Oxygen Vacancy Enabled Electronic Structure Engineering of Pt-WO Nanosheets toward Highly Efficient BTEX Sensing.

A Pt nanoparticle-immobilized WO material is a promising candidate for catalytic reactions, and the surface and electronic structure can strongly affect the performance. However, the effect of the intrinsic oxygen vacancy of WO on the d-band structure of Pt and the synergistic effect of Pt and the WO matrix on reaction performance are still ambiguous, which greatly hinders the design of advanced materials. Herein, Pt-decorated WO nanosheets with different electronic metal-support interactions are successfully prepared by finely tuning the oxygen vacancy structure of WO nanosheets.

Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of N-Type PbSe Through Semi-Coherent Nanostructure by AgCuTe Alloying.

N-type PbSe thermoelectric materials encounter challenges in improving the power factor due to the single-band structure near the Fermi level, which obstructs typical band convergence. The primary strategy for enhancing the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) for n-type PbSe involves reducing lattice thermal conductivity (κ) by introducing various defect structures. However, lattice mismatches resulting from internal defects within the matrix can diminish carrier mobility, thereby affecting electrical transport properties.

Construction of an n-Type Fluorinated ZnO Interfacial Phase for a Stable Anode of Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries have become an ideal solution for the next generation of energy storage systems due to their low cost and high safety. However, the uncontrollable zinc dendrites and harmful side reactions of metal zinc anodes hinder the further development of aqueous zinc-ion batteries. In this work, the artificial fluoride zinc oxide (F-ZnO) interface phase is integrated in situ on the surface of zinc foil.

Electrochemically driven physical properties of solid-state materials: action mechanisms and control schemes.

The various physical properties recently induced by solid-state electrochemical reactions must be comprehensively understood, and their mechanisms of action should be elucidated. Reversible changes in conductivity, magnetism, and colour have been achieved by combining the redox reactions of d metal ions and organic materials, as well as the molecular and crystal structures of solids. This review describes the electrochemically driven physical properties of conductors, magnetic materials, and electrochromic materials using various electrochemical devices.

Pressure-Induced Irreversible Metallization Accompanying Phase Transition of Chalcopyrite Cu(InGa)Se.

Chalcopyrite copper-indium-gallium diselenides (CIGS) have emerged as promising materials with remarkable electronic properties and potential applicability to high-efficiency solar cells. The crystal and electronic structures of CIGS can be continuously tuned from their initial states under pressure. Although pressure-induced band gap closure in CIGS has been predicted in extensive theoretical studies, it has not been supported by experimental evidence.

CO/H Separation by Synergistic Enhanced Hydrate Method with SDS and R134a.

The synergistic effect of thermodynamic promoter tetrafluoroethane (R134a) and kinetic promoter sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) can significantly improve the phase equilibrium conditions required for CO hydrate formation and promote rapid generation of CO hydrate. Based on this, this study investigates the influence of SDS and R134a synergy on the separation of CO/H mixed gas using the hydrate method. The research reveals that without SDS addition, R134a hydrate forms first at the gas-liquid interface before CO hydrate induction, hindering gas-liquid exchange.

Quantifying the impact of factors on soil available arsenic using machine learning.

Arsenic (As) can accumulate in edible plant parts and thus pose a serious threat to human health. Identifying the contributions of various factors to soil available As is crucial for evaluating environmental risks. However, research quantitatively assessing the importance of soil properties on available As is scarce.

Mechanism and Origin of Stereoselectivity of N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC)-Catalyzed Transformation Reaction of Benzaldehyde with -QDM as Key Intermediate: A DFT Study.

N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-bound -quinodimethane, served as a nucleophile, has occupied an important position for constructing various all-carbon or heterocyclic compounds and attracted increasing attention for the functionalization of benzylic carbon of aromatic aldehydes, whereas the mechanistic studies on the generation and transformations of dienolate intermediate are rare. In the present study, the mechanism of activation/transformation of aldehyde catalyzed by NHC was theoretically studied using the density functional theory (DFT) method. Based on the calculations, the nucleophilic addition process is the stereoselectivity-determining step with -configured product being generated preferentially.

Effect of ultrasound-pretreated starch on the formation, structure and digestibility of starch ternary complexes from lauric acid and β-lactoglobulin.

Starch, lipids, and proteins are key macronutrients in starchy foods. Their interactions during processing can form starch-lipid-protein ternary complexes, significantly affecting food quality. Ultrasonic treatment, as a common processing method, is expected to regulate the quality of starchy foods by influencing the formation of ternary complexes.

Post-Quantum Secure Identity-Based Signature Scheme with Lattice Assumption for Internet of Things Networks.

The Internet of Things (IoT) plays an essential role in people's daily lives, such as healthcare, home, traffic, industry, and so on. With the increase in IoT devices, there emerge many security issues of data loss, privacy leakage, and information temper in IoT network applications. Even with the development of quantum computing, most current information systems are weak to quantum attacks with traditional cryptographic algorithms.

Preparation and Properties of Multi-Responsive Liquid Crystalline Poly(urethane-acrylate)s and Its Composite Membranes.

In this work, a kind of side chain liquid crystalline poly(urethane-acrylate)s was synthesized by free polymerization based on self-made liquid crystalline monomers, and a series of liquid crystalline polyurethane/shape memory polyurethane composite membranes were prepared by electrospinning. The synthesized liquid crystalline poly(urethane-acrylate)s have excellent thermal stability. Due to the regular arrangement of azobenzene on the side chains, polymers can rapidly undergo a photoinduced transition from trans-isomerism to cis-isomerism in THF solution and restore reversible configurational changes under visible light.

Effect of Oat Beta-Glucan on Physicochemical Properties and Digestibility of Fava Bean Starch.

The current research examined the impact of different concentrations of oat beta-glucan (OG) on the in vitro digestibility of fava bean starch (FS). Our pasting analysis demonstrated that OG effectively decreased the viscosity and regrowth of FS, suppressing its in situ regrowth while enhancing the in vitro pasting temperature. Moreover, OG markedly diminished amylose leaching and minimized the particle size of the pasted starch.

Properties of Myofibrillar Protein in Frozen Pork Improved through pH-Shifting Treatments: The Impact of Magnetic Field.

The present study demonstrates the effects of pH-shifting treatments and magnetic field-assisted pH-shifting treatments on the properties of myofibrillar protein (MP) in frozen meat. The solubility results indicate that the pH-shifting treatments increased the solubility of MP from 16.8% to a maximum of 21.

Preparation and properties of cationic starch-carrageenan‑sodium alginate hydrogels with pH and temperature sensitivity.

In this study, cationic starch-carrageenan‑sodium alginate (CAS/CR/SA) hydrogels with different weight ratios of carrageenan and sodium alginate were prepared and their properties such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), rheological properties, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), H nuclear magnetic resonance (H NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and methylene blue adsorption test were measured. The results showed that the viscosity and the shear strain resistance of the CAS/CR/SA hybrid hydrogels positively correlated with their sodium alginate contents. The hybrid hydrogels with high carrageenan contents exhibited a high energy storage modulus (G') and a high loss modulus (G").

Microstructure and digestive behaviors of inner, middle, and outer layers of pork during heating.

To investigate the effects of heat treatment on the microstructure and digestive behaviors of pork, meat samples were subjected to a 100 °C water bath for 26 min. The inner, medium, and outer layers were assigned and analyzed according to the temperature gradient. Compared to the raw samples, significant changes were observed in the microscopic structure of pork.

Preservation strategies for processed grass carp products: Analyzing quality and microbial dynamics during chilled and ice temperature storage.

This study investigated the impact of ice temperature storage on quality and bacterial composition of processed fish paste products (PFP). Freezing curve revealed the ice temperature was -1 °C. Electric nose (e-nose) showed significant changes in volatile components within 8 days.

Understanding electron structure of covalent triazine framework embraced with gold nanoparticles for nitrogen reduction to ammonia.

Regulating the electron structure and precise loading sites of metal-active sites within the highly conjugated and porous covalent-triazine frameworks (CTFs) is essential to promoting the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) performance for electrocatalytic ammonia (NH) synthesis under ambient conditions. Herein, experimental method and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were conducted to deeply probe the effect on NRR of the modulation of modulating the electron structure and the loading site of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in a two-dimensional (2D) CTF. 2D CTF synthesized using melem and hexaketocyclohexane octahydrate as building blocks (denoted as M-HCO-CTF) served as a robust scaffold for loading Au NPs to form an M-HCO-CTF@AuNP hybrid.

Europium functionalized porphyrin-based metal-organic framework heterostructure and hydrogel for visual ratiometric fluorescence sensing of sulfonamides in foods.

Protecting human health and ensuring food security require the swift and accurate detection of sulfonamides (SAs) residues in foods. Herein, we proposed an Eu-postfunctionalized bimetallic porphyrin metal-organic framework (PCN-221(Zr/Ce)@Eu-DPA-Hbtec) synthesized solvothermally for fluorescence sensing. The PCN-221(Zr/Ce)@Eu-DPA-Hbtec fluorescent sensor demonstrated excellent stability and high selectivity to SAs, and the detection limits of sulfamethazine (SM), sulfamerazine (SMR), and sulfamethoxydiazine (SMD) were as low as 56 nmol/L, 45 nmol/L, and 56 nmol/L, respectively.

Study of metabolite differences of flue-cured tobacco from Canada (CT157) and Yunnan (Yunyan 87).

In order to comprehend the dissimilarities in tobacco quality between Canada and Yunnan, a comparison of the aroma components was conducted using GC-MS and HPLC analysis, coupled with orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The study revealed the detection of a total of 81 aroma components and 22 non-volatile components in both varieties of tobacco leaves. Specifically, there were 102 components of Canada tobacco leaves and 103 components of Yunnan tobacco leaves.

Designing Symmetric Gradient Honeycomb Structures with Carbon-Coated Iron-Based Composites for High-Efficiency Microwave Absorption.

The impedance matching of absorbers is a vital factor affecting their microwave absorption (MA) properties. In this work, we controllably synthesized Material of Institute Lavoisier 88C (MIL-88C) with varying aspect ratios (AR) as a precursor by regulating oil bath conditions, followed by one-step thermal decomposition to obtain carbon-coated iron-based composites. Modifying the precursor MIL-88C (Fe) preparation conditions, such as the molar ratio between metal ions and organic ligands (M/O), oil bath temperature, and oil bath time, influenced the phases, graphitization degree, and AR of the derivatives, enabling low filler loading, achieving well-matched impedance, and ensuring outstanding MA properties.

Ion-Exchanging Lead-Free Perovskite with Tunable Emission Wavelengths for Chemical and Fluorescent Double-Modal Anticounterfeiting Application.

Novel and covert fluorescence is quite desirable for fluorescent anticounterfeiting application. Here, CsInCl·HO/Sb and CsNaInCl/Sb with high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of 99.61 and 99.

Simulation Study on Temperature Control Performance of Lithium-Ion Battery Fires by Fine Water Mist in Energy Storage Stations.

The combustion of lithium-ion batteries is characterized by fast ignition, prolonged duration, high combustion temperature, release of significant energy, and generation of a large number of toxic gases. Fine water mist has characteristics such as a high fire extinguishing efficiency and environmental friendliness. In order to thoroughly investigate the temperature control effect of fine water mist on lithium-ion battery fires.

Visible light photocatalytic degradation of oxytetracycline hydrochloride using chitosan-loaded Z-scheme heterostructured material BiOCOOH/O-gCN.

In this work, a Z-scheme heterostructured BiOCOOH/O-gCN material was synthesized and immobilized on chitosan (CTS) to obtain the BiOCOOH/O-gCN/CTS photocatalytic material for photocatalytic degradation of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (CTC).Our findings indicate that the composite material BiOCOOH/O-gCN, as well as the BiOCOOH/O-gCN/CTS composite membrane, displayed a significantly higher efficiency in photocatalytic degradation of CTC compared to BiOCOOH alone, owing to the synergistic effect of adsorption and photocatalysis. Following four cycles of use, the composite material retained around 96 % of its initial photocatalytic degradation activity.

Sequential effects of autoclaved heat treatment and electron beam irradiation on acorn starch: Multiscale structural differences and related mechanisms.

In this study, the differences in the modification effects and related mechanisms of different times (20 and 40 min) of autoclaved heat (AH) treatment and different doses (2 and 4 kGy) of electron beam irradiation (EBI) in different sequences of effects on acorn starch were investigated. The results showed that both AH and EBI reduced the amylose content (22.70 to 19.