Gold Nanorod Assisted Enhanced Plasmonic Detection Scheme of COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein.

The beautiful interplay between light and matter can give rise to many striking physical phenomena, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) being one of them. Plasmonic immunosensors monitor refractive index changes that occur as a result of specific ligand-analyte or antibody-antigen interactions taking place on the sensor surface. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has jeopardized the entire world and has resulted in economic slowdown of most countries.

Stimuli-responsive microgels for controlled deposition of gold nanoparticles on surfaces.

A variety of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) core/poly(-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm) shell microgels (Au@pNIPAm) were generated using seed-mediated polymerization. The shell thickness and AuNP core diameter were easily tunable at the time of synthesis. The resultant Au@pNIPAm microgels were characterized photon-correlation spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy.

Controllable and Diversiform Topological Morphologies of Self-Assembling Supra-Amphiphiles with Aggregation-Induced Emission Characteristics for Mimicking Light-Harvesting Antenna.

Controllable construction of diversiform topological morphologies through supramolecular self-assembly on the basis of single building block is of vital importance, but still remains a big challenge. Herein, a bola-type supra-amphiphile, namely DAdDMA@2-CD, is rationally designed and successfully prepared by typical host-guest binding -cyclodextrin units with an aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active scaffold DAdDMA. Self-assembling investigation reveals that several morphologies of self-assembled DAdDMA@2-CD including leaf-like lamellar structure, nanoribbons, vesicles, nanofibers, helical nanofibers, and toroids, can be straightforwardly fabricated by simply manipulating the self-assembling solvent proportioning and/or temperature.

Advancing Applications of Black Phosphorus and BP-Analog Materials in Photo/Electrocatalysis through Structure Engineering and Surface Modulation.

Black phosphorus (BP), an emerging 2D material semiconductor material, exhibits unique properties and promising application prospects for photo/electrocatalysis. However, the applications of BP in photo/electrocatalysis are hampered by the instability as well as low catalysis efficiency. Recently, tremendous efforts have been dedicated toward modulating its intrinsic structure, electronic property, and charge separation for enhanced photo/electrocatalytic performance through structure engineering.

In Vivo Enrichment and Elimination of Circulating Tumor Cells by Using a Black Phosphorus and Antibody Functionalized Intravenous Catheter.

The circulating tumor cell (CTC) count is closely related to cancer recurrence and metastasis. The technology that can in vivo destroy CTCs may bring great benefits to patients, which is an urgent clinical demand. Here, a minimally invasive therapeutic intravenous catheter for in vivo enriching and photothermal killing of CTCs is developed.

Chinese chive and Mongolian leek suppress heterocyclic amine formation and enhance nutritional profile of roasted cod.

Heterocyclic amines (HAs) are potent mutagens, which can form DNA adducts in various human tissues. There is increasing evidence that mutagenic HA formation and nutrition loss can occur concurrently in fish during vigorous heat treatment. Our study investigated the effects of five spp.

Machine Learning Magnetic Parameters from Spin Configurations.

Hamiltonian parameters estimation is crucial in condensed matter physics, but is time- and cost-consuming. High-resolution images provide detailed information of underlying physics, but extracting Hamiltonian parameters from them is difficult due to the huge Hilbert space. Here, a protocol for Hamiltonian parameters estimation from images based on a machine learning (ML) architecture is provided.

Efficient and Reabsorption-Free Radioluminescence in CsCuI Nanocrystals with Self-Trapped Excitons.

Radioluminescent materials (scintillators) are widely applied in medical imaging, nondestructive testing, security inspection, nuclear and radiation industries, and scientific research. Recently, all-inorganic lead halide perovskite nanocrystal (NC) scintillators have attracted great attention due to their facile solution processability and ultrasensitive X-ray detection, which allows for large area and flexible X-ray imaging. However, the light yield of these perovskite NCs is relatively low because of the strong self-absorption that reduces the light out-coupling efficiency.

2D Material Optoelectronics for Information Functional Device Applications: Status and Challenges.

Graphene and the following derivative 2D materials have been demonstrated to exhibit rich distinct optoelectronic properties, such as broadband optical response, strong and tunable light-mater interactions, and fast relaxations in the flexible nanoscale. Combining with optical platforms like fibers, waveguides, grating, and resonators, these materials has spurred a variety of active and passive applications recently. Herein, the optical and electrical properties of graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, black phosphorus, MXene, and their derivative van der Waals heterostructures are comprehensively reviewed, followed by the design and fabrication of these 2D material-based optical structures in implementation.

Single-unit-cell-thick layered electrocatalysts: from synthesis to application.

Electrocatalysts are critical for water splitting, carbon dioxide reduction, and zinc-air battery. However, the low-exposed surface areas of bulk electrocatalysts usually limit the complete utilization of active sites. Ultrathin electrocatalysts have noteworthy advantages in maximizing the use of active sites.

Facile synthesis of a dual-phase CsPbBr-CsPbBr single crystal and its photoelectric performance.

The emerging metal-halide perovskites are promising for next generation optoelectronic devices. Recently, all-inorganic halide perovskites have been developed and show significantly improved stability compared with organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskites. Here, we report a facile method based on the coffee ring effect of solvents to synthesize dual-phase CsPbBr-CsPbBr single crystal microsheets for the first time.

Key factors affecting Rayleigh instability of ultrathin 4H hexagonal gold nanoribbons.

Rayleigh instability was originally used to describe the phenomenon of a cylindrical fluid jet that transforms into a chain of droplets. Very recently, it has been extended to metallic nanostructures like gold (Au) and silver (Ag) nanowires (NWs), as well as mixed alloy NWs by some thermodynamic processes. To date, the key factors affecting the Rayleigh instability have not been well studied.

Core-Shell Structured NiFeSn@NiFe (Oxy)Hydroxide Nanospheres from an Electrochemical Strategy for Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are highly desirable because of the intrinsically sluggish kinetics of OER. Herein, core-shell structured nanospheres of NiFe Sn@NiFe (oxy)hydroxide (denoted as NiFe Sn-A) are prepared as active OER catalysts by a facile electrochemical strategy, which includes electrodeposition of NiFe Sn alloy nanospheres on carbon cloth (CC) and following anodization. The alloy core of NiFe Sn could promote charge transfer, and the amorphous shell of NiFe (oxy)hydroxide is defect-rich and nanoporous due to the selective electrochemical etching of Sn in alkaline medium.

Anisotropic Collective Charge Excitations in Quasimetallic 2D Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides.

The quasimetallic 1T' phase 2D transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) consist of 1D zigzag metal chains stacked periodically along a single axis. This gives rise to its prominent physical properties which promises the onset of novel physical phenomena and applications. Here, the in-plane electronic correlations are explored, and new mid-infrared plasmon excitations in 1T' phase monolayer WSe and MoS are observed using optical spectroscopies.

First-principles calculations of electronic structure and optical and elastic properties of the novel ABX-type LaWN perovskite structure.

The development of ABX-type advanced perovskite materials has become a focus for both scientific researchers and the material genome initiative (MGI). In addition to the traditional perovskite ABO and halide perovskite ABX, LaWN is discovered as a new ABX-type advanced perovskite structure. The elastic and optical properties of this novel LaWN structure are systematically studied DFT.

pH-Responsive Au(i)-disulfide nanoparticles with tunable aggregation-induced emission for monitoring intragastric acidity.

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-featuring Au(i) complexes are superior probes for physiological environment monitoring in living organisms owing to their excellent biocompatibility and efficient luminescent properties. However, the intrinsic obstacle of poor water stability and lack of response to biological stimuli greatly restrict their practical application in biological systems. Herein, water-stable and pH-responsive Au(i)-disulfide nanoparticles (NPs) with AIE characteristics were designed.

One stone, three birds: one AIEgen with three colors for fast differentiation of three pathogens.

Visually identifying pathogens favors rapid diagnosis at the point-of-care testing level. Here, we developed a microenvironment-sensitive aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen), namely IQ-Cm, for achieving fast discrimination of Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria and fungi by the naked-eye. With a twisted donor-acceptor and multi-rotor structure, IQ-Cm shows twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) and AIE properties with sensitive fluorescence color response to the microenvironment of pathogens.

Achieving 21% External Quantum Efficiency for Nondoped Solution-Processed Sky-Blue Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence OLEDs by Means of Multi-(Donor/Acceptor) Emitter with Through-Space/-Bond Charge Transfer.

Although numerous thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been demonstrated, efficient blue or even sky-blue TADF-based nondoped solution-processed devices are still very rare. Herein, through-space charge transfer (TSCT) and through-bond charge transfer (TBCT) effects are skillfully incorporated, as well as the multi-(donor/acceptor) characteristic, into one molecule. The former allows this material to show small singlet-triplet energy splitting (Δ ) and a high transition dipole moment.

Trends in C-O and N-O bond scission on rutile oxides described using oxygen vacancy formation energies.

Reactivity trends on transition metals can generally be understood through the d-band model, but no analogous theory exists for transition metal oxides. This limits the generality of analyses in oxide-based catalysis and surface chemistry and has motivated the appearance of numerous descriptors. Here we show that oxygen vacancy formation energy (Δ ) is an inexpensive yet accurate and general descriptor for trends in transition-state energies, which are usually difficult to assess.

The Rise of 2D Photothermal Materials beyond Graphene for Clean Water Production.

Water shortage is one of the most concerning global challenges in the 21st century. Solar-inspired vaporization employing photothermal nanomaterials is considered to be a feasible and green technology for addressing the water challenge by virtue of abundant and clean solar energy. 2D nanomaterials aroused considerable attention in photothermal evaporation-induced water production owing to their large absorption surface, strong absorption in broadband solar spectrum, and efficient photothermal conversion.

Nanocarbon Catalysts: Recent Understanding Regarding the Active Sites.

Although carbon itself acts as a catalyst in various reactions, the classical carbon materials (e.g., activated carbons, carbon aerogels, carbon black, carbon fiber, etc.

LingZhi oligopeptides amino acid sequence analysis and anticancer potency evaluation.

LingZhi () has been used as a therapeutic agent for decades, but the antitumor potency of LingZhi oligopeptides (LZOs) was not well explored. In current study, ten novel LZO amino acid sequences were identified, and anticancer potency was evaluated. We found that LZO-3 [EGHGF] significantly triggered A549 cell apoptosis mitochondrial dysregulation, as evidenced by caspases activation, mitochondrial membrane potential collapse, Bcl-2/Bax ratio alteration, and cytochrome c release.

Few-layer hexagonal bismuth telluride (BiTe) nanoplates with high-performance UV-Vis photodetection.

It is widely known that the excellent intrinsic electronic and optoelectronic advantages of bismuthene and tellurene make them attractive for applications in transistors and logic and optoelectronic devices. However, their poor optoelectronic performances, such as photocurrent density and photoresponsivity, under ambient conditions severely hinder their practical application. To satisfy the demand of high-performance optoelectronic devices and topological insulators, bismuth telluride nanoplates (BiTe NPs) with different sizes, successfully synthesized by a solvothermal approach have been, for the first time, employed to fabricate a working electrode for photoelectrochemical (PEC)-type photodetection.

Electronic and transport properties of zigzag phosphorene nanoribbons with nonmetallic atom terminations.

Using the first-principles method based on density-functional theory and nonequilibrium Green's function, electronic properties of zigzag phosphorene nanoribbons (ZPNRs) terminated with nonmetallic (NM) atoms such as H, C, F, N, O, S and Si, as well as a pristine case, are studied systematically. Three possible cases are considered, namely, ZPNRs with symmetrical edge terminations, asymmetrical edge terminations, and the half-bare edge case. It is shown that the pristine ZPNRs show metallic behavior.

Magnetic recyclable CoFeO@PPy prepared by Fenton oxidization polymerization with advanced photo-Fenton performance.

Here we present a magnetic recyclable photo-Fenton catalyst CoFeO@PPy with uniform morphology and excellent dispersibility prepared simple Fenton oxidization polymerization. The CoFeO core provides good magnetic recyclability for the catalysts as well as the ion source for catalyzed decomposition of HO in PPy coating. The optimal catalytic effect can be obtained by adjusting the ratio of CoFeO and PPy.