Photocatalytic removal of tetracycline by a Z-scheme heterojunction of bismuth oxyiodide/exfoliated g-C3N4: performance,mechanism, and degradation pathway

Antibiotics, once being released into the environment, become recalcitrant organic pollutants, which pose a potential risk to ecological balance and human health. In this study, a Z-scheme heterojunction of bismuth oxyiodide (BiOI)/exfoliated g-C₃N₄ (BiOI/ECN hereafter) was synthesized by the combination of thermal exfoliation of g-C₃N₄ and chemical precipitation of BiOI for efficient photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline in aqueous solutions under visible light irradiation. The optimized BiOI/ECN delivered an outstanding degradation rate at circa 0.0705 min^?1, which was 10 times higher than that of the bulk g-C₃N₄. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of tetracycline remained almost unchanged in a pH range of 3–11, and the BiOI/ECN displayed an excellent photostability upon recycled usage. The photocatalytic mechanism of tetracycline was ascribed to the main reactive oxidation species of photogenerated holes and superoxide radicals. In addition, the possible degradation pathways of tetracycline were investigated by HPLC-MS to identify intermediates. The toxicity of photocatalytic-generated intermediates of tetracycline was found significantly alleviated according to the calculation of quantitative structure–activity relationship prediction. This work not only provides an attractive photocatalyst for the removal of tetracycline but also opens a new avenue for rational design of Z-scheme heterojunction composites for tetracycline degradation.     

High-strength and low-swelling chitosan/cellulose microspheres as a high-efficiency adsorbent for dye removal

Cellulose - Dye contamination of water supplies has a serious threat to human health, prompting the development of highly effective and eco-friendly adsorbents. In this work, polyelectrolyte...     

Comparison of benzothiazole-based dyes for sensitive DNA detection

For efficient and quantitative DNA detection, fluorescence staining is the most often explored approach, which relies on non-covalent binding of dyes with double stranded DNA (dsDNA). Ethidium bromide (EB) is the most classic DNA stain, but suffers from its high carcinogenicity. A series of less toxic alternatives were developed, many of which contain the core structure of the benzothiazole ring. However, the relationship between the structure and the DNA detection performance was not illustrated. Herein, five benzothiazole dyes, namely thiazole orange, SYBR Green I, PicoGreen, SYBR Safe, and thioflavine-T, were compared for DNA detection through direct fluorescence and gel electrophoresis, with particular focus on the structure-performance relationship. It turned out that SYBR Green I is currently the best choice for DNA detection. The results in this work may be useful for future DNA-staining dye developments.     

Ionic/electronic conductivity regulation of n-type polyoxadiazole lithium sulfonate conductive polymer binders for high-performance silicon microparticle anodes

Low-cost silicon microparticles(SiMP),as a substitute for nanostructured silicon,easily suffer from cracks and fractured during the electrochemical cycle.A novel n-type conductive polymer binder with excellent electronic and ionic conductivities as well as good adhesion,has been successfully designed and applied for high-performance SiMP anodes in lithium-ion batteries to address this problem.Its unique features are attributed to the stro ng electron-withdrawing oxadiazole ring structure with sulfonate polar groups.The combination of rigid and flexible components in the polymer ensures its good mechanical strength and ductility,which is beneficial to suppress the expansion and contraction of SiMP s during the charge/discharge process.By fine-tuning the monomer ratio,the conjugation and sulfonation degrees of the polymer can be precisely controlled to regulate its ionic and electronic conductivities,which has been systematically analyzed with the help of an electrochemical test method,filling in the gap on the conductivity measurement of the polymer in the doping state.The experimental results indicate that the cell with the developed n-type polymer binder and SiMP(~0.5 μm) anodes achieves much better cycling performance than traditional non-conductive binders.It has been considered that the initial capacity of the SiMP anode is controlled by the synergetic effect of ionic and electronic conductivity of the binder,and the capacity retention mainly depends on its electronic conductivity when the ionic conductivity is sufficient.It is worth noting that the fundamental research of this wo rk is also applicable to other battery systems using conductive polymers in order to achieve high energy density,broadening their practical applications.     

L-Arginine/nanofish bone nanocomplex enhances bone regeneration via antioxidant activities and osteoimmunomodulatory properties

In this study,a promising strategy has been developed to promote bone regeneration by combining antioxidant activities and osteoimmunomodulatory properties.Herein,an L-arginine/nanofish bone(Arg/NFB) nanocomplex has been prepared and evaluated in vitro and in vivo.The Arg/NFB nanocomplex possesses good antioxidant activities and could modulate the polarization of non-activated macrophage into different types and induce the secretion of pre-inflammato ry,anti-inflammatory,osteogenic as well as angiogenic cytokines.Additionally,the regulated immune microenvironment can enhance the osteogenic differentiation of mouse embryo osteoblast precursor cells(MC3 T3-E1) and angiogenic capacity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs),leading to the improved formation of mineralized nodules,alkaline phosphatase activity and angiogenic effects.In vivo results with cranial defect models reveal that the treatment of Arg/NFB nanocomplex exhibited significant improvement of new bone formation and angiogenesis.All the results demonstrate Arg/NFB nanocomplex with antioxidant activities and osteoimmunomodulatory properties could be a new idea for developing the next generation of bone regeneration biomaterials.     

17O-核磁共振法研究不同处理方法对液态水缔合结构的影响

水作为人类重要的生产要素,参与了卷烟生产的多个环节。水在自然条件下以分子簇的形式存在,多种处理方式可以改变水分子团簇的大小。本文以¹⁷O-核磁共振法为水分子团簇的表征手段,以自来水为水源,考察了氢气、远红外辐射陶瓷球、反渗透、磁场四种处理方法对水分子簇的影响。结果表明:四种处理方式均能使一定量水分子由氢键结合态变为自由态,从而使水分子簇变小。不同处理方法对液态水缔合结构的影响大小排序为氢气处理>远红外陶瓷球处理>反渗透处理>磁场处理。同时,对氢气处理效果的时效性进行了考察,随着放置时间增加,部分自由态水分子再次转变为氢键结合态,水分子簇尺寸变大,但三天后仍保留了一定处理效果。本研究表明氢气处理为四种处理方式中最优的水处理方式,具有提升烟草行业生产用水品质的潜在应用价值。     

熔盐法合成电化学性能优异的富锂层状正极材料Li_(1.5)Ni_(0.25)Mn_(0.75)O_(2.5)

采用氢氧化物共沉淀和熔盐法相结合的方法制备得到了电化学性能优异的富锂锰基Li_(1.5)Ni_(0.25)Mn_(0.75)O_(2.5)正极材料。借助X射线衍射(XRD)分析、扫描电镜(SEM)、感应耦合等离子体原子发射光谱(ICP-AES)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、电化学阻抗谱(EIS)和恒电流充放电测试等表征手段对材料的颗粒形貌、晶体结构和电化学性能进行了系统研究。XRD结果表明该材料具有完善的α-NaFeO2层状结构(空间群为R3m)和较低的Li~+/Ni~(2+)阳离子混排。电化学性能测试表明该材料的首次不可逆容量损失较小,且倍率性能和循环稳定性能十分优异。具体而言,在2.0~4.8V,0.1C时的首次不可逆容量损失为50mAh·g~(-1)(首次库伦效率84%);在10C时的放电比容量还能达到102mAh·g~(-1);在0.5C下循环100次后,放电比容量为205mAh·g~(-1)(容量保持率90%)。     

恒电位氧化改性石墨毡及其氧还原电极的电化学性能

分别采用循环伏安改性法和恒电位氧化法对石墨毡进行改性处理,并采用循环伏安法对其电化学性能进行研究,实验结果表明,恒电位氧化改性较循环伏安改性的石墨毡有较好的氧还原活性。通过XRD、FTIR、接触角和CV针对恒电位氧化处理石墨毡进行了进一步的测试。测试结果显示,随恒电位氧化时间的增加,石墨毡表面亲水性含氧官能团增加,润湿性增强。恒电位氧化改性处理25 min的石墨毡氧还原峰电位及电流密度分别为~-0.43 V和~0.003 4 mA·cm^-2,显示出很好的电化学催化性能。基于以上结果,恒电位氧化法改性处理能够极大提高石墨毡的氧阴极活性。     

Chemical treatments on the cuticle layer enhancing the uranium(VI) uptake from aqueous solution by amidoximated wool fibers

Urea, sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide were used to treat the cuticle layer of wool before graft copolymerization and amidoximation to enhance the uranium uptaking capacity of amidoximated wool fiber based adsorbent (Wool-g-AOs). The wool-g-AOs were used for recovery of U(VI) from aqueous solutions. The simulated nuclear industry effluent was used for investigating the selectivity and industrial applicability of Wool-g-AOs. The adsorption of uranium(VI) on Wool-g-AOs was pH dependent. The Langmuir model fitted well with the equilibrium data. Kinetic data were fitted well to pseudo second order model.

     

Fabrication of Electrospun PVDF Nanofibers with Higher Content of Polar β Phase and Smaller Diameter by Adding a Small Amount of Dioctadecyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride

In this work,the effect of dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride(DDAC,a kind of alkyl ammonium salt) on polar β phase content and the diameter of electrospun PVDF nanofibers was investigated for the first time.Our experimental results show that the diameter of the electrospun PVDF nanofiber could be largely reduced and the content of polar β phase also become dominant immediately by just adding a little amount of DDAC.When the mass fraction of DDAC reached 4%,the content of polar β phase increased by about 39.1% compared with PVDF nanofibers without DDAC.Besides,the crystallinity of PVDF nanofibers also increased with the addition of DDAC.Based on the results,the possible mechanism of cooperative effect between electrospinning and DDAC on fiber diameter and formation of β phase in PVDF was discussed.