A new class of TiO 2 -doped CeO 2 nanorods was synthesized via a modified hydrothermal method, and these nanorods were first used as catalysts for the direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from CO 2 and CH 3 OH in a fixed-bed reactor. The micromorphologies and physical–chemical properties of nanorods were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, N 2 adsorption, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia and carbon dioxide (NH 3 -TPD and CO 2 -TPD). The effects of the TiO 2 doping ratio on the catalytic performances were fully investigated. By doping TiO 2 , the surface acid–base sites of CeO 2 nanorods can be obviously promoted and the catalytic activity can be raised evidently. Ti 0.04 Ce 0.96 O 2 nanorod catalysts exhibited remarkably high activity with a methanol conversion of 5.38% with DMC selectivity of 83.1%. Furthermore, kinetic and mechanistic investigations based on the initial rate method were conducted. Over the Ti 0.04 Ce 0.96 O 2 nanorod catalyst, the apparent activation energy of the reaction was 46.3 kJ/mol. The reaction rate law was determined to be of positive first-order to the CO 2 concentration and the catalyst loading amount. These results were practically identical with the prediction of the Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism in which the steps of CO 2 adsorption and activation are considered as rate-determining steps.

With the rapid development of electronic devices and electric vehicles, the requirements for their safety issues and service stabilities have become more and more strict.

Lithium (Li) as one of the most promising anode materials for the next-generation batteries was unfortunately plagued by the inevitable Li dendrite growth and the dynamically destroy/reconstruction of the unstable native solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, which can severely affect the specific capacity and lifespan of lithium batteries, limiting the practical application of the Li anode. In this work, we designed a single ion conducting artificial polymer SEI layer on the surface of the Li anode. The fabricated SEI layer shows high ionic conductivity and lithium transference number, which is beneficial for inducing homogeneous Li deposition, effectively suppressing the nucleation and growth of dendrite. Moreover, the uniform and stable SEI layer with a well-designed network structure can availably protect the Li anode from directly contacting with the electrolyte, reducing the related side reactions and effectually limit the additional consumption of the active Li and electrolyte. The symmetric Li cells can cycle stably over 1200 h without short-circuit at the current/capacity densities of 1 (1 mAh/cm 2 ) and 5 mA/cm 2 (5 mAh/cm 2 ). The assembled LiFePO 4 /LPEDV-Li cells exhibit high capacity retention up to 81.3% after 2400 cycles at the high rate of 8 C. Therefore, the designed artificial SEI layer with excellent properties presents a high application potential in stabilizing the Li anode.

A flexible artificial SEI layer with a 3D cross-linked network structure exhibits high ionic conductivity and single-ion conductive characteristics.