1
|
Xu Y, Liu H, Geng H, Liu R, Dai X. Evaporation-driven interfacial restructuring induces highly efficient methanogenesis of waste biomass. Water Res 2024; 254:121422. [PMID: 38460225 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2024] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024]
Abstract
Methanogenesis of waste biomass (WB) is a promising method for global sustainable development, reduction of pollution and carbon emission levels, and recovering bioenergy. Unlike in the methanogenesis of organic wastewater, in which microbial cells come into direct contact with the dissolved substrate, the 'solid-liquid-solid' modes in WB and between WB and microbial cells, which involve numerous solid-liquid interfaces, greatly hinder the methanogenesis efficiency of WB. Amongst all WB, waste activated sludge is the most complex, poorly biodegradable and representative. Herein, we highlight the role of water evaporation-driven solid-liquid interfacial restructuring of sludge in determining its methanogenesis efficiency. Non-free water evaporation increased surface roughness and adhesion, and compressed pore structure with numerous capillaries in sludge, resulting in a new solid-liquid interface of sludge with great capillary force and highly ordered interfacial water molecules, which provides an extremely favourable condition for high mass transfer and proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) in sludge. This restructuring was confirmed to induce the enhancement of solid-liquid interfacial noncovalent interactions and electron transfer efficiency in the subsequent methanogenesis process (P < 0.05), promoting the effective contact between the sludge substrate and microbial cells, thereby enriching the methanogenic consortia (i.e., Clostridia and Methanosarcina were increased by 290.0 % and 239.7 %, respectively) and improving the activities of key enzymes. Stable isotope tracing and metagenomic analysis further reveal that this restructuring promoted the participation of water molecules in the methane formation by PCET-driven release of protons from water, and enhanced main methanogenesis metabolic pathways, especially the metabolic pathway of CO2-reduction methanogenesis (+65.2 %), thereby resulting in a great advance in methane generation (+147 %, P < 0.001). The findings can provide a reference for regulating directional anaerobic biotransformation of water-rich multiphase complex substrates by interfacial restructuring inducement.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ying Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China.
| | - Haoyu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Hui Geng
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Rui Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Xiaohu Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Liu Y, Xiong W, Bera A, Ji Y, Yu M, Chen S, Lin L, Yuan S, Sun P. Catalytic selectivity of nanorippled graphene. Nanoscale Horiz 2024; 9:449-455. [PMID: 38198181 DOI: 10.1039/d3nh00462g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Experiments have shown that nanoscale ripples in a graphene membrane exhibit unexpectedly high catalytic activity with respect to hydrogen dissociation. Nonetheless, the catalytic selectivity of nanorippled graphene remains unknown, which is an equally important property for assessing a catalyst's potential and its fit-for-purpose applications. Herein, we examine the catalytic selectivity of nanorippled graphene using a model reaction of molecular hydrogen with another simple but double-bonded molecule, oxygen, and comparing the measurement results with those from splitting of hydrogen molecules. We show that although nanorippled graphene exhibits a high catalytic activity toward hydrogen dissociation, the activity for catalyzing the hydrogen-oxygen reaction is quite low, translating into a strong catalytic selectivity. The latter reaction involves the reduction of oxygen molecules by the dissociated hydrogen adatoms, which requires additional energy cost and practically determines the selectivity. In this sense, the well-established information about reactions in general of atomic hydrogen with many other species in the literature could potentially predict the selectivity of nanorippled graphene as a catalyst. Our work provides implications for the catalytic properties of nanorippled graphene, especially its selectivity. The results would be important for its extension to a wider range of reactions and for designer technologies involving hydrogen.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yu Liu
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China.
| | - Wenqi Xiong
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of the Ministry of Education and School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
| | - Achintya Bera
- National Graphene Institute, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Yu Ji
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China.
| | - Miao Yu
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China.
| | - Shi Chen
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China.
| | - Li Lin
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China
| | - Shengjun Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of the Ministry of Education and School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
| | - Pengzhan Sun
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Rice PS, Lee G, Schwartz B, Autrey T, Ginovska B. Leveraging Curvature on N-Doped Carbon Materials for Hydrogen Storage. Small 2024:e2310162. [PMID: 38221703 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202310162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Carbon sorbent materials have shown great promise for solid-state hydrogen (H2 ) storage. Modification of these materials with nitrogen (N) dopants has been undertaken to develop materials that can store H2 at ambient temperatures. In this work density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to systematically probe the influence of curvature on the stability and activity of undoped and N-doped carbon materials toward H binding. Specifically, four models of carbon materials are used: graphene, [5,5] carbon nanotube, [5,5] D5d -C120, and C60 , to extract and correlate the thermodynamic properties of active sites with varying degrees of sp2 hybridization (curvature). From the calculations and analysis, it is found that graphitic N-doping is thermodynamically favored on more pyramidal sites with increased curvature. In contrast, it is found that the hydrogen binding energy is weakly affected by curvature and is dominated by electronic effects induced by N-doping. These findings highlight the importance of modulating the heteroatom doping configuration and the lattice topology when developing materials for H2 storage.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter S Rice
- Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, Richland, WA, 99352, USA
| | - Gabriel Lee
- Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, Richland, WA, 99352, USA
| | - Brayden Schwartz
- Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, Richland, WA, 99352, USA
| | - Tom Autrey
- Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, Richland, WA, 99352, USA
| | - Bojana Ginovska
- Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, Richland, WA, 99352, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wu ZF, Sun PZ, Wahab OJ, Tan YT, Barry D, Periyanagounder D, Pillai PB, Dai Q, Xiong WQ, Vega LF, Lulla K, Yuan SJ, Nair RR, Daviddi E, Unwin PR, Geim AK, Lozada-Hidalgo M. Proton and molecular permeation through the basal plane of monolayer graphene oxide. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7756. [PMID: 38012200 PMCID: PMC10682477 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43637-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Two-dimensional (2D) materials offer a prospect of membranes that combine negligible gas permeability with high proton conductivity and could outperform the existing proton exchange membranes used in various applications including fuel cells. Graphene oxide (GO), a well-known 2D material, facilitates rapid proton transport along its basal plane but proton conductivity across it remains unknown. It is also often presumed that individual GO monolayers contain a large density of nanoscale pinholes that lead to considerable gas leakage across the GO basal plane. Here we show that relatively large, micrometer-scale areas of monolayer GO are impermeable to gases, including helium, while exhibiting proton conductivity through the basal plane which is nearly two orders of magnitude higher than that of graphene. These findings provide insights into the key properties of GO and demonstrate that chemical functionalization of 2D crystals can be utilized to enhance their proton transparency without compromising gas impermeability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Z F Wu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - P Z Sun
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau, 999078, China.
| | - O J Wahab
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - Y T Tan
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - D Barry
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - D Periyanagounder
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - P B Pillai
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Q Dai
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - W Q Xiong
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of the Ministry of Education and School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - L F Vega
- Research and Innovation Center on CO2 and Hydrogen (RICH Center) and Chemical Engineering Department, Khalifa University, PO Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Research and Innovation Center for graphene and 2D materials (RIC2D), Khalifa University, PO Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - K Lulla
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - S J Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of the Ministry of Education and School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - R R Nair
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - E Daviddi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - P R Unwin
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom.
| | - A K Geim
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
| | - M Lozada-Hidalgo
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
- Research and Innovation Center for graphene and 2D materials (RIC2D), Khalifa University, PO Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Huang S, Griffin E, Cai J, Xin B, Tong J, Fu Y, Kravets V, Peeters FM, Lozada-Hidalgo M. Gate-controlled suppression of light-driven proton transport through graphene electrodes. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6932. [PMID: 37907470 PMCID: PMC10618495 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42617-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent experiments demonstrated that proton transport through graphene electrodes can be accelerated by over an order of magnitude with low intensity illumination. Here we show that this photo-effect can be suppressed for a tuneable fraction of the infra-red spectrum by applying a voltage bias. Using photocurrent measurements and Raman spectroscopy, we show that such fraction can be selected by tuning the Fermi energy of electrons in graphene with a bias, a phenomenon controlled by Pauli blocking of photo-excited electrons. These findings demonstrate a dependence between graphene's electronic and proton transport properties and provide fundamental insights into molecularly thin electrode-electrolyte interfaces and their interaction with light.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- S Huang
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - E Griffin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
| | - J Cai
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- College of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, National University of Defence Technology, Changsha, Hunan, 410073, China
| | - B Xin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - J Tong
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Y Fu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - V Kravets
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - F M Peeters
- Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Ceara, 60455-900, Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil
- Departement Fysica, Universiteit Antwerpen, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - M Lozada-Hidalgo
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
- National Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
- Research and Innovation Center for graphene and 2D materials (RIC2D), Khalifa University, PO Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
| |
Collapse
|