Nature Sustainability
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2024
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IF 25.7
Chen Xulong,Hu Wenping
Rubidium (Rb) is a valuable rare alkali metal that plays a crucial role in various high-tech applications, but extracting Rb from conventional sources poses sustainability challenges. A considerable amount of Rb is found in potassium chloride (KCl) salts, which can serve as a sustainable source depending on the extraction methods. Current liquid-phase methods are problematic due to the low Rb/K separation factor and high consumption of energy, water and chemicals. Extracting Rb directly from solid KCl salts is a promising approach, but achieving efficient recovery remains a challenge. Here we propose a crystal ripening microextraction strategy that enables in situ extraction of Rb from solid KCl salts with high selectivity, simplicity and high efficiency. By applying this strategy, we recovered 92.37% of Rb from KCl salts with an initial Rb content of 113 ppm. Compared with liquid-phase extraction, our approach results in a 97.57% reduction in energy consumption, a 22.24% increase in recovery efficiency and a 13.46-fold higher Rb/K separation factor, which substantially enhance environmental and economic benefits. In addition, this approach is suitable for recovering other target metals needed for various industrial applications directly from different solid metallic salts, providing a pathway to improve the sustainability of critical metal supply.
研究领域:
化学工程
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环境科学
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材料科学
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DOI
高影响因子
IONICS
·
2020
·Vol. 26
·期 8
·3901-3909
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IF 2.394
Li Mei,Sun Zhongxuan,Guo Dan,Han Wei,Sun Yang,Yang Xiaoguang,Zhang Milin
The electrode reaction of Pr(III) and coreduction of Pb(II) and Pr(III) were studied on an inert W electrode in eutectic LiCl-KCl to extract Pr from molten salt. The electrode process kinetic of Pr(III) on W electrode was firstly explored employing cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Tafel technique, such as the diffusion coefficient of Pr(III) in eutectic LiCl-KCl and the exchange current density ( j 0 ) for Pr(III)/Pr(0) couple and the electrode reaction activation energy. Then, various electrochemical techniques were used to investigate the coreduction of Pb(II) and Pr(III). Four cathode current peaks ascribed to the formation of Pr x Pb y intermetallic compounds were detected, which indicated that the Pr could deposit on pre-deposited Pb film, react with Pb, and form Pr x Pb y intermetallic compounds. Furthermore, the electrolytic products formed by galvanostatic electrolysis were characterized by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray diffraction, which illustrated the formation of PrPb 3 intermetallic compound in LiCl-KCl-PbCl 2 -PrCl 3 melt.
研究领域:
化学
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材料科学
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DOI
高影响因子
RARE METALS
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2024
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IF 9.6
Deng Li-Ying,Zhang Qing,Li Wang-Yang,Ye Xiao-Yuan,Zhao Yi-Fan,Chen Shen-Zhong,Wang Yu-Lan,Wang Xing-Hui,Chen Hui-Peng,Yu Zhi-Yang,Yan Qun,Cheng Shu-Ying,Guo Tai-Liang,Hu Wen-Ping,Ding Feng,Sun Jie
Two-dimensional (2D) metal oxides (2DMOs), such as MoO 2 , have made impressive strides in recent years, and their applicability in a number of fields such as electronic devices, optoelectronic devices and lasers has been demonstrated. However, 2DMOs present challenges in their synthesis using conventional methods due to their non-van der Waals nature. We report that KCl acts as a flux to prepare large-area 2DMOs with sub-millimeter scale. We systematically investigate the effects of temperature, homogeneous time and cooling rate on the products in the flux method, demonstrating that in this reaction a saturated homogenous solution is obtained upon the melting of the salt and precursor. Afterward, the cooling rate was adjusted to regulate the thickness of the target crystals, leading to the precipitation of 2D non-layered material from the supersaturated solution; by applying this method, the highly crystalline non-layered 2D MoO 2 flakes with so far the largest lateral size of up to sub-millimeter scale (~ 464 μm) were yielded. Electrical studies have revealed that the 2D MoO 2 features metallic properties, with an excellent sheet resistance as low as 99 Ω·square −1 at room temperature, and exhibits a property of charge density wave in the measurement of resistivity as a function of temperature. Graphical abstract TOC (Table of Content)
研究领域:
材料科学
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电子器件
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晶体生长
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DOI
高影响因子
DESALINATION
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2021
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IF 9.501
Guozhao Ji,Weijian Wang,Huihuang Chen,Siyuan Yang,Jing Sun,Weng Fu,Bo Yang,Zhiqiang Huang
Potassium chloride (KCl) is a vital fertilizer to boost the global crop yield. However, current technologies for KCl production suffer from high energy consumption and complicated operations. Herein, we demonstrate a novel membrane-promoted crystallization (MPC) process for the sustainable production of KCl from concentrated KCl brine, together with water recovery . The MPC process reduces the capital expenditure and simplifies the complex operations by taking advantage of low-grade heat and a tubular hierarchical membrane (macroporous α -Al 2 O 3 substrate, γ -Al 2 O 3 interlayer and mesoporous hydrophilic ZrO 2 top layer). The presence of template-directing molecules P123 is vital in obtaining the mesoporous structure of ZrO 2 top layer by acting as a scaffold during the sol-gel process and preventing the meso-structural shrinkage in the annealing stage. The hierarchical membrane provides capillary forces to drive KCl brine transport from the inner shell of the membrane towards the outer surface. The continuous supply of KCl brine and water evaporation result in heterogenous nucleation and subsequent KCl crystal growth via a tip-growth mechanism, leading to abundant needle-shaped KCl whiskers on the outer surface based on the in-situ optical observation. The obtained KCl whiskers have a very small contact area with the membrane, thereby endowing facile KCl removal from the membrane surface to allow for the consecutive cycles. The MPC process exhibits a high KCl production of 134.3 g/m 2 and excellent water recovery of 738.7 g/m 2 for KCl brine (15 wt%) at 60 °C. Moreover, high performance and structural integrity of the membrane are retained after five cycles. The MPC process provides a new and promising approach for the sustainable production of KCl from KCl brine.
研究领域:
化学工程
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环境科学
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材料科学
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DOI
高影响因子
ORGANIC ELECTRONICS
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2022
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IF 3.868
Minna Hou,Ya Wang,Meidouxue Han,Huizhi Ren,Rongbo Wang,Juntao Zhao,Qian Huang,Yi Ding,Xiaodan Zhang,Guofu Hou,Ying Zhao
For planar n-i-p device, SnO 2 /perovskite interface, which not only governs the electron extraction and transport, but affects perovskite formation, takes fundamental role to achieve perovskite solar cells (PCSs) with high performance in the context of commercializing courses. KCl treatment is one of the most effective and widely accepted strategy to optimize SnO 2 /perovskite interface. Whereas the role of KCl draws tremendous controversy, and needs further investigation. Thereby, we systematically investigated the influence of KCl treatment on optoelectronic properties of SnO 2 and perovskite film, and the photovoltaic performance of PSCs. It is demonstrated that KCl treatment can suppress hydroxyl on SnO 2 surface and improve charge extraction. In addition, KCl treatment can promote perovskite crystallization. Due to the well matched lattice constants of KCl and α-FAPbI 3 , we proposed that KCl may serve as seed crystal to guide FAPbI 3 formation, while Cl further promotes perovskite crystal growth. Consequently, the solar cell based on SnO 2 /KCl exhibited promoted photovoltaic performance with efficiency increased from 19.51% to 20.65%, and improved thermal stability in ambient condition. Meanwhile, benefiting from the capability of promoting α-FAPbI 3 crystallization of KCl treatment, MA-free device based on SnO 2 /KCl achieved increased efficiency from 19.03% to 20.42%.
研究领域:
材料科学
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太阳能电池技术
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高影响因子
JOURNAL OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL SOCIETY
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2020
·Vol. 167
·期 14
·142505
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IF 3.721
Wei Han,Wenjuan Wang,Mei Li,Yangyang Meng,Wenjing Ji,Yang Sun
To recover Gd from LiCl-KCl eutectic, the coreduction mechanism of Gd(III) with Pb(II) was investigated using electrochemical methods. The formation potentials related to the formation of three Gd-Pb intermetallics were detected by cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry and chronopotentiometry, and the formation mechanism of Gd-Pb compounds could be described as xPb(II) + 2xe− = xPb. Meanwhile, the electroreduction of Gd on liquid Pb electrode was explored. The diffusion coefficient of Gd metal in liquid metallic Pb was determined by anodic chronopotentiometry. The kinetic parameters of Gd(III)/Gd(in Pb) couple in the temperature range from 723 K to 873 K were determined employing linear polarization (LP) method. Based on the relationship of exchange current density and temperature, the reaction activation energy was estimated to be 23.17 kJ mol−1. In addition, the recovery of Gd from molten salts was performed assisted by liquid Pb electrode by constant potential electrolysis (CPE) and constant current electrolysis (CCE). The products characterized using XRD, SEM with EDS are comprised of GdPb3 and Pb phases. The concentration change of Gd during CCE process was monitored by ICP-AES, and the recovery rate was estimated. The results showed that Gd concentration decreased and recovery rate increased with the duration.
研究领域:
材料科学
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电化学工程
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DOI
高影响因子
Surfaces and Interfaces
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2025
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IF 6.3
Xinru Wang,Jiangang Wu,Shumei Xia,Keli Yang,Ran Jia,Xin Liu
Potassium chloride is an important inorganic product widely used in agriculture, chemical industry, medicine, dyes and other fields. In China, quite a part of KCl produced via flotation technique, using hydrochloride octadecylamine (ODA-H) as the flotation agent. The residue of ODA-H will influence product quality or cause different problems, which have gained much attention. However, recent studies focus on the purification techniques based on dissolution-recrystallization process, significantly increasing production cost and causing practical challenges. Herein, a simple but efficient method was presented for the in-situ desorption of ODA-H from the surface of KCl in high salt system. Results revealed that the removal efficiency of ODA-H can be significantly influenced by cations, especially Li + , which the removal efficiency can increase to 60 %. Importantly, the desorption was verified by in-situ Raman spectrum, further proving the exceptional removal rate by Li + rather than the non-dissolution effects. DFT simulated results manifested the function of Li + , which illustrated the large lattice deformation and the strong adsorption effects, not only in acidic condition but also in neutral system. This study will open a new route for the removal of contaminant from the surface of soluble solid in concentrated salt solution.
研究领域:
化学工程
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材料科学
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DOI
高影响因子
Journal of Physical Chemistry C
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2018
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IF 4.484
Peng Peng,Lihang Li,Wei Guo,Zhuang Hui,Jian Fu,Chao Jin,Yangai Liu,Ying Zhu
Flexible electrodes have broad applications in microelectronics. In this work, flexible electrodes were fabricated through chemically induced joining of silver nanoparticles at room temperature. After the joining process, the resistance of the silver track decreased by 8 orders of magnitude. The joining parameters were systematically investigated including the concentration of the chemical solution, sintering time, and drying temperature. This chemical method achieved the same effect at room temperature as compared to the methods using thermal sintering. The changes of the microstructure and the surface composition of silver nanoparticles were characterized to better understand the nanojoining process at room temperature.
研究领域:
材料科学
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微电子学
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DOI
高影响因子
International Journal of Minerals Metallurgy and Materials
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2025
·Vol. 32
·期 4
·892-901
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IF 7.2
Zhang Yongcheng,Yin Taiqi,Zhang Lei,Zhang Xiaochen,Bo Tao,Tan Xiaoli,Li Mei,Han Wei
Herein, the electrochemical behaviors of Sr on inert W electrode and reactive Zn/Al electrodes were systematically investigated in LiCl-KCl-SrCl 2 molten salts at 773 K using various electrochemical methods. The chemical reaction potentials of Li and Sr on reactive Zn/Al electrodes were determined. We observed that Sr could be extracted by decreasing the activity of the deposited metal Sr on the reactive electrode, although the standard reduction potential of Sr(II)/Sr was more negative than that of Li(I)/Li. The electrochemical extraction products of Sr on reactive Zn and Al electrodes were Zn 13 Sr and Al 4 Sr, respectively, with no codeposition of Li observed. Based on the density functional theory calculations, both Zn 13 Sr and Al 4 Sr were identified as stable intermetallic compounds with Zn-/Al-rich phases. In LiCl-KCl molten salt containing 3wt% SrCl 2 , the coulombic efficiency of Sr in the Zn electrode was ∼54%. The depolarization values for Sr on Zn and Al electrodes were 0.864 and 0.485 V, respectively, exhibiting a stronger chemical interaction between Zn and Sr than between Al and Sr. This study suggests that using reactive electrodes can facilitate extraction of Sr accumulated while electrorefining molten salts, thereby enabling the purification and reuse of the salt and decreasing the volume of the nuclear waste.
研究领域:
材料科学
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核能工程
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电化学
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DOI
高影响因子
Journal of Magnesium and Alloys
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2020
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IF 7.115
Shaolong Li,Yusi Che,Chenyao Li,Yongchun Shu,Jilin He,Bin Yang,Jianxun Song
The electrochemical behavior of Mg 2+ and Al 3+ in LiCl-KCl (mass 4: 1) melt at 973 K was studied on a Mo electrode systematically by cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry and chronopotentiometry. The results showed that the reductions of Mg 2+ and Al 3+ were reversible processes controlled by the rate of the mass transfer. When Mg 2+ and Al 3+ coexisted in LiCl-KCl melt, they had no significant effect on the reduction potential of each other. The equilibrium potentials of Mg 2+ /Mg and Al 3+ /Al were obtained by open circuit potential method. Their apparent standard potentials were also calculated in this system and the values were −2.52 V vs Cl 2 /Cl − , −1.66 V vs Cl 2 /Cl − , respectively. Correspondingly, the apparent Gibbs free energies of Mg 2+ /Mg and Al 3+ /Al were −485.71 kJ/mol, −480.78 kJ/mol. Finally, potentiostatic electrolysis was performed on a Mo electrode in LiCl-KCl-MgCl 2 -AlCl 3 (the mass ratio of MgCl 2 to AlCl 3 was 10:1) melt at different potentials. The components of the deposits were characterized by scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The study revealed that the content of Al in the deposit decreased as the overpotential increased and Al tended to segregate at the grain boundaries.
研究领域:
材料科学
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电化学
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DOI
高影响因子
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS
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2019
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IF 3.131
Jincheng Mao,Jizhen Tian,Wenlong Zhang,Xiaojiang Yang,Heng Zhang,Chong Lin,Yang Zhang,Zhaoyang Zhang,Jinzhou Zhao
Gemini cationic surfactants, which have two cationic surfactant molecules connected by a spacer, have received increased attention in recent years as very good thickeners for clean fracturing fluids. We synthesized four Gemini cationic surfactants with three, four, five, and six methylene groups in the spacers. Salts can promote micelle aggregation of viscoelastic surfactants (VESs) and affect their performance and we used potassium chloride (KCl) to study the performance differences of the surfactants with different spacer lengths. The results showed that the surfactant with three methylene groups in its spacer had the lowest critical micelle concentration, and when combined with KCl in solution, it had the best salt tolerance and apparent viscosity in KCl concentrations ranging from 0.2 wt% to 2.6 wt%. In addition, the solution also exhibited an excellent viscoelasticity and a tighter network microstructure, which was confirmed by SEM observation and oscillatory measurement. We conducted rheological measurements for the four Gemini cationic surfactant fracturing fluid formulations with a shear rate of 170 s −1 at up to 100 °C. The solution with KCl and the surfactant with the shortest spacer had distinctly superior rheological properties, and its viscosity could be maintained above 58 mPa.s after 120 min. Finally, we did proppant suspension tests, gel breaking property tests, and core matrix permeability damage rate tests on the four optimized fracturing fluid systems. The solution prepared by KCl and the surfactant with the shortest spacer was found to have the most favorable properties for fracturing fluids. These results demonstrate that decreasing the spacer length of a Gemini cationic surfactant leads to better performance in fracturing fluids.
研究领域:
化学工程
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材料科学
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石油工程
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DOI
高影响因子
Crystals
·
2023
·Vol. 13
·期 5
·817
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IF 2.7
Yanhong Jia,Shuangshuang Chang,Xin Du,Shaoqiang Guo
Molten LiCl-KCl salt and liquid cadmium are proposed as the electrolyte and the reactive cathode for the electrorefining of spent nuclear fuels, but they can be corrosive to the structural alloys. The down-selection of existing materials through corrosion testing is necessary to ensure the longevity of the electrorefiner vessel and electrode assemblies. Haynes C276, Inconel 600, AISI 316L stainless steel, and 42CrMo low-alloy steel were exposed to a LiCl-KCl melt at 500 °C for 500 h in an argon atmosphere. All alloys suffered from dissolution attacks with the presence of oxide islands or a porous oxide layer on the surface. AISI 316L, T91 steel, and tungsten specimens were submitted to corrosion tests in liquid cadmium at 500 °C for 120 h. The corrosion of AISI 316L and T91 stainless steel was predominated by chemical oxidation, with the additional occurrence of severe Ni dealloying and Cd penetration on AISI 316L. Destabilization of the Cr oxide layer by cadmium was discovered, resulting in the formation of CdCrO4. Tungsten only suffered from a dissolution attack at a rate of 0.50 mm/a.Keywords:corrosion;molten salts;liquid cadmium;SEM
研究领域:
材料科学
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核能工程
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DOI
高影响因子
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