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A mechanically strong binder with polar functional groups could overcome the dilemma of the large volume change during charge/discharge processes and poor cyclability of lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). In this work, for the first time, we report the use of poly(thiourea triethylene glycol) (PTTG) as a multifunctional binder for sulfur cathodes to enhance the performance of LSBs. As expected, the PTTG binder facilitates the high performance and stability delivered by the Sulfur-PTTG cathode, including a higher reversible capacity of 825 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C after 80 cycles, a lower capacity fading (0.123% per cycle) over 350 cycles at 0.5 C, a higher areal capacity of 2.5 mAh cm−2 at 0.25 mA cm−2, and better rate capability of 587 mAh g−1 at 2 C. Such superior electrochemical performances could be attributed to PTTG's strong chemical adsorption towards polysulfides which may avoid the lithium polysulfide shuttle effect and excellent mechanical characteristics which prevents electrode collapse during cycling and allows the Sulfur-PTTG electrode to maintain robust electron and ion migration pathways for accelerated redox reaction kinetics.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials composed of single pnictogen element, namely, 2D pnictogens (e.g., black phosphorus, arsenene, antimonene and bismuthine), have recently showed remarkable potential for biomedical applications, especially after the rapid development of black phosphorus. With unique optical and electronic properties, 2D pnictogens are considered as promising nanoagents for biosensors, diagnosis and therapy. In this review, after brief introduction of the structure, properties, synthesis strategies, and biocompatibility of 2D pnictogens, their biomedical applications including anti-tumor, anti-inflammation, anti-bacterial, neurodegenerative treatment and tissue repairing are reviewed. The major obstacles and opportunities of 2D pnictogens are also discussed. This review provides a short yet timely summary on the synthesis and biomedical applications of emerging 2D pnictogens.

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are attractive candidates for post-lithium-ion battery technologies because of their ultrahigh theoretical energy density and low cost of active cathode materials. However, the commercialization of LSBs remains extremely challenging primarily due to poor cycling performance and safety concerns, which are inherently caused by low conductivity of S8 and Li2S, severe polysulfide shuttling, and high polarization by solid Li2S2/Li2S deposition. Catalytic materials could facilitate the large-scale practical application of LSBs by overcoming all these challenges. In this review, we investigate the sulfur species evolution in LSBs and explore the roles of catalytic materials in charge/discharge processes, highlighting the catalysis of solid S8 to liquid polysulfides and solid Li2S2 to Li2S. Furthermore, we offer systematic strategies from atomic to macro levels, including defect engineering, morphology engineering and catalyst compositing, to enhance catalysis efficiency in terms of sulfur supercooling, fast charge transfer, thiosulfate generation, disulfide bond cleavage, tuneable Li2S growth and Li2S decomposition enhancement. The design and availability of the proposed catalytic materials will further advance LSB technology from coin cells and pouch cells to the subsequent commercialization scale.

Binders could play crucial or even decisive roles in the fabrication of low-cost, stable and high-capacity electrodes. This is especially the case for the silicon (Si) anodes and sulfur (S) cathodes that undergo large volume change and active material loss in lithium-ion batteries during prolonged cycles. Herein, a hydrophilic polymer poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic acid) (PMVEMA) was explored as a dual-functional aqueous binder for the preparation of high-performance silicon anode and sulfur cathode. Benefiting from the dual functions of PMVEMA, i.e., the excellent dispersion ability and strong binding forces, the as-prepared electrodes exhibit improved capacity, rate capability and long-term cycling performance. In particular, the as-prepared Si electrode delivers a high initial discharge capacity of 1346.5 mAh g−1 at a high rate of 8.4 A/g and maintains 834.5 mAh g−1 after 300 cycles at 4.2 A/g, while the as-prepared S cathode exhibits enhanced cycling performance with high remaining discharge capacities of 663.4 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 C and 487.07 mAh g−1 after 300 cycles at 1 C, respectively. These encouraging results suggest that PMVEMA could be a universal binder to facilitate the green manufacture of both anode and cathode for high-capacity energy storage systems.

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have become increasingly attractive in solid‐state lithium‐ion batteries (SSLIBs) in recent years because of their inherent properties of flexibility, processability, and interfacial compatibility. However, the commercialization of SPEs remains challenging for flexible and high‐energy‐density LIBs. The incorporation of functional additives into SPEs could significantly improve the electrochemical and mechanical properties of SPEs and has created some historical milestones in boosting the development of SPEs. In this study, we review the roles of additives in SPEs, highlighting the working mechanisms and functionalities of the additives. The additives could afford significant advantages in boosting ionic conductivity, increasing ion transference number, improving high‐voltage stability, enhancing mechanical strength, inhibiting lithium dendrite, and reducing flammability. Moreover, the application of functional additives in high‐voltage cathodes, lithium–sulfur batteries, and flexible lithium‐ion batteries is summarized. Finally, future research perspectives are proposed to overcome the unresolved technical hurdles and critical issues in additives of SPEs, such as facile fabrication process, interfacial compatibility, investigation of the working mechanism, and special functionalities.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) with huge cost advantages will show extraordinary talents in low-speed electric vehicles, energy storage, and base station communications. Manganese oxides are promising candidates for cathode materials, rapid capacity decay, and poor electrochemical performance that limit its commercial applications. Here, the nanosheets with exposed active crystal planes are prepared through a simple NH3∙H2O-assisted sol-gel process and subsequent high-temperature calcination. The unique structure considerably reduces the Na+ diffusion path for the excellent Na+ diffusion kinetics. The final results confirm that the NMO-pH6 sample, exposed to the active planes, has high energy density (557.9 Wh kg−1 at 0.1 C) and outstanding electrochemical performance, especially the rate performance (93.8 mAh g−1 at 5 C and 79.95 %, 100 cycles at 1 C). More importantly, it will facilitate the further construction of advanced cathode materials for high-performance SIBs.

Industrial ammonia production is usually carried out under conditions of high temperature and pressure, which is energy-intensive and causes environmental pollution. Current materials used for cata...

We fabricated the HfZrO2 (HZO) ferroelectric fin field-effect transistors (Fe-FinFET) with fin width of 60 nm and gate length of 100 nm for ferroelectric nonvolatile memory operations. The fabricated Fe-FinFET exhibited a large memory window (MW) of 1.5 V and high (100 ns) program/erase speeds at ±5 V. After $10^{{5}}$ program/erase cycles, the MW was maintained at 1.09 V and the retention time was measured up to $10^{{4}}$ s with no degradation. The fabricated HZO Fe-FinFET is compatible with the current FinFET process and has a high MW, a fast program/erase speed, and excellent reliability. Therefore, the fabricated Fe-FinFET is a promising candidate for high-density ferroelectric field-effect transistor memory applications.

Nickel diselenide (NiSe2) is a promising low-cost catalyst for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), due to its suitable d-electron configuration and high electrical conductivity. Several representative elements, e.g., Co, Fe and P, have been utilized as cation or anion to promote the electrocatalytic activity of NiSe2 by modulating the interaction with Se element, whilst the catalyst stability is less concerned. In this work, the catalytic Ni nanoparticles were in-situ encapsulated in carbon nanotubes grown on three-dimensional conducting carbon framework. Subsequent phosphorization and selenization yield dispersed P-doped NiSe2 nanoparticles protected by carbon shell with highly exposed yet stable active sides, resulting in significantly promoted HER and OER activities as well as accelerated kinetics. In detail, the P-NiSe2@N-CNTs/NC hybrid catalyst deliver low overpotentials of 95 and 306 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for HER and OER in alkaline media, respectively. DFT calculations reveal that P doping reduces the electron density surrounding Ni atoms while accumulates the charges to Se, respectively, which in turn reduces the energy barriers for both water dissociation and intermediates adsorption for both HER and OER. As a concept of proof, a cell assembled by P-NiSe2@N-CNTs/NC hybrid catalyst-based anode and cathode performs a low applied voltage of 1.609 V to reach 10 mA cm−2, and outstanding long-term stability.

Li-rich oxides are considered as the most commercial potential cathode materials due to the high theoretical specific discharge capacity. Here, ZrO2 in different crystalline states are applied as the coating layers to enhance the electrochemical performance of hollow Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2 materials. Meanwhile, a series of characterizations (XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX etc.) are conducted to compare the effects of ZrO2 coating layer with different crystalline states on the host material. The results elucidate that the Li-rich Mn-based material with the polycrystal ZrO2 coating layer has a slight advantage in rate performance, while the host material with the single crystal ZrO2-coating layer has a better cycling performance and effectively suppresses voltage decay with the effect of excellently inhibiting layered to spinel-like phase transition and metal dissolution during charging and discharging process.

Strontium cobaltite-based perovskites (SrCoO3-δ) have been widely studied as a promising cathode for the next-generation solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Here, we found a balance between oxygen vacancy (VO) formation and its migration in designing SrCoO3-δ-based materials by using two activity descriptors, i.e., radius and electronegativity. The ORR activity of these types of perovskites is found to strongly rely on the two proposed descriptors, and Nb- or Ta-doped SrCoO3-δ locates in the promising zone as predicted with a moderate value of both VO formation energy and ion migration barrier. Then Sc-Ta co-doped SrCoO3-δ (SSTC) and Sc-Nb co-doped SrCoO3-δ (SSNC) are screened out to be the best among 91 bimetal-doped SrCoO3-δ perovskites. Further experiments have been carried out to synthesize the co-doped SSTC and prove ultralow area-specific resistance values (0.071, 0.198, and 0.701 Ω·cm2 at 550, 500, and 450 °C, respectively), which is only one-third of that of benchmark materials for the SOFC cathodes. Our results open a novel pathway in designing SOFC cathodes with an optimal performance.

This paper presents a standardized process for fabricating multifunctional energy storage composites that involves using activated carbon fiber (CF) electrodes and a poly(vinylene fluoride) (PVDF)-...

Searching for ultralight microwave absorber with good heat-insulating property is highly desirable to fulfill the technical requirement of modern society. Herein, the two-dimension (2D) graphene-like porous carbon nanosheets (GPCN) derived from the waste pomelo peel were developed. The preparation is performed by a facile hydrothermal process with synergistic usage of HAc and H2O2. Interestingly, the thickness and porosity of GPCN can be readily regulated by adjusting addition amount of the reagents. The related synthetic mechanism is investigated in depth. Compared with traditional graphene, the fabrication strategy of GPCN possesses many advantages, such as low cost, high yield and ease of production. The results show that GPCN presents superior thermal insulation and microwave absorption properties. The heat-insulating property is comparable to commercial products, e.g. polyurethanes (PU), nickel foam (NF), carbon foam (CF). The strong microwave absorption intensity of −56.4 dB and bandwidth of 6.4 GHz is achieved under ultralow filling ratio of 4 wt%. Moreover, the density of assembled 3D macroscopically product is merely 0.01 g/cm−3. The excellent performance should be attributed to the unique 2D morphology and high porosity of GPCN. Our work paves a new way for developing porous carbon nanosheet from sustainable biomass as heat-insulating ultralight microwave absorber.

The aim of this study was to establish a method for geographical origins identification of Panax notoginseng (P. notoginseng) based on abundant chromatographic spectral information. Characteristic fingerprints of P. notoginseng extracts samples were generated by Multi-wavelength Fusion Profiling (MWFP) method based on the HPLC fingerprints established at three wavelengths of 203 nm, 270 nm and 325 nm. The samples grouping results calculated with the averagely linear quantified fingerprint method (ALQFM) and the unsupervised statistical methods based on fusion fingerprints matches with the geographical origins. The Multi-wavelength Fusion Profiling (MWFP) method has been successfully applied to identification of geographical origins of P. notoginseng and shows the advantages compared with single—channel fingerprints. In addition, eight physiologically active components, including four saponins, two flavones and two amino acids, were identified from the most relevant ingredients of P. notoginseng geographical origins by fusion fingerprint-efficacy relationship analysis. Besides the recognized active saponins, other categories of active ingredients such as flavonoids and amino acids should be paid attention to in the producing areas identification or the quality judgment of P. notoginseng.

The ester functionality is commonly seen in the areas of chemical biology and medicinal chemistry for the design of cell‐permeable active molecules. Ester‐based pro‐drug/pro‐sensor strategies are employed to mask polar functional groups (i. e. carboxylic acids) and improve the overall cell permeability of these functional molecules. However, their use as reactive units for sensing applications, including bacterial detection, has not been fully explored. Herein, we synthesised two TCF‐based fluorescent probes, TCF‐OAc and TCF‐OBu. As expected, both TCF‐OAc and TCF‐OBu demonstrated a significant fluorescence (22‐ and 43‐fold, respectively) and colorimetric response (yellow to purple) towards porcine liver esterase (PLE) with a limit of detection of 1.18 mU/mL and 0.45 mU/mL, respectively. With these results in hand, the ability of these probes to detect planktonic suspensions of gram‐positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and gram‐negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), and Escherichia coli (E. coli) were evaluated. Different fluorescence responses for gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria were observed between TCF‐OAc and TCF‐OBu. After 1 h incubation, TCF‐OAc proved more sensitive towards S. aureus, demonstrating a significant fluorescence “turn on” response (16‐fold); whereas, TCF‐OBu was more selective towards P. aeruginosa, with a 22‐fold increase in the fluorescence response observed. These results demonstrate the influence of the ester chain length on the selectivity for bacterial species.

To enhance ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and phosphate (PO43--P) removal in hyper-eutrophic water, electrolysis-enhanced ecological floating bed (EEEFB) was designed with a Mg-Al alloy anode, a Ir-Ta-Ti metal oxide-coated titanium anode, and an Fe anode with the same graphite cathode. The results showed that the Mg-Al alloy anode with graphite cathode had a better ability to enhance NH3-N and PO43--P removal. When the current density was 0.37 mA·cm-2, the electrolysis time was 24 h/d, and the net removal rates of NH3-N and PO43--P were 62% and 99.4%, respectively. In winter, the purification efficiencies of NH3-N and PO43--P were as high as 7388.4 mg·m-2 and 4297.5 mg·m-2, respectively, by EEEFBs which were significantly higher than the traditional ecological floating bed (p < 0.05). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray spectrometry confirmed that the PO43--P was deposited in the sediment of EEEFBs with Mg-Al alloy anode and Fe anode.

A large number of microbes exist in the gut and they have the ability to process and utilize ingested food. It has been reported that their products are involved in colorectal cancer development. The molecular mechanisms which underlie the relationship between gut microbial products and CRC are still not fully understood. The role of some microbial products in CRC is particularly controversial. Elucidating the effects of gut microbiota products on CRC and their possible mechanisms is vital for CRC prevention and treatment. In this review, recent studies are examined in order to describe the contribution metabolites and toxicants which are produced by gut microbes make to CRC, primarily focusing on the involved molecular mechanisms. Abbreviations: CRC: colorectal cancer; SCFAs: short chain fatty acids; HDAC: histone deacetylase; TCA cycle: tricarboxylic acid cycle; CoA: cytosolic acyl coenzyme A; SCAD: short chain acyl CoA dehydrogenase; HDAC: histone deacetylase; MiR-92a: microRNA-92a; KLF4: kruppel-like factor; PTEN: phosphatase and tensin homolog; PI3K: phosphoinositide 3-kinase; PIP2: phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-biphosphate; PIP3: phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate; Akt1: protein kinase B subtype α; ERK1/2: extracellular signal–regulated kinases 1/2; EMT: epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; NEDD9: neural precursor cell expressed developmentally down-regulated9; CAS: Crk-associated substrate; JNK: c-Jun N-terminal kinase; PRMT1: protein arginine methyltransferase 1; UDCA: ursodeoxycholic acid; BA: bile acids; CA: cholic acid; CDCA: chenodeoxycholic acid; DCA: deoxycholic acid; LCA: lithocholic acid; CSCs: cancer stem cells; MHC: major histocompatibility; NF-κB: NF-kappaB; GPR: G protein-coupled receptors; ROS: reactive oxygen species; RNS: reactive nitrogen substances; BER: base excision repair; DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid; EGFR: epidermal growth factor receptor; MAPK: mitogen activated protein kinase; ERKs: extracellular signal regulated kinases; AKT: protein kinase B; PA: phosphatidic acid; TMAO: trimethylamine n-oxide; TMA: trimethylamine; FMO3: flavin-containing monooxygenase 3; H2S: Hydrogen sulfide; SRB: sulfate-reducing bacteria; IBDs: inflammatory bowel diseases; NSAID: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; BFT: fragile bacteroides toxin; ETBF: enterotoxigenic fragile bacteroides; E-cadherin: extracellular domain of intercellular adhesive protein; CEC: colonic epithelial cells; SMOX: spermine oxidase; SMO: smoothened; Stat3: signal transducer and activator of transcription 3; Th17: T helper cell 17; IL17: interleukin 17; AA: amino acid; TCF: transcription factor; CDT: cytolethal distending toxin; PD-L1: programmed cell death 1 ligand 1

Enzyme-responsive drug delivery systems (DDSs) have shown great potential in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Nitroreductase (NTR) that plays an essential role in the reduction of nitro compounds has been found to be overexpressed in tumor cells than in normal cells. Here, we present an amphiphilic polymer TNP that is flanked by an NTR responsive 4-nitrobenzyl group, hydrophobic AIE tetraphenylethylene (TPE), and polyethylene glycol hydrophilic moieties, which can be self-assembled into micelles to efficiently encapsulate the hydrophobic drug doxorubicin (DOX) in aqueous solution. In the presence of NADH, the 4-nitrobenzyl unit of TNP is reduced by NTR, leading to the decomposition of the TNP micelles and DOX release with the detection limit as low as 2.6 ng mL−1. MTT assays showed that TNP@DOX micelles possess an obvious toxicity against cancer cells, while negligible toxicity towards normal cells was observed. With the advantage of the AIE properties of TNP, the TNP@DOX micelles were able to be efficiently endocytosed by HeLa cells, and release DOX in a selective manner as determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and flow cytometry (FCM) analyses. This work provides a promising nanoplatform for cancer diagnosis and treatment with controlled drug release.

As a clean, eco-friendly and sustainable process, electrocatalysis has potential to replace the energy-consuming and environment-polluting Haber–Bosch process for N2 fixation. Although ruthenium (Ru) is generally considered as the best electrocatalyst for this process, its low faradaic efficiency greatly hampers the practical applications. Considering the solvent effects, our ab initio calculations and micro-kinetic simulations indicate that doping oxygen into the sublayer of Ru(0001) can turn some surface Ru0 atoms into positively charged Ru+, significantly boosting the reduction of N2. The overpotential can be dramatically reduced to 0.18 V only for Ru(0001) with 1.00 ML subsurface oxygen. Notably, the calculated turnover frequency (TOF) is 3.64 × 10−2 per s per site at 700 K and 100 bar, which is hundreds of times greater than that of the pure Ru(0001) surface. In terms of experimental progress on the successful incorporation of subsurface oxygen into the Ru(0001) surface, our work offers a practical and feasible route to boost electrochemical reduction of N2 to ammonia.

We report that atomically thin two-dimensional silicon quantum sheets (2D Si QSs), prepared by a scalable approach coupling chemical delithiation and cryo-assisted exfoliation, can serve as a high-performance brain photonic nanoagent for orthotopic glioma theranostics. With the lateral size of approximately 14.0 nm and thickness of about 1.6 nm, tiny Si QSs possess high mass extinction coefficient of 27.5 L g−1 cm−1 and photothermal conversion efficiency of 47.2% at 808 nm, respectively, concurrently contributing to the best photothermal performance among the reported 2D mono-elemental materials (Xenes). More importantly, Si QSs with low toxicity maintain the trade-off between stability and degradability, paving the way for practical clinical translation in consideration of both storage and action of nanoagents. In vitro Transwell filter experiment reveals that Si QSs could effectively go across the bEnd.3 cells monolayer. Upon the intravenous injection of Si QSs, orthotopic brain tumors are effectively inhibited under the precise guidance of photoacoustic imaging, and the survival lifetime of brain tumor-bearing mice is increased by two fold. Atomically thin Si QSs with strong light-harvesting capability are expected to provide an effective and robust 2D photonic nanoplatform for the management of brain diseases.

The magneto-refractive properties of Er/Yb co-doped silica fiber (EYDF) are important in magnetic field sensing. Here, we proposed a theoretical calculation model of the EYDF using density functional theory (DFT) and demonstrated it by an interferometric digital hologram magneto-refractive measurement system. The calculation results show that the fiber material, doped with Er/Yb atoms, has a large net spin and asymmetric spin distribution, which enables the elements to play an important role in the magnetic characteristics of the material. The experimental results show that the refractive index of the fiber decreases linearly with the increase of the magnetic field. The sensitivity of EYDF is 3.8279 × 10-5 RIU/Gs and is two orders of magnitude higher than that of single-mode fiber which is confirmed by the theoretical calculation. It demonstrated that the EYDF has advantages and potential of high sensitivity, miniaturization, and easy integration for magnetic field detection in harsh environments.

Negative energy balance (NEB) occurs in dairy cows during the transition period, during which time the blood concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) and metabolic ketones such as β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA) are elevated. These increased levels may disrupt immune functions and are regarded as risk factors associated with postparturient inflammatory disorders. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of NEFAs and BHBA on inflammatory cytokine expression in bovine peripheral leukocytes in vitro. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and peripheral polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) were collected from 16 Holstein cows and treated for 4 h with NEFA (0.1, 0.6, and 1.5 mM) or BHBA (5 and 10 mM), alone or combination with lipopolysaccharides (LPS, 1 µg/mL). The expression levels of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 were then determined. The results indicated that PBMCs and PMNLs responded to NEFA but tolerated BHBA. NEFA treatment dose-dependently induced the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8, and IL-10 in PBMCs and that of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 in PMNLs. Combination treatment of LPS with NEFA further increased the levels of IL-10 expression in PBMCs and IL-1β and IL-6 expression in PMNLs. Taken together, these findings suggest that NEFA and BHBA enhance the expression of inflammatory cytokines in PBMCs and PMNLs and may disrupt the immune regulation of peripheral leukocytes, leading to an increased risk of inflammatory disorders. Preventing increases in blood NEFA concentration may thus help to reduce the risk of inflammatory disorders in dairy cows during the transition period.Highlights In cows with NEB, during the transition period, NEFA but not BHBA induced proinflammatory cytokine expression in PBMCs and PMNLs. NEFA enhanced LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokine expression in both PBMCs and PMNLs.

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is an important enzyme-based biomarker present in several bacterial species; however, it is currently undervalued as a strategy to detect pathogenic bacteria. Here, we explore our ALP-responsive colorimetric and fluorescent probe (TCF-ALP) for such applications. TCF-ALP displayed a colorimetric and fluorescence response towards Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), with a limit of detection of 3.7 × 106 CFU mL−1 after 24 h incubation. To our surprise, TCF-ALP proved selective towards Staphylococcus bacteria when compared with Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), and Gram-negative P. aeruginosa and E. coli. Selectivity was also seen in clinically relevant S. aureus biofilms. Owing to the high prevalence and surface location of S. aureus in chronic wounds, TCF-ALP was subsequently encapsulated in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based hydrogels as a proof-of-concept “smart” wound dressing. TCF-ALP hydrogels were capable of detecting S. aureus in planktonic and biofilm assays, and displayed a clear colour change from yellow to purple after 24 h incubation using ex vivo porcine skin models. Overall, TCF-ALP is a simple tool that requires no prior knowledge, training, or specialist equipment, and has the potential to overcome issues related to invasive swabbing and tissue biopsy methods. Thus, TCF-ALP could be used as a tool to monitor the early development of infection in a wound and allow for the rapid provision of appropriate treatment for Staphylococcal bacterial infections.

Understanding the limitations of electrocatalytic activity and developing advanced catalysts with enhanced activity are of exceptional importance for future hydrogen energy applications. Due to the complexity of electrolytic hydrogen evolution in alkaline media, there are limited non-noble metal catalysts to afford large scale applications. Tungsten-based catalysts exhibit favorable stability but relatively low activity owing to their strong H* adsorption characteristics. In this work, cobalt hydroxides/cubic phase WN nanoparticles with strengthened interfaces and adjustable nitrogen vacancies anchored on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Co(OH)2/c-WN1−x/CNTs) are exploited as highly efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts, which exhibit remarkable activity with an overpotential of 78 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a low Tafel slope of 43 mV dec−1 in 1 M KOH media. Density-functional theory calculations revealed that the interfacial combinations of Co(OH)2/c-WN1−x were tuned to facilitate the kinetics of hydrogen evolution, where Co(OH)2 promoted the adsorption of water molecules and the H–OH dissociation, and cubic phase WN with nitrogen vacancies (c-WN1−x) accelerated hydrogen generation by optimizing the hydrogen adsorption free energy.

Solutions or sols are commonly employed as the starting materials for the preparation of supramolecular hydrogels; however, suspension-based synthesis has been much less reported because of inhomogeneity and quick sedimentation of large particles in a suspension. Further, it remains a technical challenge to derive supramolecular aerogels directly from the parental hydrogels owing to the ease of structural collapse during water removal. Herein, we report a suspension-gel transition for the ultrafast synthesis of a new supramolecular hydrogel simply by adding AgNO3 into the aqueous suspension of cyanuric acid-melamine (CAM) aggregates. With the activation of preadded ammonia, Ag ions instantly reacted with the CAM particles, transforming into N-Ag(I)-N coordinating bonded supramolecular nanofibers; simultaneously, the suspension converted to a hydrogel without the use of polymer cross-linkers or external stimulus. Upon simple freeze-drying, a highly crystalline fibrous aerogel with a cellular network was obtained, which possessed a porosity up to 99.7% and a density as low as 4.8 mg/cm3, enabling remarkable oil uptake capacities (100 times of its weight). The supramolecular aerogel demonstrated intrinsic elasticity, which should arise from the cellular structure and elastic character of the nanofiber skeletons. Notably, the aerogel showed high compatibility to incorporate a range of external substances for further functionalization exemplified by polymeric carbon nitride (PCN, a metal-free semiconductor) included gels. The loaded PCN resulted in enhanced mechanical strength and endowed the aerogel unique photoactivity, i.e., in situ reducing Ag(I) into Ag nanoparticles upon light illumination and thus forming a plasmonic shell over the aerogel with potential applications in sensing and catalysis.

Silicon (Si) has been investigated as a promising anode material because of its high theoretical capacity (4200 mAh g‐1). However, silicon anode suffers from huge volume changes during repeated charge–discharge cycles. In this work, inspired by a remarkable success of the glutinous rice mortar in the Great Wall with ca. 2000‐year history, amylopectin (AP), the key ingredient responsible for the strong bonding force, is extracted from glutinous rice and utilized as a flexible, aqueous, and resilient binder to address the most challenging drastic volume‐expansion and pulverization issues of silicon anode. Additionally, the removal of toxic N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP) organic solvent makes the electrode fabrication process environmentally friendly and healthy. The as‐prepared Si‐AP electrode with 60 wt% of Si can uphold a high discharge capacity of 1517.9 mAh g−1 at a rate of 0.1 C after 100 cycles. The cycling stability of the Si‐AP has been remarkably improved in comparison with both traditional polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and aqueous carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) binders. Moreover, when the content of silicon in the Si‐AP electrode increases to 70 wt%, a high discharge capacity of 1463.1 mAh g−1 can still be obtained after 50 cycles at 0.1° C. These preliminary results suggest that the sustainably available and environmentally benign amylopectin binders could be a promising choice for the construction of highly stable silicon anodes.

Summary Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have the advantages of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, which show promising application potentials in many renewable energy-conversion technologies and critical industrial processes. In particular, carbon-supported SACs (CS-SACs) are of great interest because of their maximal atom utilization (∼100%), unique physicochemical structure, and beneficial synergistic effects between active catalytic sites and carbon substrates. In this review, we offer a critical overview of the unique advantages of CS-SACs related to their material designs, catalytic activities, and potential application areas. The state-of-the-art design and synthesis of CS-SACs are described under the framework of bottom-up and top-down approaches. We also comprehensively summarize recent advances in developing CS-SACs for important electrochemical reactions, i.e., oxygen reduction reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, CO2 reduction reaction, nitrogen reduction reaction, serving as bi-/multi-functional electrocatalysts, and usages in supercapacitors and batteries. Lastly, the critical challenges and future opportunities in this emerging field are highlighted.

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) has great potential application as anode materials for lithium-ion battery owing to the rich resource, economic cost, and easy preparation. SiO2/Ti3C2 (ST-1, ST-2, and ST-3, respectively) nano-/microcomposites were synthesized via three different methods (sol-gel, centrifugal-drying, and freeze-drying method), and the SEM results indicate that abundant SiO2 particles are distributed on the modified surface of multilayer Ti3C2 nanosheets, forming stable multiphase structures. Electrochemical results demonstrate that the SiO2/Ti3C2 composites can deliver good electrochemical performance and almost have no capacities decay after hundreds of cycles. In particular, the structure properties of ST-3 composite synthesized by freeze-drying were well preserved, delivering a reversible discharge capacity of 242.4 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1, even after high-rate test (5000 mA g−1), still exerting 258.6 mAh g−1 reversible discharge capacity at 100 mA g−1, indicating good structural stability and electrochemical reversibility of ST-3 composite for lithium-ion batteries.

To understand the molecular and physiological mechanism underlying the heat stress in maize, transcriptional and physiological response to heat stress in the heat-resistant Huangzaosi (HZS) and heat-sensitive Lv-9-Kuan (L9K) inbred lines at seedling stage were analyzed and compared at seedling stage. Our results indicated that MDA content of the two inbred lines increased significantly under heat stress; the values of MDA in L9K was significantly higher than that in HZS. The level of SOD, CAT, and POD enzyme activities in HZS was higher than those in L9K for both the heat-treated group and controls. The values of Fv/Fm, qP, and ФPSII reduced by heat stress in L9K were higher than the respective values in HZS. RNA-seq data showed that heat stress induced more heat stress-related genes in HZS (257 heat stress-related genes) than in L9K (224 heat stress-related genes). GO and KEGG enrichment analyses indicated that HZS and L9K changed their physiological and biochemical mechanisms in response to heat stress through different molecular mechanisms. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis showed that HZS might obtain stronger heat resistance than L9K through a unique transcriptional regulatory network. Our findings provide insights into the molecular networks that mediate the tolerance of maize heat stress and also help us to mine key heat stress-related genes.

The optimization of microwave absorption is closely bound up with the of controllable strucuture of absorber materials. Hierarchically porous carbon (HPC) with two level pore structure has thriving as promising candidates for high performance microwave absorption application. However, fabricating HPC with tunable porous structure in a facile and sustainable manner with high yield is still a challenge for vast use in efficient electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption systems. Herein, a series of hierarchical porous carbon materials with different pore structures were synthesized from wheat flour dough through a facile biomass fermentation method. By gradually increasing the fermentation time, the conchoidal cavities gradually evolved to microscale macropore channels, and the number and size of pore increased synchronously. Microwave absorption studies revealed that the formation of macropore channels led to an apparent enhancement of dielectric properties, which can be further increased with the porosity increasing. Consequently, a strong absorption intensity of −52.0 dB at 2.50 mm and a broad microwave absorption bandwidth of 4.6 GHz at only 1.55 mm were achieved. Excellent microwave absorption performance can be ascribed to the improvement in dielectric loss. This approach shed the insights on achieving low-cost, green and industrial-scale production of EM absorber from renewable biomass.

Oxygen-anion redox in lithium-rich layered oxides can boost the capacity of lithium-ion battery cathodes. However, the over-oxidation of oxygen at highly charged states aggravates irreversible structure changes and deteriorates cycle performance. Here, we investigate the mechanism of surface degradation caused by oxygen oxidation and the kinetics of surface reconstruction. Considering Li2MnO3, we show through density functional theory calculations that a high energy orbital (lO2p’) at under-coordinated surface oxygen prefers over-oxidation over bulk oxygen, and that surface oxygen release is then kinetically favored during charging. We use a simple strategy of turning under-coordinated surface oxygen into polyanionic (SO4)2−, and show that these groups stabilize the surface of Li2MnO3 by depressing gas release and side reactions with the electrolyte. Experimental validation on Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 shows that sulfur deposition enhances stability of the cathode with 99.0% capacity remaining (194 mA h g−1) after 100 cycles at 1 C. Our work reveals a promising surface treatment to address the instability of highly charged layered cathode materials., Oxygen-anion redox in lithium-rich layered oxides can boost the capacity of lithium-ion battery cathodes. Here, the authors investigate the mechanism of surface degradation caused by oxygen oxidation and the kinetics of surface reconstruction.

Binders have an important function in the performance of Li-ion batteries even though they are only used in small quantities. In addition to poor adhesion properties, the traditional polyvinylidene difluoride binder raises many environmental and health concerns because of their processing that involves hazardous organic solvents. In this study, we introduced a water-soluble, environmentally friendly tapioca starch binder modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) groups as a novel binder for Si anode electrodes in Li-ion batteries. The experiments and density functional theory simulations indicate that abundant hydroxyl groups in the starch improve the binding strength with Si nanoparticles, and the integrated PEG groups facilitate Li-ion transfer in the Si electrode. The mechanical behavior of the electrode is significantly improved, as confirmed by nanoindentation and scratch tests. Excellent electrochemical performance is observed, with an initial lithiation capacity of 3486 mA h g-1 and a noteworthy second cycle capacity retention of 98%, demonstrating its potential as a cheap and sustainable binder for Li-ion batteries.

Silicon (Si) anodes suffer from severe structural instability caused by volume expansion during lithium insertion and extraction. The extensive stress generated causes delamination at the anode/current collector interface and early capacity decay. We developed a novel anode structure by introducing a liquid metal layer in between Si and the Cu current collector. Both experiments and the density functional theory (DFT) simulation indicate an increased flexibility in the hybrid structure. No visible cracking or interface delamination was observed, attributed to the self-healing effect from the liquid metal. This work introduces a novel design for hybrid anodes with balanced mechanical strength and electrochemical performance.

Nacre like graphene based composite films (GCFs) have been developed over the last decade. Although the progress in ultrastrong GCFs is remarkable, fabricating GCFs with excellent integrated properties of strength, flexibility, and toughness still remains a challenge. Here, a ternary GCF of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), polydopamine (PDA) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was developed. The MWCNTs were modified by PDA to form PDA@MWCNTs which were then compounded with GO to fabricate the rGO-PDA@MWCNT films by evaporation-induced assembly and chemical reduction. The preparation was simple, cheap and environmentally-friendly. The PDA increased the dispersion of MWCNTs in the rGO-PDA@MWCNT films, crosslinked the rGO sheets, and enhanced the entanglement of MWCNTs and the interactions between MWCNTs and rGO sheets. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of PDA and MWCNTs, the rGO-PDA@MWCNT films exhibited excellent integrated properties by increasing strength, tensile fracture strain and toughness to 579 ± 35 MPa, 12.03 ± 0.56%, and 34.03 ± 1.60 MJ/m3, which were 2.26, 2.02 and 4.94 times that of pure rGO films, respectively. The rGO-PDA@MWCNT films also exhibited a high conductivity of 612 ± 68 S/cm and excellent structural stability under extreme environments. These excellent integrated properties of the rGO-PDA@MWCNT films will promote their applications in aerospace engineering, flexible electrical devices and artificial muscle.

In this work, a latent energy-transfer process in traditional Eu3+ ,Tb3+ -doped phosphors is proposed and a new class of Eu3+ ,Tb3+ -doped Na4 CaSi3 O9 (NCSO) phosphors is presented which is enabled by luminescence decay dynamics that optimize the electron-transfer energy process. Relative to other Eu3+ ,Tb3+ -doped phosphors, the as-synthesized Eu3+ ,Tb3+ -doped NCSO phosphors show improved large-scale tunable emission color from green to red upon UV excitation, controlled by the Tb3+ /Eu3+ doping ratio. Detailed spectroscopic measurements in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV)/UV/Vis region were used to determine the Eu3+ -O2- charge-transfer energy, 4f-5d transition energies, and the energies of 4f excited multiplets of Eu3+ and Tb3+ with different 4fN electronic configurations. The Tb3+ →Eu3+ energy-transfer pathway in the co-doped sample was systematically investigated, by employing luminescence decay dynamics analysis to elucidate the relevant energy-transfer mechanism in combination with the appropriate model simulation. To demonstrate their application potential, a prototype white-light-emitting diode (WLED) device was successfully fabricated by using the yellow luminescence NCSO:0.03Tb3+ , 0.05Eu3+ phosphor with high thermal stability and a BaMgAl10 O17 :Eu2+ phosphor in combination with a near-UV chip. These findings open up a new avenue to realize and develop multifunctional high-performance phosphors by manipulating the energy-transfer process for practical applications.

The brittleness index (BI) is an important parameter for coal-bed methane (CBM) reservoir fracturing characterization. Most published studies have relied on petrophysical and well-log data to estimate the geomechanical properties of reservoir rocks. The major drawback of such methods is the lack of control away from well locations. Therefore, we have developed a method of combining BI calculation from well logs with that inverted from 3D seismic data to overcome the limitation. A real example is given here to indicate the workflow. A traditional amplitude-variation-with-offset (AVO) inversion was conducted first. BI for the CBM reservoir was then calculated from the Lamé constants inverted from prestack seismic data through a traditional AVO inversion method. We build an initial low-frequency model based on the well-log data. Comparison of the seismic inverted BI at the target reservoir and BI extracted from the well-log data showed satisfactory results. This method has been proved to be efficient and effective enough at identifying BI sweet spots in CBM reservoirs.

The development of cost-effective bifunctional catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is critical to realize the commercialization of electrocatalytic water splitting. Herein, an effective defect engineering strategy, Ar plasma treatment, was adopted to promote both the HER and OER activity of pre-synthesized Fe-doped Ni3S2 nano-pyramid arrays on nickel foam. The abundant sulfur vacancies endow the Fe-doped Ni3S2 nano-pyramid arrays with a low overpotential of 171 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 49 mV dec−1 to drive the OER in 1.0 M KOH. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that sulfur vacancies together with Fe doping can effectively regulate the electronic structure of Ni3S2, resulting in increased electrical conductivity and a reduced energy barrier, as well as enhanced reaction kinetics through weakening the binding strength between active sites and intermediates. Such defect-rich hetero-metal doped catalyst also delivers enhanced HER activity. As a result, a cell assembled using defect-rich Fe-Ni3S2 nano-pyramid arrays as both the anode and cathode needs a low applied voltage of 1.63 V to reach a current density of 10 mA cm−2, and exhibits outstanding long-term stability up to 60 h.

In this study, "core-shell" gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been functionalised using a simple one-pot approach to form fucose-based glycoconjugate AuNPs (Fuc-AuNPs) and galactose-based glycoconjugate AuNPs (Gal-AuNPs), respectively. Owing to the selective carbohydrate-based recognition of the key virulence factors of P. aeruginosa, LecB (fucose-specific lectin)/LecA (galactose-specific lectin), Fuc-AuNPs and Gal-AuNPs-based imaging and therapeutic strategies were evaluated towards P. aeruginosa. Both Fuc-AuNPs and Gal-AuNPs were non-covalently loaded with the fluorophore dicyanomethylene 4H-pyran (DCM) to afford two highly selective fluorescence imaging agents for the visualisation of P. aeruginosa. The loading of Fuc-AuNPs and Gal-AuNPs with the known antibiotic Ceftazidime (CAZ) exhibited an enhanced therapeutic effect, illustrating the significance of this targeted drug delivery strategy. Exploiting the phototherapeutic properties of AuNPs, photoirradiation (600 nm) of Fuc-AuNP@CAZ/Gal-AuNP@CAZ provided both photothermal and photodynamic therapeutic (PTT/PDT) effects, which facilitated the release of CAZ. Fuc-AuNP@CAZ and Gal-AuNP@CAZ were shown to be effective photo/chemotherapeutics resulting in almost complete eradication of P. aeruginosa biofilms formed on clinically relevant surfaces (glass slides and steel surface).