Construction of Reverse Type-II InP/ZnCdS Core/Shell Quantum Dots with Low Interface Strain to Enhance Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

The InP-based quantum dots (QDs) have attracted much attention in the field of photocatalytic H evolution. However, a shell should be used for InP-based photocatalytic systems to passivate the numerous surface defects. Different from the traditional InP-based core/shell QDs with Type-I or Type-II band alignment, herein, the "reverse Type-II" core/shell QDs in which both the conduction and valence bands of shell materials are more negative than those of core materials have been well-designed by regulating the ratio of Cd/Zn of the alloyed ZnCdS shell.

Construction of Nanoflower Cobalt-Based Catalyst for Methane-Free CO Hydrogenation to Hydrocarbon Reaction.

Methane and its oxidation product (i. e., CO) are both greenhouse gases.

Redox-Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Activity in PHV/CdS Hybrid Film.

Semiconductive photocatalytic materials have received increasing attention recently due to their ability to transform solar energy into chemical fuels and photodegrade a wide range of pollutants. Among them, cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles have been extensively studied as semiconductive photocatalysts in previous studies on hydrogen generation and environmental purification due to their suitable bandgap and sensitive light response. However, the practical applications of CdS are limited by its low charge separation, which is caused by its weak ability to separate photo-generated electron-hole pairs.

In Situ Visualization of Dynamic Cellular Effects of Phospholipid Nanoparticles via High-Speed Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy.

Phospholipid nanoparticles have been actively employed for numerous biomedical applications. A key factor in ensuring effective and safe applications of these nanomaterials is the regulation of their interactions with target cells, which is significantly dependent on an in-depth understanding of the nanoparticle-cell interactions. To date, most studies investigating these nano-bio interactions have been performed under static conditions and may lack crucial real-time information.

Reductive Carbon-Carbon Coupling on Metal Sites Regulates Photocatalytic CO Reduction in Water Using ZnSe Quantum Dots.

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) consisting of precious-metal-free elements show attractive potentials towards solar-driven CO reduction. However, the inhibition of hydrogen (H ) production in aqueous solution remains a challenge. Here, we describe the first example of a carbon-carbon (C-C) coupling reaction to block the competing H evolution in photocatalytic CO reduction in water.

A wireless and battery-free wound infection sensor based on DNA hydrogel.

The confluence of wireless technology and biosensors offers the possibility to detect and manage medical conditions outside of clinical settings. Wound infections represent a major clinical challenge in which timely detection is critical for effective interventions, but this is currently hindered by the lack of a monitoring technology that can interface with wounds, detect pathogenic bacteria, and wirelessly transmit data. Here, we report a flexible, wireless, and battery-free sensor that provides smartphone-based detection of wound infection using a bacteria-responsive DNA hydrogel.

Rational Design of Dot-on-Rod Nano-Heterostructure for Photocatalytic CO Reduction: Pivotal Role of Hole Transfer and Utilization.

Inspired by green plants, artificial photosynthesis has become one of the most attractive approaches toward carbon dioxide (CO ) valorization. Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) or dot-in-rod (DIR) nano-heterostructures have gained substantial research interest in multielectron photoredox reactions. However, fast electron-hole recombination or sluggish hole transfer and utilization remains unsatisfactory for their potential applications.

A flexible multiplexed immunosensor for point-of-care in situ wound monitoring.

Chronic wounds arise from interruption of normal healing due to many potential pathophysiological factors. Monitoring these multivariate factors can provide personalized diagnostic information for wound management, but current sensing technologies use complex laboratory tests or track a limited number of wound parameters. We report a flexible biosensing platform for multiplexed profiling of the wound microenvironment, inflammation, and infection state at the point of care.

Simultaneous Conduction and Valence Band Regulation of Indium-Based Quantum Dots for Efficient H Photogeneration.

Indium-based chalcogenide semiconductors have been served as the promising candidates for solar H evolution reaction, however, the related studies are still in its infancy and the enhancement of efficiency remains a grand challenge. Here, we report that the photocatalytic H evolution activity of quantized indium chalcogenide semiconductors could be dramatically aroused by the co-decoration of transition metal Zn and Cu. Different from the traditional metal ion doping strategies which only focus on narrowing bandgap for robust visible light harvesting, the conduction and valence band are coordinately regulated to realize the bandgap narrowing and the raising of thermodynamic driving force for proton reduction, simultaneously.

Flexible Hybrid Sensors for Health Monitoring: Materials and Mechanisms to Render Wearability.

Wearable electronics have revolutionized the way physiological parameters are sensed, detected, and monitored. In recent years, advances in flexible and stretchable hybrid electronics have created emergent properties that enhance the compliance of devices to our skin. With their unobtrusive attributes, skin conformable sensors enable applications toward real-time disease diagnosis and continuous healthcare monitoring.

Susceptible Surface Sulfide Regulates Catalytic Activity of CdSe Quantum Dots for Hydrogen Photogeneration.

Semiconducting quantum dots (QDs) have recently triggered a huge interest in constructing efficient hydrogen production systems. It is well established that a large fraction of surface atoms of QDs need ligands to stabilize and avoid them from aggregating. However, the influence of the surface property of QDs on photocatalysis is rather elusive.

Self-assembled inorganic clusters of semiconducting quantum dots for effective solar hydrogen evolution.

Owing to promoted electron-hole separation, the catalytic activity of semiconducting quantum dots (QDs) towards solar hydrogen (H2) production has been significantly enhanced by forming self-assembled clusters with ZnSe QDs made ex situ. Taking advantage of the favored interparticle hole transfer to ZnSe QDs, the rate of solar H2 evolution of CdSe QDs can be increased to ∼30 000 μmol h-1 g-1 with ascorbic acid as the sacrificial reagent, ∼150-fold higher than that of bare CdSe QDs clusters under the same conditions.

Nonstoichiometric Cu In S Quantum Dots for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

Unlike their bulk counterpart, Cu In S quantum dots (QDs) prepared by an aqueous synthetic approach, show promising activity for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, which is competitive with the state-of-the-art Cd chalcogen QDs. Moreover, the as-prepared Cu In S QDs with In-rich composition show much better efficiency than the stoichiometric ones (Cu/In=1:1).

Wearable Microfluidic Diaphragm Pressure Sensor for Health and Tactile Touch Monitoring.

Flexible pressure sensors have many potential applications in wearable electronics, robotics, health monitoring, and more. In particular, liquid-metal-based sensors are especially promising as they can undergo strains of over 200% without failure. However, current liquid-metal-based strain sensors are incapable of resolving small pressure changes in the few kPa range, making them unsuitable for applications such as heart-rate monitoring, which require a much lower pressure detection resolution.

3D Printed "Earable" Smart Devices for Real-Time Detection of Core Body Temperature.

Real-time detection of basic physiological parameters such as blood pressure and heart rate is an important target in wearable smart devices for healthcare. Among these, the core body temperature is one of the most important basic medical indicators of fever, insomnia, fatigue, metabolic functionality, and depression. However, traditional wearable temperature sensors are based upon the measurement of skin temperature, which can vary dramatically from the true core body temperature.

Assembling metallic 1T-MoS nanosheets with inorganic-ligand stabilized quantum dots for exceptional solar hydrogen evolution.

Due to their enhanced light harvesting, favored interfacial charge transfer and excellent proton reduction activity, hybrid photocatalysts of metallic 1T-MoS nanosheets and inorganic-ligand stabilized CdSe/ZnS QDs obtained via a self-assembly approach can produce H gas with a rate of ∼155 ± 3.5 μmol h mg under visible-light irradiation (λ = 410 nm), the most exceptional performance of solar H evolution using MoS as a cocatalyst known to date.

Self-Assembled Framework Enhances Electronic Communication of Ultrasmall-Sized Nanoparticles for Exceptional Solar Hydrogen Evolution.

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have demonstrated great promise in artificial photosynthesis. However, the ultrasmall size hinders its controllable and effective interaction with cocatalysts. To improve the poor interparticle electronic communication between free QD and cocatalyst, we design here a self-assembled architecture of nanoparticles, QDs and Pt nanoparticles, simply jointed together by molecular polyacrylate to greatly enhance the rate and efficiency of interfacial electron transfer (ET).

Tracking Co(I) Intermediate in Operando in Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution by X-ray Transient Absorption Spectroscopy and DFT Calculation.

X-ray transient absorption spectroscopy (XTA) and optical transient spectroscopy (OTA) were used to probe the Co(I) intermediate generated in situ from an aqueous photocatalytic hydrogen evolution system, with [Ru(bpy)]Cl·6HO as the photosensitizer, ascorbic acid/ascorbate as the electron donor, and the Co-polypyridyl complex ([Co(DPA-Bpy)Cl]Cl) as the precatalyst. Upon exposure to light, the XTA measured at Co K-edge visualizes the grow and decay of the Co(I) intermediate, and reveals its Co-N bond contraction of 0.09 ± 0.

Hole-Accepting-Ligand-Modified CdSe QDs for Dramatic Enhancement of Photocatalytic and Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Evolution by Solar Energy.

can be significantly enhanced simply by introducing a suitable hole-accepting-ligand for achieving efficient hole extraction and transfer at the nanoscale interfaces, which opens an effective pathway for dissociation of excitons to generate long-lived charge separation, thus improving the solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency.

Visible light catalysis-assisted assembly of Ni(h)-QD hollow nanospheres in situ via hydrogen bubbles.

Hollow spheres are one of the most promising micro-/nanostructures because of their unique performance in diverse applications. Templates, surfactants, and structure-directing agents are often used to control the sizes and morphologies of hollow spheres. In this Article, we describe a simple method based on visible light catalysis for preparing hollow nanospheres from CdE (E = Te, Se, and S) quantum dots (QDs) and nickel (Ni(2+)) salts in aqueous media.

Mechanistic insights into the interface-directed transformation of thiols into disulfides and molecular hydrogen by visible-light irradiation of quantum dots.

Quantum dots (QDs) offer new and versatile ways to harvest light energy. However, there are few examples involving the utilization of QDs in organic synthesis. Visible-light irradiation of CdSe QDs was found to result in virtually quantitative coupling of a variety of thiols to give disulfides and H2 without the need for sacrificial reagents or external oxidants.