Electrochromic Detection of Latent Fingermarks on Metal Surface Using 1,1′-Dibenzyl-4,4′-bipyridinium Dichloride

The electrochromic detection of latent fingermarks on polished or unpolished, flat or curved metal surfaces is described using electrochromic material, 1,1’-dibenzyl-4,4’-bipyridinium dichloride. The surface area covered by fingermarks acts as an insulating mask, causing 1,1’-dibenzyl-4,4’-bipyridinium dichloride to change color and produce inversed images of the fingermark. By changing the applied potential, the optical properties of 1,1’-dibenzyl-4,4’-bipyridinium dichloride can be continuously and reversibly adjusted to optimize the visual contrast of fingermarks, so as to realize the detection of latent fingermarks on stainless steel surface. It is demonstrated that the fabricated electrochromic devices can detect the fingermarks on these types of surfaces within twenty seconds at −1.0∼−2.0 V. This work can qualify as a tangible improvement in fingermark detection of the natural fingermarks on the never-cleaned (more than 3 years) and curved surfaces of daily-used container, e. g. cup, and the handle of cleaning tool, mop.     

Amperometric sandwich-type aptasensor based on peroxidase mimetic Au@Pt for the carcinoembryonic antigen

For sensitive analysis of cancer biomarker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), an amperometric sandwich-type aptasensor is proposed based on a signal amplification strategy of Au@Pt bimetallic nanoprobes. As the excellent catalytic activity to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), core-shell Au@Pt nanoparticles are employed as nanoprobes by conjugating directly with the secondary aptamer of CEA (Apt-II). Due to the synergic recognition effect of dual aptamers and the excellent catalytic activity of nanoprobes, this amperometric sandwich-type aptasensor for CEA exhibits high specificity and good sensitivity with a limit of detection of 0.31 ng/mL, along with a wide linear range from 0.1 ng/mL to 100 ng/mL.     

Solid Contact Ion-selective Electrodes on Printed Circuit Board with Membrane Displacement

Multiplexed solid-contact ion-selective electrodes (SCISEs) are fabricated using printed circuit board (PCB) and mesoporous carbon black (MCB) as ion-to-electron transducer (solid contact). Four sensor configurations were examined and showed that in addition to MCB, the sensor configuration plays crucial role in the stability of the potential response. The enhanced sensor stability was also linked with suppression of transmembrane flux of water. The sensors exhibited near-Nernstian sensitivity (58.1 mV/dec for K⁺ ISEs and −55.1 mV/dec for NO₃^- ISEs), low detection limits (1.5–2.2 μM), and good short-term stability (∼0.1 mV/min). Sensors can be stored dry and used without preconditioning. This work demonstrates a promising approach to combining PCB technology and carbon black for large-scale production of low cost ISEs for point-of-care testing, wearables, or in situ field measurements.     

Scalable Green Synthesis of Robust Ultra-Microporous Hofmann Clathrate Material with Record C3H6 Storage Density for Efficient C3H6/C3H8 Separation

Developing porous materials for C₃H₆/C₃H₈ separation faces the challenge of merging excellent separation performance with high stability and easy scalability of synthesis. Herein, we report a robust Hofmann clathrate material (ZJU-75a), featuring high-density strong binding sites to achieve all the above requirements. ZJU-75a adsorbs large amount of C₃H₆ with a record high storage density of 0.818 g mL⁻¹, and concurrently shows high C₃H₆/C₃H₈ selectivity (54.2) at 296 K and 1 bar. Single-crystal structure analysis unveil that the high-density binding sites in ZJU-75a not only provide much stronger interactions with C₃H₆ but also enable the dense packing of C₃H₆. Breakthrough experiments on gas mixtures afford both high separation factor of 14.7 and large C₃H₆ uptake (2.79 mmol g⁻¹). This material is highly stable and can be easily produced at kilogram-scale using a green synthesis method, making it as a benchmark material to address major challenges for industrial C₃H₆/C₃H₈ separation.     

Discovering the Intrinsic Causes of Dendrite Formation in Zinc Metal Anodes: Lattice Defects and Residual Stress

Developing a highly stable and dendrite-free zinc anode is essential to the commercial application of zinc metal batteries. However, the understanding of zinc dendrites formation mechanism is still insufficient. Herein, for the first time, we discover that the interfacial heterogeneous deposition induced by lattice defects and epitaxial growth limited by residual stress are intrinsic and critical causes for zinc dendrite formation. Therefore, an annealing reconstruction strategy was proposed to eliminate lattice defects and stresses in zinc crystals, which achieve dense epitaxial electrodeposition of zinc anode. The as-prepared annealed zinc anodes exhibit dendrite-free morphology and enhanced electrochemical cycling stability. This work first proves that lattice defects and residual stresses are also very important factors for epitaxial electrodeposition of zinc in addition to crystal orientation, which can provide a new mechanism for future researches on zinc anode modification.     

A Robust Metal-Organic Framework with Scalable Synthesis and Optimal Adsorption and Desorption for Energy-Efficient Ethylene Purification

Adsorptive separation is an energy-efficient alternative, but its advancement has been hindered by the challenge of industrially potential adsorbents development. Herein, a novel ultra-microporous metal-organic framework ZU-901 is designed that satisfies the basic criteria raised by ethylene/ethane (C₂H₄/C₂H₆) pressure swing adsorption (PSA). ZU-901 exhibits an “S” shaped C₂H₄ curve with high sorbent selection parameter (65) and could be mildly regenerated. Through green aqueous-phase synthesis, ZU-901 is easily scalable with 99 % yield, and it is stable in water, acid, basic solutions and cycling breakthrough experiments. Polymer-grade C₂H₄ (99.51 %) could be obtained via a simulating two-bed PSA process, and the corresponding energy consumption is only 1/10 of that of simulating cryogenic distillation. Our work has demonstrated the great potential of pore engineering in designing porous materials with desired adsorption and desorption behavior to implement an efficient PSA process.     

Photoenzymatic Hydrosulfonylation for the Stereoselective Synthesis of Chiral Sulfones

Chiral sulfones are recurrent motifs in pharmaceuticals and bioactive molecules. Although chemical methods have been developed to afford α- or β- chiral sulfones, these protocols rely heavily on the pre-synthesis of structurally complicated starting materials and chiral metal complexes. Herein, we described a photoenzymatic approach for the radical-mediated stereoselective hydrosulfonylation. Engineered variants of ene reductases provide efficient biocatalysts for this transformation, enabling to achieve a series of β-chiral sulfonyl compounds with high yields (up to 92 %) and excellent e.r. values (up to 99 : 1).     

Highly Selective Photoelectroreduction of Carbon Dioxide to Ethanol over Graphene/Silicon Carbide Composites

Using sunlight to produce valuable chemicals and fuels from carbon dioxide (CO₂), i.e., artificial photosynthesis (AP) is a promising strategy to achieve solar energy storage and a negative carbon cycle. However, selective synthesis of C₂ compounds with a high CO₂ conversion rate remains challenging for current AP technologies. We performed CO₂ photoelectroreduction over a graphene/silicon carbide (SiC) catalyst under simulated solar irradiation with ethanol (C₂H₅OH) selectivity of>99 % and a CO₂ conversion rate of up to 17.1 mmol g_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹ with sustained performance. Experimental and theoretical investigations indicated an optimal interfacial layer to facilitate the transfer of photogenerated electrons from the SiC substrate to the few-layer graphene overlayer, which also favored an efficient CO₂ to C₂H₅OH conversion pathway.     

An Arbitrarily Regulated Monomer Sequence in Multi-Block Copolymer Synthesis by Frustrated Lewis Pairs

Rapid access to sequence-controlled multi-block copolymers (multi-BCPs) remains as a challenging task in the polymer synthesis. Here we employ a Lewis pair (LP) composed of organophosphorus superbase and bulky organoaluminum to effectively copolymerize the mixture of methacrylate, cyclic acrylate, and two acrylates, into well-defined di-, tri-, tetra- and even a hepta-BCP in one-pot one-step manner. The combined livingness, dual-initiation and CSC feature of Lewis pair polymerization enable us to achieve not only a trihexaconta-BCP with the highest record in 8 steps by using four-component monomer mixture as building blocks, but also the arbitrarily-regulated monomer sequence in multi-BCP, simply by changing the composition and adding order of the monomer mixtures, thus demonstrating the powerful capability of our strategy in improving the efficiency and enriching the composition of multi-BCP synthesis.     

Dynamic Lone Pair Expression as Chemical Bonding Origin of Giant Phonon Anharmonicity in Thermoelectric InTe

Loosely bonded (“rattling”) atoms with s² lone pair electrons are usually associated with strong anharmonicity and unexpectedly low thermal conductivity, yet their detailed correlation remains largely unknown. Here we resolve this correlation in thermoelectric InTe by combining chemical bonding analysis, inelastic X-ray and neutron scattering, and first principles phonon calculations. We successfully probe soft low-lying transverse phonons dominated by large In¹⁺ z-axis motions, and their giant anharmonicity. We show that the highly anharmonic phonons arise from the dynamic lone pair expression with unstable occupied antibonding states induced by the covalency between delocalized In¹⁺ 5s² lone pair electrons and Te 5p states. This work pinpoints the microscopic origin of strong anharmonicity driven by rattling atoms with stereochemical lone pair activity, important for designing efficient materials for thermoelectric energy conversion.