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Recently, several studies on the chemical synthesis of brevianamide A (BA) were reported. In particular, a highly efficient and remarkably selective synthetic strategy was reported by Lawrence's group. However, a unified mechanistic understanding of these results is still lacking. We have carried out a DFT study and proposed a unified mechanism to understand these experimental results. Starting from intermediate 2, the most favorable reaction sequence is a fast tautomerization, followed by a σ-migration of the base moiety, and a final inverse-electron demanding Diels-Alder reaction, resulting in the formation of the BA product stereoselectively. This reaction mechanism can also be applied to understand the biosynthesis of BA that involves enzymatic catalysis.

In this study, the adsorption of starburst molecules (C 57 H 48 N 4 , SBM) deposited on Au(111) was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). SBM molecules selectively adsorb on the face-centered-cubic regions of Au(111) in quasi one-dimensional chains. Compared with the SBM structure on hBN/Rh(111), the assembly structure of SBM on Au(111) can be clearly confirmed to be molecular chains in the "plug-in" configuration. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) revealed that the interaction between SBM molecules and Au(111) induces the modification of the molecular electronic states. The STS mapping further revealed a continuous 1D electronic state concentrated at the center of the SBM molecular chains.

Anionic polyelectrolytes, such as DNA, are attracted to anionic surfaces in the presence of multivalent cations. A major barrier toward molecular-level understanding of these attractive interactions is the paucity of measurements of the binding strength. Here, atomic force microscopy-based single molecule force spectroscopy was used to quantify the binding free energy of double-stranded DNA to an anionic surface, with complementary density functional theory calculations of the binding energies of metal ion-ligand complexes. The results support both electrostatic attraction and ion-specific binding. Our study suggests that the correlated interactions between counterions are responsible for attraction between DNA and an anionic surface, but the strength of this attraction is modulated by the identity of the metal ion. We propose a mechanism in which the strength of metal-ligand binding, as well as the preference for particular binding sites, influence both the concentration dependence and the strength of the DNA-surface interactions.

The hepatoprotective effects of kiwifruit seed oil (KSO) were evaluated on acute liver injury (ALI) induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) in vivo . Network pharmacology was used to predict active compounds and targets. Metabolomics and gut microbiota analyses were used to discover the activity mechanism of KSO. KSO improved the liver histological structure, significantly reduced serum proinflammatory cytokine levels, and increased liver antioxidant capacity. The metabolomics analysis showed that KSO may have hepatoprotective effects by controlling metabolites through its participation in signaling pathways like tryptophan metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, galactose metabolism, and bile secretion. The gut microbiota analysis demonstrated that KSO improved the composition and quantity of the gut flora. Network pharmacological investigations demonstrated that KSO operated by altering Ptgs2 , Nos2 , Ppara , Pparg and Serpine1 mRNA levels. All evidence shows that KSO has a hepatoprotective effect, and the mechanism is connected to the regulation of metabolic disorders and intestinal flora.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a worldwide public health issue, but a widely accepted therapy is still lacking until now. Anthocyanins are natural flavonoid compounds that possess various bioactivities, but their applications are limited due to their low bioavailability and stability. Acylated anthocyanins are reported to show higher stability, whereas their effects on NAFLD are still unclear. Herein, pelargonidin-3- O -(6''-acetyl)-glucoside (Ace Pg3G) was found to dose-dependently reduce intracellular lipid droplets and triglycerides, and improve cellular oxidative stress that accompanied lipid deposition. Besides, Ace Pg3G was proved to activate AMPK phosphorylation, thus stimulating AMPK-mediated lysosome-autophagy pathway to eliminate overloaded lipid. Further study unveiled that Ace Pg3G regulated genes related to lipid metabolism downstream of AMPK to inhibit lipid synthesis and accelerate lipid oxidation. Overall, this study provided the first evidence, to our best knowledge, that Ace Pg3G ameliorated free fatty acid-induced lipid deposition in hepatocytes through regulating AMPK-mediated autophagy pathways and redox state.

A new hydrazone Schiff base ligand was condensed from 2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde and pyrimidine-4-carbohydrazide {H 2 L = ( E )- N '-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)pyrimidine-4-carbohydrazide}, which was used to assemble two new Dy 2 complexes Dy 2 L 2 (DMF) 2 (NO 3 ) 2 (1) and Dy 2 L 2 (DMF) 2 (AcO) 2 (2). Notably, the coordinated anions have a subtle effect on the coordination configurations of the Dy 3+ ions and the magnetic properties of the two Dy 2 complexes. The Dy 3+ ions in 1 and 2 have the same N 2 O 5 coordination environment but show the triangular dodecahedron and the biaugmented trigonal prism coordination configurations, respectively. Magnetic measurements revealed that both 1 and 2 have intramolecular ferromagnetic interactions between the Dy 3+ ions and show single-molecule magnet behaviors at 0 Oe, with U eff / k values of 58.2 K for 1 and 59.9 K for 2. These magnetic properties may be explained by theoretical calculations.

An efficient synthesis of sulfone structures through selenonium salts and sodium sulfinates was developed. Under the irradiation of a blue LED lamp, the two substrates generate aryl and sulfonyl radicals through the activation of the intermediate electron donor acceptor (EDA) complex, thereby synthesizing aromatic, heteroaromatic and aliphatic sulfones in medium to good yields. The advantages of this strategy are metal-free, mild conditions and the leaving group is recycled to construct new selenonium salts.

By means of ab initio density functional theory calculations taking into account electronic correlation and van der Waals force, we conducted comprehensive studies of the electronic and magnetic properties, as well as structural and magnetic ordering evolution under pressure of the square lattice antiferromagnets AMoOPO 4 Cl (A = K, Rb) containing Mo 5+ ions with , theoretically predicted as the potential candidates for achieving quantum phases, existing in the boundary regimes for square lattice magnets. Our results indicate that the columnar antiferromagnetic ordering, experimentally determined, is the magnetic ground state of the ambient P 4/ nmm phase, stabilized by the predominant antiferromagnetic next nearest neighbor interaction J 2 in the diagonal directions of the square lattice, regardless of the effective Hubbard amendment values. More importantly, the P 4/ n phase, involving the mutual twisting of the MoO 5 Cl and PO 4 polyhedra, satisfactorily reproduces the experimentally observed structural transition and the subsequent magnetic ordering transition from columnar antiferromagnetic ordering to Néel antiferromagnetic one, identified to be the appropriate high pressure structure. Furthermore, the mechanism underlined responsible for the magnetic ordering transition at high pressure has been disclosed in terms of density of states and spin density isosurface analysis across the transition. The loss of mirror plane symmetry in the P 4/ n phase activates the P 3s orbitals to participate in the magnetic interaction, giving rise to a competitive ferromagnetic superexchange interaction, in addition to antiferromagnetic direct one, and consequently initiating the magnetic ordering transition. The insights revealed here not only deepen our understanding of the electronic properties and structural and magnetic ordering transitions under high pressure of square lattice antiferromagnets AMoOPO 4 Cl (A = K, Rb), but also push the boundaries of knowledge by recognizing the role of nonmagnetic ions P 3s in magnetic exchange coupling.

The controlled conformational changes of planar graphene nanosheets are of great importance to the realization of their practical applications. Despite substantial effort in the area, the controlled folding of two-dimensional (2D) graphene sheets into one-dimensional (1D) structures still remains a significant challenge. Here, for the first time, we report an ice crystal guided folding strategy to fabricate 1D folded graphene nanobelts (FGBs), where the formation and growth of ice crystals in a confined space function to guide the folding of 2D graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets into 1D nanobelts ( i.e. folded graphene oxide belts, FGOBs), which were subsequently converted to FGBs after annealing. Thin aqueous GO containing films were obtained by blowing air through a GO dispersion in the presence of a surfactant, polyoxypropylenediamine (D 400 ), resulting in a foam containing uniform air bubbles. Subsequent shock cooling of the foam using liquid nitrogen resulted in the facile fabrication of FGOBs. This technique provides a general approach to encapsulate catalytic nanomaterials such as Fe 3 O 4 nanorods, TiO 2 and Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles into the folded graphene structure for practical applications such as Li-ion batteries., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Belchinoids A-C (1-3), three unusual nor-sesquiterpenoids, along with a new isoflavone (4), were isolated from the roots of Belamcanda chinensis , a traditional Chinese medicine. To the best of our knowledge, compound 1 represents the first C13 nor-sesquiterpenoid with a five membered carbon ring. Compounds 2 and 3 are rare C14 chained nor-sesquiterpenoids. Their structures were fully characterized based on extensive spectroscopic data and quantum chemistry calculation. Three compounds (1, 2, and 4) showed potent inhibitory effects on lipid accumulation in an oleic acid-treated HepG2 cell model. In particular, compound 2 exhibited the most potent inhibitory effect on triglyceride accumulation at a low concentration of 2.5 μM, better than the positive control atorvastatin. The plausible biosynthetic pathway of the three nor-sesquiterpenoids (1-3) is also proposed.

A porphyrin-based conjugated microporous polymer photocatalyst named LDPO-2 was synthesized by a post-modification approach, which improved its hydrophilicity and visible light absorption ability. LDPO-2 achieved >99.5% removal efficiency for bisphenol A (BPA, 10 ppm) within 12 min of exposure to visible light, and the photocatalytic mechanism and potential degradation pathways were well investigated. LDPO-2 also exhibited impressive removal efficiency against BPA analogues, proving its practical applications in real-water treatment scenarios.

In this study, ZnS capped Cu-In-S (ZCIS) quantum dots doped with Mn ions are synthesized by a thermal injection method, with luminescence covering almost the entire visible area. The large Stokes shift effectively inhibits the self-absorption effect under luminescence, and the quantum yield of ZCIS quantum dots increased from 38% to 50% after ZnS capping and further to 69% after doping with Mn. First, red-, yellow-, and blue-emitting quantum dots were synthesized and then, polychromatic ensembles were obtained by mixing the trichromatic quantum dots in a different ratio. Using the home-built inkjet printer, multilayered and multicolor mixed patterns were obtained for information pattern storage and multilayer pattern recognition and reading., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Hydrothermal synthesis was used to create four different POM-based compounds, namely {[Co(Hptpm) 2 (β-Mo 8 O 26 ) 0.5 (ξ-Mo 8 O 26 ) 0.5 ]}·H 2 O (1), [Co(Hptpm) 2 (δ-Mo 8 O 26 )]·H 2 O (2), [Co(Hptpm) 2 (β-Mo 8 O 26 )] (3) and [Zn(Hptpm) 2 (β-Mo 8 O 26 )] (4) (ptpm = 4-[3-(3-pyridine-2-yl-[1,2,4]triazol-4-yl)-propyl]-morpholine). 1-4 containing different octamolybdate isomers were characterized. Compounds 1-4 showed good electrochemical performance and can be utilized as bifunctional sensors for NO 2 - , H 2 O 2 , Cr(VI) and Fe(III). Taking compound 1 as an example, the detection limits are 0.081 μM for NO 2 - , 0.072 μM for H 2 O 2 , 0.054 μM for Cr(VI) and 0.063 μM for Fe(III), respectively. Compounds 1-4 have good capacitance. Moreover, compounds 1-4 also show good adsorption properties for organic cationic dyes. The cationic dyes include methylene blue (MB), crystal violet (CV) and neutral red (NR). In addition, 1-4 have excellent characteristics that can reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by photocatalytic technology. Within 30 min, the reduction rates were 95.85% for 1, 93.99% for 2, 90.29% for 3 and 88.18% for 4.

Porous organic polymers (POPs) are a novel class of polymeric materials with high flexibility and designability for building structures. Herein, a phthalocyanine-based porous organic polymer (PcPOP) was constructed in situ on copper foil from H 2 Pc(ethynyl) 4 [Pc(ethynyl) 4 = 2(3),9(10),16(17),23(24)-tetra(ethynyl)phthalocyanine] by the coupling reaction. Benefiting from the uniformly distributed electron-rich nitrogen atoms in the Pc structure and the sp-hybridized carbons in the acetylenic linkage, Li intercalation in the porous organic polymer would be improved and stabilized. As a result, PcPOP showed remarkable electrochemical performance in lithium-ion batteries as the anode, including high specific capacity (a charge capacity of 1172 mA h g -1 at a current density of 150 mA g -1 ) and long cycling stability (a reversible capacity of 960.1 mA h g -1 can be achieved even after 600 cycles at a current density of 1500 mA g -1 ). The result indicates that the intrinsic doping of electron-rich sites of the building molecules is beneficial for the electrochemical performance of the porous organic polymer.

Thermal kinetic parameters are important for establishing the relationship between the aging process, time, and temperature, which would help predict the thermal aging lifetime and stability in the application of polymer materials. We developed a multi-channel in situ detecting device, which provided an efficient method for IR spectrum measurement. The thermal aging process of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) at several constant temperatures (100 °C, 110 °C, 120 °C, 135 °C, and 150 °C) had been studied by the multi-channel in situ infrared reaction device. The kinetic parameters ( E α ) were calculated from the absorbance intensity of -C-O-, -C[double bond, length as m-dash]O, -CH 3 , and -OH. The -OH proved to be the active site of PVB during thermal aging, and a possible thermal aging mechanism of PVB was proposed. We proved the method using a combination of a multi-channel in situ reaction device and FTIR was suitable to study the aging mechanism and kinetics of polymers., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Expression of concern for 'Poly(lactide- co -glycolide) grafted hyaluronic acid-based electrospun fibrous hemostatic fragments as a sustainable anti-infection and immunoregulation material' by Wen Liu et al. , J. Mater. Chem. B , 2019, 7 , 4997-5010, https://doi.org/10.1039/C9TB00659A.

Infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria still pose a clinical challenge. Although nanomaterials have been developed for antibacterial treatments, a systematic evaluation of the mechanisms and intervention models of antibacterial materials toward Gram-negative bacteria is still lacking. Herein, antibacterial quaternized carbon dots (QCDs) were synthesized via a one-step melting method using anhydrous citric acid and diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DDA). The QCDs exhibited effective broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and enhanced inhibitory ability towards Gram-negative bacteria. The antibacterial mechanism of the QCDs with respect to Gram-negative bacteria was investigated through the characterization of bacterial morphology changes, the absorption modes of the QCDs on bacteria, and the potential generation of reactive oxygen species by the QCDs. The QCDs showed low toxicity in different cells, and did not cause hemolysis. The QCDs were administered via intraperitoneal injection to treat acute peritonitis in mice infected with E. coli . Routine blood examination, magnetic resonance imaging, and pathological analysis were undertaken and it was found that, similar to the positive control group treated with gentamicin sulfate, the QCDs exhibited a therapeutic effect that eliminated infection and inflammation. This study explores a controllable synthetic strategy for the synthesis of active carbon dots with antibacterial activity, a material that is a promising candidate for new treatments of Gram-negative bacterial infections.

Lipophilic N , N , N ', N '-tetraalkyl-diglycolamides (TRDGAs) are promising extractants for actinides separation in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. Usually, in the extracted complexes of actinide and lanthanide ions of various oxidation states, the metal ions are completely surrounded by 2 or 3 TRDGA molecules, and the counter anions do not directly coordinate with them. In contrast, the extracted complexes of U(iv) from different media presenting different absorption spectra indicate that the anions (Cl - and NO 3 - ) are directly involved in the coordination with U(iv) in the first inner sphere. Based on this exceptional observation in solvent extraction, taking the coordination of U(iv) with N , N , N ', N '-tetramethyl-diglycolamide (TMDGA, the smallest analogue of TRDGA) as the research object, we mimic the behaviours of counterions (Cl - and NO 3 - ) and the water molecule during coordination of TMDGA with U(iv), especially combining with the simulation of the absorption spectra. We demonstrate that during the complexing of TMDGA to U(iv), the counterion Cl - will occupy one coordination number in the inner coordination sphere, and NO 3 - will occupy two by bidentate type; however, the ubiquitous water cannot squeeze in the inner coordination sphere. In addition, the coordination of Cl - and NO 3 - is proved to favour the extraction with the lower binding energy. Moreover, the simulation of absorption spectra is in good agreement with the observation from experiments, further verifying the aforementioned conclusion. This work in some way will provide guidance to improve the computation methods in research of actinides by mimicking the absorption spectra of actinide ions in different complexes., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

A visible-light-mediated protocol to prepare 1,2-diamines has been successfully explored based on the photoredox/Brønsted acid co-catalyzed α-amino alkylations of imines with tertiary amines. Both ketimines and aldimines are applicable to this transformation. Various 1,2-diamines with different functional groups were produced in moderate to excellent yields. Moreover, this approach could be performed on a gram scale, showing its practicality.

In the field of membrane separation, the environmental concerns caused by spent membranes are becoming increasingly serious, which contradicts the concept of sustainable development. Based on this, a biodegradable poly(butylene adipate- co -terephthalate) (PBAT) membrane was used for the first time in the pervaporation separation of phenol, a high boiling point organic compound (HBOC). By using the PBAT membrane, outstanding separation efficiency was achieved, and environmental pollution and disposal issues were also avoided. The separation process and mechanism of the PBAT membrane were systematically studied through the experiment together with molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The swelling experiment and intermolecular interaction energy calculation demonstrated that the PBAT membrane had a strong affinity for phenol. Further simulation concluded that higher phenol concentration increased the number of hydrogen bonds so that the membrane was more greatly swollen. Meanwhile, the simulations on the adsorption, diffusion and permeation predicted that the PBAT membrane had excellent separation performance for phenol. Besides MD simulation, the influences of feed concentration and temperature on pervaporation performance were also investigated by experiment. The results showed that the flux of each component increased with the feed concentration. This phenomenon was attributed to the preferential adsorption of phenol by the PBAT membrane, which resulted in large free volumes and cavities within the membrane, accelerating the diffusion of molecules. In addition, it was found that the optimal operating temperature was 333 K with the best separation performance. This study confirms that the biodegradable PBAT membrane is valuable for the recovery of high boiling point organic compounds (HBOCs) such as phenol.

A new strategy involving three-component functionalization of olefins with sulfoxyimidoylsulfonium salt and a nucleophilic reagent for the synthesis of β-amino alcohols and β-amino ethers by photoredox catalysis was developed. The sulfoxyimidoylsulfonium salt is important and serves as the N -centred radical precursor. β-Amino alcohols and β-amino ethers bearing various functional groups are synthesized in good yields under mild conditions. Furthermore, the advantages of this strategy are greater safety, no additives, and easy to obtain raw materials.

Acid treatment of Ti-doped α-Fe 2 O 3 photoanode can reduce the onset potential and promote the photocurrent density for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting reaction. However, the inner mechanism of how this occurs has not yet been clarified. This report compares the effect of HCl hydrothermal treatment on α-Fe 2 O 3 photoanodes doped with Ge, Pt, Ti, and Sn or codoped with TiGe, TiPt, and TiSn. The findings show that the promotion effect of HCl hydrothermal treatment was far less significant on the Ge-, Pt-, and Sn-doped α-Fe 2 O 3 than on the Ti-doped one. In contrast, the codoped photoanodes could realize a lift in the photocurrent of up to 39% at 1.23 V RHE ( versus the reversible hydrogen electrode) and a reduction in the potential onset by ∼60 mV after HCl hydrothermal treatment. Anatase TiO 2 was detected by Raman spectroscopy on the Ti-doped α-Fe 2 O 3 with adequate treatment in HCl solution. Thus, the performance promotion by acid treatment was ascribed to the surface-concentrated Ti-O bonds acting as a passivation layer that could increase the charge-capture capacity and reduce the charge-transfer resistance, as demonstrated by the potential-modulated electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results. HCl treatment of the in situ -doped α-Fe 2 O 3 and an excessive treatment time for the ex situ -doped α-Fe 2 O 3 caused an inhibition in the PEC performance, which could be attributed to the adverse effect of lattice defects induced by acid corrosion. The application scope of HCl treatment on the doped α-Fe 2 O 3 was determined by revealing its working mechanism., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

In this study, CNFs were provided by an efficient, unmodified, and clean biological method with enzymes and a small amount of alkali, compared to the CNCs with the chemical method involving a strong acid. To provide an accurate targeted selection for future applications, we made the following comparison by analyzing the differences in the preparation method, performance, and application performance of the two nanocelluloses. The result of this study indicated that CNFs and CNCs exhibited a crystallinity index of 58.2 and 83.5%, respectively. CNFs had a mean length ( L ) of 192.3 nm and a diameter (D) of 1.9 nm, and the average L and D of CNCs reached 123.6 nm and 3.7 nm, respectively. The solution viscosity of CNFs and CNCs reached 7.46 Pa s and 1.91 Pa s, respectively. CNFs and CNCs exhibited zeta potential values of -88.26 mV and -26.40 mV, respectively. The electrospun composite film of PLA-CNFs and PLA-CNCs achieved water contact angles of 138.7 and 34.5°, and the water-oil contact angle reached 24.7 and 30.5°, respectively. The breaking strength of PLA-CNFs and PLA-CNCs reached 96.07 cN and 163.23 cN, and the break elongation followed an order of PLA-CNCs (32.16%) < PLA-CNFs (34.70%). In brief, CNFs can make the composite membrane hydrophobic and with superior extension, and CNCs can make the composite membrane hydrophilic and enhance its strength. Both the composite films conformed to the non-toxic standard, and the PLA-CNFs film more significantly contributed to the cell growth, which is expected to serve as a medical material.

Inspired by the diverse bioactivities of α-amino phosphine oxides, an efficient strategy for the synthesis of less researched α-(hydroxyamino)diarylphosphine oxides has been developed and their antitumor activities are explored. Under water as a solvent and catalyst-free conditions, the addition of nitrones and diphenylphosphine oxide occurs smoothly to afford α-(hydroxyamino) diarylphosphine oxides in high yields. This reaction features a wide substrate scope, facile starting materials, atom economy, and easy purification. Moreover, the biological evaluation revealed that two synthesized derivatives 5e and 5f could serve as interesting anti-cancer agents for further development.

High-intensity ultrasonication (HIU) is an emerging technology for improving the functional properties of the leguminous proteins in the food industry. In this study, chickpea protein (CP) was treated at 150 W for 30 min to obtain ultrasonic chickpea protein (UCP). The physicochemical (particle size, ζ -potential, hydrophobicity, and free sulfhydryl) and structural properties (FTIR) were changed after the HIU treatment, which led to an improvement of functional properties, including the solubility, emulsifying, and foamability in UCP. The chickpea protein diet (CPD) and ultrasound chickpea protein diet (UCPD) were supplemented to undernourished weaning rats to assess their potential in improving malnutrition. After 6 weeks of administration, the body weight of malnourished rats in UCPD increased by 11.97% compared with that in CPD. The results in OMICS showed that beneficial bacteria and short-chain fatty acids were positively related to growth. This work demonstrated the physicochemical and functional properties of CP and UCP and guided the application of the UCP to malnutrition improvement.

Highly dispersed Cu@FeCo/rGO catalysts have been prepared by two-step reduction method and used for hydrogen production from ammonia borane (NH 3 BH 3 , AB) hydrolysis at 298 K. The activity and reusability of synthesized composite catalyst were much more higher than Cu@FeCo for AB hydrolysis dehydrogenation at 298 K. Kinetic study manifested that AB hydrolysis dehydrogenation with Cu@FeCo/rGO catalysts was approaching to the first order at different catalyst concentrations. The hydrolysis reaction completed within four minutes, and its maximum hydrogen production rate reached to 7863.0 ml min -1 g -1 at 298 K., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Among different types of anti-icing coatings, superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted extensive attention due to their excellent water repellency and low thermal conductivity. We report facile spraying time tuning to optimize the superhydrophobic (SHP) surface coating fabrication by a one-step spraying method of mixing SiO 2 nanoparticles with epoxy resin (EP), polyamide resin (PAI), and HFTMS. The wettability performance was optimized by adjusting spraying time from 0 s to 25 s to control surface morphology by adjusting surface morphology and line roughness. With spraying time of 20 s, SiO 2 molecular clusters on the superhydrophobic surface showed a maximum water contact angle (WCA) of 160.4° ± 1.3° and a sliding angle (SA) of 4.1° ± 1.0°. What's more, the effect of the coatings' icing behavior were studied by icing heat conduction; SHP-20 delayed the icing time for 410 s at -15 °C, and the icing performance of SHP-20 also declined with the decrease of temperature to -9 °C, -12 °C, -15 °C, and -18 °C. The WCA of SHP-20 can remain above 140.9° ± 1.8° after 40 abrasive 1000# sandpaper wear cycles. The results also provide a basis for the preparation of SHP and anti-icing characteristics., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

With the development of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, various calibration transfer algorithms have been proposed, but such algorithms are often based on the same distribution of samples. In machine learning, calibration transfer between types of samples can be achieved using transfer learning and does not need many samples. This paper proposed an instance transfer learning algorithm based on boosted weighted extreme learning machine (weighted ELM) to construct NIR quantitative analysis models based on different instruments for tobacco in practical production. The support vector machine (SVM), weighted ELM, and weighted ELM-AdaBoost models were compared after the spectral data were preprocessed by standard normal variate (SNV) and principal component analysis (PCA), and then the weighted ELM-TrAdaBoost model was built using data from the other domain to realize the transfer from different source domains to the target domain. The coefficient of determination of prediction ( R 2 ) of the weighted ELM-TrAdaBoost model of four target components (nicotine, Cl, K, and total nitrogen) reached 0.9426, 0.8147, 0.7548, and 0.6980. The results demonstrated the superiority of ensemble learning and the source domain samples for model construction, improving the models' generalization ability and prediction performance. This is not a bad approach when modeling with small sample sizes and has the advantage of fast learning., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The short-circuit current density ( J SC ) of CdTe solar cells both in the short and long wavelength regions can be effectively enhanced by using CdS/CdSe as the composite window layer. CdS/CdSe composite layers would interdiffuse to form the CdSe x S 1- x ternary layer during the high temperature deposition process of CdTe films. In this paper, the electronic properties of CdSe x S 1- x (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) ternary alloys are investigated by first-principles calculation based on the density functional theory (DFT) and the performance of CdS/CdSe/CdTe devices are modeled by SCAPS to reveal why CdS/CdSe complex layers have good effects. The calculation results show that the position of the valence band of CdSe x S 1- x moves towards the vacuum level as the doping concentration of Se increases and the band gap becomes narrow. According to device modeling, the highest conversion efficiency of 20.34% could be achieved through adjusting the conduction band offset (CBO) of theCdSe x S 1- x /CdTe interface to about 0.11 eV while the Se concentration x approaches 0.75. Further investigations suggest a 50-120 nm thickness of CdSe x S 1- x ( x = 0.75) would obtain better device performance. It means that solar cells with a CdSe x S 1- x /CdTe structure need a suitable Se content and thickness of CdSe x S 1- x . These results can provide theoretical guidance for the design and fabrication of high efficiency CdTe solar cells., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

A novel photo-induced C-H arylation of (hetero)arenes has been developed. Aryl selenonium salts as an aryl source led to the arylation of aromatic (hetero)cyclic compounds via C-Se bond activation under blue LED irradiation. The method simply utilizes the safe and clean energy source and yields a range of site-selective biphenyl or bi-heterocyclic products in medium to good yields. Furthermore, the borylation and Sonogashira coupling of aryl selenonium salts proceed in good yields as well. From the results, it is shown that selenonium salts are more reactive than sulfonium salts.

The development of portable solid-phase biosensors is of great significance for point-of-care testing (POCT). In this work, we constructed a simple visualized solid-phase biosensor based on luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) from upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for quantitative detection of virus-specific nucleic acid sequences. The detection data showed that there was a linear relationship between the luminescence recovery of UCNPs and the concentrations of the target within the range of 5-100 nM, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.326 nM. Additionally, the luminescence recovery of UCNPs was visualized and quantitatively analyzed using a home-built luminescence image capture device and an open-source ImageJ software that can analyze and process images. Compared with conventional liquid-phase biosensors, the solid-phase analysis method we constructed not only has advantages in cost, portability and stability, but also is more conducive to the rapid acquisition and storage of the detected sample, which is expected to become a fast, efficient and reliable detection platform for POCT.

The industrial application of hydrate technology is greatly hindered by its slow generation rate, low gas storage rate, harsh generation conditions, and poor environmental friendliness of traditional additives. In this paper, the kinetic and thermodynamic promotion effects of graphene oxide (GO) and recovered graphene oxide (Re-GO) on methane hydrate in different systems were studied by the constant volume methods. The promotion mechanism was analyzed from the micro perspectives of molecular physical properties, interfacial reaction, and nucleation sites. It is found that GO has an excellent kinetic and thermodynamic promotion effect on CH 4 hydrate generation. After the recovery process, the thermodynamic effect of Re-GO is basically unchanged, and the kinetic promotion effect is slightly reduced. Furthermore, it is verified that the GO material itself does not have a memory effect in hydrate formation. The results show that GO is an excellent accelerator of CH 4 hydrate formation with high recovery value, which provides essential data and an experimental basis for the research and application of graphene oxide and hydrate technology in energy storage and cold storage., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The synthesis of three N-heterocyclic carbene complexes by stepwise grinding is described in this paper. The benzimidazolium salts ([H2L]Br2 and [H2L](PF6)2 ([H2L] = 1,1'-di(2-picolyl)-3,3'-methylenedibenzoimidazolium)) were initially prepared. Their reactions with Ni(OAc) 2 ·4H 2 O by grinding afforded three nickel complexes, [NiL]Br 2 ·CH 3 OH (1), [NiL]Br 2 ·2H 2 O (1') and [NiL](PF 6 ) 2 ·0.5CH 3 CN (2), respectively. A five-coordinated complex [NiLBr]PF 6 (3) was further obtained by grinding NH 4 PF 6 with complex 1 or 1', or grinding KBr with complex 2. Complex 3 can also be obtained by direct grinding of complexes 1/1' and 2. Complex 3 was subsequently used as a catalyst in the C-S bond cross-coupling of 2-bromoacetophenone and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole. The entire procedure from the synthesis to the catalytic reaction was performed by mechanochemistry. The green metrics E -factor and EcoScale close to ideal values showed the eco-friendly nature of the entire procedure.

Anthocyanins are natural products that display diverse bioactivities but are limited in their applications by low stability and bioavailability. Acylated anthocyanins are found to possess higher stability, while their bioactivities are still obscure. In this study, acetylation of pelargonidin-3- O -glucoside (Pg3G) was catalyzed by Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) for the first time, with a conversion rate up to 88.77% over 48 h. The acetylated product was identified as pelargonidin-3- O -(6''-acetyl)-glucoside and its properties were detected. Notably, acetylated Pg3G (Ace Pg3G) possessed better thermostability and lipophilicity than Pg3G, indicating a longer retention time at physiological pH and facilitating penetration into the lipophilic medium as well as the cell membrane. Most importantly, Ace Pg3G exerted better alleviation effects against H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative hepatic damage than parent Pg3G via activating the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway and upregulating the expressions of the downstream phase II detoxification enzymes GCLC and HO-1, thereby reversing redox imbalance and enhancing cell survival. Overall, our research unveiled the better health benefits of Ace Pg3G and also provided new insights about the applications of acetylated anthocyanins in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products.

In this work, a ratiometric fluorescence sensor along with a portable coffee ring visualized detection method for bisphenol A (BPA) was developed based on carbon dots. The probe was formed by the coordination polymerization of Eu 3+ and 5'-adenosine monophosphate on the surface of carbon dots containing a large number of hydroxyl and carbonyl groups. The results showed that the fluorescence intensity ratio and the concentration of BPA had a good linear relationship in a wide range of 0.1-100 μM with a detection limit of 20 nM (S/N = 3). The recoveries of the added standard BPA in water samples ranged from 91.80 to 102.7% with relative standard deviation values no more than 1.84% ( n = 3). In addition, the changes of the fluorescence color of the CDs@Eu-AMP suspension with different BPA concentrations can be easily visualized under a UV lamp by the naked eye, which highlights the great potential of the coffee ring detection method for the fast and convenient monitoring of BPA in real water samples., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Oxidation is a major cause of meat quality deterioration during broiler production, which leads to undesirable meat color and impaired water holding capacity (WHC), thereby impacting consumer appeal and satisfaction. Chlorogenic acid (CGA), a natural phenolic acid, is regarded as a potential, safer and healthier antioxidant to improve meat quality. To investigate the protective effects of CGA on the meat quality of oxidatively stressed broilers, 240 one-day-old male Cobb broiler chickens were allocated to four treatments: basal diet (control group), basal diet + dexamethasone (DEX) injection (DEX group), basal diet containing 500 mg kg -1 CGA (CGA group), and basal diet containing 500 mg kg -1 CGA + DEX injection (DEX&#95;CGA group). Meat quality, antioxidant capacity, the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway, and metabolomic profile were detected in the breast muscle of broilers. Then, correlation analysis between meat quality and antioxidant capacity, antioxidant-related genes, and metabolites was performed. The results indicated that CGA supplementation improved the growth performance and meat quality traits (pH, WHC, and meat color) and enhanced the antioxidant enzyme activity by activating the Nrf2 pathway in the breast muscle of oxidatively stressed broilers. A total of 619 metabolites were identified, among which 93 differential metabolites were found between control and DEX groups, and 65 differential metabolites were observed between DEX and DEX&#95;CGA groups. Breast metabolic profiles were changed by DEX treatment, while CGA supplementation could normalize the metabolic changes in DEX-challenged broilers. Metabolic pathway analysis revealed that most of the differential metabolites between DEX and DEX&#95;CGA groups were involved in pyrimidine/purine, propanoate and phenylalanine metabolism, primary bile acid biosynthesis, and lysine metabolism, which may contribute to explain the protective effects of CGA on meat quality. Moreover, according to the correlation analysis, four metabolites were identified as potential biomarkers to predict the meat quality. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that CGA is an effective, natural and safe antioxidant to enhance the quality of meat from intensive industrial poultry production.

The complexation of solid uranyl nitrate with tri- n -butyl phosphate (TBP) in supercritical CO 2 is quite different from that of a liquid-liquid extraction system because fewer water molecules are involved. Here, the complexation mechanism was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation, emphasising on speciation distribution analysis. In the anhydrous uranyl nitrate system, poly-core uranyl-TBP species [UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 ] 2 ·3TBP and [UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 ] 3 ·3TBP were formed in addition to the predominant [UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 ]·1TBP and [UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 ]·2TBP species. The poly-core species was mainly constructed via the linkage of U[double bond, length as m-dash]O⋯U contributed by pre-developed [UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 ]·1TBP species. However, in the hydrated uranyl nitrate system, TBP·[UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 ]·H 2 O species form, preventing the formation of the poly-core species. The complexation developed differently depending on the TBP to the uranyl nitrate ratio, the solute densities and the participation of water. It suggested that the kinetically favoring species would gradually convert into the thermodynamically stable species [UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 ]·2TBP by ligand exchange., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

As one kind of reactive carbonyl species (RCS), formaldehyde (FA) with a high concentration could be extremely toxic to living bodies as well as the environment. This paper reports a three-dimensional (3D) Tb 3+ @Ag-MOFs-based fluorescent probe for fast sensing of FA, which uses a novel turn-on mechanism based on the luminescence induced by Tb 3+ . The MOF sensor shows broad dynamic ranges of 0.1-1 mM for FA with the detection limit of 1.9 μM. For online and real-time detection of FA, a portable smartphone platform was employed to analyze the RGB values of the fluorescence by a smartphone application. By incorporating this probe into a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) layer, we synthesized a film composite that could effectively remove FA in real samples including milk and chemical factory wastewater, and the removal rate reached 98.52% and 95.38% respectively. Moreover, the potential of the film to remove gaseous FA was confirmed by experiments as well., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

TiO 2 /porous glass-H as composite catalysts were synthesized hydrothermally in the presence of H 2 O 2 using porous glass microspheres as carriers. The photocatalytic-adsorptive desulfurization of model fuel by composite catalysts was investigated under UV irradiation. The structure and morphology of the composite catalysts were characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N 2 adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis). The results showed that TiO 2 /porous glass-H exhibited a significantly enhanced photocatalytic-adsorption desulfurization performance due to its enhanced surface area, highly enhanced light absorption, and reduced recombination of photogenerated electron pairs compared with TiO 2 /porous glass synthesized in the absence of H 2 O 2 . The optimized TiO 2 loading was 20% and the reaction temperature was 303.15 K, which could achieve almost 100% sulfur removal when 0.1 g catalyst was applied to a sulfide concentration of 300 mg L -1 . Based on the kinetic fitting of the obtained data, it was found that the rate-controlling step of sulfide adsorption on the catalyst was a molecular diffusion process and the adsorption intensity and adsorption capacity of the composite catalyst were significantly improved compared with the porous glass-H in the adsorption thermodynamic curve, and Δ S , Δ H and Δ G of the adsorption process were calculated. In addition, TiO 2 /porous glass-H could be regenerated via simple heat treatment, exhibiting similar efficiency as the original TiO 2 /porous glass-H after three regeneration cycles., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

In this paper, an asymmetric allylic alkylation of easily available azomethine ylides with Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) carbonates through a copper (i)/Lewis base cooperative catalysis strategy has been realized. The co-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation provided the corresponding amino acid derivatives in up to 90% yields with up to 99% ee as well as good to excellent regioselectivity.

A high concentration of vanadium [V(v)] in groundwater is extremely harmful for humans. Weak movability and low toxicity after microbial V(v) reduction have attracted remarkable attention, especially for using solid carbon sources. However, the influencing factors remain unclear. In this study, the initial V(v) concentration, inocula amount and straw dosage were examined to ascertain the mechanisms behind them. Increasing the initial V(v) concentration led to the decrease of the V(v) removal efficiency, which was also positively correlated with the straw dosage within a certain range. The initial sludge amount was not a main factor affecting microbial V(v) removal in this study. With the initial amount of 10 mg L -1 V(v), 25 mL initial inocula and 5 g straw, 88.2% of V(v) was removed. According to the dissolved organic matter (DOM) analysis results, microbial activity prevailed in groups with higher V(v) removal efficiency, indicating that the V(v) bio-reduction was attributed to the microbial activity, which was considered a major factor. Functional species as unclassified&#95;f&#95;Enterobacteriaceae presumably contributed to the V(v) bioreduction, with upregulated ABC transporter genes and enzymes., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Herein, a novel amorphous monodisperse Co3O4 quantum dots/3D hexagonal CdS single crystals (0D/3D Co3O4 QDs/CdS) p-n heterojunction was constructed by a simple hydrothermal and electrostatic self-assembly method. The amorphous monodispersed Co3O4 QDs (≈4.5 nm) are uniformly and tightly attached to the surface of the hexagonal CdS single crystals. The sample, 0.5% CQDs/CdS exhibits outstanding hydrogen evolution activity of 17.5 mmol h-1 g-1 with a turnover number (TON) of 4214, up to 10.3 times higher than that of pure CdS. The enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the synergistic effect of the p-n heterostructure and the quantum confinement effect of Co3O4 QDs, which significantly promoted the separation efficiency of photo-generated electrons and holes. Additionally, the sulfur vacancy also can act as electron trappers to improve carrier separation and electron transfer. The photoelectrochemical and time-resolved fluorescence (TRPL) results further certify the effective spatial charge separation. This work gives an insight into the design of the 0D/3D Co3O4 QDs/CdS p-n heterostructure for a highly efficient photocatalysis.

High-efficiency, porous and renewable magnetic microwave absorbing (MA) materials have been enthusiastically pursued due to their suitable impedance matching, light weight, strong multiple scattering and the synergy effect of dielectric and magnetic loss. Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) Co@C/ANF aerogel, composed of magnetic MOF derivatives embedded in biomass aramid nanofiber (ANF), was prepared for the first time through a directional-freezing method followed by an annealing process. To evaluate their MA attenuation performance, the electromagnetic parameters of Co@C/ANF composites with different component ratios were measured at 2-18 GHz. Profiting from the preserved porous structure of MOF derivatives, the construction of multiple heterogeneous interfaces and suitable electromagnetic parameters, Co@C/ANF 2 : 1 exhibited a good MA performance of RL min = -64.3 dB (indicating more than 99.99996% microwaves were absorbed) and EAB max = 6.8 GHz. Considering the admirable overall performance, the Co@C/ANF aerogel is deemed to be a promising candidate for the next-generation of lightweight, reproducible, and high-performance MA materials., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Electric field-accelerated ion-permselective membrane (EISM) separation has attracted significant attention in recent years. Thus, herein, to further investigate the ion transport mechanism and optimize the separation efficiency, five types of ion-permselective membrane modules (IPMM I-V) based on the electrochemically switched ion exchange (ESIX) scheme were designed. Compared with the traditional ion separation systems, the in situ membrane-based ion separation system was set up with an extra pulse potential applied to the PPy/PSS/SSWM (polypyrrole/polystyrenesulfonate/stainless steel wire mesh) membrane. The continuous permselective separation of K + as target ions was performed from dilute aqueous solution through the IPMM system. The pulse potential combined with the regulated cell voltage was functionalized synergistically to create an "ion-sieving effect" and effectively guide the target cations from the source cell to the receiving cell. Moreover, the formation of an equal potential volume in IPMM-V suppressed the reverse migration of the target ions and the detected ion flux across the membrane was 100 times that of the IPMM-I system. The ion transport mechanism was also analyzed in detail based on the equivalent circuit of the system, and the optimized operation parameters were obtained for the high-efficient ion separation system. These results can provide some beneficial information for the design and practical operation of novel EISM systems., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

G-quadruplex (GQ) ligands as potential anti-cancer drugs have received extensive attention. Large aromatic systems are usually considered in the design of the ligands to improve the binding with GQs, which are typically constructed by the combination of small modules with covalent bonds. In this study, we presented a non-covalent bond approach to construct GQ ligands with an extended planar structure. The ligands were stable dimers assembled through quadruplex intermolecular hydrogen bonds between two molecules of naphthyridine derivatives. Spectroscopic analyses showed that dimeric ligands could stabilize GQs with an increase of the melting temperature up to 12 °C and induced conformational conversion of hybrid GQs. Confocal fluorescence microscopy confirmed the enrichment of naphthyridine ligands in the nucleus. The ligands showed moderate cytotoxicity against HeLa cells with an IC50 value of 7.5 μg mL-1 and effectively induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in HeLa cells. These results confirmed the feasibility of the quick building of GQ ligands through intermolecular interactions of simple molecules that are easily obtained during synthesis, which is helpful for GQ ligand design and quick establishment of a ligand library through the self-assembly of easily available molecular components.

It is of great significance for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials to fulfill long-lasting service requirements. Here, waterborne polyurethane (WPU) was coated on the surface of a silver nanowire (AgNW) network with sputter-deposited nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs) by dip-coating technology to improve their durability. After five dip-coating cycles, a WPU layer nearly coated the whole surface of the hybrid papers, and only a fraction of the metal filler is bare. The resultant hybrid papers exhibit an electrical conductivity of ∼3500 S m -1 , remnant magnetization of 0.03 emu g -1 , saturation magnetization of 0.10 emu g -1 , and coercivity of 256 Oe. On the one hand, the presence of the WPU coating does not affect the shielding effectiveness (SE) of the hybrid papers; on the other hand, the WPU coating enhances the ability to resist tape peeling. Moreover, the resultant hybrid papers still maintain the original SE value (∼80 dB), even after exposure to air for 5 months owing to the isolation effect of the WPU coating, implying long-lasting durability. The results confirm that the obtained hybrid papers can meet the requirements of practical applications., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The electrochemical switching ion exchange (ESIX) technique has been widely used for the separation and recovery of radioactive cesium ions (Cs + ) from wastewater. In this study, a series of BiOX (X = F, Cl, Br, I) materials were first evaluated for their absorption properties to Cs + through density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The calculations predict that BiOBr has the best absorption performance among the four materials, BiOF, BiOCl, BiOBr, and BiOI, due to its high absorption energy and low ion migration energy barrier to Cs + . Simultaneously, the selectivity calculations revealed that BiOBr also showed the best selectivity for Cs + compared with Li + and Na + . Subsequently, four materials were prepared using the hydrothermal synthesis method and their electrochemical absorption performance was tested. The results showed that BiOBr has the highest electroactivity, and its absorption capacity was up to 16 mg Cs + /g BiOBr in a solution mixture of 50 ppm Li + , Na + , and Cs + . Based on our theoretical calculations and experiments, our findings provide prospective insights for predicting the electrochemical absorption performance of materials using first-principles calculations.

Compared to the Haber-Bosch process, the electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) can convert N 2 into NH 3 under ambient conditions, and thus has attracted considerable attention in recent years. However, it remains a challenge to fabricate NRR catalysts with high faradaic efficiency and yield rate. In this work, by systematic first-principles calculations, we investigate the structure, stability and catalytic performance of single metal atoms anchored on porous monolayer C 9 N 4 (M@C 9 N 4 ) for the electrochemical NRR. A total of 25 transition metals (Sc-Zn, Zr-Mo, Ru-Ag, Hf-Au) were explored, and we screened out four promising systems, i.e., Nb, Ta, Re and W@C 9 N 4 , which not only exhibit high catalytic activity with low limiting potentials of -0.3, -0.42, -0.49 and -0.25 V, respectively, but also have superior selectivity that suppresses the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction. The physical origin lies in the coupling between the d orbitals of the transition metals and the 2π* orbital of N 2 , which activates the N 2 molecule and facilitates the reduction process. Our proposed systems are kinetically and thermodynamically stable, which may shed light on future design and fabrication of high-efficiency single atom catalysts for various technologically important chemical reactions.

Facile, convenient and low-cost processes, including a chemical hydrothermal method and impregnation technique, were demonstrated to fabricate a self-powered ZnO nanorod array/CuSCN/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) ultraviolet photodetector. ZnO nanorods (NRs) were fully filled and encased by the CuSCN layer, in which CuSCN acts as the primary hole-transport layer and an electron reflection layer, blocking the electron transfer towards the Au electrode and reducing the electron-hole pair recombination. After annealing, this encapsulated structure further reduces the surface state defects of ZnO NRs, which can isolate the electron exchange with oxygen in the air, dramatically reducing the rise and fall time; it also forms a p-n junction, providing a built-in electric field to improve the photoresponse without applying external power. The rGO layer was coated on the surface of CuSCN as the secondary hole-transport layer and then annealed, which could effectively block Au from entering CuSCN and contacting ZnO along cracks and holes during vapor deposition, avoiding the formation of leakage channels. Furthermore, due to the ultra-high carrier mobility and the increase in work function after Au doping, the functionalized graphene could reduce the valence band shift, which is beneficial to enhance hole transport. Meanwhile, rGO obstructs the undesired barrier formed by electrical potential-induced reaction of Au with thiocyanate anions. Finally, the ZnO NR/CuSCN/rGO ultraviolet photodetector exhibits a significant enhancement in device performance (responsivity: 18.65 mA W -1 at 375 nm under 65 mW cm -2 illumination, rectification ratio: 5690 at ±1 V), which is better that of than ZnO NR/CuSCN structure (10.88 mA W -1 , 10.22 at ±1 V) and maintains the 100 ms response time., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The aim of this study was to improve the stability of eugenol-casein nanoparticles (EL-CS-NPs) through polyethylene glycol (PEG) modification. The results show that modifying the EL-CS-NPs with PEG after loading with eugenol (EL) gives PEG-EL-CS-NPs, with increased stability. The NPs modified with higher-molecular-weight PEG showed better stability. A CS/PEG ratio of 200 : 1 (w/w) yielded the NPs with the best stability. A PEG 20 K -EL-CS-NP dispersion remained stable in cold storage for over one year, and also exhibited stronger inhibitory effects against Colletotrichum musae inoculated on bananas than an EL-CS-NP dispersion, since it showed more prolonged sustained release of EL than the EL-CS-NP dispersion. Lyophilized PEG 20 K -EL-CS-NP powder showed better effectiveness against mold on bread than lyophilized EL-CS-NPs powder. Using PEG to modify CS-NPs shows potential for improving the stability of CS-NPs loaded with hydrophobic substances for delivery in the fields of food and agriculture., Competing Interests: Authors declare no conflicts of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)