Preparation Methods of Metal Nanoclusters.

Metal nanoclusters, also known as ultrasmall nanoparticles, represent a promising class of nanomaterials due to their atomically precise characterizations and intriguing chemical-physical properties. The preparation is the cornerstone for advancing the nanocluster science, facilitating their structural determination, property investigation, and practical application. We have been devoted to exploring new and efficient approaches for the high-yield preparation of metal nanoclusters with customized structures and properties.

Heteroatom number-dependent cluster frameworks in structurally comparable Pd-Au nanoclusters.

Investigating the impact of heteroatom alloying extents on regulating the cluster structures is crucial for the fabrication of cluster-based nanomaterials with customized properties. Herein, two structurally comparable PdAu ( = 1, 2) nanoclusters with a uniform surface environment but completely distinct kernel configurations were controllably synthesized and structurally determined. The single Pd-alloyed Pd1Au12 nanocluster retained an icosahedral metal framework, while the Pd2Au12 nanocluster with two Pd heteroatoms exhibited a unique toroidal configuration.

Reverse design of broadband sound absorption structure based on deep learning method.

This research presents a method based on deep learning for the reverse design of sound-absorbing structures. Traditional methods require time-consuming individual numerical simulations followed by cumbersome calculations, whereas the deep learning design method significantly simplifies the design process, achieving efficient and rapid design objectives. By utilizing deep neural networks, a mapping relationship between structural parameters and the sound absorption coefficient curve is established.

Identification of pyrimidine metabolism-based molecular subtypes and prognostic signature to predict immune landscape and guide clinical treatment in prostate cancer.

Background: We previously described the enrichment of plasma exosome metabolites in CRPC, PCa, and TFC cohorts, and found significant differences in pyrimidine metabolites. The PMGs is associated with the clinical prognosis of several cancers, but its biological role in PCa is still unclear.

Methods: This study extracted 98 reliable PMGs, and analyzed their somatic mutations, expression levels, and prognostic significance.

Symmetrical and asymmetrical surface structure expansions of silver nanoclusters with atomic precision.

Controlling symmetrical or asymmetrical growth has allowed a series of novel nanomaterials with prominent physicochemical properties to be produced. However, precise and continuous size growth based on a preserved template has long been a challenging pursuit, yet little has been achieved in terms of manipulation at the atomic level. Here, a correlated silver cluster series has been established, enabling atomically precise manipulation of symmetrical and asymmetrical surface structure expansions of metal nanoclusters.

Record-high hyperpolarizabilities in atomically precise single metal-doped silver nanoclusters.

Recent developments in optical imaging techniques, particularly multi-photon excitation microscopy that allows studies of biological interactions at a deep cellular level, have motivated intensive research in developing multi-photon absorption fluorophores. Biological tissues are optically transparent in the near-infrared region. Therefore, fluorophores that can absorb light in the near-infrared (NIR) region by multi-photon absorption are particularly useful in bio-imaging.

A novel strategy to improve the electrochemical properties of in-situ polymerized 1,3-dioxolane electrolyte in lithium metal batteries.

The application of solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) is anticipated to enhance the safety performance of lithium metal batteries (LMBs). However, the progress of SSEs has been hindered by the unstable electrode-electrolyte interfaces (EEIs). In this study, in-situ polymerization of 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) is employed for the preparation of SSEs, with the addition of tributyl borate (TBB) to establish stable EEIs, particularly under high-voltage conditions.

Gray matter volume differences based on sex in first-episode drug-naive patients with major depressive disorder and its molecular analysis.

This study analyzed whether gray matter volume (GMV) differences exist between the sexes in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and explored the relationships between these differences and neurotransmitter systems. This study enrolled 190 first-episode drug-naive patients with MDD and 293 healthy controls. All participants underwent T1-weighted high-resolution MRI.

Superlattice Assembly for Empowering Metal Nanoclusters.

ConspectusAtomically precise metal nanoclusters, serving as an aggregation state of metal atoms, display unique physicochemical properties owing to their ultrasmall sizes with discrete electronic energy levels and strong quantum size effects. Such intriguing properties endow nanoclusters with potential utilization as efficient nanomaterials in catalysis, electron transfer, drug delivery, photothermal conversion, optical control, etc. With the assistance of atomically precise operations and theoretical calculations on metal nanoclusters, significant progress has been accomplished in illustrating their structure-performance correlations at the single-molecule level.

How Unnatural Amino Acids in Antimicrobial Peptides Change Interactions with Lipid Model Membranes.

This study investigates the potential of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as alternatives to combat antibiotic resistance, with a focus on two AMPs containing unnatural amino acids (UAAs), E2-53R (16 AAs) and LE-54R (14 AAs). In both peptides, valine is replaced by norvaline (Nva), and tryptophan is replaced by 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid (Tic). Microbiological studies reveal their potent activity against both Gram-negative (G(-)) and Gram-positive (G(+)) bacteria without any toxicity to eukaryotic cells at test concentrations up to 32 μM.

Size disproportionation among nanocluster transformations.

Controllable transformation is a prerequisite to the in-depth understanding of structure evolution mechanisms and structure-property correlations at the atomic level. Most transformation cases direct the directional evolution of nanocluster sizes, , size-maintained, size-increased, or size-reduced transformation, while size disproportionation was rarely reported. Here, we report the Au-doping-induced size disproportionation of nanocluster transformation.

Relationship between Structural Defects and Free Electrons in Icosahedral Nanoclusters.

According to the classic superatom model, metal nanoclusters with a "magic number" of free valence electrons display high stability, manifesting as the closed-shell-dependent electronic robustness. The icosahedral nanobuilding blocks containing eight free electrons were the most common in constructing metal nanoclusters; however, the structure defect-dependent variations of the free electron count in icosahedral configurations are still far from thorough research. Here, we reported a hydride-containing [PtAg(SAdm)(DPPOE)H] nanocluster with two largely defective PtAg icosahedral cores.

Rational Design of Highly Phosphorescent Nanoclusters for Efficient Photocatalytic Oxidation.

Analyzing the molecular structure-photophysical property correlations of metal nanoclusters to accomplish function-oriented photocatalysis could be challenging. Here, the selective heteroatom alloying has been exploited to a nanocluster, making up a structure-correlated nanocluster series, including homogold , bimetallic and , trimetallic , and tetrametallic . Their structure-dependent photophysical properties were investigated due to the atomically precise structures of these nanoclusters.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer in atomically precise metal nanoclusters by cocrystallization-induced spatial confinement.

Understanding the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) of metal nanoparticles at the atomic level has long been a challenge due to the lack of accurate systems with definite distance and orientation of molecules. Here we present the realization of achieving FRET between two atomically precise copper nanoclusters through cocrystallization-induced spatial confinement. In this study, we demonstrate the establishment of FRET in a cocrystallized Cu(p-MBT)(PPh)@Cu(p-MBT)(PPh) system by exploiting the overlapping spectra between the excitation of the Cu(p-MBT)(PPh) cluster and the emission of the Cu(p-MBT)(PPh) cluster, combined with accurate control over the confined space between the two nanoclusters.

Ultralong Cycling and Interfacial Regulation of Bilayer Heterogeneous Composite Solid-State Electrolytes in Lithium Metal Batteries.

Under the background of "carbon neutral", lithium-ion batteries (LIB) have been widely used in portable electronic devices and large-scale energy storage systems, but the current commercial electrolyte is mainly liquid organic compounds, which have serious safety risks. In this paper, a bilayer heterogeneous composite solid-state electrolyte (PLPE) was constructed with the 3D LiX zeolite nanofiber (LiX-NF) layer and in-situ interfacial layer, which greatly extends the life span of lithium metal batteries (LMB). LiX-NF not only offers a continuous fast path for Li, but also zeolite's Lewis acid-base interaction can immobilize large anions, which significantly improves the electrochemical performance of the electrolyte.

LiF/LiN-Rich Electrode-Electrolyte Interfaces Enabled by Multi-Functional Electrolyte Additive to Achieve High-Performance Li/LiNiCoMnO Batteries.

LiPF-based carbonate electrolytes have been extensively employed in commercial Li-ion batteries, but they face numerous interfacial stability challenges while applicating in high-energy-density lithium-metal batteries (LMBs). Herein, this work proposes N-succinimidyl trifluoroacetate (NST) as a multifunctional electrolyte additive to address these challenges. NST additive could optimize Li solvation structure and eliminate HF/HO in the electrolyte, and preferentially be decomposed on the Ni-rich cathode (LiNiCoMnO, NCM811) to generate LiF/LiN-rich cathode-electrolyte interphase (CEI) with high conductivity.

A rare germline BMP15 missense mutation causes hereditary ovarian immature teratoma in human.

Ovarian immature teratomas (OITs) are malignant tumors originating from the ovarian germ cells that mainly occur during the first 30 y of a female's life. Early age of onset strongly suggests the presence of susceptibility gene mutations for the disease yet to be discovered. Whole exon sequencing was used to screen pathogenic mutations from pedigrees with OITs.

Direct α-Arylation of Benzo[]furans Catalyzed by a Pd Cluster.

As an interim paradigm for the catalysts between those based on more conventional mononuclear molecular Pd complexes and Pd nanoparticles widely used in organic synthesis, polynuclear palladium clusters have attracted great attention for their unique reactivity and electronic properties. However, the development of Pd cluster catalysts for organic transformations and mechanistic investigations is still largely unexploited. Herein, we disclose the use of trinuclear palladium (PdCl) species as an active catalyst for the direct C-H α-arylation of benzo[]furans with aryl iodides to afford 2-arylbenzofurans in good yields under mild conditions.

Photoluminescence Quenching of Hydrophobic Ag Nanoclusters Caused by Molecular Decoupling during Aqueous Phase Transfer and EmissionRecovery through Supramolecular Recoupling.

Exploiting emissive hydrophobic nanoclusters for hydrophilic applications remains a challenge because of photoluminescence (PL) quenching during phase transfer. In addition, the mechanism underlying PL quenching remains unclear. In this study, the PL-quenching mechanism was examined by analyzing the atomically precise structures and optical properties of a surface-engineered Ag nanocluster with an all-around-carboxyl-functionalized surface.