Since the discovery of mechanically exfoliated graphene in 2004, research on ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials has grown exponentially in the fields of condensed matter physics, material science, chemistry, and nanotechnology. Highlighting their compelling physical, chemical, electronic, and optical properties, as well as their various potential applications, in this Review, we summarize the state-of-art progress on the ultrathin 2D nanomaterials with a particular emphasis on their recent advances. First, we introduce the unique advances on ultrathin 2D nanomaterials, followed by the description of their composition and crystal structures. The assortments of their synthetic methods are then summarized, including insights on their advantages and limitations, alongside some recommendations on suitable characterization techniques. We also discuss in detail the utilization of these ultrathin 2D nanomaterials for wide ranges of potential applications among the electronics/optoelectronics, electrocat...

Recent Advances in Ultrathin Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials

The current rapid industrial development causes the serious energy and environmental crises. Photocatalyts provide a potential strategy to solve these problems because these materials not only can directly convert solar energy into usable or storable energy resources but also can decompose organic pollutants under solar-light irradiation. However, the aforementioned applications require photocatalysts with a wide absorption range, long-term stability, high charge-separation efficiency and strong redox ability. Unfortunately, it is often difficult for a single-component photocatalyst to simultaneously fulfill all these requirements. The artificial heterogeneous Z-scheme photocatalytic systems, mimicking the natural photosynthesis process, overcome the drawbacks of single-component photocatalysts and satisfy those aforementioned requirements. Such multi-task systems have been extensively investigated in the past decade. Especially, the all-solid-state Z-scheme photocatalytic systems without redox pair have been widely used in the water splitting, solar cells, degradation of pollutants and CO2 conversion, which have a huge potential to solve the current energy and environmental crises facing the modern industrial development. Thus, this review gives a concise overview of the all-solid-state Z-scheme photocatalytic systems, including their composition, construction, optimization and applications.

All-Solid-State Z-Scheme Photocatalytic Systems

Supplementary cementitious materials

The applications of copper (Cu) and Cu-based nanoparticles, which are based on the earth-abundant and inexpensive copper metal, have generated a great deal of interest in recent years, especially in the field of catalysis. The possible modification of the chemical and physical properties of these nanoparticles using different synthetic strategies and conditions and/or via postsynthetic chemical treatments has been largely responsible for the rapid growth of interest in these nanomaterials and their applications in catalysis. In addition, the design and development of novel support and/or multimetallic systems (e.g., alloys, etc.) has also made significant contributions to the field. In this comprehensive review, we report different synthetic approaches to Cu and Cu-based nanoparticles (metallic copper, copper oxides, and hybrid copper nanostructures) and copper nanoparticles immobilized into or supported on various support materials (SiO2, magnetic support materials, etc.), along with their applications i...

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00482

Cu and Cu-Based Nanoparticles: Synthesis and Applications in Catalysis.

Photoreduction of CO2 into sustainable and green solar fuels is generally believed to be an appealing solution to simultaneously overcome both environmental problems and energy crisis. The low selectivity of challenging multi-electron CO2 photoreduction reactions makes it one of the holy grails in heterogeneous photocatalysis. This Review highlights the important roles of cocatalysts in selective photocatalytic CO2 reduction into solar fuels using semiconductor catalysts. A special emphasis in this review is placed on the key role, design considerations and modification strategies of cocatalysts for CO2 photoreduction. Various cocatalysts, such as the biomimetic, metal-based, metal-free, and multifunctional ones, and their selectivity for CO2 photoreduction are summarized and discussed, along with the recent advances in this area. This Review provides useful information for the design of highly selective cocatalysts for photo(electro)reduction and electroreduction of CO2 and complements the existing reviews on various semiconductor photocatalysts.

Cocatalysts for Selective Photoreduction of CO2 into Solar Fuels.

Chemical admixtures — Chemistry, applications and their impact on concrete microstructure and durability

Hydration of fly ash cement

Interparticle potential energy calculations were performed to investigate the mechanisms by which a new class of concrete admixtures, generally referenced as poly(carboxylic acid)-type (PC) superplasticizers, which aid in dispersing cement particles, are formed. These calculations consisted of long-range Van der Waals, electrostatic, and steric interactions. The repulsive potential that resulted from electrostatic interactions was negligible, which would allow cement particles to flocculate in the absence of steric contributions. A model was developed to describe the adsorption behavior of these superplasticizers, which consisted of grafted polyethylene oxide (PEO) chains on a PC backbone on cement surfaces. Using this adsorption model, the influence of the length of the PEO molecular chain and the density per unit area on the steric contribution was quantified. Steric hindrance effects were the dominant stabilizing mechanism in this system. As expected, enhanced stability was observed with increasing adlayer thickness (and/or density). The results of this study may be useful in designing the molecular structure of this new and important class of dispersion aids for cement-based systems.

Role of Steric Hindrance in the Performance of Superplasticizers for Concrete

Effect of particle size distribution of fly ash–cement system on the fluidity of cement pastes

This paper summarizes the relation between the molecular structure and the dispersion-adsorption mechanisms of 3 types of comb-type superplasticizers used in Japan. The action mechanisms of comb-type superplasticizers and the compatibility of cements and superplasticizers are influenced by the molecular structure of polymers such as copolymer components and the grafted chain length of poly (ethylene-oxide) (PEO). Many reports regarding concrete research have investigated the influence of comb-type superplasticizers on the fluidity of concrete and the production of selfcompacting concrete. However, many have not considered the effect of the molecular structures of comb-type superplasticizers. This paper should be useful for engineers and researches studying the action of comb-type superplasticizers in the production of concrete with comb-type superplasticizers, and for understanding any new properties of such concrete.

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jact/1/1/1_1_16/_pdf

Etsuo Sakai

Papers

Chemical admixtures — Chemistry, applications and their impact on concrete microstructure and durability

Hydration of fly ash cement

Role of Steric Hindrance in the Performance of Superplasticizers for Concrete

Effect of particle size distribution of fly ash–cement system on the fluidity of cement pastes

Molecular Structure and Dispersion-Adsorption Mechanisms of Comb-Type Superplasticizers Used in Japan