Abstract: In order to recycle nitrogen from nitrogen-rich waste streams, particularly protein waste, we studied the decarboxylation of pyroglutamic acid and glutamic acid in a one-pot reaction to bio-based 2-pyrrolidone. After the screening of a wide range of supported Pd and Pt catalysts, 5 wt% Pd/Al2O3 displayed the highest yield (70%) and selectivity (81%) for the decarboxylation of pyroglutamic acid in water at 250 °C and under an inert atmosphere. Side products originate from consecutive reactions of 2-pyrrolidone; different reaction pathways are proposed to explain the presence of degradation products like propionic acid, γ-hydroxybutyric acid, γ-butyrolactone and methylamine. An extensive study of the reaction parameters was performed to check their influence on selectivity and conversion. This heterogeneous catalytic system was successfully extended to the conversion of glutamic acid.

Abstract: Mitigating the adverse effects of air pollution, especially on human health, is one of the greater contemporary challenges for cities. Street canyons have herein been identified as bottleneck areas in urbanized environments. Focusing on the necessity of fast-response interventions, strategies to control source-receptor pathways (e.g. implementing low boundary walls (LBWs)) are gaining interest. A potential strategy which is greatly overlooked is the adjustment (reduction or displacement) of traffic lanes in order to increase the distance between source (traffic) and recipient (pedestrians). Within our study, computation fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to simulate the impact of alternations to traffic lanes (whether or not combined with LBWs) on the pedestrian exposure to NO2 for a specific case-study (Belgie center dot lei, Antwerp) under two prevailing wind directions. The average differences in NO2 concentrations for the entire pedestrian area ranged between +1.0 % to-3.6 %. On specific locations, reduction up to-8.0 % were reached. In case of perpendicular winds, a lateral displacement of all traffic lanes towards the windward facade including LBWs was found most beneficial to reduce pedestrian exposure. LBWs also showed to be efficient in reducing potential adverse effects of lane displacement under less frequent wind directions.

Abstract: Luminescent copper indium sulfide (CIS) nanocrystals are a potential solution to the toxicity issues associated with Cd- and Pb-based nanocrystals. However, the development of high-quality CIS nanocrystals has been complicated by insufficient knowledge of the electronic structure and of the factors that lead to luminescence quenching. Here we investigate the exciton decay pathways in CIS nanocrystals using time resolved photoluminescence and transient absorption spectroscopy. Core-only CIS nanocrystals with low quantum yield are compared to core/shell nanocrystals (CIS/ZnS and CIS/CdS) with higher quantum yield. Our measurements support the model of photoluminescence by radiative recombination of a conduction band electron with a localized hole. Moreover, we find that photoluminescence quenching in low-quantum-yield nanocrystals involves initially uncoupled decay pathways for the electron and hole. The electron decay pathway determines whether the exciton recombines radiatively or nonradiatively. The development of high-quality CIS nanocrystals should therefore focus on the elimination of electron traps.

Abstract: The adsorption and diffusion of Na, K, and Ca atoms on MXene/graphene heterostructures of MXene systems Sc2C(OH)(2), Ti2CO2, and V2CO2 are systematically investigated by using first-principles methods. We found that alkali metal intercalation is energetically favorable and thermally stable for Ti2CO2/graphene and V2CO2/graphene heterostructures but not for Sc2C(OH)(2). Diffusion kinetics calculations showed the advantage of MXene/graphene heterostructures over sole MXene systems as the energy barriers are halved for the considered alkali metals. Low energy barriers are found for Na and K ions, which are promising for fast charge/discharge rates. Calculated voltage profiles reveal that estimated high capacities can be fully achieved for Na ion in V2CO2/graphene and Ti2CO2/graphene heterostructures. Our results indicate that Ti2CO2/graphene and V2CO2/graphene electrode materials are very promising for Na ion battery applications. The former could be exploited for low voltage applications while the latter will be more appropriate for higher voltages.

Abstract: A multiscale modeling and simulation approach, including first-principles calculations, ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, and a tight binding approach, is employed to study band flattening of the electronic band structure of oxidized monolayer graphene. The width offlat bands can be tuned by strain, the external electric field, and the density of functional groups and their distribution. A transition to a conducting state is found for monolayer graphene with impurities when it is subjected to an electric field of similar to 1.0 V/angstrom. Several parallel impurity-induced flat bands appear in the low-energy spectrum of monolayer graphene when the number of epoxy groups is changed. The width of the flat band decreases with an increase in tensile strain but is independent of the electric field strength. Here an alternative and easy route for obtaining band flattening in thermodynamically stable functionalized monolayer graphene is introduced. Our work discloses a new avenue for research on band flattening in monolayer graphene.

Abstract: Seed-mediated growth is the most efficient methodology to control the size and shape of colloidal metal nanoparticles. In this process, the final nanocrystal shape is defined by the crystalline structure of the initial seed as well as by the presence of ligands and other additives that help to stabilize certain crystallographic facets. We analyze here the growth mechanism in aqueous solution of silver shells on presynthesized gold nanoparticles displaying various well-defined crystalline structures and morphologies. A thorough three-dimensional electron microscopy characterization of the morphology and internal structure of the resulting core-shell nanocrystals indicates that {100} facets are preferred for the outer silver shell, regardless of the morphology and crystallinity of the gold cores. These results are in agreement with theoretical analysis based on the relative surface energies of the exposed facets in the presence of halide ions.

Abstract: In this work, we employed first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate the dynamical and thermal stability of graphene-like ZnX (X = N, P, As) nanosheets. We moreover analyzed the electronic, mechanical and optical properties of these novel two-dimensional (2D) systems. Acquired phonon dispersion relations reveal the absence of imaginary frequencies and thus confirming the dynamical stability of predicted monolayers. According to ab-initio molecular dynamics results however only ZnN and ZnP exhibit the required thermally stability. The elastic modulus of ZnN, ZnP and ZnAs are estimated to be 31, 21 and 17 N/m, respectively, and the corresponding tensile strengths values are 6.0, 4.9 and 4.0 N/m, respectively. Electronic band structure analysis confirms the metallic electronic character for the predicted monolayers. Results for the optical characteristics also indicate a reflectivity of 100% at extremely low energy levels, which is desirable for photonic and optoelectronic applications. According to our results, graphene-like ZnN and ZnP nanosheets can yield high capacities of 675 and 556 mAh/g for Li-ion storage, respectively. Acquired results confirm the stability and acceptable strength of ZnN and ZnP nanosheets and highlight their attractive application prospects in optical and energy storage systems.

Abstract: This short review discusses recent developments related to the storage and release of hydrogen from liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs). It focusses on three areas of recent literature: the application and development of novel, alternative LOHC systems, process development and process integration in the storage and release of hydrogen from LOHCs, and the electrochemical conversion of LOHCs. For the novel LOHC systems, we briefly focus on reaction enthalpy and storage capacity as main KPIs for the comparison of those systems and discuss the technical availability on a relevant scale. In the field of process- and reactor development our emphasis lies on the power density of the chemical conversion units. The LOHC technology still requires further development to reach the necessary energy efficiency, flexibility and overall research maturity for market competitivity and commercial impact.

Abstract: Dynamic recrystallization (DRX) within adiabatic shear bands forming during the fracture of TRIP-TWIP β−metastable Ti-12Mo (wt %) alloy was recently reported. The formation of 1-3 µm thick-adiabatic shear bands, and of dynamic recrystallization, was quite surprising as their occurrence generally requires high temperature and/or high strain rate loading while these samples were loaded in quasi-static conditions at room temperature. To better understand the fracture mechanism and associated microstructural evolution, thin foils representative of different stages of the fracture process were machined from the fracture surface by Focused Ion Beam (FIB) and analyzed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Automated Crystal Orientation mapping (ACOM-TEM). Complex microstructure transformations involving severe plastic deformed nano-structuration, crystalline rotation and local precipitation of the omega phase were identified. The spatial and temporal evolution of the microstructure during the propagation of the crack was explained through dynamic recovery and continuous dynamic recrystallization, and linked to the modelled distribution of temperature and strain level where TEM samples were extracted.

Abstract: Intragranular amorphization shear lamellae are found in deformed olivine aggregates. The detailed trans-mission electron microscopy analysis of intragranular lamella arrested in the core of a grain provides novel information on the amorphization mechanism. The deformation field is complex and heteroge-neous, corresponding to a shear crack type instability involving mode I, II and III loading components. The formation and propagation of the amorphous lamella is accompanied by the formation of crystal defects ahead of the tip. These defects are geometrically necessary [001] dislocations, characteristics of high-stress deformation in olivine, and rotational nanodomains which are tentatively interpreted as disclinations. We show that these defects play an important role in dictating the path followed by the amorphous lamella. Stress-induced amorphization in olivine would thus result from a direct crystal-to -amorphous transformation associated with a shear instability and not from a mechanical destabilization due to the accumulation of high number of defects from an intense preliminary deformation. The pref-erential alignment of some lamellae along (010) is a proof of the lower ultimate mechanical strength of these planes.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Acta Materialia Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Abstract: tWe investigate microdischarge formation inside catalyst pores by a two-dimensional fluid model forvarious pore sizes in the m-range and for various applied voltages. Indeed, this is a poorly understoodphenomenon in plasma catalysis. The calculations are performed for a dielectric barrier discharge inhelium, at atmospheric pressure. The electron and ion densities, electron temperature, electric field andpotential, as well as the electron impact ionization and excitation rate and the densities of excited plasmaspecies, are examined for a better understanding of the characteristics of the plasma inside a pore. Theresults indicate that the pore size and the applied voltage are critical parameters for the formation of amicrodischarge inside a pore. At an applied voltage of 20 kV, our calculations reveal that the ionizationmainly takes place inside the pore, and the electron density shows a significant increase near and inthe pore for pore sizes larger than 200m, whereas the effect of the pore on the total ion density isevident even for 10m pores. When the pore size is fixed at 30m, the presence of the pore has nosignificant influence on the plasma properties at an applied voltage of 2 kV. Upon increasing the voltage,the ionization process is enhanced due to the strong electric field and high electron temperature, andthe ion density shows a remarkable increase near and in the pore for voltages above 10 kV. These resultsindicate that the plasma species can be formed inside pores of structured catalysts (in the m range),and they may interact with the catalyst surface, and affect the plasma catalytic process.

Abstract: tSilver nanoparticles (NPs) were deposited on nickel, titanium and gold substrates using a potentiostaticdouble-pulse method. The influence of the support material on both the morphology and the electro-catalytic activity of Ag NPs for the reduction reaction of benzyl bromide was investigated and comparedwith previous research regarding silver NPs on glassy carbon. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) dataindicated that spherical monodispersed NPs were obtained on Ni, Au and GC substrate with an averageparticle size of respectively 216 nm, 413 nm and 116 nm. On a Ti substrate dendritic NPs were obtainedwith a larger average particle density of 480 nm. The influence of the support material on the electrocat-alytic activity was tested by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) for the reduction reaction of benzylbromide(1 mM) in acetonitrile + 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (Bu4NClO4). When the nucleation poten-tial (En) was applied at high cathodic overpotential, a positive shift of the reduction potential was obtained.The nucleation (tn) and growth time (tg) mostly had an influence on the current density whereas longerdeposition times lead to larger current densities. For these three parameters an optimum was present.The best electrocatalytic activity was obtained with Ag NPs deposited on Ni were a shift of the reduc-tion peak potential of 145 mV for the reaction of benzyl bromide was measured in comparance to bulksilver. The deposition on Au substrate yielded a positive shift of 114 mV. There was no indication of analtered reaction mechanism as the reaction was characterized as diffusion controlled and the transfercoefficients were in accordance with bulk silver. There was a beneficial catalitic activity measured due tothe interplay between support and NPs. This resulted in a shift of the reduction peak potential of 34 mV(Ag NPs on Au) and 65 mV (Ag NPs on Ni) compared to Ag NPs on a GC substrate.

Abstract: A series of BiVO4/3DOM TiO2 nanocomposites have been synthesized and their photocatalytic activity was investigated under visible light irradiation using the RhB dye as model pollutant molecule in an aqueous solution. The effect of the amount of BiVO4 as visible light sensitizer on the photocatalytic activity of BiVO4/3DOM TiO2 nanocomposites was highlighted. The heterostructured composite system leads to much higher photocatalytic efficiencies than bare 3DOM TiO2 and BiVO4 nanoparticles. As the proportion of BiVO4 in BiVO4/3DOM TiO2 nanocomposites increases from 0.04 to 0.6, the photocatalytic performance of the BiVO4/3DOM TiO2 nanocomposites increases and then decreases after reaching a maximum at 0.2. This improvement in photocatalytic perfomance is related to 1) the interfacial electron transfer efficiency between the coupled materials, 2) the 3DOM TiO2 inverse opal structure with interconnected pores providing an easy mass transfer of the reactant molecules and high accessibility to the active sites and large surface area and 3) the effect of light sensitizer of BiVO4. Intensive studies on structural, textural, optical and surface properties reveal that the electronic interactions between BiVO4 and TiO2 lead to an improved charge separation of the coupled BiVO4/TiO2 system. The photogenerated charge carrier densities increase with increasing the BiVO4 content, which acts as visible light sensitizer to the TiO2 and is responsible for the enhancement in the rate of photocatalytic degradation. However, the photocatalytic activity is reduced when the BiVO4 amount is much higher than that of 3DOM TiO2. Two reasons could account for this behavior. First, with increasing BiVO4 content, the photogenerated electron/hole pairs are accumulated at the surface of the BiVO4 nanoparticles and the recombination rate increases as shown by the PL results. Second, decreasing the amount of 3DOM TiO2 in the nanocomposite decreases the surface area as shown by the BET results. Moreover, the poor adsorptive properties of the BiVO4 photocatalyst also affect the photocatalytic performance, in particular at higher BiVO4 content. The present work demonstrates that BiVO4/3DOM TiO2 is a very promising heterojunction system for visible light photocatalytic applications.

Abstract: A series of BiVO4/3DOM TiO2 nanocomposites have been synthesized and their photocatalytic activity was investigated under visible light irradiation using the RhB dye as model pollutant molecule in an aqueous solution. The effect of the amount of BiVO4 as visible light sensitizer on the photocatalytic activity of BiVO4/3DOM TiO2 nanocomposites was highlighted. The heterostructured composite system leads to much higher photocatalytic efficiencies than bare 3DOM TiO2 and BiVO4 nanoparticles. As the proportion of BiVO4 in BiVO4/3DOM TiO2 nanocomposites increases from 0.04 to 0.6, the photocatalytic performance of the BiVO4/3DOM TiO2 nanocomposites increases and then decreases after reaching a maximum at 0.2. This improvement in photocatalytic perfomance is related to 1) the interfacial electron transfer efficiency between the coupled materials, 2) the 3DOM TiO2 inverse opal structure with interconnected pores providing an easy mass transfer of the reactant molecules and high accessibility to the active sites and large surface area and 3) the effect of light sensitizer of BiVO4. Intensive studies on structural, textural, optical and surface properties reveal that the electronic interactions between BiVO4 and TiO2 lead to an improved charge separation of the coupled BiVO4/TiO2 system. The photogenerated charge carrier densities increase with increasing the BiVO4 content, which acts as visible light sensitizer to the TiO2 and is responsible for the enhancement in the rate of photocatalytic degradation. However, the photocatalytic activity is reduced when the BiVO4 amount is much higher than that of 3DOM TiO2. Two reasons could account for this behavior. First, with increasing BiVO4 content, the photogenerated electron/hole pairs are accumulated at the surface of the BiVO4 nanoparticles and the recombination rate increases as shown by the PL results. Second, decreasing the amount of 3DOM TiO2 in the nanocomposite decreases the surface area as shown by the BET results. Moreover, the poor adsorptive properties of the BiVO4 photocatalyst also affect the photocatalytic performance, in particular at higher BiVO4 content. The present work demonstrates that BiVO4/3DOM TiO2 is a very promising heterojunction system for visible light photocatalytic applications.

Abstract: Diatom frustules were extracted from the species Thalassiosira pseudonana and functionalized with titania to be used as photocatalysts in the abatement of acetaldehyde. The synthetic procedure is water-based and environmentally friendly. The synthesis parameters were optimized to give the highest possible photocatalytic activity. The optimized material, visualized with TEM and STEM-EDX, shows the TiO2 nanoparticles grafted inside the frustule pores, as well as on the silica surface. The titania particles, stabilized by the frustules, are 2.5 times more active than the P25 benchmark material. The photocatalyst is then tested in conditions of elevated relative humidity, to simulate indoor air. The catalytic activity only shows a minor decrease at 50% relative humidity, which is a better result than for the P25 benchmark. When tested over an extended period of time, the photocatalyst only shows a minor decrease in activity.