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In terms of CO2 capture and storage (CCS), it is highly desired to substitute of high efficiency process for the applied one which is far from the ideal one. Physical processes cannot capture CO2 effectively, meanwhile CO2 desorption is energy-intensive in chemical processes. Herein, a depth-suitable and water-stable trap for CO2 capture was discovered. Carboxylates can react with polybasic acid roots by forming united hydrogen bonds. Carboxylate ionic liquid (IL) aqueous solutions can absorb one equimolar CO2 chemically under ambient pressure, and its CO2 desorption is easy, similar to that in physical absorption/desorption processes. When used as aqueous solutions, carboxylate ILs can replace alkanolamines directly in the applied CCS process, and the efficiency is enhanced significantly due to the low regenerating temperature. CO2 (or polybasic acids) can be used as a polarity switch for ILs and surfactants. A new method for producing carboxylate ILs is also proposed.

Summary C(OH)–C bonds are widely distributed in naturally renewable biomass, such as carbohydrates, lignin, and their platform molecules. Selective cleavage and functionalization of C(OH)–C bonds is an attractive strategy in terms of producing value-added chemicals from biomass. However, effective transformation of alcohols into esters by activation of C(OH)–C bonds has not been achieved so far. Herein, for the first time, we report selective cleavage and esterification of C(OH)–C bonds, catalyzed by inexpensive copper salts, using environmentally benign oxygen as the oxidant, to afford methyl esters in excellent yields. A diverse range of phenylethanol derivatives that contain C(OH)–C bonds were effectively converted into methyl benzoates. Detailed analysis revealed that the high efficiency and selectivity resulted mainly from the fact that, in addition to the major esterification reaction, the side products (e.g., olefins and acids) were also transformed in situ into esters in the reaction system.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal and progressive lung disease with limited therapies, while transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) plays a central role in the pathogenesis of IPF. Here, we aim to investigate the chemical constituents and biological activities of Inula japonica Thunb. on the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway to determine the principal compounds of anti-pulmonary fibrosis drugs. Extracts of Inula japonica Thunb. were separated by silica gel column chromatography, ODS medium pressure liquid chromatography and HPLC. The purities and structures were established by NMR, MS and circular dichroism. These extracts’ cytotoxicity and proliferation inhibition of fibroblasts were determined by MTT assay. The lung fibroblasts stably transformed with TGF-β1/Smad3-luciferase reporter gene were used to screen for active ingredients that exert an inhibitory effect on the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway. Real-time PCR assays were used to detect whether the selected compounds could interfere with the activation of fibroblasts. Among the nineteen compounds extracted from Inula japonica Thunb., 15 and 17 have shown significant inhibitory activity of the TGF-β1/Smad3 pathway in fibroblasts. Additionally, mRNA levels of α-SMA and collagen 1 in myofibroblasts after TGF-β1 stimulation were suppressed by 15 and 17. In conclusion, chemical components of the extract from Inula japonica Thunb. might be potential agents for the treatment of IPF.

Stable organic nitroxyl radicals are an important class of catalysts for oxidation reactions, but their wide applications are hindered by their steric hinderance, high cost, complex operation, and separation procedures. Herein, NO2 in DMSO is shown to effectively catalyze the aerobic oxidative cleavage of C(OH)-C bonds to form a carboxylic group, and NO2 was generated in situ by decomposition of nitrates. A diverse range of secondary alcohols were selectively converted into acids in excellent yields in this transition-metal-free system without any additives. Preliminary results also indicate its applicability to depolymerize recalcitrant macromolecular lignin. Detail studies revealed that NO2 from nitrates promoted the reaction, and NO2 served as hydrogen acceptor and radical initiator for the tandem oxidative reaction.

Sodium super-ionic conductor (NASICON) structured Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP), a promising cathode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), benefits by its unique three-dimensional (3D) channel structure. However, the inherent characteristics of NVP (such as low electrical conductivity) usually lead to inferior rate and long-cycling performance, which miss the requirements of practical application in electrical energy storage systems (ESSs). Herein, we propose the synthesis of porous high-crystalline Na3V2(PO4)3/C nanoplates (NVP/C-P) via hydrothermal method and post-calcination. The porous nanoplate structure provides increased specific surface area and shortened diffusion pathway for ion/electron transport. Consequently, NVP/C-P cathodes exhibit a high specific capacity (117 mAh g−1, 0.2 C), exceptional rate performance (76.5 mAh g−1, 100 C) and long cyclic stability (10,000 cycles).

A new visible light responsive photocatalyst Sn(II)-doped SrNb2O6 has been developed for water reduction and water oxidation reactions. First-principles calculations revealed that the Sn(II) dopant created a new occupied state in the band gap which resulted in photocatalytic activities under visible light irradiation.

A theoretical investigation for the feasibility of laser cooling B N - anion is presented. An ab initio calculation on the three low-lying states Χ2Σ+, Α2Π and Β2Σ+ are performed at the CASSCF/MRCI + Q level. The calculated spectroscopic constants are in good agreement with the available theoretical and experimental data. Radiative properties including Franck-Condon factor, Einstein coefficients and radiative lifetimes are determined. The calculation shows that the transition B 2 Σ + ( v ' ) ↔ X 2 Σ + ( v ' ' ) has highly diagonal FCFs, especially f00 = 0.9898, and enough short radiative lifetimes. A cooling scheme by three laser beams is proposed, which requires one main pumping laser ( λ 00 = 474.67 nm) and two repumping lasers ( λ 01 = 514.64 nm, λ 12 = 514.90 nm). The population dynamics of cooling is investigated with the rate equation approach. The simulation demonstrates that the population does not remain trapped within the intermediate Α2Π state. The resultant scattered photons are about 2.5 × 10 4 , which is expected to stop B N - anion molecule in a cryogenic beam theoretically.

In this study, we performed in vivo experiments on mice to evaluate whether whole-body hyperthermia enhances nanoparticle delivery to PC3 (prostatic cancer) tumors. PC3 xenograft tumors in immunodeficient mice were used in this study. The mice in the experimental group were subjected to whole-body hyperthermia by maintaining their body temperatures at 39–40 °C for 1 h. Interstitial fluid pressures (IFPs) in tumors were measured before heating, immediately after, and at 2 and 24 h postheating in both the experimental group and in a control group (without heating). A total of 0.2 ml of a newly developed nanofluid containing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was delivered via the tail vein in both groups. The micro-computed tomography (microCT) scanned images of the resected tumors were analyzed to visualize the nanoparticle distribution in the tumors and to quantify the total amount of nanoparticles delivered to the tumors. Statistically significant IFP reductions of 45% right after heating, 47% 2 h after heating, and 52% 24 h after heating were observed in the experimental group. Analyses of microCT scans of the resected tumors illustrated that nanoparticles were more concentrated near the tumor periphery rather than at the tumor center. The 1-h whole-body hyperthermia treatment resulted in more nanoparticles present in the tumor central region than that in the control group. The mass index calculated from the microCT scans suggested overall 42% more nanoparticle delivery in the experimental group than that in the control group. We conclude that 1-h mild whole-body hyperthermia leads to sustained reduction in tumoral IFPs and significantly increases the total amount of targeted gold nanoparticle deposition in PC3 tumors. The present study suggests that mild whole-body hyperthermia is a promising approach for enhancing targeted drug delivery to tumors.

Germanium quantum dots (GeQDs), addressed by self-aligned and epitaxial silicon nanowires (SiNWs) as electrodes, represent the most fundamental and the smallest units that can be integrated into Si optoelectronics for 1550 nm wavelength detection. In this work, individual GeQD photodetectors have been fabricated based on a low temperature self-condensation of uniform amorphous Si (a-Si)/a-Ge bilayers at 300 °C, led by rolling indium (In) droplets. Remarkably, the diameter of the GeQD nodes can be independently controlled to achieve wider GeQDs for maximizing infrared absorption with narrower SiNW electrodes to ensure a high quality Ge/Si hetero-epitaxial connection. Importantly, these hetero GeQD/SiNW photodetectors can be deployed into predesigned locations for scalable device fabrication. The photodetectors demonstrate a responsivity of 1.5 mA W−1 and a photoconductive gain exceeding 102 to the communication wavelength signals, which are related to the beneficial type-II Ge/Si alignment, gradient Ge/Si epitaxial transition and a larger QD/NW diameter ratio. These results indicate a new approach to batch-fabricate and integrate GeQDs for ultra-compact Si-compatible photodetection and imaging applications.

Two novel phenothiazine-based organic dyes have been designed and synthesized as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). In these dyes, we have employed carbazole as donor, phenothiazine as π-bridge, and rhodanine acetic acid as acceptor. For comparison, a benzene group has been introduced as the π-linker between carbazole donor and phenothiazine π-bridge with meta or para connection mode. Using the dye with the para-connected method, the DSSC devices exhibited higher power conversion efficiency of 5.57% than those based on dye with meta-connection mode (4.56%). The improved performance mainly came from better short-circuit photocurrent current. Photophysical, electrochemical, theoretical calculations and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy have been further investigated to disclose corresponding device mechanisms.

Both direct oxidation of aromatic benzyl compounds to aromatic ketones and utilization of naturally occurring chemicals to prepare functional catalysts are highly attractive. Herein, copper phosphate was successfully synthesized by using naturally occurring phytic acid as the phosphorus source. The obtained copper phosphate showed excellent performance for the direct oxidation of aromatic benzyl compounds to aromatic ketones with N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) as the radical promoter using O2 as the oxidant. Additionally, the synthesized copper phosphate was stable in the reaction system and could be used at least four cycles without considerable decrease in catalytic performance. This work provides a new way to prepare efficient heterogeneous catalysts using naturally occurring chemicals for the highly efficient oxidation of aromatic benzyl compounds to aromatic ketones.

Two glycerol based non-ionic surfactants 1,3-bis(octylamino)propan-2-ol (BAPO-C8) and 1,3-bis(dodecylamino)propan-2-ol (BAPO-C12) were synthesized, and their surface property, critical micelle concentration (cmc), interfacial property, and emulsifying ability were studied. It was found that the surfactants exhibited low cmc and excellent ability to reduce interfacial tension. They were efficient for emulsifying hexane/water, heptane/water, octane/water and chloroform/water systems. It is worth noting that high-internal-phase emulsions (HIPE, 80% internal phase) (o/w) could be formed in the water/alkane systems. Moreover, a common water in oil emulsion (w/o) was formed in water/chloroform system stabilized by BAPO-C12. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) results indicated that the size of droplets in the HIPEs increased with the increase of hydrophobic chain length of oil phase. The hexane/water emulsion had higher apparent viscosity (ƞ) than the emulsions with other alkanes, indicating that the emulsions had much stronger network of oil droplets. All the emulsions showed good stability with and without salts.

Nanoporous WO3 photoanodes are prepared by an electrophoretic deposition method. Postnecking treatment of the WO3 photoanodes by dropping ammonium metatungstate solution following annealing remarka...

Tin disulfide, as a promising high-capacity anode material for sodium-ion batteries, exhibits high theoretical capacity but poor practical electrochemical properties due to its low electrical conductivity. Constructing heterostructures has been considered to be an effective approach to enhance charge transfer and ion-diffusion kinetics. In this work, composites of SnS2 /Sb2 S3 heterostructures with reduced graphene oxide nanosheets were synthesized by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method. When applied as anode material in sodium-ion batteries, the composite showed a high reversible capacity of 642 mA h g-1 at a current density of 0.2 A g-1 and good cyclic stability without capacity loss in 100 cycles. In particular, SnS2 /Sb2 S3 heterostructures exhibited outstanding rate performance with capacities of 593 and 567 mA h g-1 at high current densities of 2 and 4 A g-1 , respectively, which could be ascribed to the dramatically improved Na+ diffusion kinetics and electrical conductivity.

A novel MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) decorated g-C3N4/Ag heterostructured photocatalyst has been synthesized via a two-step method including in situ microemulsion-assisted reduction and wetness impregnation method. The obtained heterostructure photocatalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and photoluminescence spectrosxopy (PL). The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible-light irradiation. The MoS2 QDs decorated hybrid photocatalysts exhibited significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance. The concentration of Ag and MoS2 QDs showing the optimal photocatalytic performance was determined to be 10% and 0.3% respectively, which exceeded the photocatalytic performance of pure g-C3N4 by more than 4.7 times. Recycling experiments confirmed that the hybrid catalysts had superior cycle performance and stability. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of MoS2 QDs decorated g-C3N4/Ag hybrid photocatalysts can be mainly ascribed to enhanced visible-light absorption, the efficient separation of photogenerated charge carriers and the stronger oxidation and reduction ability through a Z-scheme system composed of g-C3N4, Ag and MoS2 QDs, in which Ag nanoparticles act as the charge separation center. The evidence of the Z-scheme photocatalytic mechanism of the composite photocatalysts was obtained from the active species trapping experiments.

Both the utilization of naturally occurring compounds to prepare functional materials and the selective conversion of aldehydes with other reducible moieties (ORMs) are very attractive topics. Herein, we synthesized a novel porous material, hafnium phytate (Hf-Phy), by using naturally derived sodium phytate as the building block. Hf-Phy has plenty of mesopores centered around 11.8 nm. Hf-Phy showed excellent performance for the transfer hydrogenation of aldehydes with ORMs by using 2-propanol as the hydrogen source with high selectivities (95–100 %) for alcohols without reducing ORMs. Systematic studies suggested that the oxophilicity of Hf4+ and the basicity and structure of Hf-Phy contributed significantly to the excellent performance. Additionally, Hf-Phy could be used over at least five cycles without any decrease in activity or selectivity.

The high stability of C–O bonds in diaryl ethers limits the valorization of lignin. Herein, reductive hydrolysis of C–O bonds in diaryl ethers was achieved over Pd nanoparticle/polyoxometalate–ionic liquid composite supported on SiO2 (Pd/H2[POM-IL]@SiO2) in water, selectively yielding ketones free from their alcohol counterparts in unprecedentedly high yields (>80%).

Tin-based compounds are promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), owing to their high theoretical capacities and relatively low sodiation potential. However, their high-rate performance and cycle life-span are severely impeded by the inherent sluggish reaction kinetics and large structural change during charging and discharging. Herein, we report a composite anode consisting of SnO2/SnSe2 heterostructure nanoparticles uniformly encapsulated in N-doped carbon nanotubes (SnO2/SnSe2@C) for high-performance SIBs. The hollow tube nano-architecture not only accommodates the volume expansion of SnO2/SnSe2, but also facilitates the electrolyte penetration and shortens Na+ pathways. Meanwhile, the N-doped carbon shells provide highways for electron transport and contribute to the total capacity. More importantly, the construction of heterostructures boosts the charge transfer kinetics and further stabilizes the electrode structure by the additional confining effects of the increased crystalline boundaries. Benefiting from the synergistic effects between the elaborately-designed electrode architecture and the incorporation of heterostructures, the SnO2/SnSe2@C composite delivered a superior rate capability (322 mAh g−1 at 4 A g−1) and remarkable cycling stability with a capacity retention of 87.7% after 1000 cycles at 2 A g−1.

Ethanol is an important bulk chemical and alternative fuel that is currently synthesized by catalytic hydration of ethylene or fermentation of foods. CO2 is a cheap and renewable carbon resource. Transformation of CO2 into useful chemicals is an interesting topic in green chemistry. Production of ethanol using CO2 and H2 is a promising route, but the efficiency of the reaction is not satisfactory. In this paper, we propose a protocol to synthesize ethanol from paraformaldehyde, CO2 and H2. The reaction could be efficiently accelerated by a Ru–Co bimetallic catalyst using LiI as the promoter in 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) under mild conditions. The selectivity of ethanol in total products reached 50.9 C-mol%, which was obviously higher than that of the reported routes. Furthermore, the TOF of ethanol based on Ru metal was as high as 17.9 h−1. To our knowledge, this is the first report on ethanol synthesis from paraformaldehyde, CO2 and H2. A detailed study indicated that the outstanding results of the reaction originated from the synergy of paraformaldehyde hydrogenation, reverse water gas shift reaction and methanol homologation.

The synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from CO2 and methanol is a very interesting reaction, but is thermodynamically limited. In this work, CaC2 was used to consume the water produced in the reaction to shift the reaction equilibrium, and C2H2 was produced at the same time. This is the first work on the combination of driving a thermodynamically unfavorable reaction and producing C2H2 using CaC2.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive lung disease with a poor prognosis and limited therapies, and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) plays a central role in the pathogenesis of IPF. Here, we aimed to investigate the chemical constituents and biological activities of Hypericum longistylum and detect whether the isolated compounds inhibit the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway to identify candidate compounds for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. Fifteen compounds (1-15) were isolated from H. longistylum and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses. An in vitro MTT assay was used to test the effect of these fifteen compounds on fibroblast cytotoxicity and vitality. Furthermore, their bioactivities were screened using a TGF-β1/Smad3 pathway luciferase reporter in vitro. MTT screening found that compounds 1-15 had no deleterious effects on normal mouse lung fibroblasts and no significant inhibition of vitality. Luciferase assay showed that compounds 14 and 15 could significantly inhibit the TGF-β1/Smad3 pathway with the inhibition rates of 67.92% and 93.10%, respectively. Both compounds can be used as lead compounds for structural modification and optimization to obtain more drug candidates for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

This study provides insights into the molecular tailoring of DSSC dyes via synthesis/investigation of three new organic dyes with the position engineering of the acceptor moiety. Differences in photophysical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties are found and interpreted in detail. The excitation-spectrum study shows that the population of the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) is incident-wavelength dependent; and the ICT excitons originate not only from direct ICT band transition but also from π-π* energy transfer, and the degree of the latter depends much on the position of the anchoring group. The transient photoluminescence discloses that the non-injection quenching of the ortho dye is the most severe possibly due to the instability of the excited state resulting from the hurdling of electron delocalization by the large steric hinderance. Large steric hinderance in the ortho dye also results in the least dye loading on TiO2 photoanode. Due to broader/stronger absorption, higher dye loading, high injection efficiency and low charge recombination rate, the para-substituted dye DSSC device achieves the best performance with power conversion efficiency of 6.63%; while the ortho dye based device performs the worst with significant lower of photocurrent and photovoltage compared to the para dye. The dye dependent VOC is explained by combination of dipole moment and dye loading. Particularly, the employing of excitation spectrum as tools to investigate the intrinsic photophysical complicity of dyes with D-π-A structure, which is scarcely reported, is proved to be an effective way.

TixNixCu50−xZr50−x (x = 38, 40, 42, 44, at%) crystal-glassy composite alloys with diameter of 2 mm have been prepared by using water-cooled copper mold casting method. The plasticity, strength, and electrochemical corrosion properties of the alloys were investigated. All the Ti-Ni-Cu-Zr alloys showed high strength and excellent plasticity. Specifically, the compressive strength and total strain of the Ti44Ni44Cu6Zr6 alloy were 2750 MPa and 27%, respectively. The superelastic behavior can be attributed to the existence of reversible stress, which induces martensitic transformation. In addition, the Ti-Ni-Cu-Zr amorphous matrix composites exhibited excellent anti-corrosion property in 3.5% NaCl, 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 and 1 mol/L NaOH aqueous solution.

The effects of particle size distribution on compacted density of as-prepared spherical lithium iron phosphate (LFP) LFP-1 and LFP-2 materials electrode for high-performance 18650 Li-ion batteries are investigated systemically, while the selection of two commercial materials LFP-3 and LFP-4 as a comparison. The morphology study and physical characterization results show that the LFP materials are composed of numerous particles with an average size of 300–500 nm, and have well-developed interconnected pore structure and a specific surface area of 13–15 m2/g. For CR2032 coin-type cell, the specific discharge capacities of the LFP-1 and LFP-2 are about 165 mAh/g at 0.2 C. For 18650 batteries, results indicate that the LFP-3 material has the highest compacted density of 2.52 g/cm3 at a concentrated particle size distribution such as D10 = 0.56 μm, D50 = 1.46 μm, and D90 = 6.53 μm. By mixing two different particle sizes of LFP-1 and LFP-2, the compaction density can be increased significantly from 1.90 g/cm3 to 2.25 g/cm3.

Prussian blue and its analogues (PBAs) have been recognized as one of the most promising cathode materials for room-temperature sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Herein, we report high crystalline and Na-rich Prussian white Na2 CoFe(CN)6 nanocubes synthesized by an optimized and facile co-precipitation method. The influence of crystallinity and sodium content on the electrochemical properties was systematically investigated. The optimized Na2 CoFe(CN)6 nanocubes exhibited an initial capacity of 151 mA h g-1 , which is close to its theoretical capacity (170 mA h g-1 ). Meanwhile, the Na2 CoFe(CN)6 cathode demonstrated an outstanding long-term cycle performance, retaining 78 % of its initial capacity after 500 cycles. Furthermore, the Na2 CoFe(CN)6 Prussian white nanocubes also achieved a superior rate capability (115 mA h g-1 at 400 mA g-1 , 92 mA h g-1 at 800 mA g-1 ). The enhanced performances could be attributed to the robust crystal structure and rapid transport of Na ions through large channels in the open-framework. Most noteworthy, the as-prepared Na2 CoFe(CN)6 nanocubes are not only low-cost in raw materials but also contain a rich sodium content (1.87 Na ions per lattice unit cell), which will be favorable for full cell fabrication and large-scale electric storage applications.

Biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) have demonstrated significant potential to improve the systemic delivery of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, such as small interfering RNA (siRNA), for cancer therapy. However, the slow and inefficient siRNA release inside tumor cells generally observed for most biodegradable polymeric NPs may result in compromised gene silencing efficacy. Herein, a biodegradable and redox-responsive NP platform, composed of a solid poly(disulfide amide) (PDSA)/cationic lipid core and a lipid-poly(ethylene glycol) (lipid-PEG) shell for systemic siRNA delivery to tumor cells, is developed. This newly generated NP platform can efficiently encapsulate siRNA under extracellular environments and can respond to the highly concentrated glutathione (GSH) in the cytoplasm to induce fast intracellular siRNA release. By screening a library of PDSA polymers with different structures and chain lengths, the optimized NP platform shows the unique features of i) long blood circulation, ii) high tumor accumulation, iii) fast GSH-triggered intracellular siRNA release, and iv) exceptionally effective gene silencing. Together with the facile polymer synthesis technique and robust NP formulation enabling scale-up, this new redox-responsive NP platform may become an effective tool for RNAi-based cancer therapy.