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The effects of support materials on catalytic performance were investigated in catalytic removal of toluene. And the Mn–Ce binary oxides as active components were supported on ZrO2, SiO2, γ-Al2O3 and TiO2 support materials. Many techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method (BET), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) and NH3-temperature-programmed desorption (NH3-TPD), were used to characterize physicochemical properties. Among the different catalysts, the MnCe/ZrO2 catalyst with the lowest specific surface area (39.7 m2/g) shows the best catalytic activity. In terms of toluene conversion, the activity order is as follows: MnCe/ZrO2 > MnCe/TiO2 ≈ MnCe/SiO2 > MnCe/Al2O3. The better performance of MnCe/ZrO2 should be attributed to the low-temperature reducibility, and abundant surface species (Mn4+ and lattice oxygen). And XPS and TPR results reveal that more surface abundant Mn and Ce elements generate good interaction in MnCe/ZrO2. The weak interaction between metal oxide and support also boosts the dispersion and complete reduction of MnCe oxides at low temperature. In addition, the in-situ DRIFTS results clarify that the carbonate species are main intermediates in MnCe/ZrO2 sample during surface reaction process.

Nowadays, the harm of antibiotics residues in environments to human health and ecological safety has been causing more and more attention. In this paper, a biochar based iron material (MBC) was used to activate persulfate (PS) for the removal of sulfadiazine (SDZ) from aqueous solution. Experiment results indicate that the degradation and mineralization of SDZ by MBC/PS system reached 91.79 and 60 % within 60 min under the optimal reaction conditions, respectively. MBC/PS system exhibited a better performance on SDZ removal compared with MBC/H2O2 system. The addition of Cu2+ ion could enhance the degradation of SDZ by MBC/PS system. PO43-, Cl- and SO42- had a certain degree of inhibitory effect on the SDZ degradation. Both radicals and non-radical species such as SO4•-, •OH and 1O2 participated in the degradation reaction of SDZ by MBC/PS system, but •OH was the main radical species responsible for SDZ degradation. The liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer (LC-MS) technique was used to identify the intermediate products of SDZ, and it was proposed that the degradation of SDZ might be achieved through hydrolyzation, hydroxylation, deamination and amino-oxidization processes. A possible reaction mechanism involving a synergistic effect between PS homogeneous and heterogeneous activation processes as well as both radicals and non-radicals reactions was finally proposed.

Direct oxidation of methane to valuable chemicals is a great challenge as catalysts with both high activity and selectivity for the activation of inert C–H bonds are required. Here, we report the highly efficient and selective photo-oxidation of methane to ethane with dioxygen in a flow reactor using a Au nanoparticle (NP) loaded ZnO/TiO2 hybrid. An ethane production rate of over 5,000 μmol g−1 h−1 with 90% selectivity is achieved, which is more than one order of magnitude higher than the state-of-the-art photocatalytic systems. Detailed characterizations and theoretical studies show that the formation of heterojunctions between ZnO and TiO2 leads to enhanced photocatalytic activity, while maintaining high selectivity owing to the weak overoxidation ability of the main component ZnO. Moreover, the Au cocatalyst enables the facile desorption of methyl (CH3) species as •CH3 radicals in the gas phase, thereby facilitating C2H6 formation and inhibiting overoxidation of CH4 to CO2. Photocatalytic oxidation of methane through oxidative coupling presents a route to higher hydrocarbons but has suffered from low activity and uncontrolled product selectivity. Now, Au nanoparticles loaded onto a ZnO/TiO2 heterostructure are shown to deliver high rate production of ethane.

For using targeted covalent inhibitors (TCIs) as anticancer and antiviral drugs, we establish that the model compounds PCMPS (p-chloromercuriphenyl sulfate) and PCMB (p-chloromercuribenzoate) are inhibitors of the DEDDh family of exonucleases. The underlying mechanism is analyzed by X-ray crystallography, activity/nucleic acid-binding assays, and all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The first TCI-complexed structures of a DEDDh enzyme, the Lassa fever virus NP exonuclease (NPexo), are resolved to elucidate that the Cys409 binding site is away from the active site and the RNA-binding lid. The NPexo C409A structures indicate Cys461 as the alternative distal site for obstructing the equally active mutant. All-atom MD simulations of the wild type and mutant NPexos in explicit solvent uncover an allosteric inhibition mechanism that the local perturbation induced by PCMPS sulfonate propagates to impact the RNA-binding lid conformation. Binding assay studies confirm that PCMPS does affect the RNA binding of NPexo. The predicted relative potency between PCMPS and PCMB is also in line with experiments. The structural data and inhibition mechanism established in this work provide an important molecular basis for the drug development of TCIs.

Mn-promoted NiMgAl mixed-oxide (NiMnx-LDO, x = 0, 5, 10, 15) catalysts derived from hydrotalcite were synthesized using co-precipitation for CO2 hydrogenation to synthetic natural gas. By regulating Mn contents, NiMn5-LDO delivered the most excellent catalytic performance, being about 2 times higher than that of undoped NiMn0-LDO catalyst (TOF of NiMn5-LDO and NiMn0-LDO: 0.61 s−1 vs 0.31 s−1 @ 240 °C). Through extensive characterization, it was found that Mn dopants promoted the reduction of bulk NiO through tuning the interaction between Ni and Mg(Mn)AlOx support. A high surface ratio of Ni0/Ni2+ was achieved over NiMn5-LDO. Furthermore, the surface basicity strength was tailored by Mn dopants. With 5 wt% of Mn, NiMn5-LDO catalyst showed a stronger medium-strength basicity and higher capacity of CO2 adsorption than others. Particularly, TOF indicates a good correlation with medium-strength basicity over NiMnx-LDO catalysts. The strong metal-support interaction originated from the hydrotalcite structure kept nickel uniformly dispersed, endowing to the improved catalytic performance.

A series of hollow structured CuCeOx composite catalysts with different Cu/Ce molar ratios were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal approach, which were applied in catalytic combustion of toluene. The XRD and Raman results indicate that partial of Cu ions are incorporated into CeO2 lattice, forming Cu-O-Ce solid solution. This strengthens the synergistic interaction between CuO and CeO2, enhancing the amounts of oxygen vacancies and low-temperature reducibility. Among the serial catalysts, the Cu6Ce4Ox catalyst exhibits superior catalytic performance, and its 90% conversion (T90) is 260 ℃. The high surface area, low-temperature reducibility, and abundant surface active oxygen species are main factors for superior catalytic performance. The DRIFTs result further clarifies the possible pathway for toluene oxidation, that toluene is converted via benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, and benzoate species as main intermediates and is finally decomposed to CO2 and H2O.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), accompanied with protumor and antitumor activity, has been studied in multiple cancers. However, the role of iNOS expression in osteosarcoma (OS) is far from being fully understood. In present work, iNOS levels were detected in OS tissues and cell lines. Colony formation assay, Transwell assay, and fow cytometer were used to assess proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis abilities in vitro after iNOS inhibition. Western blotting determined the expressions of iNOS, MMP2, MMP9, C-MYC, Ki67, PCNA, and β-catenin. Mice transfected with OS cells were to evaluate tumor formation. IHC assay was to evaluate the expressions of iNOS and β-catenin in mice. The results showed that iNOS was upregulated in both OS tissues and cells compared with that in matched normal tissues or cells. And we found that proliferation, migration, and invasion numbers of OS cells were decreased, and apoptosis numbers of OS cells were increased after iNOS inhibition. MMP2, MMP9, C-MYC, Ki67, and PCNA levels were also reduced in OS cells treated with iNOS inhibition. Else, iNOS inhibition would suppress β-catenin expression in OS cells to regulate MMP2, MMP9, C-MYC, Ki67, and PCNA expressions. In addition, tumor formation, iNOS expression, and β-catenin expression were inhibited in mice transplanted with iNOS knockout OS cells. These results indicated that iNOS might be a potential therapeutic target for OS.

A series of CuZn/xCe-ZnAl2O4 catalysts (CZ/xCe-ZAO) with different contents of Ce doping (x = 0, 3, 5, and 7 wt%) were prepared by precipitation. The samples were applied for the hydrogenation production from methanol decomposition. Ce doping was found to effectively improve the reaction activity of the catalysts. CZ/5Ce-ZAO exhibits 100.0% methanol conversion and selectivity to hydrogenation of 98.9% at 300 °C (WHSV = 1.5 h−1), which is superior to those of the comparison catalysts. Moreover, the TOF for CZ/5Ce-ZAO increased by 54.7% compared with the pristine sample without Ce doping. In addition, CZ/5Ce-ZAO showed significantly improved stability compared with that of the un-doped catalysts. The obtained catalysts were systematically characterized by N2 sorption, XRD, H2-TPR, XPS, TEM, N2O-TPD, TG–DTA. The results suggested that stronger metal-support interaction (SMSI) existed in the Ce doped samples increased the dispersion of Cu species, which was responsible for the outstanding catalytic performance. Besides, such SMSI was also helpful for inhibiting the sintering of the copper species during the reaction and enhancing stability. CZ/5Ce-ZnAl2O4 shows significantly improved stability compared with the undoped and commercial catalysts.

SBA-15 with varied pore size from 4 to 8 nm were synthesized by tuning the temperature of hydrothermal treatment, the supports were then used to load the active phase CrOx through a conventional impregnation method. The resulting catalysts were characterized by small/wide angle XRD, N2 adsorption/desorption, FT-IR, TEM-EDX, XPS, TPR and CO2-TPD to study the feature of structure, surface chemical state, redox and basicity. It was found from these results that the metal species could be well dispersed on catalysts with larger pore size. Cr6+ species could enter into the framework by substituting the Si atoms of SBA-15, and Cr3+ mainly exist on extra framework. Pore size had profound effects on reducibility, surface composition and basicity. Cr6+ species were necessary to activate the C-H bonds of alkanes, while the basicity played an important role in activating C-O bonds of CO2. The best performances were achieved over the sample Cr supported on SBA-15 with a pore diameter of 7 nm in oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane in the presence of CO2.

Grafting of organic groups on the surface of metal-oxide clusters greatly enhances the Li+ ion capacity. Triply organo-substituted polyoxometalates (RN-POMs) display an excellent Li+ ion capacity (...

Controllable crystal phases (α-, β-, γ- and δ-) of MnO2 materials were developed via tuning hydrothermal conditions and investigated in toluene catalytic combustion. Extensive characterization techniques such as XRD, BET, SEM, TEM, H2-TPR and XPS were employed for analyzing the structure-performance relationship between physicochemical properties, such as specific surface area, vacancy/lattice oxygen and their mobility, reduction property and catalytic activity. Results indicated that the degradation activity of MnO2 catalyst greatly hinges on materials intrinsic properties, namely the vacancy oxygen generation, lattice oxygen content and their reduction behaviors. α-MnO2 exhibited the best catalytic activity (0.24 μmol/min @ 240 °C) among the obtained MnO2 materials; however, its cycle stability was inferior to that of δ-MnO2 catalyst owing to the different moderating effect of potassium ions remained within the tunnels or mezzanines structure. In addition, δ-MnO2 showed an easiest reduction property among all the manganese oxides investigated. The findings will shed lights on designing of Mn-based catalysts with a higher VOCs combustion capacity.

A polymer-based hole-transporting layer (HTL) with a tunable work function and highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) position was demonstrated to effectively optimize the anode junctions of optoelectronic devices. Herein, the perfluorinated ionomer (PFI) was utilized to realize the synthesis of a well-dispersed poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) colloid solution, which could be subsequently cast into an efficient HTL. According to the time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, a uniform, interpenetrating PEDOT network with a deep-lying HOMO position could be obtained in the PEDOT:PFI layer. For solar cells, since a deep-lying HOMO position of the HTL was favorable for minimizing the hole injection barrier, a superior organic photovoltaic efficiency of 15.1% and a perovskite solar cell efficiency of 17.8% were achieved. As for organic photodetectors, a deep-lying HOMO position of the HTL was able to reduce the dark current density (JD) by blocking the leakage current under a reverse bias. Utilizing the PEDOT:PFI with an optimized PFI content, an extremely low JD of 6.2 nA cm−2 with an external quantum efficiency of 67% at 1000 nm wavelength was achieved, which sets a benchmark for the emerging near infrared sensing technologies.

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) has demonstrated excellent performance as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. However, the repeated lithiation and delithiation create a cracking pattern and lead to island formation in the thin-film electrode, resulting in a capacity fading over cycling in lithium-ion batteries (LIB's). In order to control this crack behaviour, we introduce carbon into CZTS thin-films by a hydrothermal method to form CZTS@C composite. CZTS@C significantly reduced the crack pattern formation on the electrode surface as well as improved the conductivity of the CZTS@C electrode. At the early stages of lithiation and delithiation, the volume expansion and contraction of Li–CZTS@C create intra-granular cracking only at the surface level, and it offers a high capacity of about 785 mA h g−1 after 150 cycles at 1000 mA g−1 charging rate, excellent rate capability (942 mA h g−1, 678 mA h g−1 and 435 mA h g−1 at 500 mA g−1, 2000 mA g−1 and 5000 mA g−1), and superior cyclability (925 mA h g−1 even after 200 cycles at 500 mA g−1). The excellent electrochemical performance at high-current rates can be attributed to intra-granular cracking together with carbon coating that provides a short transportation length for both lithium ions and electrons. Moreover, the controlled cracking pattern formation in CZTS@C facilitates faster reaction kinetics, which open up a new solution for the development of high-power thin-film anodes for next-generation LIBs applications.

Effectively converting CO2 into fuels and value-added chemicals remains a major challenge in catalysis, especially under mild conditions. In this study, we report a one-step plasma-enabled catalytic process for CO2 hydrogenation to C2+ hydrocarbons operated at low temperature and atmospheric pressure in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) packed-bed reactor. Plasma without catalyst produces mainly CO (over 80% selectivity), while CH4 becomes the main product when plasma is coupled with the alumina-supported Co catalyst. Interestingly, by simply changing the catalyst-bed configuration within the plasma discharge zone, more C2+ hydrocarbons are selectively produced. High C2+ hydrocarbons selectivity of 46% at ca. 74% CO2 conversion is achieved when operated at the furnace temperature of 25 °C and 10 W DBD plasma. The possible origin of C2+ formation and the significance of catalyst-bed configuration are discussed.

We have demonstrated that alginate with negligible anticoagulant activity can be converted into carbonized nanogels with potent anticoagulant activity through a solid-state heating process. The conversion of alginate into graphene-like nanosheet (GNS)-embedded polyphenolic-alginate nanogels (GNS/Alg-NGs) has been carried out through condensation and carbonization processes. The GNS/Alg-NGs exhibit much stronger anticoagulant activity (>520-fold) compared to untreated alginate, mainly because their polyphenolic structures have a high binding affinity [dissociation constant (Kd) = 2.1 × 10-10 M] toward thrombin. In addition, the thrombin clotting time delay caused by the GNS/Alg-NGs is 10-fold longer than that of natural polyphenolic compounds, such as quercetin, catechin, naringenin, caffeic acid, and ferulic acid. The thrombin- or kaolin-activated thromboelastography of whole-blood coagulation reveals that the GNS/Alg-NGs display a much stronger anticoagulant ability than that of untreated alginate and naturally sulfated polysaccharides (fucoidan). The GNS/Alg-NGs exhibit superior biocompatibility and anticoagulant activity, as observed with an in vivo rat model, revealing their potential as a blood thinner for the treatment of thrombotic disorders.

Gels prepared from low-molecular-weight gelators (LMWGs) represent versatile soft materials. Self-assembly of LMWGs forms nanofibers and above critical gelation concentrations, the entanglement of which leads to self-supporting gels. Owing to the dynamic properties of the self-assembly process, stimuli-responsive LMWGs have prospered in the last decade. In addition, incorporating multiple LMWGs into one system brings the opportunity to achieve sophisticated designs and functions. This review covers recent advances in the field of supramolecular gels, from stimuli-responsive gelators to multicomponent systems that are self-sorting and/or co-assembling.

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, facultatively anaerobic, motile and spore-forming strain designated FJAT-44921T was isolated from red mud collected from Chiping County, Shandong Province, China. The 16S rRNA gene sequence result showed that strain FJAT-44921T shared a low sequence identity (96.6%) with the members of the genus Bacillus. Growth was observed at pH 8.0–10.0 (optimum pH 9.0), 10–40 °C (optimum 20–25 °C) with 0–8% (v/w %) NaCl (optimum 4–6 v/w %). FJAT-44921T consists of MK-7 as the isoprenoid quinone and meso-2,6-diaminopimelic acid as the cell-wall diamino acid. The predominant fatty acids were anteiso-C15:0, iso-C15:0, C16:0, and anteiso-C17:0. The polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidyl glycerol, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine, unidentified phospholipid, and unidentified aminophospholipid. The genomic DNA G + C content was 37.3 mol%. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between FJAT-44921T and other closely related Bacillus members were lower than the recognized threshold values of ANI (95–96%) and dDDH (70%) recommended as the criterion for interspecies identity. The type strain is FJAT-44921T (=CCTCC AB 2016196T =DSM 104630T).

Methotrexate (MTX) is one of the most consumed anti-cancer drugs in the pharmaceutical market around the world. The widespread occurrence of MTX in aquatic environment through hospital effluent has attracted increasing concern due to its potential to induce water pollution. In the present study, the degradation of MTX in aqueous medium was investigated by UV-activated peroxymonosulfate (PMS). A significant improvement in degradation rate by increasing UV intensity and PMS concentration while the decrease in degradation efficiency with the increase of solution pH and initial concentration of MTX was observed. The proposed UV/PMS process could achieve more than 90% MTX degradation in 30 min with a good mineralization degree (65%). A pseudo-first order kinetic model was employed and successfully predicted the degradation of MTX. The effect of other operational parameters such as the initial concentration of the targeted compound, dosage of oxidant (PMS), solution pH and UV intensity on the degradation rate were investigated. At the last, the main transform intermediates were identified using LC–MS and possible degradation pathways were proposed. The results show that UV/PMS can be used as an efficient technology to treat pharmaceuticals such as methotrexate containing water and wastewater.

A series of NiCexAl (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9) mixed metal oxides catalysts was synthesized through decomposing the corresponding layered double hydroxides (LDH) precursors, and then characterized by TG, XRD, N2 adsorption/desorption, XPS, H2-TPR, H2-TPD etc. techniques. The results showed that the introduction of Ce could efficiently restrict the agglomeration of Ni species. The generated Ni–Ce–O solid solution could create the oxygen vacancies and enhance the oxygen mobility which further improved the properties of active sites including Ni dispersion and surface area, and suppressed coke deposition. The Ni2+ species was reduced by Ce3+ under the reaction conditions to give the metallic Ni as active sites in catalyzing steam reforming of glycerol for the production of hydrogen. The best catalytic performance was obtained over the sample NiCe0.7Al which exhibited the better Ni dispersion and larger surface, and lower quantity of deposited coke by establishing the correlations. The reaction was more selective to hydrogen thanks to the enhancement of water gas shift reaction and suppression of CO methanation reaction.

The bimetallic MNi/CNTs (M Co, Cu and Fe) catalysts with controlled metal distribution were prepared by a two-step impregnation method. The catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption, XRD, XPS, TPR, HAADF-STEM, TEM and TG to study the porous structure, changes in crystalline phases during the reaction, surface chemical state, reducibility, the element distribution, sintering of metal particles and the deposited coke for the calcined and/or spent catalysts. The results showed that the Ni oxide was successfully introduced into the cave and the other one was dispersed on the external wall of CNTs. The addition of the secondary metals had significant influences on the reducibility, resulting in the quite different surface properties which was directly linked to the products distribution in glycerol reforming reaction. The sample CoNi/CNTs performed better in both anti-sintering and coke resistance, and over which the product was more selective to hydrogen by enhancing the water gas shift reaction.

Silicon photonics have attracted significant interest because of their potential in integrated photonics components and all-dielectric meta-optics elements. One major challenge is to achieve active control via strong photon–photon interactions, i.e. optical nonlinearity, which is intrinsically weak in silicon. To boost the nonlinear response, practical applications rely on resonant structures such as microring resonators or photonic crystals. Nevertheless, their typical footprints are larger than 10 μm. Here, we show that 100 nm silicon nano-resonators exhibit a giant photothermal nonlinearity, yielding 90% reversible and repeatable modulation from linear scattering response at low excitation intensities. The equivalent nonlinear index is five-orders larger compared with bulk, based on Mie resonance enhanced absorption and high-efficiency heating in thermally isolated nanostructures. Furthermore, the nanoscale thermal relaxation time reaches nanosecond. This large and fast nonlinearity leads to potential applications for GHz all-optical control at the nanoscale and super-resolution imaging of silicon., Resonant structures are a promising method to enhance the nonlinear response of Si, however they are typically larger than 10 μm. Here, the authors present Si nano-resonators that amplify photothermal nonlinearity, resulting in reversible and repeatable modulation.

A well-crystalline two-dimensional (2D) perovskite material, Ca2Nan–3NbnO3n+1– (CNNO–) nanosheets, derived from the Dion–Jacobson phase has the potential to generate hydrogen through photoelectroch...

Background Nab-paclitaxel has been widely used in treating breast cancer and pancreatic patients for its low toxicity and high efficiency. However, its role in gastric cancer (GC) remains ambiguous. The aim of our study was to test the anti-tumor activity of nab-paclitaxel using GC patient-derived organoids. Methods By using the organoid culture system, we describe the establishment of human gastric cancer organoid lines from surgical samples of three patients with gastric cancer. The consistency of these organoids with original cancer tissues was evaluated by histopathological examination. The characteristics of the cancer organoids were tested using immunofluorescence (IF) staining. Using organoids, the anti-tumor efficiencies of nab-paclitaxel, 5-Fu and epirubicin were compared by CCK8 assay and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. Results Three organoids were successfully established and passaged. The morphology of the established GC organoids was consistent with original cancer tissues. The IC50 of nab-paclitaxel was 3.68 μmol/L in hGCO1, 2.41 μmol/L in hGCO2 and 2.91 μmol/L in hGCO3, which was significantly lower than those of 5-FU (72.99 μmol/L in hGCO1, 28.32 μmol/L in hGCO2 and 2.91 μmol/L in hGCO3) and epirubicin (25.85μmol/L in hGCO1, 15.15 μmol/L in hGCO2 and 7.60 μmol/L in hGCO3). When each organoid lines were treated with nab-paclitaxel for increasing period of time, the percentage of the apoptotic cells in each organoid increased accordingly. Conclusion Nab-paclitaxel showed strong anti-tumor activity and had the potential to become front-line drug for treating GC patients. Gastric cancer organoid may be a good tool to predict in vivo response to drugs.

A series of mesoporous CoxM3-xAlOy (M Ni, Mn) catalysts have been obtained by calcination of layered double hydroxide (LDH) precursors prepared by the microwave method, the catalysts exhibited high activity for methane catalytic combustion. By changing the preparation method and type of metal salt introduced (Ni and Mn), it is effective for controlling the structure properties and reducibility of catalyst as well as the catalytic performance for the methane catalytic combustion. The Co2Ni1AlOy catalyst exhibited higher catalytic performance and the temperature required to achieve a methane conversion of 90% (T90) was about 473 °C, this temperature was 40 °C lower than that on the NiO-IWI/Co3AlOy sample. The enhanced catalytic activity was correlated with higher surface area, better redox property, higher ratio of surface Co3+/Co2+ species and surface absorbed oxygen and lattice oxygen (Oads/Olatt) derived from the synergistic effect over Co2Ni1AlOy catalyst. Therefore, the microwave method provided an effective path to develop the efficient combustion catalyst for higher performance.

Na3V2(PO4)2F3 is a prospective cathode material for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) because of its high theoretical capacity. Nevertheless, its low electronic conductivity leads to poor cycling and rate performance, hindering its practical application. In this work, ultrafine-Na3V2(PO4)2F3 nanocrystals less than 20 nm embedded in porous carbon nanospheres are fabricated via a microwave-assisted glycerol-mediated hydrothermal process followed by annealing. Microwave irradiation is shown to be critical for the formation of homogenous ultrafine nanostructure. The product exhibits a charge/discharge capacity of 106 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C after 100 cycles with a retention of approximate 100% as cathode material for SIBs.

Bimetallic catalysts NiCo/CNTs with distribution-controlled Ni and Co species were prepared by modified impregnation method with the assistance of dimethylbenzene and characterized by XRD, N2 adsor...

A hydrolysis-resistant polymer bearing new quasi-choline phosphate (quasi-CP) structures as side groups, poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl choline methylphosphonate) (PMCPm), was designed and synthesized...

Interfacial electron transfer within the electrode is crucial for various electrocatalytic reactions. Herein, we demonstrated that in-situ grown Cu2O on Cu foam as a scaffold to load active ingredients could lower the interfacial contact resistance and promote the electron transfer in oxygen evolution reaction. Meanwhile, the Cu2O/Cu (CCF) facilitates to load active components due to higher surface area resulting from its irregular scattered structure. As a demonstration, Ni–Fe doubles layered hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) coated carbon nanotube spheroidal particles (CNS@NiFe) was anchored by a drop-casting route to assemble CNS@NiFe/CCF hybrid electrodes with the CCF as scaffolds. The CNS@NiFe/CCF electrode afforded an ultralow overpotential of 248 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 32.9 mV dec−1 with an excellent stability. Schematic illustration of CNS@NiFe/CCF architecture.

A series of CuCo2O4 composite spinels with an interconnected meso-macroporous nanosheet morphology were synthesized using the hydrothermal method and subsequent calcination treatment to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for benzophenone-4 (BP-4) degradation. As-prepared CuCo2O4 composite spinels, especially CuCo-H3 prepared by adding cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, showed superior reactivity for PMS activation. In a typical reaction, BP-4 (10.0 mg/L) was almost completely degraded in 15 min by the activation of PMS (200.0 mg/L) using CuCo-H3 (100.0 mg/L), with only 9.2 μg/L cobalt leaching detected. Even after being used six times, the performance was not influenced by the lower leaching of ions and surface-absorbed intermediates. The possible interface mechanism of PMS activation by CuCo-H3 was proposed, wherein a unique interconnected meso-macroporous nanosheet structure, strong interactions between copper and cobalt, and cycling of Co(II)/Co(III) and Cu(I)/Cu(II) effectively facilitated PMS activation to generate SO4•- and •OH, which contributed to BP-4 degradation. Furthermore, combined with intermediates detected by liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and density functional theory calculation results, the degradation pathway of BP-4 involving hydroxylation and C-C bond cleavage was proposed.

Purpose Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are relatively new devices that allow the user to inhale a heated and aerosolized solution. At present, little is known about their health effects in the human lung, particularly in the small airways (

Surface functionalization tailors the interfacial properties without impacts on the mechanical strength, which is beneficial for industry and daily applications of various metallic materials. Herein, a two-step surface functionalization strategy, (1) catechol-mediated immobilization of clickable agent and (2) postfunctionalization based on thiol–ene click reaction, is achieved using a copolymer, namely poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethylundec-10-enoate]-co-(N-(3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl) methacrylamide) [P(MEUE-co-DPMAm)]. To reduce the potential side reactions of allylic double bonds in allyl methacrylate during the polymerization, the MEUE are designed and synthesized with better control over the polymer chain growth. The surface functionalization via the two-step method is demonstrated using various thiols, e.g., hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and polymeric thiols under room conditions. Additionally, the hydrophobic-thiol-functionalized anodic aluminum oxide is found to be a candidate for the oil/water separation with a separation efficiency of ∼99.2%. This surface modifier provides practical insights into the further design of functional materials.

Spherical core–shell structures have been widely investigated in recent years, and they can be used for various applications, such as drug delivery, biological labeling, and batteries. Although many methods have been developed to prepare core–shell structures, it is still a great challenge to fabricate core–shell structures in the nanoscale with well-controlled morphologies and sizes. In this work, we present a simple method to fabricate core–shell polymer nanospheres consisting of polystyrene (PS) cores and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) shells. The nanostructures are prepared by a solution-based template wetting method. After the nanopores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates are wetted sequentially by PS/PMMA blend solutions and water, the core–shell nanostructures can be formed. The formation process is related to the Rayleigh-instability-type transformation. Selective removal techniques are also used to confirm the morphologies of the core–shell nanostructures.

The Michael addition reaction is a spontaneous and quick chemical reaction that is widely applied in various fields. This reaction is performed by conjugating an addition of nucleophiles with α, β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, resulting in the bond formation of C-N, C-S, C-O, and so on. In the development of molecular materials, the Michael addition is not only used to synthesize chemical compounds but is also involved in the mechanism of drug action. Several covalent drugs that bond via Michael addition are regarded as anticarcinogens and anti-inflammatory drugs. Although drug development is mainly focused on pharmaceutical drug discovery, target-based discovery can provide a different perspective for drug usage. However, considerable time and labor are required to define a molecular target through molecular biological experiments. In this review, we systematically examine the chemical structures of current FDA-approved antiviral drugs for potential Michael addition moieties with α, β-unsaturated carbonyl groups, which may exert an unidentified broad-spectrum inhibitory mechanism to target viral or host factors. We thus propose that profiling the targets of antiviral agents, such as Michael addition products, can be achieved by employing a high-throughput LC-MS approach to comprehensively analyze the interaction between drugs and targets, and the subsequent drug responses in the cellular environment to facilitate drug repurposing and/or identify potential adverse effects, with a particular emphasis on the pros and cons of this shotgun proteomic approach.

The degradation of triclosan (TCS) by MnFe2O4/PMS was investigated. The system was able to remove TCS in less than 20 min. Recycled MnFe2O4 was found to be more efficient than fresh MnFe2O4 for TCS...

In recent years, the primary greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) has caused a series of severe issues, such as global warming, climate change, etc. Therefore, CCU, CCS and CCUS technologies have been employed to reduce CO₂ emissions. Through our developed "chemical vapor deposition integrated process (CVD-IP)" using carbon dioxide as the carbon source, CO₂ could be catalytically activated and converted to high-value carbon nanotubes. In this work, methane and carbon dioxide has been applied to synthesize CNTs respectively to compare the difference between conventional CH4 CVD and CO₂ CVD-IP technology using Ni-Mo bimetallic catalysts. In the conventional CH4 CVD technology, the carbon productivity and the thermal stability of CNTs could be improved by changing the Mo content of the catalyst, the better catalytic performance 4% Mo catalyst is selected as model catalyst to apply to CO₂ CVD-IP technology. Moreover, when the weak oxidant CO₂ is the only carbon source in the CVD-IP technology, the carbon yield is 22% and the carbon productivity is 1.98 g/gcat. TG curves and Raman spectroscopy display that the CNTs with better thermal stability and higher degree of graphitization are achieved. TEM confirms that the fewer wall numbers and defects of CNTs are obtained. These characterizations suggest that the high quality CNTs could be achieved by CO₂ CVD-IP technology.

A DFT investigation was performed to evaluate the structure, electronic properties of the doped graphene, and the adsorption behavior of C₂H₂ and H₂ on the graphene sheet. Two kinds of doping scenarios are considered, namely dopants into pristine graphene and vacancy graphene. It is observed that the doping energy is negative for dopant (N, P, S) into vacancy graphene at pyridinictype site, yet it is positive at graphitic-type site for pristine graphene. It could be inferred that the introducing process is exothermic reaction for defective graphene. Meanwhile, for the adsorption of C₂H₂ on the surface of defective graphene, we notice that C₂H₂ would prefer to be adsorbed at the top site of the doping atom and the adsorption energy increases with the introducing of dopants, indicating that the dopant would enhance the interaction between C₂H₂ and graphene. Regarding hydrogen molecule, the dopant has less promotion effect on the adsorption. Moreover, the graphene plays a role of electron donor while the gas molecule (C₂H₂/H₂) is the electron acceptor when it is adsorbed. For the co-adsorption, the C₂H₂ is privileged to interact with the graphene and the pre-adsorbed C₂H₂ on doped graphene would weaken the opportunity of the uptake of H₂ molecule. We anticipate that our results would provide information to design the optimized catalysts.

Emerging and resurging mosquito-borne flaviviruses are an important public health challenge. The increased prevalence of dengue virus (DENV) infection has had a significant socioeconomic impact on epidemic countries. The recent outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) has created an international public health emergency because ZIKV infection has been linked to congenital defects and Guillain-Barre syndrome. To develop potentially prophylactic antiviral drugs for combating these acute infectious diseases, we have targeted the host calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) for inhibition. By using CaMKII structure-guided inhibitor design, we generated four families of benzenesulfonamide (BSA) derivatives for SAR analysis. Among these substances, N-(4-cycloheptyl-4-oxobutyl)-4-methoxy-N-phenylbenzenesulfonamide (9) showed superior properties as a lead CaMKII inhibitor and antiviral agent. BSA 9 inhibited CaMKII activity with an IC50 value of 0.79 μM and displayed EC50 values of 1.52 μM and 1.91 μM against DENV and ZIKV infections of human neuronal BE(2)C cells, respectively. Notably, 9 significantly reduced the viremia level and increased animal survival time in mouse-challenge models.

Mesoporous CeMnOx composite oxides catalysts were prepared by surfactant-assisted co-precipitation method and used for the catalytic oxidation of toluene. The effect of different cerium precursors [Ce(NO3)3 and (NH4)2Ce(NO3)6] on catalyst structure, surface properties and toluene combustion activities of mesoporous CeMnOx catalysts were investigated. The Ce(III)MnOx catalyst prepared from Ce(NO3)3 precursor shows higher catalytic activity, with a 90% conversion temperature of 240 °C, which is better than the Ce(IV)MnOx catalyst derived from (NH4)2Ce(NO3)6] precursor. On the basis of characterizations, it reveals that abundant surface content of Mn4+, better redox behavior and larger concentration of surface active oxygen species are responsible for the excellent catalytic performance.

Rationally designing efficient, low-cost and stable catalysts toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of significant importance to the development of renewable energy technologies. In this work, we have systematically investigated a series of potentially efficient and stable single late transition metal atom doped phthalocyanines (TM@Pcs, TM = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ir and Pt) as single-atom catalysts (SACs) for applications toward the OER and ORR through a computational screening approach. Our calculations indicate that TM atoms can tightly bind with Pc monolayers with high diffusion energy barriers to prevent the isolated atoms from clustering. The interaction strength between intermediates and TM@Pc governs the catalytic activities for the OER and ORR. Among all the considered TM@Pc catalysts, Ir@Pc and Rh@Pc were found to be efficient OER electrocatalysts with overpotentials ηOER of 0.41 and 0.44 V, respectively, and for the ORR, Rh@Pc exhibits the lowest overpotential ηORR of 0.44 V followed by Ir@Pc (0.55 V), suggesting that Rh@Pc is an efficient bifunctional catalyst for both the OER and ORR. Moreover, it is worth noting that the Rh@Pc catalyst can remain stable against dissolution under the pH = 0 condition. Ab initio molecular dynamic calculations suggest that Rh@Pc could remain stable at 300 K. Our findings highlight a novel family of two-dimensional (2D) materials as efficient and stable SACs and offer a new strategy for catalyst design.