Construction of In2S3/Ag-Ag2S-AgInS2/TNR Nanoarrays with Excellent Photoelectrochemical and Photocatalytic Properties

In this work, a novel and efficient In2S3/Ag-Ag2S-AgInS2/TNR photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal and wet chemical method. The In2S3/Ag-Ag2S-AgInS2/TNR has a greatly increased range of light absorption with sustained absorption intensity compared to the unmodified TNR arrays. In the photoelectrochemical test, the best transient photocurrent of the sample can reach 350 μA/cm2, which is 23.3 times higher than TNR (15 μA/cm2). In the photocatalytic degradation test of MO, In2S3/Ag-Ag2S-AgInS2/TNR exhibited the highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency which could reach 91.7%, 5.5 times higher than that of TNR (16.7%), much higher than many previously reported photocatalysts. The outstanding photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic properties of the samples is primarily owing to the formation of the core-shell structure and the synergistic effect of the composite material, which effectively facilitate the separation and migration of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and inhibit their recombination, thus enhancing the photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performance.

CuI/Nylon Membrane Hybrid Film with Large Seebeck Effect

Room-temperature thermoelectric materials are important for converting heat into electrical energy. As a wide-bandgap semiconductor material, CuI has the characteristics of non-toxicity, low cost, and environmental friendliness. In this work, CuI powder was synthesized by a wet chemical method, then CuI film was formed by vacuum assisted filtration of the CuI powder on a porous nylon membrane, followed by hot pressing. The film exhibits a large Seebeck coefficient of 600 μV · K−1 at room temperature. In addition, the film also shows good flexibility (∼95% retention of the electrical conductivity after being bent along a rod with a radius of 4 mm for 1000 times). A finger touch test on a single-leg TE module indicates that a voltage of 0.9 mV was immediately generated within 0.5 s from a temperature difference of 4 K between a finger and the environment, suggesting the potential application in wearable thermal sensors.

Catalysts Based on Strontium Titanate Doped with Ni/Co/Cu for Dry Reforming of Methane

Two series of strontium titanates doped with Ni, Co, or Cu with general formula of SrTi1-xMexO3 for Sr-stoichiometric and Sr0.95Ti1−xMexO3 for Sr-non-stoichiometric materials (where Me = Ni, Co or Cu and x were 0.02 and 0.06) were obtained by the wet chemical method. The samples were calcinated at 900, 950, and 1050 °C and characterized in terms of their structural properties (XRD), the possibility of undergoing the reduction and oxidation reactions (TPR/TPOx), and catalytic properties. All obtained materials were multiphase and although the XRD analysis does not confirm the presence of Ni, Co, and Cu oxides (with one exception for Cu-doped sample), the TPR/TPOx profiles show reduction peaks that can be attributed to the reduction of these oxides which may at first appear in an amorphous form. Catalytic tests in dry reforming of methane reaction showed that the highest catalytic activity was achieved for Ni-doped materials (up to 90% of CH4 conversion) while Co and Cu-doped samples showed only a very slight catalytic effect. Additionally, the decrease in methane conversion with an increasing calcination temperature was observed for Ni-doped strontium titanates.

A Simple Method to Type the Urinary Stones

The main aim of this study was to find an alternative method to type the urinary stones, which do not comply with the available method. For this study 100 stones were selected and were analysed by wet chemical method. The compositions of randomly selected 10 stones each among the stones typed based on the available and the new method were crosschecked by Fourier Transform infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) method. Among the 100 stones, 46 stones were of Category I [21 stones Uric acid/Urate, 13 stones Oxalate, 12 stones Phosphate] while five were of Category II stones. Rest 49 stones, which cannot be typed by the available method, were typed by considering the ratios between the characterizing and indicating anions. To type the Oxalate stones, Oxalate to Urate ratio between 16.8:1 and 67.7:1; Urate stones, Urate to Oxalate ratio between 0.7:1 and 101.7:1 and Non- infection Phosphate stones, Phosphate to Oxalate ratio between 0.4:1 and 24.4:1 were considered. Based on the newly proposed method majority of the stones were of Oxalate type (n=41). Based on both the methods of stone typing, of the total 100 stones, 54 stones were Oxalate type, 25 stones were Uric acid/Urate type, 16 stones were Non-infectious Phosphate stones and 05 were Infectious stones. The compositions of the randomly selected ten stones of each typed from the available and the newly proposed method were similar to the results obtained by FTIR method. This study indicated that, the new method could be used as an alternative method to type the stones.