CuP/CoP Heterostructure for Efficient Electrosynthesis of Ammonia from Nitrate Reduction Reaction.

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction (ENORR) for ammonia production is one of the potential alternatives to Haber-Bosch technology for the realization of artificial ammonia synthesis. However, efficient ammonia production remains challenging due to the complex electron transfer process in ENORR. In this study, we fabricated a CuP/CoP heterostructure on carbon cloth (CC) by electrodeposition and vapor deposition, which exhibits an exceptional ENORR performance in alkaline medium, and showcases a Faradaic efficiency of ammonia (FE) and an ammonia yield rate as high as 97.

Strategy of constructing D-A structure and accurate active sites over graphitic carbon nitride nanowires for high efficient photocatalytic nitrogen fixation.

Constructing photocatalysts for the stable and efficient production of NH is of excellent research significance and challenging. In this paper, the electron acceptor 5-amino-1,10-phenanthroline (AP) is introduced into the electron-donor graphitic carbon nitride (CN) framework by a simple heated copolymerization method to construct a donor-acceptor (D-A) structure. Subsequently, the phenanthroline unit is coordinated with transition metal Fe ions to obtain the photocatalyst Fe(III)-0.

Sulfur oxidation states manipulate excited state electronic configurations for constructing highly efficient organic type I photosensitizers.

The multiple relaxation processes of excited states are a bridge connecting molecular structures and properties, providing enormous application potential for organic luminogens. However, a systematic understanding and manipulation of the relationship between the molecular structure, excited state relaxation processes, and properties of organic luminogens is still lacking. Herein, we report a strategy for manipulating excited state electronic configurations through the regulation of the sulfur oxidation state to construct eminent organic type I PSs.

A metal-free strategy to construct fluoroalkyl-olefin linkages using fluoroalkanes.

We present a metal-free strategy to access fluoroalkyl-olefin linkages from fluoroalkane precursors and vinyl-pinacol boronic ester (BPin) reagents. This reaction sequence is templated by the boron reagent, which induces C-C bond formation upon oxidation. We developed this strategy into a one-pot synthetic protocol using RCFH precursors directly with vinyl-BPin reagents in the presence of a Brønsted base, which tolerated oxygen- and nitrogen-containing heterocycles, and aryl halogens.

Oxidization enhances type I ROS generation of AIE-active zwitterionic photosensitizers for photodynamic killing of drug-resistant bacteria.

Type I photosensitizers (PSs) with an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) feature have received sustained attention for their excellent theranostic performance in the treatment of clinical diseases. However, the development of AIE-active type I PSs with strong reactive oxygen species (ROS) production capacity remains a challenge due to the lack of in-depth theoretical studies on the aggregate behavior of PSs and rational design strategies. Herein, we proposed a facile oxidization strategy to enhance the ROS generation efficiency of AIE-active type I PSs.

Valorization of homogeneous linear catechyl lignin: opportunities and challenges.

Lignin is the dominant aromatic renewable polymer on earth. Generally, its complex and heterogeneous structure hinders its high-value utilization. Catechyl lignin (C-lignin), a novel lignin discovered in the seed coats of vanilla and several members of Cactaceae, has received increasing attention due to its unique homogeneous linear structure.

Acene enlargement for absorption red-shifting and photosensitization enhancement of photosensitizers with aggregation-induced emission.

Photosensitizers with aggregation-induced emission (AIE PSs) were widely explored in photodynamic therapy. Numerous acceptors but few donors were reported to design AIE PSs. In this study, we developed a new kind of donor that can improve the comprehensive performance of AIE PSs by expanding the π extension of aromatic rings at the end of the triphenylamine group through acene enlargement.

Improving performance of monolayer arsenene tunnel field-effect transistors by defects.

We systematically investigate the transport properties of monolayer arsenene tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs) along the armchair and zigzag directions using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) combined with the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) approach. We introduce five types of defects at the source-channel interface and study their influences on the device performance. The pristine arsenene TFETs along the armchair direction have large ON-state currents due to the small effective masses, but still cannot meet the International Technology Roadmaps of Semiconductor 2022 (ITRS 2022) requirements for high performance (HP) devices.

MC (M = Y, Zr, Nb, and Mo) monolayers containing C dimers: prediction of anode materials for high-performance sodium ion batteries.

Seeking novel high performance anode materials for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) is an attractive theme in developing energy storage devices. In this work, by means of density functional theory computations, we predicted a family of MC (M = Y, Zr, Nb, and Mo) monolayers containing C dimers to be promising anode materials for SIBs. The stability, electronic structure, and adsorption/diffusion/storage behavior of sodium atoms in MC (M = Y, Zr, Nb, and Mo) monolayers were explored.

Circumventing the scaling relationship on bimetallic monolayer electrocatalysts for selective CO reduction.

Electrochemical conversion of CO into value-added chemicals continues to draw interest in renewable energy applications. Although many metal catalysts are active in the CO reduction reaction (CORR), their reactivity and selectivity are nonetheless hindered by the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The competition of the HER and CORR stems from the energy scaling relationship between their reaction intermediates.

Aggregation caused quenching to aggregation induced emission transformation: a precise tuning based on BN-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons toward subcellular organelle specific imaging.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with boron-nitrogen (BN) moieties have attracted tremendous interest due to their intriguing electronic and optoelectronic properties. However, most of the BN-fused π-systems reported to date are difficult to modify and exhibit traditional aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) characteristics. This phenomenon greatly limits their scope of application.

Unusual light-driven amplification through unexpected regioselective photogeneration of five-membered azaheterocyclic AIEgen.

Developing versatile synthetic methodologies with merits of simplicity, efficiency, and environment friendliness for five-membered heterocycles is of incredible importance to pharmaceutical and material science, as well as a huge challenge to synthetic chemistry. Herein, an unexpected regioselective photoreaction to construct a fused five-membered azaheterocycle with an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristic is developed under mild conditions. The formation of the five-membered ring is both thermodynamically and kinetically favored, as justified by theoretical calculation and experimental evidence.

Current Advances in Black Phosphorus-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Cancer Therapy.

Cancer has been one of the major threats to the lives of human beings for centuries. Traditional therapy is more or less faced with certain defects, such as poor targeting, easy degradation, high side effects, etc. Therefore, in order to improve the treatment efficiency of drugs, an intelligent drug delivery system (DDS) is considered as a promising solution strategy.

Electron-phonon scattering and excitonic effects in T-carbon.

Through first-principles calculations combining many-body perturbation theory, we investigate electron-phonon scattering and optical properties including the excitonic effects of T-carbon. Our results reveal that optical and acoustic phonons dominate the scattering around the valence and the conduction band edges, respectively. In addition, the relaxation lifetimes of holes (0.

Electrons and Hydroxyl Radicals Synergistically Boost the Catalytic Hydrogen Evolution from Ammonia Borane over Single Nickel Phosphides under Visible Light Irradiation.

From the perspective of tailoring the reaction pathways of photogenerated charge carriers and intermediates to remarkably enhance the solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion efficiency, we synthesized the three low-cost semiconducting nickel phosphides NiP, NiP and NiP, which singly catalyzed the hydrogen evolution from ammonia borane (NHBH) in the alkaline aqueous solution under visible light irradiation at 298 K. The systematic investigations showed that all the catalysts had higher activities under visible light irradiation than in the dark and NiP had the highest photocatalytic activity with the initial turnover frequency (TOF) value of 82.7 min, which exceeded the values of reported metal phosphides at 298 K.

An integrated electrode based on nanoflakes of MoS on carbon cloth for enhanced lithium storage.

Due to its high specific capacity (in theory), molybdenum disulfide (MoS) has been recognized as a plausible substitute in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, it suffers from an inferior electric conductivity and a substantial volume change during Li insertion/extraction. By using a facile hydrothermal method, a flexible free-standing MoS electrode has here been fabricated onto a carbon cloth substrate.

Constructing ZIF-8 derived C-ZnS/ZnMoO@MoS and C-ZnS/MoS nanocomposites using a simple one-pot strategy to enhance photocatalytic degradation activity.

Efficient C-ZnS/ZnMoO@MoS and C-ZnS/MoS nanocomposite photocatalysts, using ZIF-8 derived C-ZnO as a precursor were successfully synthesized using a simple one-pot procedure. This is the first application that involves transforming ZIF-8 into C-ZnMoO for photocatalysis. The C-ZnS/ZnMoO@MoS and C-ZnS/MoS heterostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-vis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, photocurrent measurements, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.

A series of Mn(i) photo-activated carbon monoxide-releasing molecules with benzimidazole coligands: synthesis, structural characterization, CO releasing properties and biological activity evaluation.

Five Mn(i) photo-activated carbon monoxide-releasing molecules (photo-CORMs) with benzimidazole coligands, namely [MnBr(CO)L1] (1, L1 = 2-(2-pyridyl)benzimidazole), [Mn(CO)L1(PPh)](ClO) (2), [MnBr(CO)L2] (3, L2 = 2,2'-bisbenzimidazole), [MnBr(CO)L3]·CHOH (4, L3 = 2,6-bis(benzimidazole-2'-yl)pyridine) and -[MnBr(CO)L4] (5, L4 = 2,4-bis(benzimidazole-2'-yl) pyridine) were synthesized by reactions of MnBr(CO) with complexes L1-L4, respectively, and characterized single crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, H-NMR, C-NMR, IR, UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. The CO-release properties of 1-5 were investigated using the myoglobin assay and CO detection, and the results show that all of the complexes could release CO rapidly upon exposure to 365 nm UV light. Comparing their half-lives of CO release, we found that increasing the degree of unsaturation and conjugation of the ligand frame could be advantageous for prolonging the time of CO-release, and that the luminescence intensity of 1-5 could gradually be enhanced.

C-doped ZnO decorated with Au nanoparticles constructed from the metal-organic framework ZIF-8 for photodegradation of organic dyes.

Recently, engineering metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) into metal oxides by solid state thermal decomposition has attracted wide attention for photocatalytic applications. Here, a series of C-doped ZnO materials decorated with Au nanoparticles (Au/C-ZnO) were constructed controlled pyrolysis of ZIF-8 adsorbing different amounts of HAuCl·4HO. In this pyrolysis process, ZIF-8 was transformed into C-doped ZnO according to the EDX and XPS analysis.

Influence of citrate on phase transformation and photoluminescence properties in LaPO and LaPO:Eu.

The hexagonal and monoclinic phase LaPO and LaPO:Eu nanostructures have been controllably synthesized by a citrate-induced hydrothermal process at 100 °C. The crystal growth of LaPO nanostructures was investigated, and the phase transformation of nanostructured LaPO was systematically studied by varying the citrate concentration, pH value and reaction temperature. When 0.

Tunnable rectifying performance of in-plane metal-semiconductor junctions based on passivated zigzag phosphorene nanoribbons.

Using first principles density functional theory, we perform a systematic study of the band structures of passivated zigzag phosphorene nanoribbons (ZPNRs) and the transport properties of in-plane metal-semiconductor junctions. It is found that the ZPNR passivated by H, Cl or F atoms is a semiconductor, and the ZPNR passivated by C, O or S atoms is a metal. Therefore, ZPNRs with different passivated atoms can be fabricated into an in-plane metal-semiconductor junction.

Prediction of H NMR chemical shifts for ionic liquids: strategy and application of a relative reference standard.

The computational predictions of H NMR chemical shifts for ionic liquids were investigated. To calculate the chemical shifts more accurately, the approach of relative reference standard (RRS) was proposed. This straightforward computational technique uses organic compounds and ionic liquids that are similar to the studied ionic liquids as standards.

Overexpression of p58ipk protects neuroblastoma against paraquat-induced toxicity.

Background: Paraquat (PQ) is a powerful pathologic pesticide that contribute to the neurotoxicity, however, the pathogenic mechanism between them was unclear. The aims of this study were to explore the underlying mechanism of PQ-induced toxicity and then make potential contribute to such neuronal diseases therapy.

Methods: Human cell line SH-SY5Y was pretreated with a set concentrations of PQ to detect the cell apoptosis and the expression of related genes and proteins.