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.     

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。     

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。     

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.     

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.     

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 NOVEL INTERPRETATION OF CONCENTRATION DEPENDENCE OF VISCOSITY OF DILUTE POLYMER SOLUTION*

The concentration dependence of the reduced viscosity of dilute polymer solution is interpreted in the light of anew concept of the self-association of polymer chains in dilute solution. The apparent self-association constant is defined asthe molar association constant divided by the molar mass of individual polymer chain and is numerically interconvertiblewith the Huggins coefficient. The molar association constant is directly proportional to the effective hydrodynamic volume ofthe polymer chain in solution and is irrespective of the chain architecture. The effective hydrodynamic volume accounts forthe non-spherical conformation of a short polymer chain in solution and is a product of a shape factor and hydrodynamicvolume. The observed enhancement of Huggins coefficient for short chain and branched polymer is satisfactorily interpretedby the concept of self-association. The concept of self-association allows us to predict the existence of a boundaryconcentration C_s (dynamic contact concentration) which divides the dilute polymer solution into two regions.     

含树枝体疏水缔合聚合物——聚醚树枝体改性聚丙烯酰胺的合成和性质

疏水缔合聚合物是一类含有少量疏水基团的水溶性功能高分子.在水溶液中,这类聚合物在疏水作用驱动下容易发生缔合,并伴随产生独特的缔合行为和溶液性质,因此研究这类聚合物具有重要的理论和应用意义.     

异构丁醇在四氯化碳、正庚烷、苯和1,2二氯乙烷中的红外光谱研究

利用FT-IR,测定了四种异构丁醇十四氯化碳、+正庚烷, +苯和1,2-二氯乙烷稀溶液在3800—3000 cm~(-1)内的红外吸收光谱。缔合峰与自由羟基峰的面积之比与溶质、溶剂的性质有关, 且在极稀溶液区与溶质的质量百分比浓度之间有良好的直线关系。本文又运用1-n(环状)模型对有关体系进行了对比研究。结果表明, 丁醇分子支链度的增加以及丁醇分子与苯和1,2-二氯乙烷之间的特殊相互作用, 降低了醇分子的缔合能力。稀溶液中, 丁醇分子在苯和1,2-二氯乙烷中主要以单体和环状二聚体形式存在, 在四氯化碳中以单体和环状三聚体形式存在, 而正丁醇分子在正庚烷中主要为单体和环状四聚体, 异、仲、特丁醇主要为环状三聚体和单体。     

Stable Crystalline Nanohoop Radical and Its Self-Association Promoted by van der Waals Interactions

A stable nanohoop radical (OR3) combining the structures of cycloparaphenylene and an olympicenyl radical is synthesized and isolated in the crystalline state. X-ray crystallographic analysis reveals that OR3 forms a unique head-to-tail dimer that further aggregates into a one-dimensional chain in the solid state. Variable-temperature NMR and concentration-dependent absorption measurements indicate that the π-dimer is not formed in solution. An energy decomposition analysis indicates that van der Waals interactions are the driving force for the self-association process, in contrast with other olympicenyl derivatives that favor π-dimerization. The physical properties in solution phase have been studied, and the stable cationic species obtained by one-electron chemical oxidation. This study offers a new molecular design to modulate the self-association of organic radicals for overcoming the spin-Peierls transition, and to prepare novel nanohoop compounds with spin-related properties.     

Self-association of water-soluble fluorinated diblock copolymers in solutions

The self-association of the fluorinated diblock copolymer, poly(methacrylic acid)-block-poly(perfluorooctylethyl methacrylate) (PMAA-b-PFMA), in water has been investigated by light scattering, potentiometry, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The size of the polymer micelles increases, as the degree of dissociation of the PMAA blocks increases. Since the charged PMAA block takes the stretched structure, PMAA-b-PFMA can easily form large micelles due to the low steric hindrance of PMAA blocks. Addition of NaCl shielded electrostatic repulsion in the PMAA chain and induced the formation of smaller micelles than water without NaCl did because of the bulky structure of the PMAA chain in the shell of the micelles. The micelle of PMAA-b-PFMA in ethanol is larger than that of poly(t-butyl methacrylate)-block-poly(perfluorooctylethyl methacrylate) (PtBMA-b-PFMA) in ethanol as a result of the higher steric hindrance of the PtBMA block. The dimensions of the core and shell of the micelles were estimated. The micelle of PMAA-b-PFMA in water possesses a rather thick shell and a large volume per molecule, consistent with the extended PMAA chain. On the other hand, the shell of the micelle in an ethanol solution of PtBMA-b-PFMA is thin but has a large surface area. Facts are consistent with the shrunk structure of the PtBMA block in poor solvent.     

Influence of alkyl substituents on the solution- and surface-organization of hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronenes

Three hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronenes (HBCs) with branched, bulky alkyl substituents of different lengths in the periphery of the aromatic core have been synthesized to tune the self-association properties in solution. 1H NMR and photophysical measurements were used to probe the solution organization in comparison to the known hexa-dodecyl-substituted HBC in different solvent systems. Thermodynamic parameters for the self-association in solution, obtained by curve fitting of the concentration- and temperature-dependent NMR data using van't Hoff analysis, indicated that the self-association is an enthalpically driven process that is entropically disfavored. Photoluminescence and NMR results were both employed to determine the critical concentration where no self-association for different compounds occurred. The interactions between the molecules could be controlled by varying the nonsolvent content in the solvent mixtures, supporting the model of solvophobic effects. The spatial demand of the solubilizing side chains modulated the self-association in solution. This behavior was translated into the solution casting process, where the kinetic in addition to the thermodynamic parameters played an essential role for structure formation. The study illuminates the relationship between the solution association of HBCs and the morphology, when processed on a surface. These results are essential for the application of these materials in devices.     

高分子稀溶液粘度方程中Huggins系数的新解释

高分子稀溶液的粘度常用 Huggins方程 [1] 描述 ,即ηsp/ c=[η] +k H[η] 2 c ( 1 )式中的系数 k H(称为 Huggins系数或斜率常数 )通常认为是一个表征高分子在溶液中的流体力学和热力学相互作用的无量纲数值因子 ,应是一个和分子量无关的常数 .但是早在 50年代初就已发现 ,高分Fig. 1　 Variation of k H with intrinsic viscosity forpolystyrene in toluene or benzene at2 5℃The line is calculated from eq.( 9) with A=5.54andB=0 .0 535for PS in toluene.● PS in benzene;△ oligomeric PS in benzene; PS in toluene;× …     

Binding of dodecyloxyethylpyridinium bromide to polymer: the effect of molecular geometry of surfactant

Dodecyloxyethylpyridinium bromide (C₁₂EPB) has been synthesized and compared with the normal N-alkylpyridinium bromides, C_nPB (n=12, 13, 14) to see how the insertion of an oxyethylene group influences the binding behavior to an oppositely charged linear polymer, sodium poly(2-acrylamide-2-methypropanesulfonate) (PAMPS). The geometry factor of surfactant in micellization and in polymer-surfactant interaction are focused on. The oxyethylene group gives a contribution by −1.3 kT to the free energy of micellization and by −1.4 kT to the free energy of binding. The micelle and the cluster of surfactant on polymer are considered to consist roughly of two regions, an outer region containing the ionic headgroup and the first three or four carbons of alkyl chain, and an interior region containing the remaining portions of hydrocarbon chains. The interpositioning of a linkage segment at -position extends the hydrophobic chain in the inner region and favors the surfactant self-association as well as the binding with the oppositely charged polymer.     

A study by ultraviolet spectroscopy on the self-association of diazines in aqueous solution

The self-association of pyridazine and pyrazine was studied in aqueous solution at acidic, neutral and basic pH values, by ultraviolet spectroscopy. The spectra of pyridazine in the mid-ultraviolet region did not show any variation in molar absorptivity upon concentration of this compound, indicating that self-association is not important. By contrast, deviations from Beer-Lambert law with increasing concentration were found in pyrazine at the pH values studied. A single hypochromic effect was detected at pH<0, 0.6 and 11.0, while a double hypochromic effect was observed at pH 6.9. These results were interpreted in terms of self-association of pyrazine leading to the formation of dimers at acidic and basic pH, and of dimers and polymers at neutral pH. From the fitting of the experimental curves of hypochromic effects, self-association constants were calculated. The self-association of 3-methylpyridazine, 2-methylpyrazine, and 2,3-dimethylpyrazine was also analyzed, concluding that the introduction of a methyl group has no influence upon the self-association of the pyridazine ring, but the self-association of pyrazine is enhanced by the introduction of two methyl groups. A comparative discussion of the self-association behavior of pyridazine, pyrazine and pyrimidine in aqueous solution has been carried out in terms of the differences in the molecular structure of the three diazines.     

Luminescent properties of dicyanoaurate(I) aggregates based on electrostatic assembly along poly(allylamine hydrochloride)

Poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAA) bearing positively charged side chains along the polymer chain was demonstrated to serve as a polymeric spatially aligned scaffold for aggregation and self-association of negatively charged [Au(CN)₂]⁻ through the electrostatic and aurophilic bonding interactions to afford the luminescent [Au(CN)₂]⁻ aggregates.