A new magneto-optical phenomenon enhanced by Au nanoparticles on 3D Ni sub-microstructures.

We constructed a bio-structured surface-plasmonic/magneto-optic composite of ferromagnet metal Ni and noble metal Au. It was found that Ni (Mm) butterfly wings (BWs) with a natural photonic crystal structure have an apparent enhancement of light reflection under a 0.3 T magnetic field.

Ultrafast and Durable Sodium-Ion Storage of Pseudocapacitive VN@C Hybrid Nanorods from Metal-Organic Framework.

Vanadium nitride (VN) is a promising electrode material for sodium-ion storage due to its multivalent states and high electrical conductivity. However, its electrochemical performance has not been fully explored and the storage mechanism remains to be clarified up to date. Here, the possibility of VN/carbon hybrid nanorods synthesized from a metal-organic framework for ultrafast and durable sodium-ion storage is demonstrated.

A Novel 3--rhamnoside: 2″--xylosyltransferase Responsible for Terminal Modification of Prenylflavonol Glycosides in Maxim.

Prenylated flavonol glycosides in plants, as key medicinal components, are known to have great pharmaceutical activities for human health. Among the main prenylated flavonol glycosides, the modification mechanism of different sugar moieties is still not well understood. In the current study, a novel prenylated flavonol rhamnoside xylosyltransferase gene () was cloned from , and the enzymatic activity of its decoding proteins was examined in vitro with different prenylated flavonol rhamnoside substrates and different 3--monosaccharide moieties.

Free-Standing, Self-Doped Porous Hard Carbon: Na-Ion Storage with Enhanced Initial Coulombic Efficiency.

The use of porous hard carbons (PHCs) as electrode materials in sodium-ion batteries has great potential; however, the exposure of large surface areas to electrolyte flow results in irregular and irreversible solid electrolyte interfaces (SEIs), leading to deteriorated ionic and electronic mobility and inferior initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE). These issues can be addressed through suitable structural modifications of PHC materials. Herein, the integration of high-surface-area PHCs with carbon nanofibers (CNFs) was accomplished by a simple electrospinning technique, which resulted in a uniform and reversible SEI layer.

Synergistic Hybrid Electrocatalysts of Platinum Alloy and Single-Atom Platinum for an Efficient and Durable Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Pt single-atom materials possess an ideal atom economy but suffer from limited intrinsic activity and side reaction of producing HO in catalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR); platinum alloys have higher intrinsic activity but weak stability. Here, we demonstrate that anchoring platinum alloys on single-atom Pt-decorated carbon (Pt-SAC) surmounts their inherent deficiencies, thereby enabling a complete four-electron ORR pathway catalysis with high efficiency and durability. PtCo@Pt-SAC demonstrates an exceptional mass and specific activities 1 order of magnitude higher than those of commercial Pt/C.

Genome-wide analysis of gene family identified key gene for the biosynthesis of bioactive flavonol glycosides in Maxim.

Maxim. is a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal herb with flavonol glycosides as the major pharmaceutically active compounds. UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) are a group of enzymes responsible for the glycosylation of flavonoid glycosides.

The Test Based on Meta-Analysis on "Does Workaholism Prefer Task Performance or Contextual Performance?".

The relationship between workaholism and work performance is explored by meta-analysis in this article. After searching relevant references, we had gained 94 individual effect sizes ( = 57,352), 45 individual samples, and 37 references. Through the heterogeneity test, it was shown that the random effect model is more suitable.

Copper sulfide as the cation exchange template for synthesis of bimetallic catalysts for CO electroreduction.

Among metals used for CO electroreduction in water, Cu appears to be unique in its ability to produce C2+ products like ethylene. Bimetallic combinations of Cu with other metals have been investigated with the goal of steering selectivity creating a tandem pathway through the CO intermediate or by changing the surface electronic structure. Here, we demonstrate a facile cation exchange method to synthesize Ag/Cu electrocatalysts for CO reduction using Cu sulfides as a growth template.

Ambient sampling of real-world residential wood combustion plumes.

Wood smoke contains large quantities of carbonaceous aerosols known to increase climate forcing and be detrimental to human health. This paper reports the findings from our ambient sampling of fresh residential wood combustion (RWC) plumes in two heating seasons (2015-2016, 2016-2017) in Upstate New York. An Aethalometer (AE33) and a pDR-1500 were employed to monitor residential wood smoke plumes in Ithaca, NY through a hybrid mobile-stationary method.

Bioinspired Porous Anodic Alumina/Aluminum Flake Powder for Multiband Compatible Low Detectability.

Continuous development and advancement in modern detection technologies have increased the demand for multiband (e.g., visual and infrared) compatible camouflage.

One-step sonochemical fabrication of biomass-derived porous hard carbons; towards tuned-surface anodes of sodium-ion batteries.

A facile one-step sonochemical activation method is utilized to fabricate biomass-derived 3D porous hard carbon (PHC-1) with tuned-surface and is compared with the conventional two-step activation method. As raw biomass offers good KOH impregnation, ultrasonication power diffuses both K and OH ions deep into its interior, creating various nanopores and attaching copious functional groups. In contrast, conventional activation lacks these features under the same carbonization/activation parameters.

Two-dimensional quantum-sheet films with sub-1.2 nm channels for ultrahigh-rate electrochemical capacitance.

Dense, thick, but fast-ion-conductive electrodes are critical yet challenging components of ultrafast electrochemical capacitors with high volumetric power/energy densities. Here we report an exfoliation-fragmentation-restacking strategy towards thickness-adjustable (1.5‒24.

Designing roadside green infrastructure to mitigate traffic-related air pollution using machine learning.

Communities located in near-road environments are exposed to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP), causing adverse health effects. While roadside vegetation barriers can help mitigate TRAP, their effectiveness to reduce TRAP is influenced by site-specific conditions. To test vegetation designs using direct field measurements or high-fidelity numerical simulations is often infeasible since urban planners and local communities often lack the access and expertise to use those tools.

Preparation of Sn/Fe nanoparticles for Cr (III) detection in presence of leucine, photocatalytic and antibacterial activities.

In this project, Sn-Fe bimetallic nanoparticles were prepared by a facile method. The bimetallic nanoparticles of it could be well established by a field emission scanning electron microscope micrographs. Due to the excellent synergistic influence between Sn-Fe nanoparticles and leucine indicated a great performance for determination of Cr.

3D Interconnected Gyroid Au-CuS Materials for Efficient Solar Steam Generation.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR), a promising technology, is beneficial for various applications, such as photothermal conversion, solar cells, photocatalysts, and sensing. However, the SPR performance may be restricted by the 1D- or 2D-distributed hotspots. The bicontinuous interconnected gyroid-structured materials have emerged in light energy conversion due to a high density of 3D-distributed hotspots, ultrahigh light-matter interactions and large scattering cross-section.

Butterfly wing architectures inspire sensor and energy applications.

Natural biological systems are constantly developing efficient mechanisms to counter adverse effects of increasing human population and depleting energy resources. Their intelligent mechanisms are characterized by the ability to detect changes in the environment, store and evaluate information, and respond to external stimuli. Bio-inspired replication into man-made functional materials guarantees enhancement of characteristics and performance.

A Scalable Nickel-Cellulose Hybrid Metamaterial with Broadband Light Absorption for Efficient Solar Distillation.

Sophisticated metastructures are usually required to broaden the inherently narrowband plasmonic absorption of light for applications such as solar desalination, photodetection, and thermoelectrics. Here, nonresonant nickel nanoparticles (diameters < 20 nm) are embedded into cellulose microfibers via a nanoconfinement effect, producing an intrinsically broadband metamaterial with 97.1% solar-weighted absorption.

3D-Structured Carbonized Sunflower Heads for Improved Energy Efficiency in Solar Steam Generation.

Solar steam generation is regarded as a perspective technology, due to its potentials in solar light absorption and photothermal conversion for seawater desalination and water purification. Although lots of steam generation systems have been reported to possess high conversion efficiencies recently, researches of simple, cost-effective, and sustainable materials still need to be done. Here, inspired by natural young sunflower heads' property increasing the temperature of dish-shaped flowers by tracking the sun, we used 3D-structured carbonized sunflower heads as an effective solar steam generator.

One-Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of Ternary 1T-MoS /Hexa-WO /Graphene Composites for High-Performance Supercapacitors.

A new ternary composite of 1T-molybdenum disulfide, hexagonal tungsten trioxide, and reduced graphene oxide (M-W-rGO) is synthesized by using a one-pot hydrothermal process. The synergetic effect of 1T-MoS and hexa-WO nanoflowers improves the electrochemical performance for supercapacitors by inducing additional active sites and hexagonal tunnels, respectively, which lead to high storage capacity and easy transfer of electrolyte ions. The ternary M-W-rGO composite has a high specific capacitance of 836 F g at 1 A g , which is nearly twice that of binary composites of M-rGO and W-rGO with high capacitance retention of 86.

In situ synthesis of BiOCl nanosheets on three-dimensional hierarchical structures for efficient photocatalysis under visible light.

Assembling two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials into three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical structures with novel functions is challenging and has attracted considerable attention. However, it is quite difficult to obtain complex 3D architectures of 2D materials with a uniform and intact structure using traditional methods, such as hydrothermal/solvothermal methods and direct precipitation methods. Here, we use butterfly wing scales as bio-templates to prepare 3D hierarchical BiOCl/Au wing scales for plasmonic photocatalysis.

Large-Area 3D Hierarchical Superstructures Assembled from Colloidal Nanoparticles.

Assembling nanosized building blocks into macroscopic 3D complex structures is challenging. Here, nanosized metal and semiconductor building blocks with a variety of sizes and shapes (spheres, stars, and rods) are successfully assembled into a broad range of hierarchical (nanometer to micrometer) assemblies of functional materials in centimeter size using butterfly wings as templates. This is achieved by the introduction of steric hindrance to the assembly process, which compensates for attraction from the environmentally sensitive hydrogen bonds and prevents the aggregation of nanosized building blocks.

Ce as a facile and versatile surface modification reagent for templated synthesis in electrical applications.

Surface modification for templated synthesis is crucial to achieving three-dimensional (3D) architectured materials for catalysis, photonics, energy storage, etc. However, the existing facile and versatile modification methods (e.g.

Near-source air quality impact of a distributed natural gas combined heat and power facility.

The wide adoption of combined heat and power (CHP) can not only improve energy efficiency, but also strengthens energy system resiliency. While CHP reduces overall emissions compared to generating the same amount of electricity and heat separately, its on-site nature also means that CHP facilities operate in populated areas, raising concerns over their near-source air quality impact. Evaluation of the near-source impact of distributed CHP is limited by emission data availability, especially in terms of particulate matter (PM).

Self-Assembly of Large-Area 2D Polycrystalline Transition Metal Carbides for Hydrogen Electrocatalysis.

Low-dimensional (0/1/2 dimension) transition metal carbides (TMCs) possess intriguing electrical, mechanical, and electrochemical properties, and they serve as convenient supports for transition metal catalysts. Large-area single-crystalline 2D TMC sheets are generally prepared by exfoliating MXene sheets from MAX phases. Here, a versatile bottom-up method is reported for preparing ultrathin TMC sheets (≈10 nm in thickness and >100 μm in lateral size) with metal nanoparticle decoration.