Application of parallel synthesis and high-throughput characterization in photocatalyst discovery

The last decade has seen significant progresses in the application of combinatorial approaches and high-throughput screening in photocatalyst discovery. This paper aims at providing a comprehensive review on the parallel synthesis and high-throughput characterization of photocatalysts, including the development of instrumentation, strategy of experiment, preparation of libraries, high-throughput screening technique and data analysis. The review ends with a summary of the remaining challenges and prospects on combinatorial photocatalyst discovery.     

Fabrication of free-standing nanoporous silver by selectively dissolving gold from gold–silver alloys via a novel converse dealloying method

A novel converse dealloying method was developed to fabricate free-standing nanoporous silver (np-Ag). One remarkable characteristic of the new dealloying method is that inert component (Au) is selectively removed from Au–Ag alloys while active component (Ag) is left undissolved. Thiourea plays a key role in the formation of a free-standing porous Ag framework since it not only leads to anodic dissolution of Au component but also causes the surface passivation of Ag component. Because of the excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the reduction of trichloroacetic acid (TCA), the as-prepared np-Ag materials can be directly used as working electrodes to detect TCA in the concentration range from 2.50 to 25.0 mM.     

Molecular properties of water-unextractable proteoglycans from Hypsizygus marmoreus and their in vitro immunomodulatory activities

Four proteoglycans were sequentially extracted from Hypsizygus marmoreus using 0.1 M NaOH (alkali-soluble proteoglycans [F1] and alkali-insoluble proteoglycans [F3]) and 0.1 M HCl (acid-soluble proteoglycans [F2] and acid-insoluble proteoglycans [F4]), and their structures and immunomodulatory activities were investigated. The proteoglycans were found to contain carbohydrates (19.8-82.4%) with various amounts of proteins (7.7-67.3%), and glucose was the major monosaccharide unit present, along with trace amounts of galactose. The molecular weights (Mw) and the radius of gyration (Rg) of these proteoglycans showed ranges of 16 × 10(4)-19,545 × 10(4) g/mol and 35-148 nm, respectively, showing significant variations in their molecular conformations. The backbones of F1 and F2 were mainly connected through a-(1→3), (1→4) and b-(1→6)-glycosidic linkages with some branches. The F1 and F2 proteoglycans significantly stimulated Raw264.7 cells to release nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE(2)) and various cytokines, such as IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 by inducing their mRNA expressions.     

A Solution‐Processed Air‐Stable Perylene Diimide Derivative for N‐type Organic Thin Film Transistors

For future all‐soluble organic thin film transistor (OTFT) applications, a new soluble n‐type air‐stable perylene diimide derivative semiconductor material with (trifluoromethyl)benzyl groups (TC–PDI–F) is synthesized. The film is formed by spin‐coating in air and optimized for OTFT fabrications. The transistor characteristics and air‐stability of the TC–PDI–F OTFTs is measured to investigate the feasibility of using solution‐processed TC–PDI–F for future OTFT applications. For all‐solution OTFT process applications, the transistor characteristics are demonstrated by using TC–PDI–F as an n‐type semiconductor material and liquid‐phase‐deposited SiO₂ (LPD–SiO₂) as a gate dielectric material. All processes (except material synthesis and electrode deposition) and electrical measurements are conducted in air.     

Pb intercalation underneath a graphene layer on Ru(0001) and its effect on graphene oxidation

Intercalation of Pb at graphene/Ru(0001) interfaces has been dynamically observed using in situ low energy electron microscopy and photoemission electron microscopy. A comparative study of Pb intercalation on the submonolayer and complete monolayer graphene surfaces suggest that the Pb intercalation happens through the open edges of graphene islands, starting at around 150 °C. Spatially-resolved low energy electron diffraction measurements reveal that the Pb-intercalated graphene overlayers are quasi-free-standing. The intercalated graphene sheets show lower reactivity to oxidation in O(2).     

Correction: Dermatan sulfate in tunicate phylogeny: Order-specific sulfation pattern and the effect of [→4IdoA(2-Sulfate)β-1→3GalNAc(4-Sulfate)β-1→] motifs in dermatan sulfate on heparin cofactor II activity

After the publication of the work entitled "Dermatan sulfate in tunicate phylogeny: Order-specific sulfation pattern and the effect of [→4IdoA(2-Sulfate)β-1→3GalNAc(4-Sulfate)β-1→] motifs in dermatan sulfate on heparin cofactor II activity", by Kozlowski et al., BMC Biochemistry 2011, 12:29, we found that the legends to Figures 2 to 5 contain serious mistakes that compromise the comprehension of the work. This correction article contains the correct text of the legends to Figures 2 to 5.     

CeO_2修饰炭载体负载PdPt二元合金催化剂及其在甲酸氧化电催化中的应用

用CeO2修饰炭粉做载体,使用有机溶胶法还原PdPt二元合金的方法制备了一系列PdPt/CeO2-C催化剂.借助电化学测试,探讨催化剂中不同Pd与Pt原子比例的PdPt二元合金和不同含量的CeO2对于甲酸电氧化催化活性的影响.不断减少PdPt合金中Pt的比例可以促使甲酸氧化的起始电位前移,当Pd：Pt=15：1时氧化电流出现极值;同时,随着催化剂中CeO2含量的增加,催化剂对于HCOOH氧化的电流密度增加,当含量为15%时达到最大值.相对于Pd/C催化剂,在Pd15Pt1/15CeO2-C催化剂表面的甲酸氧化反应起始电位负移至少0.1V,氧化的电流密度提高60%以上.结合X射线衍射（XRD）,X射线光电子能谱（XPS）,透射电镜（TEM）和热重（TG）等测试数据可以发现,当极少量的Pt与Pd形成合金,Pt与Pd之间产生电子效应,使得合金表面HCOOH氧化的过电位降低;而CeO2的添加不仅有助于PdPt二元合金的分散,更有可能改变甲酸在PdPt表面的氧化反应路径,发挥双功能机理.     

Protein‐Directed Solution‐Phase Green Synthesis of BSA‐Conjugated MxSey (M=Ag,Cd, Pb,Cu) Nanomaterials

Bovine serum albumin (BSA)‐conjugated M_xSe_y (M=Ag, Cd, Pb, Cu) nanomaterials with different shapes and sizes were synthesized in water at room temperature by a protein‐directed, solution‐phase, green synthetic method. The method features very low energy consumption and nontoxic reagents with high yields of concentrated nanoparticles. The obtained bioconjugated nanoparticles have good dispersibility, bioactivity, and biocompatibility. In addition, various functional groups of protein on the surface of the nanocrystals are suitable for further biological interactions or couplings, which is very important for further biological applications.     

New,real fundamental solutions to the transient thermal contact problem in a piezoelectric strip under the coupling actions of a rigid punch and a convective heat supply

A thermo-electro-mechanical contact analysis has been performed for a finite piezoelectric strip, which is subjected to the joint actions of a rigid, flat punch and a transient convective heat supply. The Laplace transform and Fourier sine and cosine transforms were applied in solving the governing equations. A detailed analysis of the characteristic roots of the corresponding characteristic equation was made. Real fundamental solutions were derived, which can readily lead to real solutions to the thermo-electro-mechanical quantities. A Cauchy-type singular integral equation was obtained for the stated problem and then solved numerically. Closed form solutions of a special case were obtained. To obtain the accurate solution in the time domain, an effective numerical inversion algorithm of the Laplace transform was applied. Detailed analyses were performed to reveal the variation law of temperature, contact stress beneath the punch, stress intensity factor at the punch edge and strain with time. Parametric studies were performed to discover the effects of the layer thickness on the distribution of temperature, contact stress beneath the punch and stress intensity factor at the punch edge.     

Convective boiling in a parallel microchannel heat sink with a diverging cross section and artificial nucleation sites

To develop a highly stable microchannel heat sink for boiling heat transfer, three types of diverging microchannels (Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3) were designed to experimentally investigate the effect of different distributions of artificial nucleation sites (ANS) on the enhancement of flow boiling heat transfer, in 10 parallel diverging microchannels with a mean hydraulic diameter of 120 μm. Water was used as the working fluid with mass flux, based on the mean cross section area, ranging from 99 to 297 kg/m² s. The Type-1 system did not contain any ANS; the Type-2 system contained ANS distributed uniformly along the downstream half of the channel; and the Type-3 system contained ANS distributed uniformly along the entire channel. The ANS are laser-etched pits on the bottom wall of the channel and have a mouth diameter of approximately 20-22 μm, as indicted by the heterogeneous nucleation theory. The results of the present study reveal that the presence of ANS for flow boiling in parallel diverging microchannels significantly reduces the wall superheat and enhances the boiling heat transfer performance. The Type-3 system shows the best boiling heat transfer performance.