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Developing highly efficient and stable non-precious metal catalysts for water splitting is urgently required. In this work, we report a facile one-step molten salt method for the preparation of self-supporting Ni-doped Mo2C on carbon fiber paper (Ni-Mo2CCB/CFP) for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The effects of nickel nitrate concentration on the phase composition, morphology, and electrocatalytic HER performance of Ni-doped Mo2C@CFP electrocatalysts was investigated. With the continuous increase of Ni(NO3)2 concentration, the morphology of Mo2C gradually changes from granular to flower-like, providing larger specific surface area and more active sites. Doping nickel (Ni) into the crystal lattice of Mo2C largely reduces the impedance of the electrocatalysts and enhances their electrocatalytic activity. The as-developed Mo2C-3 M Ni(NO3)2/CFP electrocatalyst exhibits high catalytic activity with a small overpotential of 56 mV at a current density of 10 mA·cm−2. This catalyst has a fast HER kinetics, as demonstrated by a very small Tafel slope of 27.4 mV·dec−1, and persistent long-term stability. A further higher Ni concentration had an adverse effect on the electrocatalytic performance. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further verified the experimental results. Ni doping could reduce the binding energy of Mo-H, facilitating the desorption of the adsorbed hydrogen (Hads) on the surface, thereby improving the intrinsic catalytic activity of Ni-doped Mo2C-based catalysts. Nevertheless, excessive Ni doping would inhibit the catalytic activity of the electrocatalysts. This work not only provides a simple strategy for the facile preparation of non-precious metal electrocatalysts with high catalytic activity, but also unveils the influence mechanism of the Ni doping concentration on the HER performance of the electrocatalysts from the theoretical perspective.

The hydrophilic Cu2O/PDA/P25 composite photocathode has outstanding PEC water reduction performance.

Semiconductor-based photocatalysis represents a promising technology for removing antibiotic given its cost effectiveness and environmental compatibility. However, finding suitable photocatalysts and semiconductors for practical applications can be challenging. This work aims to investigate the photocatalytic performance of as-synthesized photocatalysts under broad-spectrum from visible (Vis) to near-infrared (NIR) sunlight. In this work, a step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction photocatalyst, i.e., CuS/S–C3N4, was prepared, employing a single-step hydrothermal route. The synthesized photocatalyst showed excellent crystallinity and high purity content. The CuS loading provided a better NIR light response-ability and improved photocatalytic activity for CuS/S–C3N4. The 2 wt% CuS/S–C3N4 produced the highest tetracycline (TC) photodegradation rate, up to about 95% efficiency under Vis + NIR light irradiation. The result also showed that the 2 wt% CuS/S–C3N4 sample had a first-order kinetic constant (k) that was 6.2-fold higher than the pure S–C3N4 sample under Vis + NIR light irradiation. However, too much CuS content led to the presence of inactive sites on S–C3N4, which hampered the light absorption ability, thus leading to inadequate photocatalytic activity. In addition, the 2 wt% CuS/S–C3N4 sample also showed high photocatalytic stability and insignificant change of the composite structure before and after the experiments. In short, we can enhance the CuS/S–C3N4 photocatalytic activity by increasing the light response range and the separation efficiency of light-induced electrons and holes. Consequently, we have developed a novel strategy and experimental basis for S-scheme heterojunction to be fully utilized under broad-spectrum sunlight.

The bZIP transcription factor ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE5 (ABI5) is a master regulator determining seed germination and postgerminative growth in response to abscisic acid (ABA), but the detailed molecular mechanism underlying the repression function of ABI5 in plant growth remains to be characterized. In this study, we used proximity labeling (PL) to map the neighboring proteome of ABI5 and identified FCS-LIKE ZINC FINGER PROTEIN 13 (FLZ13) as an up-to-now unknown ABI5-interacting partner. Phenotypic analysis offlz13mutants andFLZ13-overexpressing lines demonstrated that FLZ13 acts as a positive regulator of ABA signaling. Interestingly, transcriptomic analysis showed that ABI5 and FLZ13 co-downregulate the expression of ABA-repressed and growth-related genes involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis, photosynthesis and cell wall organization, thereby repressing seed germination and seedling establishment in response to ABA. Further genetic analysis proved that FLZ13 works synergistically with ABI5 to regulate seed germination. Collectively, our study reveals a previously uncharacterized transcriptional regulatory mechanism regarding ABA-inhibited seed germination and seedling establishment.

Semiconductor-metal heterostructure, especially represented by various inorganic semiconductors-platinum (Pt) hybrids, is widely applied in converting solar power to chemical energy. Given the scarcity of Pt and the availability of coupling, the development of a non-Pt regimen and facile assembly strategy is critical. In this study, CdxZn1-xS/Ti3C2 ultrathin MXene composites were availably prepared with a facile electrostatic assembly strategy. The unique 0D/2D assembly demonstrated remarkably enhanced performance toward photocatalytic hydrogen production compared with bare CdxZn1-xS. Spectroscopic characterization analysis and band theory discussion substantiated the effects of electronic interaction and the Schottky barrier arising from intimate contact of CdxZn1-xS and Ti3C2 MXene on the swift separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs. Successful application of electrostatic self-assembled CdxZn1-xS with ultrathin MXene opens a new area of utilizing electrical difference and band theory to prepare rational semiconductor/MXene Schottky structure towards various photocatalytic reactions.

N-containing Ce2Si2.5Al0.5O3.5N3.5 (CeSiAlON) melilite was synthesized at 1550 and 1600 °C for 5 h from CeO2, Si, Al, and Al2O3 in nitrogen by using Y2O3 and transition-metal nitrates (Co(NO3)2∙6H2O and Ni(NO3)2∙6H2O) as additives. The effects of Y2O3 and transition-metal nitrates on the phase, microstructures and photoluminescence properties of CeSiAlON melilite were studied. The incorporation of Y2O3 can promote the reaction of raw materials to a low degree, and results in a unit cell shrinkage of CeSiAlON due to the smaller radius of Y atom than that of Ce atom. The transition-metal nitrates can accelerate the reaction clearly and facilitate the formation of CeSiAlON fibers. The photoluminescence (PL) properties of CeSiAlON melilite presents a board violet emission band because of the 5d-4f transitions of Ce3+, and the additives can enhance the PL emission intensities of specimen significantly.

To rapidly design nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) electrocatalysts with superior activity and selectivity is a great challenge. Herein, we propose a simple mixture strategy including three screening steps and a descriptor to predict NRR electrocatalysts with outstanding activity and selectivity based on density functional theory (DFT). Twenty-eight candidate transition-metal dimers anchored on nitrogen-doped graphene were systematically investigated through our mixture strategy. The results show that VRu-NC exhibits a high NRR activity and suppression of the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) following the mixed mechanism with a favorable limiting potential (

This study investigates how venture capital firms (VCs) choose syndication partners. Exponential random graph models of Chinese VC syndication networks from 2006 to 2013 show that the homophily mechanism does not always determine VCs’ partner selection. In selecting partners, VCs have to strike a balance between reducing uncertainty and mobilizing heterogeneous resources. Therefore, decisions about partners depend on institutional uncertainty and VCs’ investment preferences. While VCs that focus on traditional business in an immature market are more likely to form homogeneous syndications, their peers that prefer to invest in innovative companies and that can rely on a stable market tend to syndicate with heterogeneous partners.

Developing efficient, stable and economical electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a significant pathway to produce clean energy from water splitting. Herein, the promising and highly efficient porous CoCrFeNiMo high entropy alloys (HEAs) were prepared by microwave sintering using Mg space holder. Owing to unique properties of high entropy alloys and abundant active surface area, the porous CoCrFeNiMo-20 Mg exhibits excellent catalytic performance and prominent electrochemical stability with a low overpotential of 220 mV to reach current density of 10 mA cm−2, a small Tafel slope of 59.0 mV dec-1 and long-term durability for 24 h in 1.0 M KOH. The results of microstructure and element states indicate that crystal defects, porous structure and villous hydroxides are the reasons for high OER performance of the CoCrFeNiMo. This work not only provides a new way to prepare electrocatalysts, but also proves the important application of high entropy alloys in functional materials.

Iron carbide (Fe3C) has gained significant attention for use in energy storage applications. Furthermore, using a nano-scale metal as the catalyst can reduce the formation of a solid electrolyte interface (SEI), thus enhancing capacity. For these reasons, hierarchical Fe/Fe3C/C nanofibers are prepared by electrospinning with subsequent thermal treatment and used as the anodes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). These anodes demonstrate a good rate and high capacities. At 0.1 A g−1, the Fe/Fe3C/C nanofiber electrode maintains 518 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles. When tested at 1 A g−1, the discharge capacity gradually increases and reaches 663 mA h g−1 after 1200 cycles. This work demonstrates the possibility to design and develop transition metal carbides (TMCs) for use in energy storage.

In this work, different carbon sources, such as nano-sized carbon black (CB), carbon nanotubes (CNT), carbon fibers (CF) and graphene (GR), were reacted with titanium micro-powders, to synthesise titanium carbide (TiC) in the mixed molten salts of LiCl–KCl–KF at 1100 °C for 6 h. There experiments were performed to investigate the accuracy of “carbon-template-growth” mechanism for the formation of TiC, that was proposed previously using micro-sized titanium and submicro-sized CB powders. The products synthesised from the different carbon sources were observed and characterised by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results showed that the visual morphologies of the TiC products mainly retained the shapes of the as-received carbon sources, that is, they presented an equiaxed-shape with a grain size of 10–20 nm from CB, a shell layer along the outer surface of the CNTs and CF, and a flake-shape with the GR. These morphologies reveal that the formation of TiC is indeed controlled by the “carbon-template-growth” mechanism.

Autophagy is a highly conserved, self-digestion process that is essential for plant adaptations to various environmental stresses. Although the core components of autophagy in plants have been well established, the molecular basis for its transcriptional regulation remains to be fully characterized. In this study, we demonstrate that SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 (SOC1), a MADS-box family transcription factor that determines flowering transition in Arabidopsis, functions as a transcriptional repressor of autophagy. EMSAs, ChIP-qPCR assays, and dual-luciferase receptor assays showed that SOC1 can bind to the promoters of ATG4b, ATG7, and ATG18c via the conserved CArG box. qRT-PCR analysis showed that the three ATG genes ATG4b, ATG7, and ATG18c were up-regulated in the soc1-2 mutant. In line with this, the mutant also displayed enhanced autophagy activity, as revealed by increased autophagosome formation and elevated autophagic flux compared with the wild type. More importantly, SOC1 negatively affected the tolerance of plants to long-term carbon starvation, and this process requires a functional autophagy pathway. Finally, we found that SOC1 was repressed upon carbon starvation at both the transcriptional and protein levels. Overall, our study not only uncovers an important transcriptional mechanism that contributes to the regulation of plant autophagy in response to nutrient starvation, but also highlights novel cellular functions of the flowering integrator SOC1.

The effective separation of photogenerated carriers plays a vital role in photocatalytic reactions. In addition to the intrinsic driving force of photocatalysis, an external field generating an enh...

SiO2-based anodes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) suffer from low conductivity and volume change in charge/discharge processes. It is reported that reasonable amorphous and nanometric characteristics can effectively improve the activity of SiO2 for Li+ storage. So, highly active SiO2@C nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning. Using X-ray diffraction (XRD), its amorphous characteristics were revealed. The results from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that it was a nanofiber structure. As an anode for LIBs, the SiO2@C nanofibrous electrode showed the discharge capacities of 675 and 188 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 (1000the cycle) and 10 A g−1 (5000th cycle), respectively. Even at 50 A g−1, it still maintained 88 mA h g−1 at 60,000 cycles, showing excellent stability and high rate.

Fabricating surface oxygen vacancies is considered to be an efficient method to improve the adsorption performance of sorbents. In this work, a bismuth oxychloride/biochar (BiOCl/BC) nanocomposite with abundant oxygen vacancies was successfully prepared by a facile ball milling method. BiOCl/BC nanocomposite was found to have excellent adsorption performance for removing reactive red-120 (RR120) from aqueous solution. The effects of key adsorption parameters, such as RR120 dye concentration, solution pH (2–10), and contact time were studied by batch adsorption test. The adsorption data were well described by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The 50%-BiOCl/BC (50 wt% of BiOCl in composite) exhibited the best adsorptive performance (60%), much better than the pristine BM-BC (20%). The high adsorption capacity of 50%-BiOCl/BC (Langmuir maximum capacity of 116.382 mg g−1) can be attributed to the electrostatic effect, π–π interactions, and hydrogen bond. This work provided a facile method to prepare semiconductor assisted biochar-based adsorbents, which would also contribute to the advance of environmental remediation. Graphical abstract

Universities in China have increased their entrepreneurship significantly, yet a good understanding of the specific characteristics of university-based technology transfers remains missing. This study focuses on a special type of university spinoffs in China, University-Run Enterprises (UREs), and examines how URE eminence contributes to a university's technology transfer performance, using panel data covering 195 universities over the five years from 2002 to 2006. The findings reveal that URE eminence not only signifies a university's strong entrepreneurial culture, but also signals commercial values and quality of the university research. It moderates the contribution of university scientists from the supply side and that of sourcing firms from the demand side.

Sialon ceramics were prepared by the nitridation of Si, Al and Al2O3 powders with the transition metals (Fe, Co, Ni) catalysts. The phase composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of specimens were studied. Compared with the catalyst-free specimen, the addition of Fe, Co and Ni greatly promoted the nitridation process of Sialon ceramics and improved the weight gain rate and mechanical properties of specimens. With the increased content of catalysts, the apparent porosity of the products decreased first and then increased, contrary to flexural strength and compressive strength. The specimen with 2.5 wt% Fe had the highest flexural strength 145.8 MPa, and it exhibited the highest compressive strength of 594.6 MPa when Co content was 2.5 wt%, whereas they were 71.9 and 78.7 MPa, respectively, when without catalyst.

A full-spectrum (300–750 nm) responsive hybrid PDI/BiOCl photocatalyst was successfully constructed. The hybrid structure of the PDI/BiOCl photocatalyst was first examined by surface photovoltage measurements and DFT theoretical calculations. Due to the O atoms bonding to Bi atom, PDI was successfully anchored on the surface of rod-like BiOCl. Owing to the strongly coupled heterojunction interface and conjugated structure of PDI, a rapid interfacial charge transfer was allowed from PDI to BiOCl across the interface. The hybrid PDI/BiOCl photocatalyst presented the best full-spectrum photocatalytic degradation activity for organic pollutants, which was 2.2 and 1.6 times higher than that of BiOCl and PDI, respectively, for the photocatalytic degradation of phenol. The enhanced photocatalytic ability was not only due to the formation of the hybrid PDI/BiOCl composites, which could produce more active species, but also since PDI/BiOCl possessed remarkable full spectrum light-harvesting and excellent interfacial charge separation. The results of the free radical measurements showed that the main active radicals were ˙O2− and ˙OH in the full-wavelength photocatalytic oxidation degradation.