First-principles study on the electronic structure and photocatalytic property of a novel two-dimensional ZrS/InSe heterojunction.

Photocatalytic water cracking technology provides a broad prospect for solving the current energy crisis using solar energy and water resources. In this paper, a two-dimensional ZrS/InSe heterojunction for accelerating the process of hydrogen production from water decomposition was constructed, and its electronic structure and photocatalytic property were studied using first-principles calculation. The results show that the lattice mismatch rate of the heterojunction from monolayer ZrS and monolayer InSe is 2.

Non-medicinal parts of safflower (bud and stem) mediated sustainable green synthesis of silver nanoparticles under ultrasonication: optimization, characterization, antioxidant, antibacterial and anticancer potential.

The flower of safflower is widely used in Chinese herbal preparations and the non-medicinal parts have been applied to develop a sustainable green method, where AgNPs were generated using a mixture of leaf and stem after 12 h of incubation in the dark. In this study, we intend to improve the efficiency of the reduction reaction and optimize this green method by selecting other non-medicinal parts, such as the bud and the pure stem, evaluating the biosynthesis parameters and harnessing the assistance of ultrasonication. Visual observation and UV-vis spectroscopy confirmed that both safflower stem (SS) and bud (SB) mediated AgNPs (SS-AgNPs and SB-AgNPs, respectively) could be produced rapidly over time under ultrasonication.

A novel π-conjugated poly(biphenyl diimide) with full utilization of carbonyls as a highly stable organic electrode for Li-ion batteries.

Organic carbonyl redox polymers, especially conjugated polyimides with multiple reversible redox centers have attracted considerable attention as electrode materials for organic Li-ion batteries. However, the low utilization of carbonyls hindered their potential applications in energy storage. Herein, a novel π-conjugated polyimide (PBPI) based on biphenyl diimide (BPI) containing two seven-membered imide rings is developed.

Evaluation of biosynthesis parameters, stability and biological activities of silver nanoparticles synthesized by extract under 365 nm UV radiation.

Since silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesized by using plant extracts revealed varied biological activities, the green synthesis of AgNPs has attracted considerable attention. Although the green synthesis of AgNPs have been accomplished by using the extracts of , which is a traditional Chinese medicine and exhibits a wide spectrum of phytochemicals. The effects of biosynthesis parameters on reducing reaction, stability and more broad biological activities of so-prepared AgNPs did not been evaluated.

Electromagnetic and microwave absorption properties of iron pentacarbonyl pyrolysis-synthesized carbonyl iron fibers.

The present study executed iron pentacarbonyl pyrolysis to synthesize one-dimensional structured carbonyl iron fibers (CIFs) carrier gas induced flow. The obtained CIFs with a diameter of 100-300 nm and length-diameter ratio of more than 20, are actually composed of a large number of nanocrystalline aggregates. We investigated the dependence of the structure, morphology, and static magnetic and electromagnetic properties of the CIFs on the pyrolysis temperatures.

Synthesis of V-modified TiO nanorod-aggregates by a facile microwave-assisted hydrothermal process and photocatalytic degradation towards PCP-Na under solar light.

Herein, novel V-modified titania nanorod-aggregates (VTNA), consisting of fine individual nanorods in radial direction, were fabricated an efficient microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MWH) route. VTNA with high crystallinity and homogeneous mesopores were obtained by 30 min MWH processing at 190 °C; moreover, a mixed rutile-anatase phase appeared after vanadium doping. XPS analysis revealed that vanadium existed in the forms of V and V on the surface of MWV05 with V being the dominant component, the content of which was approximately 3.

Probing the local conformational flexibility in receptor recognition: mechanistic insight from an atomic-scale investigation.

Inherent protein conformational flexibility is important for biomolecular recognition, but this critical property is often neglected in several studies. This event can lead to large deviations in the research results. In the current contribution, we disclose the effects of the local conformational flexibility on receptor recognition by using an atomic-scale computational method.

New functionalized MIL-53(In) solids: syntheses, characterization, sorption, and structural flexibility.

The syntheses and characterization of a series of functionalized MIL-53(In) solids have been reported. Chemical groups with variations in steric hindrance and chemical nature (-(OH), -Br or -NO groups) were introduced through the terephthalate linker to modify the pore surface. Single crystal X-ray diffraction data, N adsorption-desorption isotherms, and infrared spectra were systematically investigated to explore the impact of the functional groups grafted onto the organic linker on the dynamic behaviour of these highly flexible hybrid porous frameworks.