Technical University of Berlin

About: Technical University of Berlin is a education organization based out in Berlin, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Laser & Catalysis. The organization has 27292 authors who have published 59342 publications receiving 1414623 citations. The organization is also known as: Technische Universität Berlin & TU Berlin.

Doping carbons beyond nitrogen: an overview of advanced heteroatom doped carbons with boron, sulphur and phosphorus for energy applications

Abstract: Heteroatom doped carbon materials represent one of the most prominent families of materials that are used in energy related applications, such as fuel cells, batteries, hydrogen storage or supercapacitors. While doping carbons with nitrogen atoms has experienced great progress throughout the past decades and yielded promising material concepts, also other doping candidates have gained the researchers' interest in the last few years. Boron is already relatively widely studied, and as its electronic situation is contrary to the one of nitrogen, codoping carbons with both heteroatoms can probably create synergistic effects. Sulphur and phosphorus have just recently entered the world of carbon synthesis, but already the first studies published prove their potential, especially as electrocatalysts in the cathodic compartment of fuel cells. Due to their size and their electronegativity being lower than those of carbon, structural distortions and changes of the charge densities are induced in the carbon materials. This article is to give a state of the art update on the most recent developments concerning the advanced heteroatom doping of carbon that goes beyond nitrogen. Doped carbon materials and their applications in energy devices are discussed with respect to their boron-, sulphur- and phosphorus-doping.

Temporary reduction in daily global CO2 emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement

Abstract: Government policies during the COVID-19 pandemic have drastically altered patterns of energy demand around the world. Many international borders were closed and populations were confined to their homes, which reduced transport and changed consumption patterns. Here we compile government policies and activity data to estimate the decrease in CO2 emissions during forced confinements. Daily global CO2 emissions decreased by –17% (–11 to –25% for ±1σ) by early April 2020 compared with the mean 2019 levels, just under half from changes in surface transport. At their peak, emissions in individual countries decreased by –26% on average. The impact on 2020 annual emissions depends on the duration of the confinement, with a low estimate of –4% (–2 to –7%) if prepandemic conditions return by mid-June, and a high estimate of –7% (–3 to –13%) if some restrictions remain worldwide until the end of 2020. Government actions and economic incentives postcrisis will likely influence the global CO2 emissions path for decades.

The Mechanism of Water Oxidation: From Electrolysis via Homogeneous to Biological Catalysis

Abstract: Striving for new solar fuels, the water oxidation reaction currently is considered to be a bottleneck, hampering progress in the development of applicable technologies for the conversion of light into storable fuels. This review compares and unifies viewpoints on water oxidation from various fields of catalysis research. The first part deals with the thermodynamic efficiency and mechanisms of electrochemical water splitting by metal oxides on electrode surfaces, explaining the recent concept of the potential-determining step. Subsequently, novel cobalt oxide-based catalysts for heterogeneous (electro)catalysis are discussed. These may share structural and functional properties with surface oxides, multinuclear molecular catalysts and the catalytic manganese–calcium complex of photosynthetic water oxidation. Recent developments in homogeneous water-oxidation catalysis are outlined with a focus on the discovery of mononuclear ruthenium (and non-ruthenium) complexes that efficiently mediate O2 evolution from water. Water oxidation in photosynthesis is the subject of a concise presentation of structure and function of the natural paragon—the manganese–calcium complex in photosystem II—for which ideas concerning redox-potential leveling, proton removal, and OO bond formation mechanisms are discussed. The last part highlights common themes and unifying concepts.