Dimethyl Carbonate Synthesis from CO over CeO with Electron-Enriched Lattice Oxygen Species.

Direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from CO plays an important role in carbon neutrality, but its efficiency is still far from the practical application, due to the limited understanding of the reaction mechanism and rational design of efficient catalyst. Herein, abundant electron-enriched lattice oxygen species were introduced into CeO catalyst by constructing the point defects and crystal-terminated phases in the crystal reconstruction process. Benefitting from the acid-base properties modulated by the electron-enriched lattice oxygen, the optimized CeO catalyst exhibited a much higher DMC yield of 22.

Insights into the Diffusion Behaviors of Water over Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Catalysts During the Conversion of Syngas to High-Quality Gasoline.

Although considerable efforts towards directly converting syngas to liquid fuels through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis have been made, developing catalysts with low CO selectivity for the synthesis of high-quality gasoline remains a big challenge. Herein, we designed a bifunctional catalyst composed of hydrophobic FeNa@Si-c and HZSM-5 zeolite, which exhibited a low CO selectivity of 14.3 % at 49.

Comprehensive Evaluation of the Sustainability of Waste Concrete towards Structural Concrete Application in Freeze-Thaw Environment.

To promote the in-situ and structural application of waste concrete in cold regions, the sustainable application potential of waste concrete in a freeze-thaw (F-T) environment was comprehensively evaluated from three aspects of performance, environmental load, and economic benefit. The recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) was produced by recycled coarse aggregate (RCA), which was obtained from the crushing of natural aggregate concrete (NAC) after every F-T 150 cycles until F-T failure. The effects of F-T damage of parent concrete on the physical properties of RCA and mechanical and frost resistance of RAC under 35% flexural stress were studied.

WO-based slippery coatings with long-term stability for efficient fog harvesting.

Inspired by Nepenthes pitcher plants, slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs) have attracted wide attention and exhibited remarkable liquid repellency, droplet motion control and antifouling properties. However, lubricant-impregnated surfaces have poor durability, leading to loss of control of the movements of droplets during applications. Herein, WO-based slippery coatings with high stability were prepared by the spray method and photocatalytic reaction.

Functional Characterization of Core Regulatory Genes Involved in Sporulation of the Nematophagous Fungus Purpureocillium lavendulum.

The nematophagous fungus is a natural enemy of plant-parasitic nematodes, which cause severe economic losses in agriculture worldwide. The production of asexual spores (conidia) in is crucial for its biocontrol activity against nematodes. In this study, we characterized the core regulatory genes involved in conidiation of at the molecular level.

An optimized protocol for high precision measurement of Sr/Sr using a Neptune Plus multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer: evaluation of different cone combinations for Sr isotope determination.

Measuring Sr/Sr ratios with MC-ICP-MS is a straightforward technique due to its fast sample introduction. However, excellent accuracy and precision cannot be easily achieved unless careful optimization of plasma running conditions and evaluation of instrumental mass bias are conducted. Here, we developed an optimized protocol for measuring Sr/Sr ratios using a modified cone arrangement (H skimmer cone + Jet sample cone) by carefully examining the effects of plasma working conditions on the performance of Sr isotope analysis with a Neptune Plus™ MC-ICP-MS.

Constraining oceanic oxygenation during the Shuram excursion in South China using thallium isotopes.

Ediacaran sediments record an unusual global carbon cycle perturbation that has been linked to widespread oceanic oxygenation, the Shuram negative C isotope excursion (NCIE). However, proxy-based estimates of global ocean redox conditions during this event have been limited largely due to proxy specificity (e.g.

Bioinspired surfaces with wettability: biomolecule adhesion behaviors.

Surface wettability plays an important role in regulating biomolecule adhesion behaviors. The biomolecule adhesion behaviors of superwettable surfaces have become an important topic as an important part of the interactions between materials and organisms. In addition to general research on the moderate wettability of surfaces, the studies of biomolecule adhesion behaviors extend to extreme wettability ranges such as superhydrophobic, superhydrophilic and slippery surfaces and attract both fundamental and practical interest.

An efficient gene disruption system for the nematophagous fungus Purpureocillium lavendulum.

The fungus Purpureocillium lavendulum (formally Paecilomyces lilacinus) is a natural enemy of insects and plant-parasitic nematodes, and has been used as an important bio-control agent against agricultural pests all over the world. In order to understand the genetic mechanisms governing its biocontrol efficiency and other biological processes, an effective gene disruption system is needed. Here we report the development of an efficient system which integrates selective markers that differ from Purpureocillium lilacinum, a one-step construction method for gene knockout plasmids, and a ku80 knockout strain for efficient homologous recombination.

Cd isotope fractionation during simulated and natural weathering.

In practice, stable Cd isotope ratios are being applied to trace pollution sources in the natural environment. However, Cd isotope fractionation during weathering processes is not yet fully understood. We investigated Cd isotope fractionation of PbZn ore in leaching experiments and in the environment under natural weathering processes.

Zn/Cd ratios and cadmium isotope evidence for the classification of lead-zinc deposits.

Lead-zinc deposits are often difficult to classify because clear criteria are lacking. In recent years, new tools, such as Cd and Zn isotopes, have been used to better understand the ore-formation processes and to classify Pb-Zn deposits. Herein, we investigate Cd concentrations, Cd isotope systematics and Zn/Cd ratios in sphalerite from nine Pb-Zn deposits divided into high-temperature systems (e.