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.     

浙江大学基础化学实验研究生助教的实践和探索

研究生助教是对研究生自身能力的培养和锻炼,同时也补充了本科教学教师资源。提高本科教学的质量,需要加强对研究生助教的培训、指导、管理和考评,也需要加强课程教学的统一规范管理,加强对学生学习的督促和引导。本文探讨了基础化学实验研究生助教的教学经验,并对今后实验教学管理以及研究生助教的培养等提出一些思考和建议。     

针对理论-实验教学相融合的微助教辅助实验教学实践——以滴定分析实验教学为例

研究生助教培养是高校化学本科生实验教学的重要组成部分,对提高实验课程的教学水平具有重要的推动作用。为解决助教培训时间仓促、定位不清、内容不连续、工具性倾向明显,以及在助教聘用、考核、激励、教学质量评估等方面规范性和系统性不足等问题,仪器分析实验室以《GB/T 19028–2018质量管理人员参与和能力指南》为理论依据,探索提高研究生助教深度参与实验教学的方法。连续三年追踪助教培养改进效果反馈数据表明,实验室采取的一系列改进措施有效提升了研究生助教的教学能力,促进了教学质量的提高,实现助教管理的改革创新与“过程增值”。     

构建助力学生全方位成长的化学实验课程助教体系

Based on decades of experiences on involving teaching assistants for laboratory teaching, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering at Peking University developed a complete set of teaching assistant management regulations and guidelines, including recruitment, lab-teaching training, supervising, and performance assessment of teaching assistants, to effectively improve laboratory teaching and to provide a platform which is beneficial to multi-dimensional development as well as future career of undergraduates.     

Competitive interactions of adriamycin and ethidium bromide with DNA as studied by full rank parallel factor analysis of fluorescence three-way array data

The competitive interactions of adriamycin (AMC) and a fluorescence probe of ethidium bromide (EB) with DNA have been studied by full rank parallel factor analysis (FRA-PARAFAC) of fluorescence excitation-emission three-way data array. The excitation and emission spectra as well as the equilibrium concentrations of co-existing species in different reaction mixtures can be directly obtained by the FRA-PARAFAC treatment. The concordance of the resolved excitation and emission spectra of AMC, EB and EB-DNA with the standard spectra of these species confirmed the reliability of the equilibrium concentrations of these components in the reaction mixtures studied. The results obtained are valuable for providing a deeper insight into the competitive interaction mechanism of AMC and EB with DNA. The conclusion was directly given out that the interaction of AMC with DNA is the intercalating model. The FRA-PARAFAC method as exemplified by the present study provides an useful approach for studying the interaction of clinical drugs with DNA in the presence of disturbance of drug assistants.     

研究生全校公选课“表面物理化学”分类教学改革与实践

为满足学术型和应用型研究生以及交叉学科研究生培养的需要,对我校研究生全校公选课“表面物理化学”进行了教学改革和实践。建立了满足研究生分类培养的课程内容体系,基于不同类型研究生的学习需求和本科基础来组织实施教学和考核,教学中注重教学与科研相结合、理论与实践相统一,使课程适应两类研究生和交叉学科研究生人才培养的需要。。     

“能源化学”本科专业建设建议

"Energy chemistry" was approved as one of the chemistry majors for undergraduate by the Ministry of Education in 2015. Based on the ideas and ways of emerging engineering education, this paper hereby proposed some of constructive suggestions on the training objectives, graduation requirements, curriculum system, teaching contents, teaching staff and conditions for development of "energy chemistry" major.     

“一托四化”应用技术型本科人才培养模式的探索与实践——以韶关学院化学专业为例

韶关学院自2012年起开始了"一托四化"应用技术型化学本科人才培养模式的探索,提出了以优秀教学团队建设为依托,通过对理论教学"主体化"、实践教学"平台化"、教学资源"精品化"、考评方式"多元化",构建"一托四化"应用技术型人才培养模式,探索了一条地方本科院校应用技术型人才培养的有效途径。     

浅谈制药工程专业有机化学实验教学的心得和体会——以三苯甲醇的制备和重结晶实验为例

有机化学实验是制药工程专业的一门必修课,旨在训练学生有机合成基本实验技能。本文以三苯甲醇的制备和重结晶实验为例,讲述了笔者在多年教学中获得的一点感悟和经验:1)将实验步骤分解成片断讲解可以使学生更好地理解和记忆实验过程和操作目的;2)重要的基本操作应反复练习,即"学习、复习、提高",通过三次重复练习来实现巩固和熟练掌握该操作的目的。     

基础分析化学实验课程中开展自主实验的探究

分析化学是化学的重要分支,分析化学实验教学在本科生化学教育中有着重要的位置。自主实验已经普遍应用到实验教学的实践中,对于药学等非化学专业在基础课程中开展自主实验也有重要意义,同时适合进行实验教学方法的研究。在基础实验课程的有限学时里开展自主实验,是一项有挑战的实践,文章对在实验内容选择、课程分析、助教培训等方面的探究进行了介绍,以及强调安全教育与保障是开展实验教学的必要条件,并介绍了进一步的教学实践设想。     

构建“葡萄糖”立体化教学案例启迪科研创新思维

构建了"葡萄糖"立体化教学案例,将葡萄糖在生命体系中的代谢平衡、消化吸收、分子转运、糖尿病成因、血糖检测、无创诊断技术、分子诊疗等领域的研究串联起来,从微观与宏观、疾病与健康、生活应用与科研前沿的不同角度来展示相关内容。将该案例用于化学与生命相关知识的教学,探索其在本科生科研创新思维训练中的应用。