Search

Development of a sustainable route for the synthesis of Fe-ZSM-5 zeolites is important due to their diverse applications in different fields. Herein, we report a novel, efficient and an eco-friendly dry gel conversion method to one-pot synthesize Fe-ZSM-5 zeolite containing framework heteroatoms under the conditions that neither the template nor the seed crystal was added. The present strategy not only improves the synthesis efficiency of zeolites, but also reduces the cost and environmental pollution by avoiding using ordinary template. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized samples were analyzed by XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption, SEM, UV–visible diffuse reflectance, XPS, FT-IR and NH3-TPD techniques. The characterization results revealed that the Fe species in the one-pot synthesized Fe-ZSM-5 zeolite (Fe-ZSM-5-In) mainly exist in the zeolite framework in the form of Fe3+, while those in the Fe/ZSM-5 zeolite prepared by impregnation (Fe/ZSM-5-Im) mostly exist on the surface of the zeolite in the form of non-framework Fe such as oligomeric Fex3+Oy clusters and Fe2O3 particles. Fe-ZSM-5-In possessed enhanced acid amount and better distribution of framework Fe3+ species than Fe/ZSM-5-Im. The results of catalytic performance evaluation show that the propylene yield is improved by the Fe modified ZSM-5 additives due to enhanced acid content and acid strength. Compared with the Fe/ZSM-5-Im additive, the Fe-ZSM-5-In additive has higher propylene yield and lower coke yield owing to its more acid content and lower dehydrogenation activity. The Fe-ZSM-5 zeolite containing the framework heteroatoms was one-pot synthesized by the dry gel conversion (DGC) method under the conditions that neither the template nor the seed crystal is added, which exhibits improv ed catalytic activity and has higher propylene yield than the Fe/ZSM-5 additive in the catalytic cracking process.

Nanoporous (NP) PdCu alloy is easily fabricated by dealloying PdCuAl ternary alloy in dilute sulfuric acid. Selectively dissolving Al from PdCuAl alloy generates the three-dimensional uniform nanosponge architecture with narrow ligament size distribution. Benefitting from the unique nanoporous architecture and the alloying effect, the as-made NP-PdCu exhibits outstanding sensing performance towards the detection of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and glucose. Compared with NP-Pd and commercial Pd/C catalysts, the NP-PdCu alloy presents high sensitivity, wide linear range of 0.1–2.0 mM, low detection limit of 2.1 μM, and long-term stability toward H2O2 detection. In addition, the NP-PdCu can efficiently detect glucose in a wide concentration range (1–30 mM) with the low detection limit of 1.9 μM. Moreover, the NP-PdCu exhibits good anti-interference toward ascorbic acid, uric acid, and dopamine. Characterized by easy preparation, unique electrocatalytic activity, and high structure stability, the NP-PdCu alloy possesses great application prospect to construct platform for electrochemical sensing.

Meso-ZSM-5 zeolites with unique catalytic cracking properties have been prepared from commercial ZSM-5 using sequential desilication–dealumination strategy. Desilication and dealumination conditions, including concentration, temperature, dissolution time and liquid–solid ratio were systematically studied and optimized. Characterization results revealed that mesoporosity can be effectively introduced into commercial ZSM-5 crystals by desilication. The introduction of mesopores enables the well interconnectivity of micropores. Concomitant dealumination by removing Al-rich debris from desilicated samples shows superiority in micro- and mesopore network, remedying the limitation of desilication. The removal of the debris preserves intrinsic microporosity and improves the acid site accessibility in zeolites. Based on optimized parameters of porosity tuning tests at 0.25 L scale, the preparation route was scaled up to a pilot scale (50 L). In the heavy oil catalytic cracking test, compared with P-ZSM-5-contained catalyst, A-ZSM-5-contained and ACP-ZSM-5-contained FCC catalyst display increased heavy oil conversion (from 67.68 to 68.25 and 68.33 wt%, respectively), improved light olefin yield including propylene (from 5.67 to 5.87 and 6.11 wt%, respectively) and promoted yields of both gasoline and diesel.

Although nanomaterials have been widely investigated for drug delivery, imaging and immunotherapy, their potential roles in triggering innate cellular immune responses while simultaneously serving as imaging enhancer remain unexplored. In this work, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) conjugated to the tumor-targeting anti-GD2 antibody hu14.18K322A, namely HGNPs, were designed and synthesized to specifically enhance computerized tomography (CT) imaging contrast and to stimulate the attack of neuroblastoma and melanoma cells by natural killer (NK) cells. The HGNPs specifically targeted GD2-positive neuroblastoma (NB1691) and melanoma (M21) cells, with an enhancement of CT contrast images of the HGNP-labeled cell pellets by 5.27- and 7.66-fold, respectively, compared to images of unlabeled cell pellets. The HGNPs also triggered NK-mediated antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) in NB1691 and M21 cells with a two-fold higher efficacy compared to that elicited by hu14.18K322A alone, with no adverse effect to GD2-negative PC-3 cells. These results suggest that HGNPs are promising theranostic agents for neuroblastoma and melanoma cancers.

Nanoporous (NP) PdCu alloy is easily fabricated by dealloying PdCuAl ternary alloy in dilute sulfuric acid. Selectively dissolving Al from PdCuAl alloy generates the three-dimensional uniform nanosponge architecture with narrow ligament size distribution. Benefitting from the unique nanoporous architecture and the alloying effect, the as-made NP-PdCu exhibits outstanding sensing performance towards the detection of hydrogen peroxide (H

Amindoximes are geometric isomers of N-hydroxyamidines which are bioisosteres of hydroxamates. Since amindoxime group is capable of chelating transition metal ions including zinc ion, amindoximes should possess histone deacetylases (HDACs) inhibitory activity. In this work, we designed and synthesized a series of amindoximes, examined their inhibitory activities against HDACs, and investigated their cytotoxicity to human cancer cells. Preliminary results demonstrated that amindoximes possessed submicromolar HDACs inhibitory activity, with noteworthy enhancement compared with hydroxamates. Furthermore, the amindoximes arrested HCT116 and A549 cells in G2/M phase and showed good efficacy in inducing cells death. We provided a proof-of-concept that amindoximes could be used as HDACs inhibitors and hold great promise as epigenetic drugs.