Development of natural attapulgite derived ferromanganese spinel oxides as heterogeneous catalysts for persulfate activation of tetracycline degradation.

Ferromanganese spinel oxides (MnFeO, MFO) have been proven effective in activating persulfate for pollutants removal. However, their inherent high surface energy often leads to agglomeration, diminishing active sites and consequently restricting catalytic performance. In this study, using Al-MCM-41 (MCM) mesoporous molecular sieves derived from natural attapulgite as a support, the MFO/MCM composite was synthesized through dispersing MnFeO nanoparticles on MCM carrier by a simple hydrothermal method, which can effectively activate persulfate (PS) to degrade Tetracycline (TC).

Recent developments and perspectives of MXene-Based heterostructures in photocatalysis.

Energy crises and environmental degradation are serious in recent years. Inexhaustible solar energy can be used for photocatalytic hydrogen production or CO reduction to reduce CO emissions. At present, the development of efficient photocatalysts is imminent.

Vacancy pairs regulate BiOBr microstructure for efficient dimethyl phthalate removal under visible light irradiation.

Developing new photocatalysts to achieve efficient removal of phthalate esters (PAEs) in water is an important research task in environmental science. However, existing modification strategies for photocatalysts often focus on enhancing the efficiency of material photogenerated charge separation, neglecting the degradation characteristics of PAEs. In this work, we proposed an effective strategy for the photodegradation process of PAEs: introducing vacancy pair defects.

Oxygen vacancies assist a facet effect to modulate the microstructure of TiO for efficient photocatalytic O activation.

Defect engineering is recognized as an effective route to obtaining highly active photocatalytic materials. However, the current understanding of the role of defects in photocatalysts mainly comes from their independent functional analysis, ignoring the synergy between defects and the chemical environment, especially with crystal facets. Herein, oxygen vacancy (V)-rich TiO nanostructures with different dominant exposed facets were prepared, and the microstructural changes induced by the synergy between the V and facet effect and the performance difference of photocatalytic O activation were explored.

A composite photocatalytic system based on spent alkaline Zn-Mn batteries for toluene removal under multiple conditions.

The resource utilization of spent alkaline Zn-Mn batteries (S-AZMB) has always been a hot issue in the field of energy regeneration and environmental protection. The cumbersome and complicated purification process is the reason for their limited recycling. Not long ago, we proved that unpurified S-AZMB can be used directly: construct a Z-scheme photocatalytic system by combining with commercial TiO through high-temperature calcination.

Recycling of spent alkaline Zn-Mn batteries directly: Combination with TiO to construct a novel Z-scheme photocatalytic system.

Recycling of spent alkaline Zn-Mn batteries (S-AZMB) has always been a focus of attention in environmental and energy fields. However, the current research mostly concentrated in the recovery of purified materials, and ignores the direct reuse of S-AZMB. Herein, we propose a new concept for the first time that unpurified S-AZMB can be used as raw materials for preparation of Z-scheme photocatalytic system in combination with TiO.

Improving Photocatalytic Water Treatment through Nanocrystal Engineering: Mesoporous Nanosheet-Assembled 3D BiOCl Hierarchical Nanostructures That Induce Unprecedented Large Vacancies.

Vacancy control can significantly enhance the performance of photocatalytic semiconductors for water purification. However, little is known about the mechanisms and approaches that could generate stable large vacancies. Here, we report a new mechanism to induce vacancy formation on nanocrystals for enhanced photocatalytic activity: the introduction of mesopores.

A unique semiconductor-carbon-metal hybrid structure design as a counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells.

The catalytic activity of counter electrodes (CEs) severely restricts the photovoltaic conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells. However, electrons trapped by bulk defects greatly reduce the catalytic activity of the CE. In this study, we report a novel InS-C-Au hybrid structure designed by simply decorating Au particles on the surface of carbon-coated hierarchical InS flower-like architectures, which could avoid the abovementioned problems.

Facile Preparation and Lithium Storage Properties of TiO2 @Graphene Composite Electrodes with Low Carbon Content.

Over the past decade, TiO2 /graphene composites as electrodes for lithium ion batteries have attracted a great deal of attention for reasons of safety and environmental friendliness. However, most of the TiO2 /graphene electrodes have large graphene content (9-40 %), which is bound to increase the cost of the battery. Logically, reducing the amount of graphene is a necessary part to achieve a green battery.

Ultralong In2S3 Nanotubes on Graphene Substrate with Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity.

Ultralong one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures including nanowires or nanotubes have been extensively studied because of their widespread applications in many fields. Although a lot of methods have been reported to prepare In2S3 nanotubes, approaching these nanotubes through one-pot solution synthesis is still extremely difficult, probably because of the intrinsic isotropic crystal growth characteristic of In2S3. In this article, we demonstrated a self-assembly approach for hydrothermal synthesis of In2S3 nanotubes/graphene composites, which contain ultralong (up to 10 μm) In2S3 nanotubes on graphene substrate.

Mesoporous Bi₂S₃ nanorods with graphene-assistance as low-cost counter-electrode materials in dye-sensitized solar cells.

In this work, we report the synthesis of mesoporous Bi₂S₃ nanorods under hydrothermal conditions without additives, and investigated their catalytic activities as the CE in DSCs by I-V curves and tested conversion efficiency. To further improve their power conversion efficiency, we added different amounts of reduced graphene by simple physical mixing. With the addition of 9 wt% reduced graphene (rGO), the short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage and fill factor were Jsc = 15.

A novel differential expression system for gene modulation in Mycobacteria.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health problem, and successful genetic manipulation of mycobacteria is crucial for developing new approaches to study the mechanism of pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) and to combat TB. In this study, a series of M.

A modified single-tube one-step product-enhanced reverse transcriptase (mSTOS-PERT) assay with heparin as DNA polymerase inhibitor for specific detection of RTase activity.

Background: Current regulations and recommendations proposed for the production of vaccines in continuous cell lines of any origin demand that these be free of exogenous viruses, particularly retroviruses. Recently, the ultra-sensitive product-enhanced reverse transcriptase (PERT) assay can be used to detect minute of reverse transcriptase (RTase) in single retroviral particle and is 10(6) times more sensitive than the conventional RTase assays. However, coincidental with this increase in sensitivity is an increase in false-positive reactions derived from contaminating cellular DNA polymerases, which are known to have RTase-like activities.

Rapid detection of rpoB gene mutations in rifampin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in shanghai by using the amplification refractory mutation system.

Rapid detection of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is essential for efficient treatment and control of this pathogen. The amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) was used to detect mutations in the rifampin resistance-determining region of the rpoB gene. A total of 39 rifampin-resistant M.

Molecular Cloning of Human beta-arrestin1 cDNA, Expression and Functional Study.

Complete coding sequences of beta-arrestin1 (1A and 1B) were cloned through application of bioinformatics analysis to the dbEST database. beta-arrestin1A was overexpressed in E.coli with partial expression products as inclusion body.