Combined X-ray absorption and X-ray diffraction under high pressure

ABSTRACT

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are two complementary structural techniques. Their combination improves the understanding of the effect of pressure on materials as illustrated by examples taken from studies on different types of materials (semiconductors, molecular solid, ferroelectric perovskite and gas mixture). The introduction of nanopolycrystalline diamonds anvils has extended XAS to high-energy edges with the possibility to use energy-scanning XAS beamlines where XRD can be performed in addition to XAS experiments.     

CuPd催化剂调节中间反应能垒提高电催化CO2生成二碳产物的选择性

过度的碳排放已造成了严重的全球环境问题,电催化CO2还原是一种利用间歇性过剩电能将CO2转化为有价值的化学物质的有效策略.在多种CO2还原产物中,二碳(C2)产物(如乙烯、乙醇)因其比一碳产物(如甲酸、甲烷、甲醇)具有更高的能量密度而备受关注.Cu是唯一能用电化学方法将CO2转化为多碳产物的单金属催化剂.如何提高Cu基催化剂上CO2还原为C2产物的效率已引起了极大关注.电催化还原CO2生成C2产物有两个重要步骤:一是参与碳碳偶联反应的CO*中间体的量(*代表中间体吸附在基底表面),二是碳碳偶联步骤的能垒.对于Cu单金属催化剂,虽然其表面碳碳偶联步骤的能垒相对较低,但是Cu对CO2的吸附能力和CO2*加氢能力并不高,导致在Cu表面不能生成足量的CO*中间体参与碳碳偶联反应,因而对C2产物的选择性和活性并不理想.与Cu单金属催化剂相反,在Pd单金属催化剂表面,CO*中间体的形成具有超快的反应动力学,但是CO*易在Pd表面中毒且后续碳碳偶联步骤的能垒极高,使其表面不能生成C2产物.为了充分发挥Cu(碳碳偶联步骤能垒较低)和Pd(CO*形成具有超快反应动力学)的双重优势,本文构建了一种紧密的CuPd(100)界面,以调节中间反应能垒,从而提高C2产率.密度泛函理论(DFT)计算表明,CuPd(100)界面增强了CO2的吸附,且降低了CO2*加氢步骤的能垒,从而能够催化生成更多的CO*中间体参与碳碳偶联反应.且CuPd(100)界面上CO2还原为C2产物的电位决定步骤能垒为0.61 eV,低于Cu(100)表面的(0.72 eV).本文采用了一种简便的湿化学法制备了CuPd(100)界面催化剂.X射线衍射和X射线光电子能谱测试以及扩展X射线吸收精细结构光谱结果表明,合成的是相分离的CuPd双金属催化剂,而非CuPd合金催化剂.同时高分辨透射电镜可以观察到清晰的CuPd(100)界面.由此可见,本文成功合成了CuPd(100)界面催化剂.程序升温脱附实验结果表明,CuPd(100)界面对CO2和CO*的吸附比Cu强,结果与理论预测一致.气体传感实验结果表明,CuPd(100)界面CO2*加氢能力比Cu强.为评估CuPd(100)界面催化剂的催化活性,进行了CO2电化学还原实验.结果表明,在0.1 mol/L的KHCO3电解液中,CuPd(100)界面催化剂在–1.4 VRHE下,C2产物的法拉第效率为50.3％ ±1.2％,是同电位下Cu催化剂的(23.6％ ±1.5％)的2.1倍,C2产物的选择性是Cu催化剂的2.4倍,且具有更高的电流密度和更大的电化学活性面积.本文通过调控中间反应能垒以合理设计铜基CO2还原电催化剂提供了参考.     

Therapeutic Targeting of the NRF2 Signaling Pathway in Cancer

Cancer is one of the most fatal diseases with an increasing incidence and mortality all over the world. Thus, there is an urgent need for novel therapies targeting major cancer-related pathways. Nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and its major negative modulator Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1) are main players of the cellular defense mechanisms against internal and external cell stressors. However, NRF2/KEAP1 signaling pathway is dysregulated in various cancers, thus promoting tumor cell survival and metastasis. In the present review, we discuss the mechanisms of normal and deregulated NRF2 signaling pathway focusing on its cancer-related functions. We further explore activators and inhibitors of this pathway as cancer targeting drug candidates in order to provide an extensive background on the subject.     

Acrylamide-based magnetic nanosponges: a new smart nanocomposite material

Nanocomposite materials consisting of CoFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles and a polyethylene glycol-acrylamide gel matrix have been synthesized. The structure of such materials was studied by means of small-angle scattering of X-rays and polarized neutrons, showing that the CoFe2O4 nanoparticles were successfully and homogeneously embedded in the gel structure. Magnetic, viscoelastic, and water retention properties of the nanocomposite gel confirm that the properties of both nanoparticles and gel are combined in the resulting nanomagnetic gel. Scanning electron microscopy highlights the nanocomposite nature of the material, showing the presence of a gel structure with different pore size distributions (pores with micron and nano-size distributions) that can be used as active sponge-like nanomagnetic container for water-based formulations as oil-in-water microemulsions.     

X-ray structure and temperature dependent luminescent properties of two bimetallic europium complexes

The structural, luminescent and temperature dependent luminescent properties of two homodinuclear europium complexes bridged by 2,2′-bipyrimidine (bpm) are reported. β-Diketonate ligands 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-furyl)-1,3-butanedione (tfa) and 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-thienyl)-1,3-butanedione (tta) are used as capping ligands resulting in complexes of the form [Eu(tfa)₃]₂bpm (1) and [Eu(tta)₃]₂bpm (2). All Eu^III ions are eight coordinate with six O atoms from the β-diketones and two N atoms from the polyazine bridging ligand. Excitation of the β-diketonate ligands tfa or tta at ca. 340 nm in toluene solutions results in the characteristic Eu^III emission in the visible region of the spectrum. The emission intensity and lifetime associated with the Eu^III centers decrease as the temperature of the solution is increased. Lifetime measurements are fit to a monoexponential while the temperature dependent lifetime data is fit to an Arrhenius-type equation. Evaluation of the data in comparison to data obtained from the monometallic Eu^III analogs reveal very similar photoluminescent properties. This suggests little electronic communication between Eu^III ions via the polyazine bpm bridging ligand.     

In situ Engineering of Tumor-Associated Macrophages via a Nanodrug-Delivering-Drug (β-Elemene@Stanene) Strategy for Enhanced Cancer Chemo-Immunotherapy

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play a critical role in the immunosuppressive solid tumor microenvironment (TME), yet in situ engineering of TAMs for enhanced tumor immunotherapy remains a significant challenge in translational immuno-oncology. Here, we report an innovative nanodrug-delivering-drug (STNSP@ELE) strategy that leverages two-dimensional (2D) stanene-based nanosheets (STNSP) and β-Elemene (ELE), a small-molecule anticancer drug, to overcome TAM-mediated immunosuppression and improve chemo-immunotherapy. Our results demonstrate that both STNSP and ELE are capable of polarizing the tumor-supportive M2-like TAMs into a tumor-suppressive M1-like phenotype, which acts with the ELE chemotherapeutic to boost antitumor responses. In vivo mouse studies demonstrate that STNSP@ELE treatment can reprogram the immunosuppressive TME by significantly increasing the intratumoral ratio of M1/M2-like TAMs, enhancing the population of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T lymphocytes and mature dendritic cells, and elevating the expression of immunostimulatory cytokines in B16F10 melanomas, thereby promoting a robust antitumor response. Our study not only demonstrates that the STNSP@ELE chemo-immunotherapeutic nanoplatform has immune-modulatory capabilities that can overcome TAM-mediated immunosuppression in solid tumors, but also highlights the promise of this nanodrug-delivering-drug strategy in developing other nano-immunotherapeutics and treating various types of immunosuppressive tumors.     

Scalable Synthesis and Electrocatalytic Performance of Highly Fluorinated Covalent Organic Frameworks for Oxygen Reduction

In this study, we present a novel approach for the synthesis of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) that overcomes the common limitations of non-scalable solvothermal procedures. Our method allows for the room-temperature and scalable synthesis of a highly fluorinated DFTAPB-TFTA-COF, which exhibits intrinsic hydrophobicity. We used DFT-based calculations to elucidate the role of the fluorine atoms in enhancing the crystallinity of the material through corrugation effects, resulting in maximized interlayer interactions, as disclosed both from PXRD structural resolution and theoretical simulations. We further investigated the electrocatalytic properties of this material towards the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Our results show that the fluorinated COF produces hydrogen peroxide selectively with low overpotential (0.062 V) and high turnover frequency (0.0757 s⁻¹) without the addition of any conductive additives. These values are among the best reported for non-pyrolyzed and metal-free electrocatalysts. Finally, we employed DFT-based calculations to analyse the reaction mechanism, highlighting the crucial role of the fluorine atom in the active site assembly. Our findings shed light on the potential of fluorinated COFs as promising electrocatalysts for the ORR, as well as their potential applications in other fields.     

Experimental observation of optical bandgaps for surface electromagnetic waves in a periodically corrugated one-dimensional silicon nitride photonic crystal

Dispersion curves of surface electromagnetic waves (SEWs) in 1D silicon nitride photonic crystals having periodic surface corrugations are considered. We experimentally demonstrate that a bandgap for SEWs can be obtained by fabricating a polymeric grating on the multilayered structure. Close to the boundary of the first Brillouin zone connected to the grating, we observe the splitting of the SEW dispersion curve into two separate branches and identify two regions of very low group velocity. The proper design of the structure allows the two folded branches to lie beyond the light line in a wide spectral range, thus doubling the density of modes available for SEWs and avoiding light scattering.     

Jahn-Teller, charge and magnetic ordering in half-doped manganese oxides

The phase diagram of half-doped manganite systems of formula A _0.5 A ^′ _0.5MnO₃ is investigated within a single-orbital model incorporating magnetic double-exchange and superexchange, together with intersite Coulomb and electron-lattice interactions. Strong Jahn-Teller and breathing mode deformations compete together and result in shear lattice deformations. The latter stabilize the charge-ordered CE-type phase, which undergo first-order transitions with temperature or magnetic field to either Ferromagnetic metallic or Paramagnetic insulating phases. An essential feature is the self-consistent screening of Coulomb and electron-phonon interactions in the ferromagnetic phase. Received 28 November 2000     

Two Fast Marching Methods for Hamilton–Jacobi Equations

We introduce and analyze two new Fast Marching (FM) methods based on a semi-Lagrangian (SL) approximation (see [2] for a more complete presentation). The Characteristics driven Fast Marching method accepts more than one node at every iteration using a dynamic condition which leads to a faster convergence. The Buffered Fast Marching method allows to deal with convex and non–convex Hamilton–Jacobi equations including anisotropic front propagation and differential games. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)