Wuhan University of Technology

About: Wuhan University of Technology is a education organization based out in Wuhan, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Microstructure & Catalysis. The organization has 40384 authors who have published 36724 publications receiving 575695 citations. The organization is also known as: WUT.

Engineering Oxygen Vacancies in a Polysulfide-Blocking Layer with Enhanced Catalytic Ability.

Abstract: The practical application of the lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is seriously restricted by its shuttle effect, low conductivity, and low sulfur loading. Herein, first-principles calculations are conducted to verify that the introduction of oxygen vacancies in TiO2 not only enhances polysulfide adsorption but also greatly improves the catalytic ability and both the ion and electron conductivities. A commercial polypropylene (PP) separator decorated with TiO2 nanosheets with oxygen vacancies (OVs-TiO2 @PP) is fabricated as a strong polysulfide barrier for the Li-S battery. The thickness of the OVs-TiO2 modification layer is only 500 nm with a low areal mass of around 0.12 mg cm-2 , which enhances the fast lithium-ion penetration and the high energy density of the whole cell. As a result, the cell with the OVs-TiO2 @PP separator exhibits a stable electrochemical behavior at 2.0 C over 500 cycles, even under a high sulfur loading of 7.1 mg cm-2 , and an areal capacity of 5.83 mAh cm-2 remains after 100 cycles. The proposed strategy of engineering oxygen vacancies is expected to have wide applications in Li-S batteries.

Electromagnetic wave absorbing characteristics of carbon black cement-based composites

Abstract: Electrical resistivity, compressive strength, and the electromagnetic absorbing effectiveness of carbon black (CB) cement-based composites (CBCC) with different contents of high-structure CB were studied in this paper. The results indicate that the resistivity of CBCC versus the concentration of CB curves has typical features of percolation phenomena: CBCC in the percolation threshold zone contains 0.36–1.34 vol.% of CB. Thus, the conductive network can be formed in CBCC by using small amount of high-structure CB. Compressive strength of CBCC decreases with CB content increasing. Especially, compressive strength decreases substantially when CB content is more than 3.0 wt.%. CBCC exhibits good performance of absorbing electromagnetic waves in the frequency range of 8–26.5 GHz. For CBCC containing 2.5 wt.% of CB, the minimum reflectivity reaches −20.30 dB. The frequency bandwidth in which the reflectivity is less than −10 dB was from 14.9 GHz to 26.5 GHz. The filling of CB has improved the dielectric constant and the loss factor of the cement material remarkably. The loss factor of CBCC increases with the CB content increasing.

Enhanced charge transfer kinetics of Fe2O3/CdS composite nanorod arrays using cobalt-phosphate as cocatalyst

Abstract: Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is one of the most efficient strategies to meet the challenges of the global energy crisis. Although hematite (α-Fe2O3), is a suitable material for PEC, its performance is limited by passive surface state and slow charge transfer kinetics. Here, a successful design and fabrication of novel ternary Fe2O3/CdS/Co-Pi nanorod arrays (NRAs) photoanode is reported aimed at boosting charge separation and transfer kinetics within the bulk and at the electrode/electrolyte interface. As expected, the results reveal that α-Fe2O3 sluggish reaction kinetics is greatly ameliorated upon depositing CdS and Co-Pi, and surface charge recombination decreases even more, resulting in substantially enhanced photocurrent density. Moreover, noticeable onset potential negative shift evidenced by the I–V curve is found to result from the deposition of CdS and Co-Pi, which allows the ternary composite to generate photocurrent at much lower applied potential. We elaborate the synergistic effect of CdS and Co-Pi in achieving faster charge transfer kinetics and lower onset potential for photocurrent. These results provide new insights into the surface reaction kinetics of Co-Pi/semiconductor photoanode toward PEC application.

Recent advances in synthesis and applications of clay-based photocatalysts: a review

Abstract: Clay materials including clay minerals and layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have attracted great attention because of their special layer structures, large specific surface areas, and remarkable adsorption capacities. In the past few decades, they have been regarded as important components or precursors for making various functional materials. This paper aims to review and summarize the recent advances in the synthesis and photocatalytic applications of clay-based photocatalysts. Moreover, the effects of surface and structural characteristics of clay-based photocatalysts on photocatalytic properties are also discussed. The clay-based photocatalysts show good application prospects for environmental remediation and energy conversion. Especially, H2 generation and reduction of CO2 into carbon sources can be easily achieved using the LDH-based photocatalysts. Meanwhile, the role of clay materials in the photocatalysis is discussed in detail.