Lattice Distortions Promoting the In-Depth Reconstruction of Ni-Based Electrocatalysts with Enriched Oxygen Vacancies for the Electrochemical Oxidation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural toward 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid.

The electrocatalytic 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) oxidation reaction (HMFOR) toward 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) has been considered a promising approach for the substitution of the energy-consuming and hazardous oxygen evolution reaction and for the valorization of renewable biomass. However, it is limited by the susceptibility of HMF to the oxidative environment and requires efficient electrocatalysts. Herein, a NiMo complex (NiMo-N) is provided as the precatalyst for the HMFOR, exhibiting favorable performances with a current density of 450 mA·cm achieved at an anodic potential of 1.

Preparation and Characterization of Regenerated Cellulose Membrane Blended with ZrO Nanoparticles.

It is of great significance to search for efficient, renewable, biodegradable and economical membrane materials. Herein, we developed an organic-inorganic hybrid regenerated cellulose membrane (ZrO/BCM) with excellent hydrophilic and anti-fouling properties. The membrane was prepared by introducing ZrO particles into an N-Methylmorpholine-N-oxide(NMMO)/bamboo cellulose(BC) solution system by the phase inversion method.

Polyvinyl Chloride-Derived Carbon Spheres for CO Adsorption.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced plastic polymer. Directly transforming PVC to carbonaceous materials for CO capture provides an environmentally friendly and attractive strategy to recycle plastics. In this work, a simple and effective method was developed to prepare PVC-derived carbon spheres.

Brassinosteroids act as a positive regulator for resistance against root-knot nematode involving RESPIRATORY BURST OXIDASE HOMOLOG-dependent activation of MAPKs in tomato.

Interplay of hormones with reactive oxygen species (ROS) fine-tunes the response of plants to stress; however, the crosstalk between brassinosteroids (BRs) and ROS in nematode resistance is unclear. In this study, we found that low BR biosynthesis or lack of BR receptor increased, whilst exogenous BR decreased the susceptibility of tomato plants to Meloidogyne incognita. Hormone quantification coupled with hormone mutant complementation experiments revealed that BR did not induce the defence response by triggering salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid/ethylene (JA/ET) or abscisic acid (ABA) signalling pathway.

Glutathione-mediated regulation of nitric oxide, S-nitrosothiol and redox homeostasis confers cadmium tolerance by inducing transcription factors and stress response genes in tomato.

Glutathione (GSH) plays a critical role in plant growth, development and responses to stress. However, the mechanism by which GSH regulates tolerance to cadmium (Cd) stress still remains unclear. Here we show that inhibition of GSH biosynthesis by buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) aggravated Cd toxicity by increasing accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reducing contents of nitric oxide (NO) and S-nitrosothiol (SNO) in tomato roots.

Palladium on Nitrogen-Doped Mesoporous Carbon: A Bifunctional Catalyst for Formate-Based, Carbon-Neutral Hydrogen Storage.

The lack of safe, efficient, and economical hydrogen storage technologies is a hindrance to the realization of the hydrogen economy. Reported herein is a reversible formate-based carbon-neutral hydrogen storage system that is established over a novel catalyst comprising palladium nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon. The support was fabricated by a hard template method and nitridated under a flow of ammonia.