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To explore the natural resources as sustainable precursors offers a family of green materials. The use of bio-waste precursors especially the remaining from food processing is a scalable, highly abundant, and cost-effective strategy. Exploring waste materials is highly important especially for new materials discovery in emerging energy storage technologies such as lithium sulfur batteries (LSBs). Herein, waste milk powder is carbonized and constructed as the sulfur host with the hollow micro-/mesoporous framework, and the resulting carbonized milk powder and sulfur (CMP/S) composites are employed as cathodes for LSBs. It is revealed that the hollow micro-/mesoporous CMP/S framework can not only accommodate the volume expansion but also endow smooth pathways for the fast diffusion of electrons and Li-ions, leading to both high capacity and long cycling stability. The CMP/S composite electrode with 56 wt.% loaded sulfur exhibits a remarkable initial capacity of 1596 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, corresponding to 95% of the theoretical capacity. Even at a rate of 1 C, it maintains a high capacity of 730 mAh g−1 with a capacity retention of 72.6% after 500 cycles, demonstrating a very low capacity fading of only 0.05% per cycle. Importantly, the Coulombic efficiency is always higher than 96% during all the cycles. The only used source material is expired waste milk powders in our proposal. We believe that this “trash to treasure” approach will open up a new way for the utilization of waste material as environmentally safe and high performance electrodes for advanced LSBs.

Electrocatalysts play a key role in accelerating the sluggish electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) involving multi-electron and proton transfer. We now develop a proton capture strategy by accelerating the water dissociation reaction catalyzed by transition-metal nanoparticles (NPs) adjacent to atomically dispersed and nitrogen-coordinated single nickel (Ni-Nx ) active sites to accelerate proton transfer to the latter for boosting the intermediate protonation step, and thus the whole ECR process. Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and calculations reveal that the Ni NPs accelerate the adsorbed H (Had ) generation and transfer to the adjacent Ni-Nx sites for boosting the intermediate protonation and the overall ECR processes. This proton capture strategy is universal to design and prepare for various high-performance catalysts for diverse electrochemical reactions even beyond ECR.

The practical viability of Li-S battery is largely hampered by undesirable shuttling behavior and sluggish conversion kinetics of polysulfides. Considering that, a multifunctional interlayer, prepared by weaving ferrocene-based two-dimensional (2D) metal-organic framework (Zr-Fc MOF) nanosheets and carbon nanotubes (CNT) via simple vacuum filtration, is proposed to achieve high-performance Li-S battery. Using a combination of in situ Raman spectroscopy, first-principles calculations and systematic electrochemical evaluation, we unveil that the Zr-Fc MOF, as a new polysulfides confinement agent, can not only restrain polysulfides shuttling via both electrostatic attraction and chemical anchoring capability, but also provide excellent electrocatalytic effect on polysulfides redox kinetics. The intertwined CNT throughout Zr-Fc MOF nanosheets facilitates electron conductivity as well as sufficient exposure of capturing and catalyzing active sites of Zr-Fc MOF. Accordingly, attributed to the synergistic entrapping-catalysis-conversion effect, we demonstrate that Li-S cell coupling with the as-prepared Zr-Fc MOF/CNT interlayer exhibits a dramatically enhanced rate performance and outstanding cyclability (1500 cycles at 1 C with ultralow capacity decay rate of 0.027% under sulfur loading of 4.11 mg cm−2). This work will inspire more intelligent 2D MOF materials simultaneously with highly efficient trapping and catalytic conversion of polysulfides for high-energy and long-life Li-S battery.

Tin diselenide (SnSe2 ), as an anode material, has outstanding potential for use in advanced lithium-ion batteries. However, like other tin-based anodes, SnSe2 suffers from poor cycle life and low rate capability due to large volume expansion during the repeated Li+ insertion/de-insertion process. This work reports an effective and easy strategy to combine SnSe2 and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to form a SnSe2 /CNTs hybrid nanostructure. The synthesized SnSe2 has a regular hexagonal shape with a typical 2D nanostructure and the carbon nanotubes combine well with the SnSe2 nanosheets. The hybrid nanostructure can significantly reduce the serious damage to electrodes that occurs during electrochemical cycling processes. Remarkably, the SnSe2 /CNTs electrode exhibits a high reversible specific capacity of 457.6 mA h g-1 at 0.1 C and 210.3 mA h g-1 after 100 cycles. At a cycling rate of 0.5 C, the SnSe2 /CNTs electrode can still achieve a high value of 176.5 mA h g-1 , whereas a value of 45.8 mA h g-1 is achieved for the pure SnSe2 electrode. The enhanced electrochemical performance of the SnSe2 /CNTs electrode demonstrates its great potential for use in lithium-ion batteries. Thus, this work reports a facile approach to the synthesis of SnSe2 /CNTs as a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries.

Ultrathin amorphous InZnO ( ${a}$ -IZO) films and the corresponding ultrathin-film transistors (UTFTs) have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) for the first time here. With ultrathin amorphous ZnSnO ( ${a}$ -ZTO) films and the related UTFTs as a comparison, the properties of ultrathin a-IZO films and behaviors of the corresponding UTFTs were studied in detail. Also, we have taken a new approach to compare the content of oxygen vacancies ( ${V}_{\textit {O}}$ ) in amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOSs) of different systems, which explains their different properties and behaviors well. The thickness of the ultrathin a-IZO film is approximately 3.1 nm. Compared to ultrathin a-ZTO films, ultrathin a-IZO films depict lower ${V}_{O}$ content and lower carrier concentration. In addition, ultrathin ${a}$ -IZO films display very high transmittance over 95% in the visible region. Furthermore, a-IZO UTFTs exhibit better performance than a-ZTO UTFT, such as a lower off-current of 3.3 $\times \,\,10^{-10}$ A, a larger ${I} _{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle ON}}/{I} _{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle OFF}}$ ratio of $1.5\times 10^{7}$ , a larger $\mu _{\text {sat}}$ of 20.7 cm $^{2}\,\,{V} ^{-1}\,\,{s} ^{-1}$ , a smaller ${V} _{\text {th}}$ of 1.2 V (operating in the enhancement mode), a lower subthreshold swing (SS) of 0.303 V/decade, and a lower ${N} _{t}$ of $8.9\times 10^{11}$ cm−2. Meanwhile, the long-term stability of a-IZO UTFT is similar to a-ZTO UTFT. Above all, a-IZO UTFTs exhibit excellent performance and may be a promising candidate for future displays.

Although numerous studies have investigated the association between air pollution and hospitalization, few studies have focused on the health effect of air pollution on populations with hypertension. In this study, we conducted a time-series study to investigate the acute adverse effect of six criteria ambient air pollutants (fine particulate matter [PM2.5], inhalable particulate matter [PM10], nitrogen dioxide [NO2], sulfur dioxide [SO2], ozone [O3], and carbon monoxide [CO]) on hospitalization of patients for hypertension in Shijiazhuang, China, from 2013 to 2016. An over-dispersed Poisson generalized addictive model adjusting for weather conditions, day of the week, and long-term and seasonal trends was used. In addition, we evaluated the effect of modification by season, sex, and age. A total of 650,550 hospitalization records were retrieved during the study period. A 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 (lag06), PM10 (lag06), NO2 (lag03), O3 (lag6), and CO (lag04) corresponded to 0.56% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.28–0.83%), 0.31% (95% CI: 0.12–0.50%), 1.18% (95% CI: 0.49–1.87%), 0.40% (95% CI: 0.09–0.71%), and 0.03% (95% CI: 0.01–0.05%) increments in hospitalization of patients for hypertension, respectively. We observed statistically significant associations with PM2.5, PM10, NO2, O3, and CO, while positive but insignificant associations with SO2. The effects of PM2.5, PM10, NO2, O3, and CO were robust when adjusted for co-pollutants. We found stronger associations in the cool season than in the warm season. Moreover, there were non-significant differences in the associations between air pollution and sex or age group. This study suggests that patients with hypertension had an increased risk of hospital admission when exposed to air pollution.

High-voltage electrode materials are beneficial for developing high-power-density lithium-ion batteries. The anodic voltage stability of electrolytes is a major challenge for high-voltage lithium b...

Amorphous zinc–magnesium–tin oxide (a-ZMTO), a new kind of amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOSs), was prepared for fabricating thin-film transistors (TFTs) by a combustion solution process. The prepared ZnMgSnO films have a high amorphous quality with smooth surface, evenly distributed elements, as well as high visible transmittance above 80% with a width of band gap of around 3.12 eV. The effects of Mg content on properties of films and performance of devices were investigated in detail. An appropriate Mg content could efficiently suppress the oxygen vacancy (VO) concentration and make the surface smoother, thereby enhancing the properties of films and performance of related a-ZMTO TFTs. The a-ZMTO TFTs exhibited acceptable performances, with field-effect mobility (μFE) of 0.083 cm2 V−1 S−1, on/off current ratio (Ion/Ioff) of around 3.0 × 104, and threshold voltage (Vth) of 1.42 V. The a-ZMTO films and ZMTO TFTs may offer an option of indium-free AOS materials for future application in transparent electronics.

NH3 synthesis via the electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) under ambient conditions has been regarded as a sustainable strategy for fertilizer production and hydrogen fuel storage and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. The faradaic efficiency (FE) and reaction rate of the NRR, however, are still low for current electrocatalysts. Herein, we develop a metal-free B, N co-doped porous carbon nanofiber (B/N–CNF) that exhibits superior electrocatalytic performance for the NRR in an alkaline electrolyte with the highest FE of 13.2% at −0.5 V and a NH3 yield rate of 32.5 μg h−1 mgcat.−1 at −0.7 V. Such a high NRR activity of the B/N–CNF is superior to that of N- or B-doped carbon materials in the literature. The experimental results reveal that the B–N bonds play a critical role in the NRR process, in which N atoms promote the electron conductivity and B atoms efficiently enhance the N2 adsorption and charge transfer.

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) has been received widespread attention as marine antifouling coatings, while its controllable release performance of antifoulants and mechanical behavior are relatively insufficient. In this study, inspired by sea slug’s defensive behavior against predators by ingesting toxins from prey and then releasing these toxins, a PDMS-based smart marine antifouling polyurethane (PU) coating was prepared, which had UV-responsive controllable coumarin-releasing and UV-healing properties. The UV-responsive coumarin-releasing mechanism was based on the dimerization and de-dimerization of reversible chemical bond between two coumarin groups. As a sort of eco-friendly antifoulant, modified coumarin and eugenol were fixed in PU chain by polycondensation. Then additional free coumarin was “locked” with the fixed coumarin under 365 nm UV and released stably in response to 254 nm UV. The coating could also efficiently self-heal under 365 nm UV through dimerization between fixed coumarin groups in polymer chains. Moreover, it had satisfactory mechanical behavior, transparency, antibacterial property, anti-algae property and nine-month marine field antifouling performance, which demonstrated the promising application in marine and other antifouling fields.

Nonprecious water oxidation electrocatalysts that perform well at high current densities are among the key enabling drivers of renewable energy technologies. Herein, we report a novel strategy to produce 3D ultrasmall zero‐valent iron‐coupled nickel sulfides nanosheets (Fe0−NixSy) hybrid on self‐supported conductive Ni foam (denoted as Fe0−NixSy/NF) through a robust single‐step gas–solid reaction. In this 3D hybrid, the Fe0−NixSy nanosheets with a length of approximately 400 nm and an average thickness of 33 nm are uniformly grown on the Ni foam. Benefiting from the unique 3D hierarchical structure and synergistic effect between Fe0 and NixSy, the 3D Fe0−NixSy/NF hybrid shows an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at extremely high current densities in basic media. The current densities of 1000 and 1500 mA cm−2 are achieved at low potentials of 1.57 and 1.60 V, respectively, thus meeting the expected OER standards for industrial applications. These overpotentials of the 3D Fe0−NixSy/NF hybrid are the lowest among all previously reported nickel‐sulfide‐based electrocatalysts, and are even superior compared to state‐of‐the‐art Ir/C catalysts. We further demonstrate that the integration of the 3D Fe0−NixSy/NF electrocatalyst as both anode and cathode with a silicon photovoltaic cell enables highly active and sustainable solar‐driven overall water splitting.

Nb2O5 nanostructures were produced by a rational hydrothermal method, which were used as the cathode material in lithium-ion batteries. The Super-P and graphene compounds were used as the conductive agents. Owing to the excellent conductivity of graphene, it is favorable for the contacting area between electrolyte and the electrode material. The results showed that adding graphene can increase the conductivity of the entire electrode system. The specific capacity of Nb2O5 with 4 wt% graphene is 180 mAh g−1, meanwhile the capacity retention rate is more than 85% after 100 charge and discharge cycles under a current rate of 5 C. Adding an appropriate amount of graphene as the conductive agent can greatly improve the conductivity of the electrode system, reduce the charge transfer resistance during the charge-discharge process to increase the specific capacity, and enable the battery to keep excellent cycle stability. This work demonstrates that the obtained Nb2O5 with Super-P and graphene compound conductive agents can greatly increase performances of lithium ion battery such as capacity, rate performance, and cycle performance and conductivity.

The improvement of ionic conductivity, thermal property, as well as cycle performance, is key to promoting the development of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, a nanocomposite separator is prepared by electrospinning and subsequent thermal cross-linking method. The membrane exhibits a highly interconnected macro-porous structure. ZSM-5 molecular sieves are firmly attached to the membrane through chemical bonds. Molecular sieves with special channel structures and strong Lewis acidity are proposed to contribute to the disassociation of lithium salt and the transportation of lithium ion. The three-dimensional cross-linked membrane integrates advantages of ZSM-5, copolymers and polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF), exhibiting enhanced electrolyte uptake, thermal stability and ionic conductivity. In addition, the cells with nanocomposite membranes possess better cycling performance and improved C-rate capability compared with those cells with polypropylene (PP) separators. The as-prepared nanocomposite separator is promising as a new kind of separator for advanced LIBs with enhanced electrochemical performance.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) appear as interesting candidates for various applications. Herein, we report the growth of Ni-based MOF nanosheets on a flexible carbon cloth substrate as a binder-free anode. Furthermore, unique core-shell Co3O4/Ni-based MOFs are successfully anchored on a carbon cloth substrate by a facile two-step hydrothermal method. The as-prepared hybrid materials are directly used as electrode materials without adding any nonelectroactive components such as the insulating binders or conductive additive, which exhibit an excellent specific capacity (209 mAh g−1 at 1.0 A g−1) and a good cycling stability (90% retention after 3000 cycles). In addition, triethanolamine (TEOA)-assisted Ni-based MOF can be used as a photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution from water splitting under the near-infrared irradiation (λ > 800 nm). The present results reveal a potential prospect for the Co3O4/Ni-based MOFs in the field of energy storage and the near-infrared driven photocatalyst.

High-efficient and long-cycle air cathodes are crucial for the development of rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs). Herein, we develop a strategy of micro-spherical cobalt-doped Fe5(PO4)4(OH)3·H2O (Co-FPOH), synthesized by a novel water-oil two-phase hydrothermal method, which was used as ORR/OER bifunctional electrocatalyst for ZABs. The change of local electronic distribution is identified by doping of Co into Fe5(PO4)4(OH)3·H2O (FPOH), effectively improving the electrocatalytic performance of the resulted Co-FPOH. The OER overpotential of Co-FPOH (290 mV) far outperforms state-of-the-art RuO2 (350 mV); the ORR catalytic reaction of Co-FPOH is near 4e-, almost reaching the theoretical value of Pt/C (n = 4.00). The ZAB assembled with Co-FPOH as an air electrode exhibits an ultralong cycling lifetime of 450 h at 5 mA cm−2, a super high peak power density of 167.8 Wh cm−2, a high open circuit voltage of about 1.42 V and a large discharge specific capacity of 817 mAh gZn−1 at 10 mA cm−2. The proposed Co-FPOH is expected to outperform precious metal electrocatalysts as a potential bifunctional electrocatalyst for advanced ZABs. Also, this work offers a novel strategy to synthesize excellent bifunctional electrocatalysts for this kind of energy-related electrocatalytic reactions.

The rapid development of wearable electronics demands for high-safety and stretchable lithium-ion batteries which are closer to the human skin, then accelerating the requirement for all-solid-state electrolytes with high stretchability and ion conductivity. Here, we proposed a decoupling strategy to effectively overcome the theoretical tradeoff between mechanical properties and ion conductivity of all-solid-state polymer electrolytes. The prepared stretchable all-solid-state polymer electrolyte (SSPE) via UV polymerization exhibits outstanding elastic tensile properties with elongation at break around 160.38%. The most interesting thing is that the SSPE membrane maintain high ion conductivity under external stress, the ion conductivity is 4.65 × 10−4 S cm−1 (0% strain) and 4.24 × 10−4 S cm−1 (75% strain) at room temperature. In addition, the SSPE membrane shows an excellent electrochemical stability window up to 5.2 V (vs. Li+/Li). The practicality of the SSPE was also investigated, including cell performance, deformation tests and destruction experiments. Therefore, the reported design of decoupling dual-function networks provides a promising approach for creating all-solid-state polymer electrolytes with high safety for stretchable energy storage applications.

Self-supporting three-dimensional (3D) transition metal electrodes have been considered for designing high-performance non-noble metal oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts owing to their advantages such as binder-free, good mass transfer, and large specific surface area. However, the poor conductivity of ((oxy)hydr)oxides and the difficulty in adjusting their electronic structure limit their application. As an alternative strategy, instead of constituting the array electrode by the active components themselves, we herein report 3D Co(OH)2@MnO2 heterostructure decorated carbon nanoarrays grown directly on carbon paper (Co(OH)2@MnO2-CNAs). This unique structure can not only enhance electrical conductivity but also provide a larger specific surface area, and facilitate electrolyte diffusion and ion transport. The heterostructured Co(OH)2@MnO2 formed via incorporation with MnO2 facilitates the transition of CoII to CoIII in Co(OH)2 and it increases the storage of oxidative charge in the catalyst, leading to an OER activity matching with benchmark RuO2 and good stability. Density functional theory calculations suggest that the improved OER performance can be attributed to the formation of the heterojunction structure, resulting in the modulation of the electronic structure of Co atoms and the reduction of the free energy barrier of the rate-determining step for the OER.

An ideal rechargeable battery will possess the merits of high specific capacity, long cycling stability, short charging time, high initial coulombic efficiency, wide working temperature range, and low cost. Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are expected as the next generation of energy storage devices, but achieving the above features is still a major challenge. Herein, we have developed the 3D hierarchical FeSe2/rGO hybrids by a rational hydrothermal method for anodes in SIBs. The FeSe2/rGO hybrid SIBs exhibit high rate capacity (205.0 mAh g−1 at 75 A g−1 vs 458.6 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1), ultra-stable cycling life (417.7 mAh g−1 after 6000 cycles at 5 A g−1 with a rather low decay rate of only 0.0006% per cycle), extremely high initial columbic efficiency (~98.6%), and excellent feasibility in a wide temperature range (–40℃ to 60℃). Besides, the FeSe2/rGO// Na3V2(PO4)3/C full cell delivers an energy density about 145 Wh kg−1 after 200 cycles at 0.15 A g−1 (286 W kg−1). The excellent electrochemical performances of FeSe2/rGO hybrid SIBs as an ideal rechargeable battery for the next-generation energy storage system.

Integrating a bioelectrochemical system with CO2 electroreduction (CO2ER) can achieve recovery of resources and conversion of value-added chemicals, but it still faces challenge of high overpotential and poor selectivity. Herein, we report a CO2ER catalyst with iron bonded to nitrogen atoms (Fe-Nx) anchored hierarchical porous carbon (Fe SA-NC) by a molecular-confined pyrolysis strategy. Owing to the high surface area and atomic-level Fe-N4 sites, Fe SA-NC possessed superior CO2-to-CO conversion performance with a low overpotential of 90 mV, a small Tafel slope of 92 mV dec−1, and high Faradaic efficiency of 95.9% at −0.5 V, superior to almost all previously reported Fe-Nx based carbon materials for CO2ER. Experimental results manifested the atomic-level Fe-N4 sites in carbon frameworks with a single Fe atom coordinating four N atoms. Theoretical calculations revealed Fe-N4 sites weaken the free energy for the formation of *COOH intermediate, and the short Fe-C bond length in the structure of *COOH absorbed on Fe-N4 sites accelerated the electron transfer from Fe-N4 centers to *COOH, thus boosting the reaction kinetics. An integrated device with cathodic Fe SA-NC and bioanode can recover energy and carbon resource from wastewater, delivering maximum current and CO production rate of 1.54 ± 0.05 mA and 33.66 ± 0.58 mmol g−1cat h−1.

A novel aromatic polyesteramide-based membrane with high free volume for water desalination was prepared by adding a rigid cardo-contorted biphenol monomer to the aqueous phase solution of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) and then carrying out the interfacial polymerization. Compared with the polyamide (PA) membrane, the polyesteramide membrane with high free volume and ultrathin separating layer exhibited 250% increase in flux and 1.2% loss in salt rejection. Moreover, acid and alkali stabilities of polyesteramide membranes were studied by immersing the polyesteramide membranes into acid, aid/ethyl alcohol (EA), alkali and alkali/EA aqueous solutions. After acid/alkali treatments, the surface contact angles of acid/alkali-treated PA/9,9-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)fluorine (PA/BHPF) membranes were much smaller than the pristine PA/BHPF membrane. With EA, both the acid/EA-treated and alkali/EA-treated polyesteramide membranes exhibited a significant increase in water flux; moreover, the acid/EA-treated membranes showed a simultaneous increase in water flux and salt rejection within a treatment time of 24 h, due to the increase in hydrophilicity and the partial dissolution of small polymer fragments on membrane surface.

Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) with high energy density and high specific capacity are considered promising rechargeable energy devices. However, the capacity attenuation caused by “shuttle effect” hinders their practical application. In this work, layered rotten egg albumen carbon (REAC) was fabricated via freezing dry and carbonization methods to enhance capacity retention of LSBs. The LSBs with REAC modified polypropylene (REAC PP) separator exhibit the following superior electronical performances: (1) the conductive REAC improves lithium ion (Li+) coefficient by increasing the electrical conductivity; (2) the nitrogen-doped sites in REAC enhances polysulfide adsorption and increases the electronic conductivity; (3) the compact layered structure inhibits the “shuttle effect” of polysulfides and enhance electrochemical performance. The LSBs with REAC PP separator and 72 wt% sulfur deliver an initial capacity of 1092.8 mA h g−1 at 0.1C. Also, such LSBs exhibit capacity of 633.8 mA h g−1 at 1C with low decay rate of 0.055% per cycle in 400 cycles. Considering the waste recycling, simple synthesis and enhanced electrochemical performance, REAC PP separator is promising for LSBs.

Psychological stress has recently been described as a risk factor in the development of pancreatic cancer. Here, we reported that increased neurotransmitter adrenaline was associated with the poor survival in pancreatic cancer patients. Moreover, in the cell model study, we found adrenaline promoted pancreatic cell PANC-1 migration in a dose dependent manner. Block of the β2-adrenoreceptor with ICI118,551, significantly reduced cell migration. Further study found that adrenaline induced a cytoplasmic translocation of RNA binding protein HuR, which in turn activated TGFβ, as shown by the SBE luciferase assay and phosphorylation of Smad2/3. Either HuR knockdown or TGFβ inhibition reduced cell migration induced by adrenaline. Taken together, our study here revealed that adrenaline-HuR-TGFβ regulatory axis at least partially contributes to the psychological stress induced metastasis in PANC-1 cells, shedding light on therapeutic targeting psychological stress in improving the prognosis of pancreatic cancer.

We develop a facile one-step hydrothermal method to directly grow interconnected Co 0.85 Se nanosheets on nickel foam as electrode for supercapacitors. The Co 0.85 Se electrodes exhibit a high specific capacitance (1528 F g -1 at 1 A g -1 and 715 F g -1 at 20 A g -1 ), excellent cycling stability (92% retention after 5000 cycles) and good conductivity. Moreover, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) is fabricated using Co 0.85 Se nanosheets as the positive electrode and active carbon (AC) as the negative electrode. The ASC also exhibits excellent electrochemical performance with high energy density (∼45 Wh kg −1 ), high power density (16 kW kg -1 ) and remarkable cycling stability (∼10.9% loss after 5000 cycles). Furthermore, two ASCs connected in series are capable of lighting a red LED at least for 5 min after being charged for only 15 s to 3.2 V. This work demonstrates that the interconnected Co 0.85 Se nanosheets with three-dimensional porous structures are promising electrodes for high-performance supercapacitors with large energy density.

A core–shell hybrid of ZnO and nitrogen-doped carbon (ZnO@C:N) is designed as a long-cycling anode for LIBs. The ZnO@C:N hybrid has a high initial capacity of 1116 mA h g−1 and a reversible capacity of 608 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles at 0.1 A g−1. The unique core–shell structure, high conductivity due to nitrogen doping, and uniform solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film formed in the electrode are revealed to result in the remarkable electrochemical performances of the ZnO@C:N electrodes.

ZnSnO thin-film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition in different oxygen partial pressures. It is found that the oxygen vacancy (VO) contents in ZnSnO films can be readily modified by the oxygen pressures in the growth process. The dependence of behaviors of ZnSnO films and TFTs on relative VO concentration was studied in detail. The relative VO concentration was determined by XPS spectra. The optical band-gap energies of ZnSnO films showed a negative correlation with VO concentration. The strong relation can also be identified for the electrical performances of ZnSnO TFTs. The threshold voltage, subthreshold swing, and density of interfacial trap states increased with the VO concentration in general. The field-effect mobility had a maximum value of 23.6 cm2 V−1 s−1 at oxygen pressure of 6 Pa, which is ascribed to the competitive factors of VO at different chemical states. It is expected that this work would gain a better understanding of oxygen vacancy in ZnSnO TFTs for practical applications.

The increasing application and subsequent mass production of graphene-family materials (GFMs) will lead to greater possibilities for their release into the environment. Although GFMs exhibit toxicity toward various aquatic organisms, little information is available on their influence on gut microbiota of aquatic organism. In this study, zebrafish were fed diets containing three GFMs, namely, monolayer graphene powder (GR), graphene oxide nanosheet (GO) and reduced graphene oxide powder (rGO), or appropriate control for 21 days. The gut bacterial communities were then characterized for comparison of the exposure effects of each GFM. Alterations of the intestinal morphology and oxidative stress indicators were also examined. The results showed GFMs led to different inflammatory responses and significantly altered the relative composition of the gut bacterial species by increasing the relative abundance of Fusobacteria and the genus Cetobacterium and Lactobacillus and decreasing the abundance of Firmicutes and the genus Pseudomonas; GR caused marked shifts in the diversity of the gut microbiota. The GFMs also altered the intestinal morphology and antioxidant enzyme activities by inducing more vacuolation and generating more goblet cells. Our findings demonstrate that GFM exposure poses potential health risks to aquatic organisms through alteration of the gut microbiota.

The exploration of the deep-sea sedimentary microbial communities could reveal the diversity, composition, as well as biogeochemical relationships. The West Philippine Basin, the world’s largest marginal basin plate which surrounded by subduction boundaries, has special location and geological significance, while few studies investigated deep-sea sedimentary microbial community especially functional groups and genes involved in N transformation in this area till now. Here, the combination of microbial community composition through 16S rRNA gene sequencing, N transformation functional genes quantification, and geochemical analysis were jointly employed, aiming to explore the vertical distributions of microbial community and N-transforming microorganisms in an intact sediment core (400 cm depth) from the West Philippine Basin (15.32 °N, 133.23 °E, water depth 4941.9 m). The results showed that phyla Proteobacteria and Thaumarchaeota had higher relative abundances in the surface sediments (0–5 cm), while the relative abundance of phylum Firmicutes increased with depth and became dominant in the deeper sediments (350–400 cm). Based on the sequencing and quantification results, the overall abundances of inferred N-cycling taxa and functional genes decreased with depth, and the archaeal ammonia oxidation and denitrification were the dominant N transformation processes in the surface and below the surface (5–400 cm) sediments, respectively. Depth and organic matter were the key environmental variables driving the microbial community structure and N transformation processes in deep-sea sediments. This study could potentially improve the consensus that N-cycling processes in deep-sea sediments are linked and complicated, which could aid to illuminate the understanding of the role of deep-sea microbes in N cycles.

Magnesium doping is successfully utilized to enhance the electrochemical performance of Na2FeP2O7 for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). A series of morphological and electrochemical tests indicate that Mg doping does not affect the structures of the host phase and the abundant defects in carbon coating are beneficial for electronic conductivity. A new peak at ~2.70 V during the first few cycles in CV curves is observed, which is related to the increase of specific capacity during the lifespan test. DFT calculation results reveal the enhanced electronic conductivity in Mg doped Na2FeP2O7, which is consistent with experimental observations. The Na2FeP2O7 with an appropriate Mg doped of 5% exhibits an initial reversible capacity of 90 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C without an obvious decline after 2000 cycles at 9 C. The specific capacity of Mg doped Na2FeP2O7 does not decrease fatally even the amount of Mg doped comes to 20%. The Coulombic efficiency is very high, close to 100% in all samples. The excellent electrochemical performance of Mg doped Na2FeP2O7 presents great potential as cathodes for advanced SIBs.

Electrochemical degradation of toxic sulfanilamide with inexpensive approach is in urgent demand due to the harmful effects of sulfanilamide for both humans and aquatic environments. Here, we reported an efficient mineralization of sulfanilamide by using NiFe-layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) nanosheets array with abundant oxygen vacancies that was in situ grown on exfoliated graphene (EG) by a simple hydrothermal treatment at different temperatures. The hydrothermal temperature was carefully analyzed for control synthesis of oxygen vacancy-rich NiFe-LDH/EG nanosheets array (NiFe-LDH/EG-OVr) for sulfanilamide degradation. Owing to the abundant oxygen vacancies, NiFe-LDH/EG-OVr rapidly generated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxyl radical (•OH) during electro-Fenton (EF) process, which resulted in the 98% mineralization of sulfanilamide in first 80 min. The radicals trapping experiments revealed that the •OH radicals was participated as the main active oxidation species in the efficient mineralization of sulfanilamide. The present results indicated that the oxidative attack by •OH radicals initiated the degradation process of sulfanilamide. During the total degradation of sulfanilamide, several organic compounds including aminophenol, hydroquinone, and oxalic acid, were identified as main intermediates by using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (HPLC-MS).

Tin selenide (SnSe2) is an ideal anode in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its high theoretical capacity and high conductivity for both electrons and ions. Herein, we design a unique heterostructure with 2D SnSe2 nanosheets supported on graphene, where the chemical coupling effect is formed between graphene and SnSe2, working as a cushion to buffer the volume change of electrodes. The 2D/2D SnSe2/graphene heterostructure has a reversible capacity of 490.9 mAh g−1 at a current rate of 0.1C, with an ultra-long cycling stability with capacity retention of 59.3% after 1500 cycles at 0.5C, and can well work at temperatures from −30 to 70 °C. Ex situ X-ray diffraction reveals that the long-term capacity is ascribed to reversible reaction of generating LixSn with Sn and Li, and the capacity loss is attributed to the irreversible reaction with the appearance of Li2Se. The remarkable electrochemical performances, such as high specific capacity, acceptable rate feature, ultra-long cycling life, and wide temperature operation, make the SnSe2/grapheme heterostructure very potential for all-climate LIBs.

Optical bandgap narrowing is observed in Sn0.94 Zn0.05Co0.01O2, Sn0.92 Zn0.05Co0.03O2 and Sn0.90 Zn0.05Co0.05O2 nanoparticles synthesized by the chemical co- precipitation method. The estimated particle size and optical band gap of Sn0.94 Zn0.05Co0.01O2, Sn0.92 Zn0.05Co0.03O2 and Sn0.90 Zn0.05Co0.05O2 nanoparticles are 16.51, 11.75 and 6.6 nm and 1.45, 1.36 and 0.93 eV, respectively. A red shift is noticed for all samples as compared to band gap value (3.6 eV) for bulk SnO2. Increasing Co content results in decreased particle size, narrowed band gap and enhanced emission intensities in visible range of light. Small sized nano particles have larger surface areas and these large surface areas lead to more defects (oxygen vacancies, tin interstitials). The increasing defects concentration (especially oxygen vacancies, tin interstitials) results to narrow the band gap. With increasing Co content, the particles are in oxygen-poor state indicating the presence of many O vacancies and Sn interstitials. The oxygen content decreases steadily with increasing Co content, with the Sn:O atomic ratio increases suggesting the high density of defects. Large number of defects (oxygen vacancies) creates several donor levels within the forbidden energy gap to narrow the band gap and these defects in the band gap act as luminescent centers to enhance the emission intensities in visible spectrum.

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a severe, viral zoonotic disease which occurs worldwide, particularly in Asia and Europe. In China, the Hantaan virus (HTNV) and the Seoul virus (SEOV) are known to be the most prevalent causative agents of HFRS. Since no protective vaccines or effective treatments are available for human use, accurate and reliable diagnostic methods are essential for disease surveillance. In the present study, the viral loads in cell culture supernatant, infected mice blood and clinical serum samples were quantified using the SYBR‑Green I-based reverse transcription-quantitiative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay, which targeted the S gene sequence of the HTNV and SEOV genomes. The cRNA of these two viruses were synthesized as a positive control and 10-fold serially diluted from 1x105 to 1x100 copies/µl. Standard curves were generated by plotting the mean cycle threshold (Ct) values versus copy numbers. The standard curve of HTNV had a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.994, efficiency of amplification (E) of 101.9%, and the slope of -3.278, whereas that of SEOV had an R2 of 0.993, E of 104.8%, and the slope of -3.212. The minimum detection limit of the RT-qPCR assay for HTNV and SEOV was 101 copies/µl. Two qPCR assays were successfully established for the detection of HTNV and SEOV, respectively. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that using the SYBR‑Green I-based RT-qPCR assay, the HTNV and SEOV may be genotyped precisely without cross-reactivity. Furthermore, viral RNA may be detected and quantified in cells, mice and infected individuals, which may be useful in epidemiological studies as well as for early monitoring and further preventative treatment against SEOV and HTNV-induced diseases.

Amorphous zinc-niobium-tin-oxide (a-ZNTO), a new amorphous oxide semiconductor, was proposed for fabricating thin-film transistors (TFTs). a-ZNTO thin films were grown by magnetron sputtering and used as channel layers of TFTs. The effects of niobium content on film properties and device behaviors were investigated in detail. Nb could serve as a carrier suppressor by reducing oxygen vacancies in a-ZNTO films and lower the interfacial trap states in a-ZNTO TFTs. The enhanced performances of a-ZNTO TFTs were achieved at an optimized Nb content of $x=0.2$ for a Nb:Zn:Sn atomic ratio of $x$ :4:7. The reduced channel sizes are very effective to improve TFT performances, with an ON/OFF current ratio of $\sim 10^{8}$ and a field-effect mobility of 13.2 cm2/Vs. The indium-free a-ZNTO TFTs may have the potential for applications in next-generation displays.

In this study, we report a feasible method to synthesize a ternary nanocomposite, molybdenum disulfide/polyaniline/reduced graphene oxide aerogel (MoS2/PANI/rGO), via a two-step approach. Molybdenum disulfide/polyaniline (MoS2/PANI) is prepared by in situ polymerization. Graphene oxide is well-dispersed by loading MoS2/PANI nanoparticles (50–80 nm in size) and reduced using urea via a hydrothermal treatment, achieving the ternary nanocomposite. As for the composites prepared at different mass ratios of MoS2/PANI to rGO, the ternary MoS2/PANI/rGO with a mass ratio of 1:1 has a high specific capacitance of 618 F g−1 at 1.0 A g−1 and 476 F g−1 at 20 A g−1 with a retainment of 96% in a three-electrode system, in comparison to the specific capacitance of 418 F g−1 at 1.0 A g−1 and 78% retained capacitance after 2000 cycles of MoS2/PANI electrode. The combined effects between the three components in the ternary composite aerogels taking advantage of both charging and faradaic processes can readily explain the excellent electrochemical performance.

The doping of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) is crucial for the optimization of the performance of devices based on them. In contrast to recent progress on the doping of compound semiconductor NCs and silicon NCs, the doping of germanium (Ge) NCs has lagged behind. Here it is shown that Ge NCs can be doped with phosphorus (P) during synthesis by a nonthermal plasma. It is found that there are more P atoms in the NC near-surface region than in the NC core. P doping modifies the surface state of Ge NCs. Compressive strain can be incuced in Ge NCs by P which can explain the P-doping-enhanced oxidation resistance of Ge NCs. Stable dispersions of P-doped Ge NCs in acetonitrile can be cast to produce films for field-effect transistors (FETs). FET analysis shows that the electrical conductivity and electron mobility of a Ge-NC film increase with the increase of the P doping level, although the electrical activation efficiency of P in the Ge-NC film is low. Finally, atomic layer deposition of aluminum oxide at the surface of P-doped Ge NCs is shown to improve the performance of the FETs.

Electrochemical reduction of CO2 (ECR-CO2) into high value-added products plays a crucial role in energy conversions. Herein, we developed a family of porous metal-porphyrin triazine-based frameworks (MPTFs-x, M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, x = temperature) with a specific surface area up to 977 m2 g−1 and homogenously dispersed transition-metals. Benefiting from a high content of N species of 8.43 at.% and abundantly exposed Ni-Nx active sites, NiPTFs-600 displayed a superb Faradaic efficiency (FE) of CO production (>90 %) in the range of −0.55 V to −0.95 V with the maximum FE of 97.6 % and current density of 10.8 mA cm-2 at −0.8 V. The reaction mechanism was found to be the adsorption of CO2 molecules to form *CO2 intermediates, accompanied by successive protonation to produce *COOH and then *CO.

Lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries are considered as a promising candidate for next generation energy storage. However, the practical implementation of Li-S batteries is seriously hampered by the notorious shuttling of polysulfides. Current research mostly focuses on modifying polyolefin-based separators for immobilization of polysulfides. Herein we report a facile and efficient approach for fabrication of a functional bilayer separator based on 0D (nanocrystals)/1D (nanofibers) composite mats. The top layer comprises CeO2 nanocrystals spatially besieged by carbon nanofibers, serving as electrocatalysts to accelerate the reduction of polysulfides, meanwhile, acting as a dual-conductive upper current collector and a polysulfide inhibitor. The support layer maintains the structural integrity of the separator and allows the safe operation of Li-S batteries at high temperature. Consequently, the Li-S batteries with the bilayer separators exhibit a high initial reversible capacity of 1359 mA h g−1 at 0.2 C, high rate capability, superior cycling stability (with a capacity decay rate of 0.04% per cycle at 0.5 C over 300 cycles), and ultralow self-discharge.

In this study, we explored the individual and combined effects of ammonia-N and sulfide stress (1 mg/L sulfide and 15 mg/L ammonia-N) on the oxidation resistance, immune response and intestinal health of Litopenaeus vannamei during 72 h exposure. The total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), malonaldehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activity (CAT), the immune-relative gene (caspase-3, hsp70 and IMD) expression in hepatopancreas and intestine of L.vannamei and the intestinal microbiota were measured. The result showed that MDA and NO contents in hepatopancreas of L. vannamei in all treatment groups increased and remain were at high levels at the end of the stress exposure. The L. vannamei employ antioxidant defense system by increasing the activities of T-AOC, SOD and CAT enzymes in hepatopancereas and intestine to reduce oxidant damage. More severe damages with combined ammonia-N and sulfide stress to antioxidant systems were observed. The gene expression results also demonstrated that antioxidant capacity of L. vannamei was severely impaired and the apoptosis cell was initiated under the ammonia-N and sulfide stress. In addition, the environmental stress also reshaped the intestinal microbial community structure of L. vannamei that a number of original genera decreased, such as Cellvibrio, Vibrio and Rheinheimera; some new genera increased or appeared, such as Photobacterium in all treatment groups, Arcobacter and Fusibacter in sulfide stress group. Therefore, the health of L. vannamei was severely impacted when exposed to the stress of ammonia nitrogen and sulfide and these two factors can have weak synergic effects.

Glypican-3(GPC3) is a transmembrane protein which has been found to be frequently overexpressed on the surfaces of liver cancer (LC) cells, which contributes to both the growth and metastasis of LC cells. Recently, the expression of GPC3 has been reported to be inversely associated with glucose metabolism activity in LC patients, suggesting that GPC3 may play a role in the regulation of glucose metabolism in LC. However, the role of GPC3 in glucose metabolism reprogramming, as well as in LC cell growth and metastasis, is unknown. Here, we found that GPC3 significantly contributed to the reprogramming of glucose metabolism in LC cells. On the one hand, GPC3 enhanced the glycolysis of LC cells through upregulation of the glycolytic genes of Glut1, HK2, and LDH-A. On the other hand, GPC3 repressed mitochondrial respiration through downregulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α), which has been well known as a crucial regulator in mitochondrial biogenesis. Mechanistic investigations revealed that HIF-1α was involved in both GPC3-regulated upregulation of glycolytic genes of HK2, PKM2, and Glut1 and downregulation of mitochondrial biogenesis regulator PGC-1α in LC cells. Additionally, GPC3-regulated reprogramming of glucose metabolism played a critical role in the growth and metastasis of LC cells. Conclusion. Our findings demonstrate that GPC3 is a critical regulator of glucose metabolism reprogramming in LC cells, which provides a strong line of evidence for GPC3 as an important therapeutic target to normalize glucose metabolic aberrations responsible for LC progression.

Chemoresistance is a major cause of recurrence and poor prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients. The essential oil of Rhizoma Curcumae has been recently reported to enhance the chemosensitivity of cancer cells. However, few reports have systematically illuminated the mechanism. Curcumol is the major component of the essential oil of Rhizoma Curcumae. Therefore, we wondered whether curcumol combined with chemotherapy could increase the anticancer effects. In the present study, we evaluated the anticancer effects of doxorubicin and curcumol alone or in combination by a series of growth proliferation and apoptosis assays in TNBC cells. Our results showed that curcumol enhanced the sensitivity of MDA-MB-231 cells to doxorubicin in vitro and in vivo. Through miRNA-seq, we found that miR-181b-2-3p was involved in the curcumol-mediated promotion of doxorubicin-sensitivity in both parental and doxorubicin-resistant MDA-MB-231 (MDA-MB-231/ADR) cells. Further study showed that miR-181b-2-3p suppressed ABCC3 expression by targeting its 3'UTR. More importantly, we identified that overexpression of miR-181b-2-3p sensitized MDA-MB-231/ADR cells to doxorubicin by inhibiting the drug efflux transporter ABCC3. Furthermore, we found that NFAT1 could be activated by curcumol. In addition, ChIP assay results revealed that NFAT1 could directly bind to the promoter region of miR-181b-2-3p. Finally, using PDX models, we identified that curcumol could enhance sensitivity to doxorubicin to suppress tumor growth by the miR-181b-2-3p-ABCC3 axis in vivo. Taken together, our study provides novel mechanistic evidence for curcumol-mediated sensitization to doxorubicin in TNBC, and it highlights the potential therapeutic usefulness of curcumol as an adjunct drug in TNBC patients with doxorubicin-resistance.

The Orai channel is characterized by voltage independence, low conductance and high Ca2+ selectivity and plays an important role in Ca2+ influx through the plasma membrane. How the channel is activated and promotes Ca2+ permeation are not well understood. Here, we report the crystal structure and cryo-electron microscopy reconstruction of a Drosophila melanogaster Orai mutant (P288L) channel that is constitutively active according to electrophysiology. The open state of the Orai channel showed a hexameric assembly in which six TM1 helices in the center form the ion-conducting pore, and six TM4 helices in the periphery form extended long helices. Orai channel activation requires conformational transduction from TM4 to TM1 and eventually causes the basic section of TM1 to twist outward. The wider pore on the cytosolic side aggregates anions to increase the potential gradient across the membrane and thus facilitate Ca2+ permeation. The open-state structure of the Orai channel offers insights into channel assembly, channel activation and Ca2+ permeation.

Ultra-thin amorphous ZnSnO (a-ZTO) films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature and annealed at various temperatures for ultra-thin-film transistors (UTFTs). The thicknesses of the ultra-thin a-ZTO films are approximately 3.1 nm. The electrical resistivity of the nanofilms decreases greatly with the annealing temperature initially increasing. All the UTFTs with annealing temperature ranging from 250 to 450 °C exhibit good switching properties operating in the enhancement mode with the field-effect mobility of above 8.2 cm2 V−1 s−1. The annealing treatment exhibits extreme importance for the UTFTs to obtain better performance as oxygen vacancy is controlled easily in the ultra-thin films by annealing. The 350 °C-annealed a-ZTO UTFT depicts the largest field-effect mobility of 20.9 cm2 V−1 s−1, the minimum threshold voltage of 2.3 V, the minimum subthreshold swing of 0.339 V/decade, the minimum density of the interfacial trap states of 1.02 × 1012 cm−2 and a large on/off current ratio of 3.3 × 107. Besides, the UTFT with the annealing temperature of 450 °C depicts excellent long-term stability under bias stress due to the least oxygen vacancies. The observations will offer basic design guideline for improvement and future applications of UTFTs.

microRNAs (miRNAs) have been determined to be associated with cancer progression and metastasis. Mir-139 is located on 11q13.4 and exhibits anti-oncogenic and anti-metastatic activity in human cancers. It is downregulated in various malignant tumor types. In the present study, the potential functions and targets of miR-139 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were explored. Using a combinational analysis of four miRNA target prediction tools and biological experiments, it was determined that Topoisomerase I (TOP1) is a direct target of miR-139 in HCC. Several traditional topoisomerase inhibitors have demonstrated anticancer activity, but their side effects outnumbered their anticancer potential. The present study determined that overexpression of miR-139 significantly inhibits HCC cell proliferation (P

Amorphous zinc-tin oxide ( a -ZTO) films are fabricated using a combustion solution process. Utilization of a -ZTO films as the novel active layers, ultraviolet (UV) and ethanol sensors are prepared for the first time. The sensor performances are strongly related to the film resistance, which is determinated by the surface O 2 − formed by O 2 + e = O 2 − during UV and ethanol detections. During UV exposure, the resistivity of a -ZTO films decreases from 6.50 × 10 5 Ω cm to 56.85 Ω cm, which are very sensitive towards UV (365 nm) light and the photodetectors own a sensitivity value of 650 from 0 to 30 V. While for ethanol gas, the detection regions can be in a wide range from 20 ppm to 500 ppm. The gas response can achieve a value of 31.18 at 500 ppm ethanol and good response/recovery speed (6 s and 3 s), which can be comparable with that of the common used nanomaterials. The novel a -ZTO film based UV and gas sensors are very promising researches for future UV and gas sensor applications.

Thin film transistors (TFTs) using solution-processed aluminum indium zinc oxide (AIZO) as a channel layer were fabricated in this study. Influence of annealing temperatures on solution processed AIZO thin films surface, structural and chemical properties had been intensively investigated. The AIZO films existed in an amorphous phase even through the annealing temperature reach up to 500 °C. The as-prepared AIZO films with surface root-mean-square roughness values less than 0.6 nm were uniform and smooth. As the annealing temperatures exceeded 400 °C, the impurities and hydroxyl groups in the AIZO films had almost no change, demonstrating that the AIZO oxide formation was almost completed. Above all, the solution processed AIZO TFTs exhibit excellent device performance with high saturation mobility of 20.8 cm2/V s, threshold voltage of −0.39 V, small subthreshold swing of 0.13 V/dec and high on/off current ratio of 5 × 106.

Ultraviolet (UV) photoconductivity of solution-processed amorphous zinc-aluminum-tin oxide (a-ZATO) TFTs has been investigated in detail to clarify the device responses. The sensitivities of a-ZATO TFTs towards UV light are strongly dependent on the Al content. The UV exposure and recovery process are decided by the state changes of oxygen defects (V0O and VO2+). An appropriate Al addition can not only reduce the amounts of photogenerated carriers by increasing the band gap of ZATO films, but also markedly decrease the UV photoconductivity and recovery time, which benefits the TFT applications in the display fields. Based on UV behaviors of ZATO TFTs, a feasible and reasonable mechanism model has been proposed, which provides a fundamental insight to UV photoconductivity of ZATO TFTs and may also be applied to other AOS TFTs.