Removal of Excess Alkali from Sodium Naphthenate Solution by Electrodialysis Using Bilayer Membranes for Subsequent Conversion to Naphthenic Acids

The processing of solutions containing sodium salts of naphthenic acids (sodium naphthenate) is in high demand due to the high value of the latter. Such solutions usually include an excessive amount of alkali and a pH of around 13. Bipolar electrodialysis can convert sodium naphthenates into naphthenic acids; however, until pH 6.5, the naphthenic acids are not released from the solution. The primary process leading to a decrease in pH is the removal of excess alkali that implies that some part of electricity is wasted. In this work, we propose a technique for the surface modification of anion-exchange membranes with sulfonated polyetheretherketone, with the formation of bilayer membranes that are resistant to poisoning by the naphthenate anions. We investigated the electrochemical properties of the obtained membranes and their efficiency in a laboratory electrodialyzer. Modified membranes have better electrical conductivity, a high current efficiency for hydroxyl ions, and a low tendency to poisoning than the commercial membrane MA-41. We propose that the primary current carrier is the hydroxyl ion in both electromembrane systems with the MA-41 and MA-41M membranes. At the same time, for the modified MA-41M membrane, the concentration of hydroxyl ions in the anion-exchanger phase is higher than in the MA-41 membrane, which leads to almost five-fold higher values of the specific permeability coefficient. The MA-41M membranes are resistant to poisoning by naphthenic acids anions during at least six cycles of processing of the sodium naphthenate solution.

Improved Efficiency Roll-Off and Operational Lifetime of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with a Tetradentate Platinum(II) Complex by Using an n-Doped Electron-Transporting Layer

The efficiency roll-off and operational lifetime of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with a tetradentate Pt(II) emitter is improved by engaging an n-doped electron-transporting layer (ETL). Compared to those devices with non-doped ETL, the driving voltage is lowered, the charged carrier is balanced, and the exciton density in the emissive layer (EML) is decreased in the device with n-doped ETL with 8-hydroxyquinolinolatolithium (Liq). High luminance of almost 70,000 cd m−2 and high current efficiency of 40.5 cd A−1 at high luminance of 10,000 cd m−2 is achieved in the device with 50 wt%-Liq-doped ETL. More importantly, the extended operational lifetime of 1945 h is recorded at the initial luminance of 1000 cd m−2 in the 50 wt%-Liq-doped device, which is longer than that of the device with non-doped ETL by almost 10 times. This result manifests the potential application of tetradentate Pt(II) complexes in the OLED industry.

Long-term-stability continuous flow CO2 reduction electrolysers with high current efficiency

One of the intrinsic problems relating to electrolysers for the electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction is that the water-based liquid electrolyte induces the hydrogen evolution reaction.

Yb:MoO3/Ag/MoO3 Multilayer Transparent Top Cathode for Top-Emitting Green Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes

In this study, we report on the application of a dielectric/ultra-thin metal/dielectric (DMD) multilayer consisting of ytterbium (Yb)-doped molybdenum oxide (MoO3)/silver (Ag)/MoO3 stacked as the transparent cathode in top-emitting green quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLED). By optimizing the Yb doping ratio, we have highly improved the electron injection ability from 0.01 to 0.35. In addition, the dielectric/ultra-thin metal/dielectric (DMD) cathode also shows a low sheet resistance of only 12.2 Ω/sq, which is superior to the resistance of the commercially-available indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode (~15 Ω/sq). The DMD multilayer exhibits a maximum transmittance of 75% and an average transmittance of 70% over the visible range of 400–700 nm. The optimized DMD-based G-QLED has a smaller current leakage at low driving voltage. The optimized DMD-based G-QLED enhances the current density than that of G-QLED with indium zinc oxide (IZO) as a cathode. The fabricated DMD-based G-QLED shows a low turn-on voltage of 2.2 V, a high current efficiency of 38 cd/A, and external quantum efficiency of 9.8. These findings support the fabricated DMD multilayer as a promising cathode for transparent top-emitting diodes.

Solution-processable, high current efficiency deep-blue organic light-emitting diodes based on novel biphenyl-imidazole derivatives

The optimal device VI exhibited a very high luminance of 13 836 cd m−2 and a maximum current efficiency of 6.12 cd A−1.