Synergistic mechanism of Ni(OH)/NiMoS heterostructure electrocatalyst with crystalline/amorphous interfaces for efficient hydrogen evolution over all pH ranges.

Designing and fabricating efficient electrocatalysts is a practical step toward the commercial application of the efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) over all pH ranges. Herein, novel Ti@Ni(OH)-NiMoS heterostructure with interface between crystalline Ni(OH) and amorphous NiMoS was rationally designed and fabricated on Ti mesh (denoted as Ti@Ni(OH)-NiMoS). Acid etching and calcination experiments helped in accurate elucidation of the synergistic mechanism as well as the vital role on crystalline Ni(OH) and amorphous NiMoS.

Colorimetric Sensor Array Based on Gold Nanoparticles with Diverse Surface Charges for Microorganisms Identification.

We report a simple and novel colorimetric sensor array for rapid identification of microorganisms. In this study, four gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with diverse surface charges were used as sensing elements. The interactions between AuNPs and microorganisms led to obvious color shifts, which could be observed by the naked eye.

Observation of replacement of carbon in benzene with nitrogen in a low-temperature plasma.

Selective activation of benzene has been mainly limited to the C-H activation. Simple replacement of one carbon in benzene with another atom remains unresolved due to the high dissociation energy. Herein, we demonstrate a direct breakage of the particularly strong C = C bond in benzene through ion-molecule reaction in a low-temperature plasma, in which one carbon atom was replaced by one atomic nitrogen with the formation of pyridine.

A novel near-infrared fluorescent probe for selectively sensing nitroreductase (NTR) in an aqueous medium.

A novel near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe based on cyanine dyes was designed and synthesized to detect nitroreductase (NTR) activity. Upon reaction with NTR, the nitro-group of p-nitrobenzyl moiety was reduced to amino-group and therefore renews the π-electron conjugation of the dye, resulting in the intense NIR fluorescent emission (708 nm). This redox-induced NIR-fluorescence probe has been successfully applied to the detection of NTR activity under physiological conditions with high selectivity.