Strong metal-support bonding enhanced thermal stability in Au-AlO core-shell nanowires characterized by transmission electron microscopy.

In this study, the thermal stability of Au-AlO core-shell and Au nanowires was investigated by scanning transmission electron microscopy and other techniques. The nanowires were synthesized by the helium droplets method and deposited on various substrates. The characterization of Au-AlO thermal stability demonstrated a substantially enhanced stability as compared to that of pure Au nanowires, which can be a transformative approach to design more durable Au-based nanocatalysts.

Nitrogen removal mechanisms in biochar-amended sand filters treating onsite wastewater.

The performance of biochar-amended sand filters treating septic tank effluent (STE) was investigated in bench-scale columns. Softwood biochar showed higher NH -N adsorption capacity (1.3 mg N g ), and its water holding capacity (0.

Structural Ceramics Modified by Water Treatment Plant Sludge.

Water treatment plant (WTP) sludge is actively used in building materials production. The object of this research was modifying additives for ceramic bricks from WTP aluminium-containing sludge. The research aim of this study was to determine the suitability of a million-plus population city's WTP sludge as a burning-out additive in the production of structural ceramics and to establish the optimal conditions for obtaining products with the best characteristics.

Assessment of physicochemical parameters and metal distribution in bog peat of the western segment of the North European part of Russia (Arkhangelsk region).

This article is devoted to the study of physicochemical parameters and the assessment of the accumulation and distribution of metals in peat deposits from the North European part of Russia (Arkhangelsk region). Peat profiles were selected both in the area with a high anthropogenic load and in a bog remote from industrial pollution. The determination of metals was carried out by using the methods X-ray fluorescence analysis and atomic absorption spectroscopy.

Direct Observation of Defect-Aided Structural Evolution in a Nickel-Rich Layered Cathode.

Ni-rich LiNi Mn Co O (NMC) layered compounds are the dominant cathode for lithium ion batteries. The role of crystallographic defects on structure evolution and performance degradation during electrochemical cycling is not yet fully understood. Here, we investigated the structural evolution of a Ni-rich NMC cathode in a solid-state cell by in situ transmission electron microscopy.

Generalized Synthetic Strategy for Transition-Metal-Doped Brookite-Phase TiO Nanorods.

We report a generalized wet-chemical methodology for the synthesis of transition-metal (M)-doped brookite-phase TiO nanorods (NRs) with unprecedented wide-range tunability in dopant composition (M = V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Mo, etc.). These quadrangular NRs can selectively expose {210} surface facets, which is induced by their strong affinity for oleylamine stabilizer.

New aspects of improving the performance of WO thin films for photoelectrochemical water splitting by tuning the ultrathin depletion region.

In this work, we explored a facile, scalable and effective method for substantially enhancing photocurrent and incident-photon-to-current efficiency of WO thin-film photoanodes by a mild reduction treatment under low oxygen pressure. Experimental data from photoelectrochemical and electrochemical impedance spectroscopies have shown that such treatment can increase the charge carrier density on WO photoanode surfaces resulting in improvements in hole collection efficiency and reduction in charge recombination. Despite a much thinner layer of WO (about 500 nm) compared to those in other published studies, the electrodes exhibited an ultra-high photocurrent density of 1.

Unexpected visible light driven photocatalytic activity without cocatalysts and sacrificial reagents from a (GaN) (ZnO) solid solution synthesized at high pressure over the entire composition range.

Optical and photocatalytic properties were determined for the solid solution series (GaN) (ZnO) synthesized at high pressure over the entire compositional range ( = 0.07 to 0.9).

A comprehensive study of catalytic, morphological and electronic properties of ligand-protected gold nanoclusters using XPS, STM, XAFS, and TPD techniques.

Ultra-small gold nanoclusters were synthesized via a ligand exchange method and deposited onto different TiO supports to study their properties. STM imaging revealed that the as-synthesized gold nanoclusters had 2-D morphology consisting of monolayers of gold atoms. Subsequent XPS, XAFS, and CO oxidation TPD results indicated that heat treatments of gold clusters at different temperatures significantly altered their electronic and catalytic properties due to ligand deprotection and cluster agglomeration.

Strain Coupling of Conversion-type Fe O Thin Films for Lithium Ion Batteries.

Lithiation/delithiation induces significant stresses and strains into the electrodes for lithium ion batteries, which can severely degrade their cycling performance. Moreover, this electrochemically induced strain can interact with the local strain existing at solid-solid interfaces. It is not clear how this interaction affects the lithiation mechanism.

Photoelectrochemical water splitting with a SrTiO:Nb/SrTiO n-n homojunction structure.

A very limited knowledge exists about the effect of non-uniform doping of epitaxially grown strontium titanate thin film electrodes on their photoelectrochemical performance in water splitting. In this work, water splitting photoanodes featuring an n-n homojunction were fabricated by the pulsed laser deposition technique, where epitaxial SrTiO thin films were grown on Nb doped n-SrTiO single crystalline substrates. Thermal diffusion of niobium from doped substrates into the deposited thin films formed an n-n homojunction, which was profiled by angle-resolved XPS and cross-sectional STEM-EDX techniques.

Metabolically healthy obese and metabolically unhealthy non-obese phenotypes in a Russian population.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of metabolically healthy obese (MHO) and metabolically unhealthy non-obese (MUNO) phenotypes in Russian population.

Design And Methods: In cross-sectional epidemiology survey "Epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases and its risk factors in some regions of the Russian Federation" a random sampling of 21,121 subjects (25-65 years), stratified by age and sex was involved. Anthropometry, blood pressure (BP) measurement and fasting blood-tests (glucose, lipids) were performed according to standard protocols.

Development of a New Generation of Stable, Tunable, and Catalytically Active Nanoparticles Produced by the Helium Nanodroplet Deposition Method.

Nanoparticles (NPs) are revolutionizing many areas of science and technology, often delivering unprecedented improvements to properties of the conventional materials. However, despite important advances in NPs synthesis and applications, numerous challenges still remain. Development of alternative synthetic method capable of producing very uniform, extremely clean and very stable NPs is urgently needed.

Understanding the Interactions of CO2 with Doped and Undoped SrTiO3.

SrTiO3 and doped SrTiO3 have a wide range of applications in different fields. For example, Rh-doped SrTiO3 has been shown to have photocatalytic activity for both hydrogen production and CO2 conversion. In this study, both undoped and Rh-doped SrTiO3 were synthesized by hydrothermal and polymerizable complex methods.

The role of the domain size and titanium dopant in nanocrystalline hematite thin films for water photolysis.

Here we develop a novel technique for preparing high quality Ti-doped hematite thin films for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, through sputtering deposition of metallic iron films from an iron target embedded with titanium (dopants) pellets, followed by a thermal oxidation step that turns the metal films into doped hematite. It is found that the hematite domain size can be tuned from ∼10 nm to over 100 nm by adjusting the sputtering atmosphere from more oxidative to mostly inert. The better crystallinity at a larger domain size ensures excellent PEC water splitting performance, leading to record high photocurrent from pure planar hematite thin films on FTO substrates.

Siege of Leningrad Survivors Phenotyping and Biospecimen Collection.

Background: Poor nutrition during the early stages of human development can lead to rare pathological conditions in adult life. The best-known and most severe historical cases of famine include the Dutch 'Hunger Winter,' the Finnish famine, the Chinese Great famine, and the siege of Leningrad. The siege of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) was one of the longest in history, lasting 872 days, from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944.

Development of a conceptual framework for evaluation of nanomaterials release from nanocomposites: environmental and toxicological implications.

Despite the fact that nanomaterials are considered potentially hazardous in a freely dispersed form, they are often considered safe when encapsulated into a polymer matrix. However, systematic research to confirm the abovementioned paradigm is lacking. Our data indicates that there are possible mechanisms of nanomaterial release from nanocomposites due to exposure to environmental conditions, especially UV radiation.

Subharmonic phase clusters in the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with nonlinear global coupling.

A wide variety of subharmonic n -phase cluster patterns was observed in experiments with spatially extended chemical and electrochemical oscillators. These patterns cannot be captured with a phase model. We demonstrate that the introduction of a nonlinear global coupling (NGC) in the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation has subharmonic cluster pattern solutions in wide parameter ranges.

Feasibility of congestive heart failure telemanagement using a wii-based telecare platform.

A gaming platform has been used to implement a Home Automated Telemanagement (HAT) system for chronic disease management in the patient's home. The system questions patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) to monitor symptoms, weight changes, and quality of life while educating the patient on their disease. The system is designed to run on the Nintendo Wii videogame console using an active internet connection and the console's built in internet browser.

Oxidation of volatile organic compounds on SBA-15 mesoporous molecular sieves modified with manganese.

Catalytic combustion of volatile organic compounds, such as propene, has been studied on manganese modified mesoporous molecular sieves. Powder X-ray diffraction, (29)Si nuclear magnetic resonance, nitrogen sorption and transmission electron microscopy show that the SBA-15 mesoporous silica molecular sieve can be modified with manganese using Mn(2)(CO)(10) or Mn(O(2)CMe)(2) without significant distortion of the host structure. The two products were catalytically active in propene oxidation, with SBA-15 modified with Mn(2)(CO)(10) showing significantly higher activity, possibly due to higher Mn content, than SBA-15 modified with Mn(O(2)CMe)(2).

Interactions of 4-chlorophenol with TiO2 polycrystalline surfaces: a study of environmental interfaces by NEXAFS, XPS, and UPS.

Despite a significant body of literature on the photocatalytic decomposition of 4-chlorophenol by TiO2 at liquid/solid and gas/solid interfaces, a fundamental understanding of the interaction of 4-chlorophenol with TiO2 is lacking. We present the first study of this interaction under well-defined UHV conditions by means of NEXAFS, time-dependent XPS, and UPS. XPS data show that the molecule adsorbs with the carbon framework intact and no scission of the C-Cl bond.

Reduction of NO2 to nitrous acid on illuminated titanium dioxide aerosol surfaces: implications for photocatalysis and atmospheric chemistry.

TiO2, a component of atmospheric mineral aerosol, catalyses the reduction of NO2 to nitrous acid (HONO) when present as an aerosol and illuminated with near UV light under conditions pertinent to the troposphere.

Efficient visible light-active N-doped TiO2 photocatalysts by a reproducible and controllable synthetic route.

A reproducible and controllable method allows the synthesis of practical quantities of efficient, visible light active TiO(2)(N) photocatalysts in which the nitrogen content may be varied to achieve optimum performance.