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Ion-absorbed rare earth ores radioactive residues (IREORR) are a class of waste residue from the production of rare earth elements (REEs). Because of its radioactive dose, IREORR are usually stored in waste warehouses. IREORR are difficult to be disposed of. However, it contains relatively high concentrations of REEs, which can be considered as a valuable secondary resource. In this paper, a novel process is developed for the separation of thorium (Th) and recovery of REEs from IREORR hydrochloric acid leachate with primary amine N1923 and Cyanex® 572, respectively. The effects of sulfate concentration, extractant concentration and pH on N1923 extraction in hydrochloric acid solution were investigated in detail. The results show that the extraction capacity of N1923 can be improved by adding sulfate to the solution and increasing the concentration of N1923. Acidity has little effect on the extraction of Th when pH is higher than 1. As for the stripping, REEs are more easily stripped from loaded organic phase than Th, and nitric acid is a better stripping agent than hydrochloric acid. Combined with the extraction of Cyanex® 572 for REEs, a fractional extraction experiment for separating Th and enriching of REEs was performed. The yield of Th is higher than 99.9% and the concentration of REEs is enriched to 183.84 g/L.

Common collectors for rare earth mineral (REM) flotation, which include carboxylates and hydroxamates, face problems such as being non-selective and sensitive to impurity ions. A type of ionic liquid (IL), tetraethylammonium mono-(2-ethylhexyl)2-ethylhexyl phosphonate ([N2222][EHEHP]), has been investigated previously for rare earth elements (REE) solvent extraction, and was proven to be selective and effective. In this work, [N2222][EHEHP] was evaluated as a collector in bastnasite (a primary REM source for REE production) flotation for the first time. The results were compared with quartz and hematite, two common gangue minerals in REM deposits. Zeta potential measurements and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were completed to investigate the surface chemical properties involved in the flotation of these minerals using this collector. The findings were compared with microflotation results. FT-IR and zeta potential measurements suggest adsorption of the collector's phosphonate group onto bastnasite and hematite, likely through chemisorption; whereas for quartz, the minimum microflotation recovery is likely due to no adsorption of IL on its surface. Microflotation results show higher collectability of [N2222][EHEHP] for hematite than bastnasite, the latter only shows appreciable recovery at pH 5 with elevated dosage of IL (500 g/t). To achieve better separation, a two-stage flotation scheme was designed and evaluated by bench scale flotation on a synthetic mineral mixture. The concentrates and tails were analyzed by magnetic separation, and it is found that bastnasite recovery over 90% with maximum upgrade ratio 1.7 can be achieved with elevated collector dosage.

In this paper, a series of high performance near-infrared reflective pigments based on Bi3YO6 doped with Fe2O3 and Tb4O7 were prepared by high-temperature calcination method. The pigments were characterized by some analytic techniques, such as XRD, Particle size analyzer, SEM, EDS, UV–vis–NIR spectrophotometer, CIE L*a*b* (1976) color space and infrared thermal imaging. Experimental results showed that the Fe2O3 doping in Bi3YO6 could change the color from bright yellow to ochre red. The substitution of Tb (IV)-doped pigments changed the color to dark orange. The doping of Fe (III) and Tb (IV) contributed to enriching the color diversities of pigments. Among the synthesized pigments, Bi3-xFexYO6 and Bi3Y1-xTbxO6+δ displayed a disordered defective fluorite-type structure. The effect of doping Fe (III) and Tb (IV) reduced the near-infrared reflectance of the pigment. Excepting for Bi3-xFexYO6 (x = 0.8), the near infrared reflectance of some other pigments were higher than the China National standard (CNs). Chemical resistance tests showed that the pigments had excellent acid and alkali resistance. Finally, the application practical of traditional iron oxide yellow pigment and three prepared pigments, i.e., Bi3YO6, Bi3-xFexYO6 (x = 0.4) and Bi3Y1-xTbxO6+δ (x = 0.05) were studied and compared by infrared thermal imaging. The test results showed that Bi3YO6 still had a strong near-infrared reflection effect after being painted. Compared with traditional iron yellow pigment, Bi3YO6 could reduce the surface temperature of galvanized sheet by 20 °C under the illumination of infrared light. The series of Fe (III) and Tb (IV) doped pigments prepared in this paper have revealed some promising application values.

Eight functionalized ionic liquids (ILs) prepared by trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium chloride ([P6,6,6,14]Cl) and phenoxy dicarboxylic acids were studied for valuable metal recovery in this paper. ...

Adoptive T cell immunotherapy, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, has proven to be highly efficient in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. However, it is challenged by complicated

Pseudocapacitive materials hold extraordinary promise for improving the energy densities of electrochemical capacitors but are often limited to electrodes with ultralow mass loadings (e.g.

Hypoxia is a typical feature of solid tumors, which highly limits the application of the oxygen-dependent therapy. Also, the dense and hyperbaric tumor tissues impede the penetration of nanoparticles into the deep tumor. Thereby, we designed a novel localized injectable hydrogel combining the photothermal therapy (PTT) and the thermodynamic therapy (TDT), which is based on the generation of free radicals even in the absence of oxygen for hypoxic tumor therapy. In our study, gold nanorods (AuNRs) and 2,2′-Azobis[2-(2-imidazalin-2-yl)propane] dihydrochlaride (AIPH) were incorporated into the hydrogel networks, which were formed by the copolymerization of hydrophobic N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) and hydrophilic glycidyl methacrylate modified hyaluronic acid (HA-GMA) to fabricate an injectable and near-infrared (NIR) responsive hydrogel. The crosslinked in situ forming hydrogel could not only realize PTT upon the NIR laser irradiation, but also generate free radicals even in hypoxic condition. Meanwhile the shrink of hydrogels upon thermal could accelerate the generation of free radicals to further damage the tumors, achieving the controlled drug release on demand. The designed hydrogel with a sufficient loading capacity, excellent biocompatibility and negligible systemic toxicity could serve as a long-acting implant for NIR-triggered thermo-responsive free radical generation. The in vitro cytotoxicity result and the in vivo antitumor activity illustrated the excellent therapeutic effect of hydrogels even in the absence of oxygen. Therefore, this innovative oxygen-independent platform combining the antitumor effects of PTT and TDT would bring a new insight into hypoxic tumor therapy by the application of alkyl free radical., Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstractSchematic illustration of the formation of the hydrogels composed of HA-GMA and NIPAM, loaded with AIPH and AuNRs and the combination of the photothermal and thermodynamic therapy for hypoxic tumor therapy.

Herein we report a new 4-fold interpenetrated metal–organic framework (MOF) functionalized with O− groups for selective Th(IV) capture, the activated samples 1a exhibited a high adsorption capacity for pure Th(IV) ions (Kd = 3.16 × 105 mL g−1) and the amount of metal ions adsorbed on the adsorbent was 165.61 mg g−1. A high removal efficiency of 99.75% was achieved within 10 min with an initial Th(IV) concentration of 100 mg L−1 and the adsorption data followed the pseudo-second-order model. In addition, the separation coefficient (S) of Th(IV) to metal ions with different valence states such as Th(IV)/La(III), Th(IV)/Sm(III), Th(IV)/Ho(III), Th(IV)/Cd(II) and Th(IV)/K(I) achieved values of 19.66, 26.83, 16.90, 11.26 and 255.79, respectively. Even given the fact that MOFs with O− groups showed high affinity for Pb(II) ions, our adsorption studies for compound 1a revealed a separation coefficient (STh(IV)/Pb(II)) of 4.36. Further, the adsorption of Th(IV) ions to compound 1a was investigated by FT-IR, SEM-EDS and XPS.

Methods for transforming rare earth (RE) sulfate into chloride mainly include extraction process with organophosphonic mono-acids or aliphatic acids and precipitation process with ammonium bicarbonate (NH4HCO3). In this paper, alkylphenoxy carboxylic acids(HAs) of p-dodecylphenoxy acetic acid (HA-I), p-dodecylphenoxypropanoic acid (HA-II) and p-dodecylphenoxybutyric acid (HA-III), which were liquid at room temperature were synthesized and characterized. The precipitation mechanisms of RE elements with the HAs were investigated and the HA/RE molar ratios of the solid complexes were determined as 3:1 by equi-molar series method which accord with the principle of charge balance. Applicability of HAs for the transformation of RE sulfate from concentrated sulfuric acid roasted RE concentrate into chloride via precipitation method was discussed. 100% HA-II was selected as the liquid organic precipitant without dilution of volatile solvent soracceleration of phase separation by phase-modifiers. The RE sulfate solution can be precipitated by HA-II after neutralization with liquid NaOH and stripped with concentrated HCl at room temperature. High concentration of RE chloride of 218.1 g/L with low residue of sulfate radical of 0.536 g/L was obtained. The residual organic precipitant in the raffinate solution was tested to be lower than 8 mg/L at 25 °C and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) in wastewater was less than 50 mg/L.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-organic batteries are promising energy storage systems with low-cost aqueous electrolyte and zinc metal anode. The electrochemical properties can be systematically adjusted with molecular design on organic cathode materials. Herein, we use a symmetric small molecule quinone cathode, tetraamino-p-benzoquinone (TABQ), with desirable functional groups to protonate and accomplish dominated proton insertion from weakly acidic zinc electrolyte. The hydrogen bonding network formed with carbonyl and amino groups on the TABQ molecules allows facile proton conduction through the Grotthuss-type mechanism. It guarantees activation energies below 300 meV for charge transfer and proton diffusion. The TABQ cathode delivers a high capacity of 303 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 in a zinc-organic battery. With the increase of current density to 5 A g−1, 213 mAh g−1 capacity is still preserved with stable cycling for 1000 times. Our work proposes an effective approach towards high performance organic electrode materials., The flexible structural design of organic materials make them promising candidates for cathode in rechargeable batteries. Here, the authors report a tetraamino-p-benzoquinone cathode which realizes facile proton conduction by the Grotthuss-type mechanism and shows excellent electrochemical performance.

Sluggish Zn2+ de- and intercalation behavior in solid lattices limits the cathode performance in rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries. In this issue of Chem, Xia and colleagues introduce a conducting polymer into layered vanadium oxide to promote the Zn storage capacity and long-term cycling stability.

Because of the water swelling of graphene oxide (GO) membranes, the rejection of metal ions is generally low, especially for monovalent metal cations. We prepared a thermally reduced graphene (TrGO...

Cancer metastases is still a hurdle for good prognosis and live quality of breast cancer patients. Treatment strategies that can inhibit metastatic cancer while treating primary cancer are needed to improve the therapeutic effect of breast cancer. Methods: In this study, a dual functional drug conjugate comprised of protoporphyrin IX and NLG919, a potent indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) inhibitor, is designed to combine photodynamic therapy and immune checkpoint blockade to achieve both primary tumor and distant metastases inhibition. Liposomal delivery is applied to improve the biocompatibility and tumor accumulation of the drug conjugate (PpIX-NLG@Lipo). A series of in vitro and in vivo experiments were carried out to examine the PDT effect and IDO inhibition activity of PpIX-NLG@Lipo, and subsequently evaluate its anti-tumor capability in the bilateral 4T1 tumor-bearing mice. Results: The in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that PpIX-NLG@Lipo possess strong ability of ROS generation to damage cancer cells directly through PDT. Meanwhile, PpIX-NLG@ Lipo can induce immunogenic cell death to elicit the host immune system. Furthermore, PpIX-NLG@Lipo interferes the activity of IDO, which can amplify PDT-induced immune responses, leading to an increasing amount of CD8+ T lymphocytes infiltrated into tumor site, finally achieve both primary and distant tumor inhibition. Conclusion: This work presents a novel conjugate approach to synergize photodynamic therapy and IDO blockade for enhanced cancer therapy through simultaneously inhibiting both primary and distant metastatic tumor.

The wastewater discharged from the rare earth (RE) industry generally contains a high level of calcium and magnesium sulfates, which confers permanent hardness and causes difficulties in recycling this wastewater. In this study, the alkyl phenoxy acetic acid derivatives including 4-methyl phenoxy acetic acid (M-POAA), 4-tert-butyl phenoxy acetic acid (B-POAA) and 4-tert-octyl phenoxy acetic acid (O-POAA), were synthesized via the Williamson reaction and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR), and ultra-violet (UV) spectroscopy, as well as elemental analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Synthesis of the POAAs were simple and green, and the raw materials used for their production are widely available and low-cost. The potential for removal of Ca and Mg sulfates from industrial wastewater using POAAs as the organic precipitants was assessed. The total precipitation efficiencies of Ca and Mg from wastewater with the use of POAAs increased with the following order: M-POAA < B-POAA < O-POAA. The residual concentrations of Ca and Mg using O-POAA as the precipitant were lower than 0.099 and 0.089 g L−1, respectively. The O-POAA could be regenerated five times without any significant change in its structure and precipitation performance. Thus, the use of the novel precipitants is a prospective alternative to the conventional processes for softening wastewater.

There is an ever increasing demand for advanced electrode materials with well-defined micro-nanostructures for supercapacitors. Both polypyrrole (PPy) and molybdenum oxide (MoOx) are promising candidates for capacitive applications, yet each has limitations. Here, a facile electrochemical method capable of assembling strongly coupled layer-by-layer (LbL) PPy/MoOx hybrid films on a 3D exfoliated graphite current collector is demonstrated. The strong interlayer interaction between PPy and MoOx was studied. The spectroscopy results indicate that the protonation level of PPy is enhanced and the valence state of Mo in MoOx is reduced, which synergistically improve the charge transfer kinetics of the composites. LbL-PPy/MoOx achieves a high specific capacitance of 398 F g−1 and good cycling stability. The quantitative calculation suggests that the strong coupling effect contributes more than 50% of the total capacitance at a fast discharge rate (e.g., 20 A g−1). A 2.2 V asymmetric capacitor using LbL-PPy/MoOx as the anode can deliver a high energy density of 72.7 W h kg−1 at a power density of 343 W kg−1. Our findings disclose the interfacial interaction between PPy and MoOx in the composite materials and could open up new opportunities for the fabrication of other composite materials with enhanced interactions, leading to great development in a plethora of applications.

Nitrogen-doped carbons possess the merits of carbon and the unique functionalities of N-moieties, leading to vast interest for energy storage. They are generally synthesized by the pyrolysis of N-rich polymers, which however requires relatively high temperature and causes the loss of N. The pseudocapacitive contribution from N-moieties is thus limited. Here, a low-temperature pyrolysis approach is demonstrated to prepare N-rich carbon nanorod arrays. The decomposition of (NH4)2SO4 releases ammonia and allows the incorporation of N with the oxygen functional groups in polyaniline chains. The loss of N-moieties is effectively prevented at the low-temperature condition (350 °C), resulting in a high N-content of ∼21.86%. A highly conductive 3D graphite substrate is used to further enhance the charge transfer kinetics. The optimized electrode provides an excellent gravimetric capacitance (776 F g−1 at 1 A g−1), a good rate capability and a long cycle life. The low-temperature strategy demonstrated here could also be used to fabricate other doped carbon materials with high heteroatom content. Comparing with the commonly used high-temperature pyrolysis method, this efficient low-temperature strategy provides more feasibility for large-scale applications.

Here in this article, [Ln(μ2-OH)(dtp)(H2O)][Ln = Ho(III) and Tb(III)] is prepared using a solvothermal method to assemble the rare earth (RE) ion and the H2dtp ligand (H2dtp = 4′-(3, 5-dicarboxyphe...

Aqueous rechargeable Ni/Fe batteries possess potential advantages for large-scale energy storage applications due to their low cost, high safety and fast ion diffusions in electrolyte. However, the electrochemical performance of the iron-based anode is still far from ideal due to particle aggregations. Herein, we carry out the morphology engineering on the iron oxide active materials via a facile electrochemical method to improve its charge storage capability. The morphology transition from zero-dimensional particles to one-dimensional nanorods is realized by tuning the electrolyte composition, while subsequent annealing treatment results in further morphology modification into 3D interconnected nanoparticles (10–20 nm). The hierarchical structure allows facile ion and electron transfers, and the large surface provides various active sites for the charge storage conversion reaction. As a result, even at the high current density of 2 A g−1 (∼6C rate), the iron oxide electrode can still deliver a high specific capacity of 184 mAh g−1. At the same time, the morphology integrity and stability of the electrode leads to a good cycle life, with 87.5% capacity retained upon 5000 cycles. The Ni/Fe full cell assembled with the iron oxide anode and a Ni-Co double hydroxide cathode exhibits a good energy density of 82.3 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 3.3 kW kg−1. Our fundamental study would provide new insights for the electro-deposition of iron-based materials and endow new opportunities for the fabrication of high-performance iron-based electrodes for energy storage systems.

Argyrodites, Li6PS5X (X = Cl, Br), are considered to be one of the most promising solid-state electrolytes for solid-state batteries. However, while traditional ball-mill approaches to prepare these materials do not promote scale-up, solution-based preparative methods have resulted in poor ionic conductivity. Herein, we report a solution-engineered, scalable approach to these materials, including the new argyrodite solid solution phase Li6–yPS5–yCl1+y (y = 0–0.5), that shows very high ionic conductivities (up to 3.9 mS·cm–1) and negligible electronic conductivities. These properties are almost the same as their analogues prepared by solid-state methods, owing to a lack of amorphous contributions and low impurity contents ranging from 3 to 10%. Electrochemical performance is demonstrated for Li6PS5Cl in a prototype solid-state battery and compared to that of the same solid electrolyte derived from classic ball-milling processing.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries are promising energy-storage systems for grid applications. Highly conductive polyaniline (PANI) is a potential cathode, but it tends to deactivate in electrolytes with low acidity (i.e. pH >1) owing to deprotonation of the polymer. In this study, we synthesized a sulfo-self-doped PANI electrode by a facile electrochemical copolymerization process. The -SO3 - self-dopant functions as an internal proton reservoir to ensure a highly acidic local environment and facilitate the redox process in the weakly acidic ZnSO4 electrolyte. In a full zinc cell, the self-doped PANI cathode provided a high capacity of 180 mAh g-1 , excellent rate performance of 70 % capacity retention with a 50-fold current-density increase, and a long cycle life of over 2000 cycles with coulombic efficiency close to 100 %. Our study opens a door for the use of conducting polymers as cathode materials for high-performance rechargeable zinc batteries.

The novel corona virus termed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread throughout the globe at a formidable speed, causing tens of millions of cases and more than one million deaths in less than a year of its report in December 2019. Since then, companies and research institutions have raced to develop SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, ranging from conventional viral and protein-based vaccines to those that are more cutting edge, including DNA- and mRNA-based vaccines. Each vaccine exhibits a different potency and duration of efficacy, as determined by the antigen design, adjuvant molecules, vaccine delivery platforms, and immunization method. In this review, we will introduce a few of the leading non-viral vaccines that are under clinical stage development and discuss delivery strategies to improve vaccine efficacy, duration of protection, safety, and mass vaccination., Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are effective ways to degrade refractory organic contaminants, relying on the generation of inorganic radicals (e.g., &bull, OH and SO4&bull, &minus, ). Herein, a novel AOP with organic radicals (R-O&bull, ) was reported to degrade contaminants. Lanthanum cobaltite perovskite (LaCoO3) was used to activate peracetic acid (PAA) for organic radical generation to degrade sulfamethoxazole (SMX). The results show that LaCoO3 exhibited an excellent performance on PAA activation and SMX degradation at neutral pH, with low cobalt leaching. Meanwhile, LaCoO3 also showed an excellent reusability during PAA activation. In-depth investigation confirmed CH3C(O)O&bull, and CH3C(O)OO&bull, as the key reactive species for SMX degradation in LaCoO3/PAA system. The presence of Cl&minus, (1&ndash, 100 mM) slightly inhibited the degradation of SMX in the LaCoO3/PAA system, whereas the addition of HCO3&minus, (0.1&ndash, 1 mM) and humic aid (1&ndash, 10 mg/L) could significantly inhibit SMX degradation. This work highlights the generation of organic radicals via the heterogeneous activation of PAA and thus provides a promising way to destruct contaminants in wastewater treatment.

International audience; Rechargeable magnesium batteries are promising candidates for next-generation electrochemical energy storage, but their development is severely hindered by sluggish solid-state diffusion and significant desolvation penalties of the divalent cation. Studies suggest that nano-sized electrode materials alleviate these issues by shortening diffusion lengths and increasing electrode/electrolyte interaction. Here, the effect of particle size and synthetic methodology on the electrochemical performance of four sulfide cathode materials in Mg batteries is investigated: layered TiS2, CuS, spinel Ti2S4, and CuCo2S4. In these sulfide hosts, the direct preparation of nano-dimensional crystallites is critical to activate or improve electrochemistry. Even promising cathode materials can appear electrochemically inert when micron-sized particles are investigated (e.g., CuCo2S4), and mechanical milling leads to surface degradation of active material which severely limits performance. However, nano-sized CuCo2S4 prepared directly reaches a capacity nearly double that of ball-milled material and delivers 350 mAh g−1 at 60 °C. This work provides synthetic considerations which may be crucial in the discovery and design of novel Mg cathode materials, so that promising candidates are not overlooked. By extension, in oxide materials where Mg2+ diffusion is expected to be much more sluggish, this factor is anticipated to be even more important when screening for new hosts.

A series of environmentally benign and high NIR reflective pigments based on Bi3+ doped and Bi3+/Tb3+ co-doped LaYO3 are synthesized via the sol-gel method. The resulting powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV–vis–NIR spectrophotometer and CIE L*a*b* (1976) color space. The doping of Bi3+ for La3+ in LaYO3 results in the color changes from light yellow to dark yellow and Bi3+/Tb3+ for La3+ in LaYO3 varies from soft orange to dark orange. Meanwhile, the band gaps of pigments decrease from 4.52 eV to 2.95 (Bi-doped) and 2.15 eV (Bi/Tb co-doped). Interestingly, the Bi-doped pigments possess high NIR solar reflectance (>95%) in the range of 700–2500 nm. In contrast, the Bi/Tb co-doped pigments decrease the NIR solar reflectance from 98.28% to 78.77%. The applicability studies of La0.5Bi0.5YO3 and La0.5Bi0.25Tb0.25YO3 pigments with TiO2 base coat on galvanized sheet reveal good coloring performance with high NIR reflectance. Acid/alkaline tests indicates good chemical stabilities of the pigments under the extreme weather conditions. The superior performances of developed pigments have revealed potentials to be employed in cool coatings.

Brilliant yellow-orange pigments based on the formula Bi1.7RE0.3W0.7Mo0.3O6 (RE = Y, Yb, Gd, Lu) are developed by the traditional solid-state reaction method. Relevant techniques are used for characterization of the crystal structure, morphology feature, reflectance property, and color performance of the prepared pigment. The doping of RE/Mo in Bi2WO6 results in the colors of pigments varying from faint yellow to brilliant yellow-orange. Compared with Bi2WO6 pigment, the typical pigment of Bi1.7Lu0.3W0.7Mo0.3O6 greatly improves the yellow hue component (b*) value to be 72.03. Moreover, the NIR reflectances of all of the samples are higher than 95% , and their NIR solar reflectances are above 94%. The typical pigment of Bi1.7Lu0.3W0.7Mo0.3O6 coated on galvanized sheet exhibits excellent coloring performance with a high NIR solar reflectance (83.32%). The acid/alkali resistance studies reveal that the pigments are chemically stable under the atrocious weather conditions. Thus, the superior performances of s...

The novel non-toxic yellow-orange inorganic pigments La2Ce2-xW0.5xFe0.5xO7+δ (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9) with high near-infrared reflectance have been synthesized. The crystal structure, chemical composition, optical properties (reflectance and absorption properties) and color performance of the synthesized pigments were characterized by several techniques. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated the disordered defect fluorite-type structure of the pigments. The typical pigment La2Ce1.5W0.25Fe0.25O7+δ possessed the high NIR solar reflectance of 82.05% with orange color (L* = 77.21, a* = 8.79, b* = 35.80). Also the influence of calcination temperature has been studied, the higher temperature resulted in enhanced color and slightly reduced reflectance properties. The applicability of typical pigment La2Ce1.7W0.15Fe0.15O7+δ (calcined at 1150 °C) was tested on a galvanized sheet, the coating improved the NIR solar reflectance from 19.18% to 71.07%. The acid/alkali resistance studies confirmed the pigments were chemically stable. Thus, the synthesized pigments with vivid yellow-orange color and high NIR reflectance have exhibited application potentials.

The Mg battery cathode material, thiospinel MgxZr2S4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1), exhibits negligible volume change (ca. 0.05%) during electrochemical cycling, providing valuable insight into the limiting factors in divalent cation intercalation. Rietveld refinement of XRD data for MgxZr2S4 electrodes at various states of charge, , coupled with EDX analysis, demonstrates that Mg2+ can be inserted into Zr2S4 at 60 °C up to x = 0.7 at a C/10 rate (up to x = 0.9 at very slow rates) and cycled with a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.75%. HAADF-STEM studies provide clear visual evidence of Mg-ion occupation in the lattice, whereas XAS studies show that Zr4+ was reduced upon Mg2+ intercalation. Operando and synchrotron XRD studies reveal the creation of two phases during the latter stages of discharge (x > 0.5) as the lattice fills and Mg2+ ions begin occupying tetrahedral (8a) sites in addition to octahedral (16c) interstitial sites. Compared to the isostructural Ti2S4 thiospinel, Zr2S4 presents a slightly larger cell volume a...

Tumor vaccines for cancer prevention and treatment have attracted tremendous interests in the area of cancer immunotherapy in recent years. In this work, we present a strategy to construct cancer vaccines by encapsulating immune-adjuvant nanoparticles with cancer cell membranes modified by mannose. Poly(d,l-lactide- co-glycolide) nanoparticles are first loaded with toll-like receptor 7 agonist, imiquimod (R837). Those adjuvant nanoparticles (NP-R) are then coated with cancer cell membranes (NP-R@M), whose surface proteins could act as tumor-specific antigens. With further modification with mannose moiety (NP-R@M-M), the obtained nanovaccine shows enhanced uptake by antigen presenting cells such as dendritic cells, which would then be stimulated to the maturation status to trigger antitumor immune responses. With great efficacy to delay tumor development as a prevention vaccine, vaccination with such NP-R@M-M in combination with checkpoint-blockade therapy further demonstrates outstanding therapeutic efficacy to treat established tumors. Therefore, our work presents an innovative way to fabricate cancer nanovaccines, which in principle may be applied for a wide range of tumor types.

Metal oxides have attracted renewed interest as promising electrode materials for high energy density supercapacitors. However, the electrochemical performance of metal oxide materials deteriorates significantly with the increase of mass loading due to their moderate electronic and ionic conductivities. This limits their practical energy. Herein, we perform a morphology and phase-controlled electrodeposition of MnO2 with ultrahigh mass loading of 10 mg cm–2 on a carbon cloth substrate to achieve high overall capacitance without sacrificing the electrochemical performance. Under optimum conditions, a hierarchical nanostructured architecture was constructed by interconnection of primary two-dimensional e-MnO2 nanosheets and secondary one-dimensional α-MnO2 nanorod arrays. The specific hetero-nanostructures ensure facile ionic and electric transport in the entire electrode and maintain the structure stability during cycling. The hierarchically structured MnO2 electrode with high mass loading yields an outsta...

A novel precipitation strategy grounded on [trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium]2[4,4′-isopropylidenebis(phenoxyacetate)] (abbreviated as [P66614]2[IOPAA]) was put forward for rare earth element (REE) recovery. The H2IOPAA and [P66614]2[IOPAA] were synthesized and characterized by NMR, IR and elemental analysis. The factors in the precipitation process such as the equilibrium time, pH value of aqueous phase, concentration of salt-out agent and mole amount of IL were investigated. In addition, the precipitation mechanism of [P66614]2[IOPAA] for Pr(III) was proposed to be 2Praq3+ + 6Claq− + 3{[P66614]2[IOPAA]}IL = 6[P66614]ClIL + Pr2[IOPAA]3↓. The process was successfully tested for the recovery of REE from simulated leaching solution of Nd-Fe-B scrap. After removing the iron ion with [P66614]Cl, a high recovery rate (99.85%) of REE was obtained. Without saponification, organic diluent or oxalic acid, the proposed precipitation strategy has revealed the potential to be a sustainable process to the quantitatively recovery REE.

Currently, the strategy of combining photodynamic therapy (PDT) and chemotherapy for enhancing cancer therapeutic efficiency has aroused extensive interest. Nonetheless, weaknesses such as low local concentration, uncontrollable release of the drug, a non-suitable treatment light source, and a low response to the tumor site of PDT lead to the combined treatment effect not being ideal. Herein, we proposed simple and intelligent ROS-responsive zinc phthalocyanine sensitized TiO2 nanoparticles which conjugated with chlorambucil (CBL) (mTiO2–BCBL@ZnPC NPs) in an attempt to solve these issues. Not only were the nanoparticles triggered in near infrared radiation (NIR) for PDT with various reactive oxygen species (ROS) being generated, but the nanoparticles also realized the controllable release of CBL by H2O2, a major kind of ROS, through cleavage of the phenylboronic ester between CBL and the nanoparticle. Impressively, the controllable release of CBL under NIR irradiation showed an on–off characteristic and time dependency. In addition, the well-defined mTiO2–BCBL@ZnPC NPs with a 30 nm average diameter showed good stability and biocompatibility. The in vitro cytotoxicity studies demonstrated that the mTiO2–BCBL@ZnPC NPs were more cytotoxic under NIR irradiation than the mTiO2@ZnPC NPs and CBL, while the mTiO2–BCBL@ZnPC NPs were less cytotoxic under dark conditions. The above results implied that photo-controlled drug release is a promising choice for cancer therapy due to its high selectivity, good safety and low side-effects, and would be expected to be used in chemo-photodynamic combined therapy for improving the therapeutic efficiency.

The synergistic extraction of thorium (Th) with a mixture of Cyanex572 and Cyanex923 in hydrochloric acid medium has been investigated in this paper. Cyanex572 is a novel commercial extractant produced by Cytec Industries Inc. Up to now, no synergistic extraction concerning Cyanex572 has been reported. In this study, a significant synergistic effect was indicated by the combination of Cyanex572 and Cyanex923 for Th(IV). At the acidity of 0.1 mol/L, the largest synergistic enhancement coefficient from equal mole fraction of Cyanex572 and Cyanex923 reached 5.63. Extraction mechanism of mixed Cyanex572 and Cyanex923 for Th(IV) was proposed by slope analysis method and IR spectra, the composition of extracted complexes was determined as ThCl 2 (HL 2 ) 2 B. The synergistic extraction system has revealed a potential application value in the separation of Th(IV) from leaching solution of rare earth (RE) radioactive waste residue.

A novel solid complex centrifugal separation (SCCS) process has been developed to enrich trace rare earth (RE) elements from the leaching liquor of ion-absorption RE minerals. When compared to liquid–liquid centrifugal extraction (LLCE), the proposed process employed 100% extractant without a volatile diluent for the RE enrichment process, which led to a much shorter equilibrium time of 5 min. Taking into account their ability to form solid complexes with RE ions from an aqueous phase, some alkyl phenoxy carboxylic acid derivatives, including p-tert-octylphenoxy acetic acid (POAA), iso-propanoic acid (POPA) and iso-butyric acid (POBA), were synthesized and used as the solid extractants. The SCCS process included the following steps: first, the solid extractants with a saponification degree of 80% were mixed with 0.5 g L−1 RE solution at a liquid/solid phase ratio of 200/1 to obtain the solid RE complexes. Second, the solid RE complexes were separated from the aqueous phase using a liquid/solid centrifugal separator. Finally, a high concentration of RE solution (>200 g L−1) was obtained by the stripping of solid RE complexes with concentrated HCl. In the SCCS process, a precipitation rate of more than 95.4% and a stripping rate of nearly 100% for RE could be achieved. Water solubilities of the as-prepared solid extractants in raffinate solution were tested to be lower than 32.8 ppm at 25 °C and the mass loss were determined as 0.6% for each cycle. The as-obtained high concentration RE solution with the purity of 96.9 wt% can be used directly as a feed solution for the next individual RE element separation.

Rechargeable Mg batteries are promising candidates for high energy density storage in theory, when a Mg metal anode is combined with an oxide cathode material. Despite the widely observed sluggish Mg2+ diffusion in most oxide lattices, recent first-principles calculations predicted low diffusion barriers in the calcium ferrite (CF)-type post-spinel structures. In the present work, we experimentally examine the prospect of CF-type NaV1.25Ti0.75O4 as a Mg cathode. The Na+ ions, which lie in the ion migration pathway, need to be removed or exchanged with Mg2+ to allow Mg2+ de/intercalation. Partial desodiation was achieved through chemical and electrochemical methods, as proven by X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, but deep desodiation was accompanied by partial amorphization of the material. Mg2+ ion exchange at moderate temperature (80 °C) resulted in the formation of Na0.19Mg0.41V1.25Ti0.75O4; however, phase transformation was observed when higher temperatures were applied to attempt com...

The environmentally friendly pigments based on Pr4+ and Tb4+ doped La2Ce2O7 have been synthesized via the Sol-Gel method and characterized using several analytic techniques, such as XRD, UV–vis–NIR spectrophotometer and CIE L*a*b* (1976) color space. The investigation has demonstrated that the doping of Pr4+ or Tb4+ for Ce4+ in La2Ce2O7 resulted in the color changes from light yellow, soft orange to dark orange. Moreover, the band gaps of pigments decreased from 3.34 to 2.37 (Pr-doped) and 2.24 (Tb-doped). The synthesized pigments of La2Ce2-xPrxO7 and La2Ce2-xTbxO7 (x = 0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5) were disordered defect fluorite-type structure and showed good chemical stabilities in acid/alkaline tests. Interestingly, the Pr4+ doped pigment possessed high NIR solar reflectance (>72.47%) in the range 700–2500 nm with the color of dark orange (L* = 46.87 a* = 13.5 b* = 13.4). The substitution of Tb4+ for Ce4+ changed the color to dark orange (L* = 51.35 a* = 15.94 b* = 17.57), and decreased the NIR solar reflectance slightly from 99.11% to 87.41%. The applied studies of two kinds of pigments coating on the galvanized sheets exhibited nice colors with high NIR solar reflectance. The superior performances of pigments have rendered them competent as qualified exterior coating materials.

A novel synergistic system of combined ammonium and phosphonium type ionic liquids is reported for the first time, which displays pronounced synergistic effect in the extraction of Lu(III). The synergistic enhancement coefficients from different mole fractions of [P66614][EHEHP] and [N1888][BTMPP] were calculated. Extraction mechanism of the combined functionalized ionic liquids for Lu(III) was shown to be ion association. Thermodynamic functions of the synergistic extraction system were obtained. The loaded Lu(III) in the synergistic system could be fully stripped using hydrochloric acid. The novel synergistic extraction provides the possibility of separating heavy lanthanides, which reveals theoretical and practical importance in REEs separation.

An amine-containing non-interpenetrating pillar-layer framework, [Zn2 (dbtcb)(L1)]⋅x solvent (1), has been synthesized from Zn(NO3 )2 and the ligands 1,4-dibromo-2,3,5,6-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene (H4 DBTCB) and 2,5-bis(4-pyridyl)aniline (L1). The [Zn2 (COO)4 ] secondary building units (SBUs) are bridged by DBTCB to form two-dimensional layers that are linked by L1 ligands acting as pillars to form a three-dimensional network. This NH2 -containing framework can undergo versatile tailoring through post-synthetic covalent modification, solvent-assisted linker exchange (SALE), and single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SC-SC) transmetalation reactions. Acetamide-functionalized [Zn2 (L2)(dbtcb)]⋅xsolvent (2) could be obtained by direct synthesis from Zn(NO3 )2 , N-acetyl-2,5-bis(4-pyridyl)aniline (L2) and H4 DBTCB. Importantly, compound 1 with pure NH2 ligands as pillars could be obtained by SALE of 2 with L1 in DMSO solution. The transmetalation reactions of 1 with CuII , NiII , and CoII were studied; inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission (ICP) analysis revealed that 1 underwent almost complete SC-SC transmetalation with CuII within 30 h, whereas with NiII and CoII only 70 and 80 % substitutions were achieved. Photoluminescence studies revealed that 1 and 2 display yellow-green and UV emission, respectively, under a UV lamp. Furthermore, the photoluminescent properties could be tuned by introducing mixed pillar amino ligands L1 and L2 into the MOF to produce multivariate (MTV) MOF 3 displaying overall orange emission.

A novel purification process based on mixer-settlers for high-purity NdCl3 was developed. Acidic solution and pure NdCl3 solution were compared to scrub the less-extractable rare earths (REs) (La, Ce, and Pr) from loaded organic phase. The extractant with low-degree saponification was evaluated to remove the more-extractable element (Sm). Then the RE impurities (La, Ce, Pr, and Sm) in Nd were purified by an integrated process. Furthermore, effect of smuggling behavior on the purification of NdCl3 in mixer-settlers was studied. Based on the investigation mentioned above, the pilot-scale purification process for NdCl3 with a purity of 99.999% was developed, and the total recovery was about 99%.

Bone is the most common organ affected by metastatic breast cancer. Targeting cancers within the bone remains a great challenge due to the inefficient delivery of therapeutic to bone. In this study, a polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated nanoparticles (NPs) made of a Zn2+ coordination polymer was linked with a bone seeking moiety, alendronate (ALN), to deliver cisplatin prodrug (DSP) to the bone. The particle sizes of this novel system, DSP-Zn@PEG-ALN NPs, were regulated by adjusting the volume ratio of water phase to oil phase in microemulsion. It was small enough (about 55nm) to extravasate through the clefts (80nm) of the bone's sinusoidal capillaries and localize into metastatic bones. DSP-Zn@PEG-ALN NPs showed much higher affinity for hydroxyapatite in vitro and bone in vivo than non-targeted DSP-Zn@PEG NPs and cisplatin. In addition, the in vivo biodistribution studies demonstrated that about 4-fold of platinum was delivered to the bone metastatic lesions than that in healthy bones by DSP-Zn@PEG-ALN NPs intravenously. Finally, DSP-Zn@PEG-ALN NPs not only inhibited the tumor growth efficiently but also reduced the osteocalastic bone destruction. Besides, DSP-Zn@PEG-ALN NPs showed significantly reduced toxicity of cisplatin. These results indicate that the DSP-Zn@PEG-ALN NPs have a great potential in enhancing chemotherapeutic efficacy for the treatment of bone metastatic breast cancer.

Herein, an intelligent biodegradable hollow manganese dioxide (H-MnO2) nano-platform is developed for not only tumor microenvironment (TME)-specific imaging and on-demand drug release, but also modulation of hypoxic TME to enhance cancer therapy, resulting in comprehensive effects favoring anti-tumor immune responses. With hollow structures, H-MnO2 nanoshells post modification with polyethylene glycol (PEG) could be co-loaded with a photodynamic agent chlorine e6 (Ce6), and a chemotherapy drug doxorubicin (DOX). The obtained H-MnO2-PEG/C&D would be dissociated under reduced pH within TME to release loaded therapeutic molecules, and in the meantime induce decomposition of tumor endogenous H2O2 to relieve tumor hypoxia. As a result, a remarkable in vivo synergistic therapeutic effect is achieved through the combined chemo-photodynamic therapy, which simultaneously triggers a series of anti-tumor immune responses. Its further combination with checkpoint-blockade therapy would lead to inhibition of tumors at distant sites, promising for tumor metastasis treatment., MnO2 nanostructures are promising TME-responsive theranostic agents in cancer. Here, the authors develop a nano-platform based on hollow H-MnO2 nanoshells able to modulate the tissue microenvironment, release a drug and inhibit tumor growth alone or in combination with check-point blockade therapy.

Rechargeable aqueous batteries with zinc metal anodes are promising energy storage systems owing to their high safety and low lost. A suitable cathode material is in urgent demand. Organic materials offer adjustable electrochemical activity, and conducting polymers provide good electrical conductivity. Herein, we combine those advantages in one cathode material by the controlled introduction of quinone-type active sites onto polyaniline (PANI) nanorod-arrays through a facile electrochemical treatment. The process simultaneously transforms the polymer with a compact coil conformation into an expanded coil structure, resulting in facilitated electron transportations and charge transfer processes. In comparison to the original PANI, the electrochemically treated Q-PANI electrode exhibits extra electrochemical activity from quinone sites as well as enhanced capacity from PANI itself. Q-PANI delivers a high capacity of 186 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1. Upon long-term cycling, 88.0% capacity retention is achieved after 1500 cycles at 2 A g−1. Detailed mechanism studies demonstrate the redox reaction on quinone sites at 1.4 V and nitrogen centers in PANI at 1.1 V. The work proposes a potential pathway towards high performance electrode materials for zinc batteries.

Vanadium oxide (VOx) materials have gained considerable interest for rechargeable aqueous zinc ion batteries because of their structural and electrochemical diversities. However, the charge storage mechanism of the VOx cathode remains a topic of discussion. Herein we demonstrate a high-performance Zn/VOx cell where the binder-free VOx cathode with a layered structure is electrodeposited on a graphite substrate. This cathode with a high mass loading of 6 mg cm−2 exhibits high specific capacity of 402 mAh g−1 at the current density of 0.26 A g−1 in 6 M ZnCl2 aqueous electrolyte. Good cycling stability of ~89% capacity retention can be achieved for 10,000 cycles at the fast discharge rate of 7.8 A g−1. Electrochemical and spectroscopy analysis indicates that the VOx cathode experiences an interactive dual-ion storage mechanism, including sequential H+ and Zn2+ insertion, as well as H+/Zn2+ co-insertion processes during discharging. The H+ and Zn2+ insertion kinetics is also studied. Results identify that excessive H+ storage in the initial discharge region will block the subsequent Zn2+ insertion and thus decrease the discharge capacity. The interfacial charge transfer and the ion diffusion processes of the dual-ion storage in VOx are crucial to achieving good electrochemical performance.

Sustainable and comprehensive recycling of valuable elements from waste SmCo magnets is crucial. In this work, an environmentally friendly process based on low viscosity and easy preparation of hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent (HDES) for comprehensive recovery of Fe(III), Co(II), Cu(II) and Sm(III) from waste SmCo magnets has been developed. The HDESs based on dodecanol (Dodec) and tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) were prepared, characterized and first used to selectively extract Fe(III) and Sm(III) from the SmCo magnets leachate. And then the Cu(II) and Co(II) in the raffinate were selectively separated using decanoic acid (DA):lauric acid (LA) (2:1) based HDES. The batch counter current extraction experiment was carried out under optimal conditions. After two-stage extraction by using Dodec:TOPO (2:1) based HDES, over 99% of the Fe(III) and Sm(III) were extracted into the organic phase. Subsequently, the raffinate containing Co(II) and Cu(II) was subjected to single-stage extraction and three-stage scrubbing using DA:LA (2:1) based HDES. Fe(III) and Sm(III) loaded in the Dodec:TOPO (2:1) based HDES phase could be stripped by using 1.5 mol/L H2C2O4. The obtained Fe2(C2O4)3 solution and Sm2(C2O4)3 precipitate were separated by filtration. And the Cu(II) loaded in the DA:LA (2:1) based HDES phase was stripped by using 1 mol/L H2SO4. Finally, Fe(III), Co(II), Cu(II) and Sm(III) were completely separated, and the purity of each product can reach 98.50% or higher. The recovery rates of Fe(III), Co(II), Cu(II) and Sm(III) were 99%, 99%, 96.47% and 99%, respectively. The process has lower chemical consumption and no need to use volatile and toxic organic solvent, which is conducive to cleaner and safer production.

An uncoordinated salen-containing metal-organic framework (MOF) obtained through postsynthesis removal of Mn(III) ions from a metallosalen-containing MOF material has been used for selective separation of Th(IV) ion from Ln(III) ions in methanol solutions for the first time. This material exhibited an adsorption capacity of 46.345 mg of Th/g. The separation factors (β) of Th(IV)/La(III), Th(IV)/Eu(III), and Th(IV)/Lu(III) were 10.7, 16.4, and 10.3, respectively.

Two novel nonylphenoxy acetic acids including (2,6-dimethylheptyl) phenoxy acetic acid (POAA) and (2,6-dimethylheptyl) propanoic acid (POPA) were synthesized via Williamson reaction for the separation of yttrium from rare earth elements (REEs) in this paper. The extraction and stripping of REEs using POAA and POPA have been investigated. The extraction mechanism of REEs could be deduced as ion exchange via mass balance method. There is an outstanding advantage that the separation of heavy REEs (HREEs) with POPA is more efficient than sec-octylphenoxy acetic acid (CA12) and the corresponding separation factors between Y and HREEs such as Er, Tm, Yb, Lu reached 2.00, 2.01, 2.57 and 2.46, respectively. Stripping of loaded POAA and POPA by 1.0 mol/L HCl or more were effectively achieved when the volume ratio of organic phase to aqueous phase is 1:1. A solvent extraction process for separation of high-purity yttrium from ion-absorbed rare earth concentrate using POPA was developed, which are superior to sec-octylphenoxy acetic acid (CA12) and naphthenic acid (NA). Yttrium product with a purity of 99.81 wt.% was obtained via 13 stages of extraction section, 10 stages of scrubbing section and 5 stages of stripping section.

In this article, some novel extractants were synthesized for the separation of Th and rare earth (RE). Among the synthesized neutral organophosphorus extractants, n-octyl phosphate diphenyl (ODP) revealed excellent extraction efficiencies and selectivities for Th(IV). Moreover, loading capacity of ODP for Th(IV) (0.015 mol/L) reached 130 mg/L, the loading capacities and speed were higher and faster than those of P507, TBP and C272, respectively. Furthermore, the loaded Th(IV) could be fully stripped by sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid. The novel extractant ODP has been indicated to be an efficient extractant for the separation of Th, REs and Fe from ion-adsorption type RE minerals, which reveals significances in the fields of resource, environment and energy.

While olivine LiFePO4 shows amongst the best electrochemical properties of Li-ion positive electrodes with respect to rate behavior owing to facile Li+ migration pathways in the framework, replacing the [PO4]3– polyanion with a silicate [SiO4]4– moiety in olivine is desirable. This could allow additional alkali content and hence electron transfer, and increase the capacity. Herein we explore the possibility of a strategy toward new cathode materials and demonstrate the first stabilization of a lithium transition metal silicate (as a pure silicate) in the olivine structure type. Using LiInSiO4 and LiScSiO4 as the parent materials, transition metal (Mn, Fe, Co) substitutions on the In/Sc site were investigated by computational modeling via atomic scale simulation. Transition metal substitution was found to be only favorable for Co, a finding confirmed by the successful solid state synthesis of olivine LixInyCo2-x-ySiO4. Stabilization of the structure was achieved by entropy provided by cation disorder.

A novel surfactant liquid template has been developed for the synthesis of monodisperse neodymia (Nd2O3) nanoparticles with various morphologies. The effects of surfactant concentration and type were studied in the preparation process. The precursors and Nd2O3 powders were determined by several analytic techniques such as XRD, TG/DSC, SEM and FTIR. The morphologies of products were indicated to be highly influenced by the added amount of N-(3-Cocoamidopropyl)-betaine (CAPB) or 1-tetradecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C14mim]Cl) ionic liquid (IL) surfactants. With the increase of CAPB concentration from 0 to 20 times of critical micelle concentration (CMC), the morphologies of Nd2O3 varied from short nanorods, nanoballs, irregular flakes, highly regular leaf-shaped nanoparticles to torispherical nanoparticles, and the phases of Nd2O3 mentioned above were all the same. However, the morphology of Nd2O3 prepared by adding [C14mim]Cl surfactant was quite different to that prepared with CAPB surfactant. A possible mechanism was proposed to explain the influence of surfactant concentration on the precipitation process. The surfactant formed different micelle structures, i.e., sphere micelle, lamellar micelle and liquid crystal micelle, as the liquid templates for guiding the precipitation reaction. The synthetic procedure was fairly simple and showed great promise for the application of some other IL surfactants to prepare nanoparticles, fabricating a variety of building blocks for assembling nanomaterials with novel structures and functionalities.

A novel impregnated resin with n-octyl diphenyl phosphate (ODP-IR) was developed for the separation of thorium from leaching solution of rare earth (RE) waste residue. Nitrogen adsorption, FT-IR spectra, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer were conducted for the characterization of ODP-IR. Uptake of ODP-IR for Th4 + was significantly affected by changing HNO3 concentration. The adsorption data were fitted well with pseudo-second-order rate model. Thermodynamic parameters for the adsorption of Th4 + were calculated and discussed. The adsorption was fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm model than Freundlich isotherm model. ODP-IR was repeatedly used five times without obvious loss for Th4 + adsorption, indicating that the adsorbent was stabilized. The ODP-IR was successfully used to separate Th from RE and Fe using the feed solution from ion-adsorption type RE waste residue, which revealed potentials in the fields of RE resource utilization, radioactive contamination treatment and nuclear fuel preparation.

Abnormal H2O2 levels are closely related to many diseases, including inflammation and cancers. Herein, we simultaneously load HRP and its substrate, 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), into liposomal nanoparticles, obtaining a Lipo@HRP&ABTS optical nanoprobe for in vivo H2O2-responsive chromogenic assay with great specificity and sensitivity. In the presence of H2O2, colorless ABTS would be converted by HRP into the oxidized form with strong near-infrared (NIR) absorbance, enabling photoacoustic detection of H2O2 down to submicromolar concentrations. Using Lipo@HRP&ABTS as an H2O2-responsive nanoprobe, we could accurately detect the inflammation processes induced by LPS or bacterial infection in which H2O2 is generated. Meanwhile, upon systemic administration of this nanoprobe we realize in vivo photoacoustic imaging of small s.c. tumors (∼2 mm in size) as well as orthotopic brain gliomas, by detecting H2O2 produced by tumor cells. Interestingly, local injection of Lipo@HRP&ABTS further enables differentiation of metastatic lymph nodes from those nonmetastatic ones, based on their difference in H2O2 contents. Moreover, using the H2O2-dependent strong NIR absorbance of Lipo@HRP&ABTS, tumor-specific photothermal therapy is also achieved. This work thus develops a sensitive H2O2-responsive optical nanoprobe useful not only for in vivo detection of inflammation but also for tumor-specific theranostic applications.