Multivalent metal ion hybrid capacitors are overviewed from the angle of design concept, configuration, electrochemical behavior and energy storage mechanism.

The synthesis of well-defined poly (ionic liquid) brushes with tunable wettability using surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was reported. Various characterization techniques including ellipsometry, static water contact angle measurements, attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscope (AFM) were used to characterize the films for each surface modification step. Kinetic studies revealed a linear increase in polymer film thickness with reaction time, indicating that chain growth from the surface was a controlled process with a “living” characteristic. Furthermore, the surface of poly (ionic liquid) brushes with tunable wettability, reversible switching between hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity can be easily achieved by exchanging their counteranions.

The liquid-phase oxidation of phenol induced by plasma that was generated from direct glow discharges at the tip of a platinum anode in aqueous electrolyte was investigated. Various influencing factors such as the initial pH, the concentration of reactants and the catalytic action of Fe 2+ were examined. The results suggest that the reaction is a pseudo-first-order kinetic reaction; the initial pH significantly affects the degradation velocity and ferrous ions displayed a remarkable catalytic effect on the oxidation. The major oxidation intermediates were identified with high-performance liquid chromatograph and ion chromatograph analysis. It was found that the degradation proceeded differently in the presence and absence of catalysts and consequently two degradation pathways were proposed.