Facile synthesis of super-thermal insulating polyimide aerogel-like films.

Thermal superinsulation materials play a key role in reducing energy consumption. In this article, flexible polyimide aerogel-like films are developed by a facile non-solvent-induced phase separation combined with ambient drying method. The pore structure and insulation properties are well controlled by changing the compositions of the coagulation bath. Polyimide films with macro-nano hierarchical pore structure and uniform nanopores are prepared by adjusting the content of water and alcohol as the non-solvent. The relationship between the insulation performance and textured structure of polyimide was studied. After optimization, the produced film achieved a low thermal conductivity of 0.019 W⋅m-1·K-1 but good tensile strength of 89.6 MPa, compared favorably with literature results. Hence, this article demonstrates that application of the facile phase inversion method to prepare porous polymers can be expanded from desalination or gas separation fields to insulation for energy-saving purposes.

Electrochemical reduction of nitrate in a catalytic carbon membrane nano-reactor.

Nitrate pollution is a critical environmental issue in need of urgent addressing. Electrochemical reduction is an attractive strategy for treating nitrate due to the environmental friendliness. However, it is still a challenge to achieve the simultaneous high activity and selectivity. Here we report the design of a porous tubular carbon membrane as the electrode deposited with catalysts, which provides a large triple-phase boundary area for nitrate removal reactions. The achieved nitrate removal rate is one order of magnitude higher than other literatures with high nitrate conversion and high selectivity of nitrogen. The carbon membrane itself had a limited catalytic property thus Cu-Pd bimetal catalysts were deposited inside the nano-pores to enhance the activity and selectivity. When Na2SO4 electrolyte was applied, the achieved single-pass removal of nitrate was increased from 55.15% (for blank membrane) to 97.12% by adding catalysts inside the membrane. In case of NaOH as the electrolyte, the single-pass nitrate removal efficiency, selectivity to nitrogen formation and nitrate removal rate was 90.66%, 96.40% and 1.47 × 10-3 mmol min-1 cm-2, respectively. Density functional theory studies demonstrate that the loading of bimetal catalysts compared with single metal catalysts enhances the adsorption of *NO3 on membrane surface favorable for N2 formation than NH3 on Cu-Pd surface. The application of catalytic carbon membrane nano-reactors can open new windows for nitrate removal due to the high reactor efficiency.

Anti-corrosion porous RuO2/NbC anodes for the electrochemical oxidation of phenol.

Efficient anode materials with porous structures have drawn increasing attention due to their high specific surface area, which can compensate for the slow reaction rate of electrochemical oxidation. However, the use of these materials is often limited due to their poor corrosion resistance. Herein, we report a facile scale-up method, by carbothermal reduction, for the preparation of porous niobium carbide to be used as an anode for the electrochemical oxidation of phenol in water. No niobium ions were detected when the anodes were under aggressive attack by sulfuric acid and under electrochemical corrosion tests with a current density less than 20.98 mA cm-2. The porous niobium carbide was further modified by applying a ruthenium oxide coating to improve its catalytic activity. The removal rates of phenol and chemical oxygen demand by the RuO2/NbC anode reached 1.87 × 10-2 mg min-1 cm-2 and 6.33 × 10-2 mg min-1 cm-2, respectively. The average current efficiency was 85.2%. Thus, an anti-corrosion, highly catalytically active and energy-efficient porous RuO2/NbC anode for the degradation of aqueous phenol in wastewater was successfully prepared.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction of resveratrol from grape leaves and its purification on mesoporous carbon.

Resveratrol has been extracted from grape leaves by ultrasound-assisted extraction with aqueous ethanol and further concentrated on a column of mesoporous carbon. The ethanol concentration, extraction temperature, solid/liquid ratio, and extraction time have been investigated, and the extraction kinetics has been studied. After one treatment run with mesoporous carbon, the resveratrol purity was improved from 2.1 to 20.6%. The antioxidant activities of grape leaf extracts before and after concentration have been analyzed. Mesoporous carbon has been applied in the purification of resveratrol from grape leaves for the first time, and it is shown to offer a promising procedure in this field. Grape leaf is a promising material for the extraction of resveratrol, which shows antioxidant properties.

The enrichment of chlorogenic acid from Eucommia ulmoides leaves extract by mesoporous carbons.

Herein, we report an efficient separation and enrichment method for chlorogenic acid from crude extracts of Eucommia ulmoides leaves using carbon adsorbents. The effects of the pore structure of the carbon adsorbents on the adsorption capacity were studied. Of the four adsorbents investigated, mesoporous carbon (MC3) showed the highest adsorption capacity (294 mg/g of carbon) for chlorogenic acid due to its high mesopore volume. The static adsorption of CGA on carbon can be accurately described using the Freundlich equation. The kinetics of adsorption follow a pseudo-second-order process. External mass transfer was the controlling step of the adsorption process. Dynamic adsorption on MC3 demonstrated that chlorogenic acid began to break through after 28 bed volumes of extract was loaded. This mesoporous carbon-treatment procedure is safe, economic and has the potential to be scaled up for commercial application.