Latest ArticlesLi metal is considered an ideal anode material because of its high theoretical capacity and low electrode potential. However, the practical usage of Li metal as an anode is severely limited because of inevitable parasitic side reactions with electrolyte and dendrites formation. At present, single-component artificial solid electrolyte interphase cannot simultaneously meet the multiple functions of promoting ion conduction, guiding lithium ion deposition, inhibiting dendrite growth, and reducing interface side reactions. Therefore, multi-component design on Li metal surface is widely investigated to achieve long-term cycling. Herein, we report a Li2Ga-carbonate polymer interphase layer to solve volume changes, Li dendrites formation and side-reactions. As a result, the Li symmetric cell can be stabilized at 3.0 mA/cm2 in carbonate electrolyte with limited volume of 20 µL. Coupled with 13.6 mg/cm2 (loading of 2 mAh/cm2) LiFePO4 cathode, discharge capacity retains at 90% for over 150 cycles under limited electrolyte conditions. With such an alloy-polymer interphase layer, higher energy density Li metal batteries become prominent in the near future.
Fluorescence-guided surgery calls for development of near-infrared fluorophores. Despite the wide-spread application and a safe clinical record of Indocyanine Green (ICG), its maximal absorption wavelength at 780 nm is rather short and longer-wavelength dyes are desired to exploit such benefits as low photo-toxicity and deep penetration depth. Here, we report ECY, a stable deep near-infrared (NIR) fluorochromic scaffold absorbing/emitting at 836/871 nm with a fluorescence quantum yield of 16% in CH2Cl2. ECY was further rationally engineered for biological distribution specificity. Analogous bearing different numbers of sulfonate group or a polyethylene glycol chain were synthesized. By screening this focused library upon intravenous injection to BALB/c mice, ECYS2 was identified to be a suitable candidate for bioimaging of organs involved in hepatobiliary excretion, and ECYPEG was found to be a superior candidate for vasculature imaging. They have potentials in intraoperative imaging.
Developing multiplex sensing technique is of great significance for fast sample analysis. However, the broad emissions of most chemiluminescence (CL) luminophores make the multiplex CL analysis be difficult. In this work, a simple and sensitive CL analytical method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of Tb3+ and Eu3+ thanking to their narrow band emission. The technique was based on a mixed CL system of periodate (IO4−)-hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-rare earth complexes, in which the reactive oxygen species (ROSs) especially singlet oxygen (1O2) can transfer its energy to the complex of Tb3+/Eu3+-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA) and then produce the characteristic emissions of Tb3+ and Eu3+ without cross-interference. The further experiment found that the CL emissions of Tb3+ and Eu3+ could be catalyzed by the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) via enhancing the yield of 1O2. The CL intensities of Tb3+ (at 490 nm) and Eu3+ (at 620 nm) increased linearly with concentration of Tb3+ and Eu3+. After the optimization of the CL sensing conditions, the limits of detection (LOD) were 5.0 × 10−9 mol/L and 8.0 × 10−7 mol/L for Tb3+ and Eu3+, respectively. Finally, the method has been applied for measuring the contents of Tb3+ and Eu3+ in leaching solution of mine sample and Tb3+/Eu3+-contained nanomaterials with satisfactory results. The present system provides a new CL technique for multiplex sensing with simplicity and high sensitivity.
Hydrogen evolution from water electrolysis has become an important reaction for the green energy revolution. Traditional precious metals and their compounds are excellent catalysts for producing hydrogen; however, their high cost limits their large-scale practical application. Therefore, the development of affordable electrocatalysts to replace these precious metals is important. Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have shown remarkable performance for hydrogen evolution and garnered considerable interest in the field of electrolysis. Based on the detailed introduction of TMPs in previous studies, we have systematically summarized the preparation methods, improvement methods, and development opportunities of TMPs and proposed “stimulatory factors” as a fundamental factor affecting the performance of TMPs herein. As the core of this research, “stimulatory factors” can provide numerous solutions to improve the performance of TMP materials and provide a good starting point for TMP research.
This work reported the lanthanide ion (Gd3+) doped tungsten trioxide (Gd-WO3) nanocrystal for remarkable promoted photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and simultaneous in-situ H2O2 production. With doped lanthanide ion (Gd3+), Gd-WO3 showed a much broad and enhanced solar light absorption, which not only promoted the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of organic compounds, but also provided a suitable bandgap for direct reduction of oxygen to H2O2. Additionally, the isolated Gd3+ on WO3 surface can efficiently weaken the *OOH binding energy, increasing the activity and selectivity of direct reduction of oxygen to H2O2, with a rate of 0.58 mmol L−1 g−1 h−1. The in-situ generated H2O2 can be subsequently converted to •OH based on Fenton reaction, further contributed to the overall removal of organic pollutants. Our results demonstrate a cascade photocatalytic oxidation-Fenton reaction which can efficiently utilize photo-generated electrons and holes for organic pollutants treatment.
In-depth exploration of the relationship among different adsorption sites is conducive to design of efficient adsorbents for target pollutants removal from water. In this study, the experiments, multivariate non-linear regression and density functional theory calculations are applied to explore the possible synergistic effects of three nitrogen (N)-containing sites on cow dung biochar surface for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) adsorption. Notably, a strong synergistic effect between pyridinic N and pyrrolic N sites was found for sulfamethoxazole adsorption. The adsorption energies of SMX on four pyrrolic N-coupled pyridinic N structures were −1.02, −0.41, −0.49 and −0.72 eV, much higher than the sum of adsorption energies (−0.31 eV) on pyrrolic N and pyridinic N. Besides, the alteration of Mulliken charge revealed that the simultaneous presence of pyridinic N and pyrrolic N improved the electron transfer remarkably from −0.459 e and 0.094 e to −0.649 e and 0.186 e, benefiting for SMX adsorption. This work firstly explored the possible synergies of adsorption sites on biochar surface for organic contaminants removal from water, which shed new lights on the adsorption mechanism and provided valuable information to design efficient adsorbents in the field of water treatment.
An amphiphilic AIE photosensitizer has been successfully developed, which allows for easily inserting into the bacterial membranes. Binding experiments with phospholipid preliminary demonstrates its membrane specificity. As expected, it is proved to possess a broad-spectrum bacterial staining performance and photodynamic antibacterial activity toward S. aureus and E. coli.
Glycolysis inhibition can effectively block the energy supply and interrupt tumorigenesis in many types of cancers. However, when glycolysis is inhibited, tumor cells will break down glutamine as the raw material for the replenishment pathway to maintain the tricarboxylic acid cycle ensuring energy supply, therefore inducing ineffective interruption of metabolic. Herein, we designed glutamine transporter antagonist l-γ-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide (GPNA) loaded and 4T1 cancer cell membrane coated iridium oxide nanoparticles (IrO2-GPNA@CCM) to realize a comprehensive inhibition of tumor energy supply which synergistically mediated by glycolysis and glutamine cycle. IrO2 NPs were used to catalyze the O2 generation by facilitating the decomposition of endogenous H2O2 in tumor cells, which further downregulated the expression of HIF-1α and PI3K/pAKT to interrupt the generation of lactate. Meanwhile, the loaded GPNA was released under NIR irradiation to bind to alanine-serine-cysteine transporter (ASCT2) for glutamine uptake suppression, therefore realizing the comprehensive dysfunction of cell metabolism. Moreover, both in vitro and in vivo results convinced the thorough energy inhibition effect based on IrO2-GPNA@CCM NPs, which provided an inspiring strategy for future construction of tumor therapeutic regimen.
The electro-peroxone technology, a novel type of advanced oxidation technology, is widely used in wastewater treatment. Herein, this paper reviews the advantages and problems of the electro-peroxone technology compared with electrochemical oxidation technology, ozonation technology, and traditional peroxone technology. Due to the high kinetics of pollutant degradation, the electro-peroxone process can reduce the reaction time and energy consumption of pollutant treatment in wastewater. The electro-peroxone technology can promote pollutant degradation and mineralization, which shows obvious synergistic effects of electrochemical oxidation and ozonation for wastewater treatment. Most importantly, the research mechanism of the electro-peroxone technology is systematically introduced from two aspects of cathode reaction and bulk reaction. The influence of experimental parameters on the wastewater treatment effect is also discussed. Finally, the potential applications and future research directions of the electro-peroxone technology in the wastewater field are proposed. The electro-peroxone process can offer a highly efficient and energy saving water treatment method to improve the performance of existing ozonation and electrochemical systems and has therefore become a promising electrochemical advanced oxidation process for wastewater treatment.
Integrating discrete plasmonic nanoparticles into assemblies can induce plasmonic coupling that produces collective plasmonic properties, which are not available for single nanoparticles. Theoretical analysis revealed that plasmonic coupling derived from assemblies could produce stronger electromagnetic field enhancement effects. Thus, plasmonic assemblies enable better performance in plasmon-based applications, such as enhanced fluorescence and Raman effects. This makes them hold great potential for trace analyte detection and nanomedicine. Herein, we focus on the recent advances in various plasmonic nanoassembles such as dimers, tetramers, and core-satellite structures, and discuss their applications in biosensing and cell imaging. The fabrication strategies for self-assembled plasmonic nanostructures are described, including top-down strategies, self-assembly methods linked by DNA, ligand, polymer, amino acid, or proteins, and chemical overgrowth methods. Thereafter, their applications in biosensor and cell imaging based on dark-field imaging, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, plasmonic circular dichroism, and fluorescence imaging are discussed. Finally, the remaining challenges and prospects are elucidated.
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