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Diafenthiuron is a novel derivative of thiourea and is highly toxic to non-target organisms, necessitating its efficient removal from wastewater before discharge. This study compared diafenthiuron removal efficiencies at a target concentration of 1 µM using three methods: a 4 mg/L ozone (O3) treatment; an ultraviolet (UV) light treatment, applying UV254 radiation with a fluence of 60 mJ/cm2 for 10 min; and a combined O3/UV treatment utilizing ozone and ultraviolet light. An acute toxicity assessment was conducted using a modeled zebrafish embryo (Danio rerio). The diafenthiuron removal efficiencies were 49.59%, 54.51%, and 68.90% for the UV light, O3, and O3/UV treatments, respectively. The treatments showed additional benefits of exerting no negative impacts on the survival rate, heart rate, or body length of the zebrafish larvae posttreatment. The survival and heart rates at 120 hpf, as well as the body length at 96 and 120 hpf, showed significant differences between the advanced oxidation and 1 μM diafenthiuron treatment groups. However, these parameters remained consistent with those of the control group. The three treatments alleviated the spatiotemporal downregulation of the liver-specific marker fabp10a caused by diafenthiuron exposure. The UV light and O3/UV treatments were efficient at degrading diafenthiuron, causing decreased reactive oxygen species levels and increased pomc and prl expression levels. The O3-treated diafenthiuron and 1 μM diafenthiuron treatments increased the reactive oxygen species levels and decreased the pomc and prl expression levels. The combined O3/UV treatment showed the highest removal efficiency and the least toxicity, making it the most effective method for diafenthiuron degradation. This study provides valuable insights into the treatment of diafenthiuron-laden wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), accounting for the majority of diabetes mellitus prevalence, is associated with an increased risk of cognition decline and deterioration of cognition function in diabetic patients. The sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), located in the renal proximal tubule, plays a role in urine glucose reabsorption. SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), have shown potential benefits beyond cardiac and renal improvement in preventing and treating cognitive impairment (CI), including mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in T2DM patients. Studies suggest that SGLT2i may ameliorate diabetic CI through metabolism pathways, inflammation, oxidative stress, neurotrophic factors and AChE inhibition. Clinical trials and meta-analyses have reported significant and insignificant results. Given their vascular effects, SGLT2i may offer unique protection against vascular CI. This review compiles mechanisms and clinical evidence, emphasizing the need for future analysis, evaluation, trials and meta-analyses to verify and recommend optimal SGLT2i selection and dosage for specific patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sol–gel processed zinc oxide (ZnO) is one of the most widely used electron transport layers (ETLs) in inverted organic solar cells (OSCs). The high annealing temperature (≈200 °C) required for sintering to ensure a high electron mobility however results in severe damage to flexible substrates. Thus, flexible organic solar cells based on sol–gel processed ZnO exhibit significantly lower efficiency than rigid devices. In this paper, an indium‐doping approach is developed to improve the optoelectronic properties of ZnO layers and reduce the required annealing temperature. Inverted OSCs based on In‐doped ZnO (IZO) exhibit a higher efficiency than those based on ZnO for a range of different active layer systems. For the PM6:L8‐BO system, the efficiency increases from 17.0% for the pristine ZnO‐based device to 17.8% for the IZO‐based device. The IZO‐based device with an active layer of PM6:L8‐BO:BTP‐eC9 exhibits an even higher efficiency of up to 18.1%. In addition, a 1.2‐micrometer‐thick inverted ultrathin flexible organic solar cell is fabricated based on the IZO ETL that achieves an efficiency of 17.0% with a power‐per‐weight ratio of 40.4 W g−1, which is one of the highest efficiency for ultrathin (less than 10 micrometers) flexible organic solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vanadium-based materials have the advantages of abundant valence states and stable structures, having great application potential as cathode materials in metal-ion batteries. However, their low voltage and vanadium dissolution in traditional water-based electrolytes greatly limit their application and development in aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs). Herein, phosphate- and vanadium-based cathode materials (MnVOPO4·2H2O) with stacked layers and few defects were prepared via a condensation reflux method and then combined with a high-concentration electrolyte (21 m LiTFSI + 1 M Zn(CF3SO3)2) to address these limitations. The specific capacity and cycle stability accompanying the stable high voltage of 1.39 V were significantly enhanced compared with those for the traditional electrolyte of 3 M Zn(CF3SO3)2, benefiting from the suppressed vanadium dissolution. The cathode materials of MnVOPO4·2H2O achieved a high specific capacity of 152 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1, with a retention rate of 86% after 100 cycles for AZMBs. A high energy density of 211.78 Wh kg−1 was also achieved. This strategy could illuminate the significance of electrolyte modification and provide potential high-voltage cathode materials for AZMBs and other rechargeable batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of flexible micro‐ and nanodevices plays a pivotal role in investigating stress‐enhanced performances and underlying intrinsic mechanisms for two‐dimensional materials. This study presents the fabrication of single‐crystal flexible devices using monolayer MoS2 and its catalytic activities for the hydrogen evolution reaction under stress conditions. A metallic conductive layer was deposited on the photoresist surface via magnetron sputtering, overcoming the challenges associated with lithography on insulating substrates using electron beam lithography (EBL). The results demonstrate optimal etch patterns with a metal modification layer thickness of 10.97 nm. Leveraging this flexible device fabrication process, a single‐layer MoS2 single‐nanosheet flexible micro/nano device was developed and subsequently strain‐modulated (stretched along the zigzag lattice direction with the armchair lattice direction as the axis). A significant enhancement is observed in the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance as the strain increases from 0 % to 0.40 %. Notably, the onset overpotential decreased from 155.6 to 95.7 mV, and the Tafel slope decreased from 175.3 to 98.6 mV dec−1. This study provides new insights into the design and performance of strain devices for two‐dimensional (2D) monocrystalline/polycrystalline materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rechargeable magnesium batteries (RMBs) have received increased attention due to their high volumetric capacity and safety. Nevertheless, the sluggish diffusion kinetics of highly polarized Mg2+ in host lattices severely hinders the development of RMBs. Herein, we report an electron injection strategy for modulating the Mo 4d-orbital splitting manner and first fabricate a dual-phase MoO2.8F0.2/MoO2.4F0.6 heterostructure to accelerate Mg2+ diffusion. The electron injection strategy triggers weak Jahn–Teller distortion in MoO6 octahedra and reorganization of the Mo 4d-orbital, leading to a partial phase transition from orthorhombic phase MoO2.8F0.2 to cubic phase MoO2.4F0.6. As a result, the designed heterostructure generates a built-in electric field, simultaneously improving its electronic conductivity and ionic diffusivity by at least one order of magnitude compared to MoO2.8F0.2 and MoO2.4F0.6. Importantly, the assembled MoO2.8F0.2/MoO2.4F0.6//Mg full cell exhibits a remarkable reversible capacity of 172.5 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1, pushing forward the orbital-scale manipulation for high-performance RMBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rational design and construction of highly efficient nonprecious electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and alcohols oxidation reactions (ORR, AOR) are extremely vital for the development of direct oxidation alkaline fuel cells, metal‐air batteries, and water electrolysis system involving hydrogen and value‐added organic products generation, but they remain a great challenge. Herein, a bifunctional electrocatalyst is prepared by anchoring CuS/NiS2 nanoparticles with abundant heterointerfaces and sulfur vacancies on graphene (Cu1Ni2‐S/G) for ORR and AOR. Benefiting from the synergistic effects between strong interfacial coupling and regulation of the sulfur vacancies, Cu1Ni2‐S/G achieves dramatically enhanced ORR activity with long term stability. Meanwhile, when ethanol is utilized as an oxidant for AOR, an ultralow potential (1.37 V) at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 is achieved, simultaneously delivering a high Faradaic efficiency of 96% for ethyl acetate production. Cu1Ni2‐S/G also exhibits catalytic activity for other alcohols electrooxidation process, indicating its multifunctionality. This work not only highlights a viable strategy for tailoring catalytic activity through the synergetic combination of interfacial and vacancies engineering, but also opens up new avenues for the construction of a self‐driven biomass electrocatalysis system for the generation of value‐added organic products and hydrogen under ambient conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a considerably promising strategy to produce fuels and high‐value chemicals through an electrochemical conversion process in the green and sustainable energy systems. Catalysts for electrocatalytic reactions, including hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR), play a significant role in the advanced energy conversion technologies, such as water splitting devices, fuel cells, and rechargeable metal‐air batteries. Developing low‐cost and highly efficient electrocatalysts is closely related to establishing the composition–structure–activity relationships and fundamental understanding of catalytic mechanisms. Density functional theory (DFT) is emerging as an important computational tool that can provide insights into the relationship between the electrochemical performances and physical/chemical properties of catalysts. This article presents a review on the progress of the DFT, and the computational simulations, within the framework of DFT, for the electrocatalytic processes, as well as the computational designs and virtual screenings of new electrocatalysts. Some useful descriptors and analysis tools for evaluating the electrocatalytic performances are highlighted, including formation energies, d‐band model, scaling relation, eg orbital occupation, and free energies of adsorption. Furthermore, the remaining questions and perspectives for the development of DFT for electrocatalysis are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanisms for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on the naturally exposed (110) and (111) surfaces of Co3O4 have been investigated with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Depending on the vertical cutting place, there are type A and B surfaces for each of the (110) and (111) surfaces of Co3O4. Our DFT calculations reveal that the Co3O4 (110) type B and (111) type B surfaces have ORR catalytic activities. In addition, the ORR activity on the (110) type B surface is better than the (111) type B surface. The rate‐determining step on both surfaces is thermodynamically depending on the *OH desorption process. If the solvation effects are taken into accounts, the chemically adsorbed water molecules enhance the ORR activity. According to the barrier heights calculations, O2 → *O2 → *OOH → *O + H2O → *OH → H2O route is the most favorable ORR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid or composite heterostructured electrode materials have been widely studied for their potential application in electrochemical energy storage. Whereas their physical or chemical properties could be affected significantly by modulating the heterogeneous interface, the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. In this work, we fabricated an electrochemical energy storage device with a MoS2 nanosheet/MnO2 nanowire heterostructure and designed two charge/discharge channels to study the effect of the heterogeneous interface on the energy storage performances. Electrochemical measurements show that a capacity improvement of over 50% is achieved when the metal current collector was in contact with the MnO2 instead of the MoS2 side. We propose that this enhancement is due to the unidirectional conductivity of the MoS2/MnO2 heterogeneous interface, resulting from the unimpeded electrical transport in the MnO2-MoS2 channel along with the blocking effect on the electron transport in the MoS2-MnO2 channel, which leads to reaction kinetics optimization. The present study thus provides important insights that will improve our understanding of heterostructured electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]