Degradation of rhodamine B photocatalyzed by Eu-doped CdS nanowires illuminated by visible radiation

CdS nanowires doped with different contents of Eu dopant were synthesized by solvothermal method. XRD, SEM, TEM and Raman analyses certified that the as-synthesized samples were hexagonal CdS uniform nanowires. The pure CdS nanowires were 1–3 ?μm long and 80 ?nm diameter with the 1st and 2nd order longitudinal phonon modes at 298 and 594 ?cm^?1. The 3% Eu-doped CdS wires were 800 ?nm–2.5 ?μm long and 75 ?nm diameter with the 1st and 2nd order longitudinal phonon modes at 296 and 593 ?cm^?1. CdS nanowires grew along the [001] direction due to the surface energy effect. The photocatalytic properties of CdS and Eu-doped CdS nanowires were investigated for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) illuminated by visible radiation. In this research, Eu dopant played the role in promoting the photocatalytic kinetics because Eu³⁺ ions act as an electron acceptor to promote charge separation and photocatalytic activity. Both ^●OH and ^●O₂^? were the main active radicals used to transform RhB molecules into CO₂, H₂O and other intermediates.     

Recent advances on the use of active anodes in environmental electrochemistry

Active anodes, especially those consisting of metal mixed oxides (MMOs) containing Ru and/or Ir oxides, have been applied in the treatment of wastewater, especially when chloride ions are present. Their characteristics continuously drive the study of applications of these materials, be they in the degradation of different organic molecules, the preparation of new electrode materials and in the association of various processes to increase pollutant removal. Thus, this brief review aims to present some of the recent advances in the application of active anode materials in environmental electrochemistry. Focussing on the 2018–2020 period, it is possible to note many applied studies, using commercially available materials, covering a wide range of target pollutants. Still other studies aim to modify the catalyst surfaces to increase the mineralization capacity, and the use of these anodes in the production of free chlorine species to mediate indirect organic reduction is observed.     

BP neural network recognition algorithm for scour monitoring of subsea pipelines based on active thermometry

Scour monitoring is an important concern for subsea pipeline systems. The active-thermometry-based scour monitoring is based on the difference of heat transfer properties between sediment and sand, recognizes the surrounding media though temperature changing patterns during heating and cooling processes, and hence detects the free spans. Based on the scour monitoring system, a two-layer BP neural network was employed to process the monitoring data and achieved media recognition. The network's inputs were normalized temperature time histories. The network's outputs denoted different media: sediment and water. To validate the method, three experiments were conducted; one was used for training the network and the other two for testing. Also, the effect of noise on the network's performance was studied through simulation. The results demonstrated the feasibility and robustness of the neural network.     

Comparative and evolutionary studies of mammalian arylsulfatase and sterylsulfatase genes and proteins encoded on the X-chromosome

At least 19 sulfatase genes have been reported on the human genome, including four arylsulfatase (ARS) genes (ARSD; ARSE; ARSF; ARSH) and a sterylsulfatase (STS) gene located together on the X-chromosome. Bioinformatic analyses of mammalian genomes were undertaken using known human STS and ARS amino acid sequences to study the evolution of these genes and proteins encoded on eutherian and marsupial genomes. Several domain regions and key residues were conserved including signal peptides, active site residues, metal (Ca²⁺) and substrate binding sequences, transmembranes and N-glycosylation sites. Phylogenetic analyses describe the relationships and potential origins of these genes during mammalian evolution. Primate ARSH enzymes lacked signal peptide sequences which may influence their biological functions. CpG117 and CpG92 were detected within the 5′ region of the human STS and ARSD genes, respectively, and miR-205 within the 3′-UTR for the human STS gene, using bioinformatic methods A proposal is described for a primordial invertebrate STS-like gene serving as an ancestor for unequal cross over events generating the gene complex on the eutherian mammalian X-chromosome.     

Solid Interhalogen Compounds with Effective Br0 Fixing for Stable High-energy Zinc Batteries

Though massive efforts have been devoted to exploring Br-based batteries, the highly soluble Br₂/Br₃⁻ species causing rigorous “shuttle effect”, leads to severe self-discharge and low Coulombic efficiency. Conventionally, quaternary ammonium salts such as methyl ethyl morpholinium bromide (MEMBr) and tetrapropylammonium bromide (TPABr) are used to fix Br₂ and Br₃⁻, but they occupy the mass and volume of battery without capacity contribution. Here, we report an all-active solid interhalogen compound, IBr, as a cathode to address the above challenges, in which the oxidized Br⁰ is fixed by iodine (I), thoroughly eliminating cross-diffusing Br₂/Br₃⁻ species during the whole charging and discharging process. The Zn||IBr battery delivers remarkably high energy density of 385.8 Wh kg⁻¹, which is higher than those of I₂, MEMBr₃, and TPABr₃ cathodes. Our work provides new approaches to achieve active solid interhalogen chemistry for high-energy electrochemical energy storage devices.     

Co−Co Dinuclear Active Sites Dispersed on Zirconium-doped Heterostructured Co9S8/Co3O4 for High-current-density and Durable Acidic Oxygen Evolution

Developing cost-effective and sustainable acidic water oxidation catalysts requires significant advances in material design and in-depth mechanism understanding for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. Herein, we developed a single atom regulatory strategy to construct Co−Co dinuclear active sites (DASs) catalysts that atomically dispersed zirconium doped Co₉S₈/Co₃O₄ heterostructure. The X-ray absorption fine structure elucidated the incorporation of Zr greatly facilitated the generation of Co−Co DASs layer with stretching of cobalt oxygen bond and S−Co−O heterogeneous grain boundaries interfaces, engineering attractive activity of significantly reduced overpotential of 75 mV at 10 mA cm⁻², a breakthrough of 500 mA cm⁻² high current density, and water splitting stability of 500 hours in acid, making it one of the best-performing acid-stable OER non-noble metal materials. The optimized catalyst with interatomic Co−Co distance (ca. 2.80 Å) followed oxo-oxo coupling mechanism that involved obvious oxygen bridges on dinuclear Co sites (1,090 cm⁻¹), confirmed by in situ SR-FTIR, XAFS and theoretical simulations. Furthermore, a major breakthrough of 120,000 mA g⁻¹ high mass current density using the first reported noble metal-free cobalt anode catalyst of Co−Co DASs/ZCC in PEM-WE at 2.14 V was recorded.     

金团簇二十面体结构融合过程中其催化活性的演变

近年来,由有机配体保护的原子精确金属团簇在合成方面已取得了重要进展,其独特的原子结构对一些化学反应产生独特的催化效果.原子精确的团簇催化剂明显不同于纳米颗粒催化剂和单原子催化剂,是一种关联均相和多相的、原子数目确定、尺寸均一、结构精确的新型催化剂.从原子尺度上精确构筑团簇催化剂,探究亚纳米尺度的微观结构对催化性能的影响,为常规催化剂所未能解决的关键科学问题提供解决的机会,为在分子尺度上揭示催化作用机制以及准确关联催化剂结构与催化性能提供新的研究体系,具有重要的科学研究意义.本文设计和使用了三种结构精确的金团簇催化剂,即Au25(PPh3)10(SC2H4Ph)5Cl2,Au38(SC2H4Ph)24和Au25(SC2H4Ph)18,分别由二十面体结构的Au13单元通过中心顶点融合、面融合、体相融合形成的(简写为Auvf、Auff和Aubf),详细研究了这三个金团簇催化剂在二十面体Au13单元的结构融合过程中,其催化活性的演变规律.在催化吡咯烷与O2反应制备γ-丁内酰胺反应中,金团簇催化剂的催化活性顺序为Aubf>Auff>Auvf,表明这三个金团簇中Au13单元的结构随着点、面、体的融合,其催化活性随之增加.同时研究发现,对于同一个Au团簇催化剂,其表面硫醇配体的烷基链越短,其催化活性越高,这主要是由于短链硫醇分子的空间位阻较小,吡咯烷分子更容易进入催化剂的金表面,接触到活性位点,进行催化反应.实验表明,三个团簇金原子均带正电荷,正价金物种可能是催化吡咯烷与O2反应的催化活化物种.研究发现,Aubf团簇表面的活性位数目高于Auff和Auvf团簇的,因此Aubf的催化活性最高;同时,团簇表面配体的烷基链越短,其表面活性位数目也越多,这也进一步解释了表面硫醇配体的烷基链越短,其相应的金团簇催化剂的催化活性越高的原因.吡咯烷与O2在金团簇上反应的可能路径为O2在Au活性位上裂解的O原子和吡咯烷β-H转移至Au活性位的β-H反应脱水后形成亚胺,亚胺经过水解进一步氧化得到产物.这项研究将为在原子层次上调变金属团簇催化剂的结构进而改变其催化性能提供新的思路,对精准设计和构筑高效催化剂具有一定的科学指导意义.     

MoO3和Nb2O5助剂对Pt/ZrO2催化剂上短链烷烃燃烧反应的不同促进作用

贵金属Pt催化剂具有高活性和热稳定性,广泛应用于催化挥发性有机物的完全氧化反应(燃烧反应).短链烷烃(甲烷、乙烷、丙烷等)化学性质稳定,是最难氧化的一类有机物,常用作考察燃烧反应催化剂性能的模型反应物.然而,目前报道的研究工作通常仅限于针对某一种烷烃底物的催化燃烧,系统考察催化剂以及助剂对不同短链烷烃的催化燃烧活性鲜有报道.在短链烷烃中,甲烷只有C–H键;而其它烷烃除了C–H键;还有C–C键.因此,研究催化剂对甲烷、乙烷和丙烷燃烧反应催化性能的差异性,对于认识催化剂上C–H键和C–C键的活化具有非常重要的意义.本文制备了MoO3或Nb2O5修饰的Pt/ZrO2催化剂并用于短链烷烃的燃烧反应.研究发现,MoO3助剂对甲烷燃烧有明显的抑制作用,但对乙烷,丙烷和正己烷燃烧反应具有促进作用,促进作用随着烷烃碳链的增长逐渐增加;Nb2O5助剂对甲烷、乙烷、丙烷和正己烷燃烧反应均具有促进作用,然而促进作用随着碳链的增长而逐渐减弱.MoO3和Nb2O5助剂的不同促进作用与助剂影响催化剂表面酸性以及Pt物种的氧化或还原态有关.NH3-TPD结果表明,MoO3助剂可以显著增加Pt/ZrO2催化剂表面强酸位点数量,而Nb2O5助剂可以显著增加Pt/ZrO2催化剂表面中强酸位点数量.HTEM结果表明,两种助剂的添加都不会明显改变Pt物种的颗粒尺寸.在Pt-Mo/ZrO2催化剂上,MoO3覆盖部分Pt物种形成丰富的Pt-MoO3界面,促进了金属Pt物种和强表面酸性位点的生成,提高了丙烷燃烧反应活性;Pt-Nb/ZrO2催化剂上载体表面的部分Nb2O5被Pt物种包覆,使得生成的表面Pt-Nb2O5界面低于Pt-Mo/ZrO2催化剂,但由于催化剂表面酸性位的提升,也促进了丙烷燃烧反应活性的提高.XPS结果表明,在甲烷燃烧反应中,Pt-Nb/ZrO2催化剂上Ptn+物种能够更加稳定地存在,这可能是Nb2O5助剂提高Pt-Nb/ZrO2催化剂上甲烷燃烧活性的关键.而Pt-Mo/ZrO2催化剂上Ptn+物种在甲烷反应中可以更容易地被还原,并且由于MoO3的包裹导致暴露的Pt位点数量降低,使催化剂催化甲烷燃烧的活性受到抑制.可见,MoO3助剂更有利于C–C键活化,而Nb2O5助剂更有利于高键能的C–H键活化.综上,本文系统性地研究MoO3助剂和Nb2O5助剂对Pt/ZrO2催化剂上不同短链烷烃的燃烧反应的影响,证实了两种助剂的促进作用与碳链长度的关系是截然不同的.     

Coacervates as models of membraneless organelles

Coacervates are condensed liquid-like droplets, usually formed with oppositely charged polymeric molecules. They have been studied extensively in colloid and interface science for their remarkable material properties. The liquid–liquid phase separation underlying coacervate formation also plays an important role in the formation of various membraneless organelles (MLOs) that are found in many living cells. Therefore, there is an increasing interest to use well-characterized coacervates as in vitro models that mimic specific aspects of MLOs. Here, we review five aspects – physical and chemical properties, hierarchical organization, uptake selectivity, formation dynamics, and maturation – that are of particular interest and discuss how useful coacervates are to better understand these aspects of MLOs.     

Simulation Study of Passive Rod Diffusion in Active Bath: Nonmonotonic Length Dependence and Abnormal Translation-Rotation Coupling

Diffusion of tracer particles in active bath has attracted extensive attention in recent years. So far, most studies have considered isotropic spherical tracer particles, while the diffusion of anisotropic particles has rarely been involved. Here we investigate the diffusion dynamics of a rigid rod tracer in a bath of active particles by using Langevin dynamics simulations in a two-dimensional space. Particular attention is paid to how the translation (rotation) diffusion coefficient \begin{document}$ D_{ \rm{T}} $\end{document} (\begin{document}$ D_{ \rm{R}} $\end{document}) change with the length of rod \begin{document}$ L $\end{document} and active strength \begin{document}$ F_{ \rm{a}} $\end{document}. In all cases, we find that rod exhibits superdiffusion behavior in a short time scale and returns to normal diffusion in the long time limit. Both \begin{document}$ D_{ \rm{T}} $\end{document} and \begin{document}$ D_{ \rm{R}} $\end{document} increase with \begin{document}$ F_{ \rm{a}} $\end{document}, but interestingly, a nonmonotonic dependence of \begin{document}$ D_{ \rm{T}} $\end{document} (\begin{document}$ D_{ \rm{R}} $\end{document}) on the rod length has been observed. We have also studied the translation-rotation coupling of rod, and interestingly, a negative translation-rotation coupling is observed, indicating that rod diffuses more slowly in the parallel direction compared to that in the perpendicular direction, a counterintuitive phenomenon that would not exist in an equilibrium counterpart system. Moreover, this anomalous (diffusion) behavior is reentrant with the increase of \begin{document}$ F_{ \rm{a}} $\end{document}, suggesting two competitive roles played by the active feature of bath particles.