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.     

Temperature dependence of the rate constant for reactions of hydrated electrons with H, OH and H2O2

The temperature dependence of the rate constants, for the reactions of hydrated electrons with H atoms, OH radicals and H₂O₂ has been determined. The reaction with H atoms, studied in the temperature range 20–250°C gives k(20°C) = 2.4 × 10¹⁰M^-1s¹ and the activation energy E_A = 14.0 kJ mol^-1 (3.3 kcal mol^-1). For reaction with OH radicals the corresponding values are, k(20°C) = 3.1 × 10¹⁰M^-1s^-1 and E_A = 14.7 kJ mol^-1 (3.5 kcal mol^-1) determined in the temperature range 5–175°C. For reaction with H₂O₂ the values are, k(20°C) = 1.2 × 10¹⁰M^-1s^-1 and E_A = 15.6 kJ mol^-1 (3.7 kcal mol^-1) measured from 5–150°C. Thus, the activation energy for all three fast reactions is close to that expected for diffusion controlled reactions. As phosphates were used as buffer system, the rate constant and activation energy for the reaction of hydrated electron with H₂PO₄^- was determined to k(20°C) = 1.5 × 10⁷M^-1s^-1 and E_A = 7.4 kJ mol^-1 (1.8 kcal mol^-1) in the temperature range 20–200°C.     

计时电量法求NiCl2(bpy)3在DMF中的扩散系数和速率常数

讨论了NiCl₂(bpy)₃(bpy：2,2-联吡啶)在DMF中的电化学行为. 控制电位使电极过程处于扩散控制下, 采用计时电量法求得了29 ℃时NiCl₂(bpy)₃在DMF中的扩散系数为5.99×10^－6 cm²•s^-1, 不同温度下的扩散系数随温度升高而增大. 选择合适的电极电位, 使电极过程处于扩散和电化学混合控制下, 采用计时电量法求得了不同电极电位下的反应速率常数k_f, 以及不同温度下的标准速率常数k⁰, 求得了表观活化能为14.4 kJ•mol^-1.     

Proton mobility in the solid inorganic hydrates of acids and acid salts

The method for the calculation of the proton-transfer frequency (n_t) and its activation energies (E_t) was suggested. Results of the calculations were presented. The experimental data on the activation energy of proton-containing group rotation and protonconductivity values for some hydrates of inorganic acids and acid salts were compared with the calculated ones.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the oxidation of aliphatic aldehydes by sodium n-bromoarylsulphonam1des in acid solution

The oxidation of aliphatic aldehydes to the corresponding carboxylic acids by sodium N-bromoarylsulphonamides (N-bromoamines) is first order with respect to the oxidant, the aldehyde and hydrogen ions. In the oxidation of acetaldehyde at 298 K, the primary kinetic isotope effect, k_H/k_D is 4.91 ± 0.14 and the solvent isotope effect, k(H₂O)/k(D₂O), is 0.43. Addition of the parent sulphonamide does not affect the rate. The reduction of six substituted N-bromoamines exhibited a reaction constant of 1.22 at 298 K. (ArSO₂NH₂Br)⁺ is postulated as the reactive oxidising species. Separate rate constants for the oxidation of aldehyde hydrate and free aldehyde forms have been computed. The rates of the oxidation of the aldehyde hydrates correlate well with Taft's substituent constants with negative reaction constants. A mechanism involving hydride transfer from the aldehyde hydrate to the oxidant is proposed.     

Mechanism of cobalt atomization from different atomizer surfaces in graphite-furnace atomic-absorption spectrometry

The mechanism of cobalt atomization from different atomizer surfaces in graphite-furnace atomic-absorption spectrometry has been investigated. The atomizer surfaces were pyrolytically coated graphite, uncoated electrographite, and glassy carbon. The activation energy of the rate-determining step in the atomization of cobalt (taken as the nitrate in aqueous solution) in a commercial graphite furnace has been determined from a plot of log k_s vs. 1/T (for T values greater than the appearance temperature), where k_s is a first-order rate constant for atom release, and T is the absolute temperature. The activation energy E_a, can be correlated either with the dissociation energy of CoO_(g) or with the heat of sublimation of Co_(s), formed by carbon reduction of CoO_(s), the latter being the product of the thermal decomposition of Co(NO₃)₂. The mechanism for Co atomization seems to be the same for the pyrolytically coated graphite and the uncoated electrographite surfaces, but different for the glassy carbon surface. The suggested mechanisms are consistent with the chemical reactivity of the three atomizer surfaces, and the physical and thermodynamic properties of cobalt and its chemical compounds in the temperature range involved in the charring and atomization cycle of the graphite furnace.     

The solution chemistry of organotin compounds V. Proton relaxation and dynamic NMR studies of solute-solvent interactions in solutions of dimethyltin dichloride plus 2,2′-bipyridine complex

¹H T₁ and dynamic NMR measurements (T₁ = relaxation time) were made with Me₂SnCl₂ and its bpy complex in mixed solvents of CH₂Cl₂ and weak bases to elucidate the role of the solvent in the dynamic behaviour of organotin compounds. In the line shape analysis of the exchange reaction between Me₂SnCl₂ and its bpy complex, the dissociation rate constant k_d of the Me₂SnCl₂ · bpy complex supported an exchange mechanism of the dissociation followed by a rapid recombination step. Weak bases in the mixed solvents decreased the Eyring activation parameters ΔH^‡ and ΔS^‡ for the dissociation reaction of the complex, indicating more extensive solvation in the activated state than in the ground state of the complex. In the ¹H T₁ measurements, the reorientational correlation time τ_c was shorter and its activation energy E_a was larger in Me₂SnCl₂ than in Me₂SnCl₂ · bpy, in conformity with their molecular sizes. E_a and τ_c increased on addition of weak bases, such as nitromethane, nitrobenzene and acetonitrile, even for the Me₂SnCl₂ · bpy complex, whose acidity is reduced considerably from that of the free tin compound. The major cause of this result is suggested to be the interaction of the weak bases with CH₂Cl₂, resulting in a change of the physical properties of the mixed solvent.     

Direct dynamics study of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-protonated diglycine surface-induced dissociation. Influence of collision energy

A quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM + MM) direct dynamics classical trajectory simulation is used to study energy transfer and fragmentation in the surface-induced dissociation (SID) of N-protonated diglycine, (gly)₂H⁺. The peptide ion collides with the hydrogenated diamond {111} surface. The Austin Model 1 (AM1) semiempirical electronic structure theory is used for the (gly)₂H⁺ intramolecular potential and molecular mechanical functions are used for the diamond surface potential and peptide/surface intermolecular potential. The simulations are performed at collision energies E_i of 30, 50, 70, and 100 eV and collision angle of 0° (perpendicular to the surface). The percent energy transfer to the peptide ion is nearly independent of E_i, while energy transfer to the surface increases with increase in E_i. A smaller percent of the energy remains in peptide translation as E_i is increased. These trends in energy transfer are consistent with previous trajectory simulations of SID. At each E_i the most likely initial pathway leading to fragmentation is rupture of the ⁺H₃NCH₂---CONHCH₂COOH bond. Fragmentation occurs by two general mechanisms. One is the traditional Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) model in which the peptide ion is activated by its collision with the surface, “bounces off”, and then dissociates after undergoing intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR). The other mechanism is shattering in which the ion fragments as it collides with the surface. Shattering is the origin of the large increase in number of product channels with increase in E_i, i.e., 6 at 30 eV, but 59 at 100 eV. Shattering becomes the dominant dissociation mechanism at high E_i.     

The kinetics of the chromic acid oxidation of diphenylmethane

The kinetics of the chromic acid oxidation of diphenylmethane in aqueous acetic acid solution has been studied. The rate law is v = k[φCH₂φ][CrO₃]h₀ a kinetic isotope effect, k_H/k_D = 6·4 at 30°, was noted, and electron releasing groups were found to moderately facilitate the reaction (⁺ = −1·17). These, and related data, suggest that the initial reaction is the abstraction of a hydrogen atom forming a benzhydryl radical. The latter may then be further oxidized to give the product, benzphenone. It is noted that the chromic acid oxidations which must involve hydrogen abstraction all show a kinetic dependence on the total chromium (VI) concentration, whereas those which are believed to proceed via an ester mechanism have a kinetic dependence on only the acid chromate ion. This difference is suggested as a possible method of distinguishing between these two mechanisms. The effect of the water content of the solvent on the rate of the reaction is discussed, and a tentative, relative, H₋ scale for some of these solutions is suggested. This may permit one to determine the number of molecules of water which are involved in a reaction.     

Local analysis and comparative study of the hydrogen bonds in the linear (HCN)n and (HNC)n clusters

B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,p), the density functional theory method of 98 package, is applied to study the hydrogen bonding of a series of linear (HCN)_n and (HNC)_n molecular clusters (for n=1–10). By the localization analysis methods we developed, pair-wised σ type H-bond orders and bond energies are calculated for each pair of the two near-by molecules in both (HCN)_n and (HNC)_n clusters. The calculated results are checked well with the shortening of N–H or C–H distance, the elongation of CH or NH bond distance, and the red shift of stretching frequencies of CH or NH. All pieces of evidence show that the central pair of the two molecules forms the strongest H bond when n of (HCN)_n or (HNC)_n is even, and the two middle pairs form the two strongest H bonds when n is odd. Two terminal pairs of HCN or HNC molecules always form the two weakest H-bonds in each molecular cluster. When comparing molecular cluster energies between (HCN)_n and (HNC)_n for various values of n, the well-known (HCN)_n is found more stable than the related (HNC)_n from energy calculation. However, if outcomes of H-bond local analysis are contrasted, our analysis significantly shows that inter-molecular H-bonds inside of (HNC)_n clusters are much stronger than the corresponding H-bonds in (HCN)_n with the same n. In comparing energy differences between these related clusters per monomer, [E_(HNC)n−E_(HCN)n]/n is found decreasing monotonically as n increases. All pieces of evidence from this theoretical prediction indicate that (HNC)_n with large n is probably constructed by its relative strong H-bonds.     

TEMPO-initiated oxidation of 2-aminophenol to 2-aminophenoxazin-3-one

The oxidation reaction of 2-aminophenol (OAP) to 2-aminophenoxazin-3-one (APX) initiated by 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxyl (TEMPO) has been investigated in methanol at ambient temperature. The oxidation of OAP was followed by electronic spectroscopy and the rate constants were determined according to the rate law −d[OAP]/dt=k_obs[OAP][TEMPO]. The rate constant, activation enthalpy and entropy at 298 K are as follows: k_obs (dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹)=(1.49±0.02)×10⁻⁴, E_a=18±5 kJ mol⁻¹, ΔH^‡=15±4 kJ mol⁻¹, ΔS^‡=−82±17 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹. The results of oxidation of OAP show that the formation of 2-aminophenoxyl radical is the key step in the activation process of the substrate.