Recyclable covalent organic frameworks/cellulose aerogels for efficient uranium adsorption.

The advancement of efficient, recyclable adsorbents for the economical capture of uranium from seawater is critical for the sustainable progression of nuclear energy. In this work, a unique aerogel composed of covalent organic frameworks (COF-TpTHA)/cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) was synthesized under mild conditions for uranium adsorption. TpTHA/CNF aerogel resolves challenges related to the formability of COF.

In-situ assembly of polyoxometalate-based metal-organic framework for high-efficiency recovery of uranium.

Extracting uranium from water is crucial for environmental protection and the sustainable nuclear power industry. However, high-efficiency extraction and mild desorption condition still poses significant challenges. Herein, a polyoxometalate-based metal-organic framework (POMOF) for high-performance uranium extraction is prepared by in situ confined encapsulating H[PWO] (PW) into MIL-101(Cr).

Facile and scalable synthesis of functionalized hierarchical porous polymers for efficient uranium adsorption.

Efficient uranium capture from wastewater holds great importance for the environmental remediation and sustainable development of nuclear energy, but it is a tremendous challenge. Herein, a facile and scalable approach is reported to fabricate functionalized hierarchical porous polymers (PPN-3) decorated with high density of phosphate groups for uranium adsorption. The as-constructed hierarchical porous structure could allow rapid diffusion of uranyl ions, while abundant phosphate groups that serve as adsorption sites could provide the high affinity for uranyl.

Development of High-Performance Iron-Based Phosphate Cathodes toward Practical Na-Ion Batteries.

Iron-based phosphate cathode of NaFe(PO)(PO) has been regarded as a low-cost and structurally stable cathode material for Na-ion batteries (NIBs). However, their practical application is greatly hindered by the insufficient electrochemical performance and limited energy density. Here, we report a new iron-based phosphate cathode of NaFe(PO)(PO) with the intergrown heterostructure of the maricite-type NaFePO and orthorhombic NaFe(PO)(PO) phases at a mole ratio of 0.

Production of Optically Pure ()-3-Hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone from d-Xylose Using Engineered .

Biocatalysis has advantages in asymmetric synthesis due to the excellent stereoselectivity of enzymes. The present study established an efficient biosynthesis pathway for optically pure ()-3-hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone [()-3HγBL] production using engineered . We mimicked the 1,2,4-butanetriol biosynthesis route and constructed a five-step pathway consisting of d-xylose dehydrogenase, d-xylonolactonase, d-xylonate dehydratase, 2-keto acid decarboxylase, and aldehyde dehydrogenase.

Cation-Intercalated Lamellar MoS Adsorbent Enables Highly Selective Capture of Cesium.

Highly selective capture of cesium (Cs) from complex aqueous solutions has become increasingly important owing to its (Cs) indispensable role in some cutting-edge technologies and the environmental mobility of radioactive nuclide (Cs) from nuclear wastewater. Herein, we report the development of cation-intercalated lamellar MoS as an effective Cs adsorbent with the advantages of facile synthesis and highly tunable layer spacing. Two types of cations, including Na and NH, were employed for the intercalations between adjacent layers of MoS.

Bounds on the Probability of Undetected Error for -Ary Codes.

We study the probability of an undetected error for general -ary codes. We give upper and lower bounds on this quantity, by the Linear Programming and the Polynomial methods, as a function of the length, size, and minimum distance. Sharper bounds are obtained in the important special case of binary Hamming codes.

Structural elucidation and targeted valorization of untractable lignin from pre-hydrolysis liquor of xylose production via a simple and robust separation approach.

Effective separation of lignin macromolecules from the xylose pre-hydrolysates (XPH) during the xylose production, thus optimizing the separation and purification process of xylose, is of great significance for reducing the production costs, achieving the high value-added utilization of lignin and increasing the industrial revenue. In this study, a simple and robust method (pH adjustment) for the separation of lignin from XPH was proposed and systematically compared with the conventional acid-promoted lignin precipitation method. The results showed that the lignin removal ratio (up to 60.

Regulating the Spin State of Metal and Metal Carbide Heterojunctions for Efficient Oxygen Evolution.

Developing high-performance electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of importance for improving the overall efficiency of water splitting. Herein, the CoFe/(CoFe)MoC heterojunction is purposely designed as an OER catalyst, which displays a low overpotential of 293 mV for affording a current density of 10 mA cm and a small Tafel slope of 48 mV/dec. Various characterization results demonstrate that the significant work-function difference between CoFe and (CoFe)MoC can induce interfacial charge redistribution, which results in the formation of Co and Fe sites with a high-spin state, thus stimulating the surface phase reconstruction of CoFe/(CoFe)MoC to corresponding active oxyhydroxide.

Electrodialysis Deacidification of Acid Hydrolysate in Hemicellulose Saccharification Process: Membrane Fouling Identification and Mechanisms.

Acid saccharification of hemicelluloses offers promising pathways to sustainably diversify the revenue of the lignocellulose biorefinery industry. Electrodialysis to separate inorganic acids from acid hydrolysate in the hemicellulose saccharification process could realize the recovery of sulfuric acid, and significantly reduced the chemical consumption than the traditional ion exchange resins method. In this work, the deacidification of corncob acid hydrolysate was conducted by a homemade electrodialysis apparatus.

Surface Engineering Stabilizes Rhombohedral Sodium Manganese Hexacyanoferrates for High-Energy Na-Ion Batteries.

The rhombohedral sodium manganese hexacyanoferrate (MnHCF) only containing cheap Fe and Mn metals was regarded as a scalable, low-cost, and high-energy cathode material for Na-ion batteries. However, the unexpected Jahn-teller effect and significant phase transformation would cause Mn dissolution and anisotropic volume change, thus leading to capacity loss and structural instability. Here we report a simple room-temperature route to construct a magical Co B skin on the surface of MnHCF.

Regulated Synthesis of α-NaVOPO with an Enhanced Conductive Network as a High-Performance Cathode for Aqueous Na-Ion Batteries.

The low-cost and profusion of sodium reserves make Na-ion batteries (NIBs) a potential candidate to lithium-ion batteries for grid-scale energy storage applications. NaVOPO has been recognized as one of the most promising cathodes for high-energy NIBs, owing to their high theoretical capacity and energy density. However, their further application is hindered by the multiphase transition and conductivity confinement.

O3-NaFeNiMnAlO Cathodes with Improved Air Stability for Na-Ion Batteries.

Na-ion batteries (NIBs) have been considered as potential candidates for large-scale energy storage, where O3-type Na-based layered oxide cathodes have attracted great attention due to their high capacity and low cost. However, O3-NaTMO materials still suffer from insufficient air stability, which could lead to deteriorative electrochemical properties and thus hinder their practical application. In this work, a series of Al-doped O3-NaFeNiMnAlO cathodes prepared by a co-precipitation method were investigated to enhance their electrochemical performance and air stability through stabilizing their structural and interface chemical properties.

Rapid mechanochemical synthesis of polyanionic cathode with improved electrochemical performance for Na-ion batteries.

Na-ion batteries have been considered promising candidates for stationary energy storage. However, their wide application is hindered by issues such as high cost and insufficient electrochemical performance, particularly for cathode materials. Here, we report a solvent-free mechanochemical protocol for the in-situ fabrication of sodium vanadium fluorophosphates.

Donor-Acceptor Couples of Metal and Metal Oxides with Enriched Ni Active Sites for Oxygen Evolution.

Exploiting precious-metal-free and high-activity oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts has been in great demands toward many energy storage and conversion processes, for example, carbon dioxide reduction, metal-air batteries, and water splitting. In this study, the simple solid-state method is employed for coupling Ni (electron donors) with lower-Fermi-level MoO or WO (electron acceptors) into donor-acceptor ensembles with well-designed interfaces as robust electrocatalysts for OER. The resulting Ni/MoO and Ni/WO electrocatalysts exhibit smaller overpotentials of 287 and 333 mV at 10 mA cm as well as smaller Tafel slopes of 51 and 65 mV/dec, respectively, with respect to the single Ni, MoO, WO, and even the benchmark RuO in 1 M KOH.

Selective recovery of Li and FePO from spent LiFePO cathode scraps by organic acids and the properties of the regenerated LiFePO.

To recycle the sharply growing spent lithium-ion batteries and alleviate concerns over shortages of resources, particularly Li, is still an urgent issue. In this work, an organic acids based leaching approach at room temperature is proposed to recover Li and FePO from spent LiFePO cathode powder. The coexistent metal ions, Cu and Al, have also been investigated.

An Aminotransferase from to Obtain Optically Pure β-Phenylalanine.

An aminotransferase ω-TAEn was identified from . The ω-TAEn was successfully expressed in and the obtained enzyme showed activity toward β-phenylalanine (β-phe) at optimal conditions. For optically pure ()-β-phe, 50% yield was observed by kinetic resolution of racemic amino with pyruvate as the amino acceptor.

Metabolic engineering of for the utilization of ethanol.

Background: The fuel ethanol industry has made tremendous progress in the last decades. Ethanol can be obtained by fermentation using a variety of biomass materials as the feedstocks. However, few studies have been conducted on ethanol utilization by microorganisms.

Correction to: Enhancement of the catalytic activity of Isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae through random and site-directed mutagenesis.

The authors of this article [1] wish to draw the readers' attention to their closely related paper, published in RSC Advances [2] which should have been cited in this article. The authors regret that there is unattributed overlap in text describing the construction of the plasmid coding for the biosynthetic pathway because of the commonly used research strategies between this article [1] and similar work presented in RSC Advances, although this does not affect the main scientific conclusion in this study.

Small molecule-mediated self-assembly behaviors of Pluronic block copolymers in aqueous solution: impact of hydrogen bonding on the morphological transition of Pluronic micelles.

The influence of hydrogen bonding on the self-assembly behaviors of Pluronic P123 micelles is experimentally and theoretically investigated by introducing three small molecules, i.e. propyl benzoate (PB), propyl paraben (PP) and propyl gallate (PG) into the aqueous solution.

One-Pot Synthesis of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural from Glucose by Brønsted Acid-Free Bifunctional Porous Coordination Polymers in Water.

Efficient synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) using glucose (Glc) as a starting material represents an important process in biomass transformation. In this study, novel bifunctional porous coordination polymer (PCP) catalysts [PCP(Cr)-NH (CH) ; = 0, 1, or 2] containing Lewis acidic and Lewis basic sites have been synthesized and utilized as solid-phase catalysts for HMF synthesis starting from a Glc-in-water system. PCP(Cr)-NH was found as the optimal catalyst, with an HMF yield of 65.

In situ study of the competitive adsorption of ions at an organic-aqueous two-phase interface: the essential role of the Hofmeister effect.

Understanding of the microcosmic essence of the competitive adsorption of different ions at liquid/liquid interfaces is of crucial importance for the elucidation of the unique chemical reactivities or selectivities of ions in numerous heterogeneous chemical processes. However, the knowledge of the microscopic mechanism behind the competitive adsorption of ions at the liquid/liquid interface is lacking. Herein, the competitive adsorption of various inorganic salt anions at organic-aqueous two-phase interfaces has been investigated as compared to that of the CrO42- ions by total internal reflection UV-visible (TIR-UV) spectroscopy since CrO42- ions are detectable by UV-visible spectroscopy and have a relatively poor interface propensity as compared to other chaotropic ions.

Fabrication of ultramicroporous triphenylamine-based polyaminal networks for low-pressure carbon dioxide capture.

Three triphenylamine-based polyaminal networks (TMPs) with monodispersed ultramicropore (about 0.54 nm) and abundant doped-nitrogen (up to 42.88 wt%) are successfully prepared through the direct polycondensation of triphenylamine-based aldehydes with melamine.

[Progress in separation and purification of nattokinase and its enzyme activity determination].

In this paper, the separation and purification of nattokinase have been reviewed by primarily focusing on solvent precipitation, adsorption column chromatography, magnetic microspheres, expanded bed, reverse micelle, and three-phase separation methods. The different methods for determination of the enzyme activity have been discussed and compared. Finally, the feasibility that the nucleic acid-based identification techniques can be used for nattokinase purification and enzyme activity assay has been proposed.