Ruichao Peng's research while affiliated with Wuhan University and other places

It has been proven that the gas trifluoromethanesulfonyl fluoride (CF3SO2F) has good dielectric performance and the potential to replace the potent greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), which is the most commonly used insulating gas in high-voltage electrical equipment. However, there are many key biochemical properties, such as toxicity, that the new eco-friendly insulating gas will need to obtain. It could protect the operator and equipment and help the chemical engineering development of this gas in the power grid industry. In this study, according to Horn’s method, an acute toxic gas inhalation test was carried out. The results showed that the lethal concentration of 50% (LC50) for female rats was 27.1 g/m3, and that for male rats was 23.3 g/m3. The behavioral and vital sign changes in the rats were recorded. Pathological sections of the main organs revealed that the heart, lungs, spleen, and eyes suffered the most damage from the gas. This research also provides scientific suggestions for the protection of electrical workers exposed to the insulating gas CF3SO2F.

It has been proven that the gas trifluoromethanesulfonyl fluoride (CF3SO2F) has good dielectric performance and potential to replace strong greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), which is the most commonly used insulating gas in electrical engineering area. In this paper, acute toxic gas inhalation test was carried out. The results showed that the lethal concentration 50% (LC50) for female rats was 27.1 g/m3 and 23.3 g/m3 for male rats. The behavioral and vital sign changes in the rats were recorded. Pathological sections of the main organs revealed that the heart, lungs, spleen and eyes suffered the most damage from the gas. This research also provides scientific suggestions for the protection in practical engineering.

A self-assembled MnO2/Mxene composite film was compounded with MXene nanosheets and layered crystalized MnO2 nanosheets using surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a soft template. The obtained material was characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, and FT-IR, which showed that the films have large surface-active functional groups and metal ion flow channels, indicating that the MnO2/Mxene composite films were capable of both the chemical and physical adsorption of the target heavy metal ions. The analysis of adsorption performance showed that the Pb2+ removal rate reached 98.3% at pH 6 and an initial Pb2+ concentration of 30 mg/L, while the maximum adsorption capacity could reach 1235 µmol/g. In addition, the MnO2/Mxene composite film had specific selectivity and recyclability. The reuse study verified that the Pb2+ removal rate reached 96.4% after five cycles, confirming that the MnO2/Mxene composite films had practical application prospects.

Solvent extraction of phosphoric acid from wet process phosphoric acid produced by decomposing low grade phosphate with hydrochloric acid was investigated by the mixture of n-butanol (nBA) and isopropyl ether (iPE). The experimental results show that the mixture has good performance on P2O5 extraction and Ca²⁺ purification from HCl-route wet-process phosphoric acid. Optimization of extraction process shows that nBA has good performance for H3PO4 separation at the condition of 5:1 O/A phase ratio, 293 K extraction temperature, 9:1 VB/VE ratio and 15 min extraction time. Based on the Van't Hoff equation, the enthalpy changes of P2O5 extraction was calculated to be −16.41 kJ.mol⁻¹. The results from liquid-liquid mass transfer show three stages can achieved about 90 wt% P2O5 extraction regardless of the countercurrent and cocurrent extraction. And the relation of total extraction percent and cross-flow extraction stages for all tested components were summarized. Moreover, the extraction mechanism between H3PO4 and nBA was discussed by researching the extraction equilibrium under different conditions. The result showed that phosphoric acid was extracted in the form of H3PO4·nBA, H3PO4·2 nBA and H3PO4·3 nBA complexes. Stripping operations using Deionized water as a extractant for phosphoric acid was also investigated at different conditions.

Abstract The emissions of SF6 have been restricted owing to 3400 years of atmospheric lifetime and high global warming potential (GWP) as an insulating gas in gas‐insulated electrical equipment. In this study, HFO‐1336mzz(E) and N2/CO2 mixtures are proposed as SF6 substitutes for their short atmospheric lifetime, low GWP and superior insulation performance. The GWP of HFO‐1336mzz(E) is only 18 and its atmospheric lifetime is days to weeks. The breakdown voltage of 25% HFO‐1336mzz(E) and N2/CO2 mixtures is about 85% that of pure SF6 under alternating current. The self‐recovery ability of HFO‐1336mzz(E) and CO2 mixtures is superior to that of HFO‐1336mzz(E) and N2 mixtures. The decomposition characteristic of HFO‐1336mzz(E) shows that a tiny amount of its gas might initiate a carbonisation reaction to form carbon after multiple breakdown tests, which is verified by observations using energy dispersive X‐rays spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope. The acute toxicity test of HFO‐1336mzz(E) indicates that the gas is non‐toxic. The results show that HFO‐1336mzz(E) and N2/CO2 mixtures are potential substitutes for SF6 in electrical applications.

Removal of heavy metal ions (HMIs) has attracted great attentions due to the fact that they have serious effect on environment and human beings. Manganese oxide (MnO2) was widely used as absorbent for the HMIs removal on account of its low-cost, eco-friendly and biocompatibility. The modification of morphological and structure is recognized as the effective route to improve the adsorption capacity. In this work, 2D α-MnO2 nanosheets were synthesized by hydrothermal method with Al3+ additive. With the merits of high specific surface area, high dispersity in aqueous solution and abundant surface defects content, 2D α-MnO2 nanosheets exhibited excellent HMIs adsorption performance. The maximum adsorption capacity of 2D α-MnO2 nanosheets reached 1.604 mmol g-1 (Pb2+) and 0.813 mmol g-1 (Cd2+), respectively and can maintain stable after five cycles. Besides, the established adsorption kinetics fitted well with pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetics model. Based on the above results, 2D α-MnO2 is efficient for the removal of HMIs and possesses remarkable practical application potential.

Manganese oxides (MnO2) are widely applied in heavy metal ions removal due to their low-cost, environmental-friendly and biocompatibility. However, the adsorption capacity of MnO2 need to be further improved to satisfy the demand of practical application. Herein, a highly dispersed single layer NaxKyMnO2 nanosheet was synthesized by a facile wet-chemical method with sodium dodecyl sulfonate as surfactant. The high surface specific area, excellent dispersibility and abundant oxygen vacancies endowed NaxKyMnO2 nanosheets with potential in heavy metal ions adsorption. The adsorption experiments results showed that NaxKyMnO2 nanosheets possessed high efficiency and selectivity towards lead ion (Pb²⁺) with a high adsorption capacity of 2091.8 μmol g⁻¹. The NaxKyMnO2 also showed an excellent reusability with the removal rate of 95.4% for Pb²⁺ even after five cycles. Moreover, both the theoretical calculation and experimental data illustrated that the single layer NaxKyMnO2 nanosheets possess high selectivity to Pb²⁺ adsorption.

Biodiesel, a mixture of fatty acids alkyl esters (FAAE), has recently received great concern as an excellent alternative to the petro-based diesel fuel. However, the production of biodiesel at commercial scale is obstructed by both cost of feedstock and the homogeneous catalyst system. To overcome these challenges, Amberlyst-15/Poly (vinyl alcohol) membrane (A-15/PVA) with catalytic and water-adsorbing dual functions have been prepared by a simple phase inversion method. The as-prepared A-15/PVA exhibited excellent catalytic activity and reusability in both batch and continuous esterification of acidified oil from waste cooking oil (WCO) with methanol for biodiesel production. The produced biodiesel exhibited high qualified properties and stability and can be directly applied in current diesel engines without modifying the engines. The exhaust of the biodiesel and biodiesel-blend could decrease the smoke opacity, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, while increase the nitrogen oxide emissions. The A-15/PVA demonstrated great potential in industrial production of biodiesel with high qualities from WCO.

The porous Ti/Sb-SnO2/Ni-Ce-PbO2 electrode was prepared by using a porous Ti plate as a substrate, an Sb-doped SnO2 as an intermediate, and a PbO2 doped with Ni and Ce as an active layer. The surface morphology and crystal structure of the electrode were characterized by scanning electron microscope(SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS), and X-Ray diffraction(XRD). The electrochemical performance of the electrodes was tested by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and electrode life test. The results show that the novel porous Ni-Ce-PbO2 electrodes with larger active surface area have better electrochemical activity and longer electrode life than porous undoped PbO2 electrodes and flat Ni-Ce-PbO2 electrodes. In this work, the removal of Cl− in simulated wastewater on three electrodes was also studied. The results show that the removal effect of the porous Ni-Ce-PbO2 electrode is obviously better than the other two electrodes, and the removal rate is 87.4%, while the removal rates of the other two electrodes were 72.90% and 80.20%, respectively. In addition, the mechanism of electrochemical dechlorinating was also studied. With the progress of electrolysis, we find that the increase of OH- inhibits the degradation of Cl−, however, the porous Ni-Ce-PbO2 electrode can effectively improve the removal of Cl−.

Heterogeneous acidic catalysts offer many advantages such as lower corrosion, easier separation and lower production cost compared with homogeneous sulfuric acid. Graphene oxide (GO) containing trace amount of oxygen‐containing functional groups have been demonstrated to be effective carbon‐based solid acid catalyst. However, GO are difficult to be recovered from liquid reaction system for further utilization. Graphene oxide/Polyethersulfone (PES) catalytic membranes were prepared and employed as heterogeneous acid catalysts in the esterification of oleic acid with methanol for biodiesel production. The membrane was annealed at different temperatures to promote the catalytic activity and reusability. As predicted, the OA conversion increased greatly with the increase of GO content in the membrane. Both internal and external diffusion have no influence on the catalytic activity. The catalytic membrane dosage, reaction temperature and methanol/oleic acid molar ratio affected its catalytic performance significantly. Among all the prepared membranes, the membrane annealed at 150 °C exhibited the best catalytic performance, with a conversion of over 85 % even after six cycles.