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We synthesized the silver-decorated copper microsphere via the hydrothermal method followed by photoreduction of silver ions. Sub 100 nm Ag nanoparticles anchored on the surface of Cu microspheres enhance the electrochemical performance and the selectivity of the CO 2 reduction into CH 4 . Incorporating Ag nanoparticles onto Cu lowers the charge transfer resistance, enhancing the catalyst's conductivity and active site and increasing the rate of CO 2 reduction. The faradaic efficiency of silver nanoparticles decorated copper microsphere for methane was 70.94 %, almost twice that of a copper microsphere (44 %). The electrochemical performance showed higher catalytic properties, stability, and faradaic efficiency of silver-decorated copper microspheres., (© 2024 The Authors. ChemistryOpen published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Hydrothermal and photoreduction/deposition methods were used to fabricate Ag nanoparticles (NPs) decorated CoMoO 4 rods. Improvement of charge transfer and transportation of ions by making heterostructure was proved by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. Linear sweep voltammetry results revealed a fivefold enhancement of current density by fabricating heterostructure. The lowest Tafel slope (112 mV/dec) for heterostructure compared with CoMoO 4 (273 mV/dec) suggested the improvement of electrocatalytic performance. The electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction was performed on an H-type cell. The CoMoO 4 electrocatalyst possessed the Faraday efficiencies (FEs) of CO and CH 4 up to 56.80% and 19.80%, respectively at  - 1.3 V versus RHE. In addition, Ag NPs decorated CoMoO 4 electrocatalyst showed FEs for CO, CH 4 , and C 2 H 6 were 35.30%, 11.40%, and 44.20%, respectively, at the same potential. It is found that CO 2 reduction products shifted from CO/CH 4 to C 2 H 6 when the Ag NPs deposited on the CoMoO 4 electrocatalyst. In addition, it demonstrated excellent electrocatalytic stability after a prolonged 25 h amperometric test at  - 1.3 V versus RHE. It can be attributed to a synergistic effect between the Ag NPs and CoMoO 4 rods. This study highlights the cooperation between Ag NPs on CoMoO 4 components and provides new insight into the design of heterostructure as an efficient, stable catalyst towards electrocatalytic reduction of CO 2 to CO, CH 4 , and C 2 H 6 products., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Hollow nanostructures of transition metal phosphate are of immense interest in the existing and evolving areas of technology, due to their high surface area, presence of hollow void, and easy tuning of compositions and dimensions. Emerging synthesis methods such as template-free methods, hard-templating, and soft-templating are discussed in this review. Applications of these hollow metal phosphates dominate in energy storage and conversions, with specific advantages as supercapacitor materials. Other applications, including drug delivery, water splitting, catalysis, and adsorption, are reviewed. Finally, additional perspectives on the progress of these nanostructures, and their existing challenges related to the current synthesis routes are covered. Therefore, with the strategic modifications of the unique properties of these hollow metal phosphates, broader application requirements are fulfilled., (© 2022 The Authors. The Chemical Record published by The Chemical Society of Japan & Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

To raise the superconducting-transition temperature (T c ) has been the driving force for the long-sustained effort in superconductivity research. Recent progress in hydrides with T c s up to 287 K under pressure of 267 GPa has heralded a new era of room temperature superconductivity (RTS) with immense technological promise. Indeed, RTS will lift the temperature barrier for the ubiquitous application of superconductivity. Unfortunately, formidable pressure is required to attain such high T c s. The most effective relief to this impasse is to remove the pressure needed while retaining the pressure-induced T c without pressure. Here, we show such a possibility in the pure and doped high-temperature superconductor (HTS) FeSe by retaining, at ambient pressure via pressure quenching (PQ), its T c up to 37 K (quadrupling that of a pristine FeSe at ambient) and other pressure-induced phases. We have also observed that some phases remain stable without pressure at up to 300 K and for at least 7 d. The observations are in qualitative agreement with our ab initio simulations using the solid-state nudged elastic band (SSNEB) method. We strongly believe that the PQ technique developed here can be adapted to the RTS hydrides and other materials of value with minimal effort., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.

The discovery of ferromagnetism in atomically thin layers at room temperature widens the prospects of 2D materials for device applications. Recently, two independent experiments demonstrated magnetic ordering in two dissimilar 2D systems, CrI 3 and Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 , at low temperatures and in VSe 2 at room temperature, but observation of intrinsic room-temperature magnetism in 2D materials is still a challenge. Here a transition at room temperature that increases the magnetization in magnetite while thinning down the bulk material to a few atom-thick sheets is reported. DC magnetization measurements prove ferrimagnetic ordering with increased magnetization and density functional theory calculations ascribe their origin to the low dimensionality of the magnetite layers. In addition, surface energy calculations for different cleavage planes in passivated magnetite crystal agree with the experimental observations of obtaining 2D sheets from non-van der Waals crystals., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

A skyrmion state in a noncentrosymmetric helimagnet displays topologically protected spin textures with profound technological implications for high-density information storage, ultrafast spintronics, and effective microwave devices. Usually, its equilibrium state in a bulk helimagnet occurs only over a very restricted magnetic field-temperature phase space and often in the low-temperature region near the magnetic transition temperature T c We have expanded and enhanced the skyrmion phase region from the small range of 55 to 58.5 K to 5 to 300 K in single-crystalline Cu 2 OSeO 3 by pressures up to 42.1 GPa through a series of phase transitions from the cubic P 2 1 3, through orthorhombic P 2 1 2 1 2 1 and monoclinic P 2 1 , and finally to the triclinic P 1 phase, using our newly developed ultrasensitive high-pressure magnetization technique. The results are in agreement with our Ginzburg-Landau free energy analyses, showing that pressures tend to stabilize the skyrmion states and at higher temperatures. The observations also indicate that the skyrmion state can be achieved at higher temperatures in various crystal symmetries, suggesting the insensitivity of skyrmions to the underlying crystal lattices and thus the possible more ubiquitous presence of skyrmions in helimagnets., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.

Antipsychotic polypharmacy (APP) is a common practice while treating severe mental illness but the benefits of APP over antipsychotic monotherapy is controversial. This is a retrospective analysis comparing risk factors for people on APP and those on non-APP in inpatient psychiatry units. Two years data with 72 people in non-APP group and 82 people in APP group were analyzed quantitatively. The diagnoses of schizoaffective disorder (OR 11.5), schizophrenia (OR 4.65) and depression (OR 0.31), and history of > 2 psychiatric admissions (OR 3.2) and > 2 psychiatric emergency visits (OR 2.87) in 2 years were studied as potential risk factors for APP. Similarly, history of violence (OR 1.7) and history of substance abuse (OR 0.51) were also studied. Schizophrenia spectrum disorder, higher number of psychiatric hospitalizations, and psychiatric emergency visits were positively associated while depression and substance abuse were negatively associated with APP in our study.