Cu and Zn promoted Al-fumarate metal organic frameworks for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are attractive materials to generate multifunctional catalysts for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to hydrocarbons. Here we report the synthesis of Cu and Zn modified Al-fumarate (Al-fum) MOFs, in which Zn promotes the selective reduction of CO2 to CO and Cu promotes CO reduction to oxygenates and hydrocarbons in an electrocatalytic cascade. Cu and Zn nanoparticles (NPs) were introduced to the Al-fum MOF by a double solvent method to promote in-pore metal deposition, and the resulting reduced Cu-Zn@Al-fum drop-cast on a hydrophobic gas diffusion electrode for electrochemical study. Cu-Zn@Al-fum is active for CO2 electroreduction, with the Cu and Zn loading influencing the product yields. The highest faradaic efficiency (FE) of 62% is achieved at -1.0 V vs. RHE for the conversion of CO2 into CO, HCOOH, CH4, C2H4 and C2H5OH, with a FE of 28% to CH4, C2H4 and C2H5OH at pH 6.8. Al-fum MOF is a chemically robust matrix to disperse Cu and Zn NPs, improving electrocatalyst lifetime during CO2 reduction by minimizing transition metal aggregation during electrode operation.

Molecular Identification and Evaluation of the Genetic Diversity of Dendrobium Species Collected in Southern Vietnam.

Dendrobium has been widely used not only as ornamental plants but also as food and medicines. The identification and evaluation of the genetic diversity of Dendrobium species support the conservation of genetic resources of endemic Dendrobium species. Uniquely identifying Dendrobium species used as medicines helps avoid misuse of medicinal herbs. However, it is challenging to identify Dendrobium species morphologically during their immature stage. Based on the DNA barcoding method, it is now possible to efficiently identify species in a shorter time. In this study, the genetic diversity of 76 Dendrobium samples from Southern Vietnam was investigated based on the ITS (Internal transcribed spacer), ITS2, matK (Maturase_K), rbcL (ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase large subunit) and trnH-psbA (the internal space of the gene coding histidine transfer RNA (trnH) and gene coding protein D1, a polypeptide of the photosystem I reaction center (psaB)) regions. The ITS region was found to have the best identification potential. Nineteen out of 24 Dendrobium species were identified based on phylogenetic tree and Indel information of this region. Among these, seven identified species were used as medicinal herbs. The results of this research contributed to the conservation, propagation, and hybridization of indigenous Dendrobium species in Southern Vietnam.