Single‐crystalline gold microplates grown on substrates by solution‐phase synthesis

Chemically synthesized single‐crystalline gold microplates have been attracting increasing interest because of their potential as high‐quality gold films for nanotechnology. We present the growth of tens of nanometers thick and tens of micrometers large single‐crystalline gold plates directly on solid substrates by solution‐phase synthesis. Compared to microplates deposited on substrates from dispersion phase, substrate‐grown plates exhibit significantly higher quality by avoiding severe small‐particle contamination and aggregation. Substrate‐grown gold plates also open new perspectives to study the growth mechanism via step‐growth and observation cycles of a large number of individual plates. Growth models are proposed to interpret the evolution of thickness, area and shape of the plates. It is found that the plate surface remains smooth after regrowth, implying the applicability of regrowth for producing giant plates as well as unique single‐crystalline nano‐structures.     

Electrochemical evidence of self-substrate inhibition as functions regulation for cellobiose dehydrogenase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium

The reaction mechanism of cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) from Phanerochaete chrysosporium, adsorbed on graphite electrodes, was investigated by following its catalytic reaction with cellobiose registered in both direct and mediated electron transfer modes between the enzyme and the electrode. A wall-jet flow through amperometric cell housing the CDH-modified graphite electrode was connected to a single line flow injection system. In the present study, it is proven that cellobiose, at concentrations higher than 200 μM, competes for the reduced state of the FAD cofactor and it slows down the transfer of electrons to any 2e⁻/H⁺ acceptors or further to the heme cofactor, via the internal electron transfer pathway. Based on and proven by electrochemical results, a kinetic model of substrate inhibition is proposed and supported by the agreement between simulation of plots and experimental data. The implications of this kinetic model, called pseudo-ping-pong mechanism, on the possible functions CDH are also discussed. The enzyme exhibits catalytic activity also for lactose, but in contrast to cellobiose, this sugar does not inhibit the enzyme. This suggests that even if some other substrates are coincidentally oxidized by CDH, however, they do not trigger all the possible natural functions of the enzyme. In this respect, cellobiose is regarded as the natural substrate of CDH.     

An interlaboratory study as useful tool for proficiency testing of chemical oxygen demand measurements using solid substrates and liquid samples with high suspended solid content

In 2008, the first Proficiency Testing Scheme of Chemical Oxygen Demand (1^stCOD-PT^ADG) was conducted to assess the results obtained for different research groups whose field work is mainly anaerobic digestion. This study was performed using four samples, two solid samples as raw materials and two solid samples to prepare high concentration suspended solid solutions. Invitations were sent to a large number of laboratories, mainly to anaerobic digestion research groups. Finally, thirty labs from sixteen countries agreed to participate, but for different reasons four participants could not send any data. In total, twenty-six results were reported to the COD-PT coordinator.This study showed the importance of continuous participation in proficiency testing (PT) schemes in order to compare the results obtained. Taking into account the lack of a general standard method and high quality certified reference materials (CRMs), the traceability of COD determination is not currently easy to check. In addition, the spread of participants’ results obtained was high and pointed to the advisability of using consensus values due to their unreliability. Therefore, the theoretical oxygen demand (ThOD) values were considered as assigned values for all the samples analysed. On the other hand, in this PT the established standard deviation (ESD) has been determined by the Horwitz modified function.Participants of this 1^stCOD-PT^ADG were asked to give a short report on the analytical method used. Although all the participants used potassium dichromate as their oxidant reagent, their experimental procedures were very different. With the purpose of comparing the results obtained, the different experimental conditions used were classified into five methods, corresponding to two main categories, open and closed reflux. The performance of laboratories was expressed by the z-score, whose value is considered satisfactory when z-score ≤±2. The overall analytical data evaluation showed that 64% of z-scores obtained were outside the accepted limits.     

复合金属氧化物Sn-Sb-Mn/陶瓷粒子电极体系的电催化性能

通过热分解法制备了复合金属氧化物Sn-Sb-Mn/陶瓷粒子电极, 分别采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、能量色散X 射线能谱(EDS)、X射线衍射(XRD)和N2吸附-脱附等技术对电极的形貌、晶相组成、比表面积和孔径分布进行了表征. 考察了该三维粒子电极系统的析氧特性, 采用循环伏安法分析了三维系统的电催化性能, 并且进行了电化学催化降解苯酚的试验. 结果表明, 制备的陶瓷粒子电极涂层比表面较大、孔结构发达, 有利于电催化反应; 电催化降解主要发生在电化学析氧区; 粒子电极系统对苯酚降解作用显著, 明显高于二维电极系统, 苯酚的去除率为92.3%, 总有机碳(TOC)的去除率为66.7%. 研究结果表明, 该三维粒子电极系统具有优良的电催化性能.     

金属基体上铝溶胶涂层的制备

 以拟薄水铝石为原料,采用HNO3胶溶法制备了铝溶胶,研究了制备条件对胶体性质的影响. 结果表明,拟薄水铝石的含量和HNO3的加入量是影响胶体粒度大小、粒径分布以及胶体稳定性的重要因素. 当拟薄水铝石的含量为4.5%~5.5%、酸加入量为［H+］/［AlOOH］=0.08~0.1(摩尔比)时,可以得到颗粒度小(平均粒径≤19.3 nm),粒径分布范围窄(4.1~53 nm)和稳定性好的胶体溶液. 以该胶体为过渡涂层涂覆在金属基体上. 在能形成稳定胶体的前提下,酸度相同时,胶体的浓度越大,粘度越大,涂覆到基体上的量就越多; 但是过渡涂层的牢固度似乎与胶体的浓度关系不大. 金属基体的前处理条件也是一个重要的因素,它不仅影响过渡层的涂覆量,也影响涂层的牢固度.     

Chemical Probing of the Human Sirtuin 5 Active Site Reveals Its Substrate Acyl Specificity and Peptide‐Based Inhibitors

Sirtuins are NAD⁺‐dependent deacetylases acting as sensors in metabolic pathways and stress response. In mammals there are seven isoforms. The mitochondrial sirtuin 5 is a weak deacetylase but a very efficient demalonylase and desuccinylase; however, its substrate acyl specificity has not been systematically analyzed. Herein, we investigated a carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 derived peptide substrate and modified the lysine side chain systematically to determine the acyl specificity of Sirt5. From that point we designed six potent peptide‐based inhibitors that interact with the NAD⁺ binding pocket. To characterize the interaction details causing the different substrate and inhibition properties we report several X‐ray crystal structures of Sirt5 complexed with these peptides. Our results reveal the Sirt5 acyl selectivity and its molecular basis and enable the design of inhibitors for Sirt5.     

Effects of substrate and transfer on CVD-grown graphene over sapphire-induced Cu films

We differentiated the effects of Cu films deposited on single crystalline a-,r-,and c-plane sapphire substrates upon graphene films synthesized with atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition(CVD).The data illustrate that the realization of high-crystalline Cu film is dependent not only on the crystallinity of underlying substrate,but also on the symmetric match of crystallographic geometry between metal film and substrate.We also systematically investigated the effects of PMMA removal on the Raman ID/IG and IG/I2D values of transferred graphene.The results reveal that different PMMA removal methods do not alter the ID/IG values;instead,the residue of PMMA increases the IG/I2D values and the thermal decomposition of PMMA leads to higher IG/I2D values than the removal of PMMA with acetone.The effects of PMMA removal on variations of the Raman spectra are also discussed.     

衬底位置对化学气相沉积法制备的磷掺杂p型ZnO纳米材料形貌和特性的影响

采用化学气相沉积方法,在无催化剂的条件下,通过改变衬底位置在Si(100)衬底上制备出了高取向的磷掺杂ZnO纳米线和纳米钉.测试结果表明,当衬底位于反应源上方1.5 cm处时,所制备的样品为钉状结构,而当衬底位于反应源下方1 cm处时样品为线状结构.对不同形貌磷掺杂ZnO纳米结构的生长机理进行了研究.此外,在ZnO纳米结构的低温光致发光谱中观测到了一系列与磷掺杂相关的受主发光峰.还对磷掺杂ZnO纳米结构/n-Si异质结I-V曲线进行了测试,结果表明,该器件具有良好的整流特性,纳米线和纳米钉异质结器件的开启电压分别为4.8和3.2 V.