Harvesting ionic power from a neutralization reaction through a heterogeneous graphene oxide membrane.

Nanofluidics is a system of fluid transport limited to a nano-confined space, including the transport of ions and molecules. The use of intelligent nanofluidics has shown great potential in energy conversion. However, ion transport is hindered by homogeneous membranes with uniform charge distribution and concentration polarization, which often leads to an undesirable power conversion performance.

 (Primulaceae), a new species from Hubei, Central China.

In this study, we describe and illustrate a new species, L.S.Yang, Z.

Ion-Concentration-Hopping Heterolayer Gel for Ultrahigh Gradient Energy Conversion.

Conventional solid ion channel systems relying on single one- or two-dimensional confined nanochannels enabled selective and ultrafast convective ion transport. However, due to intrinsic solid channel stacking, these systems often face pore-pore polarization and ion concentration blockage, thereby restricting their efficiency in macroscale ion transport. Here, we constructed a soft heterolayer-gel system that integrated an ion-selective hydrogel layer with a water-barrier organogel layer, achieving ultrahigh cation selectivity and flux and effectively providing high-efficiency gradient energy conversion on a macroscale order of magnitude.

A marine bacteria-inspired electrochemical regulation for continuous uranium extraction from seawater and salt lake brine.

Oceans and salt lakes contain vast amounts of uranium. Uranium recovery from natural water not only copes with radioactive pollution in water but also can sustain the fuel supply for nuclear power. The adsorption-assisted electrochemical processes offer a promising route for efficient uranium extraction.

Neuron-Inspired Nanofluidic Biosensors for Highly Sensitive and Selective Imidacloprid Detection.

Pesticides have caused concerns about food safety due to their residual effects in vegetables and fruits. Imidacloprid, as the frequently used neonicotinoid pesticide, could harm cardiovascular and respiratory function and cause reproductive toxicity in humans. Therefore, reliable methods for portable, selective, and rapid detection are desirable to develop.

Skeleton engineering of rigid covalent organic frameworks to alter the number of binding sites for improved radionuclide extraction.

Crystalline porous covalent frameworks (COFs) have been considered as a platform for uranium extraction from seawater and nuclear waste. However, the role of rigid skeleton and atomically precise structures of COFs is often ignored in the design of defined binding configuration. Here, a COF with an optimized relative position of two bidentate ligands realizes full potential in uranium extraction.

Engineering Multi-field-coupled Synergistic Ion Transport System Based on the Heterogeneous Nanofluidic Membrane for High-Efficient Lithium Extraction.

The global carbon neutrality strategy brings a wave of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries technique development and induces an ever-growing consumption and demand for lithium (Li). Among all the Li exploitation, extracting Li from spent LIBs would be a strategic and perspective approach, especially with the low energy consumption and eco-friendly membrane separation method. However, current membrane separation systems mainly focus on monotonous membrane design and structure optimization, and rarely further consider the coordination of inherent structure and applied external field, resulting in limited ion transport.

Degree of Coupling in Microwave-Heating Polar-Molecule Reactions.

Microwave-assisted chemical reactions have been widely used, but the overheating effect limits further applications. The aim of this paper is to investigate the coupling degree of the electromagnetic field and thermal field in microwave-heating chemical reactions whose polarization changes as the reactions proceed. First, the entropy-balance equation of microwave-heating polar-molecule reactions is obtained.

Surfactant-Assisted Sulfonated Covalent Organic Nanosheets: Extrinsic Charge for Improved Ion Transport and Salinity-Gradient Energy Harvesting.

Charge-governed ion transport is the vital property of nanofluidic channels for salinity-gradient energy harvesting and other electrochemical energy conversion technologies. 2D nanofluidic channels constructed by nanosheets exhibit great superiority in ion selectivity, but a high ion transport rate remains challenging due to the insufficiency of intrinsic surface charge density in nanoconfinement. Herein, extrinsic surface charge into nanofluidic channels composed of surfactant-assisted sulfonated covalent organic nanosheets (SCONs), which enable tunable ion transport behaviors, is demonstrated.

Heterogeneous Electrospinning Nanofiber Membranes with pH-regulated Ion Gating for Tunable Osmotic Power Harvesting.

Biological ion channels existing in organisms are critical for many biological processes. Inspired by biological ion channels, the heterogeneous electrospinning nanofiber membranes (HENM) with functional ion channels are constructed by electrospinning technology. The HENM successfully realizes ion-gating effects, which can be used for tunable energy conversions.

Engineered Cellulose Nanofiber Membranes with Ultrathin Low-Dimensional Carbon Material Layers for Photothermal-Enhanced Osmotic Energy Conversion.

As a promising clean energy source, membrane-based osmotic energy harvesting has been widely investigated and developed through optimizing the membrane structure in recent years. For chasing higher energy conversion performance, various external stimuli have been introduced into the osmotic energy harvesting systems as assistant factors. Light as a renewable and well-tunable energy form has drawn great attention.

Corrigendum to Robust sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) nanochannels for high-performance osmotic energy conversion.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa057.].

Surface Charge Regulated Asymmetric Ion Transport in Nanoconfined Space.

The asymmetric ion transport in the nanoconfined space, similar to that of natural ion channels, has attracted broad interest in sensor, energy conversion, and other related fields. Among these systems, the surface charge plays an important role in regulating ion transport behaviors. Herein, this surface charge-regulated asymmetric ion transport behavior is systematically explored in the nanoconfined space and the influence on the performance of nanofluidic energy conversion system.

Robust sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) nanochannels for high-performance osmotic energy conversion.

The membrane-based reverse electrodialysis (RED) technique has a fundamental role in harvesting clean and sustainable osmotic energy existing in the salinity gradient. However, the current designs of membranes cannot cope with the high output power density and robustness. Here, we construct a sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) nanochannel membrane with numerous nanochannels for a membrane-based osmotic power generator.

Improved Ion Transport and High Energy Conversion through Hydrogel Membrane with 3D Interconnected Nanopores.

To mimic and use the functions of the ion transport system that are central to biological processes, bioinspired ion-selective membranes are developed and show great potential in a variety of fields. However, the practical applications of them are now limited due to low pore density, low conductivity, or scale-up difficulty. Herein, we demonstrate a 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate phosphate (HEMAP) hydrogel membrane with 3D interconnected nanopores and space charged through simple photopolymerization.

Biomimetic Nacre-Like Silk-Crosslinked Membranes for Osmotic Energy Harvesting.

As an approach to harvesting sustainable energy from ambient conditions, the osmotic energy between river water and seawater contributes to solving global issues such as the energy shortage and environmental pollution. Current attempts based on a reverse electrodialysis technique are limited mainly due to the economically unviable power density and inadequate mass transportation of membrane materials. Here, we demonstrate a benign strategy for designing a multilayer graphene oxide-silk nanofiber-graphene oxide biomimetic nacre-like sandwich as an osmotic power generator.

Tailoring A Poly(ether sulfone) Bipolar Membrane: Osmotic-Energy Generator with High Power Density.

Osmotic energy, obtained through different concentrations of salt solutions, is recognized as a form of a sustainable energy source. In the past years, membranes derived from asymmetric aromatic compounds have attracted attention because of their low cost and high performance in osmotic energy conversion. The membrane formation process, charging state, functional groups, membrane thickness, and the ion-exchange capacity of the membrane could affect the power generation performance.

Genomic insights into adaptation to heterogeneous environments for the ancient relictual Circaeaster agrestis (Circaeasteraceae, Ranunculales).

Investigating the interaction between environmental heterogeneity and local adaptation is critical for understanding the evolutionary history of a species, providing the premise for studying the response of organisms to rapid climate change. However, for most species how exactly the spatial heterogeneity promotes population divergence and how genomic variations contribute to adaptive evolution remain poorly understood. We examine the contributions of geographical and environmental variables to population divergence of the relictual, alpine herb Circaeaster agrestis, as well as the genetic basis of local adaptation using RAD-seq and plastome data.

Specific Recognition of Uranyl Ion Employing a Functionalized Nanochannel Platform for Dealing with Radioactive Contamination.

Radioactive contamination is a highly concerning global environmental issue along with the development of the nuclear industry. On account of sophisticated operations and high cost of instrument detection methods, numerous efforts have been focused on rapid and simple detection of pollution elements and uranium is the most common one. It is an enormous challenge to push the limit of determination as low as possible while carrying out ultrasensitive detection.

Corrigendum: Forest Soil Fungal Community Elevational Distribution Pattern and Their Ecological Assembly Processes.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.

Forest Soil Fungal Community Elevational Distribution Pattern and Their Ecological Assembly Processes.

Soil fungi play vital roles in natural ecosystems, however, their community distribution patterns along different environmental gradients and ecological assembly processes remain unclear. In this study, Illumina MiSeq sequencing was used to investigate the soil fungal community structures of five different forest types along an elevational gradient, and a framework based on a null model was adopted to quantify the relative contribution of deterministic and stochastic ecological assembly processes. The results showed that the majority of soil fungal OTUs were derived from Zygomycota, Basidiomycota, and Ascomycota.

Broad-leaved forest types affect soil fungal community structure and soil organic carbon contents.

Evergreen broad-leaved (EBF) and deciduous broad-leaved (DBF) forests are two important vegetation types in terrestrial ecosystems that play key roles in sustainable biodiversity and global carbon (C) cycling. However, little is known about their associated soil fungal community and the potential metabolic activities involved in biogeochemical processes. In this study, soil samples were collected from EBF and DBF in Shennongjia Mountain, China, and soil fungal community structure and functional gene diversity analyzed based on combined Illumina MiSeq sequencing with GeoChip technologies.

Complete plastome sequencing from (Meliaceae) and phylogenomic analyses within Sapindales.

Premise Of The Study: (Meliaceae, Sapindales) is a small genus of five species of trees native from southern and eastern Asia to New Guinea and Australia. Complete plastomes were sequenced for three species to provide a basis for future plastome genetic studies in threatened species of . In addition, plastome structural evolution and phylogenetic relationships across Sapindales were explored with a larger data set of 29 Sapindales plastomes (including members of six out of nine families).