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Deposition-precipitation (DP) method is commonly used to prepare the supported metal catalysts. In this study, the modification effect of the mild DP method on the photocatalytic performance of TiO2 was investigated. The TiO2 samples with DP treatment, as well as Au/TiO2 prepared under the same conditions, showed enhanced photocatalytic performance of the degradation of methylene blue (MB). · OH generated by photoexcited holes is identified as the main intermediate reactive species during the degradation reaction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) show that TiO2(A)-17 after DP treatment has the most amount of surface OH ad − species. The presence of surface OH ad − species not only changes the surface zeta potential, favoring the attraction of cationic MB; but also depresses the electron-hole recombination, favoring photodegradation of MB by hole-produced • OH. An implication of these findings is that the modification of support properties should be taken into account while preparing supported metal catalysts using DP methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond the high theoretical capacity, conversion‐alloying metal chalcogenides (CAMCs) exhibit exceptional high‐rate performance as Li‐ion battery electrodes. However, the inherent origin of the high‐rate performance remains elusive, especially given the lower intrinsic conductivity of CAMCs. Here, the correlation between phase evolution and charge transport dynamics in fully activated CAMCs is systematically investigated, elucidating a current‐adaptive Li‐ion storage mechanism to explain the anomalous high‐rate performance. Briefly, the deconversion reaction manipulated by ion diffusion acts as a “regulator” to adaptively modulate the transition from metal (high electronic conductivity) and lithium chalcogenides (high ionic conductivity) to CAMCs, thus removing the charge transport bottleneck without affecting the formation of the metal feedstock required for the alloying reaction. On this basis, the high capacity can be maintained at high rates through a “fading‐free” alloying reaction. This study offers a novel perspective for the design of high‐rate electrode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drip fertigation (DF) is a widely used technology to increase grain yield with water and fertilizer conservation. However, the mechanism of high grain yield (GY) under DF is still unclear. Here, a four-year field experiment assessed the impacts of four treatments (i.e., conventional irrigation and nitrogen application, CK; drip irrigation with conventional nitrogen fertilization, DI; split-nitrogen fertigation with conventional irrigation, SF; and drip fertigation, DF) on maize phenology, leaf photosynthetic rates, grain filling processes, plant biomass, and GY. The results showed that DF significantly increased maize GY by affecting phenology, grain filling traits, aboveground biomass (BIO) accumulation, and translocation. Specifically, DF significantly increased leaf chlorophyll content, which enhanced leaf photosynthetic rates, and together with an increase of leaf area index, promoted BIO accumulation. As a result, the BIO at the silking stage of DF increased by 29.5%, transported biomass increased by 109.2% (1.2 t ha−1), and the accumulation of BIO after silking increased by 23.1% (1.7 t ha−1) compared with CK. Meanwhile, DF prolonged grain filling days, significantly increased the grain weight of 100 kernels, and promoted GY increase. Compared with CK, the four-year averaged GY and BIO increased by 34.3% and 26.8% under DF; a 29.7%, 46.1%, and 24.2% GY increase and a 30.7%, 39.5%, and 29.9% BIO increase were contributed by irrigation, nitrogen, and coupling effects of irrigation and nitrogen, respectively. These results reveal the high yield mechanism of drip-fertigated maize, and are of important significance for promoting the application of drip fertigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing perception of and concern about the rising cost burden of out-of-school education on families in China, few studies to date have comprehensively examined how family investment in out-of-school education has changed over time. Capitalizing on longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) for 2010–2018, this study analyzes the trend in family investment in children's out-of-school education (measured by children's rates of participation and families' absolute and relative monetary expenditure) during that period. We also examine how this trend differs by family socioeconomic status (SES) and by children's level of schooling (preschool, primary school, junior high school). Our results show a large and growing number of families invest in out-of-school education in their children's preschool years, with a significant SES gradient. Furthermore, family investment in out-of-school education has increased significantly between 2010 and 2018, with SES disparities in investment persisting and even widening during the same period. These findings carry important implications for understanding educational inequality in contemporary China as well as for policy making to promote educational equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]