Photoreduction of CO 2 into solar fuels has received great interest, but suffers from low catalytic efficiency and poor selectivity. Herein, two single-Cuatom catalysts with unique Cu configurations in phosphorus-doped carbon nitride (PCN), namely, Cu 1 N 3 @PCN and Cu 1 P 3 @PCN were fabricated via selective phosphidation, and tested in visible light-driven CO 2 reduction by H 2 O without sacrificial agents. Cu 1 N 3 @PCN was exclusively active for CO production with a rate of 49.8 μmol CO g cat À 1 h À 1 , outperforming most polymeric carbon nitride (C 3 N 4 ) based catalysts, while Cu 1 P 3 @PCN preferably yielded H 2 . Experimental and theoretical analysis suggested that doping P in C 3 N 4 by replacing a corner C atom upshifted the d-band center

No abstract

Carbon nanotube (CNT) films were one-step catalytically synthesized on silicon substrates by the premixed ethanol flame (PEF). Ferric nitrate and copper nitrate with diverse concentrations, as catalyst precursors, were respectively dissolved into the absolute ethanol to form PEF which could simultaneously offer heat source, carbon source and catalysts. More CNT films were synthesized on silicon substrates when first placed between the core and inner flame and then moved into location between the inner and outer flame. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the morphologies of CNT films were greatly influenced by the catalyst precursors and locations of silicon substrates in PEF. CNT films synthesized by the copper nitrate PEF had a smaller tube diameter (~20 nm) and lower ratio of amorphous carbon (43.82%). The CNT yield increased along the concentration of catalyst precursors, but the graphitization degree decreased just the reverse. This approach had the potential of large-scale applications in solar cells and reinforced materials.

The in-plane thermoelectric generator (TEG) was ingeniously designed when the thermal gas flowed over the carbon nanotube (CNT) membrane at the modest speed of a few meters per second. It was composed of the glass substrate, aurum electrodes and CNT membrane synthesized by a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition method. In the air under atmospheric pressure, the experimental results showed that the maximal output voltage could reach 1.7 mV. It related not only with the temperature difference between the hot-side and cold-side, but also the temperature gradient of the CNT membrane which was closely dependent on the velocity and temperature of the gas flow. The multi-physical power mechanism was applied to interpret the energy conversion, which included the coupling relation of the fluid dynamics, heat transmission and Seebeck effect. This novel method could effectively enhance the output voltage, extend the applied range of TEG and had a fine prospect.