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l-Lys CDs were used to regulate the fibrillation process of human insulin. CDs would extend the lag time. CDs in low concentration would contribute to accelerating the process, but CDs in high concentration would inhibit the fibrillation process.

The conventional ferrocyanide complex ([Fe(CN)

Carbon dots (CDs) have been widely used in recent years because of their excellent water solubility and abundant surface functional groups. However, compared with quantum dots or biological probes, the quantum yield of CDs is lower, and the fluorescence mainly concentrated in the blue-green range, which significantly limits the biological applications of CDs. Heteroatoms doping is the most common method to improve the luminescence of CDs. In this work, nitrogen and sulfur co-doped luminescent CDs were successfully synthesized by microwave assisted method using glutathione (GSH) and p-phenylenediamine (PPD) as raw materials. It can emit bright green fluorescence in ethanol solution, and the maximum emission wavelength is 535 nm when excited at 374 nm, and the absolute quantum yield is as high as 63%. Iron ion (Fe

Circadian rhythm and sleep homeostasis processes regulate sleep and wakefulness in mammals, which are highly interconnected with serotonergic circuits that originate in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). Higher serotonin levels during wakefulness may exert “sleep pressure” and lead to sleep onset, but the mechanisms are unclear. Proteomics analysis indicated that mitochondria are key mediators. The present study found that an increase in mitochondrial fission and oxidative phosphorylation/electron transfer capacity were coupled with a reduction of sleep pressure in rats. When mitochondrial fission was moderately inhibited, wake-promoting and non-rapid-eye-movement sleep-enhancing effects were found to result from the activation of serotonergic function. These findings indicate that sleep homeostasis is highly integrated with the mitochondrial dynamic process in the rat DRN. Our findings support a conceptual framework by which mitochondria and energy metabolism in the rat DRN are introduced into the serotonergic modulation of sleep-wake states and provide evidence of sleep evolution from an energy-balance perspective.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is an aggressive human cancer. Appropriate methods for the diagnosis and treatment of PC have not been found at the genetic level, thus making epigenetics a promising research path in studies of PC. Histone methylation is one of the most complicated types of epigenetic modifications and has proved crucial in the development of PC. Histone methylation is a reversible process regulated by readers, writers, and erasers. Some writers and erasers can be recognized as potential biomarkers and candidate therapeutic targets in PC because of their unusual expression in PC cells compared with normal pancreatic cells. Based on the impact that writers have on the development of PC, some inhibitors of writers have been developed. However, few inhibitors of erasers have been developed and put to clinical use. Meanwhile, there is not enough research on the reader domains. Therefore, the study of erasers and readers is still a promising area. This review focuses on the regulatory mechanism of histone methylation, and the diagnosis and chemotherapy of PC based on it. The future of epigenetic modification in PC research is also discussed.

A reliable 235U enrichment uniformity detection system based on a compact D-D neutron generator is developed to detect the 235U enrichment uniformity of different fuel elements in the same nuclear fuel rod. The high-yield compact D-D neutron generator provides 2.45 MeV D-D neutrons, decelerated by a moderator to thermal neutrons or epithermal neutrons, thereby inducing 235U fission to produce highly excited state fission fragments that undergo de-excitation via γ-ray emission. The system detects the 235U enrichment uniformity of a nuclear fuel rod by measuring γ-rays and establishing a relationship between the γ-ray count rate and 235U enrichment in nuclear fuel. The proposed system yields a confidence probability of 99.99% for a relative 235U enrichment deviation of 10% and a neutron yield of 5 × 108 n/s, and the detection accuracy increases with increasing neutron yield. Furthermore, the developed system can satisfy quality control requirements for nuclear fuel production to promote the safe development of nuclear power.

Different from the established trans-endo-selective cyclization of alkyne-tethered electrophiles that involve an E/Z isomerization process, herein, the authors present a novel strategy to allow tra...

Inhibition of protein fibrillation process with nanomaterials is a promising strategy to combat neurodegenerative diseases. Copper-based nanomaterials have been seldom utilized in fibrillation inhibiting research due to Copper ions are generally considered as accelerators of fibrosis. Here, we proposed ultra-small Zn doped Cu2S (Zn:Cu2S) QDs as inhibitors of human insulin (HI) fibrosis. ThT, DLS, CD and TEM confirm that Zn:Cu2S QDs effectively inhibited insulin fibrosis in a dose-dependent manner with lag phase time extended (beyond 13-time by Zn:Cu2S QDs of 1 mg·mL−1), final fibril formation and the conversion from α-helix to β-sheet reduced. Additionally, thermodynamics analyzed results reveal that the HI fluorescence quenching process is static quenching dominated, and the Zn:Cu2S QDs inhibit HI fibrosis mainly through specific electrostatic interaction with oligomers. The positively charged amino acid residues of oligomers bind to the negatively charged Zn:Cu2S QDs, which prevents the self-assembly of the oligomers from growing into mature fibers to enhance the stability of the protein. Unlike free Copper ions, the as-prepared QDs show an excellent inhibition in HI fibrillation, breaking through the bottleneck of copper-based materials in inhibiting protein fibrosis and providing a potential strategy to inhibit protein fibrosis in-situ by biosynthesizing copper-based fibrosis inhibitors.

Near-infrared (NIR)-emitting PbS quantum dots (QDs) are endowed with good stability, high quantum yield, and long lifetime in the body, so they are promising agents in biological imaging. They quickly form the so-called "protein corona" through nonspecific adsorption with proteins in biological fluids once upon exposure to the biological system. Here, PbS QDs and human serum albumin (HSA) were selected as the model system. Fluorescence quenching spectroscopic studies indicated a static quenching process caused by the addition of PbS QDs, which was corroborated by the UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetime. Thermodynamic parameters were obtained by the fluorescence quenching method. The enthalpy change and entropy change were well correlated with the "enthalpy-entropy compensation" (EEC) equation summarized in this work. The slope (α = 1.08) and the intercept (TΔS 0 = 34.44 kJ mol-1) indicated that the interaction resembled a protein-protein association. The both negative signs of enthalpy change and entropy change were elucidated by a proposed "two-step association-interaction" (TSAI) model. Agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed that the binding ratio was roughly 2:1 (HSA/QDs), resembling sandwich-like structures. Furthermore, the secondary structure of HSA depended on the concentration of added QDs and the incubation time. The results preliminarily uncovered the physicochemical properties of QDs in the presence of proteins and elucidated the role of time evolution. These will inspire us to make the fluorescent QDs more biocompatible and use them in a proper way.

Mitophagy is a selective autophagic process that removes damaged mitochondria. PINK1-Parkin axis is primarily responsible for initiating mitophagy via feedforward mechanism, in which PINK1 phosphorylates ubiquitin and Parkin, and Parkin gains E3 ligase activity at the mitochondrial outer membrane. However, the phosphatase of pParkin is unknown, and the braking mechanism of mitophagy is incomplete. Here we report that protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) catalyzes the dephosphorylation of Parkin and ubiquitin, with Cα, Aα, and B55α, the catalytic scaffolding and regulatory subunits, respectively. Up- or down-regulation of PP2A protein level in cells by over-expression or transfection of specific siRNA decreases or increases Parkin and ubiquitin phosphorylation levels, respectively. Consequently, PP2A phosphatase activity negatively modulates mitochondrial translocation of Parkin and forestalls mitophagy. Our finding thus places PP2A, an enzyme already known for its involvement in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, further intertwined with the PINK1-Parkin signaling pathway.

Increased application of the pyrethroid insecticide deltamethrin has adverse effects on the cardiac system and neurobehavior on the non-target organisms, which has raised the public's attention. Because of spermidine and melatonin considered to have cardioprotective and neuroprotective characteristics, zebrafish were utilized as the model organism to explore the protective effects of spermidine and melatonin against deltamethrin-induced toxicity. We tested the neurobehavior of zebrafish larvae through a rest/wake behavior assay, and evaluated the levels of the expression of Scn5lab, gata4, nkx2.5, hcrt, hcrtr, and aanat2 by qRT-PCR. Besides that cmlc2 was evaluated by whole-mount in situ hybridization. Results have shown that compared with control group, 0.025 mg/L deltamethrin could significantly disturb the cardiac development, downregulating the expression of Scn5lab and transcriptional factors gata4 and nkx2.5, disturbing cardiac looping, resulting in defects in cardiac morphology and function. Moreover, deltamethrin could alter the expression levels of rest/wake genes and cause hyperactivity in zebrafish larvae. Besides, compared with deltamethrin group, the exogenous 0.01 mg/L spermidine and 0.232 mg/L melatonin could significantly rescue the adverse effects of deltamethrin on the cardiac system and neurobehavior in zebrafish. This indicated that spermidine and melatonin have neuroprotective and cardioprotective effects against deltamethrin-induced adverse effects in zebrafish.

Glutathione (GSH), the most abundant nonprotein thiol found in living organisms, are involved in the etiology and progression of many human diseases including cancer. So, monitoring changes of cellular GSH levels has an important guiding significance. To date, however, majority of probes can only qualitatively detect GSH in living cells. Herein, with coumarin as the read-out fluorophore and Michael addition as the sensing mechanism, six fluorescent probes were designed and synthesized. Among them, RP-2 exhibited a reversible and extremely fast response toward GSH (half time: ∼3 s), which endowed RP-2 the capacity of real-time imaging. Among the reversible probes based on Michael addition, RP-2 had both the largest forward and reverse rate constants thus far. The reaction between RP-2 and GSH was studied in detail by density functional theory and fluorescence spectroscopy. Real-time imaging of GSH levels in living cells was achieved with a temporal resolution of seconds. To simplify the processing of images, a program was developed and validated. RP-2 was expected to serve as a new fluorescent imaging tool to understand the function of intracellular GSH in the future.

Wood vinegar (WV) is a common agricultural additive used for treatment of soil and stimulation of plant growth. Phosphate rock powder (PR), coal fly ash (CFA), zeolite (ZE) and bentonite (BE) are the common adsorbents for heavy (loid) metals (HMLs)-contaminated soil treatment. The present study focused on the effect of desorption of Pb(II), Cd(II) and As(III) from adsorbents in the presence of WV. The experimental results revealed that the removal fractions of HMLs from adsorbents gradually decreased and then remained steady with the increase of dilution ratios of WV. Subsequently, the optimal additive concentration of WV on different adsorbents was obtained. The experiment results revealed that acetic acid was the dominating component in WV affecting adsorption capacities of adsorbents for HMLs. Moreover, the research took the first time to discover that the addition of WV effectively modified the structure of adsorbents to improve adsorption capacities for HMLs. Given the advantages of low cost and green products of WV, this study not only provided an effective guidance for rational management of agricultural and environmental safety, but paved a new path to modify the structure of adsorbents for better adsorption capacities for HMLs via addition of WV.

Neurodegenerative diseases consist of Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes which pose serious health effects. Carbon dots are widely used in the treatment of these types of diseases with their excellent biocompatibility and low toxicity. Herein, we use l- or d-cysteine to synthesize nontoxic high-oxygen carbon dots with a size around 3 nm and full of highly oxygenic functional groups. Through a ThT fluorescence assay, far-UV CD spectroscopy, and TEM, we find that carbon dots (CDs) can inhibit the nucleation process and elongate the lag phase by a large degree, and the higher-oxygen content one (d-CDs) exhibits a more significant inhibitory effect. When the dose of d-CDs reached 0.5 mg mL

The impact of depression is well described in the literature, and it is most prominent in patients who have trialed multiple treatments. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is particularly debilitating, and it is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Despite this, there seems to be therapeutic inertia in adopting novel therapies in current practice. Ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist and anesthetic agent which has recently been shown to be effective in the management of TRD when administered intravenously or intranasally. The treatments, however, are not easily accessible due to restrictions in prescribing and dispensing, high costs, and the slow uptake of evidence-based practice involving ketamine within the Canadian healthcare system. Given the limited treatment options for TRD, novel approaches should be considered and adopted into practice, and facilitated by a multi-disciplinary approach. Pharmacists play a critical role in ensuring access to quality care. This includes dissemination of evidence supporting pharmacological treatments and facilitating translation into current practice. Pharmacists are uniquely positioned to collaborate with prescribers and assess novel treatment options, such as ketamine, address modifiable barriers to treatment, and triage access to medications during transitions of care. Extending the reach of these novel psychiatric treatments in both tertiary and primary care settings creates an emerging role for pharmacists in the collaborative effort to better manage treatment-resistant depression.

In this work, the effect of (NH4)2CO3 additive on the combustion behavior and NOx emission properties during the combustion process of semi-coke was investigated. The combustion characteristics of ...

In present study, the poisoning mechanism of Cl on V/TiO2 catalyst for SCR removal of NOx using NH3 as the reductant was explored by in situ DRIFT technique. The experimental results revealed that the existence of Cl did not change the SCR reaction mechanism over V/TiO2 catalyst, which was mainly under the control of both E-R and L-H mechanisms. The deactivation of V/TiO2 catalyst by Cl was mainly resulted from the inhibited adsorption of NH3 and NOx species, accompanied by the decrease of the reactivity of adsorbed NH3 species.

The effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and pH on the biooxidation of ferrous iron during simulated acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment was investigated. The simulated AMD was highly acidic (pH 2.5), rich in iron (about 1700 mg/L) and copper (about 200 mg/L), and contained high concentrations of sulfate (about 4700 mg/L). The biooxidation of ferrous iron was studied in a laboratory-scale upflow packed bed bioreactor (PBR). The HRT was shortened stepwise from 40 h to 20 h, 13 h, and 8 h under the acidic environment at a pH value of 2.2. Then, the influent pH value was changed from 2.2 to 1.2 at a constant suitable HRT. Physiochemical and microbial community structure analyses were performed on water samples and stuffing collected from the bioreactor under different conditions. The results indicate that the efficiency of ferrous iron oxidation gradually decreased with the decrease of HRT, and when the HRT exceeded 13 h, ferrous iron in AMD was almost completely oxidized. In addition, the best efficiency of ferrous iron oxidation was achieved at the influent pH value of 1.8. Microbial community structure analyses show that Leptospirillum is the predominant genus attached in the bioreactor, and low influent pH values are suitable for the growth of Leptospirillum. Keywords: Acid mine drainage, Iron-oxidizing bacteria, Biooxidation of ferrous iron, Hydraulic retention time, Influent pH, Microbial community analyses

A sequence of Cr-modified CeZr2Ox catalysts were synthesized through the co-precipitation way and applied in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with ammonia. The optimal catalyst (Cr1CeZr2Ox) exhibited the excellent NH3-SCR activity and high SO2 resistance. From the characterization results, Cr species in Cr1CeZr2Ox could suppress the formation of ZrO2 crystals, which could also contribute to stronger surface acidity and reducibility. Besides, more Ce3+ and surface adsorbed oxygen species were observed on Cr1CeZr2Ox catalyst. On the basis of in situ DRIFT experiments, it could be confirmed that the NH3-SCR process on Cr1CeZr2Ox was promoted through Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) mechanism. Besides, the improved NO oxidation and more ad-NOx and ad-NH3 also played a vital role for the superior low-temperature SCR activity of Cr1CeZr2Ox.

Hydrogen is an ideal energy with little impact on the environment to tackle the intense energy crisis. Development of highly efficient electrocatalysts for low–cost hydrogen production from water splitting is vital for the real-world practical applications. Herein, a three dimensional hierarchical graphdiyne (GDY)@NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) heterostructured catalyst toward overall water splitting is developed by coupling NiFe LDH and GDY growth on copper foam (CF). The catalyst exhibits high electrocatalytic activities in both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction with overpotentials of 220 mV and 163 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2, respectively. The Tafel slope for OER is 39.33 mV dec−1, which is much lower than that of the only NiFe LDH/CF with a value of 112 mV dec−1. Thus, the GDY@NiFe LDH/CF heterostructure electrocatalyst leads to an improvement in the overall water splitting activity, with a current density of 20 mA cm−2 at the voltage of 1.512 V. Density functional theory calculation indicates that the synergetic effects of 3d orbit of transition metal atoms and carbon–carbon triple bonds in GDY are responsible for the bifunctional excellent electrocatalytic activity for overall water splitting.

The MoS2/TiO2 heterojunction composites photocatalysts exhibits excellent photocatalytic performance, and they were resoundingly synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal experimental method combined with mild calcination (300 °C) under an argon atmosphere. Under the visible light irradiation, the photocatalytic activity of MoS2/TiO2 heterojunction composites were tested for photocatalytic reduction of CO2 and it exhibited superior performance and stability. The consequences show that the pure MoS2 demonstrates a poor photocatalytic activity because of its high electron-hole recombination, and the maximum yields of CO and CH4 on 10% MoS2/TiO2 heterojunction composite are 268.97 μmol/g.cat and 49.93μmol/g.cat, respectively, which are about 5.33 times and 16.26 times of pure TiO2 (P25). The improved photocatalytic activity of 10% MoS2/TiO2 heterojunction composite could be put down to the high-efficiency separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, strong response to visible light and the narrowed band gap.

Sb-modified Mn/TiO2 catalyst synthetized by sol–gel method exhibited outstanding performance in simultaneous Hg0 oxidation and NO reduction under SCR conditions at low temperature. NO removal (>90%) and Hg0 oxidation (>80%) were simultaneously obtained over MnSb/TiO2-0.25 catalyst in 200–300 °C with a GHSV of 54,000 h−1. Moreover, MnSb/TiO2-0.25 catalyst exhibited excellent tolerance to SO2 and H2O. Characterization results suggested that the well-dispersed Mn, Sb and Ti species, along with the enriched Mn4+ and surface oxygen species on Mn-Sb/TiO2-0.25 catalyst should play a critical role in its excellent catalytic performance. The formed HgO had little inhibition effect on NO reduction over MnSb/TiO2-0.25 catalyst. And the coexistence of NO and O2 has a promotion effect on Hg0 oxidation, while NH3 exhibited an inhibition effect on oxidation of Hg0. In SCR reaction process, the Hg0 oxidation efficiency was suppressed, but this effect could be basically eliminated by using a relatively low GHSV value. Thus using MnSb/TiO2-0.25 for simultaneous Hg0 oxidation and NO reduction in SCR reactor may be workable in coal-burning power plants. Based on the results of experiments and characterizations, the mechanism of synchronous removal of Hg0 and NO on MnSb/TiO2-0.25 catalyst could be described as:Hg0(ad)+Oα(Oβ)→HgO(ad), NO(g)+NO2(ad)+NH3(ad)→N2+H2O.

Although a reduction in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated as a cause of cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the role of sex in moderating this effect has not been explored.We compared the difference in serum BDNF and performance on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) between 96 men and 134 women with T2DM. We compared this with the difference in serum BDNF and performance in the control group (104 men, 144 women).Patients with T2DM performed worse on most RBANS indices (η = 0.372, all p.05); within T2DM patients, men performed worse than women on the delayed memory score (74.1 (12.1) versus 79.9 (11.5), p = .002) and on the total score (71.4 (11.5) versus 76.5 (10.8), p = .025). Serum BDNF was lower in patients with T2DM versus controls (7.5 (2.7) ng/ml versus 11.5 (2.7) ng/ml, p.001), and in men compared with women (6.9 (2.4) versus 7.9 (2.8), p = .024). Serum BDNF levels positively correlated with delayed memory score in patients with T2DM (β = 0.19, p = .007). However, this association was only observed in women, not in men (pinteraction = 0.04). Among healthy controls, no sex differences were noted in either RBANS or BDNF levels (η = 0.04, Cohen's d0.163, all p.05).Our results show sex differences in poorer cognitive performance, lower BDNF concentration, and their relationship in T2DM patients, suggesting that female sex may be a protective factor for cognitive decline in T2DM patients. However, the findings should be regarded as preliminary because of the cross-sectional design and chronicity of the diabetes.

Rhodium(III)-catalyzed hydroarylation of terminal alkynes has not previously been achieved because of the inevitable oligomerization and other side reactions. Here, we report a novel Cp*Rh(III)-catalyzed hydroarylation of terminal alkynes in acetic acid as solvent to facilitate the C–H bond activation and subsequent transformations. This reaction proceeds under mild conditions, providing an effective approach to the synthesis of alkenylated heterocycles in high to excellent yields (31–99%) with a broad substrate scope (37 examples) and good functional-group compatibility. In this transformation, the loading of the alkyne can be reduced to 1.2 equivalents, which indicates the significant role of HOAc in lowering the reaction temperature and suppressing the oligomerization of the terminal alkyne. Preliminary mechanistic studies are also presented.

Deltamethrin is widely used because of its low toxicity and high efficiency. Although its potential toxicity has been reported, its effects on cardiovascular system and motor behavior and its underlying mechanisms have remained unclear. In this study, the effects of deltamethrin on the development, cardiovascular system and motor behavior of zebrafish larvae and their possible mechanisms were evaluated using the transgenic zebrafish Tg (kdrl:mCherry) and Tg(myl7:GFP). At 72 hpf, the body length of larvae shortened, the head and eye area decreased, and the hatching rate increased. Acridine orange staining showed that treated zebrafish larvae produced different degrees of apoptosis in the head, body, heart and tail regions. Quantitative fluorescence intensity showed a dose-dependent increase in apoptosis signal, indicating that deltamethrin could induce apoptosis. Confocal images and fluorescence intensity quantification of red fluorescent protein-labeled vascular endothelial cell and green fluorescent protein-labeled transgenic zebrafish more clearly reflected the dose-dependent cardiac and vascular morphology and the damage caused by deltamethrin. Deltamethrin significantly induced vascular endothelial growth factor flk1 and fli-1, cardiac development-related gene myl7 decreased in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, deltamethrin increased the thigmotaxis of zebrafish larvae, causing anxiety-like behavior. Our study showed that deltamethrin could cause developmental toxicity, apoptosis, cardiovascular system damage and anxiety-like behavior, which provided a reference for the use of deltamethrin in agricultural production.

Bi2O3/g-C3N4 nanoscale composites with a Z-scheme mechanism were successfully synthesized by high temperature calcination combined with a hydrothermal method. These synthesized composites exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance, especially the 40 wt% Bi2O3/g-C3N4 composite, which produced about 1.8 times the CO yield of pure g-C3N4. The obtained products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) and so on. Characterization results revealed that Bi ions had well covered the surface of g-C3N4, thus restraining the recombination of electron–hole pairs and resulting in a stronger visible-light response and higher CO yield. In addition, the electron transfer process through the Z-scheme mechanism also promoted the photocatalytic activity.

The one dimension (1D) TiO2 nanotubes and nanorods were successfully prepared via a one-step hydrothermal method. The structure and properties of the catalysts were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), N2 adsorption-desorption, UV–vis diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Meanwhile, the photoelectrochemical properties were recorded through Mott-Schottky, transient photo-current responses and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy curves (EIS). The results showed that 1D TiO2 nanostructures catalysts had a high specific surface area, enhanced visible light response and superior electron transport properties. The photocatalytic activities of catalysts for reduction CO2 were investigated under 9 h irradiation of a 300 W Xe arc lamp equipped with UV 420 nm bandpass filter. The maximum yields of CH4 over the TiO2 nanotubes (TNT) and TiO2 nanorods (TNR) were 19.16 μmol/g.cat and 12.71 μmol/g.cat, respectively, which were approximately 2.33 folds and 1.48 folds higher than TiO2 nanoparticles (TNP). The enhanced photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanotubes and nanorods could be ascribed to the presence of oxygen vacancies and defects formed during the calcination process and its special structures, which accelerates the transfer of electrons. Besides, the better activity of TNT than TNR may be ascribed to its unique hollow tubular structure and larger surface area.

Potassium, as one of the alkali metals, could cause significant deactivation on the Ce-based SCR catalysts. In this work, Zr-doping was found to efficiently enhance the K tolerance of Ce/TiO2 catalyst. The BET, XRD, Raman, XPS, H2-TPR, NH3-TPD, O2-TPD and NOx-TPD were adopted for exploring the mechanism of the promoted anti-K-poisoning property of Ce/TiO2 catalyst. The obtained results demonstrated that Ce/TiO2 with the addition of Zr exhibited larger specific surface area, higher dispersion of Ce species, higher redox property and more acid sites. As a result, the factors mentioned above could efficiently enhance the K tolerance of Ce/TiO2 catalyst. By virtue of the in situ DRIFT analysis, the SCR reaction over Ce/TiZrOx catalyst was accelerated via Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) mechanism.

Removal of NO and Hg0 simultaneously was achieved on Nb-modified MnTiOx catalyst. Experimental results revealed that high NO conversion (>95%) and Hg0 oxidation (>95%) in 200–300 °C were available on Mn0.15Nb0.02TiOx catalyst with a GHSV of 108,000 h−1. The excellent catalytic performance of Mn0.15Nb0.02TiOx catalyst should be originated from its high reducibility and massive surface chemisorbed oxygen species. Moreover, the introduction of Nb into MnTiOx catalyst greatly enhanced its resistance to SO2 and H2O. Neither gaseous Hg0 nor HgO formed on catalyst surface could affect the NH3-SCR reaction. NO had a promotion effect on Hg0 oxidation, while NH3 was detrimental to Hg0 oxidation owing to the inhibited adsorption of Hg0 by NH3. Under SCR reaction conditions, an inhibition impact on Hg0 oxidation could be detected, but this negative effect could be avoided by using more catalyst sample.

In this study, NH3 treatment of CeO2 was found to significantly enhance its NH3-SCR performance. The NH3-treated CeO2 was characterized by BET, XRD, TPR and XPS. The obtained results revealed the excellent SCR activity and stability of CeO2 catalyst treated by NH3 should be originated from the dropped crystallinity, better reducibility, along with the production of more Ce3+ and surface adsorbed oxygen. Furthermore, in situ DRIFT study has been carried out and the results indicated that the Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) mechanism could be applied for explaining the SCR reaction route over CeO2-N.