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Amazonian andiroba shell was used as a non-expensive, renewable biomass resource to produce a porous activated carbon as a CO 2 adsorbent and a cheap supercapacitor material. Activated carbons were prepared by CO 2 physical activation of hydrochars obtained from hydrothermal carbon of biomass. The effect of activation times (1 h, 5 h, and 10 h) at 880 ºC on the physical characteristics of the activated carbons was investigated. A significant increase of surface area (from 616 to 1937 m2/g) with respect to the activation time was observed. AC-AND-5 h showed good microporosity, with the highest adsorption capacity of CO 2 was obtained as 3.2 mmol/g and 6.1 mmol/g at 25 ºC and 0 ºC up to 1 bar, respectively. The sample AND-AC-5 h shows a good CO 2 /N 2 selectivity and fast adsorption kinetics that be easily regenerated with superior cyclic stability after multiple cycles. Moreover, it proved that the photogenerated electrons and holes in wide band gap carbon can be easily transferred into carbon, resulting in a suppressed charge recombination. The best charge transfer processes was received for AC-AND-1 h sample. [Display omitted] • Activated carbons were prepared with HTC method successfully. • The textural properties can be tailored by the time carbonization. • The CO2 uptake reached up to 6.1 mmol/g and 3.2 mmol/g at 0 and 25 ºC, respectively. • AC-AND-5 h sorbent had highly stable after 15 consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles. • AC-AND-1 h had the best steady-state charge transfer process [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper chalcogenides are outstanding thermoelectric materials for applications in the medium-high temperature range. Among different chalcogenides, while Cu 2−x Se is characterized by higher thermoelectric figures of merit, Cu 2−x S provides advantages in terms of low cost and element abundance. In the present work, we investigate the effect of different dopants to enhance the Cu 2−x S performance and also its thermal stability. Among the tested options, Pb-doped Cu 2−x S shows the highest improvement in stability against sulfur volatilization. Additionally, Pb incorporation allows tuning charge carrier concentration, which enables a significant improvement of the power factor. We demonstrate here that the introduction of an optimal additive amount of just 0.3% results in a threefold increase of the power factor in the middle-temperature range (500–800 K) and a record dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit above 2 at 880 K. Small Pb amounts substitute Cu atoms within the Cu 1.8 S lattice to create a superstructure that shows improved stability against sulfur volatilization at temperatures up to 880 K, translating into unprecedented thermoelectric figures of merit up to ZT = 2.03. [Display omitted] • Small dopant amounts prevent sulfur loss from Cu 2−x S during heating. • Small amounts of Pb significantly improve Cu 2−x S power factors. • At an optimal dopant concentration, a record ZT = 2.03 is reached. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) show a huge potential to power future electric vehicles and portable electronics, but their deployment is currently limited by the unavailability of proper electrocatalysis for the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). In this work, we engineer a new electrocatalyst by incorporating phosphorous into a palladium-tin alloy and demonstrate a significant performance improvement toward EOR. We first detail a synthetic method to produce Pd 2 Sn:P nanocrystals that incorporate 35% of phosphorus. These nanoparticles are supported on carbon black and tested for EOR. Pd 2 Sn:P/C catalysts exhibit mass current densities up to 5.03 A mg Pd −1, well above those of Pd 2 Sn/C, PdP 2 /C and Pd/C reference catalysts. Furthermore, a twofold lower Tafel slope and a much longer durability are revealed for the Pd 2 Sn:P/C catalyst compared with Pd/C. The performance improvement is rationalized with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations considering different phosphorous chemical environments. Depending on its oxidation state, surface phosphorus introduces sites with low energy OH− adsorption and/or strongly influences the electronic structure of palladium and tin to facilitate the oxidation of the acetyl to acetic acid, which is considered the EOR rate limiting step. DFT calculations also points out that the durability improvement of Pd 2 Sn:P/C catalyst is associated to the promotion of OH adsorption that accelerates the oxidation of intermediate poisoning CO ads , reactivating the catalyst surface. Image 1 • A new electrocatalyst based on Pd 2 SnP x alloy is engineered. • Pd 2 SnP x /C exhibits enhanced activity toward ethanol oxidation in alkaline media. • Calculations show the incorporation of P to reduce OH− adsorption energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variants in wingless-type MMTV integration site family member 10A (WNT10A) have been proposed to be the most common cause of non-syndromic oligodontia (NSO). The goal of the present study was to identify the novel WNT10A variants in Chinese families with NSO. Clinical data were collected from 39 families with oligodontia admitted to the Hospital of Stomatology Hebei Medical University (China) from 2016 to 2022. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) and Sanger sequencing were performed to identify WNT10A variants in three families with non-syndromic oligodontia. Amino acid conservation analysis and protein conformational analysis were conducted for the WNT10A variant. Genotype-phenotype analysis was performed on the previously reported WNT10A variants related to NSO. We found a novel heterozygous WNT10A variant c.1127 G>A (p.Cys376Tyr) and two reported heterozygous variants c.460 C>A (p.Leu154Met) and c.511 C>T (p.Arg171Cys). Structural modeling showed that the novel WNT10A variant was located in a highly conserved domain, which led to structural damage of WNT10A protein. In addition, we found that the phenotype of the WNT10A variants affected the maxillary second premolars, followed by the mandibular second premolars, and rarely affected the maxillary central incisor. Herein, it is the first time to report that NSO patients with WNT10A monoallele mutation carry taurodontism phenotype and 6.1% prevalence of taurodontism in WNT10A -related NSO patients. Our results demonstrated that the novel variant c.1127 G>A (p.Cys376Tyr) of WNT10A causes NSO. The present study expanded the known variation spectrum of WNT10A and provided valuable information for genetic counseling of families. • First report that non-syndromic oligodontia (NSO) patients with WNT10A monoallele mutation carry taurodontism phenotype. • Demonstrated that the novel variant c.1127 G>A (p.Cys376Tyr) of WNT10A causes NSO. • 6.1% prevalence of taurodontism in WNT10A -related NSO patients. • WNT10A variants most commonly lead to loss of the maxillary second premolars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]