Embedding ultrasmall Ag nanoclusters in Luria-Bertani extract via light irradiation for enhanced antibacterial activity

Nano Research - Ultrasmall silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) with rich surface chemistry and good biocompatibility are promising in antibacterial application, however, further development of Ag NCs for...     

Hybrids of gold nanoparticles and oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene)s end-functionalized with alkynylruthenium groups: Outstanding two-photon absorption in the second biological window

Oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene)s (OPEs) end-capped with (alkynyl)bis(diphosphine)ruthenium and thiol/thiolate groups stabilize ca. 2 nm diameter gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The morphology, elemental composition and stability of the resultant organometallic OPE/AuNP hybrid materials have been defined using a combination of molecular- and nano-material chacterization techniques. The hybrids display long-term stability in solution (more than a month), good solubility in organic solvents, reversible ruthenium-centered oxidation, and transparency beyond 800 nm, and possess very strong nonlinear absorption activity at the first biological window, and unprecedented two-photon absorption activity in the second biological window (σ₂ up to 38,000 GM at 1,050 nm).

     

Backtesting portfolio value-at-risk with estimated portfolio weights

This article theoretically and empirically analyzes backtesting portfolio value-at-risk (VaR) with estimation risk in an intrinsically multi-variate framework. It particularly takes into account the estimation of portfolio weights in forecasting portfolio VaR and its impact on backtesting. It shows that the estimation risk from estimating portfolio weights and that from estimating the multi-variate dynamic model make the existing methods in a univariate framework inapplicable. It proposes a general theory to quantify estimation risk applicable to the present problem and suggests practitioners a simple but effective way to implement valid inference to overcome the effect of estimation risk in backtesting portfolio VaR. In particular, we apply our theory to the efficient mean-variance-skewness portfolio for a multi-variate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity model with multi-variate general hyperbolic distributed innovations. Some Monte Carlo simulations and an empirical application demonstrate the merits of our method.     

Se doped nickel-molybdenum bimetal sulfide with enhanced electrochemical activity for hydrogen evolution reaction

In this work, we synthesized Se doped MoS₂@Ni₃S₂ with nanosheets coated nanorods structure supported on Ni foam (MoNiSeS). Firstly, MoS₂@Ni₃S₂ (MoNiS) nanorods was synthesized by hydrothermal method. After selenization treatment, MoSe₂ successfully formed on the edge of MoS₂ nanosheets and particle Ni₃S₂ transformed into NiSe, in which MoSe₂ and NiSe acted as new phase in MoNiSeS. The obtained MoNiSeS only needs a low overpotential of 68 mV to reach the current density of 10 mA cm^?2, and has a low Tafel plots of 72.77 mV dec^?1 and good electrochemical durability, whose electrochemical activity is much better than that of MoNiS and NiSeS, implying the introduction of Mo and Se is beneficial to improve the electrocatalytic performance of NiS for HER. In addition, the proper amount of Mo source, which has an effect on the morphology of product, has also been investigated. For MoNiSeS, the typical nanosheets coated nanarods expose more active sites and the synergic effects is good to the improvement of the catalytic activity. Meanwhile, WNiSeS has also been prepared using the same method and the corresponding results show that the electrochemical activity of WNiSeS is much better than that of NiSeS, proving the universality of this strategy.     

Effect of nonsolvent additives on PES ultrafiltration membrane pore structure

Different nonsolvent additives, namely, diethylene glycol, n-butyl alcohol (NBA), and ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, were added into the casting solution (polyethersulfone/dimethylformamide/lithium chloride) to prepare ultrafiltration (UF) membrane via phase inversion. The effects of different additives and their concentration on the pore structure of the prepared UF membrane were studied. The cross-sectional morphology of the membrane was observed via scanning electron microscopy. The addition of nonsolvent additives improved the large-cavity structure of the membrane. When the additive was low-content NBA (1–3 wt %), the membrane pore structure transformed from large-cavity structure to fully sponge-like structure. When the content of additive NBA was 3 wt %, the flux of the prepared UF membrane was 130.45 L (m⁻² h⁻¹), the rejection of PEG20000 was 95.54% and the flux remained high at 4 bar in long-term stability test. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47525.     

Transparent niobate glass-ceramics for optical limiting

The construction of nonlinear optical materials featuring asymmetric transmission of light is of great technological importance for various applications, including optical switching and optical power limiting. A significant challenge is the scalable fabrication of material candidates with good photochemical stability, high optical transmittance, and excellent optical limiting performance. Here, we present a nanocrystallization avenue for constructing hybrid optical limiting materials that exhibit ultrafast and robust optical limiting performance. The experimental results show that the controllable relaxation of a niobate glass may lead to the clustering of Nb-O units and contracting of the bandgap. It results in the notable improvement in nonlinear optical properties, including the enhanced saturation irradiance (380 GW/cm²), doubly increased nonlinear coefficient, and decreased limiting threshold (200 GW/cm²). Our results suggest a promising material that exhibits promising applications for protecting eyes and sensitive components from laser-induced damage.