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Hybrid nanoparticles with cell membrane and amphiphilic peptide was developed for gene delivery into the lungs of acute lung injury animal models.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is an inflammatory disease of the lungs. Curcumin (Cur) shows protective effects in ALI animal models. However, Cur is a hydrophobic drug and its administration into the lungs is inefficient due to its low bioavailability. In this study, glycyrrhizic acid (GA) micelles were produced and evaluated as a carrier of Cur for treatment of ALI. Cur-loaded GA (GA-Cur) nanoparticles were produced using an oil-in-water emulsion/solvent evaporation method. The size and surface charge of the GA-Cur nanoparticles were 159 nm and -23 mV, respectively. In lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW264.7 cells, the GA-Cur nanoparticles decreased the pro-inflammatory cytokine levels more efficiently than GA, Cur, or a simple mixture of GA and Cur (GA + Cur). This suggests that the GA-Cur nanoparticles improved the therapeutic efficiency by enhanced delivery of GA and Cur. GA-Cur inhibited the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-κb and induced endogenous heme oxygenase-1 more efficiently than the other treatments. Furthermore, an

The effect of local atomic arrangement of CuZn alloys was demonstrated on enhanced ethanol selectivity from CO2RR and supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

OER characteristics of K-doped NiCo2O4 catalyst and K doping control through simple hydrothermal synthesis.

The glycerol electro-oxidation reaction (GEOR) can economically convert glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel production, to glycolic acid. Herein, nanostructured Au catalysts were fabricated on a Si ...

Electrochemical reduction of CO2 on copper-based catalysts has become a promising strategy to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and gain valuable chemicals and fuels. Unfortunately, however, the generally low product selectivity of the process decreases the industrial competitiveness compared to the established large-scale chemical processes. Here, we present random solid solution Cu1-xNix alloy catalysts that, due to their full miscibility, enable a systematic modulation of adsorption energies. In particular, we find that these catalysts lead to an increase of hydrogen evolution with the Ni content, which correlates with a significant increase of the selectivity for methane formation relative to C2 products such as ethylene and ethanol. From experimental and theoretical insights, we find the increased hydrogen atom coverage to facilitate Langmuir-Hinshelwood-like hydrogenation of surface intermediates, giving an impressive almost 2 orders of magnitude increase in the CH4 to C2H4 + C2H5OH selectivity on Cu0.87Ni0.13 at -300 mA cm-2. This study provides important insights and design concepts for the tunability of product selectivity for electrochemical CO2 reduction that will help to pave the way toward industrially competitive electrocatalyst materials.

Ceria (CeO

The direct utilization of CO2 from flue gas bypasses the need for costly carbon capture and purification processes and thus presents a potentially more economical approach to create chemical feedst...

There is ongoing debate about flood risk discounts regarding property values. While some researchers claim that housing prices reflect flood risk, a growing body of literature has shown that flood ...

Partially positive-charged copper (Cuδ+) is known to boost the formation of highly valued multicarbon C2+ products during the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). In this work, we doped ...

Cu-based p-type semiconducting oxides have been sought for water-reduction photocathodes to enhance the energy-conversion efficiency in photoelectrochemical cells. CuBi2O4 has recently attracted no...

A Ni single-atom catalyst with Ni–N4–xCx active sites is prepared in a single pyrolysis step in which the Ni single atom is incorporated in the carbon framework through nitrogen and carbon coordina...

Summary Flow electrolyzers based on gas-diffusion electrodes (GDEs) have been increasingly employed to advance toward industry-relevant electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) performance, though fundamental understanding of the GDE system is still lacking. Here, we propose that regulating local CO2 concentration on copper (Cu) surfaces is an effective and general strategy to promote C−C coupling in CO2RR. Local CO2 concentration could influence the surface coverage of ∗CO2, ∗H, and ∗CO, which affects the reaction pathways toward multi-carbon (C2+) products. Guided by mass-transport modeling, we have identified three approaches to modulate the local CO2 concentration in GDE-based electrolyzers: (1) catalyst layer structure, (2) feed CO2 concentration, and (3) feed flow rate. Utilizing Cu2O nanoparticles as the model catalysts, modulation of local CO2 concentration enabled an optimized faradaic efficiency toward C2+ products of up to 75.5% at 300 mA cm−2 and C2+ partial current density of up to 342 mA cm−2 in 1.0 M KHCO3.

Here we report the miscibility gap of CuSb1-xBixS2 (CABS), a promising photo energy conversion material for band gap engineered solar cells, and evaluate its applicability via a combination of theoretical predictions and experimental verifications. Our ab initio calculations and thermodynamic modeling revealed that the CABS random alloy system has optimal band gap values in the range of 1.1–1.5 eV when synthesized at room temperature. The CABS system, synthesized by mechanochemical methods, exhibited optical band gap values in very good agreement with theoretical predictions, as well as lowered kinetic energy barriers for enhanced nucleation.

Hollow/porous structured SnO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by simple oxidation of dense metal chalcogenide precursors via nanoscale Kirkendall diffusion effect. First, tin chalcogenide (SnS, SnSe) nanoparticles were synthesized by mechanochemical method, which is considered a facile, scalable, and eco-friendly process. Hollow/porous-walled SnO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by simple oxidation of the prepared Sn chalcogenide precursors, for which the transformation mechanism was verified in detail. Nanoscale Kirkendall diffusion process was thoroughly investigated by morphological, crystallographic, and elemental analyses performed at various oxidation temperatures and times. To examine the morphological effect of hollow/porous-walled SnO2 nanoparticles on the electrochemical performance, the synthesized nanoparticles were applied as anode material in a lithium-ion battery. Anode material showed highly improved electrochemical properties compared to its dense counterpart, with 83% capacity retention from the second cycle at the 400th cycle and capacity of 302 mA h g−1 at a high current density of 30 A g−1.

Electrocatalysts for CO2 electroreduction require not only high-performance active materials to control the series reaction but also conductive and durable supports to ensure long-term stability under harsh operating conditions. Instead of conventional heterogeneous catalysts made by attaching metal on supports, we manufactured a self-formed tandem catalyst designed for a cascade electroreduction of CO2 to C2H4. Using oxygen partial pressure-controlled calcination, electrospun copper acetate/polyacrylonitrile nanofibers were successfully transformed into porous carbon nanofibers consisting of doped N and metallic Cu particles. Doped nitrogen atoms adjacent to Cu atoms trigger the reaction by increasing the amount of CO* on the Cu surfaces, which lowers the energy required for CO dimerization that is used for C2H4 production. The Cu-embedded N-doped carbon nanofibers exhibit a C2H4 faradaic efficiency of 62% at a potential of −0.57 V vs. RHE with high current density of 600 mA cm−2 and excellent long-term stability. DFT calculations suggest that the lowered overpotential originates from the decreased CO dimerization energy barrier due to the doped N triggering CO production around the Cu particles.