Study on corrosion resistance of superhydrophobic surface on aluminum alloy

Anti-corrosion of aluminum alloys with different roughness were researched in this study. To further verify the relationship between anti-corrosion and surface roughness, surface with micro structure alloy was successfully fabricated via anode oxidation on aluminum. The water contact angle of aluminum alloy surface after coating polypropylene film was 154° and sliding angle was 3°. The micro-nano structure was constructed by adding nano-SiO2. The contacts angle of surface was 165° and the sliding angle was 1.8°. The superhydrophobic samples were used to test corrosion resistance. Compared with aluminum coated with unmodified film, the corrosion potential for modified superhydrophobic aluminum alloy increased by about 0.05 V. When nano-SiO2 particles were added, the corrosion resistance for the sample was also improved.

Electrochemical C−C bond cleavage of cyclopropanes towards the synthesis of 1,3-difunctionalized molecules

Electrochemistry has a lot of inherent advantages in organic synthesis and many redox reactions have been achieved under electrochemical condition. However, the electrochemical C−C bond cleavage and functionalization reactions are less studied. Here we develop electrochemical C−C bond cleavage and 1,3-difuntionalization of arylcyclopropanes under catalyst-free and external-oxidant-free conditions. 1,3-difluorination, 1,3-oxyfluorination and 1,3-dioxygenation of arylcyclopropanes are achieved with a high chemo- and regioselectivity by the strategic choice of nucleophiles. This protocol has good functional groups tolerance and can be scaled up. Mechanistic studies demonstrate that arylcyclopropane radical cation obtained from the anode oxidation and the subsequently generated benzyl carbonium are the key intermediates in this transformation. This development provides a scenario for constructing 1,3-difunctionalized molecules.

Electrochemical C-C Bond Cleavage of Cyclopropanes towards the Synthesis of 1,3-Difunctionalized Molecules

Electrochemistry had a lot of inherent advantages in organic synthesis and many redox reactions have been achieved under electrochemical condition. However, the electrochemical C-C bond cleavage and functionalization reactions are less studied. Here we developed electrochemical C-C bond cleavage and 1,3-difuntionalization of arylcyclopropanes under catalyst-free and external-oxidant-free conditions. 1,3-difluorination, 1,3-oxyfluorination and 1,3-dioxygenation of arylcyclopropanes were achieved with a highly chemo- and regioselectivity by the strategic choice of nucleophiles. This protocol has good functional groups tolerance and can be scaled up. Mechanistic studies demonstrate that arylcyclopropane radical cation yielded from the anode oxidation and the following generated benzyl carbonium are the key intermediates in this transformation. This development provides a new scenario for constructing 1,3-difunctionalized molecules.

Simulation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Anode in Aspen HYSYS—A Study on the Effect of Reforming Activity on Distributed Performance Profiles, Carbon Formation, and Anode Oxidation Risk

A distributed variable model for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), with internal fuel reforming on the anode, has been developed in Aspen HYSYS. The proposed model accounts for the complex and interactive mechanisms involved in the SOFC operation through a mathematically viable and numerically fast modeling framework. The internal fuel reforming reaction calculations have been carried out in a plug flow reactor (PFR) module integrated with a spreadsheet module to interactively calculate the electrochemical process details. By interlinking the two modules within Aspen HYSYS flowsheeting environment, the highly nonlinear SOFC distributed profiles have been readily captured using empirical correlations and without the necessity of using an external coding platform, such as MATLAB or FORTRAN. Distributed variables including temperature, current density, and concentration profiles along the cell length, have been discussed for various reforming activity rates. Moreover, parametric estimation of anode oxidation risk and carbon formation potential against fuel reformation intensity have been demonstrated that contributes to the SOFC lifetime evaluation. Incrementally progressive catalyst activity has been proposed as a technically viable approach for attaining smooth profiles within the SOFC anode. The proposed modeling platform paves the way for SOFC system flowsheeting and optimization, particularly where the study of systems with stack distributed variables is of interest.

Electrochemical oxidation induced intermolecular aromatic C-H imidation

The dehydrogenative aryl C-H/N-H cross-coupling is a powerful synthetic methodology to install nitrogen functionalities into aromatic compounds. Herein, we report an electrochemical oxidation induced intermolecular cross-coupling between aromatics and sulfonimides with high regioselectivity through N-radical addition pathway under external-oxidant-free and catalyst-free conditions. A wide variety of arenes, heteroarenes, alkenes and sulfonimides are applicable scaffolds in this transformation. In addition, aryl sulfonamides or amines (aniline derivatives) can be obtained through different deprotection process. The cyclic voltammetry mechanistic study indicates that the N-centered imidyl radicals are generated via proton-coupled electron transfer event jointly mediated by tetrabutylammonium acetate and anode oxidation process.

Fouling-resistant biofilter of an anaerobic electrochemical membrane reactor

Membrane fouling is a considerable challenge for the stable operation of anaerobic membrane-based bioreactors. Membrane used as a cathode is a common measure to retard fouling growth in anaerobic electrochemical membrane bioreactors (AnEMBR), which; however, cannot avoid the fouling growth. Here we report a strategy using the membrane as an anode to resist membrane fouling in an AnEMBR. Although aggravating in the initial stage, the fouling on the anode membrane is gradually alleviated by the anode oxidation with enriching exoelectrogens to finally achieve a dynamic equilibrium between fouling growth and decomposition to maintain the operation stable. A mesh-like biofilter layer composed of cells with less extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) is formed on the membrane surface to lower the trans-membrane pressure and promote the interception of the anode membrane. The membrane has high electron storage and transfer capacities to accelerate the oxidation of the intercepted fouling materials, especially, the redundant EPSs of the biofilter layer.

Electrooxidation of sulfate paired to electroreduction of copper for regeneration of persulfate/sulfuric acid etching solution

A laboratory scale closed-loop cycle system for the complete regeneration of sodium persulfate/sulfuric acid etching solution (SPS) has been developed by anode oxidation of sulfate paired to cathode reduction of copper.

In situ electrochemical development of copper oxide nanocatalysts within a TCNQ nanowire array: a highly conductive electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction

CuO nanocatalysts confined TCNQ nanowires array is in situ developed on Cu foam via room-temperature anode oxidation of Cu(TCNQ) nanoarray, demonstrating superior OER activity in alkaline condition.