MB (10 mg/L) in 1 min. Reactive oxygen species (ROSs) research showed that both SO4 − and OH were responsible for the removal of MB. The synergistic activation mechanisms in the CuO@ZIF-67(Co)/PMS system were investigated, which mainly involved the effective electron transfer of CuO and ZIF-67(Co) for accelerating the cycle of CuII/ CuI and CoIII/ CoII. This study broadens the application of MOF-derived materials for wastewater treatment.

Carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized from phloroglucinol (PG) by simple heat treatment at 220–230 °C in the atmosphere without catalysts and solvents. PG-CDs heated at 220–230 °C could be completely dissolved in environmentally friendly water and exhibited a photoluminescence (PL) peak at 485 nm with 85 nm of the full width at half maximum (FWHM). The water-soluble polymer-dot-like PG-CDs were estimated to be 1.6–3.2 nm in size, and exhibited a wide range of PL wavelength at 370–630 nm. Since the PG-CDs are water-soluble materials, PG-CDs could be homogeneously mixed with a polymer such as polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in water as a solvent, and PG-CDs/PVP films were prepared. The films exhibited PL characteristics that convert ultraviolet light at 350 nm to visible light above 400 nm. Thus, using PG as the raw material which has widely been produced industrially, the water-soluble fluorescent PG-CDs/PVP films could be prepared at a low cost by environmentally friendly methods.

This work describes the synthesis and characterization of a heterogeneous catalyst consisting of piperazine-functionalized reduced graphene oxide decorated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles ( Fe3O4@rGO-NH), and the study of its catalytic activity as a magnetic heterogeneous catalyst for the Pechmann synthesis of coumarins. Catalyst Fe3O4@ rGO-NH was fully characterized by various techniques, including IR, XRD, TEM, VSM, TGA, and elemental analysis. Then, the catalyst was used as an efficient and easy-separable heterogeneous catalyst for the solvent-free synthesis of some coumarins by Pechmann reaction. The reaction was optimized in terms of reaction time and temperature, catalyst dosage, and the presence/absence of the solvent. Finally, the reusability of the catalyst was studied.

Different materials have been shown to "catalyze" carbon nanotube (CNT) growth in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) when they become nano-sized particles. Catalysts, which act as a kind of "seed" for CNT growth, show two types of behavior in the CVD method; precipitation of carbon atoms from the eutectic alloy forming a kind of alloy with carbon; the fact that the catalyst remains as a solid phase and forms a carbon surface layer during the CVD process. This study examines the relationship between the iron-group and non-iron-group catalyst types and the catalyst concentration and growth time of CVD-based CNT growth via emphasizing growth mechanisms. The novelty of this work is to compare and evaluate the effects of catalyst type, concentration, and growth time, which are three critical CVD parameters, on the final nanotube morphology. It was utilized five different catalysts ( Fe2O3, Fe3O4, Nb2O5, Au, and Pt), three different growth durations (3, 5, and 7 min), and three different catalyst concentrations (2, 4, and 6 wt%) to explore the morphological differences on CNT synthesis by CVD under the same process parameters. The results demonstrated that catalyst type is the most influential parameter in CVD-based CNT synthesis, while catalyst concentration and growth time are indispensable elements for the uniformity and small diameter in the final morphology.

For the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with ammonia (NH3-SCR), a V2O5WO3/TiO2 (VW/nTi) catalyst was prepared using V2O5 and WO3 on a nanodispersed TiO2 (nTi) support by simple impregnation process. The nTi support was dispersed for 0~3 hrs under controlled bead-milling in ethanol. The average particle size (D50) of nTi was reduced from 582 nm to 93 nm depending on the milling time. The NOx activity of these catalysts with maximum temperature shift was influenced by the dispersion of the TiO2. For the V0.5W2/nTi-0h catalyst, prepared with 582 nm nTi-0h before milling, the decomposition temperature with over 94 % NOx conversion had a narrow temperature window, within the range of 365-391 °C. Similarly, the V0.5W2/nTi-2h catalyst, prepared with 107 nm nTi-2h bead-milled for 2hrs, showed a broad temperature window in the range of 358~450 °C. However, the V0.5W2/Ti catalyst (D50 = 2.4 μm, aqueous, without milling) was observed at 325-385 °C. Our results could pave the way for the production of effective NOx decomposition catalysts with a higher temperature range. This approach is also better at facilitating the dispersion on the support material. NH3-TPD, H2-TPR, FT-IR, and XPS were used to investigate the role of nTi in the DeNOx catalyst.

This study was performed to investigate the effects of water molecules on ozone oxidation of acetaldehyde using a manganese oxide catalyst at room temperature. The catalytic ozone oxidation was conducted at different relative humidity (RH) conditions of 0%, 50%, and 80%. As the RH increased, both ozone and acetaldehyde removal efficiencies dropped due to competitive adsorption on the surface of the catalyst. At the highest RH of 80%, the oxidation reaction was severely retarded, and oxidation by-products such as acetic acid were formed and adsorbed on the surface. After the ozone oxidation of acetaldehyde, the regeneration of the catalyst using ozone alone was tested, and the further oxidation of accumulated organic compounds was investigated under the RH conditions of 0%, 50%, and 80%. When the highest relative humidity was introduced in the regeneration step, the ozonation reaction with the by-products adsorbed on the catalyst surface decreased due to the competitive reaction with water molecules. These findings revealed that, only when relative humidity was low to minimize the formation of by-products, the ozone oxidation of acetaldehyde using the manganese oxide catalyst at room temperature can be feasible as an effective control method.

To improve the pyrolytic carbon (PyC) deposition rate of Carbon/Carbon (C/C) composites prepared by the traditional chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) method, the 3D Ni/wood-carbon (3D Ni/C) catalyst was introduced into the CVI process. The effects of catalyst on the density of C/C composites were studied, and the deposition rate and morphologies of PyC were investigated after catalytic CVI. The morphologies of catalyst and PyC were characterized by scanning electron microscope and polarized light microscopy. The catalytic deposition mechanism of PyC was studied by density functional theory. The experimental results show that the initial carbon deposition efficiency of the catalytic pyrolysis process was 3–4 times that of the noncatalytic process. The catalyst reduced the energy barrier in the first step of deposition reaction from 382.55 to 171.67 kJ/mol according to simulation results. The pyrolysis reaction energy with Ni catalyst is reduced by 54% than that without the catalyst.