Search

In the pursuit of utilizing renewable energy sources for green hydrogen (H2) production, alkaline water electrolysis has emerged as a key technology. To improve the reaction rates of overall water electrolysis and simplify electrode manufacturing, development of bifunctional electrocatalysts is of great relevance. Herein, CoPBO/Co3O4 is reported as a binary composite catalyst comprising amorphous (CoPBO) and crystalline (Co3O4) phases as a high‐performing bifunctional electrocatalyst for alkaline water electrolysis. Owing to the peculiar properties of CoPBO and Co3O4, such as complementing Gibbs free energy values for H‐adsorption (ΔGH) and relatively smaller difference in their work functions (ΔΦ), the composite exhibits H2 spillover (HS) mechanism to facilitate the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The outcome is manifested in the form of a low HER overpotential of 65 mV (at 10 mA cm−2). Moreover, an abundant amount of surface oxygen vacancies (Ov) are observed in the same CoPBO/Co3O4 composite that facilitates oxygen evolution reaction (OER) as well, leading to a mere 270 mV OER overpotential (at 10 mA cm−2). The present work showcases the possibilities to strategically design non‐noble composite catalysts that combine the advantages of HS phenomenon as well as Ov to achieve new record performances in alkaline water electrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen production by direct seawater electrolysis is an alternative technology to conventional freshwater electrolysis, mainly owing to the vast abundance of seawater reserves on earth. However, the lack of robust, active, and selective electrocatalysts that can withstand the harsh and corrosive saline conditions of seawater greatly hinders its industrial viability. Herein, a series of amorphous transition‐metal phospho‐borides, namely Co‐P‐B, Ni‐P‐B, and Fe‐P‐B are prepared by simple chemical reduction method and screened for overall alkaline seawater electrolysis. Co‐P‐B is found to be the best of the lot, requiring low overpotentials of ≈270 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), ≈410 mV for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and an overall voltage of 2.50 V to reach a current density of 2 A cm−2 in highly alkaline natural seawater. Furthermore, the optimized electrocatalyst shows formidable stability after 10,000 cycles and 30 h of chronoamperometric measurements in alkaline natural seawater without any chlorine evolution, even at higher current densities. A detailed understanding of not only HER and OER but also chlorine evolution reaction (ClER) on the Co‐P‐B surface is obtained by computational analysis, which also sheds light on the selectivity and stability of the catalyst at high current densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The education system in India is undergoing various changes to improve it. The Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) has been introduced in higher education, allowing students to select elective courses based on their interests. This system offers advanced learning opportunities, the flexibility to transfer between institutions, and improvements in academic quality. The CBCS is designed to meet the evolving socio-economic environment and the educational needs of future generations. However, its implementation has posed challenges for students, faculty, and institutions. Thus, the goal of this research is to analyze the challenges of implementing CBCS and researchers also surveyed the opinion of faculty members on CBCS. A study conducted on 140 faculty members of CSJM University, Kanpur, revealed that there is no significant difference in opinions on CBCS between Arts and Science faculty members. It also showed that there is a significant difference in opinions on CBCS between male and female faculty members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous transition-metal-phospho-borides (TMPBs) are emerging as a new class of hybrid bifunctional catalysts for water-splitting. The present work reports the discovery of CoWPB as a new promising material that adds to the smaller family of TMPBs. The optimized compositions, namely Co4WPB5 and Co2WPB1 could achieve 10 mA/cm2 at just 72 mV and 262 mV of overpotentials for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), respectively, in 1 M KOH. Furthermore, the catalyst showed good performance in a 2-electrode assembly (1.59 V for 10 mA/cm2) with considerable stability (70 h stability, 10,000 operating cycles). Detailed morphological and electrochemical characterizations unveiled insights into the role of all elements in catalyst's improved performance. The presence of W was found to be crucial in improving the electronic conductivity and charge redistribution, making CoWPB suitable for both HER and OER. In computational simulation analysis, two configurations with different atomic environments, namely, CoWPB H and CoWPB O were found to have the lowest calculated overpotentials for HER and OER, respectively. It was found that the surface P-sites in CoWPB H were HER-active while the Co-sites in CoWPB O were OER-active sites. The study presents new knowledge about active sites in such multi-component catalysts that will foster more advancement in the area of water electrolysis. [Display omitted] • Synthesis and optimization of CoWPB electrocatalyst using reduction method. • The electrocatalyst exhibited excellent bifunctional activity. • 10 mA/cm2 of current was achieved at 1.59 V cell potential. • Electrocatalyst displayed better charge transfer, surface area, and robustness. • Computational simulation studies revealed active sites for Her and OER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being one of the most widely studied metal-free semiconductors, graphitic carbon-nitride (gC 3 N 4) shows meaningful photocatalytic activities only when loaded with noble-metal co-catalysts. The present work reports an alternative to noble metals in the form of cobalt boride (CoB) co-catalyst that can be easily integrated within the gC 3 N 4 framework with facile fabrication strategies. The optimized CoB-gC 3 N 4 composite showed ∼60 times higher hydrogen generation rate compared to bare gC 3 N 4 nanosheets, with good stability. Detailed morphological, structural, chemical, electrochemical and spectroscopic investigations revealed the key aspects of CoB-gC 3 N 4 composite that unanimously led to higher photocatalytic activity. Computational investigations not only corroborated the experimental results but also established that the surface Co and B sites in CoB provided the most energetically favoured sites for hydrogen evolution reaction. Based on the experimental and computational investigations, a generic reaction mechanism was formulated that will prove as a guiding light for future studies on similar photocatalytic systems. Non-noble cobalt boride nanoparticles are presented as alternative co-catalysts to noble-metals for improving photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rates in gC3N4 nanosheets. [Display omitted] • Non-noble CoB-gC 3 N 4 composite improves the photocatalytic H 2 generation rates. • CoB co-catalyst nanoparticles assist in reducing excitonic recombination in gC 3 N 4. • DFT data indicates chemical bonding between CoB and gC 3 N 4 for charge transfer. • Surface Co and B sites in CoB show H-adsorption energies close to that of platinum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeting pro‐inflammatory cytokines and their production is found to be of therapeutic benefit for the regulation of inflammation in various chronic autoimmune diseases. Our continued efforts to discover small molecular‐weight pro‐inflammatory cytokine inhibitors resulted in identifying a novel natural lignan molecule named polonilignan, isolated from the culture broth extract of an endophytic fungus Penicillium polonicum. An in silico study (molecular docking, ADME predictions, binding free energy calculation and molecular dynamics simulation) of the polonilignan over the pro‐inflammatory cytokines proteins TNF‐α, IL‐6 and IL‐1β was performed using Schrodinger LLC software to understand the binding interactions, drug‐like properties, and stability of the ligand‐protein complex. Further, in‐vitro testing of inhibition of TNF‐α, IL‐6 and IL‐1β by polonilignan was carried out using ELISA and RT‐PCR on LPS‐induced RAW 264.7 cell lines along with the testing of nitrite production effect (Griess assay) and cytotoxicity (MTT) analysis. Under the computational study, polonilignan revealed good docking scores, binding interactions, and stability under MDS and desirable in silico ADME results over the proteins TNF‐α, IL‐1β and IL‐6. Poloniligan showed significant inhibition of IL‐1β, IL‐6 and TNF‐α with IC50 values of 2.01 μM, 6.59 μM and 42.10 μM, respectively. Also, it reduced the translocation of the NF‐κB subunit p65 to the nucleus (confocal microscopy). The mRNA expression levels of pro‐inflammatory markers IL‐1β, TNF‐α and IL‐6 levels were lowered significantly (p <.001) by the compound, and the diminution was higher with IL‐1β. Further, the lignan was non‐cytotoxic and effective in attenuating nitrite release (IC50 48.56 μM). Thus, polonilignan has been identified as a new pan‐cytokine and NO inhibitor, it is recommended to optimise a method for the synthesis of this small molecular weight lignan and explore its pharmacokinetic characteristics, toxicity and therapeutic effect under various chronic inflammatory disease models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]