A facile green synthetic route for the preparation of highly active γ-Al2O3 from aluminum foil waste

A novel green preparation route to prepare nano-mesoporous γ-Al2O3 from AlCl3.6H2O derived from aluminum foil waste and designated as ACFL550 is demonstrated, which showed higher surface area, larger pore volume, stronger acidity and higher surface area compared to γ-Al2O3 that is produced from the commercial AlCl3 precursor, AC550. The produced crystalline AlCl3.6H2O and Al(NO3)3.9H2O in the first stage of the preparation method were characterized by single-crystal XRD, giving two crystal structures, a trigonal (R-3c) and monoclinic (P21/c) structure, respectively. EDX analysis showed that ACFL550 had half the chlorine content (Cl%) relative to AC550, which makes ACFL550 a promising catalyst in acid-catalysed reactions. Pure and modified ACFL550 and AC550 were applied in acidcatalysed reactions, the dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether and the total methane oxidation reactions, respectively. It was found that ACFL550 showed higher catalytic activity than AC550. This work opens doors for the preparation of highly active and well-structured nano-mesoporous alumina catalysts/supports from aluminum foil waste and demonstrates its application in acid-catalysed reactions

Chlorostannate(II) Ionic Liquids: Speciation, Lewis Acidity, and Oxidative Stability

The anionic speciation of chlorostannate­(II) ionic liquids, prepared by mixing 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and tin­(II) chloride in various molar ratios, χ_SnCl2, was investigated in both solid and liquid states. The room temperature ionic liquids were investigated by ¹¹⁹Sn NMR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and viscometry. Crystalline samples were studied using Raman spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and differential scanning calorimetry. Both liquid and solid systems (crystallized from the melt) contained [SnCl₃]⁻ in equilibrium with Cl^– when χ_SnCl₂ < 0.50, [SnCl₃]⁻ in equilibrium with [Sn₂Cl₅]⁻ when χ_SnCl₂ > 0.50, and only [SnCl₃]⁻ when χ_SnCl₂ = 0.50. Tin­(II) chloride was found to precipitate when χ_SnCl₂ > 0.63. No evidence was detected for the existence of [SnCl₄]^2– across the entire range of χ_SnCl₂, although such anions have been reported in the literature for chlorostannate­(II) organic salts crystallized from organic solvents. Furthermore, the Lewis acidity of the chlorostannate­(II)-based systems, expressed by their Gutmann acceptor number, has been determined as a function of the composition, χ_SnCl₂, to reveal Lewis acidity for χ_SnCl₂ > 0.50 samples comparable to the analogous systems based on zinc­(II). A change of the Lewis basicity of the anion was estimated using ¹H NMR spectroscopy, by comparison of the measured chemical shifts of the C-2 hydrogen in the imidazolium ring. Finally, compositions containing free chloride anions (χ_SnCl₂ < 0.50) were found to oxidize slowly in air to form a chlorostannate­(IV) ionic liquid containing the [SnCl₆]^2– anion

Supplementary information files for An open-source platform for 3D-printed redox flow battery test cells

Supplementary files for article An open-source platform for 3D-printed redox flow battery test cells The development of new, large-scale stationary energy storage technologies, such as redox flow batteries, is vital to fully utilise renewable energy resources. However, test cells capable of assisting in this development can be prohibitively expensive and unreliable. Here, an open-source, low-cost, customisable 3D-printed test cell is presented as an alternative. These newly developed cells are designed to be printable using affordable desktop 3D-printers and readily available polymers. A simulation-led design optimisation yielded an improved internal manifold geometry that demonstrated improved real-world performance. The polymers used have been tested for chemical compatibility and through the use of advanced X-ray micro-CT, optimised parameters for 3D-printing have been identified. This framework provides a straightforward process enabling researchers to produce robust cells at an extremely low cost, helping to democratise research and widen accessibility to flow electrochemistry. </p

An open-source platform for 3D-printed redox flow battery test cells

The development of new, large-scale stationary energy storage technologies, such as redox flow batteries, is vital to fully utilise renewable energy resources. However, test cells capable of assisting in this development can be prohibitively expensive and unreliable. Here, an open-source, low-cost, customisable 3D-printed test cell is presented as an alternative. These newly developed cells are designed to be printable using affordable desktop 3D-printers and readily available polymers. A simulation-led design optimisation yielded an improved internal manifold geometry that demonstrated improved real-world performance. The polymers used have been tested for chemical compatibility and through the use of advanced X-ray micro-CT, optimised parameters for 3D-printing have been identified. This framework provides a straightforward process enabling researchers to produce robust cells at an extremely low cost, helping to democratise research and widen accessibility to flow electrochemistry.</p