Mapping of the Photoinduced Electron Traps in TiO2 by Picosecond X‐ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is the most popular material for applications in solar‐energy conversion and photocatalysis, both of which rely on the creation, transport, and trapping of charges (holes and electrons). The nature and lifetime of electron traps at room temperature have so far not been elucidated. Herein, we use picosecond X‐ray absorption spectroscopy at the Ti K‐edge and the Ru L₃‐edge to address this issue for photoexcited bare and N719‐dye‐sensitized anatase and amorphous TiO₂ nanoparticles. Our results show that 100 ps after photoexcitation, the electrons are trapped deep in the defect‐rich surface shell in the case of anatase TiO₂, whereas they are inside the bulk in the case of amorphous TiO₂. In the case of dye‐sensitized anatase or amorphous TiO₂, the electrons are trapped at the outer surface. Only two traps were identified in all cases, with lifetimes in the range of nanoseconds to tens of nanoseconds.     

Label‐Free Measurements of the Diffusivity of Molecules in Lipid Membranes

An important and characteristic property of a cell membrane is the lateral mobility of protein molecules in the lipid bilayer. This has conventionally been measured by labeling the molecules with fluorescent markers and monitoring their mobility by different fluorescence‐based techniques. However, adding the label to the studied molecule may affect the system, so it is an assumption in almost all experiments that the measured mobility of the biomolecule with its label is the same as that of the unlabeled molecule. However, this assumption is rarely tested due to a lack of suitable methods. In this work, a new technique to perform label‐free diffusivity measurements is developed and used to measure the effect of the label for two common protein–lipid systems: 1) streptavidin (SA) coupled to a supported lipid bilayer (SLB) through biotinylated lipids and 2) the extracellular part of the T‐cell adhesion protein CD2, coupled to an SLB through histidine tags to nickel‐chelating lipids. A measurable (≈12 %) decrease in diffusivity is found for both labeled proteins, even though the molecular mass of the label is almost 100 times smaller than those of the proteins (≈50 kDa). The results illustrate the importance of being able to study different biophysical properties of cell membranes and their mimics without relying on fluorescent labels, especially if fluorescent labeling is difficult or is expected to affect the nature of the intermolecular interactions being studied.     

改性ZSM-5分子筛催化裂解湛江等鞭金藻制取低碳烯烃(英)

研究了湛江等鞭金藻(Isochrysis zhanjiangensis)在改性ZSM-5分子筛上催化裂解制取低碳烯烃的过程.与热裂解过程相比,湛江等鞭金藻催化裂解可以得到更高的低碳烯烃选择性和收率.同时还研究了湛江等鞭金藻中不同油脂和藻渣的催化裂解.结果表明,微藻中的油脂能有效转化为烯烃,其中中性脂的烯烃收率最高,可达36.7%.不同溶剂抽提后得到的藻渣也可转化为低碳烯烃,但收率远低于微藻中的油脂.微藻中的油脂,特别是中性脂,是烯烃的主要贡献者,提高微藻中的中性脂含量能够得到更高的低碳烯烃收率.     

Pressure-Suppressed Carrier Trapping Leads to Enhanced Emission in Two-Dimensional Perovskite (HA)2(GA)Pb2I7

A remarkable PL enhancement by 12 fold is achieved using pressure to modulate the structure of a recently developed 2D perovskite (HA)₂(GA)Pb₂I₇ (HA=n-hexylammonium, GA=guanidinium). This structure features a previously unattainable, extremely large cage. In situ structural, spectroscopic, and theoretical analyses reveal that lattice compression under a mild pressure within 1.6 GPa considerably suppresses the carrier trapping, leading to significantly enhanced emission. Further pressurization induces a non-luminescent amorphous yellow phase, which is retained and exhibits a continuously increasing band gap during decompression. When the pressure is released to 1.5 GPa, emission can be triggered by above-band gap laser irradiation, accompanied by a color change from yellow to orange. The obtained orange phase could be retained at ambient conditions and exhibits two-fold higher PL emission compared with the pristine (HA)₂(GA)Pb₂I₇.     

光电催化二氧化碳还原研究进展

CO_2是最常见的化合物,作为潜在的碳一资源,可用于制备多种高附加值的化学品,如一氧化碳、甲烷、甲醇、甲酸等。传统的热催化转化CO_2方法能耗高,反应条件苛刻。因此,如何在温和条件下高效地将CO_2转化成高附加值的化学品,一直以来是催化领域的研究热点和难点之一。光催化技术反应条件温和、绿色环保。然而,纯光催化反应普遍存在太阳能利用效率有限,光生载流子分离效率低等问题。针对上述问题,在光催化的基础上引入电催化,可以提高载流子的分离效率,在较低的过电位下,实现多电子、质子向CO_2转移,从而提高催化反应效率。总之,光电催化技术可以结合光催化和电催化的优势,提高CO_2催化还原反应效率,为清洁、绿色利用CO_2提供了一种新方法。本文依据光电催化CO_2还原反应基本过程,从光吸收、载流子分离和界面反应等三个角度综述了光电催化反应的基本强化策略,并对未来可能的研究方向进行了展望。     

基于手机光线传感器为检测器的简易光度计的自组装设计

By using light sensors of the cellphone, we build a simple photometer which can be used in quantitative analysis experiments. We have performed 5 replicate measurements of iron with phenanthroline to verify reproducibility and stability. We find the absorbance of the sample has a good linear relationship with the concentrations of iron with a R² value around 0.999 and the RSD of 2.81%. The result is 4.94 μg·mL^-1 with spectrophotometer and 5.11 μg·mL^-1 with our photometer. The photometer is simple, convenient, accurate and realistic by using a phone as detector, which can replace the traditional spectrophotometer in the laboratory class. The students can enhance their understanding of the structure and principle of spectrophotometer by the DIY photometer experiment.     

Exploring multiple‐cumulative trapping solid‐phase microextraction for olive oil aroma profiling

Headspace solid‐phase microextraction is a solvent‐free sample preparation technique that is based on the equilibrium among a three‐phase system, i.e., sample‐headspace‐fiber. A compromise between sensitivity and extraction time is usually needed to optimize the sample throughput, especially when a large number of samples are analyzed, as usually the case in cross‐samples studies. This work explores the capability of multiple‐cumulative trapping solid‐phase microextraction on the characterization of the aroma profiling of olive oils, exploiting the automation capability of a novel headspace autosampler. It was shown that multiple‐cumulative solid‐phase microextraction has the potential to improve the overall sensitivity and burst the level of information for cross‐sample studies by using cumulative shorter extraction times.     

Three-dimensional localization of atoms in the polychromatic optical superlattice

Quasiclassical kinetic theory of the light pressure force has been applied to describe the localization of atoms (or ions) with the transition F=1→F=0 in the three-dimensional (3D) dissipative optical superlattice of a new type. Its action is based on the effect of the gradient force rectification in the polychromatic field: superposition of the three color far-off-resonant field and partially coherent resonant field. An approximate explicit solution of the kinetic equation for 3D motion of atoms in such a (multicolor) field has been achieved. This solution demonstrates the capability of the polychromatic superlattice to provide efficient cooling and strong spatial localization of the particles and to form an atomic (or ionic) grating with highly controllable characteristics.     

From micro-to nanosized particles:Selected characterization methods and measurable parameters

Airborne microand nanoparticles-aerosols-play an important role in many natural phenomena and in a variety of industrial processes,as well as the public health issue. They may be of natural or anthropogenic origin;their presence in an environment might be intentional or due to undesirable release. In any case,merely the particle detection and characterization,ideally in real-time,provide an insight into the potential burden allowing also controlling and abatement measures. Due to the broad size range it is ...