Hierarchical NiCo2O4 microspheres assembled by nanorods with p-type response for detection of triethylamine

The morphological and structural design provides an efficient protocol to optimize the performance of gas sensing materials. In this work, a gas sensor with high sensitivity for triethylamine (TEA) detection is developed based on p-type NiCo₂O₄ hierarchical microspheres. The NiCo₂O₄ microspheres, synthesized by a hydrothermal route, have a three-dimensional (3D) urchin-like structure assembled by nanorod building blocks. The structure-property correlation has been investigated by powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, N₂ adsorption-desorption tests and comprehensive gas sensing experiments. The influence of calcination temperature on the morphological structure and sensing performances has been investigated. Results reveal that the material annealed at 300 °C has a very large specific surface area of 125.27 m²/g, thereby demonstrating the best TEA sensing properties including high response and low limit of detection (145 ppb), good selectivity and stability. The further increase of the calcination temperature leads to the collapse of the 3D hierarchical structure with significantly decreased surface area, which is found to decline the sensing performances. This work indicates the promise of ternary p-type metal oxide nanostructures for application in highly sensitive gas sensors.     

一种蒽醌类荧光探针的合成及对氟离子的检测性能

以1,4-二羟基蒽醌为荧光团,叔丁基二甲基氯硅烷为识别基团,设计合成了新型氟离子探针分子1,4-二-(叔丁基-二甲基-硅氧基) 蒽醌(AQTB1),其结构经¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR和MS(ESI)表征。采用FL和UV-Vis详细研究了响应时间、溶液pH值、干扰离子、氟离子浓度对探针AQTB1检测性能的影响。结果表明：探针AQTB1在pH=3~12的缓冲溶液中,实现了对氟离子的高效检测,并不受干扰离子影响。通过FL, IR和MS(ESI)对探针AQTB1检测机理进行研究,结果表明：加入氟离子后,探针分子中的Si-O键断裂,荧光较弱的AQTB1转化为荧光较强的1,4-二羟基蒽醌,实现氟离子的精确定量。实际样品分析实验中,3种不同水样中氟离子的加标回收率为88.0%～109.5%,相对标准偏差(RSD)低于8.5%。     

A pH-regulated stimuli-responsive strategy for RNA-cleaving DNAzyme

RNA-cleaving DNAzymes possess important roles in DNAzymes and have been widely used in the biosensors,DNA nanomachines owing to their ion-specific dependence.However,there are still challenges in constructing universal but versatile stimuli-responsive strategies of RNA-cleaving DNAzymes.Herein,a stimuli-responsive strategy for RNA-cleaving DNAzyme is proposed by the artful design of hairpin nanostructure,in which the activities of DNAzyme(Pb~(2+) -dependent DNAzyme as a model) in the hairpin's loop are p H-regulated by using the triplex stem as the "lock".Upon introducing the "key",p H values,the DNAzyme will be activated and fragment the substrate of it in the presence of Pb~(2+),accompanied by the turn-on of the fluorescence quenched by fluorescence resonance energy transfer(FRET).The regulation ability of p H can be controlled by the length and sequence of the triplex stem,and the wide p H regulation range may be helpful for the application of DNAzymes in biological medicine delivery systems.     

基于磁珠-适配体的高效液相色谱-串联质谱法检测食品中的黄曲霉毒素B1

本文构建了特异性识别黄曲霉毒素B₁(AFB₁)的磁珠-适配体,并与高效液相色谱-串联质谱联用(LC-MS/MS),建立食品中AFB₁的定量检测方法。 利用碳二亚胺盐酸盐(EDC)活化法,将羧基磁珠进行活化。 活化后的羧基磁珠与5'端氨基修饰的适配体进行孵育结合,通过酰胺反应将适配体共价连接在羧基磁珠表面,固定在磁珠表面的适配体作为捕捉探针将样品提取液中的AFB₁分离,通过LC-MS/MS对AFB₁进行定性和定量分析。 检测结果表明:AFB₁在浓度0.25～25 ng/mL呈良好的线性关系,相关系数R²=0.999,定量检出限为0.25 ng/mL,回收率达到80.3%～92.5%,相对标准偏差(RSD)低于8%。 该方法操作简单、快速便捷、可痕量地检测AFB₁,所制备的磁珠-适配体可重复利用,为定量检测AFB₁提供了另一种技术支持。     

NH2-Ga-MIL-53催化剂对Strecker反应的底物选择性（英文）

研究了金属有机骨架化合物NH2-Ga-MIL-53对多种N-苯基亚胺底物的Strecker反应的催化性能,研究结果表明:(1)NH2-Ga-MIL-53具有高度催化活性和良好的底物普适性;(2)亚胺底物上取代基的电子效应是影响催化反应速率的关键因素,在亚胺底物上引入给电子取代基团(如甲氧基和苯基)可以加快反应速率,引入吸电子取代基团(如三氟甲基和硝基)可降低反应速率;(3)亚胺底物上取代基的位置对于催化反应速率同样具有重要影响,在亚胺底物的邻位引入甲氧基取代基团时,反应速率加快得最明显;(4)作为非均相催化剂,NH2-Ga-MIL-53可循环使用9次而不失活且保持骨架结构不变;(5)NH2-Ga-MIL-53和Ga-MIL-53催化性能的对比结果表明,NH2-Ga-MIL-53结构中的氨基可以作为路易斯碱活性中心协同路易斯酸催化中心(Ga3+)有效促进strecker反应的进行。此外,由NH2-Ga-MIL-53、六水合硝酸镓和2-氨基对苯二甲酸对Strecker反应的催化效果的对比可知,NH2-Ga-MIL-53的孔结构是提高反应产物专一性的重要因素。     

Single-Atom Iron Catalysts on Overhang-Eave Carbon Cages for High-Performance Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Single-atom catalysts have drawn great attention, especially in electrocatalysis. However, most of previous works focus on the enhanced catalytic properties via improving metal loading. Engineering morphologies of catalysts to facilitate mass transport through catalyst layers, thus increasing the utilization of each active site, is regarded as an appealing way for enhanced performance. Herein, we design an overhang-eave structure decorated with isolated single-atom iron sites via a silica-mediated MOF-templated approach for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysis. This catalyst demonstrates superior ORR performance in both alkaline and acidic electrolytes, comparable to the state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst and superior to most precious-metal-free catalysts reported to date. This activity originates from its edge-rich structure, having more three-phase boundaries with enhanced mass transport of reactants to accessible single-atom iron sites (increasing the utilization of active sites), which verifies the practicability of such a synthetic approach.     

Ultrastable Perovskite–Zeolite Composite Enabled by Encapsulation and In Situ Passivation

Metal halide perovskites have been widely applied in optoelectronic fields, but their poor stability hinders their actual applications. A perovskite–zeolite composite was synthesized via in situ growth in air from aluminophosphate AlPO-5 zeolite crystals and perovskite nanocrystals. The zeolite matrix provides quantum confinement for perovskite nanocrystals, achieving efficient green emission, and it passivates the defects of perovskite by H-bonding interaction, which leads to a longer lifetime compared to bulk perovskite film. Furthermore, the AlPO-5 zeolite also acts as a protection shield and enables ultrahigh stability of perovskite nanocrystals under 150 °C heat stress, under a 15-month long-term ambient exposure, and even in water for more than 2 weeks, respectively. The strategy of in situ passivation and encapsulation for the perovskite@AlPO-5 composite was amenable to a range of perovskites, from MA- to Cs-based perovskites. Benefiting from high stability and photoluminescence performance, the composite exhibits great potential to be virtually applied in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and backlight displays.     

Ultrafast Encapsulation of Metal Nanoclusters into MFI Zeolite in the Course of Its Crystallization: Catalytic Application for Propane Dehydrogenation

Encapsulating metal nanoclusters into zeolites combines the superior catalytic activity of the nanoclusters with high stability and unique shape selectivity of the crystalline microporous materials. The preparation of such bifunctional catalysts, however, is often restricted by the mismatching in time scale between the fast formation of nanoclusters and the slow crystallization of zeolites. We herein demonstrate a novel strategy to overcome the mismatching issue, in which the crystallization of zeolites is expedited so as to synchronize it with the rapid formation of nanoclusters. The concept was demonstrated by confining Pt and Sn nanoclusters into a ZSM-5 (MFI) zeolite in the course of its crystallization, leading to an ultrafast, in situ encapsulation within just 5 min. The Pt/Sn-ZSM-5 exhibited exceptional activity and selectivity with stability in the dehydrogenation of propane to propene. This method of ultrafast encapsulation opens up a new avenue for designing and synthesizing composite zeolitic materials with structural and compositional complexity.     

The Stabilization Effect of CO2 in Lithium–Oxygen/CO2 Batteries

The lithium (Li)–air battery has an ultrahigh theoretical specific energy, however, even in pure oxygen (O₂), the vulnerability of conventional organic electrolytes and carbon cathodes towards reaction intermediates, especially O₂⁻, and corrosive oxidation and crack/pulverization of Li metal anode lead to poor cycling stability of the Li-air battery. Even worse, the water and/or CO₂ in air bring parasitic reactions and safety issues. Therefore, applying such systems in open-air environment is challenging. Herein, contrary to previous assertions, we have found that CO₂ can improve the stability of both anode and electrolyte, and a high-performance rechargeable Li–O₂/CO₂ battery is developed. The CO₂ not only facilitates the in situ formation of a passivated protective Li₂CO₃ film on the Li anode, but also restrains side reactions involving electrolyte and cathode by capturing O₂⁻. Moreover, the Pd/CNT catalyst in the cathode can extend the battery lifespan by effectively tuning the product morphology and catalyzing the decomposition of Li₂CO₃. The Li–O₂/CO₂ battery achieves a full discharge capacity of 6628 mAh g⁻¹ and a long life of 715 cycles, which is even better than those of pure Li–O₂ batteries.     

High-Capacity and Stable Li-O2 Batteries Enabled by a Trifunctional Soluble Redox Mediator

Li-O₂ batteries with ultrahigh theoretical energy densities usually suffer from low practical discharge capacities and inferior cycling stability owing to the cathode passivation caused by insulating discharge products and by-products. Here, a trifunctional ether-based redox mediator, 2,5-di-tert-butyl-1,4-dimethoxybenzene (DBDMB), is introduced into the electrolyte to capture reactive O₂⁻ and alleviate the rigorous oxidative environment of Li-O₂ batteries. Thanks to the strong solvation effect of DBDMB towards Li⁺ and O₂⁻, it not only reduces the formation of by-products (a high Li₂O₂ yield of 96.6 %), but also promotes the solution growth of large-sized Li₂O₂ particles, avoiding the passivation of cathode as well as enabling a large discharge capacity. Moreover, DBDMB makes the oxidization of Li₂O₂ and the decomposition of main by-products (Li₂CO₃ and LiOH) proceed in a highly effective manner, prolonging the stability of Li-O₂ batteries (243 cycles at 1000 mAh g⁻¹ and 1000 mA g⁻¹).