The solubility of carbon dioxide in three ionic liquids (ILs) under supercritical fluid condition was measured at pressures up to 32 MPa and at temperatures of 313.15, 323.15, and 333.15 K in a high-pressure view cell. The imidazolium-derivative ionic liquids 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF 6 ]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF 4 ]), and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([omim][BF 4 ]) were employed in this research. The effects of pressure, temperature, nature of anion and cation as well as the water content on the solubility of CO 2 in the ILs were investigated experimentally. The solubility of CO 2 in the IL was higher for the ILs with longer cationic alkyl group and for the ILs with lower anion polarity. The lower the water content or the lower the temperature as well as the higher the pressure, the higher was the solubility of CO 2 .

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To gain information about how alkoxy substitution in arene rings of β-O-4 structural units within lignin governs the efficiencies/rates of radical cation C1-C2 bond cleavage reactions, single electron transfer (SET) photochemical and lignin peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation reactions of dimeric/tetrameric model compounds have been explored. The results show that the radical cations derived from less alkoxy-substituted dimeric β-O-4 models undergo more rapid C1-C2 bond cleavage than those of more alkoxy-substituted analogues. These findings gained support from the results of DFT calculations, which demonstrate that C1-C2 bond dissociation energies of β-O-4 radical cations decrease as the degree of alkoxy substitution decreases. In SET reactions of tetrameric compounds consisting of two β-O-4 units, containing different degrees of alkoxy substitution, regioselective radical cation C-C bond cleavage was observed to occur in one case at the C1-C2 bond in the less alkoxy-substituted β-O-4 moiety. However, regioselective C1-C2 cleavage in the more alkoxy-substituted β-O-4 moiety was observed in another case, suggesting that other factors might participate in controlling this process. These observations show that lignins containing greater proportions of less rather than more alkoxylated rings as part of β-O-4 units would be more efficiently cleaved by SET mechanisms.

Novel MnS nanoclusters were synthesized on nickel foam (NF) using a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. MnS nanoclusters with different sizes were obtained by varying the number of deposition cycles. The crystal structure, chemical composition, and surface microstructure of the electrodes were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The electrochemical behavior of the MnS nanoclusters was examined by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge, cycling test, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The MnS nanoclusters prepared with 90 SILAR cycles showed the best supercapacitance in a 6 M KOH aqueous electrolyte with a specific capacitance of 828 F g À1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s À1 and cycling stability of 85.2% after 5000 charge-discharge cycles.Moreover, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) was assembled with the as-prepared MnS electrode on NF as the positive electrode, hydrothermally prepared reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on NF as the negative electrode, and PVA-KOH gel as the electrolyte. The MnS@NF//rGO@NF ASC showed excellent electrochemical performance with maximum energy and power densities of 34.1 W h kg À1 and 12.8 kW kg À1, respectively. The ASC also showed a capacitive retention of 86.5% after 2000 charge-discharge cycles, highlighting its practical application for energy storage.