Hydrogen transfer pathway controls selectivity in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction
Related Articles
Bank lending and environmental quality in Gulf Cooperation Council countries
To achieve economies with net-zero carbon emissions, it is essential to develop a robust green financial intermediary channel. This study seeks empirical evidence on how domestic bank lending to sovereign and private sectors in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries impacts carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. We employ PMG-ARDL model to panel data comprising six countries in GCC over twenty years for carbon dioxide emissions and nineteen years for greenhouse gas emissions. Our findings reveal a long-term positive impact of both bank lending variables on carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, lending to the government shows a negative short-term effect on greenhouse gas emissions. The cross-country results demonstrate the presence of a long-run effect of explanatory variables on both types of emissions, except for greenhouse gas in Saudi Arabia. The sort-term impact of the explanatory variables on carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions is quite diverse. Not only do these effects differ across countries, but some variables have opposing effects on the two types of emissions within a single country. The findings of this study present a new perspective for GCC economies: neglecting total greenhouse gas emissions and concentrating solely on carbon dioxide emissions means missing critical information for devising effective strategies to combat threats of environmental degradation and achieve net-zero goals.
Effect of hydrogen leakage on the life cycle climate impacts of hydrogen supply chains
Hydrogen is of interest for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors because it does not produce carbon dioxide when combusted. However, hydrogen has indirect warming effects. Here we conducted a life cycle assessment of electrolysis and steam methane reforming to assess their emissions while considering hydrogen’s indirect warming effects. We find that the primary factors influencing life cycle climate impacts are the production method and related feedstock emissions rather than the hydrogen leakage and indirect warming potential. A comparison between fossil fuel-based and hydrogen-based steel production and heavy-duty transportation showed a reduction in emissions of 800 to more than 1400 kg carbon dioxide equivalent per tonne of steel and 0.1 to 0.17 kg carbon dioxide equivalent per tonne-km of cargo. While any hydrogen production pathway reduces greenhouse gas emissions for steel, this is not the case for heavy-duty transportation. Therefore, we recommend a sector-specific approach in prioritizing application areas for hydrogen.
Revealing the molecular interplay of coverage, wettability, and capacitive response at the Pt(111)-water solution interface under bias
While electrified interfaces are crucial for electrocatalysis and corrosion, their molecular morphology remains largely unknown. Through highly realistic ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of the Pt(111)-water solution interface in reducing conditions, we reveal a deep interconnection among electrode coverage, wettability, capacitive response, and catalytic activity. We identify computationally the experimentally hypothesised states for adsorbed hydrogen on Pt, HUPD and HOPD, revealing their role in governing interfacial water reorientation and hydrogen evolution. The transition between these two H states with increasing potential, induces a shift from a hydrophobic to a hydrophilic interface and correlates with a change in the primary electrode screening mechanism. This results in a slope change in differential capacitance, marking the onset of the experimentally observed peak around the potential of zero charge. Our work produces crucial insights for advancing electrocatalytic energy conversion, developing deep understanding of electrified interfaces.
A robust organic hydrogen sensor for distributed monitoring applications
Hydrogen is an abundant and clean energy source that could help to decarbonize difficult-to-electrify economic sectors. However, its safe deployment relies on the availability of cost-effective hydrogen detection technologies. We describe a hydrogen sensor that uses an organic semiconductor as the active layer. It can operate over a wide temperature and humidity range. Ambient oxygen p-dopes the organic semiconductor, which improves hole transport, and the presence of hydrogen reverses this doping process, leading to a drop in current and enabling reliable and rapid hydrogen detection. The sensor exhibits a high responsivity (more than 10,000), fast response time (less than 1 s), low limit of detection (around 192 ppb) and low power consumption (less than 2 μW). It can operate continuously for more than 646 days in ambient air at room temperature. We show that the sensor outperforms a commercial hydrogen detector in realistic sensing scenarios, illustrating its suitability for application in distributed sensor networks for early warning of hydrogen leaks and preventing explosions or fires.
Recommendations for mitochondria transfer and transplantation nomenclature and characterization
Intercellular mitochondria transfer is an evolutionarily conserved process in which one cell delivers some of their mitochondria to another cell in the absence of cell division. This process has diverse functions depending on the cell types involved and physiological or disease context. Although mitochondria transfer was first shown to provide metabolic support to acceptor cells, recent studies have revealed diverse functions of mitochondria transfer, including, but not limited to, the maintenance of mitochondria quality of the donor cell and the regulation of tissue homeostasis and remodelling. Many mitochondria-transfer mechanisms have been described using a variety of names, generating confusion about mitochondria transfer biology. Furthermore, several therapeutic approaches involving mitochondria-transfer biology have emerged, including mitochondria transplantation and cellular engineering using isolated mitochondria. In this Consensus Statement, we define relevant terminology and propose a nomenclature framework to describe mitochondria transfer and transplantation as a foundation for further development by the community as this dynamic field of research continues to evolve.
Responses