Browsing by Author "Guo, Shaohui"
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Item Blending poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) with hydrophobic polymers as a hybrid adhesive with enhanced water-resistant properties(Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2021-07-16) Zhang, Yuanyuan; Li, Xuanhua; Guo, Shaohui; Wei, BingqingThe use of poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEOX) in a wet environment is limited because of its high hydrophilicity. In this study, PEOX based blends were prepared via blending PEOX with hydrophobic polymers, such as poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN), poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVPh), and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), in order to improve the water-resistance of PEOX. The blends' water resistance properties are evaluated by the contact angle, solubility, moisture absorption, and mechanical strength in a wet environment. The results show that the water resistance and the adhesion strength of PEOX in a wet environment are dramatically enhanced by polymer blending. The blend with 30 wt% PVPh demonstrates excellent performances in transparency and water-resistant abilities. It is found that the stable hydrogen bonding within the blend plays an important role in hydrophobic modification. The PVPh/PEOX blend can be applied as a new type of transparent coating or adhesive with enhanced water-resistant properties in a wet environment.Item Boosting photocatalytic hydrogen production from water by photothermally induced biphase systems(Nature Communications, 2021-02-26) Guo, Shaohui; Li, Xuanhua; Li, Ju; Wei, BingqingSolar-driven hydrogen production from water using particulate photocatalysts is considered the most economical and effective approach to produce hydrogen fuel with little environmental concern. However, the efficiency of hydrogen production from water in particulate photocatalysis systems is still low. Here, we propose an efficient biphase photocatalytic system composed of integrated photothermal–photocatalytic materials that use charred wood substrates to convert liquid water to water steam, simultaneously splitting hydrogen under light illumination without additional energy. The photothermal–photocatalytic system exhibits biphase interfaces of photothermally-generated steam/photocatalyst/hydrogen, which significantly reduce the interface barrier and drastically lower the transport resistance of the hydrogen gas by nearly two orders of magnitude. In this work, an impressive hydrogen production rate up to 220.74 μmol h−1 cm−2 in the particulate photocatalytic systems has been achieved based on the wood/CoO system, demonstrating that the photothermal–photocatalytic biphase system is cost-effective and greatly advantageous for practical applications.Item Plasma-Wind-Assisted In2S3 Preparation with an Amorphous Surface Structure for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production(Nanomaterials, 2022-05-21) Guo, Shaohui; Luo, Hui; Duan, Xiaochuan; Wei, Bingqing; Zhang, XianmingPhotocatalytic production from water is considered an effective solution to fossil fuel-related environmental concerns, and photocatalyst surface science holds a significant interest in balancing photocatalysts’ stability and activity. We propose a plasma-wind method to tune the surface properties of a photocatalyst with an amorphous structure. Theoretical calculation shows that the amorphous surface structure can cause an unsaturated coordination environment to adjust the electron distribution, forming more adsorption sites. Thus, the photocatalyst with a crystal–amorphous (C–A) interface can strengthen light absorption, harvest photo-induced electrons, and enrich the active sites, which help improve hydrogen yield. As a proof of concept, with indium sulfide (In2S3) nanosheets used as the catalyst, an impressive hydrogen production rate up to 457.35 μmol cm−2 h−1 has been achieved. Moreover, after plasma-assisted treatment, In2S3 with a C–A interface can produce hydrogen from water under natural outdoor conditions. Following a six-hour test, the rate of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is found to be 400.50 μmol cm−2 g−1, which demonstrates that a catalyst prepared through plasma treatment is both effective and highly practical.