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.     

A racemization test in peptide synthesis using 4-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholinium chloride (DMT-MM)

Racemization of the C-terminal amino acid (Ala) has been studied in various solvents during coupling between 4-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl (Z(OMe))-Gly-L-Ala-OH and phenylalanine benzyl ester (H-Phe-OBzl) with 4-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-thiazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholinium chloride (DMT-MM). The reaction occurred without substantial racemization in AcOEt, tetrahydrofuran (THF), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), CH3CN, and 2-PrOH, while a slight racemization was observed in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), EtOH, and MeOH. The extent of racemization may correlate with the polarity of the solvents.     

含氧有机溶剂对用桑色素荧光法测定钪的荧光性质的影响

用桑色素-氨替比林萃取荧光法,2-苯并喹啉-4-羧酸荧光法测定微量钪的方法已有报道,但这些方法的选择性较差。作者发现加入某些含氧有机溶剂对测定体系的荧光性质有明显影响,较大幅度地提高了反应的灵敏度和选择性。据此,作者建立了在稀土元素共存时,直接测定钪的新方法。本文还测定了桑色素-钪配合物的组成,荧光效率φ,表观稳定常数K,溶剂化数及溶剂化常数K_s,并对有机溶剂的作用进行了初步探讨。     

Merocyanine 540 Solubilized as an Ion Pair with Cationic Surfactant in Nonpolar Solvents: Spectral and Photochemical Properties

Merocyanine 540 (MC) is an anionic dye that is used to photopurge the bone marrow of leukemia cells. Under these conditions it is localized mostly in cell membranes, which may affect its photochemical reactivity. We investigated the photochemistry of MC dissolved as a hydrophobic ion pair with a hexadecyltrioctadecylammonium cation in cyclohexane, trimethylpentane and toluene as well as in propylene carbonate, CH3CN, C2H5OH and D2O. In organic solvents, the absorption and fluorescence spectra of MC were strongly red-shifted compared with aqueous solutions. The fluorescence was also more intense despite aggregation that occurred in some solvents. Aggregation strongly affects the spectral and photochemical properties of MC, especially in aliphatic hydrocarbons in which distinctive H-type aggregates are formed. Hydrophobic MC is a moderate photosensitizer of singlet molecular oxygen (1O2). The following values for 1O2 quantum yields were calculated based on 1O2 phosphorescence relative to 1O2 generation by Rose Bengal: approximately 0.12 in trimethylpenthane, approximately 0.13 in cyclohexane, 0.045 in EtOH, 0.039 in toluene, 0.007 in CH3CN and approximately 3 x 10(-4) in D2O. The H-aggregates of MC in cyclohexane and trimethylpentane are better 1O2 producers than monomeric MC. The above 1O2 quantum yields are corrected for self-quenching because MC is an efficient 1O2 quencher (17 x 10(7) M-1 s-1 in CH3CN, 6.8 x 10(7) M-1 s-1 in D2O, 5.2 x 10(7) M-1 s-1 in EtOH, and 1.4 x 10(7) M-1 s-1 in toluene). Merocyanine undergoes photodegradation, a solvent-dependent process that proceeds faster when the dye is aggregated. The initial photodegradation rate is much slower in organic solvents than in water, but photodegradation products accumulated during longer irradiation may increase the rate in most solvents. Higher photostability and better photosensitization by MC in hydrophobic nonpolar solvents suggest that the killing of leukemia cells via a photodynamic mechanism may operate mostly in cell membranes. In contrast, any cytotoxic products from photodecomposition may be important in hydrophilic cell compartments. Our data show the spectral and photochemical properties of MC in a pure hydrophobic environment.     

Studies on synthesis and infrared and fluorescence spectra of new europium and terbium complexes with an amide-based open-chain crown ether

An amide-based open-chain crown ether ligand and its complexes with europium and terbium were synthesized. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectra and conductivity. The europium and terbium ions were found to coordinate to the C=O oxygen atoms and pyridine nitrogen atoms. The fluorescence properties of these complexes in DMF and CH3OH/CHCl3 were studied. Under the excitation of UV light, these complexes exhibit characteristic fluorescence of europium and terbium ions. The solvent factors influencing the fluorescent intensity are discussed.     

Luminescence of Nanosized Supramolecular Material of Mesoporous Molecular Sieve and Samarium （Ⅲ） Complex

IntroductionThe synthesis of mesoporous silica has greatlyexpanded the possibilities for the design of the porestructure materials[1] . Because of their large sur-face areas and porosity,these materials have greatpotential application in environmental and industri-al fields.A greatmany significant advanced resultshave been achieved in this field including the syn-theses of the related materials[2— 4] ,the develop-ment of the novel properties[5— 8] ,the discovery ofnew theories on synthetic c…     

稀土配合物的荧光衰减动力学特性和时间分辨光谱分析研究

研究了稀土配合物的荧光衰减动力学特性及其影响因素,拟定出长寿命组份存在下测定短寿命组份及短寿命组份存在下测定长寿命组份的2种时间分辨荧光光谱分析方法。用于纯稀土氧化物及合成水样中痕量铕和镝的测定,获得了满意的结果。     

Synthesis and rare earth metal ion-sensing properties of aza-crown derivative incorporating with diaryl-1,3,4-oxadiazole

A new fluorescent chemosensor (A18C6-Ox) in which a monoaza-18-crown-6 is linked to a diaryl-1,3,4-oxadiazole fluorophore by a methylene spacer has been synthesized to evaluate binding interaction with the rare earth ions by means of absorption and emission spectrophotometry. Absorption spectra of A18C6-Ox showed a broad band at 289nm and there was no significant change in the presence of Sc3+, La3+, Pr3+, Sm3+, Gd3+, Tb3+, Yb3+ and Lu3+ except for Ce3+ and Eu3+. From the emission spectral change of A18C6-Ox, interaction of the rare earth ions with A18C6-Ox is very strong. The formation of A18C6-Ox complexing with Sc3+, La3+, Pr3+, Sm3+, Gd3+, Tb3+, Yb3+ and Lu3+ leads to an increase in fluorescence intensity of A18C6-Ox, while Ce3+ and Eu3+ ions interact strongly causing fluorescence quenching of A18C6-Ox. In addition, the optimal complexation stoichiometry of the rare earth ions with A18C6-Ox was investigated by the fluorescent titration.     

Bromination at C-5 of Pyrimidine and C-8 of Purine Nucleosides with 1,3-Dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin

Treatment of the protected and unprotected nucleosides with 1,3-dibromo-5,5- dimethylhydantoin in aprotic solvents such as CH(2)Cl(2), CH(3)CN, or DMF effected smooth bromination of uridine and cytidine derivatives at C-5 of pyrimidine rings as well as adenosine and guanosine derivatives at C-8 of purine rings. Addition of Lewis acids such as trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate enhanced efficiency of bromination.     

Synthesis, crystal structures, and magnetic properties of cyano-bridged heterobimetallic chains based on [(Tp)Fe(CN)3]-

With the use of the tailored cyanometalate precursor, (Bu4N)[(Tp)Fe(CN)3] (Tp = Tris(pyrazolyl)hydroborate) as the building block to react with fully solvated Cu(II), Co(II), and Ni(II) cations, four one-dimensional (1D) heterobimetallic cyano-bridged chain complexes of squares, [(Tp)2Fe(III)2(CN)6Cu(CH3OH).2CH3OH]n (1), [(Tp)2Fe(III)2(CN)6Cu(DMF).DMF]n (2), [(Tp)2Fe(III)2(CN)6M(CH3OH)2.2CH3OH]n (M = Co (3) and Ni (4)), have been prepared. In complexes 1 and 2, the Cu(II) ions are pentacoordinated in the form of a slightly distorted square-based pyramid, and they are linked by distorted octahedrons of [(Tp)Fe(CN)3]- to form 1D chains of squares. In complexes 3 and 4, both the central Co(II) and Ni(II) ions have a slightly distorted octahedral coordination geometry, and they are bridged by [(Tp)Fe(CN)3]- to form similar 1D chains of squares. There are weak interchain pi-pi stacking interactions through the pyrazolyl groups of the Tp ligands for complexes 3 and 4. The crystal structures and magnetic studies demonstrate that complexes 1 and 2 exhibit intrachain ferromagnetic coupling and single-chain magnets behavior, and the blocking temperature is ca. 6 K for complex 1 and ca. 3 K for complex 2. Complexes 3 and 4 show significant metamagnetic behavior, where the cyanides mediate the intrachain ferromagnetic coupling between Fe(III) and Co(II) or Ni(II) ions and the interchain pi-pi stacking interactions lead to antiferromagnetic couplings. The field dependence of the magnetization measurements shows that the critical field is around 1 kOe for complex 3 and 0.8 kOe for complex 4 at 1.8 K.     

Synthesis, structure and luminescent properties of rare earth coordination polymers constructed from paddle-wheel building blocks

A series of three-dimensional (3D) novel coordination polymers M(bpdc)1.5(H2O) x 0.5DMF (M = Tb (1), Ho (2), Er (3), or Y (4)) have been synthesized by reaction of the rare earth ions (M3+) with 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid (H2bpdc) in a mixed solution of DMF and C2H5OH. They possess the same 3D architectures and crystallize in monoclinic space group C2/c. Two seven-coordinated metal centers and four dimonodentate bpdc groups construct a paddle-wheel building block. These building blocks connect with two carboxyl groups to lead to a one-dimensional inorganic chain, ---M-O-C-O-M---, along the [001] direction. The inorganic chains are linked with two biphenyl groups to form 25.15 A x 17.09 A rhombic channels along the c axis without interpenetration. These complexes exhibit strong fluorescence in the visible region, and complex 3 shows Er3+ characteristic emission in the range of 1450-1650 nm at room temperature. These complexes could be anticipated as potential fluorescent probes and an IR-emitter, respectively.