Latest ArticlesAqueous perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) elimination has raised significant concerns due to its persistence and bioaccumulation. Although β-PbO2 plate anodes have shown efficient mineralization of PFOA, it remains unclear whether PFOA can be effectively degraded using β-PbO2 reactive electrochemical membrane (REM). Herein, we assessed the performance of Ti/SnO2-Sb/La-PbO2 REM for PFOA removal and proposed a possible degradation mechanism. At a current density of 10 mA/cm2 and a membrane flux of 8500 (liters per square meter per hour, LMH), the degradation efficiency of 10 mg/L PFOA was merely 8.8%, whereas the degradation efficiency of 0.1 mg/L PFOA increased to 96.6%. Although the porous structure of the β-PbO2 REM provided numerous electroactive sites for PFOA, the generated oxygen bubbles in the pores could block the pore channels and adsorb PFOA molecules. These hindered the protonation process and significantly impeded the degradation of high-concentration PFOA. Quenching experiments indicated that •OH played dominant role in PFOA degradation. The electrical energy per order to remove 0.1 mg/L PFOA was merely 0.74 Wh/L, which was almost an order of magnitude lower than that of other anode materials. This study presents fresh opportunities for the electrochemical degradation of low-concentration PFOA using β-PbO2 REM.
Described here is a divergent, biosynthetically inspired synthesis of cochlearol B and ganocin A. Key steps of the synthesis include the chromene unit construction through a biomimetic acid-catalyzed [4 + 2] ring cyclization. A photochemical [2 + 2] cycloaddition was featured to construct the cyclobutane core of cochlearol B. Different skeletal rearrangements of cochlearol B afforded ganocin A, that one of them was Lewis acid mediated epoxide rearrangement and another was DDQ induced cyclobutane formed tetrahydrofuran ring. The described syntheses not only achieved these natural products in an efficient manner, but also provided insight into the biosynthetic relationship between the two different skeletons.
COVID-19 is a major event with worldwide influences. Since the beginning of the epidemic, pharmaceutical chemists have paid attention to the therapeutic effect of a variety of small molecule medicines on COVID-19 infection. A series of organic molecules are designed and found to be effective in the treatment of COVID-19 infection. In fact, no matter how effective they are, with the development of the COVID-19 epidemic, various small molecule medicines are gradually recognized by people. This is equivalent to a good science popularization of pharmaceutical chemistry. This review aims to introduce the molecules for COVID-19 treatment on the basis of their chemical structures, synthetic methods as well as their effects.
Effective adjustment and control of the oxidation state of plutonium (Pu) and neptunium (Np) is an indispensable component of Np/Pu separation in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. Some hydrazine derivatives including methylhydrazine (CH3N2H3) effectively achieves the reduction of Np(Ⅵ) to Np(Ⅴ) without reducing Pu(Ⅳ). Herein, we explored the reduction mechanisms of Pu(Ⅳ) and Np(Ⅵ) by CH3N2H3 in HNO3 solution using scalar-relativistic density functional theory. We elucidated the difference in the reduction mechanism between Np(Ⅵ) and Pu(Ⅳ) ions by CH3N2H3. The energy barrier for the reduction of [NpⅥO2(H2O)5]2+ and [NpⅥO2(NO3)(H2O)3]+ by CH3N2H3 is largely different due to the coordination of nitrate ion. Moreover, the energy barrier of the reduction of [NpⅥO2(H2O)5]2+ is apparently lower than that of [PuⅣ(NO3)2(H2O)7]2+, which is in line with the experimental observations. The results of Mayer bond order and localized molecular orbitals clarify the structural evolution of the reaction pathways. Analysis of the spin density demonstrates that the first Np(Ⅵ) and Pu(Ⅳ) reduction belongs to the outer-sphere electron transfer and the second Np(Ⅵ) and Pu(Ⅳ) reduction is the hydrogen transfer. This study explains theoretically why CH3N2H3 reduces Np(Ⅵ) but not Pu(Ⅳ), and helps to design promising reductants for the Np/Pu separation in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing.
Dynamic DNA nanotechnology plays a significant role in nanomedicine and information science due to its high programmability based on Watson-Crick base pairing and nanoscale dimensions. Intelligent DNA machines and networks have been widely used in various fields, including molecular imaging, biosensors, drug delivery, information processing, and logic operations. Encoders serve as crucial components for information compilation and transfer, allowing the conversion of information from diverse application scenarios into a format recognized and applied by DNA circuits. However, there are only a few encoder designs with DNA outputs. Moreover, the molecular priority encoder is hardly designed. In this study, we introduce allosteric DNAzyme-based encoders for information transfer. The design of the allosteric domain and the recognition arm allows the input and output to be independent of each other and freely programmable. The pre-packaged mode design achieves uniformity of baseline dynamics and dynamics controllability. We also integrated non-nucleic acid molecules into the encoder through the aptamer design of the allosteric domain. Furthermore, we developed the 2-n encoder and the Endo Ⅳ-assisted priority encoder inspired by immunoglobulin's molecular structure and effector patterns. To our knowledge, the proposed encoder is the first enzyme-free DNA encoder with DNA output, and the priority encoder is the first molecular priority encoder in the DNA reaction network. Our encoders avoid complex operations on a single molecule, and their simple structure facilitates their application in complex DNA circuits and biological scenarios.
The utilization of an efficient photocatalyst is crucial for the photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics in water through visible light, which is an imperative requirement for the remediation of water environments. In this study, a novel Cu-CeO2/BiOBr Z-type heterojunction was synthesized by calcination and hydrothermal methods, and the degradation rate of sulfathiazole (STZ) antibiotic solution was studied using simulated illumination (300 W xenon lamp). The results indicated that 3% Cu-CeO2/BiOBr achieved a degradation rate of 92.3% within 90 min when treating 20 mg/L STZ solution, demonstrating its potential for practical water treatment applications. Characterization using various chemical instruments revealed that 3% Cu-CeO2/BiOBr exhibited the lowest electron-hole recombination rate and electron transfer resistance. Furthermore, the utilization of ESR data and quenching experiments has substantiated the involvement of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and superoxide radicals (•O2−) as the primary active species. Consequently, a plausible degradation mechanism has been inferred. These findings offer a prospective approach for the development of heterojunction materials with appropriate band matching.
The external stimulus response strategy has been evolved rapidly in the field of olefin polymerization. In this work, we modularly synthesized three types of double stimulus responsive α-diimine palladium catalysts, combining redox regulation and other regulation together, such as light, Lewis acid and alkali cations. The catalytic activities and the molecular weight of polyethylene products can be regulated for 4 times in ethylene polymerization. These palladium complexes were also used for the copolymerization reaction of ethylene and polar monomers, such as methyl 10-undecylenate and methyl acrylate, effectively regulating the catalytic activities, the molecular weight and polar monomer incorporation of the prepared copolymers. The research on these dual-regulated palladium complexes makes full use of prepared catalysts and provides new inspirations for regulating olefin polymerization.
Fe-based Fenton agents can generate highly reactive and toxic hydroxyl radicals (·OH) in the tumor microenvironment (TME) for chemodynamic therapy (CDT) with high specificity. However, the low pH environment and insufficient endogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) of the highly efficient Fenton reaction limits its practical application in clinic. Here, a Cu(Ⅱ)-doped mesoporous silica nanoagent (Cu-MSN) with excellent dispersity was successfully developed. After loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) and ascorbate (AA), Cu-MSN@DA was coated with active targeting ligand folic acid (FA), dimethyl maleic an-hydride (DMMA) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) to obtain an active transporting nanoagent (FCDC@Cu-MSN@DA) with tunable charge-reversal property, which is more adaptable to the pH value of TME than Fe-based Fenton agents, and can self-supply exogenous H2O2 by ascorbate to produce more toxic ·OH to trigger the apoptosis of cancer cells. Meanwhile, the high level of glutathione (GSH) in TME can reduce Cu(Ⅱ) to Cu(Ⅰ) by Fenton-like reaction, increasing the generation rate of ·OH and relieving tumor antioxidant ability. The supply of exogenous H2O2 significantly enhanced the synergistic effect of CDT by oxidative damage. Together with DOX-induced cell apoptosis, this novel nanoagent FCDC@Cu-MSN@DA can achieve maximum therapeutic efficacy, creating a new model of safe and effective tumor treatment with high specificity.
Developing low-loading single-atom catalysts with superior catalytic activity and selectivity in formaldehyde (HCHO) oxidation at room temperature remains challenging. Herein, ZrO2 nanoparticles coupled low-loading Ir single atoms in N-doped carbon (Ir1-N-C/ZrO2) was prepared. The optimal Ir1-N-C/ZrO2 with 0.25 wt% Ir loading delivers the high HCHO removal and conversion efficiency (> 95%) at 20 ℃, which is higher than that over Ir1-N-C with the same Ir loading. The specific rate can reach 1285.6 mmol gIr−1 h−1, surpassing the Ir based catalysts reported to date. Density functional theory calculation results and electron spin resonance spectra indicate that the introduction of ZrO2 nanoparticles modulate the electronic structure of the Ir single atoms, promoting O2 activation to •O2–. Moreover, the Ir-C-Zr channel is favorable for the dissociation of •O2– to active oxygen atom (*O), and further accelerates the transformation of HCHO and intermediates (dioxymethylene and formates) to CO2 and H2O. This work provides a facile strategy to design low-loading single-atom catalysts with high catalytic activity toward HCHO oxidation.
In recent years, the application of smartphone in various fields has received great attention, and it has become a promising tool in virus detection, data processing and data exchange. During the rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world, many traditional detection methods have been combined with smartphone to assist in the analysis and detection of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), including electrochemistry, fluorescence and colorimetry. With the gradual development of artificial intelligence (AI), the combination of AI and smartphone to analyze SARS-CoV-2 was also the focus of research. Based on the summary of the traditional methods combined with smartphone to detect SARS-CoV-2 virus, in addition to AI-based data processing, AI algorithms are also employed for SARS-CoV-2 detection itself. This review discussed both strategies and focused on the application of the former. The combination of AI algorithm and smartphone to detect SARS-CoV-2 has high accuracy, which is more conducive to meeting the needs of portable detection. In addition, the classification of SARS-CoV-2 virus samples in biological fluids such as blood and saliva was also discussed. Finally, this paper briefly discussed the limitations of using smartphone analysis to detect SARS-CoV-2, as well as the prospect and future development of virus detection. In conclusion, the detection methods based on smartphone and AI algorithms show great potential in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 and can be a valuable complement to traditional analysis methods.
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