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The nickel‐iron based materials are widely studied as excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts. However, its relatively poor OER stability limits its practical applications. Herein, a zipper‐like interlocked heterostructure of NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH)‐WN is constructed. The NiFe LDH‐WN exhibits not only ultrahigh OER activity of 228 mV overpotential at a current density of 50 mA cm−2, but also extremely long‐term stability over 4500 h at 50 mA cm−2 and over 550 h at an industrial current density ≈350 mA cm−2, which is ascribed to its special zipper‐like interlocked structure. Moreover, in situ Raman confirms that the presence of WN can efficiently achieve NiFe LDH reconstruction to slower the metal dissolution during OER, and therefore boosts its stability. DFT calculations reveal that WN not only can increase the *O adsorption capability and conductivity of NiFe LDH layer, but also can anchor the metal atoms of NiFe LDH layer to improve the dissolution energy barrier. In short, this work presents a new method of constructing the interlocked heterostructure to improve the OER stability of Ni‐Fe‐based catalysts, which would accelerate its practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interface engineering shows distinct advantages in the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to the unique structures that can be realized. The interfaces formed by amorphous materials often exhibit special properties that are beneficial for the HER. Herein, an amorphous/crystalline Rh(OH)3/CoP heterostructure is constructed, which exhibits outstanding HER performance in the all‐pH range. It only needs the overpotentials of 13, 12, and 25 mV to drive a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline, acidic, and neutral media, respectively, which ranks as one of the best HER electrocatalysts reported recently. The outstanding HER activities in the all‐pH range are attributed to the unique amorphous/crystalline heterostructure of Rh(OH)3/CoP, which possesses special hydrophilic/aerophobic features thataccelerate mass transfer, and provide abundant exposed active sites and appropriate defects. Importantly, the performance attenuation mechanism of the catalyst is also revealed, i.e., the formation of Rh aggregations leads to poor contact and efficacy loss of the amorphous/crystalline interface for HER. In short, this work provides a new idea for using amorphous/crystalline heterostructure to design electrocatalysts, not only for the HER, but also for the oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing low‐cost and high‐efficient bifunctional catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is greatly significant for water electrolysis. Here, Ni3N‐CeO2/NF heterostructure is synthesized on the nickel foam, and it exhibits excellent HER and OER performance. As a result, the water electrolyzer based on Ni3N‐CeO2/NF bifunctional catalyst only needs 1.515 V@10 mA cm−2, significantly better than that of Pt/C||IrO2 catalysts. In situ characterizations unveil that CeO2 plays completely different roles in HER and OER processes. In situ infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations indicate that the introduction of CeO2 can optimizes the structure of interface water, and the synergistic effect of Ni3N and CeO2 improve the HER activity significantly, while the in situ Raman spectra reveal that CeO2 accelerates the reconstruction of OV (oxygen vacancy)‐rich NiOOH for boosting OER. This study clearly unlocks the different catalytic mechanisms of CeO2 for boosting the HER and OER activity of Ni3N for water splitting, which provides the useful guidance for designing the high‐performance bifunctional catalysts for water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of highly efficient catalysts for hydrogen oxidation/evolution reactions (HOR/HER) is an urgent requirement for the acceleration of the development of fuel cells and the technique of hydrogen generation by water electrolysis. In this work, we have successfully synthesized a Ru/Ni3N–NF bifunctional catalyst for HOR and HER. Ultra-small Ru nanoparticles were loaded on Ni3N nanosheets grown on nickel foam. Ru/Ni3N–NF presents outstanding HOR and HER performance, and it achieves a current density of 8.83 mA cm−2 with an overpotential of 50 mV for HOR. Its ultra-high exchange current density of 15.69 mA cm−2 is nearly 2 times that of Pt/C and better than that of most reported HOR catalysts. Meanwhile, Ru/Ni3N–NF needs an overpotential of only 22.6 mV to deliver 10 mA cm−2 for HER in 0.1 M KOH, lower than that for Pt/C and other Ru-based HER catalysts. The excellent bifunctional properties of Ru/Ni3N–NF are attributed to the synergistic catalysis of Ru and Ni3N due to the charge redistribution. In summary, this work provides an excellent example of the use of the synergistic effects of Ru and Ni3N to develop bifunctional electrocatalysts for HOR/HER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthocyanins, a group of flavonoids, play diverse roles in plant growth and environmental adaptation. The biosynthesis and accumulation of anthocyanin are regulated by environmental cues, such as high light. However, the precise mechanism underlying anthocyanin biosynthesis under high light conditions remains largely unclear. Here, we report that the R3-MYB repressor MYB-LIKE 2 (MYBL2) negatively regulates high light-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis by repressing two R2R3-MYB activators, PRODUCTION OF ANTHOCYANIN PIGMENT 1 (PAP1) and PAP2, which are core components of the MYB-bHLH-WD40 (MBW) complex. We found that MYBL2 interacts with PAP1/2 and reduces their transcriptional activation activities, thus disrupting the expression of key genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis, such as DIHYDROFLAVONOL 4-REDUCTASE (DFR) and TRANSPARENT TESTA 19 (TT19). Additionally, MYBL2 attenuates the transcriptional activation of PAP1 on its own expression, but not PAP2. Conversely, PAP1 collaborates with TT8, a bHLH member of the MBW complex, to activate MYBL2 transcription when excessive anthocyanins are accumulated. Taken together, our findings reveal a negative feedback regulatory module composed of MYBL2 and PAP1 that fine-tunes high light-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis through modulating MBW complex assembly., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Verticillium wilt (VW) caused by Verticillium dahliae (V. dahliae) is one of the most destructive diseases in cotton (Gossypium spp.). Histone acetylation plays critical roles in plant development and adaptive responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the relevance of histone acetylation in cotton VW resistance remains largely unclear. Here, we identified Histone Deacetylase 5 (GhHDA5) from upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), as a negative regulator of VW resistance. GhHDA5 expression was responsive to V. dahliae infection. Silencing GhHDA5 in upland cotton led to improved resistance to V. dahliae, while heterologous expression of GhHDA5 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) compromised V. dahliae tolerance. GhHDA5 repressed the expression of several lignin biosynthesis-related genes, such as 4-coumarate: CoA ligase gene Gh4CL3 and ferulate 5-hydroxylase gene GhF5H, through reducing the acetylation level of Histone H3 Lysine 9 and 14 (H3K9K14ac) at their promoter regions, thereby resulting in an increased deposition of lignin, especially S monomers, in the GhHDA5-silenced cotton plants. The silencing of GhF5H impaired cotton VW tolerance. Additionally, the silencing of GhHDA5 also promoted the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), elevated the expression of several pathogenesis-related genes (PRs), and altered the content and signaling of the phytohormones salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and strigolactones (SLs) after V. dahliae infection. Taken together, our findings suggest that GhHDA5 negatively regulates cotton VW resistance through modulating disease-induced lignification and the ROS- and phytohormone-mediated defense response., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The seawater electrolysis to produce hydrogen is a significant topic on alleviating the energy crisis. Here, the Fe, Nb-Ni 3 S 2 catalyst is prepared by metal-doping strategy, and it shows high oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity in alkaline medium, and only needs 1.491 V to deliver a current density of 100 mA cm -2 in simulated seawater. Using Fe, Nb-Ni 3 S 2 as a bifunctional catalyst, the two-electrode electrolyzer only requires a voltage of 1.751 V (without impedance compensation) to drive the current density of 50 mA cm -2 , and can run over 150 h stably in the simulated seawater. Importantly, In situ Raman test demonstrates that the outstanding performance of Fe, Nb-Ni 3 S 2 in simulated seawater is ascribed to the in situ formed sulfate protective layer induced by Nb doping, which can effectively inhibit the corrosion of chloride ion, while the protective layer is absent for Fe-Ni 3 S 2 . The stable operation of simulated seawater electrolysis under industrial current density further confirms the stability improvement mechanism of forming protective layer. In short, this study provides a new strategy of using Nb dopants inducing the formation of protective layer to enhance the stability of seawater electrolysis., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Discovering highly efficient and stable non-precious metal catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for energy conversion in water splitting. However, preparing high-performance OER catalysts and elucidating the structural changes in the process are still challenging. Herein, we synthesize the NiTe/Ni 2 P heterostructure and demonstrate the strain engineering of NiTe/Ni 2 P via the lattice incompatibility between the phosphide and the telluride. The strain engineering of the NiTe/Ni 2 P heterostructure not only significantly boosts the OER activity but also effectively stabilizes the intrinsic structure of the catalyst after the OER process by using the in situ -produced metal salt as a protection layer. After the OER stability test, no oxyhydroxide phase is observed, and in situ Raman spectroscopy reveals that a voltage-dependent phase transition appears during the OER, which is different from most previously reported Ni-based catalysts, for which the generation of irreversible NiOOH occurs after the OER. Density functional theory calculations further reveal that the tensile strain of Ni 2 P will inhibit the presence of irreversible phase transitions of Ni 2 P into NiOOH due to the weak adsorption ability of the oxygen species caused by strain engineering. In short, this work opens a new gate for using strain nanotechnology to design high-performance OER catalysts.

As an oil crop with good taste and profuse nutrition, peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) is grown worldwide, mainly for edible seeds. Black peanuts attract more attention for their appealing color and health-promoting anthocyanins. Here, two cyanidin-based anthocyanins and four quercetin-based flavonols were separated and identified from skins of two black cultivars (Zi Yu and Zi Guan) by HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS. To study the anthocyanin accumulation, libraries constructed from the mRNA of skins of Zi Yu and white cultivar (Bai Yu) were sequenced, and 4042 differentially expressed genes were identified. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway analysis underlined the importance of the high expression of flavonoid biosynthetic and regulatory genes in seed skin of Zi Yu. Furthermore, expression profiles of these genes were analyzed carefully in four representative peanut cultivars. Altogether, these results strongly indicate that the up-regulation of transcriptional activators (AhMYB1, AhMYB2, and AhTT8) accounts for the skin-specific accumulation of anthocyanins in black peanut.