Copper Oxide-Based Photocatalysts and Photocathodes: Fundamentals and Recent Advances

This work aims at reviewing the most impactful results obtained on the development of Cu-based photocathodes. The need of a sustainable exploitation of renewable energy sources and the parallel request of reducing pollutant emissions in airborne streams and in waters call for new technologies based on the use of efficient, abundant, low-toxicity and low-cost materials. Photoelectrochemical devices that adopts abundant element-based photoelectrodes might respond to these requests being an enabling technology for the direct use of sunlight to the production of energy fuels form water electrolysis (H2) and CO2 reduction (to alcohols, light hydrocarbons), as well as for the degradation of pollutants. This review analyses the physical chemical properties of Cu2O (and CuO) and the possible strategies to tune them (doping, lattice strain). Combining Cu with other elements in multinary oxides or in composite photoelectrodes is also discussed in detail. Finally, a short overview on the possible applications of these materials is presented.

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Gaseous Pollutants and Particulate Matter (PM) in Ambient Air and the Number of New Cases of Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2020/1648264 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Małgorzata Michalska ◽

Katarzyna Zorena ◽

Piotr Wąż ◽

Maria Bartoszewicz ◽

Agnieszka Brandt-Varma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Type 1 Diabetes ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

New Technologies ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Air Pollutant ◽

Pollutant Emissions ◽

Gaseous Pollutants ◽

High Exposure

The increase in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) incidence in children is worrying and not yet fully explored. It is suggested that probably air pollution exposure could contribute to the development of T1DM. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the concentration of gaseous pollutants including, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM) in the air, and the number of new cases of T1DM in children. The number of new cases of T1DM was obtained from the Clinic of Paediatrics, Diabetology, and Endocrinology, Medical University of Gdańsk. The number of children of 0–18 years old in Pomeranian Voivodeship was acquired from the Statistical Yearbook. The concentrations of PM10 absorbance, NO2, NOx, SO2, and CO were measured at 41 measuring posts, between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2016. It was detected that the average annual concentration of PM10 was higher than the value acceptable to the WHO. Furthermore, the average 24-hour concentration of PM10 was 92 μg/m3 and was higher compared to the acceptable value of 50 μg/m3 (acc. to EU and WHO). Moreover, the number of new cases of T1DM showed a correlation with the annual average concentration of PM10 (β = 2.396, p<0.001), SO2 (β = 2.294, p<0.001), and CO (β = 2.452, p<0.001). High exposure to gaseous pollutants and particulate matter in ambient air may be one of the factors contributing to the risk of developing T1DM in children. Therefore, it is important to take action to decrease air pollutant emissions in Poland. It is crucial to gradually but consistently eliminate the use of solid fuels, such as coal and wood in households, in favour of natural gas and electricity. The development of new technologies to improve air quality, such as “best available techniques” (BAT) or renewable energy sources (water, wind, and solar generation) is of critical importance as well.

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Non-Precious Electrodes for Practical Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma12081336 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 1336 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Alejandro N. Colli ◽

Hubert H. Girault ◽

Alberto Battistel

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Low Cost ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Water Electrolysis ◽

Industrial Applications ◽

Alkaline Water Electrolysis ◽

Stainless Steel 316L ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Alkaline Water ◽

Cell Components

Water electrolysis is a promising approach to hydrogen production from renewable energy sources. Alkaline water electrolyzers allow using non-noble and low-cost materials. An analysis of common assumptions and experimental conditions (low concentrations, low temperature, low current densities, and short-term experiments) found in the literature is reported. The steps to estimate the reaction overpotentials for hydrogen and oxygen reactions are reported and discussed. The results of some of the most investigated electrocatalysts, namely from the iron group elements (iron, nickel, and cobalt) and chromium are reported. Past findings and recent progress in the development of efficient anode and cathode materials appropriate for large-scale water electrolysis are presented. The experimental work is done involving the direct-current electrolysis of highly concentrated potassium hydroxide solutions at temperatures between 30 and 100 °C, which are closer to industrial applications than what is usually found in literature. Stable cell components and a good performance was achieved using Raney nickel as a cathode and stainless steel 316L as an anode by means of a monopolar cell at 75 °C, which ran for one month at 300 mA cm−2. Finally, the proposed catalysts showed a total kinetic overpotential of about 550 mV at 75 °C and 1 A cm−2.

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Fuzzy logic application in the evaluation of performance of a prototype vehicle powered from solar energy and water electrolysis process

International Journal of Applied Mathematical Research ◽

10.14419/ijamr.v5i4.6720 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 176

Author(s):

Marcos Dos Santos ◽

Bruna Russo Bahiana ◽

Marcone Freitas dos Reis ◽

Ernesto Rademaker Martins ◽

Fabrício da Costa Dias

Keyword(s):

Fuzzy Logic ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Fossil Fuels ◽

New Technologies ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Water Electrolysis ◽

Solar Irradiation ◽

Energy Sources ◽

Human Communication ◽

Electrolysis Process

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance of a prototype vehicle that uses a reversible fuel cell capable of producing and storing hydrogen and oxygen by breaking the water molecule - the electrolysis process, made possible with the use of solar panels. The vehicle shown only uses two main sources of energy: solar and hydrogen cells, both clean and renewable energy sources. Water is the only residue generated. The Fuzzy Logic was used in the establishment of linguistic variables and on the composition of inference rules based on power, solar panel area and solar irradiation. The Fuzzy Logic provides a method of translating verbal, vague, imprecise and qualitative expressions, common in human communication in numeric values. This enables the conversion of the human experience in a way understandable by computers. Thus, the technology made possible by the fuzzy approach has a practical value. In view of the severe environmental degradation in which the planet is going through and the scarcity of energy sources, especially fossil fuels, one of the great challenges of the scientific community is to develop new technologies that use clean and renewable energy sources, that are economically viable and promote sustainable technologies and processes.

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Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems in Saudi Arabia

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.781.284 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 781 ◽

pp. 284-287

Author(s):

Hisham El Khashab ◽

Mohammed Al Ghamedi

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Energy Savings ◽

New Technologies ◽

Low Cost ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Arab Countries ◽

High Tech ◽

Energy Problem

The continuous rise of energy demand worldwide combined with the decrease of natural resources such as fossil fuel represents a huge energy problem which facing humanity. Industry as well as consumers must rethink how to produce energy at low cost price. Renewable Energy (RE) applications and energy savings are keys to meet this challenge in a sustainable way. In the hot and sunny areas of the Arab countries, renewable sources like solar energy can play a role to slove energy problem. According to that the renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic, wind, biomass, etc… have an important role especially when the (high-tech.) new technologies can interfere. This paper investigates RE sources applications at Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, besides a simulation using HOMER software to three proposed systems newly erected in Yanbu Industrial College Renewable Energy (RE) lab. The lab represents a hybrid system, composed of PV, wind turbine, and Fuel cell systems. The cost of energy is compared in the three systems to compare the generated energy cost. This study is to evaluate the actual cost of RE sources in developing countries. The climatic variations at Yanbu that is located on the west coast of Saudi Arabia are considered.

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ATTEMPTS TO REDUCE BIODIESEL BLENDS NOX POLLUTANT EMISSIONS BY ULTRASONIC CONDITIONING

Transport ◽

10.3846/16484142.2014.895960 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 43-49

Author(s):

Florin Mariasiu

Keyword(s):

Diesel Engines ◽

Kinematic Viscosity ◽

Fossil Fuels ◽

Low Cost ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Pollutant Emissions ◽

Pollutant Emission ◽

Transport Sector ◽

Physical Parameters ◽

Injection Process

The conditions imposed by the renewable energy Directive 2009/28/EC make it mandatory for EU member countries to ensure that by 2020 fossil fuels used in the transport sector contain a 10% component of biofuel. The 10% limit is based on results of experiments conducted by engine manufacturers and researchers in the biofuels domain, which show that this percentage can be used in IC engines without major technical changes to equipment and engine systems. Taking into account that increasing the percentage of biodiesel in blends results in significant reductions of CO2 emissions, an immediate way to surpass the 10% limit is to carry out external and/or internal processes that will act on the physico-chemical properties of those biofuels. This paper presents data and results from experiments examining the process of ultrasonic irradiation of rapeseed oil methyl ester type biodiesel. The results show the effects of the irradiation process on biodiesel physical parameters such as density, kinematic viscosity, speed of sound through the medium, and isentropic bulk modulus. The values of these parameters directly influence the operation, performance and pollutant emissions of diesel engines. Primary results obtained demonstrate the possibilities of using what we call here the B25 blend with low-cost procedures and without major technical intervention in the equipment used to construct diesel engines. Two parameters important for the injection process (kinematic viscosity and density) show equal values for B25Us_irr ultrasonically irradiated for 350 seconds and diesel fuel ultrasonically irradiated for 420 seconds. The range of the achieved NOx pollutant emission reduction was between 18.2% for the ultrasonically irradiated blend B25Us_irr (no load) and 1.4% for the ultrasonically irradiated blend B100Us_irr (100% load), when compared with untreated basic biodiesel.

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Graphene Supported Tungsten Carbide as Catalyst for Electrochemical Reduction of CO2

10.26434/chemrxiv.8280986 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Sahithi Ananthaneni ◽

Rees Rankin

Keyword(s):

Tungsten Carbide ◽

Electrochemical Reduction ◽

Low Cost ◽

Co2 Reduction ◽

Platinum Group Metal ◽

Reduction Reaction ◽

Metal Carbides ◽

Depth Study ◽

Reduction Of Co2 ◽

Co2 Reduction Reaction

<div>Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to useful chemical and fuels in an energy efficient way is currently an expensive and inefficient process. Recently, low-cost transition metal-carbides (TMCs) are proven to exhibit similar electronic structure similarities to Platinum-Group-Metal (PGM) catalysts and hence can be good substitutes for some important reduction reactions. In this work, we test graphenesupported WC (Tungsten Carbide) nanocluster as an electrocatalyst for the CO2 reduction reaction. Specifically, we perform DFT studies to understand various possible reaction mechanisms and determine the lowest thermodynamic energy landscape of CO2 reduction to various products such as CO, HCOOH, CH3OH, and CH4. This in-depth study of reaction energetics could lead to improvements and develop more efficient electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction.<br></div>

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Nano Phytomedicine Based Delivery System for CNS Disease

Current Drug Metabolism ◽

10.2174/1389200221666200523161003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (9) ◽

pp. 661-673 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mohammed Asadullah Jahangir ◽

Chettupalli Anand ◽

Abdul Muheem ◽

Sadaf Jamal Gilani ◽

Mohamad Taleuzzaman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Herbal Medicine ◽

Low Cost ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

Herbal Drugs ◽

Widespread Acceptance ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Low Toxicity ◽

Ancient Times ◽

Plant Sources ◽

Herbal Formulations

Herbal medicines are being used since ancient times and are an important part of the alternative and traditional medicinal system. In recent decades, scientists are embracing herbal medicines based on the fact that a number of drugs that are currently in use are derived directly or indirectly from plant sources. Moreover, herbal drugs have lesser side effects, albeit are potentially strong therapeutic agents. The herbal medicine market is estimated to be around US $62 billion globally. Herbal medicine has gained widespread acceptance due to its low toxicity, low cost, ease of accessibility and efficacy in treating difficult diseases. Safety and efficacy are another important factors in the commercialization process of herbal medicines. Nanotechnology has been shown to be potentially effective in improving the bioactivity and bioavailability of herbal medicines. Development of nano-phytomedicines (or by reducing the size of phytomedicine), attaching polymers with phytomedicines and modifying the surface properties of herbal drugs, have increased the solubility, permeability and eventually the bioavailability of herbal formulations. Novel formulations such as niosomes, liposomes, nanospheres, phytosomes etc., can be exploited in this area. This article reviews herbal medicines, which have prominent activity in the Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders and reported nano-phytomedicines based delivery systems.

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Smart Cities and Smart Regulation

10.1093/oso/9780198822080.003.0004 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anita Rønne

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Fossil Fuels ◽

System Analysis ◽

New Technologies ◽

Smart Cities ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Energy System ◽

Political Agenda ◽

Smart Regulation

Increasing focus on sustainable societies and ‘smart cities’ due to emphasis on mitigation of climate change is simultaneous with ‘smart regulation’ reaching the forefront of the political agenda. Consequently, the energy sector and its regulation are undergoing significant innovation and change. Energy innovations include transition from fossil fuels to more renewable energy sources and application of new computer technology, interactively matching production with consumer demand. Smart cities are growing and projects are being initiated for development of urban areas and energy systems. Analysis from ‘Smart Cities Accelerator’, developed under the EU Interreg funding programme that includes Climate-KIC,——provides background for the focus on a smart energy system. Analysis ensures the energy supply systems support the integration of renewables with the need for new technologies and investments. ‘Smart’ is trendy, but when becoming ‘smart’ leads to motivation that is an important step towards mitigating climate change.

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A simple approach to prepare fluorescent molecularly imprinted nanoparticles

RSC Advances ◽

10.1039/d0ra10618f ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (13) ◽

pp. 7732-7737

Author(s):

Fenying Wang ◽

Dan Wang ◽

Tingting Wang ◽

Yu Jin ◽

Baoping Ling ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Performance ◽

Low Cost ◽

Sol Gel ◽

Silica Sol ◽

Simple Approach ◽

Imprinted Polymer ◽

Molecularly Imprinted ◽

Low Toxicity ◽

Good Biocompatibility ◽

Molecularly Imprinted Nanoparticles

Fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer (FMIP) gains great attention in many fields due to their low cost, good biocompatibility and low toxicity. Here, a high-performance FMIP was prepared based on the autocatalytic silica sol–gel reaction.

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Converting copper sulfide to copper with surface sulfur for electrocatalytic alkyne semi-hydrogenation with water

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-24059-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yongmeng Wu ◽

Cuibo Liu ◽

Changhong Wang ◽

Yifu Yu ◽

Yanmei Shi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Binding Energy ◽

Noble Metal ◽

Atomic Hydrogen ◽

Copper Sulfide ◽

Low Cost ◽

Water Electrolysis ◽

Metal Free ◽

Copper Nanowire

AbstractElectrocatalytic alkyne semi-hydrogenation to alkenes with water as the hydrogen source using a low-cost noble-metal-free catalyst is highly desirable but challenging because of their over-hydrogenation to undesired alkanes. Here, we propose that an ideal catalyst should have the appropriate binding energy with active atomic hydrogen (H*) from water electrolysis and a weaker adsorption with an alkene, thus promoting alkyne semi-hydrogenation and avoiding over-hydrogenation. So, surface sulfur-doped and -adsorbed low-coordinated copper nanowire sponges are designedly synthesized via in situ electroreduction of copper sulfide and enable electrocatalytic alkyne semi-hydrogenation with over 99% selectivity using water as the hydrogen source, outperforming a copper counterpart without surface sulfur. Sulfur anion-hydrated cation (S2−-K+(H2O)n) networks between the surface adsorbed S2− and K+ in the KOH electrolyte boost the production of active H* from water electrolysis. And the trace doping of sulfur weakens the alkene adsorption, avoiding over-hydrogenation. Our catalyst also shows wide substrate scopes, up to 99% alkenes selectivity, good reducible groups compatibility, and easily synthesized deuterated alkenes, highlighting the promising potential of this method.

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