Search

Hereunder, we pioneered the synthesis of Copper Oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) utilizing Tragacanth gum (TG). The NPs were characterized using advanced techniques and assessed for different pharmaceutical and environmental perspectives. The successful formation of a colloidal NPs solution was confirmed by the appearance of a distinct black color and a distinct peak at 260 nm in UV–Visible spectrophotometry. The FTIR analysis unveiled a spectrum of functional groups responsible for the reduction and stabilization of CuO NPs. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) revealed size of NPs as 36.24 nm and 28 ± 04 nm respectively. Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) Analysis indicated weight percentages of 70.38 % for Cu and 18.88 % for O, with corresponding atomic percentages. The X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the orthorhombic crystal structure of the prepared CuO NPs. Antimicrobial assessments through disc-diffusion assays demonstrated significant zones of inhibition (ZOI) against gram-positive bacterial strains (Bacillus Halodurans and Micrococcus leutus) and a gram-negative bacterial strain (E. coli). Against the fungal strain Aspergillus niger , a ZOI of 18.5 ± 0.31 mm was observed. The NPs exhibited remarkable antioxidant potential determined through 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and H 2 O 2 scavenging assays. At a concentration of 3 mg/mL, the NPs demonstrated biofilm inhibition rates of 96 %, 90 %, 89.60 %, and 72.10 % against Micrococcus luteus , Bacillus halodurans , MRSA and E.coli respectively. Furthermore, the CuO NPs showed a high photocatalytic potential towards the degradation of safranin dye under sunlight irradiation. In conclusion, the findings underline the promising multifunctional properties of TG-based CuO NPs for different practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cylindrical surface with Bragg-enhanced Fresnel reflectivity constructed from non-close-packed photonic crystals (NPCs) was designed for spectral selectivity and optical gain, which broke through the limitations of traditional Fresnel curved mirror with lowest central reflectivity and inability to perform spectral selectivity, and was conducive to expending the application of Fresnel mirror in the fields of signal transmission, optical measurement and instrument design. [Display omitted] According to the Fresnel theory, the reflectivity intensity of spherical and cylindrical convex surfaces decreases from their edge to center, and it is noteworthy and interesting for optical gain to study the enhancement of center reflectance. In this paper, a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) − encapsulated cylindrical non-closed-packed photonic crystals (NPCs) composite with Bragg-enhanced Fresnel reflectance was designed for spectral selectivity and optical gain. Theoretically and experimentally, the periodically ordered structure of NPCs achieved high-reflection of light in photonic bandgap and high-transmission in other bands, which enhanced Fresnel reflectivity of the convex center to specific bands. Furtherly, the cylindrical NPCs hydrogel with stretchability was applied for the dynamic tuning of optical signals. The reflection peak of the PDMS-encapsulated cylindrical NPCs composite blue-shifted from 608 nm to 413 nm with 50 % tensile strain and achieved a rapid transition of structural color from orange to blue-violet in 60 cycles. The new kind of photonic crystals composite for optical gain and spectral selection broke through the limitations of traditional Fresnel curved mirrors with the lowest central reflectivity and inability to perform spectral selectivity, and have great significance and application prospects in fields of signal transmission, optical measurement, and instrument design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A pH-responsive discoloration photonic crystal sensor was proposed for amniotic fluid recognition. • The sensor showed the high accuracy and sensitivity, rapid response and visual detection. • Compared with pH test paper, a noticeable color difference and extraordinary accuracy were obtained. In this study, we proposed a pH-responsive photonic crystal hydrogel sensor (PCHs) to conveniently and accurately recognize the amniotic fluid from urine of parturient women, which was constituted by three-dimensional polymethyl acrylamide (PMMA) array and optimized hydrogel. PMMA array was self-assembled by 180 nm monodispersed nanoparticles with vertical sedimentation method. The functional hydrogel containing N-acryloyl phenylalanine (APA), acrylamide (AM) and N, N'-methylene bis(acrylamide) (BIS) as co-monomer and crosslinking agent respectively, was photo-polymerized by the precursor under 365 nm UV light. This hydrogel significantly shrank or swelled corresponding to the acidity and alkalinity of the aqueous solution, which resulted in both the reflection peak position (λ max) of the prepared sensor and its structural color changing with the pH value. The λ max of PCHs redshifted from 514 nm to 606 nm in 60 s while the pH value of testing solution increased from 4.5 to 8.0, which exactly covered the pH value of amniotic fluid and urine. Correspondingly, its structure color gradually changed from pale-green to red ensuring their naked-eye determination. Furthermore, an extremely high sensitivity as 26.3 nm/pH of Δ λ max was obtained which was linearly related to pH value. The prepared sensor possessed steady accuracy and extraordinary sensitivity compared with the pH test strip which was generally used in amniorrhexis diagnosis nowadays besides the advantages of the low cost, simple operation, rapid response and visual detection mode. The reliability of this PCHs was further confirmed by the real sample detection which relative standard deviation was below 5.0 %, suggesting its potential clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Amino-functionalized polyethylene-silica (APS) composite membranes were fabricated. • Silica loading rate was tunable and reusability of APS after 7 washes was over 99%. • Formate dehydrogenase (FDH) immobilized on APS showed greatly enhanced activity. • Reusability was much improved compared to particles or membrane attached FDH. Enzymatic CO 2 conversion represents a highly efficient, energy-conserving, and environmentally sustainable approach to mitigating the increasing pressure caused by huge carbon emissions and generating valuable products. However, several challenges associate with the process including the instability and recovery difficulty of free enzyme, as well as low solubility of CO 2 in mild conditions. Immobilizing enzyme on the amino-functionalized supports presents a viable solution to these issues. Considering the wide application of polymer hollow fiber membranes in the field of CO 2 gas–liquid membrane contactor and the characteristics of hydrophilic, biocompatible, and high specific surface area of silica nanoparticles, the amino-functionalized polyethylene (PE)-silica (APS) composite membranes were fabricated via different routes. The morphologies, the loading rates of modified SiO 2 and reusability of APS membranes were characterized for a crude screening. Following that, seven kinds of APS membranes were used as the carriers of formate dehydrogenase (FDH) that could catalyze the reduction of CO 2 to formate, and their immobilization efficiency and catalytic performance were compared. The results show that 1# and 2# membranes based on carboxyl-modified PE with a loading rate of 5.5 %∼5.6 % and the reusability of above 99 % were more ideal carriers than others. The enzyme activity recovery rate of APS-immobilized FDH (FDH-APS) was separately 367 % and 256 %, proving the intensification action of carriers on the enzymatic reaction. After 10 cycles of use, the relative activity of two kinds of FDH-APS was around 70 % and 78 %, much higher than corresponding particles or membrane attached FDH (25.3 % and 20.4 %). After storage at 4 °C for 20 days, the relative activity of FDH-APS was 82.7 % and 81.0 %, while it was only 61.4 % for free enzyme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the thermal decomposition mechanism between Poly(3-nitratomethyl-3- methyloxetane) (PNIMMO) and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12-Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20), the thermal decomposition of PNIMMO, CL-20 and PNIMMO+CL-20 mixture under different conditions was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimetry-mass spectra-fourier transform infrared spectrometer (TG-DSC-MS/FTIR) and in-situ FTIR experiments. As a result, the exothermic peak temperature of the PNIMMO+CL-20 mixture shifts to lower values under both closed and open circumstances compared to CL-20. Different kinetic parameters and models were obtained for the three decomposition steps in the mixture. The first step follows the random chain scission model (L2) at α <0.5, and the phase boundary controlled reaction model (R3) at α >0.5. The second/third step is between the random chain scission model (L2) and the first-order reaction model (F1) at α <0.5, and conforms to the first-order reaction model (F1) at α >0.5. Thus, the decomposition of PNIMMO controls the initial speed, while the removal of the nitro group in CL-20 controls the later step. Combined with the analysis of gas products and condensed phase, PNIMMO speeds up the N—NO 2 bond breaking in CL-20 but doesn't alter its initial breakdown route. • The thermal decomposition mechanism between PNIMMO and CL-20 is investigated by various techniques. • PNIMMO+CL-20 mixture decomposes in three steps with different kinetic parameters and kinetic models. • PNIMMO doesn't change the initial decomposition pathway of CL-20. • PNIMMO can accelerates the N—NO 2 bond breaking in CL-20 due to incremental heat and H atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzymatic conversion of CO 2 to formate is a highly significant pathway for CO 2 utilization, but current level of conversion efficiency remains unsatisfactory due to low solubility of CO 2 under mild conditions. CO 2 -philic materials can significantly augment the reaction by raising local concentration of substrate. Herein, the intercalated Ti 3 C 2 T x , nano-silica (SiO 2) and carbon nitride (CN) with abundant CO 2 adsorption sites were introduced to fabricate Ti 3 C 2 T x based nanocomposites, Ti 3 C 2 T x /SiO 2 /CN (TSCN), for the first time. As the controls, binary composites including Ti 3 C 2 T x /SiO 2 (TS), Ti 3 C 2 T x /CN (TCN) and SiO 2 /CN (SCN) were also studied. For each kind of material, the composition, structure, morphology, and application performance in the enzymatic CO 2 conversion were characterized and influencing factors were investigated. Among these composites, TSCN exhibited the best application performance and the enzyme reaction was accelerated up to 23.9 times that of the blank system. The value could reach as high as 35.3 after polyethyleneimine (PEI) modification. Following that, PEI modified composites were used as carrier of formate dehydrogenase (FDH) and apparent specific activity was up to 2.8 times that of free enzyme, which could retain 88.2% of the initial value after 10 cycles associated with the structural integrity. This work provides new impetus to CO 2 capture and conversion in a clean and mild way that shows bright application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient regeneration of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) is of great significance for the application of oxidoreductase-catalyzed reactions. Photocatalytic regeneration is advantageous for the utilization of cheap, abundant, and clean solar energy. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4) has attracted wide attention due to its non-toxicity, wide range of precursors, suitable band gap, and superior chemical and thermal stability. In this work, mesoporous g-C 3 N 4 (MPCN) was prepared using silica with different size as the template. The preparation process of MPCN was optimized and the effect of the template size on the structure and properties of MPCN were investigated. The results demonstrate that the smaller the template size, the larger the specific surface area of MPCN, and thus the better the photocatalytic performance. After optimization, the catalytic activity of MPCN with 7 nm silica as the template (MPCN-7) was 17.4 mM/(g min) and the NADH yield after 40 min was 70.6 %. MPCN-7 was also modified by 3-aminothiophene-2-carbonitrile (ATCN) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Under same conditions, the catalytic activity of ATCN-MPCN, PVP-MPCN, and ATCN/PVP-MPCN was upgraded from 10.8 to 49.5, 16.4, 29.2 mM/(g min), respectively. The final yield of NADH rose from 66.9 % (40 min) to 76.3 % (12 min), 72.8 % (25 min) and 82.0 % (15 min). [Display omitted] • Mesoporous carbon nitride with a series of silica as the template was prepared. • The preparation process including mixing method and mass ratio was optimized. • The template size had great impact on structure and catalytic property of catalyst. • Thiophene and polyvinylpyrrolidone modification was studied. • A high coenzyme regeneration yield of 82 % was achieved after 15 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Intercalation and modification of Ti 3 C 2 T x were studied. • The relation between the structure and the application performance of Ti 3 C 2 T x was illustrated. • NH 4 OH/KCl intercalation brought a higher specific surface area and better intensifying effect. • With the addition of 20 mg PEI-Ti 3 C 2 T x , the enzymatic CO 2 conversion was expedited up to 9.2 times. • PEI-Ti 3 C 2 T x exhibited a good reusability. Ti 3 C 2 T x as a typical MXene material has a multilayer structure similar to accordion, whose interlayer spacing and specific surface area can be regulated by intercalation and modification. In this work, the effects of several kinds of cation-containing intercalators including NH 4 OH, KOH and NH 4 OH/KCl on the structure of Ti 3 C 2 T x and its application performance in enzymatic CO 2 conversion were investigated for the first time. The results show that Ti 3 C 2 T x intercalated with NH 4 OH/KCl had larger layer spacing (25.25 Å) and specific surface area (20.85 m2/g), and better enhancing effect. The initial reaction rate was 0.379 mM/h, which was separately 1.04, 1.42, 1.76 and 5.29 times that of Ti 3 C 2 T x /KOH, Ti 3 C 2 T x /NH 4 OH, Ti 3 C 2 T x and the blank system. Following that, Ti 3 C 2 T x /NH 4 OH/KCl was modified by polyethyleneimine (PEI) and dopamine (DA) and the concentration of modifier was optimized. PEI modified Ti 3 C 2 T x /NH 4 OH/KCl (PEI-Ti 3 C 2 T x) was superior to PEI/DA modified that in the N content, CO 2 adsorption capacity and application performance. With the addition of 20 mg PEI-Ti 3 C 2 T x , the initial reaction rate was 0.658 mM/h, which was 1.74 and 9.2 times that of before modification and the blank system, respectively. PEI-Ti 3 C 2 T x also exhibited a good reusability and the initial reaction rate was 89.4% of the initial value after 10 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) as cofactor, formate dehydrogenase (FDH) can reversely catalyze CO 2 reduction to formic acid. However, the industrialized application of FDH is fairly limited due to its high cost and stoichiometric cofactor consumption. Enzyme immobilization and cofactor regeneration are vital solutions to these problems. Ascribed to the benefits of utilizing a cheap, environmentally friendly, and renewable energy source, photocatalytic NADH regeneration is naturally sustainable and promising. Nonetheless, the rate-matching and compatibility between photocatalysis and enzyme catalysis have not been well revealed. In this study, polyethyleneimine (PEI) modified hollow fiber membrane (HFM) as the enzyme support was in-situ integrated with a visible-light-driven NADH regeneration system using thiophene-modified macroporous graphitic carbon nitride (ATCN-CN) as the catalyst. First, NADH regeneration conditions were regulated to accommodate enzyme catalysis. Then, the photo-enzyme coupled system (PECS) for the sustainable synthesis of formic acid with triethanolamine (TEOA) or H 2 O as electron donor was constructed, and the influencing factors were investigated. At last, the PECS was compared with other methods as well as a system that used FDH immobilized on silica nanoparticles. The results show that the reaction pH, electron donor, and catalyst concentration have a significant impact on NADH regeneration. For the PECS with TEOA as electron donor, the optimal pH value and photocatalyst concentration for formic acid synthesis are 7.0 and 1.2 mg mL−1, respectively. With the initial addition of 1 mmol L−1 NAD+, a formic acid yield of 35.3% was obtained after 5 h, standing out among the reported values. H 2 O as a green and low-cost electron donor meets the desire for low-cost photocatalysis. Although the production of formic acid after 5 h was lower in the PECS with H 2 O as electron donor than in the TEOA system, it was still 14.6 times that of the immobilized enzyme system without cofactor regeneration, and the yield of formic acid could reach 14.8% and 98.3% with 1 or 0.1 mmol L−1 NAD+, validating that current PECS is feasible to a sustainable and green synthesis of solar fuel from CO 2. [Display omitted] • CO 2 was converted to formic acid by the photo-enzyme coupled system (PECS). • The rate-matching and compatibility of photo and enzyme catalysis was studied. • Yield reached 35.3% after 5 h with 1 mmol L−1 NAD+ and triethanolamine (TEOA). • Yield reached 14.8% and 98.3% after 5 h with 1 or 0.1 mmol L−1 NAD+ without TEOA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]