Kent State University

About: Kent State University is a education organization based out in Kent, Ohio, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Liquid crystal & Population. The organization has 10897 authors who have published 24607 publications receiving 720309 citations. The organization is also known as: Kent State & KSU.

Advancing the Electrochemistry of the Hydrogen-Evolution Reaction through Combining Experiment and Theory

Abstract: The electrocatalytic hydrogen-evolution reaction (HER), as the main step of water splitting and the cornerstone of exploring the mechanism of other multi-electron transfer electrochemical processes, is the subject of extensive studies. A large number of high-performance electrocatalysts have been developed for HER accompanied by recent significant advances in exploring its electrochemical nature. Herein we present a critical appraisal of both theoretical and experimental studies of HER electrocatalysts with special emphasis on the electronic structure, surface (electro)chemistry, and molecular design. It addresses the importance of correlating theoretical calculations and electrochemical measurements toward better understanding of HER electrocatalysis at the atomic level. Fundamental concepts in the computational quantum chemistry and its relation to experimental electrochemistry are also presented along with some featured examples.

Ordered mesoporous carbons

Abstract: Ordered mesoporous carbons have recently been synthesized using ordered mesoporous silica templates. The synthesis procedure involves infiltration of the pores of the template with appropriate carbon precursor, its carbonization, and subsequent template removal. The template needs to exhibit three-dimensional pore structure in order to be suitable for the ordered mesoporous carbon synthesis, otherwise disordered microporous carbon is formed. MCM-48, SBA-1, and SBA-15 silicas were successfully used to synthesize carbons with cubic or hexagonal frameworks, narrow mesopore size distributions, high nitrogen Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface areas (up to 1800 m2 g–1), and large pore volumes. Ordered mesoporous carbons are promising in many applications, including adsorption of large molecules, chromatography, and manufacturing of electrochemical double-layer capacitors.

Application of large pore MCM-41 molecular sieves to improve pore size analysis using nitrogen adsorption measurements

Abstract: MCM-41 siliceous molecular sieves were used to test the applicability of the Kelvin equation for nitrogen adsorption in cylindrical pores of the size from 2 to 65 nm It was shown that the Kelvin equation for the hemispherical meniscus, corrected for the statistical film thickness, is in quite good agreement with an experimental relation between the pore size and the capillary condensation pressure The agreement can be made quantitative in the pore size range from ca 2 to 65 nm, if a simple correction to the Kelvin equation is introduced The required statistical film thickness curve (t-curve) was calculated using nitrogen adsorption data for large pore MCM-41 samples and the obtained results were extrapolated using an adsorption isotherm for a macroporous silica gel Moreover, an accurate analytical representation of the t-curve was found Since both the corrected Kelvin equation for cylindrical pores and the t-curve have simple analytical forms, they can conveniently be used in a variety of methods

Cocatalysts for Selective Photoreduction of CO2 into Solar Fuels.

Abstract: 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.