Photoswitchable upconversion nanoparticles with excitation-dependent emission for programmed stepwise NIR phototherapy.

Programmable control over therapeutic processes in phototherapy, like photodynamic therapy (PDT), is promising but challenging. This study uses an energy segmentation-based strategy to synthesize core-multi-shell upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), which can release three different colors (red, green, and blue) upon exposure to different near-infrared light (1550 nm, 808 nm, and 980 nm). By combining these UCNPs with photosensitizers and nitric oxide (NO) donors, a smart "off-on" PDT nanoplatform is developed.

Investigation on the effect of fine solid wastes on the runoff purification performance of porous asphalt mixture.

Fine solid wastes such as coal fly ash (CFA), diatomite, and red mud have been widely applied as alternative fillers for porous asphalt pavement (PAP), and have varying impacts on the mechanical performance of materials. However, whether they will affect the runoff purification performance of PAP has not been studied yet. Based on the laboratory simulation rainfall test, this study investigated the purification performance of porous asphalt mixture (PA) with three fine solid wastes fillers.

Developing descriptors to predict mechanical properties of nanotubes.

Descriptors and quantitative structure property relationships (QSPR) were investigated for mechanical property prediction of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). 78 molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were carried out, and 20 descriptors were calculated to build quantitative structure property relationships (QSPRs) for Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio in two separate analyses: vacancy only and vacancy plus methyl functionalization. In the first analysis, C(N2)/C(T) (number of non-sp2 hybridized carbons per the total carbons) and chiral angle were identified as critical descriptors for both Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio.

Thermal conductivity of isotopically modified graphene.

In addition to its exotic electronic properties graphene exhibits unusually high intrinsic thermal conductivity. The physics of phonons--the main heat carriers in graphene--has been shown to be substantially different in two-dimensional (2D) crystals, such as graphene, from in three-dimensional (3D) graphite. Here, we report our experimental study of the isotope effects on the thermal properties of graphene.

Graphene-Ni (001) interface study.

The interfacial properties for a carbon nanotube on a Ni (001) surface are modeled by a piece of vertical graphene standing on a Ni (001) surface. The interaction between the graphene and the nickel (001) surface is investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Zigzag type graphene can stand on the hollow sites of the Ni (001) surface along the [linear span]110[linear span] direction.