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Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) provides an unprecedented opportunity for fingerprinting identification and trace-level detection in chemistry, biomedicine, materials, and so on. Although great efforts have been devoted to fabricating sensitive plasmonic nanomaterials, it is still challenging to batch-produce a SERS substrate with high sensitivity, good reproducibility, and perfect recyclability. Here, we describe a facile fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical Au/CuS nanocomposites, in which high-density Au nanotips enable highly SERS-active sensing, and the well-defined microflower (MF) geometry produces perfect signal reproducibility (RSD < 5%) for large laser spot excitations (>50 μm2), which is particularly suitable for practical on-site detection with a handheld Raman spectrometer. In addition, a self-cleaning ability of this Au/CuS Schottky junction photocatalyst under sunlight irradiation allows complete removal of the adsorbed analytes, realizing perfect regeneration of the SERS substrates over many cycles. The mass-production, ultra-sensitive, high-reproducibility, and fast-recyclability features of hierarchical Au/CuS MFs greatly facilitate cost-effective and field SERS detection of trace analytes in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is still one of the major health issues faced by human beings today. Various nanomaterials have been designed to treat tumors and have made great progress. Herein, we used amino-functionalized metal organic framework (UiO-66-NH2) as superior templates and successfully synthesized the UiO-66-NH2@Aushell composite nanoparticles (UA) with high loading capacity and excellent photothermal properties through a simple and gentle method. In addition, due to the rich pore structure and excellent biocompatibility of the as-prepared composite nanoparticles, the hydrophobic NO donor BNN6 (N,N′-Di-sec-butyl-N,N′-dinitroso-1, 4-phenylenediamine) molecule was efficiently delivered. Based on the phenomenon where BNN6 molecules can decompose and release NO at high temperature, when UiO-66-NH2@Aushell-BNN6 composite nanoparticles (UA-BNN6) entered tumor cells and were irradiated by NIR, the porous gold nanoshells on the surface of composite nanoparticles induced an increase in temperature through the photothermal conversion process and promoted the decomposition of BNN6 molecules, releasing high concentration of NO, thus efficiently killing HeLa cells through the synergistic effect of NO-photothermal therapy. This effective, precise and safe treatment strategy controlled by NIR laser irradiation represents a promising alternative in the field of cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generating clean and sustainable hydrogen from water splitting processes represent a practical alternative to solve the energy crisis. Ultrathin two-dimensional materials exhibit attractive properties as catalysts for hydrogen production owing to their large surface-to-volume ratios and effective chemisorption sites. However, the catalytically inactive surfaces of the transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) possess merely small areas of active chemical sites on the edge, thus decreasing their possibilities for practical applications. Here, we propose a new class of out-of-plane deformed TMD (cTMD) monolayer to anchor transition metal atoms for the activation of the inert surface. The calculated adsorption energy of metals (e.g., Pt) on curved MoS2 (cMoS2) can be greatly decreased by 72% via adding external compressions, compared to the basal plane. The enlarged diffusion barrier energy indicates that cMoS2 with an enhanced fixation of metals could be a potential candidate as a single atom catalyst (SAC). We made a well-rounded assessment of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which are two key processes in water splitting. The optimized Gibbs free energy of 0.02 for HER and low overpotential of 0.40 V for OER can be achieved when the proper compression and supported metals are selected. Our computational results provide inspiration and guidance towards the experimental design of TMD-based SACs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor environments have typical features of multiple components, high concentration, and long duration. The development of gas sensors with high sensitivity to multiple VOCs is of great significance to protect human health. Herein, we proposed a sensitive ZnO/WO3 composite chemi-resistive sensor facilely fabricated via a sacrificial template approach. Based on the transferable properties of self-assembled monolayer colloidal crystal (MCC) templates, two-dimensional honeycomb-like ordered porous ZnO/WO3 sensing matrixes were constructed in situ on commercial ceramic tube substrates with curved and rough surfaces. The nanocomposite thin films are about 250 nm in thickness with large-scale structural consistency and integrity, which facilitates characteristic responses with highly sensitivity and reliability. Furthermore, the nanocomposite sensor shows simultaneous responses to multiple VOCs that commonly exist in daily life with an obvious suppression sensing for traditional flammable gases. Particularly, a detection limit of 0.1 ppm with a second-level response/recovery time can be achieved, which is beneficial for real-time air quality assessments. We proposed a heterojunction-induced sensing enhancement mechanism for the ZnO/WO3 nanocomposite film in which the formation of abundant heterojunctions between ZnO and WO3 NPs significantly increases the thickness of the electron depletion layer in the bulk film and improves the formation of active oxygen species on the surface, which is conducive to enhanced responses for reducing VOC gases. This work not only provides a simple approach for the fabrication of high-performance gas sensors but also opens an achievable avenue for air quality assessment based on VOC concentration detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]