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Abstract:Recently, transition metal oxides, such as ruthenium oxide (RuO2), manganese dioxide (MnO2), nickel oxides (NiO) and cobalt oxide (Co3O4), have been widely investigated as electrode materials for pseudo-capacitors. In particular, these metal oxides with mesoporous structures have become very hot nanomaterials in the field of supercapacitors owing to their large specific surface areas and suitable pore size distributions. The high specific capacities of these mesoporous metal oxides are resulted from the effective contacts between electrode materials and electrolytes as well as fast transportation of ions and electrons in the bulk of electrode and at the interface of electrode and electrolyte. During the past decade, many achievements on mesoporous transition metal oxides have been made. In this mini-review, we select several typical nanomaterials, such as RuO2, MnO2, NiO, Co3O4 and nickel cobaltite (NiCo2O4), and briefly summarize the recent research progress of these mesoporous transition metal oxides-based electrodes in the field of supercapacitors.

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A series of organic D-π-A sensitizers composed of different triarylamine donors in conjugation with the thienothiophene unit and cyanoacrylic acid as an acceptor has been synthesized at a moderate yield. Through tuning the number of methoxy substituents on the triphenylamine donor, we have gradually red-shifted the absorption of sensitizers to enhance device efficiencies. Further molecular engineering by the substitution of two hexyloxy chains in place of the methoxy groups allows fabricating a solvent-free dye-sensitized solar cell with a power conversion efficiency of 7.05% measured under the air mass 1.5 global sunlight. Time-and frequency-domain photoelectrical techniques have been employed to scrutinize the aliphatic chain effects with a close inspection on effective electron lifetime, diffusion coefficient, and diffusion length.

Cleavage of lignin-derived 4-O-5 aryl ethers has been conducted over nickel nanoparticles supported on niobic acid-activated carbon composite under mild conditions. The hydrated niobic acid has been successfully supported and well dispersed on activated carbon. Due to the coexisting Bronsted and Lewis acid sites on the hydrated niobic oxide, the Ni/xNbAC catalysts exhibited higher activities for cleavage of C−O ether bonds and dehydration than those of the Ni/AC catalyst. With increasing content of niobic acid, a larger amount of O-free alkane is obtained owing to niobic acid-promoted removal of oxygen from lignin-derived aryl ethers. The cleavage of C−O ether bonds and dehydration of cyclohexanol to cyclohexane are both favored at high temperature. The direct cleavage of the 4-O-5 aryl ether bond can also be achieved under low H 2 pressure, forming phenol and benzene as intermediates, followed by hydrodeoxygenation of phenol to cyclohexane.

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