Synergistic antibacterial effects of ultrasound and thyme essential oils nanoemulsion against Escherichia coli O157:H7

Essential oil nanoemulsions have been proven to have stronger antimicrobial effects compared to the essential oil alone or coarse emulsion. Sonoporation could be the promising candidate to trigger a synergistic effect with thyme essential oil nanoemulsion (TEON) and produce a more effective antibacterial efficacy. Therefore, in this study, the bactericidal effects of ultrasound (US) in combination with TEON treatments against Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 were investigated. The remarkable synergistic effects of US (20 kHz, 255 W/cm², 9 min) and TEON (0.375 mg/mL) treatments at 22 °C reduced E. coli O157:H7 populations by 7.42 ± 0.27 log CFU/mL.The morphological changes of cells exposed to different treatments were observed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that the synergistic effects of the ultrasound and TEON treatments altered the morphology and interior microstructure of organism cells. Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) images revealed that the combination treatments of ultrasound and TEON altered the permeability of cell membranes, and this affected the integrity of E. coli O157:H7 cells. This was further indicated by the high amounts of nucleic acids and proteins released from these cells following treatment.The results from this study illustrated the mechanisms of the synergistic effects of sonoporation and TEON treatments and provided valuable information for their potential in food pasteurization.     

Alloying-Triggered Phase Engineering of NiFe System via Laser-Assisted Al Incorporation for Full Water Splitting

It is challenging to design one non-noble material with balanced bifunctional performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for commercial sustainability at a low cost since the different electrocatalytic mechanisms are not easily matchable for each other. Herein, a self-standing hybrid system Ni₁₈Fe₁₂Al₇₀, consisting of Ni₂Al₃ and Ni₃Fe phases, was constructed by laser-assisted aluminum (Al) incorporation towards full water splitting. It was found that the incorporation of Al could effectively tune the morphologies, compositions and phases. The results indicate that Ni₁₈Fe₁₂Al₇₀ delivers an extremely low overpotential to trigger both HER (η₁₀₀=188 mV) and OER (η₁₀₀=345 mV) processes and maintains a stable overpotential for 100 h, comparable to state-of-the-art electrocatalysts. The synergistic effect of Ni₂Al₃ and Ni₃Fe alloys on the HER process is confirmed based on theoretical calculation.     

Synergistic Metal-Nonmetal Active Sites in a Metal-Organic Cage for Efficient Photocatalytic Synthesis of Hydrogen Peroxide in Pure Water

Photocatalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a potential clean method, but the long distance between the oxidation and reduction sites in photocatalysts hinders the rapid transfer of photogenerated charges, limiting the improvement of its performance. Here, a metal-organic cage photocatalyst, Co₁₄(L−CH₃)₂₄ , is constructed by directly coordinating metal sites (Co sites) used for the O₂ reduction reaction (ORR) with non-metallic sites (imidazole sites of ligands) used for the H₂O oxidation reaction (WOR), which shortens the transport path of photogenerated electrons and holes, and improves the transport efficiency of charges and activity of the photocatalyst. Therefore, it can be used as an efficient photocatalyst with a rate of as high as 146.6 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ for H₂O₂ production under O₂-saturated pure water without sacrificial agents. Significantly, the combination of photocatalytic experiments and theoretical calculations proves that the functionalized modification of ligands is more conducive to adsorbing key intermediates (*OH for WOR and *HOOH for ORR), resulting in better performance. This work proposed a new catalytic strategy for the first time; i.e., to build a synergistic metal-nonmetal active site in the crystalline catalyst and use the host–guest chemistry inherent in the metal-organic cage (MOC)to increase the contact between the substrate and the catalytically active site, and finally achieve efficient photocatalytic H₂O₂ synthesis.     

Optimizing Acetylene Sorption through Induced-fit Transformations in a Chemically Stable Microporous Framework

Developing practical storage technologies for acetylene (C₂H₂) is important but challenging because C₂H₂ is useful but explosive. Here, a novel metal–organic framework (MOF) ( FJI-H36 ) with adaptive channels was prepared. It can effectively capture C₂H₂ (159.9 cm³ cm⁻³) at 1 atm and 298 K, possessing a record-high storage density (561 g L⁻¹) but a very low adsorption enthalpy (28 kJ mol⁻¹) among all the reported MOFs. Structural analyses show that such excellent adsorption performance comes from the synergism of active sites, flexible framework, and matched pores; where the adsorbed-C₂H₂ can drive FJI-H36 to undergo induced-fit transformations step by step, including deformation/reconstruction of channels, contraction of pores, and transformation of active sites, finally leading to dense packing of C₂H₂. Moreover, FJI-H36 has excellent chemical stability and recyclability, and can be prepared on a large scale, enabling it as a practical adsorbent for C₂H₂. This will provide a useful strategy for developing practical and efficient adsorbents for C₂H₂ storage.     

Evoking Ferroptosis by Synergistic Enhancement of a Cyclopentadienyl Iridium-Betulin Immune Agonist

Ferroptosis is a form of programmed cell death driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation (LPO) with the potential for antitumor immunity activation. In this study, a nonferrous cyclopentadienyl metal-based ferroptosis inducer [Ir(Cp*)(Bet)Cl]Cl ( Ir-Bet ) was developed by a metal-ligand synergistic enhancement (MLSE) strategy involving the reaction of [Ir(Cp*)Cl]₂Cl₂ with the natural product Betulin. The fusion of Betulin with iridium cyclopentadienyl (Ir-Cp*) species as Ir-Bet not only tremendously enhanced the antiproliferative activity toward cancer cells, but also activated ferritinophagy for iron homeostasis regulation by PI3K/Akt/mTOR cascade inhibition with a lower dosage of Betulin, and then evoked an immune response by nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) activation of Ir-Cp* species. Further immunogenic cell death (ICD) occurred by remarkable ferroptosis through glutathione (GSH) depletion, glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) deactivation and ferritinophagy. An in vivo vaccination experiment demonstrated desirable antitumor and immunogenic effects of Ir-Bet by increasing the ratio of cytotoxic T cells (CTLs)/regulatory T cells (Tregs).     

Synergistic Nitrogen Binding Sites in a Metal-Organic Framework for Efficient N2/O2 Separation

Porous materials with d₃ electronic configuration open metal sites have been proved to be effective adsorbents for N₂ capture and N₂/O₂ separation. However, the reported materials remain challenging to address the trade-off between adsorption capacity and selectivity. Herein, we report a robust MOF, MIL-102Cr, that features two binding sites, can synergistically afford strong interactions for N₂ capture. The synergistic adsorption site exhibits a benchmark Q_st of 45.0 kJ mol⁻¹ for N₂ among the Cr-based MOFs, a record-high volumetric N₂ uptake (31.38 cm³ cm⁻³), and highest N₂/O₂ selectivity (13.11) at 298 K and 1.0 bar. Breakthrough experiments reveal that MIL-102Cr can efficiently capture N₂ from a 79/21 N₂/O₂ mixture, providing a record 99.99 % pure O₂ productivity of 0.75 mmol g⁻¹. In situ infrared spectroscopy and computational modelling studies revealed that a synergistic adsorption effect by open Cr(III) and fluorine sites was accountable for the strong interactions between the MOF and N₂.     

Synergistic effect of maleimido phenyl urea derivatives mixed with some commercial stabilizers on the efficiency of thermal stabilization of PVC

Four novel antimicrobial maleimido phenyl urea stabilizers 1–4 were synthesized from N-[4-(chlorocarbonyl) phenyl] maleimide with phenyl urea and its derivatives (p-methyl, o-chloro and p-carboxy). The effect of mixing maleimido phenyl urea stabilizer 2 with each of the reference stabilizers, dibasic lead carbonate (DBLC), cadmium-barium-zinc stearate (Cd-Ba-Zn stearate) or n-octyltin mercaptide (n-OTM), on the stabilization efficiency in thermal degradation of rigid PVC at 180 °C in air, has been investigated. Mixing was effected in the range of 0–100 wt% of stabilizer 2 relative to each of the reference stabilizers. The stabilizing efficiency was evaluated by measuring the length of the thermal stability period (Ts), the period during which no detectable amount of hydrogen chloride gas could be observed, and also from the rate of dehydrochlorination as measured by continuous potentiometric determination, and by the extent of discoloration of the degraded polymer samples. The results show a true synergistic effect from the combination of stabilizer 2 with any of the reference stabilizers. Mixing of the stabilizers improves the Ts values, decreases the rate of dehydrochlorination and lowers the extent of discoloration of the polymer. The maximum synergism was attained when stabilizer 2 is mixed with either of the three reference stabilizers in equivalent weight ratio (50%/50%). The observed synergism may be attributed to the different mechanisms by which the investigated and the reference stabilizers work.     

吉林大学化学学科国际化人才培养模式的探索与实践

吉林大学化学学科作为国家“双一流”建设学科,始终将一流人才的培养作为不懈追求发展的根本目标。充分利用海外优质教育资源,建设与实施多元化、特色化的海外优质课程和国际交流项目,通过搭建外延式实践平台,支持能力阶梯式增长,为培养具有创新意识、实践能力、国际竞争力和家国情怀的高素质人才构建了多层次、国际化的创新人才培养模式,培养了大批化学领域的杰出人才。     

Investigating the generation of ferrous sulfide nanoparticles in the produced fluid after acidizing oil wells and its influence on emulsifying stability between oil and water

Studies show that after acidizing operation of oil wells using the alkali/surfactant/polymer (ASP) flooding technology, the produced fluid is emulsified. Since the produced emulsion is stable, it affects the oil–water separation performance. In order to analyze the generation of stable emulsion in the produced fluid after acidizing an oil well, innovative separation experiments were carried out on real oil wells. During the experiments, solid particles in the middle layer of the emulsifying system in the produced fluid after acidizing ASP flooding were extracted and characterized. The generation of the stable emulsifying system in the produced fluid was studied through stability experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. The results showed that the synergistic effect of ferrous sulfide nanoparticles and surfactants was the fundamental reason for the strong emulsifying stability of the produced liquid after acidizing of the ternary composite system. The generation of ferrous sulfide solid particles mainly included two steps. First, sulfate reducing bacteria in injected water by ASP flooding reacted with sulfate in formation water to form hydrogen sulfide. Then, the hydrogen sulfide reacted with iron metal in oil wells and casing of wellbore to form ferrous sulfide particles. It was found that surfactants are adsorbed on the surface of ferrous sulfide nanoparticles. Subsequently, the control ability of surfactant on oil and water phases in the liquid film was enhanced. The performed analyses demonstrate that the adsorption of solid particles to the oil phase was enhanced, while the free motion of molecules in the oil phase at the liquid film position was weakened. The strength of the interfacial film between oil and water was further increased by the synergistic effect of ferrous sulfide nanoparticles and surfactant. The present study is expected to provide a guideline for a better understanding of the efficient treatment of produced fluids in ASP flooding.     

Electrochemical interfaces on chalcogenides: Some structural perspectives and synergistic effects of single-surface active sites

The use of single-atom metals (SAM) as catalysts of energy conversion reactions is a recent topic, which has gained popularity in the last two decades. Transition metal dichalcogenides emerged as important electrocatalysts since it was discovered that their chalcogenide edge sites are active towards the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and could also serve as supports for other metals within the same applications. Currently, several groups have reported a novel metal?chalcogenide arrangement, with the possibility of isolating metals at specific sites on chalcogenides to enhance their properties resulting in a synergistic effect in which both chalcogenide and single-atom metal features are exploited, either as promoters or active sites. Theoretical studies have been the basis of these reports.