Analysis of F-53B,Gen-X,ADONA, and emerging fluoroalkylether substances in environmental and biomonitoring samples: A review

The persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic properties of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) raise concerns for environmental and human health. This has led to the gradual phase-out from production and commerce of some legacy PFAS. Fluoroalkylether compounds (ether-PFAS) are among the fluorinated alternative chemicals that are beginning to be reported in impacted and background environments. Extensive monitoring activities were conducted since 2015–2019 to bridge knowledge gaps on the environmental fate and effects of ether-PFAS including F-53B (6:2 chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonate [6:2 Cl-PFAES] and 8:2 Cl-PFAES), Gen-X (hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid [HFPO-DA]), and ADONA (dodecafluoro-3H-4,8-dioxanonanoate). In recent years, advances in nontarget screening using high-resolution mass spectrometry have revealed the identities of other infrequently monitored ether-PFAS. In this critical review, we provide an up-to-date inventory of the structures of ether-PFAS discovered in the recent literature. Their environmental occurrence, fate, and effects are discussed on a comparative perspective with some legacy PFAS such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). Information on the methods employed for the quantitative and semi-quantitative analysis of ether-PFAS is also provided, including sample preparation and mass spectrometry analysis, analytical performance, and limitations. In particular, the compiled database of MS/MS fragment ions (n = 111) can be useful in spectrum interpretation of novel ether-PFAS. The concluding remarks open on possible research avenues and the challenges that remain to be addressed.     

Monoclinic β-Li2TiO3: Neutron diffraction study and estimation of Li diffusion pathways

A neutron powder diffraction study on lithium titanate Li₂TiO₃ was performed at low temperatures. The monoclinic β-phase has been found to be stable over the whole investigated range of temperatures (4 K–300 K). A smooth and nonlinear increase of the lattice parameters has been observed upon heating and correlated to the behavior of interatomic distances. Lithium diffusion pathways in Li₂TiO₃ were estimated theoretically on the basis of the obtained structural data using bond-valence modeling. Experimentally diffusion pathways were evaluated by analysis of the negative nuclear scattering densities at 1073 K, which were reconstructed using a maximum entropy method. Although the bond-valence mismatch map indicated a possible Li diffusion either in ab plane or along c direction, analysis of the experimental data revealed that Li migration is thermodynamically less feasible in latter case.     

Not only pH. Specific buffer effects in biological systems

The aim of this work is to overview the specific effect of pH buffers in biological systems. The pH of a buffer solution changes only slightly when a small amount of a strong acid or bases is added to it. This is widely accepted and applied both in chemical and in biological (i.e. enzyme catalysis) systems. Here we show some examples – spanning from pH measurements, enzyme activities, electrophoretic mobilities, antibody aggregation, protein thermal stability – that demonstrate additional roles of buffers. They not only set pH, but also address specific ion effects, in terms of Hofmeister series, when strong electrolytes are also added. From the experimental data referred to some charged biological moieties it emerges that different buffers, at the same nominal pH, can specifically adsorb at the charged surface. Buffer specific adsorption modifies several molecular and macroscopic properties amongst which electrophoretic mobilities, and hence effective surface charges, are particularly significant. More importantly, buffers' weak electrolytes, even at low concentration, are found to compete for the adsorption at the charged surfaces with strong electrolytes, thus modulating Hofmeister effects.     

水胁迫下典型盐生植被梭梭光谱特征分析

荒漠地区由于气候干燥，降水稀少，水分常成为制约植被生长的因素之一，水分胁迫对植物长势和产量的影响比任何其他胁迫都要大。随着高光谱技术的发展，国内外已有众多学者利用高光谱数据研究植被遭受胁迫作用，然而这些研究对象多集中于甜菜、棉花、玉米、水稻等作物，针对干旱区盐生植被遭受胁迫作用的研究较少。梭梭作为荒漠、半荒漠地区的典型盐生植被之一，具有极高的经济和生态效益。选择梭梭作为研究对象，培育一年生梭梭，并设置三个水分梯度，形成受不同水分量胁迫的梭梭。使用原始光谱、红边位置参数，结合植被指数及二维相关光谱研究其叶片光谱特征，为干旱区利用高光谱遥感监测盐生植被提供借鉴。结果表明：(1)分析梭梭叶片反射光谱曲线发现，在可见光至中红外各波段范围内，受不同水分量胁迫作用的梭梭叶片光谱反射率有显著差异。在可见光(350～610 nm)波段，各水分处理的梭梭叶片反射率依次为100 mL>500 mL>200 mL，这是由于100和200 mL水分促进梭梭内部叶绿素合成，使该波段反射率降低，而过多的水分(500 mL)对梭梭内部的叶绿素合成没有更大的促进作用。在红光区(611～738 nm)，随着水分量的增多，受不同水分量胁迫的梭梭叶片光谱反射率依次减小。在738～1 181和1 228～1 296 nm波段，受不同水分量胁迫作用的梭梭叶片光谱反射率为：200 mL>100 mL>500 mL；在1 182～1 227 nm波段，受不同水分量胁迫作用的梭梭叶片光谱反射率为：100 mL>200 mL>500 mL。这是由于植被细胞结构对近红外区域的反射率影响较大，因而受不同水分胁迫作用的梭梭叶片光谱反射率有显著差异。在1 300～1 365和1 392～1 800 nm波段，受各水分胁迫作用的梭梭叶片反射率为：100 mL>200 mL>500 mL。这表明在500 mL水分胁迫量范围内，水分越多，叶子的细胞液、细胞膜对水分的吸收能力越强，使得反射率下降。通过对原始光谱求取一阶导数并提取红边位置参数发现，各水分处理下的梭梭叶片一阶微分光谱曲线中红边位置未发生移动。这是由于梭梭在长期的干旱环境影响下，形成了特殊的适应机制，水分对其红边位置影响不敏感。(2)选取若干植被指数分析各水分处理下的梭梭光谱指数变化。当水分胁迫量由100 mL增至200 mL时，WI/NDWI，MSI和NDII指数值变化显著，可用于研究水分胁迫下梭梭的光谱特征。(3)使用二维相关光谱技术分析受各水分胁迫作用的梭梭光谱特征，得出在100 mL水分胁迫下，在536，643，1 219和1 653 nm波段处，吸收峰对水分的微扰敏感；在200 mL水分胁迫下，在846和1 083 nm波段处，吸收峰对水分的微扰敏感；在500 mL水分胁迫下，在835和1 067 nm波段处，吸收峰对水分的微扰敏感。总之，在近红外波段，与100 mL水分量相比，梭梭受200和500 mL水分量胁迫时，吸收峰对水分的微扰敏感度上升。由100 mL水分胁迫下梭梭的二维同步相关谱图可知，1 044和1 665 nm，1 072和903 nm，903和1 264 nm，1 230和1 061 nm波段处形成正交叉峰，表明这些波段处光谱强度随水分的干扰同时变化。     

Correlation between Boron Isotope of Coral Acropora and pH Value of Seawater Surface

A water circulation system with the almost same element composition and socket type was adopted in coral Acropora culture under different seawater pH value conditions and the data of the relationship between boron isotopic compositions of coral and seawater pH value by thermoelectric ionization mass spectrometer were obtained. According to the correlations between α_carb-3 of coral and the pH value of cultured seawater, α_carb-3 was not a constant but related to pH value, indicating that B(OH)₃ also incorporated carbonate. Therefore, the theoretical formula could not be used to calculate the seawater pH value from the δ¹¹B_carb value of the measured marine biological carbonate. The empirical equations obtained experimentally would be an alternative method to calculate the seawater pH value. In addition, the mixed precipitation of CaCO₃ and Mg(OH)₂ was found in aquaculture tanks with high pH value, and the δ¹¹B of the solid was significantly higher than that of cultured seawater. The result indicated that the presence of Mg(OH)₂ had a significant effect on the boron isotope fractionation, which deserved our attention.     

Preparation of two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide for NO2 detection at room temperature

In this work, the two-dimensional MoS₂ film was prepared by sulfuring the molybdenum atomic layer on SiO₂/Si substrate. The reaction temperature, heating rate, holding time and carrier gas flow rate were investigated comprehensively. The quality of MoS₂ film was characterized by optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The characterization results showed that the optimum synthesis parameters were heating rate of 25 °C/min, reaction temperature of 750 °C, holding time of 30 min and carrier gas velocity of 100 sccm. The MoS₂ gas sensor was fabricated and its gas sensing performance was tested. The test results indicated that the sensor had a good response to both reducing gas (NH₃) and oxidizing gas (NO₂) at room temperature. The sensitivity to 100 ppm of NO₂ was 31.3%, and the response/recovery times were 4 s and 5 s, respectively. In addition, the limit of detection could be as low as 1 ppm. This work helps us to develop low power and integrable room temperature NO₂ sensors.     

The “Fingerprint” of a freshwater microalga Scenedesmus sp. LX1: Visualizing the composition of its soluble algal products

The composition of soluble algal products was visualized by a fingerprint analytical method.     

Biosurfactants: Opportunities for the development of a sustainable future

Changes in the environment in recent years have led to the examination of the role and influence human activities on it. Attempts to quantify the impact of these activities by developing standardized modeling frameworks through life cycle sustainability assessment is one such approach in the context of sustainability seeking to measure the impact of human interventions from a holistic perspective that includes economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Sustainable alternatives to synthetic products are always keenly sought after. Biosurfactants are emerging as suitable alternatives to the predominant less sustainable petroleum-derived counterparts. Several factors surrounding their production, distribution, and end-use, however, still needs to be considered before conclusively confirming their sustainability. Though data are still limited in that subject matter, research showing their impact on some sustainability indicators is highlighted. This review discusses the potential of biosurfactants as sustainable products in the context of social, economic, and environmental aspects.     

Fabrication of three-component hydrogen-bonded covalent-organic polymers for ciprofloxacin decontamination from water: adsorption mechanism and modeling

A three-component hydrogen-bonded covalent organic polymer, namely JLUE-H_COP-66, was fabricated via a facile multiple-linking-site solvothermal approach to overcome the weakness of poor function complexity and limited structure diversity of the pure covalent skeletons. The as-prepared JLUE-H_COP-66 polymers were employed to decontaminate ciprofloxacin (CIP), a popular F-quinolones (FQNs) antibiotic, from water and exhibited satisfactory adsorption performance. Specifically, JLUE-H_COP-66 polymers have high adsorption capacity with the maximum contribution of 111.1 mg/g according to the Langmuir model, good antiinterference to NaCl salts, and excellent regeneration property. The pH-dependent experiment results signified the probably dominated mechanism of electrostatic interaction. In addition, adsorption studies and structural characterization in combination illustrated that the pore-filling effect, hydrogen bonding formation might also govern the whole process, accompanied by electrostatic interaction, dipole-dipole complexation, π-π EDA interaction, and hydrophobic-hydrophobic interaction besides. Moreover, electrostatic potentials, as well as the frontier molecular orbital distributions (HOMO and LUMO) of CIP and JLUE-H_COP-66 fragment, were calculated using density functional theory to theoretically support the research. Furthermore, the response surface methodology (RSM) according to the CCD matrix was used to not only study the interactive and cooperative effects of initial CIP concentration, initial pH, ionic strength along with JLUE-H_COP-66 dosage on CIP removal using JLUE-H_COP-66 but also optimize the operation conditions. Given the peculiar structure and functional feature, this work could hopefully bring H_COPs into the practical applications of such challenging and persistent ciprofloxacin potent removal with further large-scale efficiency.