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The material transport system, facilitated by motor proteins, plays a vital role in maintaining a non‐equilibrium cellular state. However, understanding the temporal coordination of motor protein activity requires an advanced imaging technique capable of measuring 3D angular displacement in real‐time. In this study, a Fourier transform‐based plasmonic dark‐field microscope has been developed using anisotropic nanoparticles, enabling the prolonged and simultaneous observation of endosomal lateral and rotational motion. A sequence of discontinuous 3D angular displacements has been observed during the pause and run phases of transport. Notably, a serially correlated temporal pattern in the intermittent rotational events has been demonstrated during the tug‐of‐war mechanism, indicating Markovian switching between the exploitational and explorational modes of motor protein exchange prior to resuming movement. Alterations in transition frequency and the exploitation‐to‐exploration ratio upon dynein inhibitor treatment highlight the relationship between disrupted motor coordination and reduced endosomal transport efficiency. Collectively, these results suggest the importance of orchestrated temporal motor protein patterns for efficient cellular transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface modification offers an efficient and economical route to installing functional groups on a polymer surface. This work demonstrates that primary amine groups can be introduced onto a polymer surface via Buchwald–Hartwig amination, and the functionalized substrates can be chemically bonded to produce functional microfluidic devices. By activating the CCl bond in commercially used poly(chloro‐p‐xylylene) (parylene C) by Pd catalyst and substituting Cl with the amine source, the amine groups are successfully installed in a facile and recyclable manner. The substrates can be covalently bonded with each other via amine‐isocyanate chemistry, providing much higher bonding strength compared to previous methods based on noncovalent adhesive coatings. As a result, transparent and flexible microfluidic channels can be fabricated that are compatible with organic solvents and high pressure. Retention of amine group reactivity in the channel suggests the potential of this methodology for the surface immobilization of functional molecules for microfluidic reactors and biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the effect of calcium sources with different solubilities and the carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme on carbonate mineralization reaction, and analyzed the reaction rate, the morphology of the formed precipitate, and the surface. The CO2 mineralization rate was affected by the rate of CO2 hydration and the rate of Ca ionization. For all of the calcium sources tested, CA improved the overall carbonate mineralization rate, but depending on the solubility of each calcium source, the reaction rates were in the order of CaCl2 > Ca(OH)2 > CaO. From CaCl2, calcium carbonate was generated rapidly. This was due to the high concentration of calcium ions in the solution because it was easily dissolved. But because of its high surface energy, calcite and vaterite coexisted. On the other hand, Ca(OH)2 and CaO had relatively low solubility and the rate of calcium carbonate production was slow, but after the reaction, CaCO3 with a calcite structure was formed. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) into value‐added chemicals is a promising strategy to reduce CO2 emission and mitigate climate change. One of the most serious problems in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction (CO2R) is the low solubility of CO2 in an aqueous electrolyte, which significantly limits the cathodic reaction rate. This paper proposes a facile method of catholyte‐free electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to avoid the solubility limitation using commercial tin nanoparticles as a cathode catalyst. Interestingly, as the reaction temperature rises from 303 K to 363 K, the partial current density (PCD) of formate improves more than two times with 52.9 mA cm−2, despite the decrease in CO2 solubility. Furthermore, a significantly high formate concentration of 41.5 g L−1 is obtained as a one‐path product at 343 K with high PCD (51.7 mA cm−2) and high Faradaic efficiency (93.3 %) via continuous operation in a full flow cell at a low cell voltage of 2.2 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simultaneous process of NaOH production via electrolysis of NaCl and CO2 capture was investigated due to the expectation of reduction in capital cost. It was found that seawater concentration of NaCl solution was adaptable to be used as both anolyte and catholyte and that 90 °C was the most proper temperature for NaOH production among the test conditions in this work. Under these electrolyte and temperature conditions, the simultaneous NaOH production and CO2 capture processes were conducted and more than 98.83 % of OH− was reacted with CO2 to yield aqueous carbonate solutions. Additional electrochemical CO2 capture tests were carried out depending on the different CO2 concentration of mixed gases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we suggest a new approach to an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) that is based on a proton-conducting ionic clathrate hydrate (ICH). The ice-like structures of clathrate hydrates, which are comprised of host water molecules and guest ions, make them suitable for applications in EDLC electrolytes, owing to their high proton conductivities and thermal stabilities. The carbon materials in the ICH Me4NOH ⋅5 H2O show a high specific capacitance, reversible charge-discharge behavior, and a long cycle life. The ionic-hydrate complex provides the following advantages in comparison with conventional aqueous and polymer electrolytes: 1) The ICH does not cause leakage problems under normal EDLC operating conditions. 2) The hydrate material can be utilized itself, without requiring any pre-treatments or activation for proton conduction, thus shortening the preparation procedure of the EDLC. 3) The crystallization of the ICH makes it possible to tailor practical EDLC dimensions because of its fluidity as a liquid hydrate. 4) The hydrate solid electrolyte exhibits more-favorable electrochemical stability than aqueous and polymer electrolytes. Therefore, ICH materials are expected to find practical applications in versatile energy devices that incorporate electrochemical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]