Phase-Selective Syntheses of Cobalt Telluride Nanofleeces for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Catalysts

Cobalt-based nanomaterials have been intensively explored as promising noble-metal-free oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts. Herein, we report phase-selective syntheses of novel hierarchical CoTe₂ and CoTe nanofleeces for efficient OER catalysts. The CoTe₂ nanofleeces exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity and stablity for OER in alkaline media. The CoTe₂ catalyst exhibited superior OER activity compared to the CoTe catalyst, which is comparable to the state-of-the-art RuO₂ catalyst. Density functional theory calculations showed that the binding strength and lateral interaction of the reaction intermediates on CoTe₂ and CoTe are essential for determining the overpotential required under different conditions. This study provides valuable insights for the rational design of noble-metal-free OER catalysts with high performance and low cost by use of Co-based chalcogenides.     

Full automatic synthesis of [<Superscript>18</Superscript>F]THK-5351 for tau protein PET imaging in Alzheimer’s disease patients: 1 year experience

[¹⁸F]THK-5351, a new candidate for tau protein imaging, is based on an aryl quinoline structure. We report the full automatic synthesis using disposable cassettes under pH controlled [¹⁸F]fluorination. After the trapping of 88.5 ± 21.9 GBq of [¹⁸F]fluoride, it was eluted with potassium methansulfonate (KOMs) (pH 7.8)/K₂₂₂. After drying, 3 mg of the precursor was added to 1 mL DMSO and subjected to [¹⁸F]fluorination at 110 °C for 10 min. After hydrolysis, the final product was purified by HPLC. The overall radiochemical yield was 31.9 ± 11.1% (n = 22), satisfying all quality control criteria. It was stable for up to 6 h with high radiochemical purity as 99.8 ± 0.5%.     

A universal blown film apparatus for <Emphasis Type="Italic">in situ</Emphasis> X-ray measurements

A setup of blown film machine combined with in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction measurements and infrared temperature testing is reported to study the structure evolution of polymers during film blowing. Two homemade auto-lifters are constructed and placed under the blown machine at each end of the beamline platform which move up and down with a speed of 0.05 mm/s bearing the 200 kg weight machine. Therefore, structure development and temperature changes as a function of position on the film bubble can be obtained. The blown film machine is customized to be conveniently installed with precise servo motors and can adjust the processing parameters in a wide range. Meanwhile, the air ring has been redesigned in order to track the structure information of the film bubble immediately after the melt being extruded out from the die exit. Polyethylene (PE) is selected as a model system to verify the feasibility of the apparatus and the in situ experimental techniques. Combining structure information provided by the WAXD and SAXS and the actual temperature obtained from the infrared probe, a full roadmap of structure development during film blowing is constructed and it is helpful to explore the molecular mechanism of structure evolution behind the film blowing processing, which is expected to lead to a better understanding of the physics in polymer processing.     

Construction of metal–organic frameworks from 3-(6-oxo-6,9-dihydro-1H-purin-1-yl)propionate

A series of metal–organic frameworks built from a propionate-functionalized purine-containing ligand 3-(6-oxo-6,9-dihydro-1H-purin-1-yl)propanoic acid (H₂L), {[La(HL)₃(H₂O)₂]·2H₂O}_n (1), {[Ce(HL)₃(H₂O)₂]·4H₂O}_n (2), [Co(HL)₂(H₂O)₂]_n (3), {[Cd(L)(H₂O)]·0.5H₂O}_n (4) and {[Pb(HL)(C₂O₄)_0.5(H₂O)]·2H₂O}_n (5), was synthesized and characterized. Isostructural 1 and 2 have polymeric chain structures further linked into 3-D porous supramolecular frameworks with 1-D open channels through complicated interchain hydrogen bonding interactions. At 77 K and 1 bar, the dehydrated porous materials 1 and 2 show adsorption behaviors with maximum nitrogen uptakes of 14 and 23 mL g^?1, respectively. Complexes 3–5 are 2-D coordination polymers but have different topological structures. Metallohelicate 3 has (4,4) nets composed of left- and right-handed metal–organic helices sharing the common metal centers, but metallohelicate 4 possesses (4·8²) topology and 5 has 6³-topological structure. In 3 and 5, the polymeric layers are further assembled through regular interlayer hydrogen bonding interactions to form 3-D supramolecular frameworks. Additionally, the thermostabilities of 1–5 as well as the magnetism of 3 were also investigated.     

Lipophilic counterion effect on aggregation and adsorption behavior of quaternary ammonium surfactants

The obvious different aggregation and adsorption behavior of six newly quaternary ammonium surfactants with different lipophilic counterions has been discoverd by measurements of equilibrium and dynamic surface tension, fluorescence and conductivity. Interestingly, the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and its surface tension γ_CMC decrease with the increasing counterion chain length. However, three methods have confirmed that an exception of CMC increases slightly from C₁₆NC₁ to C₁₆NC₂. According to experimental results, a balanced mechanism between hydrophobicity and electrostatic of counterion is proposed. Besides, the dynamic surface tension results show the diffusion coefficient increases with the increasing counterion length both at a short time (D_t?→?0) and long time (D_t?→?∞), which indicates a faster adsorption process. Unlike the inorganic counterion, the diffusion coefficient decreases with the increase of hydrophobic chain length. This is attributed to the strong electrostatic interactions between counterions and cationic headgroups.     

Enhanced Static Modulated Fourier Transform Spectrometer for Fast Approximation in Field Application

We discuss the data sampling frequency, the spectral resolution, and the limit for non-aliasing in the static modulated Fourier transform spectrometer based on a modified Sagnac interferometer. The measurement was performed in a very short 4 ms, which is applicable for real time field operation. The improved spectrometer characteristics were used to investigate the spectral properties of an InGaAs light emitting diode. In addition, The measured spectral peak was shifted from 6420 cm⁻¹ to 6365 cm⁻¹, as the temperature increased from 25 °C to 40 °C, when the operating current is fixed to be 0.55 A. As the applied current increased from 0.30 A to 0.55 A at room temperature, the spectral width was broadened from 316 cm⁻¹ to 384 cm⁻¹. Compared to the conventional Fourier transform spectrometer, the measured spectral width by the static modulated Fourier transform spectrometer showed a deviation less than 10%, and the spectral peak shift according to the temperature rise showed a difference within 2%.     

Combinatorial Therapeutic Effect of Inhibitors of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase and Mitochondrial Complex I,and the Chemotherapeutic Drug,Temozolomide against Glioblastoma Tumorspheres

Resident cancer cells with stem cell-like features induce drug tolerance, facilitating survival of glioblastoma (GBM). We previously showed that strategies targeting tumor bioenergetics present a novel emerging avenue for treatment of GBM. The objective of this study was to enhance the therapeutic effects of dual inhibition of tumor bioenergetics by combination of gossypol, an aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor, and phenformin, a biguanide compound that depletes oxidative phosphorylation, with the chemotherapeutic drug, temozolomide (TMZ), to block proliferation, stemness, and invasiveness of GBM tumorspheres (TSs). Combination therapy with gossypol, phenformin, and TMZ induced a significant reduction in ATP levels, cell viability, stemness, and invasiveness compared to TMZ monotherapy and dual therapy with gossypol and phenformin. Analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed up-regulation of genes involved in programmed cell death, autophagy, and protein metabolism and down-regulation of those associated with cell metabolism, cycle, and adhesion. Combination of TMZ with dual inhibitors of tumor bioenergetics may, therefore, present an effective strategy against GBM by enhancing therapeutic effects through multiple mechanisms of action.     

Upgrading Solid Digestate from Anaerobic Digestion of Agricultural Waste as Performance Enhancer for Starch-Based Mulching Biofilm

Developing a green and sustainable method to upgrade biogas wastes into high value-added products is attracting more and more public attention. The application of solid residues as a performance enhancer in the manufacture of biofilms is a prospective way to replace conventional plastic based on fossil fuel. In this work, solid digestates from the anaerobic digestion of agricultural wastes, such as straw, cattle and chicken manures, were pretreated by an ultrasonic thermo-alkaline treatment to remove the nonfunctional compositions and then incorporated in plasticized starch paste to prepare mulching biofilms by the solution casting method. The results indicated that solid digestate particles dispersed homogenously in the starch matrix and gradually aggregated under the action of a hydrogen bond, leading to a transformation of the composites to a high crystalline structure. Consequently, the composite biofilm showed a higher tensile strength, elastic modulus, glass transition temperature and degradation temperature compared to the pure starch-based film. The light, water and GHG (greenhouse gas) barrier properties of the biofilm were also reinforced by the addition of solid digestates, performing well in sustaining the soil quality and minimizing N₂O or CH₄ emissions. As such, recycling solid digestates into a biodegradable plastic substitute not only creates a new business opportunity by producing high-performance biofilms but also reduces the environmental risk caused by biogas waste and plastics pollution.     

Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Detection of Nitrate and Nitrite in Seawater Simultaneously Based on Partial Least Squares

A direct, reagent-free, ultraviolet spectroscopic method for the simultaneous determination of nitrate (NO₃⁻), nitrite (NO₂⁻), and salinity in seawater is presented. The method is based on measuring the absorption spectra of the raw seawater range of 200–300 nm, combined with partial least squares (PLS) regression for resolving the spectral overlapping of NO₃⁻, NO₂⁻, and sea salt (or salinity). The interference from chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) UV absorbance was reduced according to its exponential relationship between 275 and 295 nm. The results of the cross-validation of calibration and the prediction sets were used to select the number of factors (4 for NO₃⁻, NO₂⁻, and salinity) and to optimize the wavelength range (215–240 nm) with a 1 nm wavelength interval. The linear relationship between the predicted and the actual values of NO₃⁻, NO₂⁻, salinity, and the recovery of spiked water samples suggest that the proposed PLS model can be a valuable alternative method to the wet chemical methods. Due to its simplicity and fast response, the proposed PLS model can be used as an algorithm for building nitrate and nitrite sensors. The comparison study of PLS and a classic least squares (CLS) model shows both PLS and CLS can give satisfactory results for predicting NO₃⁻ and salinity. However, for NO₂⁻ in some samples, PLS is superior to CLS, which may be due to the interference from unknown substances not included in the CLS algorithm. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of NO₃⁻, NO₂⁻, and salinity in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuary water samples and the results are comparable with that determined by the colorimetric Griess assay.     

Tandem Synthesis of Tetrasubstituted NH Pyrroles from Simple Nitriles

An efficient tandem route to obtain tetrasubstituted NH pyrroles in a one-pot manner has been developed, staring from simple nitriles, ethyl bromoacetates, and zinc. This reaction involves oxidative dimerization of the zinc bromide complex of β-enaminoesters using cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN) as an oxidant, affording 2,3,4,5-tetrasubstituted pyrroles in yields up to 91%.