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Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening disease caused by the severe and acute response of the lungs to a variety of direct and indirect insults. Patients with ALI are currently treated mainly with respiratory support due to inadequate understanding of ALI progression. Alveolar epithelial cells produced thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) has been proved to worsen ALI by triggering airway inflammation. However, the regulation mechanism of TSLP expression remains unclear. In this study, we identified the crucial role played by circNCLN in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI. We demonstrated for the first time that miR-291a-3p could directly bind to the 3'UTR of TSLP and suppress TSLP expression in alveolar epithelial cells. Mechanistically, our data identified that circNCLN acts as a molecular sponge to antagonize miR-291a-3p and thereby maintaining the expression of TSLP in alveolar epithelial cells. Importantly, targeting circNCLN by its antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) markedly alleviated LPS-induced ALI. Therefore, our results suggested that circNCLN/miR-291a-3p/TSLP axis may be an important signaling in LPS-induced ALI and circNCLN inhibition may serve as a potential treatment of ALI., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Two metal-free organic sensitizers containing two N,N-diethylaniline (DEA) moieties and a twisted 1,1,2,2-tetraphenylethene (TPE) structure, dye SD with one anchoring group and dye DD with two anchoring groups, were synthesized and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The introduction of a nonplanar TPE structure was used to form a series of propeller-like structures and reduce the tendency of dyes to randomly aggregate on TiO2 surface, but without importing an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property. The thermal stabilities, UV-vis absorption spectra, electrochemical properties, and photovoltaic parameters of DSSCs with these two dyes were systematically studied and compared with each other. The overall conversion efficiencies (η) of 4.56% for dye SD and 6.08% for dye DD were obtained under AM 1.5 G irradiation.

TiO(2) nanotube arrays prepared by electrochemical anodization of Ti foils show impressive light to electricity conversion efficiency in the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The length of the TiO(2) nanotube arrays (5-14 microm) was controlled by varying the anodization time from 2 to 20 h. The influence of nanotube lengths on the photovoltaic performance of DSCs was investigated by impedance. A flexible DSC using TiO(2) nanotube arrays on a Ti foil as a working electrode and polyethylene naphthalate (ITO/PEN) as counterelectrode in combination with solvent-free ionic liquid electrolyte achieved 3.6% photovoltaic conversion efficiency under simulated AM 1.5 sunlight.

Efficient and stable mesoscopic dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) introducing a low-viscosity binary ionic liquid (1-propyl-3-methyl-imidazolium iodide (PMII) and 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium tetracyanoborate (EMIB(CN)(4))) electrolyte in combination with a new high-molar-extinction-coefficient ruthenium complex, Ru(2,2'-bipyridine-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid)(4,4'-bis(2-(4-tert-butyloxy -phenyl)ethenyl) -2,2'-bipyridine) (NCS)(2), are demonstrated. The dependence of photovoltaic performance, charge transport and electron lifetime on the composition of the binary ionic-liquid electrolyte with different ratios of PMII/EMIB(CN)(4) were investigated by electrochemical impedance and photovoltage transient techniques. A photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 7.6 % was obtained under simulated full sunlight illumination, which is a record for solvent-free DSCs. These devices exhibit excellent stability at 80 degrees C in the dark or under visible-light soaking at 60 degrees C during 1000 h of accelerated tests.

The co-sensitization of two organic dyes (SQ1 and JK2), which are complementary in their spectral responses, shows enhanced photovoltaic performance compared with that of an individual organic dye-sensitized solar cell. The power conversion efficiency of the co-sensitized organic dye solar cell based on the newly developed binary ionic liquid (solvent-free) electrolyte gives 6.4% under AM 1.5 sunlight at 100 mW/cm2 irradiation, which is higher than that of individual dye-sensitized solar cells. The incident monochromatic photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of the co-sensitized solar cell shows typical absorption peaks at 530 and 650 nm corresponding to the two dyes and displays a broad spectral response over the entire visible spectrum with IPCE of >40% in the 400-700 nm wavelength domain.

A series of allyl-functionalized imidazolium salts are reported, including 1-allyl-3-ethylimidazolium iodide and 1-allyl-3-propylimidazolium iodide, which have melting points close to room temperature and show typical properties of supercooled fluids if heated above their melting points. Their viscosities in the liquid state are considerably lower than the benchmark ionic liquid used in solar cells, viz., 1-propyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide. Electrolytes containing these new liquids provide excellent efficiencies and good stability in dye-sensitized solar cells when subjected to an accelerated-light soaking test at 60 degrees C. The structures of three of the new salts have been established in the solid state by single-crystal X-ray analysis.

A stable dye-sensitized solar cell has been obtained based on a new binary ionic liquid electrolyte system containing 1-propyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate.

A Li+ coordinating sensitizer, NaRu(4-carboxylic acid-4'-carboxylate)(4,4'-bis[(triethylene glycol methyl ether) methyl ether]-2,2'-bipyridine)(NCS)2 (coded as K51), has been synthesized, and the effect of Li+ coordination on its performance in mesoscopic titanium dioxide dye-sensitized solar cells has been investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectra suggest that Li+ coordinates to the triethylene oxide methyl ether side chains on the dye molecules. With the addition of Li+ to a nonvolatile liquid electrolyte, we observe a significant increase in the photocurrent density, with only a small decrease in the open-circuit voltage, contrary to a non ion coordinating dye which displays a large drop in potential with the addition of Li+. For a solar cell incorporating an organic hole-transporter, we find the potential rises with increasing the Li+ concentration in the hole-transporter matrix. For the liquid electrolyte and solid-state cells, we obtain power conversion efficiencies of 7.8% and 3.8%, respectively, under simulated sunlight.

Two novel heteroleptic sensitizers, Ru((4,4-dicarboxylic acid-2,2'-bipyridine)(4,4'-bis(p-hexyloxystyryl)-2,2-bipyridine)(NCS)2 and Ru((4,4-dicarboxylic acid-2,2'-bipyridine)(4,4'-bis(p-methoxystyryl)-2,2'-bipyridine) (NCS)2, coded as K-19 and K-73, respectively, have been synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR, FTIR, UV-vis absorption, and emission spectroscopy and excited-state lifetime and spectroelectrochemical measurements. The introduction of the alkoxystyryl group extends the conjugation of the bipyridine donor ligand increasing markedly their molar extinction coefficient and solar light harvesting capacity. The dynamics of photoinduced charge separation following electronic excitation of the K-19 dye was scrutinized by time-resolved laser spectroscopy. The electron transfer from K-19 to the conduction band of TiO2 is completed within 20 fs while charge recombination has a half-life time of 800 s. The high extinction coefficients of these sensitizers enable realization of a new generation of a thin film dye sensitized solar cell (DSC) yielding high conversion efficiency at full sunlight even with viscous electrolytes based on ionic liquids or nonvolatile solvents. An unprecedented yield of over 9% was obtained under standard reporting conditions (simulated global air mass 1.5 sunlight at 1000 W/m2 intensity) when the K-73 sensitizer was combined with a nonvolatile "robust" electrolyte. The K-19 dye gave a conversion yield of 7.1% when used in conjunction with the binary ionic liquid electrolyte. These devices exhibit excellent stability under light soaking at 60 degrees C. The effect of the mesoscopic TiO2 film thickness on photovoltaic performance has been analyzed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

The generation of porous silica with hierarchically organized bimodal mesoporosity of adjustable size and well-defined shape was investigated by using surfactant mixtures and the nanocasting procedure (liquid crystalline templating). A systematic study of combinations of various block copolymers (Pluronics F127, KLE (poly(omega-hydroxypoly(ethylene-co-butylene)-co-poly(ethylene oxide))) and SE (PS-co-PEO)) with smaller surfactants (Pluronics P123, C16mimCl, and CTAB) revealed that hierarchical bimodal mesopore architectures could only be obtained by the usage of block copolymers with a strong hydrophilic-hydrophobic contrast, such as KLE and SE, giving rise to pores between 6 and 22 nm. Furthermore, the ionic liquid (IL) C16mimCl appeared to have advantageous templating properties, resulting in 2-3-nm pores being located between the block copolymer mesopores, whereas phase separation was observed for Pluronics and CTAB as small templates. Thereby, the study provided also general insights into the mixing and co-self-assembly behavior of block copolymers and ionic surfactants in water and confirmed the special templating properties of ILs, as recently proposed. In addition to the bimodal mesoporosity, additional tunable macroporosity was created by the presence of poly(styrene) or poly(methyl methacrylate) spheres, leading to well-defined trimodal hierarchical pore architectures with the small pores being located in the walls of the respective larger pores. As a major improvement, due to the pore hierarchy, these large-pore materials showed relatively large surface areas and pore volumes, and the size of densely packed macropores could even be decreased down to 90 nm. The materials were characterized by electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering, and nitrogen sorption using a proper NLDFT (nonlocal density functional theory) approach for calculations of the pore size distribution in the entire range of micro- and mesopores.

Ionic liquids containing the nitrile and vinyl functional groups attached to imidazolium cations combined with various anions, e.g., iodide, bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide ([TFSI]-), or dicyanamide ([N(CN)2]-), have been prepared and characterized. These ionic liquids have been successfully used as electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells based on nanocrystalline TiO2 with the amphiphilic ruthenium sensitizer [ruthenium (4,4'-dicarboxylic acid-2,2'-bipyridine)(4,4'-bis(p-hexyloxystyryl)-2,2'-bipyridine)][NCS]2 (coded K-19). The iodide salt was used in 3-methoxypropionitrile-based electrolytes, and the performances of both types of devices were evaluated on the basis of their photocurrent density-voltage characteristics and dark current measurements, demonstrating that the functional groups do not exert a detrimental effect on the performance. The solid-state structure of the nitrile-functionalized salt [C1C3CN(im)]I has also been established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, revealing extensive hydrogen bonding between the cation protons and the iodide.

Ionic liquids are a new class of organic solvents with high polarity and a preorganized solvent structure. Very polar reactions can be carried out in these liquid in the absence of or with a controlled amount of water, and crystalline nanoparticles can be synthesized conveniently at ambient temperatures. The pronounced self-organization of the solvent is used in the synthesis of self-assembled, highly organized hybrid nanostructures with unparalleled quality. The extraordinary potential of ionic liquids in materials synthesis is described in this minireview and a physicochemical explanation is given.

Porous silica exhibiting a hierarchically ordered trimodal pore system with a well-defined reverse opal microstructure and bimodal mesoporosity in the walls has been prepared by using polystyrene latex spheres, a novel block copolymer and an ionic liquid surfactant as templates. The resulting materials exhibit hierarchical order at three length scales (small mesopores: 2-3 nm; large mesopores: 11-12 nm; macropores: 360 nm).