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Epitaxial thin films of Fe doped SrTiO3 have been studied by the use of resonant photoemission. This technique allowed us to identify contributions of the Fe and Ti originating electronic states to the valence band. Two valence states of iron Fe2+ and Fe3+, detected on the base of x-ray absorption studies spectra, appeared to form quite different contributions to the valence band of SrTiO3. The electronic states within the in-gap region can be attributed to Fe and Ti ions. The Fe2+ originating states which can be connected to the presence of oxygen vacancies form a broad band reaching binding energies of about 0.5 eV belowthe conduction band, while Fe3+ states form in the gap a sharp feature localized just above the top of the valence band. These structures were also confirmed by calculations performed with the use of the FP-LAPW/APW+lo method including Coulomb correlations within the d shell. It has been shown that Fe doping induced Ti originating states in the energy gap which can be related to the hybridization of Ti and Fe 3d orbitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epitaxial thin films of Fe doped SrTiO3 have been studied by the use of resonant photoemission. This technique allowed us to identify contributions of the Fe and Ti originating electronic states to the valence band. Two valence states of iron Fe2+ and Fe3+, detected on the base of x-ray absorption studies spectra, appeared to form quite different contributions to the valence band of SrTiO3. The electronic states within the in-gap region can be attributed to Fe and Ti ions. The Fe2+ originating states which can be connected to the presence of oxygen vacancies form a broad band reaching binding energies of about 0.5 eV below the conduction band, while Fe3+ states form in the gap a sharp feature localized just above the top of the valence band. These structures were also confirmed by calculations performed with the use of the FP-LAPW/APW+lo method including Coulomb correlations within the d shell. It has been shown that Fe doping induced Ti originating states in the energy gap which can be related to the hybridization of Ti and Fe 3d orbitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many cases, functionality is connected with the response of a material to the action of an external electric field. In oxidic perovskites, so widely used in practice, a disadvantage is their surface chemical instability when subjected to an electric field. That is why investigations of the influence of a high intensity alternating electric field on the phase transition temperatures and chemical properties of the surface and bulk of single crystals of PbZrO3 intentionally made defective by doping with niobium have been undertaken. It has been demonstrated that defects produced through the electro-degradation process make the low-field dielectric response a highly diffusive one, but they do not obscure the sharp phase transitions detected by temperature changes in the bulk piezoelectric and electrostrictive deformation around the critical temperature. Based on XPS spectra, the types of defects at the surface and in the bulk of as-grown single crystals caused by the electric field action are identified. It has been shown that the surface–bulk interrelation in ferroic lead zirconate and solid solutions based on this material has to be taken into account while trying to use them as high quality functional materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been applied to study the electronic structure of the epitaxial Fe-doped SrTiO3 thin films with an Fe concentration of 1 and 2 at%. The results were compared to undoped thin films and lightly Fe-doped single crystal of SrTiO3. Fe doping was found to increase the amount of the in-gap states which can be related to the increased ability of Fe-doped thin films to exhibit resistive switching behaviour. Core level analysis indicates the mixed-valence character of Fe atoms in the films, with a divalent contribution situated on the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of ionic segregation in the surface layer induced by the thermal treatment of the NaNbO3 crystal was studied. The study of the as grown crystal and the crystal heated at 970 K in ambient air was carried out for comparison. The changes in the concentration of the elements within the surface layer were determined using XPS measurements. The AFM technique was applied to determine the surface morphology related to nano-scale transformation. The possibility of appearance of the Ruddlesden-Popper phases was detected by the XRD test. The change in the features of the electric permittivity, the loss tangent, and the electric conductivity was ascribed to the marked participation of the chemically modified surface layer in the measured effective electrical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-dimensional transition metal materials are promising supports for precious metals used in energy production processes. Due to their electrochemical properties, 3d-group metals (such as Ni, Co, and Fe) can actively interact with catalysts by a strong metal-support interaction. This study shows that changing the Ni:Co ratio makes it possible to modulate the structure of the catalyst supports, which, in turn, provides a tool for designing their electrical and electrochemical properties. For example, Ni 1 -Co 9 shows the highest electrical conductivity (5.8-10 -4 S/cm) among all of the materials examined. On the contrary, the Pd@Ni 7 -Co 3 system presents the highest mass activity (>2000 mA mg -1 ) at 0.7 V, exceeding by several times that of commercial Pt/C (>300 mA mg -1 ) at the same potential. Our study opens the gateway for applications of bimetallic transition metal nanowires in catalytic conversion and energy production processes.

The surface modification of magnetite nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 NPs) is a promising approach to obtaining biocompatible and multifunctional nanoplatforms with numerous applications in biomedicine, for example, to fight cancer. However, little is known about the effects of Fe 3 O 4 NP-associated reductive stress against cancer cells, especially against chemotherapy-induced drug-resistant senescent cancer cells. In the present study, Fe 3 O 4 NPs in situ coated by dextran (Fe 3 O 4 @Dex) and glucosamine-based amorphous carbon coating (Fe 3 O 4 @aC) with potent reductive activity were characterized and tested against drug-induced senescent breast cancer cells (Hs 578T, BT-20, MDA-MB-468, and MDA-MB-175-VII cells). Fe 3 O 4 @aC caused a decrease in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and an increase in the levels of antioxidant proteins FOXO3a, SOD1, and GPX4 that was accompanied by elevated levels of cell cycle inhibitors (p21, p27, and p57), proinflammatory (NFκB, IL-6, and IL-8) and autophagic (BECN1, LC3B) markers, nucleolar stress, and subsequent apoptotic cell death in etoposide-stimulated senescent breast cancer cells. Fe 3 O 4 @aC also promoted reductive stress-mediated cytotoxicity in nonsenescent breast cancer cells. We postulate that Fe 3 O 4 NPs, in addition to their well-established hyperthermia and oxidative stress-mediated anticancer effects, can also be considered, if modified using amorphous carbon coating with reductive activity, as stimulators of reductive stress and cytotoxic effects in both senescent and nonsenescent breast cancer cells with different gene mutation statuses.

Ticks play an important role in transmitting many different emerging zoonotic pathogens that pose a significant threat to human and animal health. In Switzerland and abroad, the number of tick-borne diseases, in particular tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), has been increasing over the last few years. Thus, it remains essential to investigate the pathogen spectrum of ticks to rapidly detect emerging pathogens and initiate the necessary measures. To assess the risk of tick-borne diseases in different regions of Switzerland, we collected a total of 10'286 ticks from rural and urban areas in ten cantons in 2021 and 2022. Ticks were pooled according to species, developmental stage, gender, and collection site, and analyzed using next generation sequencing (NGS) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The metagenomic analysis revealed for the first time the presence of Alongshan virus (ALSV) in Swiss ticks. Interestingly, the pool-prevalence of ALSV was higher than that of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Furthermore, several TBEV foci have been identified and pool prevalence of selected non-viral pathogens determined., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Stegmüller et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

In the current work, we report on the synthesizing of a series of novel nanocomposite materials obtained by functionalizing the SBA-15 silica matrix with anchored iron phosphonate molecules and the following thermal treatment. The obtained results reveal the formation of a unique amorphic layer of Fe-based compounds on the surface of silica walls of SBA-15 channels as a result of the organic groups' decomposition after moderate thermal treatment. Due to their unique structure, represented in an active Fe-containing amorphous coating spread over a large surface area, these materials are of great interest for their potential applications in fields such as catalysis, adsorption, and non-linear optics. The obtained materials remain amorphous, preserving the SBA-15 mesoporous structure up to temperatures of approximately 800 °C, after which the partial melting of the silica backbone is observed with the simultaneous formation of nanocrystals inside the newly-formed glassy mass. All obtained materials were characterized using such techniques as thermogravimetry, transmission and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy mapping, Raman spectroscopy, N 2 sorption analysis, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and SQUID measurements., (Creative Commons Attribution license.)

The main aim of this work was to use the iron-iron oxide nanochains (Fe NCs) as adsorbents of the carcinogenic cationic crystal violet (CV) and anionic Congo red (CR) dyes from water. The investigated adsorbent was prepared by a magnetic-field-induced reduction reaction, and it revealed a typical core-shell structure. It was composed of an iron core covered by a thin Fe 3 O 4 shell (<4 nm). The adsorption measurements conducted with UV-vis spectroscopy revealed that 15 mg of Fe NCs constituted an efficient dose to be used in the CV and CR treatment. The highest effectiveness of CV and CR removal was found for a contact time of 90 min at pH 7 and 150 min at pH 8, respectively. Kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The adsorption process followed the Temkin model for both dyes taking into account the highest value of the R 2 coefficient, whereas in the case of CR, the Redlich-Peterson model could be also considered. The maximal adsorption capacity estimated from the Langmuir isotherms for the CV and CR was 778.47 and 348.46 mg g -1 , respectively. Based on the Freundlich model, both dyes adsorbed on the Fe NCs through chemisorption, but Coulombic interactions between the dye and adsorbent cannot be excluded in the case of the CV dye. The obtained results proved that the investigated Fe NCs had an excellent adsorption ability for both dye molecules within five cycles of adsorption/desorption, and therefore, they can be considered as a promising material for water purification and environmental applications.

The zerovalent iron (Fe 0 ) nanomaterials tend to be spontaneously oxidized in the presence of oxygen. This leads to the formation of interface composed of iron core and thin iron oxide shell. These structures are frequently observed with transmission electron microscope but, at the same time, it is hard to determine the precise structural and chemical composition of oxide shell. This feature is very important for possible applications of Fe 0 nanostructures. Hence, the present work aims to deliver more detailed insights in this topic. The investigations are performed for the iron nanochains prepared in the magnetic-field-induce reduction of FeCl 3 by NaBH 4 . The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy confirm that the iron nanochains are covered by very thin oxide layer not exceeding over 3 nm. Moreover, the detailed XPS analyses of O 1s and Fe 2p lines indicate that the iron oxide shell reveals Fe 3 O 4 nature. Moreover, this work demonstrated that some by-products of the reaction containing boron are presented in the sample even after a removal of the thin iron oxide shell by Ar + treatment., (© 2023 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Heavy metals and other organic pollutants burden the environment, and their removal or neutralization is still inadequate. The great potential for development in this area includes porous, spherical silica nanostructures with a well-developed active surface and open porosity. In this context, we modified the surface of silica spheres using a microwave field (variable power and exposure time) to increase the metal uptake potential and build stable bioactive Ag 2 O/Ag 2 CO 3 heterojunctions. The results showed that the power of the microwave field (P = 150 or 700 W) had a more negligible effect on carrier modification than time (t = 60 or 150 s). The surface-activated and silver-loaded silica carrier features like morphology, structure, and chemical composition correlate with microbial and antioxidant enzyme activity. We demonstrated that the increased sphericity of silver nanoparticles enormously increased toxicity against E. coli , B. cereus , and S. epidermidis . Furthermore, such structures negatively affected the antioxidant defense system of E. coli , B. cereus , and S. epidermidis through the induction of oxidative stress, leading to cell death. The most robust effects were found for nanocomposites in which the carrier was treated for an extended period in a microwave field.