Miniaturized electrochemical sensors and their point-of-care applications

Most of the current analytical methods depend largely on laboratory-based analytical techniques that require expensive and bullky equipment,potentially incur costly testing,and involve lengthy detection processes.With increasing requirements for point-of-care testing(POCT),more attention has been paid to miniaturized analytical devices.Miniaturized electrochemical(MEC)sensors,including different material-based MEC sensors(such as DNA-,paper-,and screen electrode-based),have been in strong demand in analytical science due to their easy operation,portability,high sensitivity,as well as their short analysis time.They have been applied for the detection of trace amounts of target through measuring changes in electrochemical signal,such as current,voltage,potential,or impedance,due to the oxidation/reduction of chemical/biological molecules with the help of electrodes and electrochemical units.MEC sensors present great potential for the detection of targets including small organic molecules,metal ions,and biomolecules.In recent years,MEC sensors have been broadly applied to POCT in various fields,including health care,food safety,and environmental monitoring,owing to the excellent advantages of electrochemical(EC)technologies.This review summarized the state-of-the-art advancements on various types of MEC sensors and their applications in POCT.Furthermore,the future perspectives,opportunities,and challenges in this field are also discussed.     

Machine Learning towards Screening Solid-state Lithium Ion Conductors

Machine learning is an emerging method to discover new materials with specific characteristics.An unsupervised machine learning research is highlighted to discover new potential lithium ionic conductors by screening and clustering lithium compounds,providing inspirations for the development of solid-state electrolytes and practical batteries.     

Surface defect-rich ceria quantum dots anchored on sulfur-doped carbon nitride nanotubes with enhanced charge separation for solar hydrogen production

Designing defect-engineered semiconductor heterojunctions can effectively promote the charge carrier separation.Herein,novel ceria(CeO2) quantum dots(QDs) decorated sulfur-doped carbon nitride nanotubes(SCN NTs) were synthesized via a thermal polycondensation coupled in situ depositionprecipitation method without use of template or surfactant.The structure and morphology studies indicate that ultrafine CeO2 QDs are well distributed inside and outside of SCN NTs offering highly dispersed active sites and a large contact interface between two components.This leads to the promoted formation of rich Ce³⁺ ion and oxygen vacancies as confirmed by XPS.The photocatalytic performance can be facilely modulated by the content of CeO2 QDs introduced in SCN matrix while bare CeO2 does not show activity of hydrogen production.The optimal catalyst with 10% of CeO2 loading yields a hydrogen evolution rate of 2923.8 μmol h-1 g-1 under visible light,remarkably higher than that of bare SCN and their physical mixtures.Further studies reveal that the abundant surface defects and the created 0 D/1 D junctions play a critical role in improving the separation and transfer of charge carriers,leading to superior solar hydrogen production and good stability.     

Superfast and solvent-free core-shell assembly of sulfur/carbon active particles by hail-inspired nanostorm technology for high-energy-density Li-S batteries

The demand on low-carbon emission fabrication technologies for energy storage materials is increasing dramatically with the global interest on carbon neutrality.As a promising active material for metal-sulfur batteries,sulfur is of great interest due to its high-energy-density and abundance.However,there is a lack of industry-friendly and low-carbon fabrication strategies for high-performance sulfur-based active particles,which,however,is in critical need by their practical success.Herein,based on a hail-inspired sulfur nano-storm(HSN)technology developed in our lab,we report an energy-saving,solvent-free strategy for producing core-shell sulfur/carbon electrode particles(CNT@AC-S)in minutes.The fabrication of the CNT@AC-S electrode particles only involves low-cost sulfur blocks,commercial carbon nanotubes(CNT)and activated carbon(AC)micro-particles with high specific surface area.Based on the above core-shell CNT@AC-S particles,sulfur cathode with a high sulfur-loading of 9.2 mg cm^-2 delivers a stable area capacity of 6.6 mAh cm^-2 over 100 cycles.Furthermore,even for sulfur cathode with a super-high sulfur content(72 wt%over the whole electrode),it still delivers a high area capacity of 9 mAh cm^-2 over50 cycles in a quasi-lean electrolyte condition.In a nutshell,this study brings a green and industryfriendly fabrication strategy for cost-effective production of rationally designed S-rich electrode particles.     

Unraveling the stabilization mechanism of solid electrolyte interface on ZnSe by rGO in sodium ion battery

Transition metal selenides have been widely studied as anode materials of sodium ion batteries(SIBs),however,the investigation of solid-electrolyte-interface(SEI)on these materials,which is critical to the electrochemical performance of SIBs,remains at its infancy.Here in this paper,ZnSe@C nanoparticles were prepared from ZIF-8 and the SEI layers on these electrodes with and without reduced graphene oxide(rGO)layers were examined in details by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies at varied charged/discharged states.It is observed that fast and complicated electrolyte decomposition reactions on ZnSe@C leads to quite thick SEI film and intercalation of solvated sodium ions through such thick SEI film results in slow ion diffusion kinetics and unstable electrode structure.However,the presence of rGO could efficiently suppress the decomposition of electrolyte,thus thin and stable SEI film was formed.ZnSe@C electrodes wrapped by rGO demonstrates enhanced interfacial charge transfer kinetics and high electrochemical performance,a capacity retention of 96.4%,after 1000 cycles at 5 A/g.This study might offer a simple avenue for the designing high performance anode materials through manipulation of SEI film.     

CXN天然沸石的研究2: 吸附性质

采用N~2,NH~3,CO~2,乙烯,丙烯,水,甲醇,乙醇,丙醇等作为吸附剂,研究了由我国CXN天然沸石改性制得的H-STI和Na-STI沸石的吸附性质,H-STI和Na-STI沸石的BET表面积及微孔孔体积约为420m^2/g和0.20m^3/g。根据NH~3和CO~2在H-STI沸石上的吸附等温线计算得到它们的吸附热分别为44.8和26.5kJ/mol。乙烯,丙烯,甲醇,乙醇,丙醇等在Na-STI沸石上的吸附等温线表明该沸石对有机分子的吸附具有链长选择性。在低分压下水相对于甲醇的吸附量表明沸石具有一定的疏水性质。     

常温常湿条件下Au/MeO~x催化剂上CO氧化性能

利用共沉淀法制备了Au/MeO~x催化剂(Me=Al,Co,Cr,Cu,Fe,Mn,Ni,Zn)。在常温常湿条件下,考察了不同氧化物负载的金基催化剂的CO氧化性能。结果表明,氧化物种类对催化剂的活性和稳定性均有较大的影响。Cu,Mn,Cr等氧化物负载的金基催化剂的活性较差,而Zn,Fe,Co,Ni,Al等金属氧化物负载的金基催化剂可将CO完全氧化,又具有一定的稳定性,在相同反应条件下,CO完全转化时的稳定性顺序为Au/ZnO>Au/α-Fe~2O~3>Au/Co~3O~4>Au/γ-Al~2O~3≈Au/NiO。还发现水对Au/MnO~x催化剂的活性和稳定性有负作用,而对180℃焙烧制备的Au/ZnO-180催化剂的活性和稳定性均有明显的湿度增强作用。     

Boost oxygen reduction reaction performance by tuning the active sites in Fe-N-P-C catalysts

Cost-effective atomically dispersed Fe-N-P-C complex catalysts are promising to catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and replace Pt catalysts in fuel cells and metal-air batteries.However,it remains a challenge to increase the number of atomically dispersed active sites on these catalysts.Here we report a highly efficient impregnation-pyrolysis method to prepare effective ORR electrocatalysts with large amount of atomically dispersed Fe active sites from biomass.Two types of active catalyst centers were identified,namely atomically dispersed Fe sites and Fe_xP particles.The ORR rate of the atomically dispersed Fe sites is three orders of magnitude higher than it of Fe_xP particles.A linear correlation between the amount of the atomically dispersed Fe and the ORR activity was obtained,revealing the major contribution of the atomically dispersed Fe to the ORR activity.The number of atomically dispersed Fe increases as the Fe loading increased and reaching the maximum at 1.86 wt%Fe,resulting in the maximum ORR rate.Optimized Fe-N-P-C complex catalyst was used as the cathode catalyst in a homemade Zn-air battery and good performance of an energy density of 771 Wh kgZn^-1,a power density of 92.9 m W cm^-2 at 137 m A cm^-2 and an excellent durability were exhibited.     

Regulation of carbon distribution to construct high-sulfur-content cathode in lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)battery is regarded as one of the most promising next-generation energy storage systems due to the ultra-high theoretical energy density of 2600 Wh kg^-1.To address the insulation nature of sulfur,nanocarbon composition is essential to afford acceptable cycling capacity but inevitably sacrifices the actual energy density under working conditions.Therefore,rational structural design of the carbon/sulfur composite cathode is of great significance to realize satisfactory electrochemical performances with limited carbon content.Herein,the cathode carbon distribution is rationally regulated to construct high-sulfur-content and high-performance Li-S batteries.Concretely,a double-layer carbon(DLC)cathode is prepared by fabricating a surface carbon layer on the carbon/sulfur composite.The surface carbon layer not only provides more electrochemically active surfaces,but also blocks the polysulfide shuttle.Consequently,the DLC configuration with an increased sulfur content by nearly 10 wt%renders an initial areal capacity of 3.40 mAh cm^-2 and capacity retention of 83.8%during 50 cycles,which is about two times than that of the low-sulfur-content cathode.The strategy of carbon distribution regulation affords an effective pathway to construct advanced high-sulfur-content cathodes for practical high-energy-density Li-S batteries.     

Confined Ni-In intermetallic alloy nanocatalyst with excellent coking resistance for methane dry reforming

Carbon dioxide and methane are two main greenhouse gases which are contributed to serious global warming.Fortunately,dry reforming of methane(DRM),a very important reaction developed decades ago,can convert these two major greenhouse gases into value-added syngas or hydrogen.The main problem retarding its industrialization is the seriously coking formation upon the nickel-based catalysts.Herein,a series of confined indium-nickel(In-Ni)intermetallic alloy nanocatalysts(In_xNi@SiO₂)have been prepared and displayed superior coking resistance for DRM reaction.The sample containing 0.5 wt.%of In loading(In_0.5Ni@SiO₂)shows the best balance of carbon deposition resistance and DRM reactivity even after 430 h long term stability test.The boosted carbon resistance can be ascribed to the confinement of core–shell structure and to the transfer of electrons from Indium to Nickel in In-Ni intermetallic alloys due to the smaller electronegativity of In.Both the silica shell and the increase of electron cloud density on metallic Ni can weaken the ability of Ni to activate C–H bond and decrease the deep cracking process of methane.The reaction over the confined InNi intermetallic alloy nanocatalyst was conformed to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood(L-H)mechanism revealed by in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy(in-situ DRIFTS).This work provides a guidance to design high performance coking resistance catalysts for methane dry reforming to efficiently utilize these two main greenhouse gases.     

半花菁LB多层膜的光学非线性各向异性研究

用偏振紫外-可见吸收及旋转样品二次谐波（SHG）测量法研究了半花菁／花生酸Y型交替多层膜中分子在基极平面内分布的各向异性．拉膜过程引发的半花菁分子在平面内沿提拉方向的规则取向具有镜面对称性，并随着拉膜速度或层数的增大而增强．     

有机分子膜层间相互作用对聚集体的影响

有机材料在分子设计与合成方面具有高度可塑性、灵活性及多样性,易于制成各种功能器件．带有电子给体和受体以及、电子体系的两亲类有机分子具有极高的超分子极化率“‘．利用Langmuir－Blodgett（LB）技术可实现有机材料在纳米尺寸上的分子组装,形成高度有序、非中心对称的LB膜以实现大的宏观二阶非线性极化系数．有机分子在LB膜中常常形成聚集体,而聚集体的存在将显著改变膜的宏观光学特性．根据有机分子间相互作用能的类型,聚集体可以分为J一型和H一型两种,分别表现为它们的吸收或荧光光谱‘”相对于单体发生红移或蓝移．近年来…     

LB膜中聚集体的时间分辨荧光研究

利用吸收，稳态和时间分辨荧光方法研究了苯腙（ＰＤ）和半花菁（ＤＡＥＰ）分子在Ｚ型ＬＢ多层膜中的聚集性质，苯腙和半花菁吸收光谱的红移和兰移，说明它们分别以Ｊ和Ｈ型聚集体形式存在于ＬＢ膜中，苯腙和半花菁ＬＢ膜的荧光发射带分别在５６０ｎｍ和５８４ｎｍ处，亦分别对于它们溶液的荧光谱呈示出红移和兰移的特征，它们的荧光衰减曲线能很好地用双指数模拟拟合，在苯腙和半花菁ＬＢ多层膜中主要存在着荧光寿命分别在ｎｓ和１     

Enhanced optical and nonlinear optical responses in a polyelectrolyte templated Langmuir-Blodgett film

Optical and nonlinear optical properties like fluorescence and second harmonic generation (SHG) of molecular materials can be strongly influenced by the mode of assembly of the molecules. The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique is an elegant route to the controlled assembly of molecules in ultrathin films, and complexation of ionic amphiphiles in the Langmuir film by polyions introduced in the aqueous subphase provides a simple and efficient access to further control, stabilization, and optimization. The monolayer LB film of the hemicyanine-based amphiphile, N-n-octadecyl-4-[2-(4-(N,N-ethyloctadecylamino)phenyl)ethenyl]pyridinium possessing a "tail-head-tail" structure, shows fluorescence as well as SHG response. The concomitant enhancement of both of these linear and nonlinear optical attributes is achieved through templating with the polyanion of carboxymethylcellulose. Brewster angle and atomic force microscopy reveal the influence of polyelectrolyte templating on the morphology of the Langmuir and LB films. Polarized absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy provide insight into the impact of complexation with the polyelectrolyte on the orientation and deaggregation of the hemicyanine headgroup leading to fluorescence and SHG enhancement in the LB film.     

半花菁染料LB膜的铁电性与厚度关系

报道了半花菁染料LB膜铁电性与膜厚度的依赖性.根据所测得的电滞回线发现,矫顽电场(Ec)随薄膜厚度(以薄膜的层数N表示)的增加而减少,在薄膜厚度为30～200 nm的范围内,它们之间的关系可用幂指数公式表示为Ec∝N－4/3,这种关系与其它传统的无机铁电材料完全相同.通过样品介电和铁电性能的测量,以存贮元件的物理参量－优值(Ps/εrEc)作为参比标准,可得铁电半花菁染料LB膜的最佳厚度为60 nm,且其优值的数值与偏氟乙烯-三氟乙烯共聚物P(VdF-TrFE) (n :n=70:30)的优值数值处在同一数量级上.     

新型半菁染料阳离子和含锌硫代富瓦烯配阴离子的电荷转移复合物光电响应性质的研究

对一种新型半菁发色基团的碘化物--(反式)-N-十八烷基-4-(2-(4-(2-二甲基氨基)苯基)乙烯基)喹啉碘化物和含锌硫代富瓦烯配阴离子形成的电荷转移复合物:二-[(反式)-N-十八烷基-4-(2-(4-(2-二甲基氨基)苯基)乙烯基)喹啉]合硫代富瓦烯锌酸盐的成膜性以及它们的LB膜修饰ITO电极上的光电响应性质进行比较研究,用含锌硫代富瓦烯配阴离子对这种半菁发色团阳离子进行组装后,能够改善其成膜性,使单位面积上的半菁发色团数目增加.同时,含锌硫代富瓦烯配阴离子的强吸电子能力还影响半菁发色团的电荷分布,使之有利于电荷分离,从而提高了光电流的量子产率.在无外界影响时,其光电转化的量子产率达0.9%,是碘化物的1.8倍.     

Langmuir-Blodgett Film Formation and Optical Second Harmoni Generation of a Hemicyanine Derivative

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film of a hemicyanine derivative, (E)-N-hexadecyl-4-[2-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)ethenyl]pyridinium bromide (Hc) was fabricated. The Langmuir film of Hc exhibited good transfer behaviour. Optical second harmonic generation from the LB film was measured. Macroscopic second-order susceptibilily, molecular hyperpolarizability and tilt angle for the molecules on a substrate were estimated to be 7.06×10^-6 esu, 6.47×10^-27 esu,and 31.6° respectively.     

半花菁衍生物LB膜的光致荧光特性研究

通过改变半花菁的亲水基团与疏水基团而得到了四种半花菁衍生物 ,利用稳态和时间分辨荧光研究了不同亲水基团与疏水基团对半花菁衍生物光学特性的影响.主要包括半花菁衍生物在LB膜中的聚集特性;亲水基团与疏水基团对半花菁衍生物激发态寿命的影响等.     

The LB Films of Dansyl Chloride Labeled Octadecylamine and Its Fluorescence Lifetime

IntroductionFluorescent probe labeling 1, 2, microchip and LB (Langmuir-Blodgett) films of DNA and proteins3 are important in molecular electronic and biotechnological applications such as information processing and molecular recognition. As an imitated and simplified model of above complex cases, here we prepare the LB films of dansyl chloride (5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulfonyl chloride, denoted as DNS) labeled octadecyl amine (AM). A molecule based naphthalene sulfonate is well kno…     

Columnar self-assembly and alignment of planar carbenium ions in Langmuir-Blodgett films

Structural and optical properties of multilayer Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of two amphiphilic carbenium salts 2-didecylamino-6,10-bis(dimethylamino)-4,8,12-trioxatriangulenium hexafluorophosphate (ATOTA-1) and 2,6-bis(decylmethylamino)-10-dimethylamino-4,8,12-trioxatriangulenium hexafluorophosphate (ATOTA-2) are described. The LB films were prepared on lipophilic glass by standard vertical dipping. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) measurements show that the planar organic cores, in spite of their positive charge, form closely packed columns with a repeating distance of ～3.45 ?. Specular X-ray reflectivity (SXR) reveals the LB multilayers to consist of Y-type bilayers with thickness 31 ? for ATOTA-1 and 41 ? for ATOTA-2. This significant difference is ascribed to the different packing motifs of the alkyl chains in the two LB films. GIXD and polarized UV-vis absorption and emission spectroscopy show that the columnar aggregates in the LB films are oriented along the dipping direction. This alignment is attributed to shear effects during LB transfer. The main absorption band of the LB films is blue-shifted compared to that in solution, while the fluorescence is red-shifted by more than 100 nm. These findings suggest the presence of H-aggregates in agreement with the cofacial packing derived from the X-ray measurements. Polarized absorption spectroscopy with variable angle of incidence was used to resolve two perpendicular optical transitions in the visible range, one at 460 nm polarized perpendicular to the columnar direction, in the plane of the film, and one at 420 nm polarized along the film normal.