Sustainable Energy & Fuels最新文献

{"title":"Choosing a liquid hydrogen carrier for sustainable transportation†","authors":"Athanasios A. Tountas, Geoffrey A. Ozin and Mohini M. Sain","doi":"10.1039/D4SE00731J","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SE00731J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Liquid hydrogen carriers (LHCs) are important shuttles for molecular hydrogen (H<small>₂</small>) as they are convenient to transport as energy-dense liquids over distances greater than 10 000 km. Herein, we provide comprehensive insights into the comparative practicality and safety of irreversible LHCs. From a gas purification standpoint, fewer products in the released H<small>₂</small> stream result in less separation complexity and lower cost. Unit operational complexities of methanol (MeOH) steam reforming <em>versus</em> fossil steam-methane reforming were analyzed in depth to highlight gas-cleaning complexities. The main challenge is to estimate the costs of LHC reforming, cleaning and compression (RC&amp;C) steps for H<small>₂</small> production in order to break even with other energy scenarios. To achieve this, two techno-economic analyses (TEA) were performed from the ‘vehicle’ and ‘fuel’ points of view. ‘Vehicle’ analysis compares the use of MeOH-to-H<small>₂</small> for proton-exchange membrane fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) with the use of MeOH directly as drop-in fuel for conventional vehicles (ICEVs). ‘Fuel’ analysis compares renewable MeOH and dimethyl ether LHC transport with pressurized and cryogenic H<small>₂</small> transport for FCVs. For the analyses in which H<small>₂</small> gas is produced as a fuel, RC&amp;C steps are assumed to be accomplished off-board or before fueling the vehicles. ‘Vehicle’ analysis findings indicate that with a moderate tax on carbon emissions, in the year 2035 and beyond, FCVs can be competitive with ICEVs with an RC&amp;C cost of ∼US $ 2–6 per kg H<small>₂</small>. From the ‘fuel’ analysis perspective, LHCs break-even with gaseous and liquid H<small>₂</small> transport at a more flexible RC&amp;C cost of US $ 7.9–11.4 per kg H<small>₂</small>.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 22","pages":" 5181-5194"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142587654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Highly efficient Ru-decorated CeO2 for photocatalytic hydrogenation and cyclization of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone†","authors":"Ganesh Sunil More, Rajram Bal and Rajendra Srivastava","doi":"10.1039/D4SE01041H","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SE01041H","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The photocatalytic biomass transformation into valuable chemicals and fuels is interesting but challenging. The levulinic acid (LA) to γ-valerolactone (GVL) transformation has been explored under conventional thermal conditions. Reports on the photocatalytic hydrogenation of LA to GVL are rare, obtaining comprehensive information on the complete reduction process is challenging. Herein, CeO<small>₂</small> was synthesized <em>via</em> the hydrothermal method and decorated with varying wt% of Ru to form Ru/CeO<small>₂</small>. The physical characteristics of the catalysts were confirmed through PXRD, TEM, and XPS analyses. The light absorption capacity of CeO<small>₂</small> and Ru-decorated CeO<small>₂</small> (specifically 0.5Ru/CeO<small>₂</small> and 1Ru/CeO<small>₂</small>) was characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy. Additionally, the band structure of CeO<small>₂</small> and 1Ru/CeO<small>₂</small> was examined using VB-XPS and UPS analysis. Decorating CeO<small>₂</small> with Ru improved charge separation and enhanced visible light absorption capacity. The visible light active 1Ru/CeO<small>₂</small> catalyst achieved ∼99% conversion of LA to GVL under 15 W blue LED illumination at 0.2 MPa hydrogen. A mechanistic investigation through control experiments revealed that electrons facilitated the reduction of the ketonic group, while C–O cleavage in the acidic group (–COOH) is by the holes, which forms a carbonyl cation or radical, followed by immediate cyclization to GVL. The findings elucidate the active sites and demonstrate the recyclability of 1Ru/CeO<small>₂</small> for selective LA hydrogenation under visible light. The work is significant from a sustainable chemistry perspective and crucial for the sustainable production of valuable chemicals.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 21","pages":" 4980-4991"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142452764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In situ fabrication of all amorphous TiO2-coupled-MoSx photocatalysts for on-demand photocatalytic hydrogen production by using UV light†","authors":"Qian Dong, Yongxing Sun, Fang Wang, Zhengguo Zhang and Shixiong Min","doi":"10.1039/D4SE01079E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SE01079E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Intergrating <em>in situ</em> fabrication of photocatalysts with on-demand photocatalytic H<small>₂</small> evolution from water splitting holds immense promise for enhancing the H<small>₂</small> utilization efficiency. Herein, all amorphous TiO<small>₂</small>-coupled-MoS<small>_<em>x</em></small> photocatalysts (a-TM) are <em>in situ</em> fabricated by hydrolyzing the Ti precursor followed by photochemical reduction of (NH<small>₄</small>)<small>₂</small>MoS<small>₄</small> in the reaction solution for on-demand photocatalytic H<small>₂</small> evolution reaction (HER). Thanks to the intimate contact between a-TiO<small>₂</small> and the a-MoS<small>_<em>x</em></small> cocatalyst, as well as abundant active sites on the a-MoS<small>_<em>x</em></small> cocatalyst, the photogenerated electrons can rapidly transfer from the excited a-TiO<small>₂</small> to the well-interconnected a-MoS<small>_<em>x</em></small>, leading to efficient charge separation, thereby greatly promoting the kinetics of the HER. The as-fabricated a-TM2 with 2 mol% a-MoS<small>_<em>x</em></small> exhibits the highest H<small>₂</small> evolution rate of 696.2 μmol h<small>⁻¹</small> under UV light, 2.7 times higher than that of benchmark P25 loaded with a 2 mol% a-MoS<small>_<em>x</em></small> cocatalyst (PM2). This work introduces a new concept of <em>in situ</em> fabricating semiconductor-based photocatalysts for on-demand photocatalytic HER at a large scale.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 21","pages":" 4907-4913"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142452804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Doping fluoride into ternary FeCoNi hydroxide electrocatalysts to boost oxygen evolution reaction†","authors":"Wen-Ju Lu and Tzung-Wen Chiou","doi":"10.1039/D4SE01241K","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SE01241K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Developing high-current oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts with low overpotential, high conductivity, high active surface area, and high stability is an attractive yet challenging process. Herein, a ternary FeCoNi hydroxide-fluoride material by doping fluoride into FeCoNi(OH)<small>_<em>x</em></small> was synthesized through a simple electrodeposition method. The OER performance of FeCoNiF(OH)<small>_<em>x</em></small> on a nickel foam electrode with a high surface area was associated with overpotentials of 243, 328, and 412 mV, with geometrical current densities of 100, 500, and 1000 mA cm<small>⁻²</small>, respectively, in 1.0 M KOH solution. In addition, FeCoNiF(OH)<small>_<em>x</em></small> exhibited high stability during controlled potential electrolysis in 1.0 M KOH at an overpotential of 243 mV for 50 h. Overall, we believe that our findings can advance the investigation of OER electrocatalysts.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 21","pages":" 4903-4906"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Co2(P4O12)/CoSe2 heterostructures grown on carbon nanofibers as an efficient electrocatalyst for water splitting†","authors":"Wenjing Cui, Xingwei Sun, Shaoshuai Xu, Chunping Li and Jie Bai","doi":"10.1039/D4SE00895B","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SE00895B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The utilization of efficient and pollution-free water splitting hydrogen production technology is of great significance for alleviating environmental problems and achieving sustainable human development. The prospects of exploring highly efficient electrocatalytic activity, low-cost, and high-stability catalysts is vast, but there are still huge challenges. In this work, ZIF-67 derived Co<small>₂</small>(P<small>₄</small>O<small>₁₂</small>) and CoSe<small>₂</small> heterostructures (Co<small>₂</small>(P<small>₄</small>O<small>₁₂</small>)/CoSe<small>₂</small>/CNFs) loaded on carbon nanofibers have been constructed using a combination of an <em>in situ</em> growth method and electrostatic spinning technique. The Co<small>₂</small>(P<small>₄</small>O<small>₁₂</small>)/CoSe<small>₂</small>/CNFs composite catalyst exhibited the highest oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity (315 mV) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity (221 mV) at a current density of 10 mA cm<small>⁻²</small>. After stability tests, the current density retention rates for the OER and HER are 96.1% and 85.6%, respectively. The combination of Co<small>₂</small>(P<small>₄</small>O<small>₁₂</small>)/CoSe<small>₂</small>/CNFs-2 was employed in a water electrolysis system, resulting in the attainment of a current density of 10 mA cm<small>⁻²</small> at a cell voltage of only 1.71 V. This paper provides a new idea for exploring bifunctional catalysts for water electrolysis, which has good prospects for development.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 21","pages":" 4962-4971"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Construction of light-sensitive Cu2O/Fe2O3 heterostructures to promote photocatalytic CO2 reduction and photo-assisted charge storage†","authors":"Xiankui Lv, Hongran Yang, Weiting Meng, Muhammad Arif, Xiaobo Feng, Weibin Zhang and Ting Zhu","doi":"10.1039/D4SE01038H","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SE01038H","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Designing high-performance bifunctional materials for photo-assisted electrochemical charge storage and photocatalysis is challenging due to the difficulty in balancing electroactivity and photo-to-electric efficiency. Herein, copper foam (CF) supported three-dimensional nanoarrays (3D NAs) composed of copper oxide/iron oxide (Cu<small>₂</small>O/Fe<small>₂</small>O<small>₃</small>) heterostructures were constructed as bifunctional materials for the photocatalytic CO<small>₂</small> reduction reaction (CO<small>₂</small>RR) and photo-assisted supercapacitors. These Cu<small>₂</small>O/Fe<small>₂</small>O<small>₃</small> 3D NAs have demonstrated high electroactivity and good light adsorption with high photocurrent responses. As a result, the optimized Cu<small>₂</small>O/Fe<small>₂</small>O<small>₃</small> photocatalyst delivered a high methane (CH<small>₄</small>) production rate of 38.6 μmol h<small>⁻¹</small> g<small>⁻¹</small> with good cycling stability for the CO<small>₂</small>RR. When used for photo-assisted supercapacitors, the optimized Cu<small>₂</small>O/Fe<small>₂</small>O<small>₃</small> photoelectrode exhibited a maximum photo-capacitance of 595 F g<small>⁻¹</small>, delivering an enhancement of 17.3% over the capacitance obtained without light (507 F g<small>⁻¹</small>). This work provides a unique approach to utilizing light energy directly to promote electrochemical and photocatalytic properties.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 21","pages":" 4992-5000"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Boosted photoredox capability of visible light-active P-doped C3N4 with efficient harvesting of electron–hole pairs†","authors":"Asmita Dileep Gaonkar, Shraddha Paniya, Srinivasu Kancharlapalli and Kiran Vankayala","doi":"10.1039/D4SE00826J","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SE00826J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Photocatalytic production of solar fuels and high-value chemicals by photogenerated carriers has been at the forefront as one of the promising sustainable approaches. However, most of the studies focus only on one of the half reactions, either photoreduction or photooxidation, leading to underutilization of the potentiality of photocatalysis due to inefficient harvesting of electron–hole pairs. Herein, the efficient utilization of photogenerated electron–hole pairs was demonstrated by employing phosphorous-doped graphitic carbon nitride (P-doped g-C<small>₃</small>N<small>₄</small>) as a visible light-active photocatalyst that is capable of simultaneously producing hydrogen and benzaldehyde from benzyl alcohol. P-doping into g-C<small>₃</small>N<small>₄</small> was achieved using an eco-friendly P source. P doping induced changes in the light-harvesting capacity of g-C<small>₃</small>N<small>₄</small>, and its consequence on the dual-functional photocatalytic activity of P-doped g-C<small>₃</small>N<small>₄</small> was systematically investigated using various characterization techniques. P-doped g-C<small>₃</small>N<small>₄</small> exhibited an ≈3-fold increase in photocatalytic activity in the production of H<small>₂</small> and benzaldehyde as compared to that of pristine g-C<small>₃</small>N<small>₄</small>. Density functional theory (DFT) studies reveal that the P-dopant preferentially replaces the corner C-site as compared to the N site of the tri-<em>s</em>-triazine ring of g-C<small>₃</small>N<small>₄</small>, which results in the creation of mid-gap states that enable the enhanced visible light absorption of P-doped g-C<small>₃</small>N<small>₄</small>. Mechanistic investigation studies suggest that photogenerated holes drive the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde while photogenerated electrons drive H<small>₂</small> evolution, leading to concomitant production of H<small>₂</small> and benzaldehyde by P-doped g-C<small>₃</small>N<small>₄</small>. The selective conversion of benzyl alcohol proceeds through a carbon-centred radical mechanism, according to experimental and DFT studies. This work elucidates the importance of P-doping in g-C<small>₃</small>N<small>₄</small> for the simultaneous production of solar fuels (such as H<small>₂</small>) and high-value chemicals (such as benzaldehyde).</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 21","pages":" 4914-4926"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/se/d4se00826j?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Simple and sustainable electric power generation by free evaporation of liquids from the surface of a conventional thermoelectric generator†","authors":"Pengfei Cheng, Dong Wang and Peter Schaaf","doi":"10.1039/D4SE01156B","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SE01156B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Liquid evaporation, or water vapor generation, is a spontaneous natural process and is always accompanied by evaporation cooling. However, evaporation cooling that can directly produce electricity based on the Seebeck effect and even supply power for electronic devices has not yet been reported. Here, liquid evaporation generators (LEGs), with cheap and practical thermoelectric generators (TEGs), are demonstrated to generate electric power based on the combination of the Seebeck effect and evaporation cooling. We systematically explored the LEG based on water evaporation (w-LEG) in a real environment, and five tandem w-LEGs can produce a maximum voltage of 4.4 V and achieve a maximum power density of 5.4 mW cm<small>⁻²</small>, which can successfully supply power for common electronic devices. Our concepts demonstrate a new supplement of green energy technology and a new direction for the applications of low temperature thermoelectric conversion (below 50 °C).</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 21","pages":" 4956-4961"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/se/d4se01156b?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Introduction to solar fuels and chemicals: photocatalytic water splitting and CO2 reduction themed collection","authors":"Ryu Abe, Yun Hau Ng, Osamu Ishitani and Kazunari Domen","doi":"10.1039/D4SE90069C","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SE90069C","url":null,"abstract":"<p >A graphical abstract is available for this content</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 19","pages":" 4398-4398"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Electrosynthesis of NH3 from N2 using nanostructured Bi4Ti3O12 catalyst†","authors":"Meera Sebastian, Subrata Das and Nishanth Karimbintherikkal Gopalan","doi":"10.1039/D4SE01040J","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SE01040J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The electrocatalytic N<small>₂</small> fixation provides a carbon-neutral and energy-efficient pathway for producing ammonia effectively under ambient conditions. However, it typically faces significant challenges in achieving a high ammonia yield and FE. This is attributed to the lack of efficient electrocatalysts that can easily activate the strong N<small>₂</small> triple bond and suppress the competing HER. Metal oxides are widely acknowledged as effective electrocatalysts for nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) because they can assist in easily activating the triple bond of N<small>₂</small>. Herein, we demonstrate that a mixed metal oxide, Bi<small>₄</small>Ti<small>₃</small>O<small>₁₂</small>, holds potential as a catalyst for electrocatalytic NRR under ambient conditions with an ammonia yield of 27.8 μg h<small>⁻¹</small> mg<small>_cat</small><small>⁻¹</small> and FE of 22% at −0.6 V in 0.1 M HCl. The synergistic effect of the N<small>₂</small> binding ability of Ti and Bi, coupled with a robust interaction of the Bi 6p band and N 2p orbitals and the low hydrogen adsorption energy of Bi collectively inhibit surface electron accessibility for the HER, thereby facilitating the easy activation of N<small>₂</small> and results in better electrocatalytic activity and selectivity for NRR.</p>","PeriodicalId":104,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy & Fuels","volume":" 20","pages":" 4838-4847"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}