Ionogels: Squeeze flow rheology and ionic conductivity of quasi-solidified nanostructured hybrid materials containing ionic liquids immobilized on halloysite

Ionogels are hybrid ion-conducting materials consisting of ionic liquids stabilized by inorganic or polymer fillers and having good prospects for application in solid-state and flexible electronics and energy storage devices. The work presents the results of studying the rheological properties and ionic conductivity of a series of ionogels based on halloysite nanoclay and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ionic liquids with EMIm⁺, BMIm⁺, BM₂Im⁺, BMPyrr⁺, BMPip⁺ and MOc₃Am⁺ cations and content of the dispersion phase of 43–48%. The obtained values are compared with the analogous characteristics of bulk ionic liquids. It has been established that the IL cation structural characteristics affect the viscoplastic properties of ionogels subjected to uniaxial quasistatic compression (20 °C), ionic conductivity and structural resistance coefficient of an inorganic filler (from ?20 to +80 °C). Additive models of conductivity in binary systems are applied to obtain correlations linking ionic conductivity of ionogels with that of pure ionic liquids.     

五元杂环spacer结构调控的分子内电荷交互作用

研究五元杂环(spacer)桥对分子内电荷传递调控规律是开发功能分子材料的基础。本文通过环合反应制备了9个2,5-双二茂铁基五元杂环衍生物,包括: 2,5-双二茂铁基-1-苯基-吡咯(1),2,5-双二茂铁基呋喃(2),2,5-双二茂铁基噻吩(3),2,5-双二茂铁基-1H-咪唑(4),2,5-双二茂铁基噁唑(5),2,5-双二茂铁基噻唑(6),2,5-双二茂铁基-1H-1,3,4-三氮唑(7),2,5-双二茂铁基-1,3,4-噁二唑(8)和2,5-双二茂铁基-1,3,4-噻二唑(9)作为模型分子。通过元素分析,傅里叶变换红外(FTIR)光谱,质谱(MS)和核磁共振(NMR)等手段对化合物结构进行了表征,采用循环伏安电化学(CV)和密度泛函(DFT)量化模拟计算研究了分子内电荷传递与五元杂环(spacer)结构间的调控关系,发现化合物(1-9)二茂铁间电荷交互作用随着spacer中杂原子数量的增加而减小,分子内电荷选择短程杂原子桥作为传输通道,spacer结构对二茂铁间电荷传递发挥着重要的调控作用。     

Distribution of olfactory marker protein on a tissue section of vomeronasal organ measured by AFM

Distribution of olfactory marker protein (OMP) on a tissue section of vomeronasal organ (VNO) was successfully measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Anti-OMP antibodies were covalently crosslinked with the tip of the AFM and were used as a probe to observe the distribution of OMP on a tissue section. First, force measurements were performed using a glass surface on which OMP was covalently immobilized to verify the success of tip modification. Clear differences of interaction forces were observed between a specific pair and the control experiments, indicating that the tip preparation succeeded. Next, distributions of OMP on the tissue section were observed by AFM and were compared with immunohistochemical observations. For large scale observation, a microbead was used as a probe in the AFM measurements. The results of the AFM measurements were well overlapped with that of immunohistochemistry, confirming the reliability of our method. A mapping of the AFM measurement with high resolution was also successfully obtained, which showed an advantage of the application of the AFM measurement in analysis of proteins on the tissue section.     

Electrorheological property and microstructure of acetamide-modified TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles

A sol–gel method has been proposed to prepare uniform TiO₂ nanoparticles whose average size is about 30 nm. The prepared nanometer TiO₂ particles are modified by acetamide via different self-assembled processes. X-ray diffraction analyses, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry are used to determine the structure of the nanoparticles. The results indicate that the different synthesis processes do not change the morphology of the TiO₂/acetamide nanoparticles; nevertheless, they affect the interaction between amide and acetamide. The electrorheological (ER) activity is studied by shear stress under DC electric field. The acetamide-modified TiO₂ ER fluid shows notable ER activity with shear stress about 45 kPa (at 5 kV/mm), which outclasses the shear stress (2 kPa) of unmodified TiO₂ ER fluid. It is also found that the ER effect is very sensitive to the interaction of molecules on TiO₂ particles. The chemical bond between core and shell can enhance the ER activity of the sample.     

Characterizing wood polymers in the primary cell wall of Norway spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea abies</Emphasis> (L.) Karst.) using dynamic FT-IR spectroscopy

Dynamic Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to examine the interactions among cellulose, xyloglucan, pectin, protein and lignin in the outer fibre wall layers of spruce wood tracheids. Knowledge regarding these interactions is fundamental for understanding the fibre separation in a mechanical pulping process. Sheets made from an enriched primary cell wall material were used for studying the viscoelastic response of the polymers. The results indicated that strong interactions exist among lignin, protein, pectin, xyloglucan and cellulose in the primary cell wall. This signified a closely linked network structure of the components on the fibre surface. This ultrastructural arrangement in the primary cell wall and the relatively high content of lignin, pectin and protein in it, means that the primary cell wall is more submissive to selective chemical attacks, when compared to the secondary cell wall. A low ratio of cellulose Iα to cellulose Iβ in the primary cell wall was also found.     

Electronic Interactions on Platinum/(Metal-Oxide)-Based Photocatalysts Boost Selective Photoreduction of CO2 to CH4

By supporting platinum (Pt) and cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles on indium oxide (In₂O₃), we fabricated a CdS/Pt/In₂O₃ photocatalyst. Selective photoreduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to methane (CH₄) was achieved on CdS/Pt/In₂O₃ with electronic Pt−In₂O₃ interactions, with CH₄ selectivity reaching to 100 %, which is higher than that on CdS/Pt/In₂O₃ without electronic Pt−In₂O₃ interactions (71.7 %). Moreover, the enhancement effect of electronic Pt-(metal-oxide) interactions on selective photoreduction of CO₂ to CH₄ also occurs by using other common metal oxides, such as photocatalyst supports, including titanium oxide, gallium oxide, zinc oxide, and tungsten oxide. The electronic Pt-(metal-oxide) interactions separate photogenerated electron-hole pairs and convert CO₂ into CO₂^δ−, which can be easily hydrogenated into CH₄ via a CO₂^δ−→HCOO*→HCO*→CH*→CH₄ path, thus boosting selective photoreduction of CO₂ to CH₄. This offers a new way to achieve selective photoreduction of CO₂.     

Ranking Peptide Binders by Affinity with AlphaFold**

AlphaFold has revolutionized structural biology by predicting highly accurate structures of proteins and their complexes with peptides and other proteins. However, for protein-peptide systems, we are also interested in identifying the highest affinity binder among a set of candidate peptides. We present a novel competitive binding assay using AlphaFold to predict structures of the receptor in the presence of two peptides. For systems in which the individual structures of the peptides are well predicted, the assay captures the higher affinity binder in the bound state, and the other peptide in the unbound form with statistical significance. We test the application on six protein receptors for which we have experimental binding affinities to several peptides. We find that the assay is best suited for identifying medium to strong peptide binders that adopt stable secondary structures upon binding.     

Electron Acceptor Molecule Doping Induced π–π Interaction to Promote Charge Transport Kinetics for Efficient and Stable 2D/3D Perovskite Solar Cells

Although the incorporation of 2D perovskite into 3D perovskite can greatly enhance intrinsic stability, power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2D/3D perovskite is still inferior to its 3D counterpart due to poor carrier transport kinetics resulted from the quantum and dielectric confinement of 2D component. To overcome this issue, the electron acceptor molecule 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene (TCNB) was introduced to trigger intermolecular π–π interaction in 2D perovskite along with the electronic doping of 2D/3D perovskite to improve charge transfer efficiency. By virtue of high electron affinity, TCNB can undergo electron transfer reaction and subsequently establish π–π interaction with 1-naphthalenemethylammonium (NMA) cations, greatly strengthening lattice rigidity and reducing exciton binding energy. Transmission electron microscopy results demonstrate that 2D phases are mainly distributed at grain boundaries, reducing defect density and weakening nonradiative recombination. Meanwhile, the p-type doping of perovskite by TCNB optimizes energy level alignment at perovskite/hole transport layer interface. Consequently, PCE of champion device is significantly boosted to 24.01 %. The unencapsulated device retains an initial efficiency close to 94 % after exposure to ambient environment for over 1000 h. This work paves a novel path for designing new mixed-dimensional perovskite solar cells with high PCE and superior stability.     

Selective Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to CO Mediated by Silver Single Atoms Anchored on Tubular Carbon Nitride

Artificial photosynthesis is a promising strategy for converting carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O) into fuels and value-added chemical products. However, photocatalysts usually suffered from low activity and product selectivity due to the sluggish dynamic transfer of photoexcited charge carriers. Herein, we describe anchoring of Ag single atoms on hollow porous polygonal C₃N₄ nanotubes (PCN) to form the photocatalyst Ag₁@PCN with Ag−N₃ coordination for CO₂ photoreduction using H₂O as the reductant. The as-synthesized Ag₁@PCN exhibits a high CO production rate of 0.32 μmol h⁻¹ (mass of catalyst: 2 mg), a high selectivity (>94 %), and an excellent stability in the long term. Experiments and density functional theory (DFT) reveal that the strong metal–support interactions (Ag−N₃) favor *CO₂ adsorption, *COOH generation and desorption, and accelerate dynamic transfer of photoexcited charge carriers between C₃N₄ and Ag single atoms, thereby accounting for the enhanced CO₂ photoreduction activity with a high CO selectivity. This work provides a deep insight into the important role of strong metal–support interactions in enhancing the photoactivity and CO selectivity of CO₂ photoreduction.