Hydroxide

Abstract: Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) electroreduction could provide a useful source of ethylene, but low conversion efficiency, low production rates, and low catalyst stability limit current systems. Here we report that a copper electrocatalyst at an abrupt reaction interface in an alkaline electrolyte reduces CO 2 to ethylene with 70% faradaic efficiency at a potential of −0.55 volts versus a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). Hydroxide ions on or near the copper surface lower the CO 2 reduction and carbon monoxide (CO)–CO coupling activation energy barriers; as a result, onset of ethylene evolution at −0.165 volts versus an RHE in 10 molar potassium hydroxide occurs almost simultaneously with CO production. Operational stability was enhanced via the introduction of a polymer-based gas diffusion layer that sandwiches the reaction interface between separate hydrophobic and conductive supports, providing constant ethylene selectivity for an initial 150 operating hours.

Abstract: Quantitative chemical state X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis of mixed nickel metal, oxide, hydroxide and oxyhydroxide systems is challenging due to the complexity of the Ni 2p peak shapes resulting from multiplet splitting, shake-up and plasmon loss structures. Quantification of mixed nickel chemical states and the qualitative determination of low concentrations of Ni(III) species are demonstrated via an approach based on standard spectra from quality reference samples (Ni, NiO, Ni(OH)2, NiOOH), subtraction of these spectra, and data analysis that integrates information from the Ni 2p spectrum and the O 1s spectra. Quantification of a commercial nickel powder and a thin nickel oxide film grown at 1-Torr O2 and 300 °C for 20 min is demonstrated. The effect of uncertain relative sensitivity factors (e.g. Ni 2.67 ± 0.54) is discussed, as is the depth of measurement for thin film analysis based on calculated inelastic mean free paths. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract: A facile and novel one-step method of growing nickel-cobalt layered double hydroxide (Ni-Co LDH) hybrid films with ultrathin nanosheets and porous nanostructures on nickel foam is presented using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as nanostructure growth assisting agent but without any adscititious alkali sources and oxidants. As pseudocapacitors, the as-obtained Ni-Co LDH hybrid film-based electrodes display a significantly enhanced specific capacitance (2682 F g−1 at 3 A g−1, based on active materials) and energy density (77.3 Wh kg−1 at 623 W kg−1), compared to most previously reported electrodes based on nickel-cobalt oxides/hydroxides. Moreover, the asymmetric supercapacitor, with the Ni-Co LDH hybrid film as the positive electrode material and porous freeze-dried reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as the negative electrode material, exhibits an ultrahigh energy density (188 Wh kg−1) at an average power density of 1499 W kg−1 based on the mass of active material, which greatly exceeds the energy densities of most previously reported nickel or cobalt oxide/hydroxide-based asymmetric supercapacitors.