Improved Photocatalytic Activity and Stability of Nano‐sized Ag/Ag2CO3 Plasmonic Photocatalyst by Surface Modification of Fe(III) Nanocluster

The surface modification of Ag/Ag₂CO₃ with Fe(III) ions has been achieved through simply photoreduction‐impregnation method. The obtained products were characterized by means of X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV‐vis absorption spectroscopy. Under visible‐light irradiation (γ>420 nm), the Fe(III)/Ag/Ag₂CO₃ sample displays a higher photocatalytic activity and stability than pure Ag₂CO₃ and Ag/Ag₂CO₃ samples for the degradation of methyl orange (MO). The improved photocatalytic activity and stability of this ternary system could be ascribed to the synergetic effect between Ag nanoparticles and Fe(III) nanocluster. The metallic Ag nanoparticles cause an obviously enhanced visible‐light absorption to produce more photogenerated charges, while the Fe(III) works as an active site for the following oxygen reduction to reduce the recombination rate of photogenerated electrons and holes.     

Development and Investigation of a Mesh-Electrode Linear Ion Trap (ME-LIT) Mass Analyzer

A mesh-electrode linear ion trap (ME-LIT) mass analyzer was developed and its performance was primarily characterized. In conventional linear ion trap mass analyzers, the trapped ions are mass-selected and then ejected in a radial direction by a slot on a trap electrode. The presence of slots can strongly affect the electric field distribution in the ion trapping region and distort the mass analysis performance. To compensate for detrimental electric field effects, the slot is usually designed and fabricated to be as small as possible, and also has very high mechanical accuracy and symmetry. A ME-LIT with several mesh electrodes was built to compensate for the effects caused by slots. Each mesh electrode was fabricated from a plate electrode with a relatively large slot and the slot was covered with a conductive mesh. Our preliminary experimental results show that the ME-LIT could considerably diminish the detrimental electric field effects caused by slots, and increase the mass resolving power and ion detection efficiency. Even with 4-mm-wide slots, a mass resolution in excess of 600 was obtained using the ME-LIT. Mass resolution could be remarkably improved using mesh electrodes in ion traps with asymmetric electrodes. The stability diagram of the ME-LIT was mapped, and highly efficient tandem mass spectrometry was demonstrated. The ME-LIT was qualified as a LIT mass analyzer. The ME-LIT can improve the mass resolution and decrease the requirements of mechanical accuracy and symmetry of slots, so it shows potential for a wide range of practical uses.

Preparation and characterization of polyphenylene sulfide-based chelating fibers

A series of novel chelating fibers containing sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen heteroatoms were prepared via the functionalization of chloromethylated polyphenylene sulfide （CMPPS）. The structures, micromorpholo- gy and physicochemical properties of these fibrous adsorptive materials were characterized by FT-IR, elementary analysis, TG and SEM-EDS. The results show that chelating fibers had high functional group contents （3.94 mmol/g for thiourea, 3.85 mmol/g for mercapto, 5.00 mmol/g for methylamine and 6.07 mmol/g for ethylenediamine, respectively）. Owing to the unique matrix of polyphenylene sulfide fiber, these fibrous adsorbents possess excellent thermostability. This synthetic method proved a simple and efficient way for the preparation of chelating fibers.     

Motion‐Based,High‐Yielding,and Fast Separation of Different Charged Organics in Water

We report a self‐propelled Janus silica micromotor as a motion‐based analytical method for achieving fast target separation of polyelectrolyte microcapsules, enriching different charged organics with low molecular weights in water. The self‐propelled Janus silica micromotor catalytically decomposes a hydrogen peroxide fuel and moves along the direction of the catalyst face at a speed of 126.3 μm s^?1. Biotin‐functionalized Janus micromotors can specifically capture and rapidly transport streptavidin‐modified polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules, which could effectively enrich and separate different charged organics in water. The interior of the polyelectrolyte multilayer microcapsules were filled with a strong charged polyelectrolyte, and thus a Donnan equilibrium is favorable between the inner solution within the capsules and the bulk solution to entrap oppositely charged organics in water. The integration of these self‐propelled Janus silica micromotors and polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules into a lab‐on‐chip device that enables the separation and analysis of charged organics could be attractive for a diverse range of applications.     

Fast quantification of endogenous carbohydrates in plasma using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

Endogenous carbohydrates in biosamples are frequently highlighted as the most differential metabolites in many metabolomics studies. A simple, fast, simultaneous quantitative method for 16 endogenous carbohydrates in plasma has been developed using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. In order to quantify 16 endogenous carbohydrates in plasma, various conditions, including columns, chromatographic conditions, mass spectrometry conditions, and plasma preparation methods, were investigated. Different conditions in this quantified analysis were performed and optimized. The reproducibility, precision, recovery, matrix effect, and stability of the method were verified. The results indicated that a methanol/acetonitrile (50:50, v/v) mixture could effectively and reproducibly precipitate rat plasma proteins. Cold organic solvents coupled with vortex for 1 min and incubated at –20°C for 20 min were the most optimal conditions for protein precipitation and extraction. The results, according to the linearity, recovery, precision, matrix effect, and stability, showed that the method was satisfactory in the quantification of endogenous carbohydrates in rat plasma. The quantified analysis of endogenous carbohydrates in rat plasma performed excellently in terms of sensitivity, high throughput, and simple sample preparation, which met the requirement of quantification in specific expanded metabolomic studies after the global metabolic profiling research.