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Fluorinated saccharide-derived hard carbon is prepared as a cathode material of lithium primary batteries, and the effect of the polymerization degree of the starting saccharide is investigated.

The reduction/precipitation of Cr(vi) could occur simultaneously under alkaline conditions in the presence of thiourea dioxides as reducing agents.

Combining molecular transition-metal complexes and semiconductors is an effective way to create high-performance hybrid photocatalysts based on improvement of solar energy harvesting ability and photogenerated charge carrier separation efficiency.

A four-step telescoped strategy for synthesis of the key intermediate of ensitrelvir, approved in Japan for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection under the emergency regulatory approval system, was developed.

The accurate, simple and sensitive detection of bacterial infections at the early stage is highly valuable in preventing the spread of disease. Recently, CRISPR-Cas12a enzyme-derived nucleic acid detection methods have emerged along with the discovery of the indiscriminate single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) cleavage activity of Cas12a. These nucleic acid detection methods are made effective and sensitive by combining them with isothermal amplification technologies. However, most of the proposed CRISPR-Cas12a strategies involve Cas-crRNA complexes in the preassembled mode, which result in inevitable nonspecific background signals. Besides, the signal ssDNA used in these strategies needs tedious pre-labeling of the signal molecules. Herein, a post-assembly CRISPR-Cas12a method has been proposed based on target-induced transcription amplification and real-time crRNA generation for bacterial 16S rDNA biosensing. This strategy is label-free through the combination of microchip electrophoresis (MCE) detection. In addition, this method eliminates the need for a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) on the target sequences, and has the potential to be an effective and simple method for nucleic acid detection and infectious disease diagnosis.

Fruit wine has certain health care functions, but fruit wine made from a single fruit or vegetable does not have a good enough color, flavor or nutrient composition. Therefore, this study used fresh carrot (

In this paper, a novel cryolite-type up-conversion luminescent material K3Sc0.5Lu0.5F6: Er3+, Yb3+ with controllable crystal form was synthesized by a high temperature solid state method. K3Sc0.5Lu0.5F6: Er3+, Yb3+ can crystallize in monoclinic or cubic form at different temperatures. The composition, structure and up-conversion luminescence (UCL) properties of K3Sc0.5Lu0.5F6: Er3+, Yb3+ samples with different crystal form were investigated in detail. It is impressive that both monoclinic and cubic forms of K3Sc0.5Lu0.5F6: Er3+, Yb3+ show green emission (2H11/2/4S3/2→4I15/2). The luminescence intensity of cubic K3Sc0.5Lu0.5F6 is much higher than that of the monoclinic form, and the reasons are also discussed in detail. The results show that the luminescence intensity of up-conversion materials can be effectively tuned by controlling the crystal form. According to the power dependent UCL intensity, the UCL mechanism and electronic transition process were discussed. In addition, the fluorescence decay curves were characterized and the thermal coupling levels (TCLs) of Er3+ (2H11/2/4S3/2 → 4I15/2) in the range of 304–574 k were used to study the optical temperature sensing characteristics. All the results show that K3Sc0.5Lu0.5F6: Er3+, Yb3+ can be used in electronic components and have potential application value in temperature sensing fields.

In order to improve the waterproof and mildew resistance of electronic equipment, a superhydrophobic coating was prepared on a circuit board. First, hexadecyl trimethoxysilane was used to modify the nano silica and nano zinc oxide particles, and then the modified nanoparticles were mixed with the silica sol. Then the superhydrophobic coating was prepared on the surface of the printed circuit board by a spraying process. The preparation technology and physical and chemical properties of the coating were studied. The contact angle of the final sample can reach 169.47°, the sliding angle can reach 1.2°, it has good acid and alkali corrosion resistance, resistance to NaCl, self-cleaning performance and antimildew performance.

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) hollow spheres with porous structure have been successfully fabricated by a one-step wet solution method with no surfactant and template. The structure, morphologies, and composition of the as-prepared products were studied with X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron morphology (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis spectroscopy. Based upon the time-dependent experimental results, BiVO4 nanospheres with hollow and solid structures can be controlled effectively through the reaction time, and a reasonable formation process was suggested in this work. Moreover, the experiment of degrading methyl orange (MO) under visible-light illumination was conducted to evaluate the photocatalytic performance of the obtained BiVO4 samples. The porous BiVO4 hollow spheres exhibit superior visible-light photocatalytic properties for MO degradation than other photocatalysts under irradiation, and could be reused for up to five times without significant reduction in the photocatalytic activity. In addition, based on active group trapping experiments, ˙OH radicals as the main active species from H2O2 molecules play a vital role in the photocatalytic degradation of MO, and a photocatalytic mechanism for the BiVO4 system was proposed. High photocatalytic activity, universality and stability suggest that the porous BiVO4 hollow spheres may have potential applications in wastewater treatment.

The trigonal lithium niobate crystal (LiNbO3, LN) is a multi-functional material that possesses excellent nonlinear optical, pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties. In this work, the irradiation damage mechanism and stability of the electro-elastic properties of LN crystals irradiated with different doses (1013–1016 ions per cm2) of 6 MeV Xe23+ ions were evaluated for potential piezoelectric applications under irradiation conditions below 650 °C. The vacancy formation energies for Li, O, and Nb atoms are much lower than the irradiation energy of 6 MeV, with the lowest vacancy formation energy being obtained for Li, so that a high concentration of vacancies will be generated in LN upon irradiation. The vacancies narrow the band gap and decrease the electrical resistivity after irradiation. In contrast to the electrical resistivity, the relative dielectric permittivity of the LN crystal was found to increase with increasing irradiation dose, due to the weakened chemical bonds and distorted crystal structure, as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Despite the irradiation, the effective piezoelectric coefficients of bulk LN crystal remain nearly unchanged, indicating the favorable properties of LN for use under irradiation conditions at temperatures up to 650 °C.

As visible light photocatalysts, narrow bandgap semiconductors can effectively convert solar energy to chemical energy, exhibiting potential applications in alleviating energy shortage and environmental pollution. Cu2O hollow spheres with a narrow band gap and uniform hierarchical structures have been fabricated in a controlled way. The one-pot solvothermal method without any template is simple and facile. The morphologies, crystal structures, composition, specific surface areas, and optical and photoelectric properties of the products were analyzed by various techniques. The hollow and solid Cu2O spheres could be fabricated by controlling the reaction time, and a possible growth process of the Cu2O hollow spheres was revealed. The degradation of methyl orange (MO) was used to investigate the visible-light catalytic properties of the Cu2O samples. More than 90% of MO is degraded under visible light illumination of 20 min, exhibiting a quick catalytic reaction. The rate constant of the Cu2O hollow spheres was 2.54 times and 46.6 times larger than those of the Cu2O solid spheres and commercial Cu2O powder, respectively. The possible photocatalytic mechanism of MO was revealed over Cu2O hollow spheres through the detection of active species. The as-prepared Cu2O hollow spheres display improved visible-light catalytic activity and stability, indicating their potential application in wastewater treatment.

The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is a promising approach to convert N2 into high value-added NH3. However, it is still a challenge to achieve an efficient electrocatalyst for the NRR. Herein, it is demonstrated that the Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) generated from a glycerine-based synthesis can be applied as highly efficient catalysts for the NRR. The Fe2O3 NPs show good performance with a high NH3 yield (22 μg mgcat−1 h−1) and a favorable Faradaic efficiency (FE) (3.5%) at −0.5 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). The facile synthesis strategy and satisfactory electrochemical properties demonstrate the potential application of the as-synthesized Fe2O3 NPs for NRR.

p–n homojunctions are superior to p–n heterojunctions in constructing nanoscale functional devices, owing to the excellent crystallographic alignment. We tune the electronic properties of monolayer siligene (SiGe) into p/n-type via the covalent functionalization of electrophilic/nucleophilic dopants, using ab initio quantum transport calculations. It is found that the n-type doping effect of K atoms is stronger than that of benzyl viologen (BV) molecule on the surface of SiGe monolayer, owing to the strong covalent interaction. Both of p-type 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ)-adsorbed and n-type 4 K-adsorbed SiGe systems show enhanced optical absorption in the infrared region, indicating their promising applications in infrared optoelectronic devices. By spatially adsorbing F4TCNQ molecule and K atoms on the source and drain leads, respectively, we designed a p–n homojunction SiGe field-effect transistor (FET). It is predicted that the built F4TCNQ-4K/SiGe FET can meet the requirements for high-performance (the high current density) and low-power (low subthreshold swing (SS)) applications, according to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors in 2028. The present study gains some key insights into the importance of surface functionalization in constructing p–n homojunction electronic and optoelectronic devices based on monolayer SiGe.

Dendrite nanostructures with noble metals, such as Au and silver, act as plasmonic substrates with excellent potential in enhanced fluorescence technology. However, tin dendritic nanostructures are poorly investigated. In this study, we proposed a method of in situ electrochemical synthesis replacement to fabricate highly branched tin dendritic nanostructures on aluminum substrates. The surface enhanced fluorescence performance of the tin dendrites was tested for the detection of rhodamine 6G as probe molecules, and the result showed that the enhancement factors can reach to 36.5-fold that of an aluminum substrate. The fabricated tin dendrites have numerous nanogaps between the stratified and adjacent ones, thereby creating many plasmon-active “hotspots” dedicated to enhanced fluorescence. Electrical field simulation results for the tin dendritic nanostructures proved that its nanogaps can enhance the nearby local electromagnetic field. As a result, tin dendritic nanostructures exhibit outstanding surface enhanced fluorescence and promising application in biomolecule detection and sensor devices.

In the present study, collagen fibers derived from leather solid wastes were used and modified as insoluble vectors and successfully employed as adsorbents for the removal of acid dyes. A "one-step" method was applied to synthesis effective adsorbents, which provided a sustainable way to reuse leather solid wastes

In this paper, a novel cryolite-type up-conversion luminescent material K

In order to promote the photosynthetic growth rate of Chlorella in the presence of flue gas CO2 from coal-fired power plants, spermidine was first used to enhance cellular resistance to a high CO2 concentration (15%) and high light intensity (30 000 lux). It was found that low concentrations (100–300 μM) of spermidine significantly enhanced the photosynthetic growth rate of Chlorella. The accelerated cell division decreased the cell diameter from 3.64 μm to 2.71 μm and the fractal dimension from 1.60 to 1.49, and the activity of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) increased from 0.48 U mL−1 to 5.33 U mL−1. Expression levels of key enzymes of photosystems I and II, ATP synthase and transportase markedly increased, thereby enhancing the electron transport and energy supply that reduced oxidative damage. Finally, an enhanced cellular resistance to the high CO2 concentration and high light intensity increased the biomass yield from 0.11 g L−1 to 1.71 g L−1 (300 μM).

An inorganic titanium oxide (TiO) gel sensor was demonstrated for convenient detection of ascorbic acid (AA). It is composed of TiO (PI-TiO) functionalized with a perylene diimide derivative containing carboxylic groups as a new soft dopant material. A traditional solvothermal reaction is adopted to prepare the PI-TiO composite, which exhibits a different spectrum according to the reaction time. The final gel possesses a strong chelating affinity with AA molecules, in which phenol hydroxyl groups are shown to compete with those already present in PI. We further utilize the functionalized gel to prepare a series of films with a simple and portable AA response. A visual colour variation can be recognized by the naked eye, together with obvious fluorescence changes for selective and sensitive AA detection. Finally, the as-prepared gel film displays good stability and reproducibility for real sample responses with satisfying results.

In this work, the potential of FeP nanoparticles as a pH-responsive T1 contrast agent was investigated. The FeP nanoparticles have good biocompatibility and can significantly amplify T1 magnetic resonance signals in response to the acidic microenvironment of solid tumors, holding great promise in serving as an acid-activatable T1 contrast agent for tumor imaging.

Novel CoMoO4 nanoarrays with different morphologies are anchored on a carbon cloth via a simple hydrothermal method by adjusting the Co/Mo atom ratio. The in situ growth and tight immobilization of the CoMoO4 nanocomposite on the carbon cloth can facilitate the electrolyte infiltration and electrons transfer rate at the contact interface. Therefore, the free-standing electrode of CoMoO4/carbon cloth with interconnected nanosheets shows superior electrocatalytic activity, and the overpotential of 286 mV is obtained at 15 mA cm−2 in alkaline solution. Moreover, the catalyst also exhibits a small Tafel slope of 67 mV dec−1 as well as good stability. The relationship between the active material morphology, contact interface and the electrocatalytic performance is also discussed. As the carbon cloth is commercially available, this simple but effective structural controlling method demonstrates a new large-scale practical electrode fabrication technique for high performance OER electrodes and large-scale water splitting.

An amino-terminated hyperbranched polymer (A-HP) was employed to modify leather buffing dust (BD) to prepare functional filler, hyperbranched buffing dust (HBD). The structure and morphology of BD and HBD were characterized by XPS, DSC and SEM. Furthermore, HBD was added into the typical solvent type polyurethane (PU) to prepare a wetting PU film which was used as the coating for synthetic leather. By changing the dosage of HBD, the filler species, the properties of the porous structure and mechanical strength of the PU film were analyzed by SEM, DMA and so on. The experimental results indicated that with the increase of the dosage of HBD, the porous structure of the PU film increase. The content of the N element for BD increases from 4.27% to 7.29%. After modification and ball milling, the fineness of most fibers was in the range of 6.7–6.9 μm. The fiber dispersion state of HBD was more uniform. The Tg of the PU film with HBD is −8.67 °C, while for lignin is −8.41 °C, indicating that the wetting PU film filled with HBD has better flexibility at low temperature.

In order to improve the waterproof and mildew resistance of electronic equipment, a superhydrophobic coating was prepared on a circuit board. First, hexadecyl trimethoxysilane was used to modify the nano silica and nano zinc oxide particles, and then the modified nanoparticles were mixed with the silica sol. Then the superhydrophobic coating was prepared on the surface of the printed circuit board by a spraying process. The preparation technology and physical and chemical properties of the coating were studied. The contact angle of the final sample can reach 169.47°, the sliding angle can reach 1.2°, it has good acid and alkali corrosion resistance, resistance to NaCl, self-cleaning performance and antimildew performance.

The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is a promising approach to convert N

The trigonal lithium niobate crystal (LiNbO

As visible light photocatalysts, narrow bandgap semiconductors can effectively convert solar energy to chemical energy, exhibiting potential applications in alleviating energy shortage and environmental pollution. Cu

p-n homojunctions are superior to p-n heterojunctions in constructing nanoscale functional devices, owing to the excellent crystallographic alignment. We tune the electronic properties of monolayer siligene (SiGe) into p/n-type

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO

A novel heterostructured nanocomposite UCNPs@SiO2@Ag/g-C3N4 was developed for the first time to substantially boost the solar-light driven photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4. Its photocatalytic properties and photocatalytic mechanism were investigated. The as-synthesized photocatalyst with excellent improvement in the solar absorption and separation efficiency of photoinduced electron–hole pairs exhibited optimum solar-induced photocatalytic activity in dye degradation and hydrogen production. The experimental results showed that the rates of degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and hydrogen evolution were about 10 and 12 times higher than that of pristine g-C3N4, respectively. The excellent photocatalytic activity was attributed to the synergetic effect of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on the modification of the photocatalytic properties of g-C3N4, resulting in a broad light response range for g-C3N4 as well as the fast separation and slow recombination of photoinduced electron–hole pairs. This study provides new insight into the fabrication of g-C3N4-based nanocomposite photocatalysts with high catalytic efficiency through the artful assembly of UCNPs, Ag NPs and g-C3N4 into a hetero-composite nanostructure. The prominent improvement in photocatalytic activity enables the potential application of g-C3N4 in the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and hydrogen production utilizing solar energy.

Perovskites, which have excellent electrocatalytic properties, are promising for use in heterogeneous catalysis. However, the design and development of green and effective electrocatalysts for environmental water treatment remains an arduous challenge. To overcome such difficulties, we present a facile sol–gel method for the design and preparation of a series of perovskite-activated carbon (AC) composites (La1−xNdxFeO3@AC) for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) by heterogeneous electro-Fenton reactions. Furthermore, the as-made La0.6Nd0.4FeO3@AC composite anode had the strongest oxidation ability and stability, with MO wastewater and COD removal rates reaching 99.81% and 96.66% within 10 minutes, respectively. As far as we know, the La1−xNdxFeO3@AC composites can be regarded as a series of the most effective catalysts for the degradation of MO to date.

Yixin-Shu capsules (YXS) are a Chinese Materia Medica standardized product used for heart disease and their effectiveness has been demonstrated through both clinical and experimental research. However, the mechanism involved has remained unclear. The effect of YXS on the cardiac-like differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells was investigated in this study. The intestinal absorption liquid of YXS was prepared using an in vitro intestinal absorption method and 62 compounds have been identified. A compound-target-function network constructed by a network pharmacology-based approach indicated that these compounds had an effect on cell differentiation. The effects of YXS on cardiac-like differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells was verified by detecting cardiac-specific protein expression such as α-actinin, cardiac troponin-I and desmin through real time-PCR, western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. A network pharmacology analysis indicated that the facilitation of YXS on the cardiac-like differentiation may be through the TGF-β signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway. The observed improvements on cardiac differentiation may be due to the novel molecular mechanism for YXS that could also benefit developments in cardiac tissue engineering.

Graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has attracted much attention due to its peculiar photocatalytic performance as a visible-light-responsive photocatalyst. However, its insufficient sunlight absorption is not conducive to the photocatalytic activity of the g-C3N4. Herein, by using first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we demonstrated a simple yet efficient way to achieve improvement of photocatalytic activity of monolayer g-C3N4 via surface charge transfer doping (SCTD) using the electron-drawing tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) and electron-donating tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) as surface dopants. Our calculations revealed that the electronic properties of monolayer g-C3N4 can be affected by surface modification with TCNQ and TTF. These dopants are capable of drawing/donating electrons from/to monolayer g-C3N4, leading to the accumulation of holes/electrons injected into the monolayer g-C3N4. Correspondingly, the Fermi levels of monolayer g-C3N4 were shifted towards the valence/conduction band regions after surface modifications with TCNQ and TTF, along with the increase/decrease of work functions. Moreover, the optical property calculations demonstrated that the TCNQ and TTF modifications could significantly broaden the optical absorption of monolayer g-C3N4 in the visible-light regions, yielding an improvement in the photocatalytic activity of monolayer g-C3N4. Our results unveil that SCTD is an effective way to tune the electronic and optical properties of monolayer g-C3N4, thus improving its photocatalytic activity and broadening its applications in splitting water and degrading environmental pollutants under sunlight irradiation.

The layered two-dimensional (2D) SnS2 and SnSe2 have received intensive attention due to their sizable band gaps and potential properties. However, it has been shown that the visible light absorption of SnS2 and SnSe2 are restricted as photocatalysts and light-harvesting material absorbers for water splitting and high-performance optoelectronic devices. Herein, to enhance the visible light absorption performance of SnS2 and SnSe2, we performed a systematic investigation on tuning the electronic and optical properties of monolayers SnS2 and SnSe2 via surface charge transfer doping (SCTD) with the adsorption of molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) and potassium (K) as surface dopants based on density functional theory. Our calculations reveal that MoO3 molecules and K atoms can draw/donate electrons from/to SnS2 and SnSe2 as acceptors and donors, respectively. The adsorption of MoO3 molecules introduces a new flat impurity state in the gap of the monolayers SnS2/SnSe2, and the Fermi level moves correspondingly to the top of valence band, resulting in a p-type doping of the monolayer SnS2/SnSe2. With the adsorption of K atoms, the electrons can transfer from K atoms to the monolayer of SnS2 and SnSe2, making K an effective electron-donating dopant. Meanwhile, the bandgaps of monolayers SnS2 and SnSe2 decrease after the MoO3 and K doping, which leads to the appearance of appreciable new absorption peaks at around ∼650/480 and ∼600/680 nm, respectively, and yielding an enhanced visible light absorption of SnS2 and SnSe2. Our results unveil that SCTD is an effective way to improve the photocatalytic and light-harvesting performance of SnS2 and SnSe2, broadening their applications in splitting water and degrading environmental pollutants under sunlight irradiation.