Preparation and characterization of a novel green tea essential oil nanoemulsion and its antifungal mechanism of action against Magnaporthae oryzae

Blast is one of the most devastating fungal diseases of rice caused by Magnaporthe oryzae. Plant essential oil (EO) can function as antifungal agents and are regarded as a safe and acceptable method for plant disease control. However, EOs are unstable and hydrophobic, which limits its use. In the present study, we aimed for the preparation and characterization of a nanoemulsion (NE) from green tea essential oil (GTO) by ultrasonication method and determined the antifungal activity of NE on M. oryzae. The particle size and zeta potential of the NE were 86.98 nm and −15.1 mV, respectively. The chemical composition and functional groups of GTO and NE were studied by using GC–MS analysis, portable Raman spectroscopy, and FTIR coupled with chemometric analysis. GC–MS analysis showed the major components in GTO and NE were n-Hexyl cinnamaldehyde and L-α-Terpineol. Both GTO and NE showed good antioxidant activity and total phenol content. Moreover, the NE showed good antifungal activity against M. oryzae which was further confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination. Also, confocal Raman micro-spectroscopy (CRM) revealed the antifungal mechanism of GTO and NE on M. oryzae which proves the cell damage. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the antifungal activity of GTO and NE against M. oryzae and also the use of CRM for the evaluation of the chemical changes in single fungal hyphae in a holistic approach. This study suggests that the prepared NE could be a potential candidate for use as a substitute for synthetic fungicides.     

The effect of HCP on the formation of twin boundaries and dislocations in Ni–Co alloys

In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) was used to simulate the rapid solidification process of Ni₄₇Co₅₃ and Ni₄₈Co₅₂ alloys at a cooling rate of 10¹² K/s. The effects of HCP on the formation of twin boundaries and dislocations in two Ni–Co alloys are studied. It is found that the difference of HCP clusters is the main effect that producing discrepancies on microstructure of two alloys. The number of HCP clusters accounted for 9.23% in Ni₄₇Co₅₃ alloy. They are regularly arranged to form the number of single-layer twin boundaries, and each twin boundary ends in a dislocation. The FCC and HCP structures coexist in the same atomic layers, which is easy to create dislocations. The relatively standard FCC crystal and only 0.32% HCP clusters are formed in Ni₄₈Co₅₂ alloy at 300 K. That small amount of HCP clusters are dispersed on the surface, and cause the formation of dislocation in the border with FCC clusters.     

Emitting layer analysis of blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence devices using capacitance–voltage method

In this paper, blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been elucidated, with a focus on the degradation characteristics of the emission layer (EML). The operational stability against electrical stress was investigated for two host materials and four doping concentrations, which were used as the EML. The operating stability of the devices was confirmed by comparing the peak capacitance before and after degradation. Devices using bis [2-(diphenyl-phosphino) phenyl] ether oxide (DPEPO) as a host exhibited poor degradation characteristics. However, high stability was confirmed when 3,3-di (9H-carba-zol-9-yl)-biphenyl (mCBP) was used. DPEPO host devices are most resistant against performance degradation when they are doped with 10 wt% 10,10'-(4,4′-sulfonylbis(4,1-phenylene))bis(9,9-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridine (DMAC-DPS). We successfully determined the electroluminescence characteristics of the device depending on the host material, as well as the doping concentration, using the capacitance–voltage method.     

Effect of quantization and positron concentration on shielding potentials in electron-positron-ion plasma

The kinetic theory of plasma has been employed to compute the test-charge potential distributions accounting for quantization effects in magnetized electron-positron-ion (EPI) plasmas. In this regard, the degenerate positrons and electrons are assumed to follow the Fermi-Dirac distribution, while inertial ions are modelled by Maxwellian velocity distribution. By solving the Fourier-transformed Vlasov–Poisson equations, a modified dielectric function and electrostatic potential is obtained. By imposing various constraints on the test-charge speed, the potential profile has been analysed in terms of Debye–Hückel (DH), far-field (FF), and wake-field (WF) potentials. It has been found that the amplitude of DH and FF potentials increases by the inclusion of quantization effects, and it becomes the opposite for the WF potential profile. Furthermore, the variation of positron concentration significantly affects the DH, FF, and WF potentials. The present findings are important to understand the shielding phenomenon in degenerate multi-species plasmas.     

Impact of Extracellular Polymeric Substance in the Inactivation of Harmful Algae by Ag2O/g-C3N4 under Visible Light

Photocatalysis has attracted much attention as an emerging algae removal technology, but the inactivation performance is inevitably affected by the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) produced by algae. In this study, a photocatalyst (Ag₂O/g-C₃N₄) with efficient algae inactivation is adopted to investigate the interactions with EPS, and the impact of EPS on photocatalytic algae removal is studied. The results show that EPS can adhere to the surface of Ag₂O/g-C₃N₄ by electrostatic force. The interaction with EPS decreases the surface zeta potential of the Ag₂O/g-C₃N₄ from 7.71 to −22.3 mV with the increase in EPS concentration, and the maximum ratio of particle size increases from 825 to 1281 nm. In addition, the interaction with EPS inhibits the release of Ag⁺ in Ag₂O/g-C₃N₄ by half, thus, the toxicity of metal ions will be alleviated. Meanwhile, EPS can also be degraded by Ag₂O/g-C₃N₄, indicating that EPS can work as a radical scavenger to protect the algae cells. Without the protection of EPS, 97.8% of algae cells are inactivated after 5 h photocatalysis. Therefore, more attention should be given to the interaction between EPS and photocatalyst to promote the design and application of the photocatalytic.     

Thermally Evaporated Ag–Au Bimetallic Catalysts for Efficient Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) has indispensable significance for carbon recycling and renewable energy production. As typical electrochemical catalysts, Au and Ag show relatively high reaction activity and selectivity in CO₂RR. In this study, a series of Ag–Au bimetallic catalysts are designed and synthesized through the thermal evaporation method for efficient yet massive production of electrochemical catalysts. The Ag–Au catalysts show significantly enhanced activity and selectivity in CO₂RR, which is mainly attributed to the increased grain boundaries with well-dispersed single Ag atoms. After the optimization, Au20Ag10 exhibits the best performance with a CO Faraday efficiency of 89% at −0.9 V (vs the reversible hydrogen electrode) with good stability.     

CaCu3Ti4O12 陶瓷介电模量响应特性的研究

由于CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂巨介电常数陶瓷的低频区直流电导较大, 本文采用模量 M"-f频谱表征与分析了低频和高频的两个松弛极化过程. 研究认为, 这两个特征峰属于晶界区Schottky 势垒耗尽层边缘深陷阱的电子松弛过程, 其中高频松弛峰起源于晶粒本征缺陷的电子松弛过程, 而低频松弛峰则为与氧空位有关的松弛极化过程. 对于CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂这类低频下具有高直流电导的陶瓷材料, 采用模量频谱能更有效地分析研究其损耗极化机理. 关键词： 3Ti₄O₁₂陶瓷')" href="#">CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂陶瓷 模量 松弛过程 电导     

Structures and stabilities of the donor–acceptor complexes HXPY (X=Al,B; Y=H,F, OH)

The optimized geometries, complexation energies, etc. of HXPY (X?=?Al, B; Y?=?H, F, OH) donor–acceptor complexes have been investigated at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p), MP2/6-311+G(d,p) and/or CCSD(T)/6-311+G(d,p) levels. The results show that HBPY (Y?=?H, F, OH) is more stable than the corresponding HAlPY (Y?=?H, F, OH), F (or OH) substitution on phosphorus results in decreasing complex stability, and the stronger the electron-attracting nature of the substitution atom, the more stable the complex. Moreover, the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the formation reaction of these donor–acceptor complexes were also examined within the temperature range 200–800?K using the general statistical thermodynamics and Eyring transition state theory with Wigner correction. It is concluded that the formation of HBPY is thermodynamically favoured over that of the corresponding HAlPY, especially at low temperature, and is kinetically favoured over that of the relevant HAlPY (Y?=?H, F, OH), especially at high temperature.     

Analytical representation of half-width for molecular ro-vibrational lines in the case of dipole–dipole and dipole–quadrupole interactions

The analytical formula for half-width of molecular ro-vibrational lines is obtained for the case of dipole–dipole and dipole–quadrupole interactions. This formula depends on the variable parameters, which have to be determined by fitting to experimental half-widths or to half-widths calculated by semi-classical methods. The application of the analytical formula to the H₂O–H₂O, NH₃–NH₃, DCl–HCl and CO–H₂O systems is discussed.     

Novel photosensitive properties of gadolinium–lead germanate glasses

Glasses of the system xGd₂O₃ · (100 ? x)[7GeO₂ · 3PbO] with 0 ≤ x ≤ 40 mol% were prepared using the melt quenching method. Lead germanate glasses are particularly interesting in the context of the germanate anomaly. In this paper, we investigate changes in the coordination number of germanium in gadolinium–lead germanate glasses using molar volume analysis, density measurements, FTIR and UV–VIS spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT). Despite some inconsistencies, the coordination change model remains the currently accepted model for the anomalous behaviour of lead germanate glasses. Based on these experimental results, we propose the following mechanism for the germanate anomaly. (i) The low thermodynamic stability of the [GeO₆] structural unit and the occupation of interstices of larger dimensions (the six-coordinated interstices of the [PbO₆] structural units) in the lead germanate network yield [GeO₅] structural units with higher thermodynamic stability and larger ionic radii. (ii) Not linked to the terminal oxygens of the [GeO₅] structural units and with the formation of smaller network cavities of the lead germanate glass, links are required with [GeO₄] tetrahedra for stabilization, generating the formation of three-membered rings of [GeO₄] tetrahedral structural units.