Dehydrogenation coupling of ethanol to n-butanol has received much attention due to the wide application of n-butanol. Highly selective butanol production from ethanol remains a challenge due to competitive reactions in the dehydrogenation and/or condensation and great difficulty in ethanol dehydrogenation. This work reports a synergistic catalysis between layered double hydroxide (LDO), an acidic−basic support, and supported Ag particles for the dehydrogenation coupling of ethanol to n-butanol. A selectivity of up to 77% toward n-butanol with an ethanol conversion of 23.2%, among impressive levels reported till now, has been achieved at 350 °C, 0.1 MPa. A selectivity of up to 60% toward nbutanol with an ethanol conversion of 45%, the highest selectivity at an ethanol conversion of >45% reported till now, has been achieved at 250 °C, 2 MPa. A synergistic catalysis between the acid−base sites of the LDO surface and supported Ag particles have been revealed to contribute the excellent butanol selectivity: basic sites promote adsorption and subsequent dehydrogenation of ethanol on Ag particles; in addition to the promotion from Ag, the following aldol condensation is boosted by acid−base cooperation.

Upgrading of ethanol to n ‐butanol through dehydrogenation coupling has received increasing attention due to the wide application of n ‐butanol. But the enhancement of ethanol dehydrogenation and followed coupling to produce high selectivity to n ‐butanol is still highly desired. Our previous work has reported an acid‐base‐Ag synergistic catalysis, with Ag particles supported on Mg and Al‐containing layered double oxides (Ag/MgAl‐LDO). Here, Ag‐LDO interfaces have been manipulated for dehydrogenation coupling of ethanol to n ‐butanol by tailoring the size of Ag particles and the interactions between Ag and LDO. It has been revealed that increasing the population of surface Ag sites at Ag‐LDO interfaces promotes not only the dehydrogenation of ethanol to acetaldehyde but also the subsequent aldol condensation of generated acetaldehyde. A selectivity of up to 76 % to n ‐butanol with an ethanol conversion of 44 % has been achieved on Ag/LDO with abundant interfacial Ag sites, much superior to the state‐of‐the‐art catalysts.

The Faraday probe and cylindrical Langmuir probe were used to characterize the downstream ion and electron spatial evolution of a 300 W class low-power Hall thruster. The time-averaged ion current density, electron energy probability function, plasma potential, electron temperature, and electron density measurements were conducted at discharge voltages of 200–400 V and anode mass flow rates of 0.65 and 0.95 mg s−1 in the range of 100–500 mm axially and −100 to 100 mm radially downstream of the thruster. The results show that the ion and electron flows exhibit a bipolar diffusion characteristic along the radial direction. Meanwhile, the radial diffusion rate of ions in the plume is greater than the axial diffusion rate. The plasma potential decreases from 18 V at 100 mm axially from the thruster exit to 4 V at 500 mm axially and 100 mm radially. Correspondingly, the electron temperature decreases from 4.2 to 1.0 eV. The electron number density decreases from 2.6 × 1016 to 4 × 1014 m−3. A variable exponential relationship between electron temperature and electron density was observed from the measurements of electron energy probability distribution functions, with an adiabatic factor γ ranging between 1.3 and 1.4 (below the adiabatic value of 5/3). The adiabatic factor γ is considered to correlate with the anode mass flux and the spatial location of plasma, which suggests a possible dependence on the collision rate. These data are of great importance for plume model validation, improvement, plume effect evaluation, and protection mechanisms.

At present, tetra-hydroxymethyl phosphonium chloride (THPC) is widely used in flame retardant finishing, industrial water treatment and leather manufacture industry etc., and its decomposition which was caused by pH changing will influence on the actual application. So acid-alkali decomposition of THPC was studied by 31P Nuclear Magnetism Resomance (31P NMR), spectrophotometry and titration respectively. The results show that THPC solution is stable when pH9.0, all of the phosphorus compounds converts to TrHPO. Consequently, THPC content decreases when pH of the THPC solution rising, which could give a favorable guide in THPC application.

Formalin (formaldehyde solution) is generally used as embalming fluid and tissue fixation agent because of its low price, antiseptic sterilization ability and good application effect and so on. However, the intense excitant odor of the formaldehyde and its volatile cause great harm for human health and working environment. In order to solve the problems caused by formaldehyde, an improved non-formaldehyde tissue preservative is invented. The preservative is a blend of acid, buffer solution and cross-linking agent, which act as mildew preventive, stabilizer and fixative respectively. The improved preservative is characterized and applied on animal and body tissue fixation and preservation. The results show that the improved preservative is a more desirable tissue preservative than formaldehyde not only due to its good mildew proof, low volatile and odor, but also the same preservation and fixation effects as formaldehyde. It will be considered as a real environmental friendly preservative in near future.