Factors Affecting Stability of RNA - Temperature, Length, Concentration, pH, and Buffering Species.

RNA is prone to both chemical degradation and/or physical instability. Some of the factors affecting stability of RNA in solution are its length, 3' poly A tail and 5' cap integrity, excipients, buffering species, pH of the solution, nucleases, and divalent cations. In this work, we showed the effect of temperature, messenger RNA (mRNA) length, buffering species, pH of the solution, and the concentration of mRNA on its chemical and physical stability.

Polymeric Network Hierarchically Organized on Carbon Nano-onions: Block Polymerization as a Tool for the Controlled Formation of Specific Pore Diameters.

The organization of specific pores in carbonaceous three-dimensional networks is crucial for efficient electrocatalytic processes and electrochemical performance. Therefore, the synthesis of porous materials with ordered and well-defined pores is required in this field. The incorporation of carbon nanostructures into polymers can create material structures that are more ordered in comparison to those of the pristine polymers.

Cylindrical C Fullertubes: A Highly Active Metal-Free O -Reduction Electrocatalyst.

A new isolation protocol was recently reported for highly purified metallic Fullertubes D -C , D -C , and D -C which exhibit unique electronic features. Here, we report the oxygen reduction electrocatalytic behavior of C , C (spheroidal fullerenes), and C , C , and C (tubular fullerenes) using a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches. C (a metal-free catalyst) displayed remarkable oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity, with an onset potential of 0.

Diazonium functionalized fullerenes: a new class of efficient molecular catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

Considerable efforts are being made to find cheaper and more efficient alternatives to the currently commercially available catalysts based on precious metals for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER). In this context, fullerenes have started to gain attention due to their suitable electronic properties and relatively easy functionalization. We found that the covalent functionalization of C, C and ScN@C with diazonium salts endows the fullerene cages with ultra-active charge polarization centers, which are located near the carbon-diazonium bond and improve the efficiency towards the molecular generation of hydrogen.

α-DTC Fullerene Performs Significantly Better than β-DTC as Electron Transporting Material in Perovskite Solar Cells.

In this work, two new C isomers, α and β bis(2-(thiophen-2-yl)ethyl)-C-fullerene mono-adducts (DTC), were synthesized, characterized and used as electron transporting materials (ETMs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Our results show that the α isomer improves both the and FF values of the devices, when compared to the results for the β-isomer and to those for phenyl-C-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), used as control. Devices based on α-DTC achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.

Co-Cu Bimetallic Metal Organic Framework Catalyst Outperforms the Pt/C Benchmark for Oxygen Reduction.

Platinum (Pt)-based-nanomaterials are currently the most successful catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in electrochemical energy conversion devices such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Nonetheless, Pt catalysts have serious drawbacks, including low abundance in nature, sluggish kinetics, and very high costs, which limit their practical applications. Herein, we report the first rationally designed nonprecious Co-Cu bimetallic metal-organic framework (MOF) using a low-temperature hydrothermal method that outperforms the electrocatalytic activity of Pt/C for ORR in alkaline environments.

Fullerenes as Key Components for Low-Dimensional (Photo)electrocatalytic Nanohybrid Materials.

An emerging class of heterostructures with unprecedented (photo)electrocatalytic behavior, involving the combination of fullerenes and low-dimensional (LD) nanohybrids, is currently expanding the field of energy materials. The unique physical and chemical properties of fullerenes have offered new opportunities to tailor both the electronic structures and the catalytic activities of the nanohybrid structures. Here, we comprehensively review the synthetic approaches to prepare fullerene-based hybrids with LD (0D, 1D, and 2D) materials in addition to their resulting structural and catalytic properties.

Tailoring the Interfacial Interactions of van der Waals 1T-MoS/C Heterostructures for High-Performance Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalysis.

Fullerene-based low-dimensional (LD) heterostructures have emerged as excellent energy conversion materials. We constructed van der Waals 1T-MoS/C 0D-2D heterostructures via a one-pot synthetic approach for catalytic hydrogen generation. The interfacial 1T-MoS-C and C-C interactions as well as their electrocatalytic properties were finely controlled by varying the weight percentages of the fullerenes.

Tissue paper-derived porous carbon encapsulated transition metal nanoparticles as advanced non-precious catalysts: Carbon-shell influence on the electrocatalytic behaviour.

Porous carbon encapsulated non-precious metal nanocatalysts have recently opened the ways towards the development of high-performance water remediation and energy conversion technologies. Herein, we report a facile, scalable and green synthetic methodology to fabricate porous carbon encapsulated transition metal nanocatalysts (M@TP: M = Cu, Ni, Fe and Co) using commercial tissue paper. The morphology, crystalline structure, chemical composition and textural properties of the M@TP nanocatalysts were thoroughly characterized.

ScN@ -C based donor-acceptor conjugate: role of thiophene spacer in promoting ultrafast excited state charge separation.

Light induced charge separation in a newly synthesized triphenylamine-thiophene-ScN@ -C donor-acceptor conjugate and its C analog, triphenylamine-thiophene-C conjugate is reported, and the significance of the thiophene spacer in promoting electron transfer events is unraveled.

Smart paper transformer: new insight for enhanced catalytic efficiency and reusability of noble metal nanocatalysts.

Although noble metal nanocatalysts show superior performance to conventional catalysts, they can be problematic when balancing catalytic efficiency and reusability. In order to address this dilemma, we developed a smart paper transformer (s-PAT) to support nanocatalysts, based on easy phase conversion between paper and pulp, for the first time. The pulp phase was used to maintain the high catalytic efficiency of the nanocatalysts and the transformation to paper enabled their high reusability.

Variation of Interfacial Interactions in PCBM-like Electron-Transporting Compounds for Perovskite Solar Cells.

The synthesis, characterization, and incorporation of phenyl-C-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)-like derivatives as electron transporting materials (ETMs) in inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are reported. These compounds have the same structure except for the ester substituent, which was varied from methyl to phenyl to thienyl and to pyridyl. The three latter derivatives performed better than PCBM in PSCs, mainly attributed to the specific interactions of the fullerenes with the perovskite layer, as evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence (SS- and TRPL) measurements.

New thiophene-based C fullerene derivatives as efficient electron transporting materials for perovskite solar cells.

The synthesis of new C fullerene derivatives functionalized with thiophene moieties as well as with electron donating or electron withdrawing groups, bromine (Br) or cyano (CN), respectively, using Bingel reactions is reported. The synthesized derivatives were used as the electron transporting materials (ETMs) in inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Compared to devices fabricated with [6,6]-phenyl-C-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), the new derivatives showed similar electrochemical properties and electron mobilities.