Reducing the noble-metal catalyst content of acid Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers without compromising catalytic activity and stability is a goal of fundamental scientific interest and substantial technical importance for cost-effective hydrogen-based energy storage. This study presents nanostructured iridium nanodendrites (Ir-ND) supported on antimony doped tin oxide (ATO) as efficient and stable water splitting catalysts for PEM electrolyzers. The active Ir-ND structures exhibited superior structural and morphological properties, such as particle size and surface area compared to commercial state-of-art Ir catalysts. Supported on tailored corrosion-stable conductive oxides, the Ir-ND catalysts exhibited a more than 2-fold larger kinetic water splitting activity compared with supported Ir nanoparticles, and a more than 8-fold larger catalytic activity than commercial Ir blacks. In single-cell PEM electrolyzer tests, the Ir-ND/ATO outperformed commercial Ir catalysts more than 2-fold at technological current densities of 1.5 A cm−2 at a mere 1.80 V cell voltage, while showing excellent durability under constant current conditions. We conclude that Ir-ND/ATO catalysts have the potential to substantially reduce the required noble metal loading, while maintaining their catalytic performance, both in idealized three-electrode set ups and in the real electrolyzer device environments.

/pdf/oxide-supported-ir-nanodendrites-with-high-activity-and-3w1edle4wp.pdf

Oxide-supported Ir nanodendrites with high activity and durability for the oxygen evolution reaction in acid PEM water electrolyzers

Electrochemical splitting of water is an attractive way to produce hydrogen fuel as a clean and renewable energy source. However, a major challenge is to accelerate the sluggish kinetics of the anodic half-cell reaction where oxygen evolution reaction (OER) takes place. Here, a seamlessly conductive 3D architecture is reported with a carbon-shelled Ni-Co nanowire network as a highly efficient OER electrocatalyst. Highly porous and granular Ni-Co nanowires are first grown on a carbon fiber woven fabric utilizing a cost-effective hydrothermal method and then conductive carbon shell is coated on the Ni-Co nanowires via glucose carbonization and annealing processes. The conductive carbon layer surrounding the nanowires is introduced to provide a continuous pathway for facile electron transport throughout the whole of the integrated 3D catalyst. This 3D hierarchical structure provides several synergistic effects and beneficial functions including a large number of active sites, easy accessibility of water, fast electron transport, rapid release of oxygen gas, enhanced electrochemical durability, and stronger structural integrity, resulting in a remarkable OER activity that delivers an overpotential of 302 mV with a Tafel slope of 43.6 mV dec−1 at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in an alkaline medium electrolyte (1 m KOH).

Seamlessly Conductive 3D Nanoarchitecture of Core–Shell Ni-Co Nanowire Network for Highly Efficient Oxygen Evolution

Raman and Fourier transform IR (FTIR) microspectroscopic images of biological material (tissue sections) contain detailed information about their chemical composition. The challenge lies in identifying changes in chemical composition, as well as locating and assigning these changes to different conditions (pathology, anatomy, environmental or genetic factors). Multivariate data analysis techniques are ideal for decrypting such information from the data. This protocol provides a user-friendly pipeline and graphical user interface (GUI) for data pre-processing and unmixing of pixel spectra into their contributing pure components by multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) analysis. The analysis considers the full spectral profile in order to identify the chemical compounds and to visualize their distribution across the sample to categorize chemically distinct areas. Results are rapidly achieved (usually <30-60 min per image), and they are easy to interpret and evaluate both in terms of chemistry and biology, making the method generally more powerful than principal component analysis (PCA) or heat maps of single-band intensities. In addition, chemical and biological evaluation of the results by means of reference matching and segmentation maps (based on k-means clustering) is possible.

/pdf/vibrational-spectroscopic-image-analysis-of-biological-1cnnqm8cym.pdf

Vibrational spectroscopic image analysis of biological material using multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS).

Gelatinous fibres are specialized fibres, distinguished by the presence of an inner, gelatinous cell-wall layer. In recent years, they have attracted increasing interest since their walls have a desirable chemical composition (low lignin, low pentosan, and high cellulose contents) for applications such as saccharification and biofuel production, and they have interesting mechanical properties, being capable of generating high tensional stress. However, the unique character of gelatinous layer has not yet been widely recognized. The first part of this review presents a model of gelatinous-fibre organization and stresses the unique character of the gelatinous layer as a separate type of cell-wall layer, different from either primary or secondary wall layers. The second part discusses major current models of tensional stress generation by these fibres and presents a novel unifying model based on recent advances in knowledge of gelatinous wall structure. Understanding this mechanism could potentially lead to novel biomimetic developments in material sciences.

/pdf/tensional-stress-generation-in-gelatinous-fibres-a-review-1bk61b5a22.pdf

Tensional stress generation in gelatinous fibres: a review and possible mechanism based on cell-wall structure and composition

Pb(II) and Cr(VI) sorption by biochars pyrolyzed from the municipal wastewater sludge under different heating conditions.

The mechanism for tree orientation in angiosperms is based on the production of high tensile stress on the upper side of the inclined axis. In many species, the stress level is strongly related to the presence of a peculiar layer, called G-layer, in the fibre wall. The structure of G-layer has been recently described as a hydrogel thanks to N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms of supercritically dried samples showing a high mesoporosity (pores size from 2 to 50 nm). This led us to revisit the concept of G-layer that was until now only described from anatomical observation. Adsorption isotherms of both normal wood and tension wood have been measured on six tropical species. Measurements show that mesoporosity is high in tension wood with typical thick G-layer while it is much less with thinner G-layer, sometimes no more than normal wood. The mesoporosity of tension wood species without G-layer is as low as in normal wood. Not depending on the amount of pores, the pore sizes distribution are always centred around 6-12 nm. These results suggest that, among species producing fibres with G-layer, large structural differences of G-layer exist between species

Mesoporosity as a new parameter for understanding tension stress generation in trees

Summary
In order to progress in the understanding of mechanical stress generation, the mesoporosity of the cell wall and its changes during maturation of poplar (Populus deltoides × P. nigra) tension wood (TW) and opposite wood (OW) were measured by nitrogen adsorption–desorption.
Variations in the thickness of the gelatinous layer (G-layer) were also measured to clarify whether the mesoporosity change simultaneously with the deposition of the G-layer in TW.
Results show that mesoporous structures of TW and OW were very similar in early development stages before the deposition of G-layers. With the formation of the S2 layer in OW and the G-layer in TW, the mesopore volume decreased steeply before lignification. However, in TW only, the decrease in mesopore volume occurred together with the pore shape change and a progressive increase in pore size.
The different patterns observed in TW revealed that pores from G-layers appear with a different shape compared to those of the compound middle lamella, and their size increases during the maturation process until stabilising in mature wood. This observation strongly supports the hypothesis of the swelling of the G-layer matrix during maturation as the origin of maturation stress in poplar tension wood.

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.13126

Mesoporosity changes from cambium to mature tension wood: a new step toward the understanding of maturation stress generation in trees.

To advance our understanding of the formation of tension wood, we investigated the macromolecular arrangement in cell walls by Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIR) during maturation of tension wood in poplar (Populus tremula x P. alba, clone INRA 717-1B4). The relation between changes in composition and the deposition of the G-layer in tension wood was analysed. Polarised FTIR measurements indicated that in tension wood, already before G-layer formation, a more ordered structure of carbohydrates at an angle more parallel to the fibre axis exists. This was clearly different from the behaviour of opposite wood. With the formation of the S2 layer in opposite wood and the G-layer in tension wood, the orientation signals from the amorphous carbohydrates like hemicelluloses and pectins were different between opposite wood and tension wood. For tension wood, the orientation for these bands remains the same all along the cell wall maturation process, probably reflecting a continued deposition of xyloglucan or xylan, with an orientation different to that in the S2 wall throughout the whole process. In tension wood, the lignin was more highly oriented in the S2 layer than in opposite wood.

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02057685/document

Deposition and organisation of cell wall polymers during maturation of poplar tension wood by FTIR microspectroscopy.

The dimensional variations of green wood samples induced by organic solvents have been studied. The solvents used (ethanol, isopropanol, acetone, and acetonitrile) covered a wide range of polarity and were studied pure and in aqueous solutions over a wide range of concentrations. Samples of normal and tension wood of poplar were used in order to minimize the effect of hydrophobic extractives on the wood-solvent interactions. The evolution of wood volume and of tangential strain with the concentration of the organic solvents shows a behavior similar to gels, with a significant swelling for solutions of intermediate polarity. The similarity of volume obtained in water and less polar pure organic solvents strikingly contrasted the different effects of water and organic solvents on dry wood. Low-polarity solvents were extremely effective in the stress release of tension wood, as indicated by the pattern of longitudinal shrinkage. Solvent exchange does not affect the mesoporous structure of the cell walls of tension wood and is a promising way to reduce internal stress in wood products.

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00697482/document

Solvent polarity and internal stresses control the swelling behaviour of green wood during dehydration in organic solution

Based on the conventional anatomical analysis, the pore structures of poplar tension wood, such as specific surface area, pore volume and pore size distributions were characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption method. The shapes of the pores were estimated by nitrogen adsorption isotherms. The results show that poplar tension wood with BET specific surface area of 21.9 m2·g-1, which is 13 times higher than that in opposite wood. Poplar tension wood has intact mesoporosity (pore size between 2-50 nm) with inkbottle and slit shape pore, as well as a certain amount of micropores and macropores. The maximum value of pore size distribution appears at 5 nm. The pore volume with diameter ranging from 4-7 nm makes up 74.4% of the total, and larger than 15 nm, 10.8%. The high amount of mesopores can be attributed to the thick gelatinous layer in poplar tension wood.

Shan-Shan Chang

Papers

Mesoporosity as a new parameter for understanding tension stress generation in trees

Mesoporosity changes from cambium to mature tension wood: a new step toward the understanding of maturation stress generation in trees.

Deposition and organisation of cell wall polymers during maturation of poplar tension wood by FTIR microspectroscopy.

Solvent polarity and internal stresses control the swelling behaviour of green wood during dehydration in organic solution

Pore structure characterization of poplar tension wood by nitrogen adsorption-desorption method