可控表面磷原子修饰提升超细W2C纳米颗粒电解水析氢反应性能

研究高活性和稳定性的非贵金属基析氢催化剂对解决当前能源危机和环境污染问题具有重要意义.碳化钨具有与贵金属Pt类似的d带电子结构,因而成为一类新兴的非贵金属析氢催化剂,受到广泛关注.磷掺杂是提高催化剂析氢活性的有效方法之一,然而目前最常见的构筑磷掺杂方法是使用多金属氧酸盐(POMs,如H3PW12O40),其固定的W/P原子比导致W2C中的掺杂浓度难以调控,并且磷掺杂主要是进入碳载体而不是碳化物本身,从而导致无法明确杂原子对其电催化析氢活性的贡献.本文采用植酸(PA)为磷源设计合成了可控磷掺杂W2C纳米颗粒,并探讨了催化剂组分、杂原子掺杂位置与析氢性能之间的关系.深入研究了磷掺杂碳化钨(WCP)的化学结构和析氢活性.与原始的W2C催化剂相比,WCP具有更高的本征活性、更快的电子转移速率和更多的活性位数量,并且在酸性和碱性条件下均表现出较好的析氢性能.特别是过电位为-200 mV时,WCP催化剂的本征活性在酸性和碱性条件下分别为0.07和0.56 H2 s-1,高出纯W2C(0.01和0.05 H2 S-1)数倍.同时,在电流密度为-10 mA cm-2时,优化后的WCP催化剂在酸性和碱性条件下的析氢过电位分别降低了96和88 mV.XPS及EDS元素分析结果表明,随磷源添加量增加,磷掺杂从碳化钨表面逐渐向内部扩散,进一步说明磷取代位置与析氢活性之间的构效关系,高浓度的表面磷取代可以加速质子捕获过程,从而显著提高其析氢活性,而过量的内部磷取代会破坏W2C结构,降低电子转移速率,从而导致析氢性能下降.利用密度泛函理论计算深入研究了WCP具有较好析氢性能的原因,与内部磷取代相比,表面磷取代会使碳化钨表现出更合适的氢吸附自由能,并且更加有效地降低了氢释放势垒,从而优化了析氢反应动力学.综上,本文为元素掺杂工艺提供了新的思路,同时研究了表面异质原子对析氢活性的关键作用,为该类催化材料的构效关系研究提供了新思路.     

过渡金属电催化剂在硅基光阳极分解水产氧中的作用

光电化学分解水可将太阳能转换为绿色的氢能,为目前的能源危机和环境问题提供了一种理想的解决方案.在分解水反应中,涉及四空穴过程的产氧半反应是制约性能的关键步骤,往往需要在半导体表面沉积电催化剂以加速产氧反应动力学.因此,全面理解电催化剂在光电化学分解水体系中的作用至关重要.在目前的产氧电催化剂中,过渡金属羟基氧化物电催化剂(MOOH,M=Fe,Co,Ni)因其环保、廉价、高效以及稳定的特性,已被广泛用于半导体光阳极分解水器件中.而且,MOOH可用简单的电沉积方法沉积在光电极表面,易于大面积制备.然而,电沉积法制备的MOOH具有复杂的结构,对其作用机制的全面理解更加困难.因此,本文以电沉积MOOH修饰的硅基光阳极(n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/Fe/FeOx/MOOH)作为模型,研究了不同电催化剂对硅光阳极光电化学产氧性能的影响.实验发现电催化剂的界面优化在电催化剂修饰的光电极中发挥着重要作用,这是因为优化的界面可以提升界面电荷传输,提供更多的催化反应活性位点以及更高的本征催化活性,从而更有利于光解水性能的提升.该项研究揭示了电催化剂在光解水器件中的作用,并为今后高效光解水器件的设计提供了一定指导.首先在多晶n⁺p-Si基底上热蒸镀了一层30 nm的金属Fe膜,并通过电化学活化将Fe膜表面转换为FeOx得到Fe/FeOx(记作aFe)界面层,然后利用电沉积方法制备MOOH表面修饰层,最终得到n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:MOOH光阳极.X射线光电子能谱、拉曼光谱以及扫描电子显微镜表面元素成像的表征结果均证实电极表面由于界面层金属Fe元素的掺杂而形成了Fe1-xNixOOH.在模拟太阳光下用于光解水产氧时,n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:NiOOH电极的起始电位为~1.01 VRHE(相对于可逆氢电极的电势),在1.23 VRHE下的光电流为38.82 mA cm^-2,显著优于n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe、n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:FeOOH以及n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:CoOOH三个对比样品,且其稳定性达到75 h.另外,我们发现n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:MOOH电极的光电化学产氧性能均显著高于n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe电极,且p++-Si/SiO_x/aFe:MOOH的电催化产氧性能也高于p++-Si/SiO_x/MOOH,不仅证明了aFe界面层对Si与MOOH层之间的界面接触作用的有效调控,而且表明双电催化剂体系(aFe:MOOH)的电催化产氧活性高于单电催化剂(MOOH).热力学分析表明,n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:MOOH光阳极的光电压大小与其光解水产氧性能并不一致,从而排除了热力学因素对性能的关键影响.进一步从塔菲尔斜率、电化学活性表面积和电化学阻抗谱对各电极的动力学进行了分析,证明了动力学因素在上述光阳极产氧性能中的主导作用.同时发现,由于aFe:NiOOH双电催化剂具有更高的本征电催化产氧性能,提供了更多的表面活性位点以及更有效地促进了光生载流子的传输,对动力学的提升效果更显著,从而使n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:NiOOH光阳极表现出最高的光解水产氧性能.     

SnO2表面卤化提高钙钛矿太阳能电池光伏性能

钙钛矿太阳能电池(PSCs)成为近几年来迅速发展的新型太阳能电池,其中将SnO₂纳米粒子层用作电子传输层(ETL)的钙钛矿太阳能电池器件得到了广泛的关注。SnO₂有着更低的制备温度,使其具备应用于柔性器件的潜力,但与钙钛矿层能级不匹配等问题限制着其发展。而在界面处加入钝化层,尤其是表面卤化的方法或可解决这一问题。本文综合研究了SnO₂表面卤化对钙钛矿太阳能电池光伏性能的影响,选用四丁基氯化铵(TBAC)、四丁基溴化铵(TBAB)和四丁基碘化铵(TBAI)三种钝化材料对SnO₂表面进行钝化处理,并对钝化材料溶液进行了浓度梯度研究。通过材料形貌、结构和光学性能表征以及电池器件性能测试分析等方法,证明了SnO₂表面卤化可提高钙钛矿层的质量和PSCs光伏性能,并从器件内部电荷传输动力学等角度解释了器件性能改善的原因。为进一步说明其性能改善的机理,采用基于密度泛函理论(DFT)的第一性原理计算方法对材料表面性质进行了深入研究,从能量、结构、电荷密度、态密度、功函数等角度解释了表面卤化提高SnO₂/钙钛矿界面处电子传输特性的原因。实验和理论计算均表明TBAC对于SnO₂具有较好的钝化效果,并随着溶液浓度的提升钝化作用越明显。SnO₂表面卤化作用的深入研究不仅对提高电池器件性能具有实际意义,还能够帮助理解太阳能电池界面现象,为界面改性提供新的研究思路。     

Structure-based design,synthesis of novel probes for cytochrome P450 OleT

Cytochrome P450 OleT_SA, a new cytochrome P450 enzyme from Staphylococcus aureus, catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation and hydroxylation of fatty acids to generate terminal alkenes and fatty alcohols. The mechanism of this bifurcative chemistry remains largely unknown. Herein, a class of derivatized fatty acids were synthesized as probes to investigate the effects of substrate structure on the product type of P450 OleT_SA. The results demonstrate that the fine-tuned structure of substrates, even in a remote distance from the carboxyl group, significantly regulates OleT catalyzed decarboxylation/hydroxylation reactions. Molecular docking analysis indicated the potential interactions between the carboxylate groups of different probes and the enzyme active center which was attributed to the bifurcative chemistry.     

An Antibody with a Variable‐Region Coiled‐Coil “Knob” Domain

The X‐ray crystal structure of a bovine antibody (BLV1H12) revealed a unique structure in its ultralong heavy chain complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3H) that folds into a solvent‐exposed β‐strand “stalk” fused to a disulfide crosslinked “knob” domain. We have substituted an antiparallel heterodimeric coiled‐coil motif for the β‐strand stalk in this antibody. The resulting antibody (Ab‐coil) expresses in mammalian cells and has a stability similar to that of the parent bovine antibody. MS analysis of H–D exchange supports the coiled‐coil structure of the substituted peptides. Substitution of the knob‐domain of Ab‐coil with bovine granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (bGCSF) results in a stably expressed chimeric antibody, which proliferates mouse NFS‐60 cells with a potency comparable to that of bGCSF. This work demonstrates the utility of this novel coiled‐coil CDR3 motif as a means for generating stable, potent antibody fusion proteins with useful pharmacological properties.     

Self‐Assembly of Pyridinium‐Functionalized Anthracenes: Molecular‐Skeleton‐Directed Formation of Microsheets and Microtubes

Two amphiphilic regioisomers, 9‐AP (1‐[11‐(9‐anthracenylmethoxy)‐11‐oxoundecyl]pyridinium bromide), and 2‐AP (1‐[11‐(2‐anthracenyl methoxy)‐11‐oxoundecyl]pyridinium bromide), were synthesized and their assembly behaviors were studied. Due to the anisotropic features of the anthracene structure, different substituted positions on the anthracene ring lead 9‐AP and 2‐AP to adapt “shaver” and “spatula”‐like molecular shapes, respectively, which consequently dictate the structure of their final assemblies. While “shaver”‐shaped 9‐AP assembled into microsheets, driven by π–π interactions, “spatula”‐shaped 2‐AP assembled into microtubular structures, promoted primarily by charge‐transfer interactions.     

Sortagging: A Robust and Efficient Chemoenzymatic Ligation Strategy

Bioorthogonal, chemoselective ligation methods are an essential part of the tools utilized to investigate biochemical pathways. Specifically enzymatic approaches are valuable methods in this context due to the inherent specificity of the deployed enzymes and the mild conditions of the modification reactions. One of the most common strategies is based on the transpeptidation catalyzed by sortase A derived from Staphylococcus aureus. The procedure is well established and a wide variety of applications have been published to date. Here, implementations of sortase A, which range from protein labeling using fluorescence dyes and the preparation of cyclic proteins to the modification of entire cells, are summarized. Furthermore, there is a focus on the optimization approaches established to solve the drawbacks of sortase‐mediated transpeptidation.