Rational Design of NiCo-borate/GO Heterojunction as a High-Performance Supercapacitor Electrode.

The bottleneck in the preparation of supercapacitors is how to develop high-energy and high-power-density devices by using appropriate materials. Herein, a novel NiCo-B/GO heterostructure material was synthesized through a simple ultrasonic and precipitation method. The prepared NiCo-B/GO heterostructure exhibits significant improvements in supercapacitor performance than NiCo-B.

Low-Temperature and Fast-Charge Sodium Metal Batteries.

Low-temperature operation of sodium metal batteries (SMBs) at the high rate faces challenges of unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), Na dendrite growth, and sluggish Na transfer kinetics, causing a largely capacity curtailment. Herein, low-temperature and fast-charge SMBs are successfully constructed by synergetic design of the electrolyte and electrode. The optimized weak-solvation dual-salt electrolyte enables high Na plating/stripping reversibility and the formation of NaF-rich SEI layer to stabilize sodium metal.

Preparation of Gold Nanoparticles via Anodic Stripping of Copper Underpotential Deposition in Bulk Gold Electrodeposition for High-Performance Electrochemical Sensing of Bisphenol A.

Bisphenol A is one of the most widely used industrial compounds. Over the years, it has raised severe concern as a potential hazard to the human endocrine system and the environment. Developing robust and easy-to-use sensors for bisphenol A is important in various areas, such as controlling and monitoring water purification and sewage water systems, food safety monitoring, etc.

In Situ Synthesis of BiS/BiFeO Nanoflower Hybrid Photocatalyst for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants.

Photocatalytic degradation of Malachite Green oxalate (MG) in a water body is of significant importance to our health protection, as it could cause various serious diseases. However the photocatalytic activity of most catalysts is still unsatisfactory, due to the poor reactive oxygen species production as a result of sluggish charge separation. Here, innovative nanoflower-shaped BiS/BiFeO heterojunctions are prepared via a facile sol-gel method, exhibiting an enhanced reactive oxygen species generation, which leads to the excellent photocatalytic performance toward MG degradation.

Heterostructured MoO Anchored Defect-Rich NiFe-LDH/NF as a Robust Self-Supporting Electrocatalyst for Overall Water Splitting.

The rational design of inexpensive metal electrocatalysts with exciting catalytic activity for overall water splitting (OWS) remains a significant challenge. Heterostructures of NiFe layered double hydroxides (NiFe-LDHs) with abundant oxygen defects and tunable electronic properties have garnered considerable attention. Here, a self-supporting heterostructured catalyst (named MoO/NiFe-NF) is synthesized via a hydrothermal method to grow NiFe-LDH with oxygen vacancies (O) in situ on inexpensive nickel foam (NF).

Hollow Spherical Heterostructured FeCo-P Catalysts Derived from MOF-74 for Efficient Overall Water Splitting.

The design of catalysts with tunable active sites in heterogeneous interface structures is crucial for addressing challenges in the water-splitting process. Herein, a hollow spherical heterostructure FeCo-P is successfully prepared by hydrothermal and phosphorization methods. This hollow structure, along with the heterogeneous interface between Co P and FeP, not only facilitates the exposure of more active sites, but also increases the contact area between the catalyst and the electrolyte, as well as shortens the distance for mass/electron transfer.

Dual-modification strategy of Co(II) and g-CN to CuS for efficient colorimetric determination of thioglycolic acid in daily cosmetics.

A conventional colorimetric method based on CuS-catalyzed HO is improved by a dual-modification strategy and employed for thioglycolic acid (TGA) determination. The doping of Co(II) can enhance ion exchange efficiency. Meanwhile, the modification of g-CN can increase specific surface area and decrease unspecific aggregation.

Dual Application: p-CuS/n-ZnS Nanocomposite Construction for High-Efficiency Colorimetric Determination and Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline in Water.

Herein, CuS was incorporated with ZnS to form a novel nanocomposite via cation exchange, and the product was then employed for dual application of the colorimetric determination and photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC) in water. The formed p-n heterojunction provided an improved gap width and electron mobility, which could rapidly catalyze HO to produce plenty of •OH, supporting a color conversion with TMB. Meanwhile, the addition of TC could lead to the further enhancement in colorimetric signal, and the distinction level was sensitive to the target amount.

Morphology Adjustment and Optimization of CuS as Enzyme Mimics for the High Efficient Colorimetric Determination of Cr(VI) in Water.

Metal sulfide is often utilized as a catalyzed material to form colorimetric response system for some heavy metal detection. While the aggregation effect and conventional morphology limited the catalyzed efficiency. Herein, a robust method based on morphology adjustment was proposed to improve the dispersibility and catalytic performance of CuS.

Cyclodextrin-derived polymer networks for selective molecular adsorption.

A facile synthetic method is developed to afford cyclodextrin-derived polymer networks that exhibit high selectivity in capturing certain organic compounds in water. The sustainable and scalable synthesis, together with the highly robust adsorption performance enables efficient removal and/or separation of organic molecules from aqueous solution in a continuous flow system.

Atomically dispersed palladium catalyses Suzuki-Miyaura reactions under phosphine-free conditions.

Single-atom catalysts have emerged as a new frontier in catalysis science. However, their applications are still limited to small molecule activations in the gas phase, the classic organic transformations catalyzed by single-atom catalysts are still rare. Here, we report the use of a single-atom Pd catalyst for the classic Suzuki-Miyaura carbon-carbon coupling reaction under phosphine-free and open-air conditions at room temperature.

Hierarchically porous UiO-66: facile synthesis, characterization and application.

Hierarchically porous UiO-66 (HP-UiO-66) with a particle size of ∼5 nm was synthesized without the use of modulating reagents. The HP-UiO-66 material exhibits good thermal and structural stability, and shows excellent performance in uptaking large molecules and catalyzing the acetalization reaction of furfural.

Dual-Readout Immunochromatographic Assay by Utilizing MnO Nanoflowers as the Unique Colorimetric/Chemiluminescent Probe.

Manganese dioxide nanoflowers (MnO NFs) were synthesized and used as a dual readout probe to develop a novel immunochromatographic test strip (ITS) for detecting pesticide residues using chlorpyrifos as the model analyte. MnO NFs-labeled antibody for chlorpyrifos was employed as the signal tracer for conducting the ITS. After 10 min competitive immunoreaction, the tracer antibody was captured by the immobilized immunogen in the test strip, resulting in the captured MnO NFs on test line.

Colorimetric and chemiluminescent dual-readout immunochromatographic assay for detection of pesticide residues utilizing g-CN/BiFeO nanocomposites.

Graphitic carbon nitride/bismuth ferrite nanocomposites (g-CN/BiFeO NCs) were synthesized by a facile one step sol-gel combustion method and employed as a peroxidase-like catalyst. Based on the catalytical activity on the luminol-HO reaction, the nanocomposites were utilized as a colorimetric/chemiluminescent dual-readout immunochromatographic assay (ICA) for the multiplexed detection of pesticide residues by utilizing chlorpyrifos and carbaryl as the model analytes. In the proposed protocol, chlorpyrifos antibody and carbaryl antibody were tagged to g-CN/BiFeO NCs for developing the spatially-resolved multianalyte ICA.

An ESIPT-based fluorescent probe for highly selective and ratiometric detection of mercury(II) in solution and in cells.

A novel ratiometric fluorescent Hg(2+) detecting system was rationally developed based on the typical excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) characteristic of the latent fluorophore, 2-(1-(p-tolyl)-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazol-2-yl)phenol (Pol) and the Hg(2+)-mediated cleavage of the vinyl group. The probe responds selectively to Hg(2+) over various other metal ions with a larger bathochromic shift (∼100 nm). The sensing mechanism was investigated in detail by fluorescence spectroscopy, NMR spectra and mass spectrometry.

Square wave anodic stripping voltammetric determination of Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ at bismuth-film electrode modified with electroreduced graphene oxide-supported thiolated thionine.

Graphene oxide (GO)-thionine (TH) nanocomposite was prepared by π-π stacking. The nanocomposite was cast-coated on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to prepare an electroreduced GO (ERGO)-TH/GCE, then 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate (MES) was covalently tethered to ERGO-TH by potentiostatic anodization to form an ERGO-TH-MES/GCE. The thiolation reaction was monitored by electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM).

Direct removal of aqueous As(III) and As(V) by amorphous titanium dioxide nanotube arrays.

Amorphous titanium dioxide nanotube arrays (TiO2 NTs) were prepared by a simple anodization process without subsequent calcination at high temperature, and the effectiveness of amorphous TiO2 NTs as adsorbents in removing arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) was investigated. The TiO2 NTs were not only effective for arsenic removal without a pre-oxidation of As(III) to As(V) and/or adjusting the pH value of water before the adsorption process, but also can be separated and recovered easily from the solution. The adsorption kinetics and adsorption capacity of the amorphous TiO2 NTs for As(III) and As(V) were studied separately by batch experiments.

One-pot synthesis, characterization, and enhanced photocatalytic activity of a BiOBr-graphene composite.

Herein, a chemically bonded BiOBr-graphene composite (BiOBr-RG) was prepared through a facile in situ solvothermal method in the presence of graphene oxide. Graphene oxide could be easily reduced to graphene under solvothermal conditions, and simultaneously BiOBr nanoplates with pure tetragonal phase were grown uniformly on the graphene surface. The structure and photoelectrochemical properties of the resulting materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and impedance and photocurrent action measurements.

Novel Cu (II) magnetic ion imprinted materials prepared by surface imprinted technique combined with a sol-gel process.

A novel Cu (II) magnetic ion-imprinted polymer (MIIP) was synthesized by surface imprinting technique combined with a sol-gel process. The adsorbent of Cu (II)-MIIP shows higher capacity and selectivity than that of magnetic non-imprinted polymers (MNIP). Adsorption capacities of Cu (II)-MIIP and MNIP are 24.

Removal of water-soluble acid dyes from water environment using a novel magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer.

Novel magnetic and hydrophilic molecularly imprinted polymers (mag-MIPs) were prepared by an inverse emulsion-suspension polymerization to remove water-soluble acid dyes from contaminated water with 1-(α-methyl acrylate)-3-methylimidazolium bromide (1-MA-3MI-Br) being utilized as a new functional monomer. The thermal stability, chemical structure and magnetic property of the 1-MA-3MI-Br-mag-MIPs were characterized by the thermal-gravimetric analyzer (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), respectively. Moreover, effect of concentration and pH value of water-soluble acid dye solutions was optimized.

Novel molecularly imprinted polymer using 1-(α-methyl acrylate)-3-methylimidazolium bromide as functional monomer for simultaneous extraction and determination of water-soluble acid dyes in wastewater and soft drink by solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography.

Novel water-compatible molecularly imprinted polymers were synthesized in methanol-water systems with Tratarzine as template and 1-(α-methyl acrylate)-3-methylimidazolium bromide (1-MA-3MI-Br) as functional monomer, which has π-π hydrophobic, hydrogen-bonding and electrostatic interactions with template molecule. 1-MA-3MI-Br molecularly imprinted polymers (1-MA-3MI-Br-MIPs) were used as selective sorbents for the solid-phase extraction (SPE) of water-soluble acid dyes from wastewater and soft drink. The good linearity of the method was obtained in a range of 5.

Determination of malachite green in fish water samples by cloud-point extraction coupled to cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping-MEKC.

We have employed a high-sensitivity off-line coupled with on-line preconcentration method, cloud-point extraction (CPE)/cation-selective exhaustive injection (CSEI) and sweeping-MEKC, for the analysis of malachite green. The variables that affect CPE were investigated. The optimal conditions were 250 g/L of Triton X-100, 10% of Na(2)SO(4) (w/v), heat-assisted at 60 degrees C for 20 min.

Electrochemical quartz crystal impedance and fluorescence quenching studies on the binding of carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-adsorbed and solution rutin with hemoglobin.

Electrochemical quartz crystal impedance (QCI) technique was utilized to monitor in situ the adsorption of rutin (RT) onto a carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-modified gold electrode and to study the binding process of solution hemoglobin (Hb) to RT immobilized on the electrode. Time courses of the QCI parameters including crystal resonant frequency were simultaneously obtained during the RT adsorption and Hb-RT binding. In contrast to the negligible RT adsorption at a bare gold electrode, the modification by CNTs notably enhanced the amount of adsorption, and almost all of the adsorbed RT molecules were found to be electroactive.

Electrochemical quartz crystal impedance study on the overoxidation of polypyrrole-carbon nanotubes composite film for amperometric detection of dopamine.

The electrochemical quartz crystal impedance (EQCI) method was used to study the overoxidation of polypyrrole (PPy)-multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) nanocomposite film in neutral and alkaline solutions. The values of molar mass per electron transferred (M/n) obtained during the overoxidation of PPy in 0.10 mol L(-1) Na(2)SO(4) and 0.

Scanning electrochemical microscopy in combination with piezoelectric quartz crystal impedance analysis for studying the growth and electrochemistry as well as microetching of poly(o-phenylenediamine) thin films.

The combination of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) with piezoelectric quartz crystal impedance (PQCI) analysis was proposed as a novel multiparameter method for investigating the cyclic voltammetric growth of poly(o-phenylenediamine) (PoPD) thin films at Au electrodes in aqueous solutions of various pH values and the potentiostatic microetching (localized degradation) of these films in 0.10 mol/L aqueous H2SO4 for comparative examinations on polymer porosity and stability. Two potential-sweep ranges, -0.