Tag Archives: Southeast University (China)

Efficient hydrogen evolution reaction with graphene-based NiSe2 nanocrystalline array

Should this work make its way from the laboratory to the market it could prove helpful in the drive to move away from fossil fuels, from a July 15, 2022 news item on Nanowerk,

In the face of low electrolytic water splitting catalytic activity, the development of efficiency and stable electrolytic catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction is critical necessary. Moreover, the rather high price with insufficient supply of noble mental namely platinum and palladium has become the obstacle of their large-scale applications.

A research group of Lixu Lei from Southeast University [China] and Fajun Li from Suzhou University just reported a novel graphene based NiSe2 [nickel diselenide] nanocrystalline array prepared through a two-step microwave and subsequent selenization treatment. They found their unique structural advantages —— the ultrafine uniform dispersion of NiSe2 nanocrystallines in the reduced graphite oxide as substrate has an additional synergistic effect on promoting the conductivity and stability.

A July 15, 2022 Higher Education Press news release on EurekAlert, which originated the news item, provides more detail about the work,

Nickel selenide electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction with high efficiency and low-cost, has favorable potential future application prospect. Nevertheless, the high overpotential and poor stability limited their practical applications. Carbon materials including graphene, carbon nanotubes etc. possess extraordinary thermal stability and electric conductivity, can be ideal protective skeleton structures of electrocatalysts. By combining the NiSe2 nanoparticles with graphene sheet in an in-situ growth manner assisted with microwave irradiation, the electrocatalytic performance of hydrogen evolution reaction was optimized remarkably in this work.

The electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction of the composite proven can reach up to 158 mV overpotential at 10 mA/cm2 and has an extremely stable performance in the 100 h H2 production test. These results provide a useful idea for the development of newly high efficiency electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction.

About Higher Education Press

Founded in May 1954, Higher Education Press Limited Company (HEP), affiliated with the Ministry of Education, is one of the earliest institutions committed to educational publishing after the establishment of P. R. China in 1949. After striving for six decades, HEP has developed into a major comprehensive publisher, with products in various forms and at different levels. Both for import and export, HEP has been striving to fill in the gap of domestic and foreign markets and meet the demand of global customers by collaborating with more than 200 partners throughout the world and selling products and services in 32 languages globally. Now, HEP ranks among China’s top publishers in terms of copyright export volume and the world’s top 50 largest publishing enterprises in terms of comprehensive strength.

The Frontiers Journals series published by HEP includes 28 English academic journals, covering the largest academic fields in China at present. Among the series, 13 have been indexed by SCI, 6 by EI, 2 by MEDLINE, 1 by A&HCI. HEP’s academic monographs have won about 300 different kinds of publishing funds and awards both at home and abroad.

About Frontiers in Energy

Frontiers in Energy, a peer-reviewed international journal launched in January 2007, presents a unique platform for reporting the most advanced research and strategic thinking on energy technology. The Journal publishes review and mini-review articles, original research articles, perspective, news & highlights, viewpoints, comments, etc. by individual researchers and research groups. The journal is strictly peer-reviewed and accepts only original submissions in English. The scope of the Journal covers (but not limited to): energy conversion and utilization; renewable energy; energy storage; hydrogen and fuel cells; carbon capture, utilization and storage; advanced nuclear technology; smart grids and microgrids; power and energy systems; power cells and electric vehicles; building energy conservation, energy and environment; energy economy and policy, etc. Interdisciplinary papers are encouraged.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

In situ growth of NiSe2 nanocrystalline array on graphene for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction by Shuai Ji, Changgan Lai, Huan Zhou, Helin Wang, Ling Ma, Cong Wang, Keying Zhang, Fajun Li & Lixu Lei. Frontiers in Energy (2022) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-022-0827-7 Published 10 June 2022

This paper is behind a paywall.

Memory chips could get organic and a nod to singer, Dean Martin

Researchers from the University of Washington (located in Washington state) and Southeast University (China) have found a way to create organic ferroelectric molecules which offer the possibility of flexible, nontoxic memory chips according a Jan. 24, 2013 news item on ScienceDaily,

At the heart of computing are tiny crystals that transmit and store digital information’s ones and zeroes. Today these are hard and brittle materials. But cheap, flexible, nontoxic organic molecules may play a role in the future of hardware.

A team led by the University of Washington in Seattle and the Southeast University in China discovered a molecule [diisopropylammonium bromide?] that shows promise as an organic alternative to today’s silicon-based semiconductors. The findings, published this week in the journal Science, display properties that make it well suited to a wide range of applications in memory, sensing and low-cost energy storage.

“This molecule is quite remarkable, with some of the key properties that are comparable with the most popular inorganic crystals,” said co-corresponding author Jiangyu Li, a UW associate professor of mechanical engineering.

The Jan. 24, 2013 University of Washington news release by Hannah Hickey, which originated the news item, details the advantages of these crystals while noting they are not likely to replace currently used ferroelectric materials as the new molecule is not suitable for all uses (Note: Links have been removed),

The carbon-based material could offer even cheaper ways to store digital information; provide a flexible, nontoxic material for medical sensors that would be implanted in the body; and create a less costly, lighter material to harvest energy from natural vibrations.

The new molecule is a ferroelectric, meaning it is positively charged on one side and negatively charged on the other, where the direction can be flipped by applying an electrical field. Synthetic ferroelectrics are now used in some displays, sensors and memory chips.

In the study the authors pitted their molecule against barium titanate, a long-known ferroelectric material that is a standard for performance. Barium titanate is a ceramic crystal and contains titanium; it has largely been replaced in industrial applications by better-performing but lead-containing alternatives.

The new molecule holds its own against the standard-bearer. It has a natural polarization, a measure of how strongly the molecules align to store information, of 23, compared to 26 for barium titanate. To Li’s knowledge this is the best organic ferroelectric discovered to date.

A recent study in Nature announced an organic ferroelectric that works at room temperature. By contrast, this molecule retains its properties up to 153 degrees Celsius (307 degrees F), even higher than for barium titanate.

The new molecule also offers a full bag of electric tricks. Its dielectric constant – a measure of how well it can store energy – is more than 10 times higher than for other organic ferroelectrics. And it’s also a good piezoelectric, meaning it’s efficient at converting movement into electricity, which is useful in sensors.

The new molecule is made from bromine, a natural element isolated from sea salt, mixed with carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen (its full name is diisopropylammonium bromide). Researchers dissolved the elements in water and evaporated the liquid to grow the crystal. Because the molecule contains carbon, it is organic, and pivoting chemical bonds allow it to flex.

The molecule would not replace current inorganic materials, Li said, but it could be used in applications where cost, ease of manufacturing, weight, flexibility and toxicity are important.

Here’s a citation and link to the paper,

Diisopropylammonium Bromide Is a High-Temperature Molecular Ferroelectric Crystal by Da-Wei Fu, Hong-Ling Ci, Yuanming Liu, Qiong Ye, Wen Zhang, Yi Zhang, Xue-Yuan Chen, Gianluca Giovannetti, Massimo Capone, Jiangyu Li, Ren-Gen Xiong. Science 25 January 2013:
Vol. 339 no. 6118 pp. 425-428. DOI: 10.1126/science.1229675

This paper, along with a few others about ferroelectric materials in the Jan. 2013 issue of Science, is behind a paywall. Given the title of the paper, I’ve made the assumption that the new molecule is diisopropylammonium bromide.

At any rate, all of this has led me to an old song by singer, Dean Martin, titled ‘Memories are made of this,’

I found this piece of information in the comments,

 neuro518 3 weeks ago

the guitarist is Terry Gilkyson and his group here is called the Easy Riders. He wrote this song and hundreds of others including “Fast Freight” performed by the Kingston Trio. He was in at the very beginning of the transition of American music from pop to folk and was one of the best. For some reason he never gets much credit, but he was one of the best.

Happy Friday, Jan. 25, 2013.