Highly Efficient Synthesis of α-Amino Acids via Electrocatalytic C-N Coupling Reaction Over an Atomically Dispersed Iron Loaded Defective TiO.

The synthesis of α-amino acids via the electrocatalytic C-N coupling attracted extensive attention owing to the mild reaction conditions, controllable reaction parameters, and atom economy. However, the α-amino acid yield remains unsatisfying. Herein, the efficient electrocatalytic synthesis of α-amino acids is achieved with an atomically dispersed Fe loaded defective TiO monolithic electrocatalyst (Fe-TiO/Ti).

A self-reactivated PdCu catalyst for aldehyde electro-oxidation with anodic hydrogen production.

The low-potential aldehyde oxidation reaction can occur at low potential (~0 V) and release H at the anode, enabling hydrogen production with less than one-tenth of the energy consumption required for water splitting. Nevertheless, the activity and stability of Cu catalysts remain inadequate due to the oxidative deactivation of Cu-based materials. Herein, we elucidate the deactivation and reactivation cycle of Cu electrocatalyst and develop a self-reactivating PdCu catalyst that exhibits significantly enhanced stability.

Tuning of Oxygen Vacancies in CoO Electrocatalyst for Effectiveness in Urea Oxidation and Water Splitting.

The development of an excellent multifunctional electrocatalyst that is based on non-precious metal is critical for improving the electrochemical processes of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and the urea oxidation reaction (UOR) in alkaline media. This study demonstrates that incorporating Mo into CoO facilitated the formation of rich oxygen vacancies (Vo), which promotes effective nitrate adsorption and activation in urea electrolysis. Subsequently, in situ/operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy is used to explore the active sites in Mo-CoO-3 under OER, indicating the oxygen vacancies are first filled with OH in Mo-CoO; facilitated the pre-oxidation of low-valence Co, and promoted the reconstruction/deprotonation of intermediate Co-OOH.

Coupling photocatalytic CO reduction and CHOH oxidation for selective dimethoxymethane production.

Currently, conventional dimethoxymethane synthesis methods are environmentally unfriendly. Here, we report a photo-redox catalysis system to generate dimethoxymethane using a silver and tungsten co-modified blue titanium dioxide catalyst (Ag.W-BTO) by coupling CO reduction and CHOH oxidation under mild conditions.

Electrocatalytic Coupling of Nitrate and Formaldehyde for Hexamethylenetetramine Synthesis via C-N Bond Construction and Ring Formation.

Hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) is extensively used in the defense industry, medicines, food, plastics, rubber, and other applications. Traditional organic synthesis of HMTA relies on ammonia derived from the Haber process at high temperatures and pressures. In contrast, electrochemical methods enable a safe and green one-pot synthesis of HMTA from waste NO.

Polyacrylate modified Cu electrode for selective electrochemical CO reduction towards multicarbon products.

Highly selective production of value-added multicarbon (C) products via electrochemical CO reduction reaction (eCORR) on polycrystalline copper (Cu) remains challenging. Herein, the facile surface modification using poly (α-ethyl cyanoacrylate) (PECA) is presented to greatly enhance the C selectivity for eCORR over polycrystalline Cu, with Faradaic efficiency (FE) towards C products increased from 30.1% for the Cu electrode to 72.

Main Group SnNO Single Sites with Optimized Charge Distribution for Boosting the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Transition metal single-atom catalysts (SACs) have been regarded as possible alternatives to platinum-based materials due to their satisfactory performance of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). By contrast, main-group metal elements are rarely studied due to their unfavorable surface and electronic states. Herein, a main-group Sn-based SAC with penta-coordinated and asymmetric first-shell ligands is reported as an efficient and robust ORR catalyst.

Ultra-Low-Potential Methanol Oxidation on Single-Ir-Atom Catalyst.

Methanol oxidation plays a central role to implement sustainable energy economy, which is restricted by the sluggish reaction kinetics due to the multi-electron transfer process accompanied by numerous sequential intermediate. In this study, an efficient cascade methanol oxidation reaction is catalyzed by single-Ir-atom catalyst at ultra-low potential (<0.1 V) with the promotion of the thermal and electrochemical integration in a high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzer.

Defect Engineering Simultaneously Regulating Exciton Dissociation in Carbon Nitride and Local Electron Density in Pt Single Atoms Toward Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production.

The high exciton binding energy (E) and sluggish surface reaction kinetics have severely limited the photocatalytic hydrogen production activity of carbon nitride (CN). Herein, a hybrid system consisting of nitrogen defects and Pt single atoms is constructed through a facile self-assembly and photodeposition strategy. Due to the acceleration of exciton dissociation and regulation of local electron density of Pt single atoms along with the introduction of nitrogen defects, the optimized Pt-MCT-3 exhibits a hydrogen production rate of 172.

Selective Electroreduction of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural to Dimethylfuran in Neutral Electrolytes via Hydrogen Spillover and Adsorption Configuration Adjustment.

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), one of the essential C6 biomass derivatives, has been deeply investigated in electrocatalytic reduction upgrading. Nevertheless, the high product selectivity and rational design strategy of electrocatalysts for electrocatalytic HMF reduction is still a challenge. Here, a high selective electro-reduction of HMF to dimethylfuran (DMF) on palladium (Pd) single atom loaded on titanium dioxide (Pd SA/TiO ) via hydrogen spillover and adsorption configuration adjustment in neutral electrolytes is achieved.

Trimetallic Oxide Electrocatalyst for Enhanced Redox Activity in Zinc-Air Batteries Evaluated by In Situ Analysis.

Researchers are investigating innovative composite materials for renewable energy and energy storage systems. The major goals of this studies are i) to develop a low-cost and stable trimetallic oxide catalyst and ii) to change the electrical environment of the active sites through site-selective Mo substitution. The effect of Mo on NiCoMoO is elucidated using both in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis.

Passive acoustic monitoring using smartphones reveals an alarming gibbon decline in a protected area in the central Annamite Mountains, Vietnam.

Monitoring populations is critical for understanding how they respond to anthropogenic disturbance and for management of protected areas. The use of passive acoustic monitoring can improve monitoring efforts as it allows for collection of data on vocal animals at spatial and temporal scales that are difficult using only human observers. In this study, we used a multiseason occupancy model to monitor occurrence, apparent extinction, and colonization probabilities of a northern yellow-cheeked gibbon, Nomascus annamensis population with acoustic data collected from mobile smartphones in Dakrong Nature Reserve, Vietnam.

Synthesis and characterization of visible-light-driven novel CuTaO as a promising practical photocatalyst.

In this work, the novel CuTaO phase was successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal and followed by the calcination process. The X-ray diffraction pattern confirms the formation of different phases. At a low temperature, CuTaO exhibits the orthorhombic phase, whereas, at a higher temperature, it underwent a phase transition to a cubic crystal structure.

Oxygen-Bridged Vanadium Single-Atom Dimer Catalysts Promoting High Faradaic Efficiency of Ammonia Electrosynthesis.

Single-atom catalysts have already been widely investigated for the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). However, the simplicity of a single atom as an active center encounters the challenge of modulating the multiple reaction intermediates during the NRR process. Moving toward the single-atom-dimer (SAD) structures can not only buffer the multiple reaction intermediates but also provide a strategy to modify the electronic structure and environment of the catalysts.

Engineered Cobalt Single-Atoms@BiFeO Heteronanostructures for Highly Efficient Solar Water Oxidation.

Efficient charge-carrier separation and their utilization are the key factors in overcoming sluggish four-electron reaction kinetics involved in photocatalytic oxygen evolution. Here, a novel study demonstrates the significance of Na S O as a sacrificial agent in comparison to AgNO . Resultantly, BiFeO (BFO) and titanium doped-oxygen deficient BiFeO (Ti-BFO-R) nanostructures achieve ≈64 and 44.

Dynamic Reconstitution Between Copper Single Atoms and Clusters for Electrocatalytic Urea Synthesis.

Electrocatalytic CN coupling between carbon dioxide and nitrate has emerged to meet the comprehensive demands of carbon footprint closing, valorization of waste, and sustainable manufacture of urea. However, the identification of catalytic active sites and the design of efficient electrocatalysts remain a challenge. Herein, the synthesis of urea catalyzed by copper single atoms decorated on a CeO support (denoted as Cu -CeO ) is reported.

Anodic Cross-Coupling of Biomass Platform Chemicals to Sustainable Biojet Fuel Precursors.

Electrocatalytic conversion of biomass platform chemicals to jet fuel precursors is a promising approach to alleviate the energy crisis caused by the excessive exploitation and consumption of non-renewable fossil fuels. However, an aqueous electrolyte has been rarely studied. In this study, we demonstrate an anodic electrocatalysis route for producing jet fuel precursors from biomass platform chemicals on Ni-based electrocatalysts in an aqueous electrolyte at room temperature and atmosphere pressure.

Effect of Ag-Decorated BiVO on Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: An X-ray Absorption Spectroscopic Investigation.

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO) has attracted substantial attention on account of its usefulness in producing hydrogen by photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The exploitation of BiVO for this purpose is yet limited by severe charge recombination in the bulk of BiVO, which is caused by the short diffusion length of the photoexcited charge carriers and inefficient charge separation. Enormous effort has been made to improve the photocurrent density and solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of BiVO.

An assessment of the impact of climate change on the distribution of the grey-shanked douc Pygathrix cinerea using an ecological niche model.

Climate change can have many negative impacts on wildlife species, and species with narrow distributions are more likely to be significantly affected. In this study, we used ecological niche modeling for species (MaxEnt software) as well as species occurrence data and climate variables to assess the impacts of climate change on the distribution of the grey-shanked douc-an endemic and rare primate species of Vietnam. We used climate data at the current time and two future times (2050 and 2070).

DPP-4 (CD26) inhibitor alogliptin inhibits atherosclerosis in diabetic apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4 or CD26) inhibitors, a new class of antidiabetic compounds, are effective in the treatment of hyperglycemia. Because atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular diseases are the major complications of diabetes, it is important to determine the effect of DPP-4 inhibitors on atherosclerosis. In this study, nondiabetic and diabetic apolipoprotein E-deficient mice were treated with DPP-4 inhibitor alogliptin for 24 weeks, and atherosclerotic lesions in aortic origins were examined.

Insulin treatment attenuates diabetes-increased atherosclerotic intimal lesions and matrix metalloproteinase 9 expression in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Patients with diabetes mellitus have increased mortality and morbidity of cardiovascular diseases compared with nondiabetic patients. Although clinical studies have shown that effective glycemic control with insulin treatment in patients with type 1 diabetes is associated with reduced cardiovascular events, the underlying mechanisms have not been well understood. In this study, we treated diabetic apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE-/-) mice with insulin for 20 weeks and studied the effect of insulin treatment on intimal lesion size and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9 expression known to be involved in plaque destabilization.

DPP-4 (CD26) inhibitor alogliptin inhibits TLR4-mediated ERK activation and ERK-dependent MMP-1 expression by U937 histiocytes.

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4)/CD26, a cell surface glycoprotein, is expressed by a variety of cells including T cells, B cells, NK cells, and macrophages. Although it has been shown that DPP-4/CD26 is involved in T cell activation, its role in biological functions in macrophages has not been well investigated. In this study, we used alogliptin, a specific inhibitor of DPP 4/CD26, to study the effect of DPP-4/CD26 on the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) that plays a critical role in the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in U937 histiocytes.

Aromatase inhibition by bioavailable methylated flavones.

Previous studies have shown chrysin, 7-hydroxyflavone and 7,4'-dihydroxyflavone to be the most potent flavonoid inhibitors of aromatase. However, very poor oral bioavailability is a major limitation for the successful use of dietary flavonoids as chemopreventive agents. We have recently shown that methylated flavones, including 5,7-dimethoxyflavone, 7-methoxyflavone and 7,4'-dimethoxyflavone, are much more resistant to metabolism than their unmethylated analogs and have much higher intestinal absorption.