Thermal performances of porous snow by a hydronic heating system at different weather conditions

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The snow on the road in the cold regions is easy to cause slippery conditions, which are dangerous for vehicles and people. To remove the slippery...     

Nanoporous Palladium Hydride for Electrocatalytic N2 Reduction under Ambient Conditions

The electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is an alternative eco‐friendly strategy for sustainable N₂ fixation with renewable energy. However, NRR suffers from sluggish kinetics owing to difficult N₂ adsorption and N≡N cleavage. Now, nanoporous palladium hydride is reported as electrocatalyst for electrochemical N₂ reduction under ambient conditions, achieving a high ammonia yield rate of 20.4 μg h^?1 mg^?1 with a Faradaic efficiency of 43.6 % at low overpotential of 150 mV. Isotopic hydrogen labeling studies suggest the involvement of lattice hydrogen atoms in the hydride as active hydrogen source. In situ Raman analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations further reveal the reduction of energy barrier for the rate‐limiting *N₂H formation step. The unique protonation mode of palladium hydride would provide a new insight on designing efficient and robust electrocatalysts for nitrogen fixation.     

Towards Long‐Term Photostability of Nickel Hydroxide/BiVO4 Photoanodes for Oxygen Evolution Catalysts via In Situ Catalyst Tuning

Increasing long‐term photostability of BiVO₄ photoelectrode is an important issue for solar water splitting. The NiOOH oxygen evolution catalyst (OEC) has fast water oxidation kinetics compared to the FeOOH OEC. However, it generally shows a lower photoresponse and poor stability because of the more substantial interface recombination at the NiOOH/BiVO₄ junction. Herein, we utilize a plasma etching approach to reduce both interface/surface recombination at NiOOH/BiVO₄ and NiOOH/electrolyte junctions. Further, adding Fe²⁺ into the borate buffer electrolyte alleviates the active but unstable character of etched‐NiOOH/BiVO₄, leading to an outstanding oxygen evolution over 200 h. The improved charge transfer and photostability can be attributed to the active defects and a mixture of NiOOH/NiO/Ni in OEC induced by plasma etching. Metallic Ni acts as the ion source for the in situ generation of the NiFe OEC over long‐term durability.     

Discovery of Chemicals to Either Clear or Indicate Amyloid Aggregates by Targeting Memory‐Impairing Anti‐Parallel Aβ Dimers

Amyloid‐β (Aβ) oligomers are implicated in Alzheimer disease (AD). However, their unstable nature and heterogeneous state disrupts elucidation of their explicit role in AD progression, impeding the development of tools targeting soluble Aβ oligomers. Herein parallel and anti‐parallel variants of Aβ(1–40) dimers were designed and synthesized, and their pathogenic properties in AD models characterized. Anti‐parallel dimers induced cognitive impairments with increased amyloidogenesis and cytotoxicity, and this dimer was then used in a screening platform. Through screening, two FDA‐approved drugs, Oxytetracycline and Sunitinib, were identified to dissociate Aβ oligomers and plaques to monomers in 5XFAD transgenic mice. In addition, fluorescent Astrophloxine was shown to detect aggregated Aβ in brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid samples of AD mice. This screening platform provides a stable and homogeneous environment for observing Aβ interactions with dimer‐specific molecules.     

Highly Enantioselective Synthesis of Propargyl Amide with Vicinal Stereocenters through Ir‐Catalyzed Hydroalkynylation

Chiral propargyl amines are valuable synthetic intermediates for the preparation of biologically active compounds and functionalized amines. Catalytic methods to access propargyl amines containing vicinal stereocenters with high diastereoselectivity are particularly rare. We report an unprecedented strategy for the synthesis of enantioenriched propargyl amines with two stereogenic centres. An iridium complex, ligated by a phosphoramidite ligand, catalyzes the hydroalkynylation of β,β‐disubstituted enamides to afford propargyl amides in a highly regio‐, diastereo‐, and enantioselective fashion. Stereodivergent synthesis of all four possible stereoisomers was achieved using this strategy.     

Kinetics Study on Reaction between Dihydroartemisinic Acid and Singlet Oxygen: An Essential Step to Photochemical Synthesis of Artemisinin

Artemisinin is an excellent antimalarial drug widely used in clinical medicine. However, due to the limitation of natural source of artemisinin, the chemical synthesis of artemisinin has achieved substantial attention. Dihydroartemisinic acid is a key precursor for the synthesis of artemisinin. The reaction of dihydroartemisinic acid with singlet oxygen to form peroxide is a pivotal step in the photochemical preparation of artemisinin. Nevertheless, the reaction kinetics of dihydroartemisinic acid with singlet oxygen has not been investigated previously. Herein, we report the rate constants of the reaction between dihydroartemisinic acid and singlet oxygen. By directly detecting the luminescence decay kinetics of singlet oxygen at 1270 nm at room temperature, the reaction rate constants of singlet oxygen and dihydroartemisinic acid in different solvents are obtained to be 1.81\begin{document}$\times$\end{document}10\begin{document}$^5$\end{document} (mol/L)^-1·s^-1 in CCl\begin{document}$_4$\end{document}, 5.69\begin{document}$\times$\end{document}10\begin{document}$^5$\end{document} (mol/L)^-1·s^-1 in CH\begin{document}$_3$\end{document}CN, and 3.27\begin{document}$\times$\end{document}10\begin{document}$^6$\end{document} (mol/L)^-1·s^-1 in DMSO, respectively. It is found that the reaction rate constants of dihydroartemisinic acid with singlet oxygen increase as polarity of the solvent increases among the three solvents. These results provide fundamental knowledge to optimize experiment conditions of photochemical synthesis of artemisinin for improving the yields of artemisinin.     

A Highly Efficient All‐Solid‐State Lithium/Electrolyte Interface Induced by an Energetic Reaction

The energetic chemical reaction between Zn(NO₃)₂ and Li is used to create a solid‐state interface between Li metal and Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂ (LLZTO) electrolyte. This interlayer, composed of Zn, ZnLi_x alloy, Li₃N, Li₂O, and other species, possesses strong affinities with both Li metal and LLZTO and affords highly efficient conductive pathways for Li⁺ transport through the interface. The unique structure and properties of the interlayer lead to Li metal anodes with longer cycle life, higher efficiency, and better safety compared to the current best Li metal electrodes operating in liquid electrolytes while retaining comparable capacity, rate, and overpotential. All‐solid‐state Li||Li cells can operate at very demanding current–capacity conditions of 4 mA cm^?2–8 mAh cm^?2. Thousands of hours of continuous cycling are achieved at Coulombic efficiency >99.5 % without dendrite formation or side reactions with the electrolyte.     

Highly Conducting and Flexible Radical Crystals

Together with high conductivity, high flexibility is an important property required for next generation organic electronic components. Both properties are difficult to achieve together especially when the components are crystalline because of the intrinsic high brittleness of organic molecular crystals. We report an organic radical crystal system that has both high flexibility and high conductivity. The crystal consists of 9,10‐bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene radical cation ( BPEA^.+ ) units, and shows flexibility under pressure with high conductivity in ambient condition exhibiting average conductivity of 2.68 S cm^?1 when normal linear shape, as well as 2.43 S cm^?1 when bent. The structural analysis reveals that both a short π–π distance (3.290 Å) between BPEA^.+ units that are aligned along the crystal length direction, and the presence of PF₆^? counter ions induce flexibility and high electrical conductivity.     

Non‐Lithography Hydrodynamic Printing of Micro/Nanostructures on Curved Surfaces

A key issue of micro/nano devices is how to integrate micro/nanostructures with specified chemical components onto various curved surfaces. Hydrodynamic printing of micro/nanostructures on three‐dimensional curved surfaces is achieved with a strategy that combines template‐induced hydrodynamic printing and self‐assembly of nanoparticles (NPs). Non‐lithography flexible wall‐shaped templates are replicated with microscale features by dicing a trench‐shaped silicon wafer. Arising from the capillary pumped function between the template and curved substrates, NPs in the colloidal suspension self‐assemble into close‐packed micro/nanostructures without a gravity effect. Theoretical analysis with the lattice Boltzmann model reveals the fundamental principles of the hydrodynamic assembly process. Spiral linear structures achieved by two kinds of fluorescent NPs show non‐interfering photoluminescence properties, while the waveguide and photoluminescence are confirmed in 3D curved space. The printed multiconstituent micro/nanostructures with single‐NP resolution may serve as a general platform for optoelectronics beyond flat surfaces.