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The B-box (BBX) protein, which is a zinc-finger protein containing one or two B-box domains, plays a crucial role in the growth and development of plants. Plant B-box genes are generally involved in morphogenesis, the growth of floral organs, and various life activities in response to stress. In this study, the sugar beet B-box genes (hereafter referred to as BvBBXs) were identified by searching the homologous sequences of the Arabidopsis thaliana B-box gene family. The gene structure, protein physicochemical properties, and phylogenetic analysis of these genes were systematically analyzed. In this study, 17 B-box gene family members were identified from the sugar beet genome. A B-box domain can be found in all sugar beet BBX proteins. BvBBXs encode 135 to 517 amino acids with a theoretical isoelectric point of 4.12 to 6.70. Chromosome localization studies revealed that BvBBXs were dispersed across nine sugar beet chromosomes except chromosomes 5 and 7. The sugar beet BBX gene family was divided into five subfamilies using phylogenetic analysis. The gene architectures of subfamily members on the same evolutionary tree branch are quite similar. Light, hormonal, and stress-related cis-acting elements can be found in the promoter region of BvBBXs. The BvBBX gene family was differently expressed in sugar beet following Cercospora leaf spot infection, according to RT-qPCR data. It is shown that the BvBBX gene family may influence how the plant reacts to a pathogen infection.

Aiming to solve the poor response of titanium dioxide (TiO2) in the microwave frequency, versatile series of N-doped carbon (NC) components are employed to improve the conductivity and polarization...

Three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical structures have been widely employed to enhance the microwave absorption performance due to their large surface area, satisfied impedance matching and polymorphic morphology. However, to achieve multiphase and multifunctional performance only within a primary unit remains a tremendous challenge. Herein, special carbon-based C/MoO2/Co3O4 nanosheets were assembled into a flower-like hierarchical architecture by a facile coordination-polymerization method. Abundant Co3O4 magnetic nanoparticles were anchored onto carbon nanoflake substrates, leading to both enhanced polarization and enhanced magnetic coupling. Meanwhile, a large number of heterogeneous junction interfaces among MoO2 nanoparticles and carbon substrates enhanced the interface polarization. Therefore, the C/MoO2/Co3O4 microflower achieved a minimum reflection loss of −59.7 dB at 17.7 GHz with a thickness of only 1.2 mm, indicative of its great potential as a lightweight microwave absorption material.

The large-scale preparation of a homogeneous multi-dimensional assembly for microwave absorbers is still believed to be a huge challenge. Herein, a novel class of Fe2O3/CNTCM@CN hybrids featuring a three-dimensional (3D) hollow structure (d < 6.88 μm) was successfully fabricated by a facile spray-drying process, followed by an annealing treatment. Magnetic-dielectric composite microspheres were obtained by forcibly assembling 0D γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles, 1D carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and 2D N-doped carbon layers. Due to the unique design of its interface structure and abundant electron conduction paths, Fe2O3/CNTCM@CN-2 exhibited excellent microwave absorption (MA) performance. Impressively, the MA value was enhanced to −51.5 dB for Fe2O3/CNTCM@CN-2 with a thickness of only 2 mm, and the efficient absorption bandwidth (

Ruthenium (Ru) has recently emerged as a promising alternative to Pt for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, it remains a great challenge to design highly active and durable Ru-based electrocatalysts, and the intrinsic electrocatalytic mechanism is rarely studied in detail. Here a facile one-step pyrolysis strategy is reported to synthesize ultrafine Ru nanocrystals uniformly dispersed on N-doped carbon (Ru/NC) as electrocatalysts for the alkaline HER. The Ru/NC electrocatalysts exhibit a small overpotential of 17 mV at a current density of −10 mA cm−2 and a low Tafel slope of 32 mV dec−1 as well as excellent durability in 1 M KOH, outperforming commercial Pt/C. Density functional theory calculations indicate that a decreased H2O dissociation energy barrier and optimal Gibbs free energy for hydrogen adsorption can be achieved. Importantly, an off-axis electron holography is utilized for the first time to visualize electrostatic potential and charge distribution at the interfaces in Ru/NC, which may promote the charge transfer and facilitate hydrogen adsorption/desorption kinetics, resulting in superior HER performance. This work not only offers a simple and effective method for the synthesis of Ru-based HER electrocatalysts, but also provides indepth insights into the underlying mechanism toward the alkaline HER.

Aiming to solve the poor response of titanium dioxide (TiO

Polymer-derived carbon nitrides based photocatalysts are very promising for solar water splitting, CO2 reduction and environmental remediation. However, these photocatalysts still suffer from low visible light utilization efficiency, rapid recombination of photogenerated charge carriers and slow transfer kinetics. Herein, we report a hydrogen peroxide-assisted hydrothermal strategy to synthesize one-dimensional oxygen-doped carbon nitrides (OCN) for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. A possible self-assembly mechanism is discussed. Experimental results and theoretical calculations indicate that the as-synthesized one-dimensional OCN possess narrowed band gap energy and optimized band structure, which may allow more effective visible-light harvesting and facilitate photogenerated electron–hole pair separation and transfer. As a result, the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rates improve from 10.4 μmol h−1 to 74.0 μmol h−1 under visible light (λ > 400 nm), which is among the best of the reported CN-based photocatalysts for visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution. This study provides a new avenue toward the development of highly efficient carbon nitrides based photocatalysts for photocatalytic applications.