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.     

MgSiO3状态方程的分子动力学模拟

The equation of state of MgSiO3 perovskite under high pressure and high temperature is simulated using the molecular dynamics method. It was found that the molecular dynamics simulation is very successful in accurately reproducing the measured molar volumes of MgSiO3 perovskite over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. The simulated equation of state of MgSiO3 perovskite matched experimental data at up to 140GPa at 300 K, as well as the fitting data of others and results from the first-principles simulation based on the local density approximation. The simulated equations of state of MgSiO3 perovskite at higher temperatures and higher pressures also correspond to the other calculations. In addition, the volume compression data of MgSiO3 perovskite is simulated up to 120 GPa at 300, 900, 2000 and 3000 K, respectively.     

Elastic Tensor and Thermodynamic Property of Magnesium Silicate Perovskite from First-principles Calculations

The thermodynamic and elastic properties of magnesium silicate (MgSiO₃) perovskite at high pressure are investigated with the quasi-harmonic Debye model and the first-principles method based on the density functional theory. The obtained equation of state is consis-tent with the available experimental data. The heat capacity and the thermal expansion coefficient agree with the observed values and other calculations at high pressures and tem-peratures. The elastic constants are calculated using the finite strain method. A complete elastic tensor of MgSiO₃ perovskite is determined in the wide pressure range. The geo-logically important quantities: Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, Debye temperature, and crystal anisotropy, are derived from the calculated data.     

MgSiO3 nanoparticle‐catalyzed 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition reactions in the synthesis of novel spiroindane‐1,3‐diones derived from substituted chalcones

Employment of metal nanoparticles has been one of the most promising synthetic strategies for a number of chemical transformations. New spiroindane‐1,3‐diones were synthesized through [3 + 2] cycloaddition in moderate to high yields by a three‐component reaction of heterocyclic chalcone derivatives, ninhydrin, and sarcosine/L‐proline. The presence of heterogenous MgSiO₃ nanoparticles (NPs) under microwave irradiation showed a robust effect in improving the yield of the desired products. Furthermore, the catalyst may be recovered and reused without significant loss of activity.     

Dy3+在Ba3La(BO3)3 中的光致发光

研究了Ba3La(BO3)3 基质中Dy3 的光致发光特性; 探讨了RE3 的电荷半径比(z/r)和Ce3 , Dy3 含量对Dy3 发光强度及发光颜色的影响; 分析了Ba3La(BO3)3 中Ce3 对Dy3 发光的敏化作用; 确定了Dy3 的 4F9/2→6H15/2及4F9/2→6H13/2跃迁发射的浓度猝灭机制均为电偶极-电四极相互作用.     

GdF3∶Er3+，Yb3+的合成和上转换发光特性

采用水热法制备了Er3 离子浓度为3%,yb3 离子浓度分别为10%,20%的GdF3:Er3 ,Yb3 .XRD结果表明:合成的样品均为正交结构的GdF3,Cd0.87Yb0.10Er0.03F3和Gd0.77Yb0.20Er0.03F3样品的晶粒尺寸分别为28和26 nm.研究了980 nm红外光激发的上转换发射光谱.结果表明:红光和绿光发射分别来自于Er3 离子的2H11/2,4S3/2→4I15/2和4F9/2→4I15/2跃迁.样品的绿光发射强度较红光发射强.但绿光和红光发射的相对强度比例与Yb3 离子浓度有关.对Gd0.87Yb0.10Er0.03F3和Gd0.77Yb0.20Er0.03F3样品中可能的上转换发光机制进行了讨论.     

R—ReO3的构型和电子结构的密度泛函研究

在X3LYP /6-311+G(2d,p)的水平下系统地研究了一系列高价有机铼氧化物(R—ReO3·Ln)的几何构型和电子结构. 研究结果表明, 用X3LYP方法预测的几何结构与实验值符合得很好, 键长的误差一般小于0.001 nm, 而键角的误差小于1°. 同时发现不同配位类型的R基和L配体显著影响铼氧化合物的酸性以及Re—O键能. 应用NBO分析和前线轨道理论可以合理地阐明配体调变的实质.     

镧与钕对隐甲藻的生长、 DHA合成及固氮活性的影响

研究了不同浓度的La3+和Nd3+对隐甲藻(Crythecodinium cohnii)ATCC30556的细胞形态、生长、 DHA合成和固氮活性的影响.LaCl3在30和60 mg*L-1时对隐甲藻的细胞生长有轻微刺激作用; 当浓度高于90 mg*L-1时有抑制作用, 随浓度的提高而抑制作用增强, 细胞缩小; NdCl3在30和60 mg*L-1时对, 该菌细胞生长有轻微抑制作用, 高于90 mg*L-1时抑制作用明显增强, 细胞缩小.两种稀土元素在30和60 mg*L-1时对该菌二十二碳六烯酸的生成有刺激作用, 高于90 mg*L-1时则有抑制作用.La3+在0～120 mg*L-1, Nd3+ 在0～90 mg*L-1时对固氮酶活性有刺激作用, La3+ 和Nd3+ 分别高于120和90 mg*L-1时则有抑制作用, 并随浓度的增高, 抑制作用明显增强.     

白光LED用荧光材料Ba3 Gd( BO3 )3:Eu3+的发光性能研究

用高温固相反应法制备了稀土离子Eu3+ 掺杂的三元稀土硼酸盐Ba3Gd(BO3)3发光材料, 通过X射线衍射 (XRD) 、荧光光谱和扫描电镜 (SEM) 等测试手段对Ba3Gd(BO3)3:Eu3+ 荧光粉的制备条件、发光性能以及形貌进行了研究. XRD结果表明, 在1000 ℃时可得到Ba3Gd(BO3)3 纯相. 扫描电镜照片显示颗粒基本为球形, 粒径约为200～400 nm. 发光光谱测试表明, Ba3Gd(BO3)3:Eu3+荧光粉在近紫外区(UV) (396 nm)和蓝光区(466 nm)可以被有效地激发, 分别用255和396 nm的紫外光激发样品时, 以Eu3+ 的 5D0-7F2 (611和616 nm) 超灵敏跃迁为主要发射峰. 当Eu3+的掺杂浓度为10%(摩尔分数)时, Ba3Gd(BO3)3:Eu3+ 在611和616 nm处的发光强度最大. 因此, 这种荧光粉是一种可能应用在白光LED上的红色荧光材料.     

微米级稀土掺杂NaYF_4荧光粉的水热合成及性质研究

以EDTA为螯合剂,采用水热法合成了微米级单掺Pr3+,Nd3+,Sm3+,Eu3+,Er3+等的NaYF4荧光粉材料。通过XRD和SEM观察分析,得出所合成的材料分散性良好,相纯度较高,并认为EDTA在水热熟化过程中,对控制微晶的形貌有很大的作用;分别在各自对应的几个波长光激发或发射下,可观察到较强的激发峰或发射峰,对发光机制进行了初步探讨,基质晶格场的作用导致了一些发射峰的红移或蓝移。     

KMgF3:Ce3+,Tb3+纳米粒子中Ce3+→Tb3+的发光及能量传递

利用微乳液方法,合成了铈、铽共掺杂的氟镁钾纳米粒子,研究了体系中Ce3+→Tb3+的发光特性以及它们之间的相互作用,结果表明KMgF3:Ce3+Tb3+纳米粒子中存在Ce3+→Tb3+的能量传递过程,即Ce3+可以将吸收的能量直接传递给Tb3+离子,使得Tb3+的绿色发光强度大为增加.