Regulating Phase Junction and Oxygen Vacancies of TiO2 Nanoarrays for Boosted Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

In this study, we have provided a facile solution to synthesize well-aligned titanium dioxide nanorods by using hydrothermal reaction. By calcining the materials under different atmospheres and temperatures, a batch of titanium dioxides with excellent oxygen evolution reaction(OER) catalytic efficiency were obtained. This new structured TiO₂ photoanode material yields a high photocurrent density of 5.69 mA/cm² at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE) under simulated solar light(100 mW/cm²). Surface photovoltage techniques and other measurements were carried out to confirm that the enhanced photoelectrochemical performances were attributed to the synergistic effect of the phase junction and a certain content of surface states, which accelerate the separation and transmission of the photogenerated charges. This material with phase junction and surface states promises a potential application in the field of photoelectric catalysis under solar light.     

Molecular‐Sieving Membrane by Partitioning the Channels in Ultrafiltration Membrane by In Situ Polymerization

Commercial ultrafiltration membranes have proliferated globally for water treatment. However, their pore sizes are too large to sieve gases. Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) feature well‐developed microporosity yet are difficult to be fabricated into membranes. Herein, we report a strategy to prepare molecular‐sieving membranes by partitioning the mesoscopic channels in water ultrafiltration membrane (PSU) into ultra‐micropores by space‐confined polymerization of multi‐functionalized rigid building units. Nine CMP@PSU membranes were obtained, and their separation performance for H₂/CO₂, H₂/N₂, and H₂/CH₄ pairs surpass the Robeson upper bound and rival against the best of those reported membranes. Furthermore, highly crosslinked skeletons inside the channels result in the structural robustness and transfer into the excellent aging resistance of the CMP@PSU. This strategy may shed light on the design and fabrication of high‐performance polymeric gas separation membranes.     

Anion-Exchange-Driven Disassembly of a SiO(2)/CTAB Composite Mesophase: the Formation of Hollow Mesoporous Silica Spheres

Silica-based surfactant/inorganic composite mesophases have been extremely studied. In this work, we developed a mild method to realize the room-temperature disassembly of a SiO(2)/cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) mesophase in a neutral medium. Using KMnO(4) as a typical etching agent, SiO(2)/CTAB mesophase spheres were partially disassembled into normal or rattle-type hollow structures. The disassembly of the SiO(2)/CTAB spheres was supposed to be driven by anion exchange between permanganate and silicate ions. This unique method makes possible the selective etching of a SiO(2)/CTAB mesophase over a SiO(2) phase.     

A 1D/2D Helical CdS/ZnIn2S4 Nano‐Heterostructure

Multidimensional nano‐heterostructures (NHSs) that have unique dimensionality‐dependent integrative and synergic effects are intriguing but still underdeveloped. Here, we report the first helical 1D/2D epitaxial NHS between CdS and ZnIn₂S₄. Experimental and theoretical studies reveal that the mismatches in lattice and dangling bonds between 1D and 2D units govern the growth procedure. The resulting well‐defined interface induces the delocalized interface states, thus facilitate the charge transfer and enhance the performance in the photoelectrochemical cells. We foresee that the mechanistic insights gained and the electronic structures revealed would inspire the design of more complex 1D/2D NHSs with outstanding functionalities.     

Red-emitting LiEuMo2−xSixO8 phosphors for white light-emitting diodes

Si⁴⁺ was introduced to the lattice of LiEuMo₂O₈ by solid-state reaction to prepare a new kind of red-emitting LiEuMo_2−xSi_xO₈ (0<x≤0.5) phosphors. The introduction of Si⁴⁺ ion caused the distortion and slight shrinking of the unit cell of LiEuMo₂O₈ material, and the blue-shift of the charge-transfer-absorption (CTA) band of LiEuMo₂O₈. Photoluminescence excitation (PLE) and photoluminescence measurements showed that the introduction of Si⁴⁺ was able to enhance the excitation efficiency of LiEuMo₂O₈ in NUV spectral region (360-400 nm). Consequently the red emission of LiEuMo₂O₈ phosphor was improved by 30% at x=0.2 under 395 nm light excitation, without loss of color purity. The enhanced red emission of LiEuMo_2−xSi_xO₈ was discussed in terms of the blue-shift of CTA band and the relaxation of parity-forbidden selection rules for trivalent europium luminescent centers.     

Anlotinib Exerts Inhibitory Effects against Cisplatin-Resistant Ovarian Cancer In Vitro and In Vivo

Background: Anlotinib is a highly potent multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Accumulating evidence suggests that anlotinib exhibits effective anti-tumor activity against various cancer subtypes. However, the effects of anlotinib against cisplatin-resistant (CIS) ovarian cancer (OC) are yet to be elucidated. The objective of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of anlotinib on the pathogenesis of cisplatin-resistant OC. Materials and Methods: Human OC cell lines (A2780 and A2780 CIS) were cultured and treated with or without anlotinib. The effects of anlotinib on cell proliferation were determined using cell-counting kit-8 and colony-formation assays. To evaluate the invasion and metastasis of OC cells, we performed wound-healing and transwell assays. The cell cycle was analyzed via flow cytometry. A xenograft mouse model was used to conduct in vivo studies to verify the effects of anlotinib. The expression of Ki-67 in the tumor tissue was detected via immunohistochemistry. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to measure the mRNA and protein levels. Results: Our study revealed that anlotinib significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of A2780 and A2780 CIS in a dose-dependent way in vitro (p < 0.05). Through R software ‘limma’ package analysis of {"type":"entrez-geo","attrs":{"text":"GSE15372","term_id":"15372"}}GSE15372, it was found that, in comparison with A2780, PLK2 was expressed in significantly low levels in the corresponding cisplatin-resistant strains. The ERK1/2/Plk2 signaling axis mediates the inhibitory effect of anlotinib on the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cell lines. Moreover, our research found that anlotinib effectively inhibited the growth of tumor cells in an OC xenograft mouse model. Conclusions: In this study, anlotinib showed excellent inhibitory effects against cisplatin-resistant OC both in vitro and in vivo. These results add to the growing body of evidence supporting anlotinib as a potential anticancer agent against OC.     

Tunable mechanical properties of MWCNT–glass fiber fabric reinforced epoxy composites by controlling MWCNTs dispersing conditions

A novel, simple and cost-effective method, which is capable of easily tailoring the dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), was developed here to fabricate the MWCNT–glass fiber fabric (MWCNT–GFf) multiscale composites with tunable mechanical properties. MWCNTs were dispersed into the commercial GFfs through the combined effect of the ultrasound and amino silane (AS) firstly, followed by a resin infusion process. By tuning the ultrasonic power and AS concentration, it is possible to control the MWCNTs dispersion level and subsequently mechanical properties of resultant composite. Making use of optimal dispersion conditions, which involves the optimal combination of ultrasonic power and AS concentration, the interlaminar shear strength of MWCNT–GFf reinforced composites was dramatically increased by 40.5%, and the storage modulus in the glassy region and rubbery region was improved by 27.7% and 125.0%, respectively. The work demonstrates the great promise of this novel method toward practical, industrial application in manufacturing fiber-reinforced composites with superior mechanical properties.     

Effects of compositions on characteristics and microstructures for melt-spun ribbons and die-upset magnets of Nd12.8+xFe81.2−x−y−zCoyGazB6

The effects of varying Nd-contents on the magnetic properties of Nd_12.8+xFe_{81.2−x−y−z}Co_yGa_zB₆ ribbons and the resulting die-upset magnets have been investigated. It was found that the Nd content has a significant effect on both magnetic properties and texture of the die-upset magnets. An optimum Nd content exhibits good texture, while both Nd-lean and excessively Nd-rich Nd-Fe-B alloys lead to unsatisfactory textures. The magnetic properties and texture of the die-upset magnets strongly deteriorated with a further increase in the Nd-content. The thermo-mechanical characteristics and the formation mechanism of two kinds of cracks in backward-extruded ring magnets have also been investigated.     

Electrocatalytic activity of bimetallic platinum-gold catalysts fabricated based on nanoporous gold

A tiny amount of Pt was deposited in a quasi-two-dimensional form onto the nanoporous gold (NPG) substrate through a simple immersion-electrodeposition (IE) method, forming nanostructured bimetallic Pt-Au catalysts. Such Pt-Au nanostructures have much higher structural stability than the bare NPG; moreover, they exhibit better catalytic activity and stronger poison resistance than commercial Pt-Ru catalysts because of the synergistic effect of the bimetallic compositions.