A Rechargeable Hydrogen Battery Based on Ru Catalysis

Apart from energy generation, the storage and liberation of energy are among the major problems in establishing a sustainable energy supply chain. Herein we report the development of a rechargeable H₂ battery which is based on the principle of the Ru‐catalyzed hydrogenation of CO₂ to formic acid (charging process) and the Ru‐catalyzed decomposition of formic acid to CO₂ and H₂ (discharging process). Both processes are driven by the same catalyst at elevated temperature either under pressure (charging process) or pressure‐free conditions (discharging process). Up to five charging–discharging cycles were performed without decrease of storage capacity. The resulting CO₂/H₂ mixture is free of CO and can be employed directly in fuel‐cell technology.     

The Compressibility of pH‐Sensitive Microgels at the Oil–Water Interface: Higher Charge Leads to Less Repulsion

pH‐responsive microgels are unique stabilizers for stimuli‐sensitive emulsions that can be broken on demand by changing the pH value. However, recent experiments have indicated that electrostatic interactions play a different role to that in conventional Pickering emulsions. The influence of charges on the interactions between microgels at the oil–water interface is now described. Compression isotherms of microgels with different charge density and architecture were determined in a Langmuir trough, and counter‐intuitive results were obtained: Charged microgels can be compressed more easily than uncharged microgels. The compressibility of microgels is thus not determined by direct Coulomb repulsion. Instead, the different swelling of the microgels in the charged and the uncharged states is proposed to be the key parameter.     

Poly(amide-6-b-ethylene oxide)/SAPO-34 mixed ma-trix membrane for CO2separation

In this paper, poly（amide-6-b-ethylene oxide） （Pebax1657）/SAPO-34 mixed matrix membranes （MMMs） were prepared by solvent-evaporation method with acetic acid as a novel solvent. CO2, N2, CH4 and H2 permeation properties were investigated, and the physical properties of Pebax/SAPO-34 MMMs were characterized by XRD and SEM. At low SAPO-34 content, it was homogeneously distributed in the Pebax ma- trix, and then precipitated and agglomerated at high SAPO-34 content. The crystallinity of Pebax phase in Pebax/SAPO-34 MMMs decreased initially and then rebounded as a result of phase separation. With the increase of transmembrane pressure difference, CO2 permeability was en- hanced due to the effect of pressure-induced plasticization. Owing to the happening of stratification, the CO2 permeability of Pebax/SAPO-34 MMMs （50 wt% SAPO-34） increased to 338 Barrer from 111 Barrer of pristine Pebax, while the selectivities of CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 were almost unchanged. Compared with the pristine Pebax, the gas separation performances of Pebax/SAPO-34 MMMs were remarkably enhanced.     

Ratiometric mode with dyads: a breakthrough in dynamic trapping and quantification for redox regulation in living cells

Redox-based post-translational modification of protein thiols has become an attractive strategy in cellular homeostasis and cell signaling.Due to the reductive end of the redox buffer network,the vicinal dithiol-containing proteins(VDPs)maintains an appropriate oxidation-reduction state of proteins through the reversible transformation from vicinal dithiols to disulfide,which is responsible for a variety of     

Surface of room temperature ionic liquid [bmim][PF6] studied by polarization- and experimental configuration-dependent sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy

Understanding and control of the surface properties such as molecular orientations are of great importance in numerous applications of ionic liquids. However, there remain discrepancies among the previous experimental and theoretical studies on the surface orientation and structures of room temperature ionic liquids(RTIL) systems. In this article, the orientation of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium([bmin]) cation at the air/liquid interface of a characteristic RTIL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate([bmim][PF6]), was investigated by the sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy(SFG-VS). Detailed polarization and experimental configuration analyses of the SFG-VS spectra showed the possibility of a small spectral splitting in the CH3 symmetric stretching region, which can be further attributed to the probable existence of multiple orientations for the interfacial [bmim] cations. In addition, the(N)–CH3 vibrations were absent, ruling out the prediction by several recent molecular dynamics simulations which state that portions of the [bmim] cations orient with a standing-up(N)–CH3 group at the ionic liquid surface. Hence, new realistic theoretical models have to be developed to reflect the complex nature of the ionic liquid surface.     

New progress in active immunotherapy targeting to amyloid beta

Alzheimer's disease(AD) is one of the most common types of dementia whose hallmarks include neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. The latter are mainly composed of amyloid-β proteins(Aβ), and it's suggested that Aβ may be the causative factor in AD pathogenesis. Immunotherapy targeting Aβ for preventing aggregation of Aβ and mildly clearing amyloid plaques has been a hot topic since 1999. Although the first clinical trial of Aβ vaccine, AN-1792, failed in phase II, its results suggested some key points in the design of Aβ vaccines. Avoiding the possible toxic Aβ specific T cell response and inducing a Th2 type cellular immune response may be beneficial for Aβ immunotherapy. Many associations and research groups are working on Aβ vaccine and some progress has been made in recent years. In this review, we have provided a detailed summary of past Aβ vaccines, which have been sorted by the immunogen, and we also discuss some recent progress and future perspectives.     

Direct synthesis of propylene carbonate from propylene and carbon dioxide catalyzed by quaternary ammonium heteropolyphosphatotungstate–TBAB system

In this paper,we have developed a highly efficient method for the direct preparation of propylene carbonate from propylene and carbon dioxide(CO2) using quaternary ammonium heteropolyphosphatotungstate–quaternary ammonium halide catalytic system with anhydrous hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant through one-pot two-step process.The effects of the amount of tetrabutylammonium bromide(TBAB),the concentration of hydrogen peroxide and other reaction conditions were investigated.The catalyst system gave an optimum propylene oxide yield(91%) at75°C in oxidation step and the highest propylene carbonate yield(99%) at 140°C and 3.0 MPa in cycloaddition step.Based on the results,a reaction mechanism has been proposed.     

Efficient Automated Solid‐Phase Synthesis of DNA and RNA 5′‐Triphosphates

A fast, high‐yielding and reliable method for the synthesis of DNA‐ and RNA 5′‐triphosphates is reported. After synthesizing DNA or RNA oligonucleotides by automated oligonucleotide synthesis, 5‐chloro‐saligenyl‐N,N‐diisopropylphosphoramidite was coupled to the 5′‐end. Oxidation of the formed 5′‐phosphite using the same oxidizing reagent used in standard oligonucleotide synthesis led to 5′‐cycloSal‐oligonucleotides. Reaction of the support‐bonded 5′‐cycloSal‐oligonucleotide with pyrophosphate yielded the corresponding 5′‐triphosphates. The 5′‐triphosphorylated DNA and RNA oligonucleotides were obtained after cleavage from the support in high purity and excellent yields. The whole reaction sequence was adapted to be used on a standard oligonucleotide synthesizer.     

Chemical equilibrium controlled synthesis of polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers over sulfated titania

The chemical equilibrium and reaction kinetic behavior in the synthesis of polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers(DMMn) were investigated over sulfated titania in order to reveal the decisive factor controlling the reaction. The results showed that the molar ratio of adjacent DMMn products in equilibrium solution had the same value, which depended absolutely on the reaction temperature. Meanwhile, the reactions had the same DMMn products distributions under varied reaction conditions. The equilibrium constants of the related step-wise reactions for DMMn formation were equal, which were calculated based on the bulk compositions of the reaction solution. And thus, the selectivity to DMMn was mainly controlled by the chemical equilibrium, i.e., thermodynamic control. In brief, the present results provide some guidance for future synthesis of DMMn.