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In this work, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with yellow fluorescence were firstly prepared by hydrothermal method using corn stover as raw material. Then, the CQDs/Cu 2 O S-scheme heterojunction was obtained by combining the prepared CQDs with dodecahedral Cu 2 O. The catalytic performance of the prepared catalyst under visible light was studied by using tetracycline (TC) as the degradation target. The results showed that the conductivity and the active sites in Cu 2 O were enhanced by loading CQDs, and the 3 wt% CQDs/Cu 2 O heterojunction showed the highest photocatalytic performance and the most excellent stability with 92.49% of TC degradation within 100 min. It is found that the recombination rate of electron and hole was reduced by the CQDs/Cu 2 O heterojunction with improved separation efficiency of the photo-generated electron-hole pairs and enhanced photo-degradation efficiency. [Display omitted] • CQDs/Cu 2 O S-scheme heterojunction was successfully prepared. • CQDs were successfully prepared from using corn stover by a hydrothermal method. • 92.49% of tetracycline was decomposed in 100 min by 3 wt% CQDs/Cu 2 O composite. • Effective separation of e--h+ pair and faster interfacial charge transfer was achieved. • Excellent performance is ascribed to synergistic effect of photo-generated electron pair in Cu 2 O and CQDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dots (CDs) as a class of new fluorescent materials have attracted numerous attention. However, the solid-state photoluminescence quenching of CDs is still a big challenge. In this work, self-quenching-resistant solid-state fluorescent CDs are achieved, which exhibit tunable full-color solid-state emission without any other additional solid matrices. These CDs were prepared via one-step microwave method using phloroglucinol and urea as sources by regulating reactant ratio and microwave power. The maximum emission of CDs gradually shifts from 445 to 643 nm, and solid-state quantum yield of five typical CDs with blue (B), green (G), yellow (Y), orange (O) and red (R) emission reaches up 48.2%, 26.0%, 18.5%, 13.7% and 5.7%, respectively. Moreover, multicolor solid-solid fluorescence mechanism of CDs is investigated. The G-, Y-, O-, R-CDs show aggregation-induced red-shift behavior, while B-CDs exhibit unique crystallization-induced emission enhancement property. Finally, CDs are utilized as phosphors combing with ultraviolet chip to fabricate multicolor and white light emitting diodes (LEDs). The obtained white LEDs exhibit an adjustable correlated color temperature (3937–8588 K) and high color rendering index (80–88). This study provides a novel guidance for developing self-quenching resistant CDs with multicolor emission. Full-color solid-state carbon dots are synthesized for the first time without any other additional solid matrices by regulating molar ratio of precursors and microwave power. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pervaporation desalination membrane with a water flux of 256.6 kg/(m2 h) was prepared. • Crosslinked PVA having sulfonic acid groups was used as selective layer material. • Crosslinking improved fracture toughness of the PVA layer. • Mechanism of spray coating was discussed. • Thin film composite membrane was prepared by optimizing spray coating parameters. Water flux of pervaporation (PV) desalination membranes can be increased by reducing thickness of the selective layer and/or reducing the resistance of the support layer. However, low resistant support layer typically has large surface pores that requires a thick selective layer to avoid fracture. To solve this problem, we used poly(acrylic acid-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid) (P(AA-AMPS)) to crosslink PVA to improve the mechanical property of the coating layer. The PVA layer was deposited on to a highly porous PTFE substrate via spray-coating. By optimizing the spray-coating conditions, a thin and defect-free P(AA-AMPS) crosslinked PVA/PTFE composite membrane with a selective layer thickness of 1.1 μm was prepared. The water flux of the composite membrane reached to 256.6 ± 31.3 kg/(m2 h) at 75 °C with a NaCl rejection rate over 99.9% when desalinating a 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. The membrane flux is higher than all reported PV desalination membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Intermediate layer of SS NPs improves the physical and electrochemical properties of the electrode. • CeCoO x powder has good electrochemical properties under acidic oxygen evolution. • The feasibility of powder-modified electrodes in zinc electrowinning simulations is demonstrated. Presently, the most widely used anode material in industrial zinc electrowinning is lead-silver alloy, and the low corrosion resistance and high oxygen evolution overpotential of lead-silver alloy anodes are the most popular topics and urgent problems to solve in zinc electrowinning research. Herein, the Ti/Sb-SnO 2 NPs/α-PbO 2 /β-PbO 2 -CeCoO x composite anode is prepared by hydrothermal-electrodeposition. Based on the tested results of electrochemical properties, the composite anodes have a low overpotential of 545 mV at 50 mA cm−2 and a low Tafel slope of 135.19 mV dec–1. According to the tested results of the Raman spectra, Co4+ is the primary active material in the oxygen evolution reaction. Compared to the anode containing lead-silver alloy, the cell voltage is reduced by 0.41 V, and the electrode can operate at a high current density of 2 A cm−2 and under highly acidic conditions for 94 h, confirming excellent corrosion resistance in H 2 SO 4 solution electrolysis. The composite anode shows bright prospects for industrial applications in zinc electrowinning and other hydrometallurgy processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Porous NF/Ni@Co x P y was synthesized via a simple electrodeposition–hydrothermal–thermal phosphorization process. • The in-situ Raman characterization reveals the reconstruction during HER. • The KSCN probing experiment demonstrates the truly active center is Co. • NF/Ni@Co x P y exhibits enhanced activity in acid, buffer and alkaline media. Designing and synthesizing an effective and robust hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst is of great significance for hydrogen production from electrochemical water splitting yet remains challenge. Herein, this work reports a porous cobalt phosphide nanoneedles arrays grown a coarsen naked nickel foam (NF/Ni@Co x P y) through a successive electrodeposition–hydrothermal–thermal phosphorization process. Detailed investigation reveals the NF/Ni@Co x P y exhibited a porous structure, leading to the largest double-layer capacitance of 7.6 mF cm–2 and enhanced the hydrophily. In addition, the generation Co-P contains both CoP and Co 2 P phases, leading to shift of the electronic structure, together to boost the electrocatalytic HER activity. The NF/Ni@Co x P y only needs overpotential of 77, 98, and 71 mV at 10 mA cm–2 in alkaline, buffer solution, and acid solution, respectively. The SCN– probing experiment and in-situ Raman characterization reveal that the Co serves as the active site and the Co x P y reconstructed to Co(OH) 2 during HER, which accelerating the fast water dissociation, leading to a lower apparent activation energy of 65.9 kJ mol–1. Hence, this study offers a facial synthesis route to prepare catalyst for HER and provides deep insight into the relationship among coarsen substances, microstructures, and electrocatalytic activity. The SCN– probing experiment and in-situ Raman demonstrates the Co serve as the active site during HER. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Electrochemical reduction of laser-prepared, in-situ-grown Ti/TiO 2 produced the intermediate layer Ti/TiH 2. • Special structured Mn 3 O 4 @C micro-flakes were prepared by high-temperature pyrolysis-oxidation. Simulated zinc electrowinning tests demonstrated the viability of the Ti/TiH 2 /β-PbO 2 − Mn 3 O 4 @C electrode. • At 50 mA cm−2, Ti/TiH 2 /β-PbO 2 -Mn 3 O 4 @C (0.6 g L−1) exhibited a low overpotential of 493 mV, a low Tafel slope of 73.6 mV dec−1, a low i corr of 2.320×10−5 A cm−2 and voltage stability of 1.65 V vs. RHE for up to 72 h in stability tests" to the original text. Ti-based PbO 2 electrodes must currently address the high overpotential and low corrosiveness of the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) during zinc electrowinning. In this study, a composite electrode composed of Ti/TiH 2 /β-PbO 2 − Mn 3 O 4 @C (0.6 g L–1) was fabricated using Ti/TiH 2 generated by electrochemical reduction of Ti/TiO 2 prepared by laser ablation as an intermediate layer, co-deposited β-PbO 2 , and Mn 3 O 4 @C micro-flakes prepared by high-temperature pyrolysis-oxidation as the active layer. In a zinc electrowinning test solution (50 g L–1 ZnSO 4 mixed with 150 g L–1 H 2 SO 4), the oxygen evolution and corrosion behavior of the obtained Ti/TiH 2 /β-PbO 2 − Mn 3 O 4 @C composite anodes were systematically investigated. Ti/TiH 2 /β-PbO 2 − Mn 3 O 4 @C (0.6 g L–1) exhibited a low overpotential of 493 mV, a low Tafel slope of 73.6 mV dec−1, a low i corr of 2.320 × 10−5 A cm−2 and voltage stability of 1.65 V vs. RHE for up to 72 h in stability tests, with an overall performance outperformed most of the reported Ti-based PbO 2 electrode materials. The outstanding catalytic activity is primarily attributable to the low resistance and porous interlayer of TiH 2 nanosheets, which speeds up the rate of electron transfer. The addition of Mn 3 O 4 @C micro-flakes to the active layer enhances the composite electrode's OER performance and corrosion resistance. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The construction of heterostructure at the interface of Cu 2 O and CuNiMo optimized the electronic structure. • The coupling of Cu 2 O with CuNiMo makes Cu 2 O produce a large number of oxygen vacancies, which provided a mass of protons by accelerating water splitting. • The obtained Cu 2 O@CuNiMo exhibits outstanding hydrogen evolution reaction performance with a low overpotential of 49 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in a 1.0 M KOH electrolyte. • Excellent catalytic performance and stability verified the practical applicability. Electrochemical water splitting is an attractive chemical method for hydrogen generation with cleanliness and zero pollution. However, the reported catalysts are still unsatisfactory due to low electron transport efficiency and poor water splitting capacity. Herein, a high–performance oxygen vacancy–rich Cu 2 O–based heterostructure (Cu 2 O@CuNiMo) was constructed for solving these problems. The results of X–ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman suggested that there was strong electron transfer between CuNiMo and Cu 2 O, which could optimize the electronic structure. Electron paramagnetic resonance proved that there were abundant oxygen vacancies (OV S) on the surface of the Cu 2 O, which generated a mass of adsorbed hydrogen (H ads) by accelerating water splitting in an alkaline solution. Therefore, the Cu 2 O@CuNiMo electrocatalyst exhibits outstanding hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance with an ultra–low overpotential of 49 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in 1.0 M KOH electrolyte, outperforming many other previously reported transition metal–based catalysts. Moreover, Cu 2 O@CuNiMo exhibits exceptional durability for a 24–h long–term test at a current density of 200 mA cm−2. This work provides a promising method to design highly active HER electrocatalysts via the dual regulation strategy of oxygen vacancy engineering and electronic behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Multiple cobalt species were found on x Co/HZ- T catalysts and cooperatively catalyzed N 2 O decomposition;. • Co2+ ions in cobalt species on x Co/HZ- T catalysts are regarded as active sites in N 2 O decomposition. • The 10Co/HZ-800 catalyst exhibited the optimal catalytic performance, O 2 , and NO tolerance. As a strong greenhouse gas with a wide lifespan, nitrous oxide (N 2 O) reduction emissions are imperative. Transition metal oxides, especially cobalt oxides, possess superior N 2 O catalytic decomposition properties. A series of cobalt-incorporated HZSM-5 (Co/HZ) catalysts were synthesized by citric acid-complexion impregnation and were systematically investigated by N 2 O decomposition and characterizations. Co content and calcination temperature influenced cobalt species distribution and active site amount. Multiple cobalt species were found and cooperatively catalyzed N 2 O decomposition. Co2+ ions in cobalt species are regarded as active sites in N 2 O decomposition and the 10Co/HZ-800 catalyst showed better N 2 O catalytic decomposition performance, O 2 , and NO tolerance. The 10Co/HZ-800 catalyst was subjected to in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy (in situ DRIFTS) for surveying N 2 O adsorption patterns on the surface under different temperatures and atmospheres. Multiple cobalt species were found on cobalt incorporated HZSM-5 (x Co/HZ- T) catalysts by the citric acid-complexion impregnation method. Co2+ ions in cobalt species are regarded as active sites in N 2 O decomposition and cooperatively catalyzed N 2 O decomposition. There were probable two types of oxygen release in N 2 O decomposition, and oxygen release was demonstrated as a rate-determining step in N 2 O decomposition. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Porous NF/Ni@Zr-NiCoS was synthesized via a simple electrodeposition–hydrolysis–hydrothermal method. • The high valent Zr4+ doping optimized the electronic structure of NF/Ni@Zr-NiCoS. • The methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) reveals the surface stronger *OH covering. • The apparent activation energy is 84.4 kJ mol−1. Electrochemical water splitting shows great promise as a method for hydrogen production yet remains challenge. Herein, this paper reports a high valent zirconium (Zr) doped bimetal sulfide grown onto coarsen nickel foam (NF/Ni@Zr-NiCoS) via a sequent process including electrodeposition, hydrolysis and hydrothermal sulphuration. The optimal NF/Ni@Zr 3.6% -NiCoS processes the largest active sites and demonstrates an overpotential of 216 and 275 mV at 10 and 100 mA cm−2 with a robust stability of more than 100 h@200 mA cm−2, exceeding the state-of-the-art benchmark RuO 2 catalyst. The Zr4+-doping decrease the electron density of the Ni center, which enhance the intrinsic activity. A novel methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) further reveals that the NF/Ni@Zr 3.6% -NiCoS electrocatalyst demonstrated a stronger binding ability to *OH and the decreased apparent activation energy of 84.4 kJ mol−1. This work offers a new strategy for optimization the adsorption of intermediates via doping method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transaction fraud detection is an essential topic in financial research, protecting customers and financial institutions from suffering significant financial losses. The existing ensemble learning-based fraud detection model improves the accuracy of distinguishing fraudulent transactions by integrating multiple base learners. However, their insufficient optimization of variance leads to the inadequate generalization of the model, which makes them unable to meet the requirements of detecting evolving fraudulent behavior. So, this paper proposes an attention-based boosting ensemble model (AM-Boost) for fraud detection that imparts diversity perturbation to the base learner from the feature dimension. Firstly, the feature-wise attention mechanism is proposed to help the model exploit the highly informative fraud features by learning distributed global feature space. And it is combined with boosting strategy to reduce the variance by lowering the correlation between base learners. Secondly, we propose a feature diversity regularization term in the integration stage to optimize the weighted majority voting strategy with a reasonable trade-off between bias and variance. Finally, we evaluate the proposed method on a public fraud detection dataset and a real-world transaction dataset. Extensive experiment results demonstrate that our method outperforms the baseline methods in both datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep clustering plays an important role in data analysis, and with the prevalence of graph data nowadays, various deep clustering models on graph are constantly proposed. However, due to the lack of more adequate clustering guidance, the discriminability of feature representation learned from these models for the clustering task is limited. Therefore, for the purpose of enabling the output of these models to be more cluster-oriented, we propose a Deep Clustering Optimization Method for Graph Neural Networks (DCOM-GNN), which can be attached to the original model architecture conveniently. For DCOM-GNN, it contains two components, one is the inter-cluster distance optimization module, whose role is to further adjust the distance between clusters of the original model output rationally. Another one is the intra-cluster distance optimization module, which aims to improve the cohesiveness of the original model output. Comprehensive experiments show that the performance of various deep clustering models on graph can be significantly improved after adding DCOM-GNN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New mesoporous MIL@silica gel composites were designed for enhanced NH 3 adsorption. • The MIL@silica gels show higher NH 3 capacity than silica gel and faster rate than MILs. • The highest capacity was got by 48.89 wt% [Bmim] 2 [Co(NCS) 4 ]@silica gel in 15 min. • The [Bmim] 2 [Co(SCN) 4 ]@silica gel exhibit excellent reversibility after five cycles. The emerging of ionic liquids (ILs) provides a promising way to efficiently separate ammonia (NH 3) and simultaneously recover NH 3 due to their negligible volatility, good affinity with NH 3 and designable structures. However, the relatively high viscosities of ILs and the limited gas-liquid interface severely affect gas diffusion in ILs, which hinders their practical use in industries. In this work, in order to overcome the mass-transfer limitations of ILs in gas separation, three metal ILs (MILs), [Bmim] 2 [CuCl 4 ], [Bmim] 2 [NiCl 4 ] and [Bmim] 2 [Co(NCS) 4 ], with good affinity toward NH 3 were incorporated into porous silica gels with large surface area and abundant hydroxyl groups, by an impregnation-vaporization method to form novel MIL@silica gel composites for rapid, efficient and reversible adsorption of NH 3. The FT-IR and BET results indicated that the prepared adsorbents with different loadings of MILs are mesoporous composites. The [Bmim] 2 [Co(NCS) 4 ]@silica gel composites not only show much higher NH 3 capacity and NH 3 selectivity than pristine silica gel and faster adsorption rate than the corresponding pure MILs, but also exhibit excellent reversibility. The highest capacity of NH 3 adsorption up to 99.808 mg NH 3 ·(g adsorbent)−1 in 15 min was obtained when the loading of [Bmim] 2 [Co(NCS) 4 ] in the MIL@silica gel composite was 48.89 wt%, which could be attributed to the synergistic interaction of the complexation and hydrogen bonding between cobalt coordinated anion and NH 3 as well as mesoporous structures. Moreover, the NH 3 absorbed by the [Bmim] 2 [Co(SCN) 4 ]@silica gel can be completely released in 15 min, and no obvious losses in NH 3 capacity were detected during five adsorption and regeneration cycles, indicating great potentials as adsorbents for NH 3 separation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The CDs with dual-report function for monitoring the LDs polarity and their spatial characteristics was developed. • The high-contrast fluorescence diagnosis of HCC was successfully realized by using dual-function CDs. • The CDs were further utilized to evaluate the efficacy of anticancer drugs with satisfactory performance. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a metabolic disease with high mortality caused by abnormal deposition of lipid droplets (LDs). The number and distribution of LDs can effectively reflect the severity of HCC. Additionally, polarity change is also an important indicator for monitoring HCC. Therefore, using fluorescence imaging technology to accurately identify LDs is helpful for HCC diagnosis and treatment evaluation. To date, the study that can simultaneously monitor the polarity and spatiotemporal characteristics of LDs to diagnose HCC has not been reported yet. Herein, a novel LD-targeting near-infrared carbon dots (CDs) with dual-report function of determining the LDs polarity as well as presenting their spatial characteristics was developed. The high lipophilicity and solvatochromic effect of CDs endows it with the ability to image LDs with high-fidelity, so it can not only report the spatiotemporal characteristics of LDs including the number, size, and aggregation degree, but also determine their polarity variations. Therefore, the high-contrast fluorescence diagnosis of HCC was successfully realized by using dual-function CDs. Meanwhile, the CDs were further utilized to evaluate the efficacy of anticancer drugs with satisfactory performance. Overall, this CD-based LDs probe may provide a new perspective for the diagnosing of LDs-related diseases and screening of anticancer drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toll/interleukin-1/resistance (TIR) domain proteins contribute to innate immunity in all cellular kingdoms. TIR modules are activated by self-association and in plants, mammals and bacteria, some TIRs have enzymatic functions that are crucial for disease resistance and/or cell death. Many plant TIR-only proteins and pathogen effector-activated TIR-domain NLR receptors are NAD+ hydrolysing enzymes. Biochemical, structural and functional studies established that for both plant TIR-protein types, and certain bacterial TIRs, NADase activity generates bioactive signalling intermediates which promote resistance. A set of plant TIR-catalysed nucleotide isomers was discovered which bind to and activate EDS1 complexes, promoting their interactions with co-functioning helper NLRs. Analysis of TIR enzymes across kingdoms fills an important gap in understanding how pathogen disturbance induces TIR-regulated immune responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • In order to analyze nanomolar dissolved organic nitrogen, VUV was evaluated. • VUV converted ∼90% of dissolved organic nitrogen species into inorganic nitrogen. • VUV pretreatment enabled a lower MDL (1.5 μg-N/L) than conventional methods. • If NH 4 + was completely converted into NO 3 −, IC alone can measure DON in water. Abstract Quantifying trace dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in water is currently challenging for conventional methods not only because of the presence of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) species, which usually dominate in total nitrogen (TN), but also because of the high method detection limits (MDLs) of current TN methods, which are ≥100 μg/L. In order to overcome these barriers, an earlier study has applied electrodialysis to eliminate DINs from water, thereby reducing the interference of DIN. However, it remains difficult to analyze DON at nanomolar level. To address this issue, this study proposes to convert DON completely into DIN by vacuum ultraviolet irradiation (VUV) and then to measure DON by the sum of DINs (i.e., ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate). A number of verification tests show that the proposed method had comparable results with conventional methods for selected model compounds and real samples. The average nitrogen recovery for sixteen model DON compounds (each at 2.0 mg-N/L) with varying structures and molecular weights was 89 ± 16%, similar to those obtained by thermal-activated persulfate oxidation (87 ± 18%) and high temperature catalytic oxidation (86 ± 20%) methods. Moreover, this method features an advantage that it reached a MDL of 1.5 μg-N/L, much lower than conventional TN methods. With a prolonged 12-h irradiation, this approach was able to convert ammonia completely into nitrate, thus enabling detection of DON by using ion chromatography only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • ZnSe ultrathin/long nanowires were prepared via Ag 2 Se-catalytic colloidal method. • Ag 2 Se seeds catalyze nanowire (NW) growth up to several micrometers in lengths. • The mixture of long-chain amines confines seeds and NWs within several nanometers. • ZnSe ultrathin/long NWs exhibit optical quantum confinement effect. Abstract In this work, we combine the catalytic growth and ligand control mechanisms to synthesize ultrathin/ultralong ZnSe nanowires (NWs). Ag 2 Se catalyst seeds initiate the NW growth and significantly cause the increase of the NW lengths up to several micrometers. The long-chain amine mixture of oleylamine and 1-dodecylamine acts as reaction medium and ligands (or surfactants) to control the sizes of Ag 2 Se seeds and ZnSe NWs within several nanometers (the mean diameter of NWs: ∼5.5 nm). The microstructure studies by HRTEM reveal the presence of zinc blende (ZB)/wurtzite (W) alternations and a number of stacking faults and twins within individual ZnSe ultrathin NWs. These NWs exhibit optical quantum confinement effect due to the diameters smaller than the theoretical exciton Bohr diameter of bulk ZnSe. Raman spectrum and photoelectronic performance under white light illumination are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Our study assessed the actual water situation in the estuarine area of Lake Wuli, Meiliang Bay, Lake Taihu, China, based on eutrophication levels and status of water quality using the trophic level index (TLI) and water quality index (WQI) methods. In the wet (August 2017) and dry (March 2018) seasons, 22 estuarine areas were tested at 69 sampling sites, which included lake and rivers. Five parameters—chlorophyll a (Chl- a), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), Secchi disk (SD) and permanganate index (COD Mn)—were measured to calculate the TLI, and 15 parameters—temperature (T), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved solids (TDS), TN, TP, ammonium (NH 4 -N), nitrate (NO 3 -N), nitrite (NO 2 -N), COD Mn , calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), chloride (Cl−) and phosphate (PO 4 -P)—were measured to calculate the WQI. The average TLI and WQI values in the wet season were 61.69 and 60.70, respectively, and the eutrophication level and water quality status were worse than that in the dry season (TLI: 57.40, WQI: 65.74). Significant differences were observed between three parts of Lake Wuli (West, Middle and East). Regardless of wet or dry season, East Wuli had worse eutrophication levels and water quality status than the other parts, whereas West Wuli showed less severe levels. DO, TN and COD Mn used in the minimum WQI (WQI min) were the most effective parameters in our study. WQI min had stricter standards than WQI when analyzing water quality in the estuarine area of Wulihu. Factor analysis from principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that N might be the main factor affecting water quality of the most eastern sites in the wet season, and P may be the main factor in the dry season. Our results provide a valuable contribution to inform decision-making for the management of water environments by providing the actual water situation of the estuarine area of Lake Wuli. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Eutrophication and status of water quality were assessed in the estuarial area of Lake Wuli. • Differences were observed between seasons and three different parts of Lake Wuli. • The wet season experienced worse eutrophication and water quality than the dry season. • East Wuli had worse eutrophication and water quality status than the other parts of the lake. • WQI min had stricter standards than WQI when analyzing water quality in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A large number of NH 3 emissions from industries, such as ammonia plant purge gas, tail gases of urea plants and ammonium molybdate plants, inevitably cause serious air pollution problems, such as fog and haze, which has raised extensive attentions worldwide. However, the commercial methods, like water scrubbing and acid scrubbing, substantially transfer the NH 3 pollute from gas phase to liquid or solid phase, which does not mean total elimination. How to realize efficiently separate and recover NH 3 form NH 3 -containing gas mixtures is still a great challenge. In order to develop efficient absorbents for NH 3 removal, a series of metal (copper (Cu), stannum (Sn), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), ferrum (Fe)) ionic liquids (MILs) were synthesized, and their physicochemical properties and NH 3 absorption performance were systematically investigated. The results implied that the incorporation of metal center into ILs has a great effect on NH 3 absorption. Among the investigated MILs, bis(1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium) copper tetrachloride salt ([Bmim] 2 [CuCl 4 ]) and bis(1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium) stannum tetrachloride salt ([Bmim] 2 [SnCl 4 ]) show excellent NH 3 absorption capacities up to 0.172 gNH 3 ·gIL−1 and 0.106 gNH 3 ·gIL−1, respectively, which are far more than most of the conventional ILs. Moreover, the high selectivity for NH 3 /N 2 , NH 3 /CO 2 and NH 3 /O 2 of [Bmim] 2 [CuCl 4 ] and [Bmim] 2 [SnCl 4 ] indicated that these MILs can selectively separate NH 3 from NH 3 -containing gases. The absorption mechanism was further studied using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and quantitative chemical calculations. It was demonstrated that the chemical complexation between [Bmim] 2 [CuCl 4 ] and NH 3 plays a dominant role in NH 3 absorption, but the stronger hydrogen bonding between [Bmim] 2 [SnCl 4 ] and NH 3 enhances the absorption performance. In addition, [Bmim] 2 [SnCl 4 ] can keep good stability after five absorption and desorption cycles, implying this MIL shows great potentials as an efficient and reversible absorbent for NH 3 capture applications. Graphical abstract Novel metal chloride anion-based ionic liquids have been designed for efficient separation of NH 3 , and both high NH 3 absorption capacity and excellent recyclability were simultaneously achieved by stannum ionic liquids [Bmim] 2 [SnCl 4 ]. Image Highlights • The incorporation of metal center into ILs can obviously enhance NH 3 absorption capacity in metal ionic liquids (MILs). • [Bmim] 2 [CuCl 4 ] and [Bmim] 2 [SnCl 4 ] have higher NH 3 capacity and NH 3 selectivity towards other gases. • The chemical complexation plays a dominant role in NH 3 absorption in [Bmim] 2 [CuCl 4 ], resulting in its irreversibility. • NH 3 absorption occurs in [Bmim] 2 [SnCl 4 ] through the strong hydrogen bonding, therefore showing great recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-stress silicon-based thin films play a crucial role in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) such as silicon microphones. To obtain low stress, post annealing is usually applied and, in particular, the residual stress of hydrogenated amorphous silicon ( α -Si:H) can be finely tuned by properly adjusting the annealing temperature to obtain slightly tensile thin films. However, blister defects are unfortunately observed in the course of stress control by high temperature annealing. We study structural parameters of thin films that may induce blistering behaviors and propose a statistical prediction model as a guide to avoid the blistering disaster for MEMS chips. By optimizing the shape, size, and thickness of thin films, the non-blister α -Si:H thin film with low stress of around 63 MPa is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) crystal materials have attracted intensive research interest because of their multifunctionality. However, the 2D nanosheets (NSs) of amorphous semiconductors are far less explored. We demonstrate here the colloidal synthesis of 2D amorphous antimony (III) trisulfide (Sb 2 S 3 ) NSs in the mixture solution of different long-chain primary amines. These organic amines act as soft template to define the 2D growth through the coordination of metal cations with amine group. The resultant NSs exhibit distinct 2D characteristic with the thickness of 2–4 nm and the length × width dimensions ranging from several hundreds of nanometer to one to several micrometers. Their photoelectronic property has been evaluated in the indium tin oxide (ITO)/Sb 2 S 3 /ITO model device, showing fast temporal photoresponse and photoswitch ability. Through a solid-state thermal-annealing process, the amorphous NSs can be converted to 1D crystalline micro/nanorods, which is due to the high structural anisotropy of crystal phase (stibnite). TG-DSC thermal analysis reveals that the amorphous-crystalline phase transformation is companied by the desorption and/or decomposition of organic surfactant molecules and the S loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CO-free hydrogen was successfully produced from the dehydrogenation of formic acid at a temperature near its boiling point of 110 °C by using a high-performance non-precious metal molybdenum based catalyst synthesized from soybean and earth-abundant molybdenum. The effect of carbonization temperature, raw material ratio on the catalytic activity for formic acid decomposition were investigated in details. The catalyst Soy-Mo (0.1) prepared at a carbonization temperature of 750 °C, the weight ratio of the soybean powder to Mo precursor of 1:0.1 showed the best catalytic activity among those as-synthesized catalysts. Even at a temperature as low as 110 °C, HCOOH conversion reached above 80% with a 100% H 2 selectivity and a long-term stability. It indicated that the catalysts derived from those biomass enriched in protein and alkaline metals have excellent performance for catalytic formic acid decomposition. This approach provided a new path for design and development of catalysts with high performance for CO-free hydrogen generation from formic acid in a large-scale industrial process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphologies of molybdenum carbide catalysts were designed by elaborately selecting organic carbon sources. Based on the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area data, it is found that the structure and surface area of Mo x C y catalysts can be adjusted by selecting different organic carbon sources. Wire-like Mo x C y , nanosheet-like Mo x C y and rod-like Mo x C y catalysts were obtained by using aniline and p-phenylenediamin (pPd), 4-chloro-o-phenylenediamin (4CloPd), and o-phenylenediamin (oPd) as the carbon sources, respectively, and the nanosheet-like Mo x C y showed a relatively high surface area of 30.3 m 2 g −1 . Furthermore, the crystal structure of Mo x C y was found to be controlled by the organic carbon source. Notably, α-Mo x C y nanosheets prepared by using 4CloPd showed the best catalytic performance, in which the formic acid conversion approached 100% with a low CO selectivity when the reaction temperature was higher than 250 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome self-quenching of carbon dots (CDs) in solid state and provide a universal strategy for efficient luminescence of CDs in solid state, this paper reports a novel method of physical embedding of solid-state CDs into a silica matrix. CD/silica composites were prepared through injecting N -(3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl) ethylenediamine into a CD aqueous solution and have exhibited a high quantum yield of 41.72%. A mechanism of photoluminscence (PL) quenching in solid-state CDs and PL resuming in CD/silica composites was proposed. These CD/silica composites possess excellent film-forming ability, thermostability and ultraviolet (UV) stability. By taking advantage of these remarkable properties, a white light-emitting diode was constructed by combining CD/silica film with a UV chip, which has exhibited warm white light emission with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage coordinates of (0.44, 0.42) and correlated color temperature of 2951 K. It is evident that CD/silica composites have superior potential in solid-state lighting system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve better removal and analyses of three dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) species via ultraviolet-activated hydrogen peroxide (UV/H 2 O 2 ) process, this study systematically investigated the rates of photo-oxidations of ammonia/ammonium (NH 3 /NH 4 + ) and nitrite (NO 2 − ) as well as the photo-reduction of nitrate (NO 3 − ) at varying pH and H 2 O 2 conditions. The results showed that the mass balances of nitrogen were maintained along irradiation despite of interconversions of DIN species, suggesting that no nitrogen gas (N 2 ) or other nitrogen-containing compound was formed. NH 3 was more reactive than NH 4 + with hydroxyl radical ( OH), and by a stepwise H 2 O 2 addition method NH 3 /NH 4 + can be completely converted to NO x − ; NO 2 − underwent rapid oxidation to form NO 3 − when H 2 O 2 was present, suggesting that it is an intermediate compound linking NH 3 /NH 4 + and NO 3 − ; but once H 2 O 2 was depleted, NO 3 − can be gradually photo-reduced back to NO 2 − at high pH conditions. Other than H 2 O 2 , the transformation kinetics of DINs were all dependent on pH, but to varying aspects and extents: the NH 3 photo-oxidation favored a pH of 10.3, which fell within the pK a values of NH 4 + (9.24) and H 2 O 2 (11.6); the NO 3 − photo-reduction increased with increasing pH provided that it exceeds the pK a of peroxynitrous acid (6.8); while the NO 2 − photo-oxidation remained stable unless the pH neared the pK a of H 2 O 2 (11.6). The study thereby demonstrates a picture of the evolutions of DIN species together during UV/H 2 O 2 irradiation process, and for the first time presents a method to achieve complete conversion of NH 4 + to NO 3 − with UV/H 2 O 2 process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, various metal nanoparticles (Ni, Co, Mg, Cu, Ag) were doped on the nanosheet-like Mo x C y prepared by using 4-Chloro-o-phenylenediamin (4CloPd) as the carbon source for the production of hydrogen by the decomposition of formic acid. It is found that the doping of metal on Mo x C y promoted the catalytic activity greatly. Among them, Ag and Mg doped Mo x C y catalysts exhibited much higher catalytic activity than others. Moreover, Mg doped MoC 1−x catalyst showed much lower CO production than Ag doped one. The performance of Mg doped MoC 1−x catalysts with different Mg loading amounts was investigated. It is found that Mg 1.0 Mo 99.0 C 1−x had the highest formic acid decomposition performance with a high conversion (above 90% at 200 °C), a low CO production (<10% at 200 °C) and a long-term stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MoCo 2 O 4 decorating PbO 2 composite electrode was prepared through chemical bath deposition and electrodeposition. • Active particles of MnCo 2 O 4 made the composite shows optimal OER catalytic activity. • 3D-Ti/α-PbO 2 /β-PbO 2 -MnCo 2 O 4 composite materials exhibits more than 140 h stability at 50 mA⋅m−2 in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4. Developing a promising catalyst with both improved activity and robust durability for the oxygen evolution (OER) in an acidic electrolyte is extremely desirable. Here we constructed a novel MnCo 2 O 4 decorating PbO 2 electrode (3D-Ti/α-PbO 2 /β-PbO 2 -MnCo 2 O 4) with a sandwich-like structure via a successive co-precipitation and co-electrodeposition onto porous titanium (3D-Ti) support. The experimental results indicated that the introduction of porous titanium is essential for achieving a unique porous structure architecture. In addition, the adoption of MnCo 2 O 4 increased the contact area with electrolyte due to the large BET surface area of 144.06 cm2 g−1. Consequently, the synthesized 3D-Ti/α-PbO 2 /β-PbO 2 -MnCo 2 O 4 composite electrode exhibited a low overpotential of 379 and 453 mV at 10 and 50 mA cm−2, respectively, as well as a minor Tafel slope of 133 mV per decade in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 solution. Furthermore, 3D-Ti/α-PbO 2 /β-PbO 2 -MnCo 2 O 4 presents robust durability, keeping steady for more than 140 h at 50 mA cm−2 and without observable performance degradation, which is superior to many reported state-of-the-art non-precious OER catalysts. This route is for creating and synthesizing non-precious and superior performance catalysts for electrolysis and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • In-situ grown electrode materials exhibit large surface area and high porosity. • The material exhibits a high capacitance retention rate of 82.9 % at 10 A/g. • Assembled ACS devices can provide high energy density and high-power density. A neuronal nickel–cobalt–manganese sulfide material with a large surface area and high porosity can be homogeneously grown along a nickel foam via a simple one-step hydrothermal procedure. An optimal molar ratio of Ni, Co, Mn, and thiourea of 3:1:1:5 was obtained by adjusting the molar ratio of thiourea. This binder-free composite material supported by a nickel foam can be directly used as a battery-type electrode for supercapacitors. Under the optimal hydrothermal conditions, the battery-type electrode exhibited excellent electrochemical properties with a favorable specific capacitance (2805.3F/g, 1 A/g) and good rate properties (87.7 %, 10 A/g) because of the synergistic effect of the multiple transition metals. Furthermore, the battery-type electrode exhibited a remarkable capacitance retention rate (82.9 %, 10 A/g) after 10,000 cycles of electric charging and discharging owing to the addition of Mn, which suggests excellent cycle stability. Furthermore, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device prepared using the battery-type electrode material and activated carbon electrode exhibited a considerable energy density (86.9 W h kg−1) at a high power density (799.1 W kg−1). After charging for 26 s to 3.2 V, two ASC devices in series could light two red-light-emitting diodes for at least 300 s. Thus, a simple and effective synthesis scheme can be designed to prepare high-performing supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency of the combined process of ozonation with Vallisneria natans to improve the quality of piggery effluent was investigated in this study, and the effects of ozonated water on the antioxidant responses of V. natans were explored. The effluent was treated with ozone at 10, 30 and 50 mg L −1 for 30 min in combination with V. natans for 28 − d. Combined treatment was successful at removing inorganic nutrients and organic compounds from piggery effluent. Low ozone concentration treatment of water was optimal for the growth of V. natans , while exposure to high levels for long periods of time increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and damaged their antioxidant systems. The results demonstrate that combined ozonation and submerged macrophytes treatment, can remove inorganic nutrients and organic compounds from piggery effluent, reducing the pollution into aquatic ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel hierarchical porous NiSe@Ni 12 P 5 /NCF polymorphs electrocatalyst is first reported. • The prepared NiSe@Ni 12 P 5 /NCF catalyst improve its electrochemical performance through interfacial electron redistribution. • The NiSe@Ni 12 P 5 /NCF catalyst shown best UOR catalytic performance. Electrocatalytic urea oxidation reaction (UOR) is one of the most promising energy-saving alternatives to anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and the development of efficient and stable catalysts for UOR is crucial. Therefore, in this paper, hierarchical structure NiSe@Ni 12 P 5 /NCF with Ni 12 P 5 nanorod arrays coupled with NiSe nanospheres are synthesized on bare nickel-copper foam (NCF) by exogenous phosphorylation and subsequent electrodeposition methods. The catalytic performance of hierarchical structure NiSe@Ni 12 P 5 /NCF in urea-assisted electrolytic water reaction is studied in focus. The results show that the potential of NiSe@Ni 12 P 5 /NCF was only 1.267 V and 1.412 V vs RHE at current densities of 10 mA cm−2 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively, in addition to no significant activity decay after 140 h stability test. This is attributed to the fact that the introduction of NiSe regulated the interfacial charge distribution, creating an interfacial coupling effect that can greatly increase the original catalytic species, as well as the NiOOH species generated during the UOR process as true active sites, which ultimately improving the electrocatalytic UOR performance of NiSe@Ni 12 P 5 /NCF. This study provides a new idea for the preparation of hierarchical selenide - phosphides for electrochemical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • NiFe-LDH@Ni x Co y Se 2 /NF nanosheets heterojunction are synthesized via two-step facile electrodeposition method. • A heterostructure with abundant Ni x Co y Se 2 nanospheres grown on the surface of NiFe-LDH nanosheets, which has superior OER performance (η 100 = 265.5 mV) in high current density and show great durability and reversibility. • NiFe-LDH@Ni x Co y Se 2 /NF nanosheets heterojunction improve large surface area and induce electron redistribution in surface through charge transfer to get optimal OER performance. Low-cost and high-efficiency electrocatalysts produced by constructing the interfacial heterostructure have attracted more attention in oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we synthesize a three-dimensional (3D) heterogeneous structure of Ni x Co y Se 2 nanospheres loaded onto NiFe hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) nanosheets via bare nickel foam (NF) two-step electrodeposition. The optimal NiFe-LDH@Ni x Co y Se 2 /NF nanosheets heterojunction electrocatalyst is verified with an excellent OER performance in 1.0 M KOH solution, which only requires a low overpotential of 265.5 mV and 297.8 mV to drive high current density of 100 mA cm−2 and 500 mA cm−2, respectively, long-term durability of more than 60 h at 100 mA cm−2, and an extremely low Tafel slope of 57.5 mV dec−1. Meanwhile, due to the dramatic improvement in OER performance, there is an enhancement in the overall water-splitting activity of the NiFe-LDH@Ni x Co y Se 2 /NF nanosheets heterojunction, attaining a current density of 20 mA cm−2 at the low cell voltage of 1.65 V. As a result, it shows the importance of constructing highly efficient OER catalyst with the rational design of heterostructures. The enhanced catalytic performance can be attributed to the large exposed electrocatalytic active sites accessible and constructed an efficient electronic transmission channel by eliminating contact resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu 2 O/exfoliated graphite composites (Cu 2 O/EG (1 wt%), Cu 2 O/EG (4 wt%), Cu 2 O/EG (7 wt%), Cu 2 O/EG (10 wt%), and Cu 2 O/EG (15 wt%)) were prepared by the precipitation method. The photocatalytic activity of the material was evaluated using the decolorization of methyl orange (MO) solution as model reaction. Results showed that Cu 2 O deposited on the worm-like flakes of EG in the form of nanocrystals. The EG provided a three-dimensional environment for photocatalytic reaction and endowed a high adsorption capacity for the sample. Under optimal conditions, the decolorization efficiencies of MO for 60 min reached 96.7%. Recycling of the catalyst showed Cu 2 O/EG composites (10 wt%) to possess high photocatalytic efficiency even when repeatedly used for five times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Adsorption energy of AlNNTs indicates proper adsorption of different form of As. • DFT calculation helped to explain the reactive sites and removal pathways. • The AlNNTs and As act as acceptor and donor respectively. In this paper, we characterized the different forms of arsenic (As) in flue gas (FG), which is produced by coal power plants, at varying temperatures using density functional theory (DFT) and thermodynamics computations. Also, the interaction of an aluminum nitride nanotube (AlNNT) with various gaseous species of As was scrutinized. The content of the trivalent As (As3+) was the highest in FG, and the temperature of FG had a significant impact upon the morphological distribution of As3+. The As 2 O 3 molecules primarily had a trigonal bipyramid molecular geometry when the temperature of FF was below 850 K. However, the primary molecular geometry of the As 2 O 3 molecules when the temperature of FG exceeded 850 K was in the following order: chain > trigonal bipyramid. The current study confirmed that the AlNNT is capable of adsorbing As in the FG, and the Al surface had better performance. The current study also theoretically supported the fact that As could be removed from FG produced by coal power plants using the AlNNT as well as other semi-conductive materials as adsorbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • NF-Ni 2 P@NIFe LDH was fabricated, which outperforms the benchmark pair of RuO 2 //Pt/C. • It simultaneously possesses massive active sites and superior intrinsic activity. • Raman and XPS reveals FeOOH and NiOOH severed as active site for HER and OER. Building heterostructures with rich interfaces by surface engineering is one of the most promising approaches to integrating the rich functionalities for water splitting. Herein, the porous and superhydrophilic nickel phosphide@ NiFe bimetal layered double hydroxides (NF-Ni 2 P@NiFe LDH) heterostructure in situ grown on nickel foam was successfully constructed. As a result, the unique of self-supported heterostructure and superhydrophilic surface facilitated electron and mass transfer. In addition, the porous structure promoted active site exposure and was in favor of bubble release. Benefiting from the aforementioned advantages, the NF-Ni 2 P@NiFe LDH performed a superior catalytic performance for water splitting, with a low overpotential of 105.4 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and 203.5 mV for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at 10 mA cm−2, thus a battery voltage of just 1.53 V providing a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at a two-electrode electrolytic cell. Furthermore, the NF-Ni 2 P@NiFe LDH showed a remarkable stability, which worked for over 60 h at 100 mA cm−2 without visible delay. The ex-situ Raman revealed that the NiOOH and FeOOH severed as active site for OER and HER, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing active and durable cost-effective electrocatalysts for catalyzing the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under a strongly acidic environment is a highly promising approach for OER-associated sustainable energy supplies. Herein, a Pb-Sn-Ca/α-PbO 2 /β-PbO 2 -Mn 2 O 3 (PSC/PbO 2 -Mn 2 O 3) composite electrode is fabricated via a simple two-step process. First, porous Mn 2 O 3 microspheres are synthesized by the solvothermal method. Then, a PSC/PbO 2 -Mn 2 O 3 composite electrode with a special embedded structure is prepared through the introduction of Mn 2 O 3 by composite electrodeposition. The low OER overpotential (621 mV) of the PSC/PbO 2 -Mn 2 O 3 (12 g L −1) composite electrode is reduced by 445 mV compared with that of the industrial Pb-(0.76 wt%) Ag electrode at a current density of 50 mA cm−2. In addition, it shows a service life of up to 91 h at a high operation current density of 1.5 A cm−2 in acidic media (3.06 g L −1H+), which indicates its excellent stability. Therefore, this work not only demonstrates a design for a durable and high-efficiency electrocatalyst for acidic water oxidation but also provides strategies for the synthesis of advanced electrocatalytic electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of elevated ozone concentrations [O3] on two different ozone-sensitive wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars [Yangmai16 (Y16) and Yannong19 (Y19)] were investigated to determine the different apoplastic antioxidant mechanisms under O3-FACE (free-air controlled enrichment) condition. The results indicated that elevated [O3] (1.5 × ambient [O3]) induced increases in the production of superoxide anion (O2−), hydroxyl radical (HO), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and lipid peroxidation, and these results were more pronounced in the apoplasts of Y19 than in those of Y16. Apoplastic antioxidant enzymes were developmentally regulated and the effect of elevated [O3] depended on the developmental stage of wheat for both cultivars. In cultivar Y19, continuous O3 stress induced a decrease in the activity of apoplastic superoxide dismutase (SOD; EC 1.15.1.1), peroxidase (POD; EC 1.11.1.7) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX; EC 1.11.1.11) in the later growing stages, indicating Y19 appears to be the more sensitive cultivar and is prone to oxidative stress. The strategic response of antioxidant enzymes activities by Y16 in four different plant development stages (booting, flowering, filling and ripening) resulted in O3 stress-induced antioxidant defense responses, which indicated its higher tolerance to O3 stress. The same patterns of activity of apoplastic SOD and APX isozymes were observed in both Y16 and Y19 cultivars, while POD isozymes differed by cultivar in terms of the pattern of bands. The results of the present study show that O3 tolerance can be improved by regulating apoplastic ROS metabolism through the responses of apoplastic antioxidant enzymes to O3 stress in different plant development stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxygen evolution reaction kinetics in industrial zinc electrowinning is sluggish, resulting in low electrocatalytic activity and substantial energy expenditure (about one-third of energy was wasted due to the strong polarization effect). Herein, the paper described a core-shell structured MnCo 2 O 4.5 @C modified PbO 2 electrode through the pyrolysis and co-electrodeposition as a promising candidate for zinc electrowinning. As a result, the obtained Pb-0.2%Ag/ α -PbO 2 / β -PbO 2 -MnCo 2 O 4.5 @C composite electrode showed a sandwich-like structure, where Pb-0.2%Ag as a core, α -PbO 2 as a mid-layer, and β -PbO 2 -MnCo 2 O 4.5 @C served as an electrocatalytic layer. It also possessed improved OER catalytic activity, only required 680 mV to achieve a current density of 50 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 216.04 mV dec−1 in an acidic solution containing 50 g L−1 Zn2+ and 150 g L−1 H 2 SO 4. The current efficiency increased by 0.7% and the cell voltage reduced by 360 mV as compared to a conventional Pb-0.76%Ag alloy electrode, leading to a remarkable energy-consumption reduction of 283.5 kW h for producing per ton metallic zinc. Furthermore, Pb-0.2%Ag/ α -PbO 2 / β -PbO 2 -MnCo 2 O 4.5 @C exhibited a prolonged service life, which worked about 44 h under an ultra-high current density of 2 A cm−2. Hence, this paper provides the strategy to design and construct non-precious, high-performance catalyst for electrolysis and other applications. [Display omitted] • MoCo 2 O 4.5 @C modifying PbO 2 composite electrode was prepared through pyrosis-annealing and electrodeposition. • The overpotential at 50 mA cm−2 of composite electrode was decreased by 353 mV as compared with Pb-0.76%Ag alloy. • The composite electrode had a long service life of 44 h when tested at 2 A cm−2. • As compared to Pb-0.76%Ag alloy, the energy consumption of composite electrode for one-ton zinc was lowered by 283.5 kW h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the large amount of pesticides discharged into rivers, adverse effects could be induced to aquatic organisms. Daphnia magna is often used as an indicator organism to evaluate the toxicity of pesticides. In this study, a quantitative structure–toxicity relationship (QSTR) model was established based on norm descriptors for predicting the acute toxicity of pesticides to Daphnia magna. The model results showed the good predictability (R training 2 = 0.8045, R testing 2 = 0.8224). The validation results of internal validation, external validation, Y -randomization test and application domain analysis demonstrated the model's stability, reliability and robustness. Therefore, the above results indicate that norm descriptors might be universal for describing the relationship between the toxicity and structures of pesticides compounds. Moreover, some pesticides' toxicities without experimental data were also predicted by this model. [Display omitted] • Based on norm descriptors, a QSAR model was developed for acute toxicity of pesticides towards Daphnia magna with a large of data. • 48 h exposure time was considered in the present work. • The parameters of DFT were introduced into norm descriptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the large amount of pesticides discharged into rivers, adverse effects could be induced to aquatic organisms. Daphnia magna is often used as an indicator organism to evaluate the toxicity of pesticides. In this study, a quantitative structure–toxicity relationship (QSTR) model was established based on norm descriptors for predicting the acute toxicity of pesticides to Daphnia magna. The model results showed the good predictability (R training 2 = 0.8045, R testing 2 = 0.8224). The validation results of internal validation, external validation, Y -randomization test and application domain analysis demonstrated the model's stability, reliability and robustness. Therefore, the above results indicate that norm descriptors might be universal for describing the relationship between the toxicity and structures of pesticides compounds. Moreover, some pesticides' toxicities without experimental data were also predicted by this model. [Display omitted] • Based on norm descriptors, a QSAR model was developed for acute toxicity of pesticides towards Daphnia magna with a large of data. • 48 h exposure time was considered in the present work. • The parameters of DFT were introduced into norm descriptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A two-step colloidal synthesis of highly uniform Ag2S–ZnS matchstick-like hetero-nanorods, composed of Ag2S head and ZnS rod-like stem, is reported. Dodecanethiol is used as a sulfur source and a solvent. Ag2S nanocrystals are first prepared, act as a catalyst to grow anisotropic ZnS nanorods, and finally remain at the tip of the resultant nanorods, leading to Ag2S–ZnS hetero-nanorods with a matchstick-like shape. By decreasing the amount of Ag precursor (AgNO3), uniform ZnS nanorods without Ag2S catalytic heads can be prepared. The disappearance of Ag2S heads is attributed to the diffusion of Ag+ ions from Ag2S into the growing ZnS nanorods. These hetero-nanorods combine narrow band gap semiconductor Ag2S (bulk E g =0.9–1.1eV) with wide band gap semiconductor ZnS (bulk E g =3.77eV) and may be promising optical and/or optoelectronic materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: No previous study has reported the association of osteopontin polymorphisms with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) risk. We aimed to investigate the association in a Chinese population. Four variants of osteopontin, rs11730582, rs1126772, rs9138, and rs4754 polymorphisms, were assessed in a case-control study which consists of 108 NPC patients and 210 health controls, by using polymerase chain reaction – restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Serum osteopontin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The serum osteopontin levels were significantly higher in NPC patients than those in controls (P <0.01). Carriers of CC and CT genotype of rs11730582 presented lower serum osteopontin levels than those of TT genotype carriers (P <0.05). Genotypes CT and CT+CC of rs11730582 were associated with the risk of NPC (CT:OR=0.57, 95%CI=0.34–0.94; CC+CT:OR=0.54, 95%CI=0.34–0.87). Haplotype analysis revealed that haplotype T-A-A-C of rs11730582, rs1126772, rs9138, and rs4754 was associated with NPC risk (OR=0.49, 95%CI=0.27–0.86). Stratification analysis showed that genotypes CT and CT+CC of rs11730582 were associated with tumor stage and lymph node metastasis (P <0.05). No associations were found between rs1126772, rs9138, and rs4754 polymorphisms and NPC risk (P >0.05). The variant rs11730582 of osteopontin is associated with NPC risk. It potentially serves as a genetic marker of NPC predisposition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: CdS hexagonal nanoplates were prepared by a seeded growth mechanism in a one-pot solvothermal synthesis, where CuS was precipitated from solution before CdS and subsequently acted as the preformed seeds due to its relatively low solubility product constant (K sp) compared to CdS. The morphology, crystal structure and optical property of the as-prepared nanoplates were characterized by XRD, TEM, HRTEM, EDS, Raman and UV–vis absorption spectra. Our results showed both CdS and CuS crystallized in the hexagonal structure and that they had good matches with each other in the crystal planes of both {100} and {101}. The formation of CdS hexagonal nanoplates was attributed to the heteroepitaxial growth of CdS on CuS seeds at the highly reactive {100} and {101} crystal planes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] The ethanol extract (EE) from Ramaria flava displayed strong anticancer activity. [•] The water fraction of EE exhibited high DPPH and OH radical scavenging activity. [•] The EE also showed strong antimicrobial activity and moderate antifungal activity. [•] Three phenolic compounds from the water fraction were also identified by HPLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Stable self-mode-locking pulses with tunable center wavelength are achieved. • Based on 2D Mo 0.5 W 0.5 S 2 , The mode-locking pulses of 575 fs are obtained in Er-doped fiber laser. • More freedom to regulate Mo (1-x) W x S 2 energy bandgap by altering the proportion of Mo and W. In this paper, we utilized the ternary Mo (1-x) W x S 2 alloys to fabricate Mo 0.5 W 0.5 S 2 film, which serve as a ultrashort pulse mode-locker in erbium-doped all fiber lasers (EDFL). The modulation depth, saturable intensity and unsaturated loss of the film SA were 12%, 4.5 MW/cm2 and 67.1% respectively. Stable self-mode-locking pulses could be achieved with a threshold pump power of 60 mW. With the increasing pump power, the pulse was centered at 1556.8 nm ~ 1558.1 nm with pulse width of 575 fs ~ 800 fs. The shortest pulse width, fundamental repetition rate and maximum pulse energy is 575 fs, 4.873 MHz, and 0.154 nJ, respectively. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) was measured to be about 53 dB. For the first time, we have experimentally demonstrated a mode-locked EDFL based on Mo 0.5 W 0.5 S 2 SA. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first realization of femtosecond photonics based on Mo 0.5 W 0.5 S 2 SAs. Our results suggest that Mo 0.5 W 0.5 S 2 SA is a promising candidate for mode-locked ultrafast fiber laser in optoelectronic and optical communications applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Template growth and catalytic growth are two typical mechanisms that are often used to produce one-dimensional II–VI semiconductor nanostructures. Here we report the selective syntheses of ZnS nanowire-bundles and nanowires respectively based on these two different mechanisms. Oleylamine is employed as solvent and coordinating agent, which induces a template growth mechanism and thus yields ZnS nanowire-bundles composed of thin nanowires. With adding AgNO3 into oleylamine, an Ag2S-catalyzed growth mechanism is initiated and is found much stronger than the template growth, leading to ZnS nanowires of a relatively thick diameter. The proofs of the template mechanism arising from oleylamine and the catalytic mechanism based on Ag2S catalytic particles have been provided and meanwhile the competition and transition between such two mechanisms are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Rising tropospheric ozone concentrations ([O3]) can lead to considerable damage to agricultural crops. Experimental data have shown that the relationship between O3 injury and yield loss differs with crop species and that O3 sensitivity differs among cultivars of the same species. To explore a breeding strategy to adapt crops to high [O3], it is necessary to investigate the different mechanisms for cultivar resistance to O3 stress. Although several chamber-based studies have examined antioxidant defence differences in rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars in response to elevated [O3], such as the utilisation of the ascorbate–glutathione (AsA–GSH) cycle to eliminate reactive oxygen species (ROS), little research has been conducted under free-air O3 enrichment (O3-FACE) to address the different AsA–GSH cycle responses of rice cultivars. In this experiment, O3-FACE was used to investigate the AsA–GSH cycle in two rice cultivars, SY63 (O3-sensitive) and WXJ14 (O3-resistant). The results indicated that, compared with the ambient [O3], elevated [O3] (1.5×ambient [O3]) induced increases in the superoxide anion (O2 −) production rate, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and relative electrical conductivity; increases that were greater in SY63 than in WXJ14. Continuous O3 stress also resulted in a less efficient metabolism of the AsA–GSH cycle in SY63 compared to WXJ14. The results indicated that in SY63, elevated [O3] accelerated ROS metabolism rates, and the antioxidant system could not prevent oxidative damage, thus increasing membrane lipid peroxidation. In contrast, in WXJ14, there was transient damage in response to elevated [O3] early in the sampling period, which triggered the ROS to stimulate the antioxidant system to avoid O3 stress. Our results suggested that ROS detoxification by the AsA–GSH cycle under long-term exposure to an O3-enriched atmosphere plays a more important role in an O3-resistant rice cultivar than in an O3-sensitive rice cultivar and that a better understanding of antioxidant system mechanisms is essential to the assessment of different rice cultivars’ responses to future tropospheric [O3]. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: ZnSe nanowires with a high aspect ratio were synthesized via a solution-phase catalytic growth route, in which Ag2Se seeds served as catalysts and oleylamine (OA) as a surfactant. The strong capping/reducing capability of OA effectively decreased the size of Ag2Se catalytic seeds and thus the diameter of ZnSe nanowires with an improved uniformity. Other surfactants such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and citric acid (CA) were further comparably used in the synthesis, leading to the difference in the diameter and diameter-distribution of ZnSe nanowires. Meanwhile, the UV–vis absorption and Raman spectra of ZnSe nanowires were investigated, indicating a high quality of the resultant nanowires. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Zinc blende (ZB) CdSe hollow nanospheres were solvothermally synthesized from the reaction of Cd(NO3)2·4H2O with a homogeneously secondary Se source, which was first prepared by dissolving Se powder in the mixture of ethanol and oleic acid at 205°C. As Se power directly reacted with Cd(NO3)2·4H2O in the above mixed solvents, wurtzite (W) CdSe solid nanoparticles were produced. Time-dependent experiments suggested that the formation of CdSe hollow nanospheres was attributed to an inside-out Ostwald ripening process. The influences of reaction time, temperature and ethanol/oleic acid volume ratio on the morphology, phase and size of the hollow nanospheres were also studied. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy investigations revealed that oleic acid with long alkene chains behaved as a reducing agent to reduce Se powder to Se2− in the synthesis. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements showed that the ZB CdSe hollow nanospheres presented an obvious blue-shifted emission by 42nm, and the W CdSe solid nanoparticles exhibited a band gap emission of bulk counterpart. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The polarization transform errors of two-waveplate polarization state transformers (TWPST), which consist of quarter-waveplate (QWP) and half-waveplate (HWP), are discussed in detail. The error model of the TWPST based on a new and simple two dimensions geometry method instead of traditional Poincaré sphere method or Jones matrix method are proposed. We did the numerical calculations based on the error model of the TWPST. The results show that the output polarization state errors of the TWPST are chiefly sensitive to the azimuth angle errors of the QWP, and that there exist a pair of optimal error azimuth angles of QWP and HWP, which can minimize the azimuth angle error of the output polarization state of TWPST, and that the ellipticity error of output polarization state of TWPST is dependent only on the azimuth angle errors of QWP. The TWPST have enough accuracy to evaluate the polarization related effects (PRE) in the optical communication systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Overexpression of zinc-dependent metalloproteinase, aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13), is considered to be involved in the process of tumor invasion and metastasis. Herein we describe the synthesis and in vitro enzymatic inhibition assay of antineoplaston AS2–5 scaffold peptidomimetic compounds. The results demonstrated that most of these l-iso-glutamine derivatives displayed selective inhibitory activity against APN as compared with MMP-2, with IC50 values in the micromole range. The structure–activity relationships were also briefly discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]