Freestanding hierarchical porous carbon film derived from hybrid nanocellulose for high-power supercapacitors

Nanocellulose is a sustainable and eco-friendly nanomaterial derived from renewable biomass.In this study,we utilized the structural advantages of two types of nanocellulose and fabricated freestanding carbonized hybrid nanocellulose films as electrode materials for supercapacitors.The long cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) formed a macroporous framework,and the short cellulose nanocrystals were assembled around the CNF framework and generated micro/mesopores.This two-level hierarchical porous structure was successfully preserved during carbonization because of a thin atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al2O3 conformal coating,which effectively prevented the aggregation of nanocellulose.These carbonized,partially graphitized nanocellulose fibers were interconnected,forming an integrated and highly conductive network with a large specific surface area of 1,244 m2·g-1.The two-level hierarchical porous structure facilitated fast ion transport in the film.When tested as an electrode material with a high mass loading of 4 mg·cm-2 for supercapacitors,the hierarchical porous carbon film derived from hybrid nanocellulose exhibited a specific capacitance of 170 F.g-1and extraordinary performance at high current densities.Even at a very high current of 50 A·g-1,it retained 65％ of its original specific capacitance,which makes it a promising electrode material for high-power applications.     

Surface activation of colloidal indium phosphide nanocrystals

Against general wisdom in crystallization,the nucleation of InP and Ⅲ-Ⅴ quantum dots (QDs) often dominates their growth.Systematic studies on InP QDs identified the key reason for this:the dense and tight alkanoate-ligand shell around each nanocrystal.Different strategies were explored to enable necessary ligand dynamics—i.e.,ligands rapidly switching between being bonded to and detached from a nanocrystal upon thermal agitation—on nanocrystals to simultaneously retain colloidal stability and allow appreciable growth.Among all the surface-activation reagents tested,2,4-diketones (such as acetylacetone) allowed the full growth of InP QDs with indium alkanoates and trimethylsilylphosphine as precursors.While small fatty acids (such as acetic acid) were partially active,common neutral ligands (such as fatty amines,organophosphines,and phosphine oxides) showed limited activation effects.The existing amine-based synthesis of InP QDs was activated by acetic acid formed in situ.Surface activation with common precursors enabled the growth of InP QDs with a distinguishable absorption peak between ～450 and 650 nm at mild temperatures (140-180 ℃).Furthermore,surface activation was generally applicable for InAs and Ⅲ-Ⅴ based core/shell QDs.     

Targeting orthotopic gliomas with renal-clearable luminescent gold nanoparticles

A major clinical translational challenge in nanomedicine is the potential of toxicity associated with the uptake and long-term retention of non-degradable nanoparticles (NPs) in major organs.The development of inorganic NPs that undergo renal clearance could potentially resolve this significant biosafety concern.However,it remains unclear whether inorganic NPs that can be excreted by the kidneys remain capable of targeting tumors with poor permeability.Glioblastoma multiforme,the most malignant orthotopic brain tumor,presents a unique challenge for NP delivery because of the blood-brain barrier and robust blood-tumor barrier of reactive microglia and macroglia in the tumor microenvironment.Herein,we used an orthotopic murine glioma model to investigate the passive targeting of glutathione-coated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of 3 nm in diameter that undergo renal clearance and 18-nm AuNPs that fail to undergo renal clearance.Remarkably, we report that 3-nm AuNPs were able to target intracranial tumor tissues with higher efficiency (2.3x relative to surrounding non-tumor normal brain tissues) and greater specificity (3.0x)than did the larger AuNPs.Pharmacokinetics studies suggested that the higher glioma targeting ability of the 3-nm AuNPs may be attributed to the longer retention time in circulation.The total accumulation of the 3-nm AuNPs in major organs was significantly less (8.4x) than that of the 18-nm AuNPs.Microscopic imaging of blood vessels and renal-clearable AuNPs showed extravasation of NPs from the leaky blood-tumor barrier into the tumor interstitium.Taken together,our results suggest that the 3-nm AuNPs,characterized by enhanced permeability and retention,are able to target brain tumors and undergo renal clearance.     

Fabrication of high-pore volume carbon nanosheets with uniform arrangement of mesopores

Carbon nanosheets with a tunable mesopore size,large pore volume,and good electronic conductivity are synthesized via a solution-chemistry approach.In this synthesis,diaminohexane and graphene oxide (GO) are used as the structural directing agents,and a silica colloid is used as a mesopores template.Diaminohexane plays a crucial role in bridging silica colloid particles and GO,as well as initiating the polymerization of benzoxazine on the surfaces of both the GO and silica,resulting in the formation of a hybrid nanosheet polymer.The carbon nanosheets have graphene embedded in them and have several spherical mesopores with a pore volume up to 3.5 cm3·g-1 on their surfaces.These nuerous accessible mesopores in the carbon layers can act as reservoirs to host a high loading of active charge-storage materials with good dispersion and a uniform particle size.Compared with active materials with wide particle-size distributions,the unique proposed configuration with confined and uniform particles exhibits superior electrochemical performance during lithiation and delithiation,especially during long cycles and at high rates.     

Environmentally benign chitosan as reductant and supporter for synthesis of Ag/AgCl/chitosan composites by one-step and their photocatalytic degradation performance under visible-light irradiation

A novel Ag/AgCl/chitosan composite photocatalyst was successfully prepared by a simple one-step method. During this progress, environmentally benign chitosan not only served as reductant to reduce Ag⁺ to Ag⁰ species, but also acted as supporter for Ag/AgCl nanoparticles. XRD, SEM, EDX, UV-vis DRS and XPS were employed to characterize the as-prepared simples. SEM images of Ag/AgCl/chitosan composites revealed that Ag/AgCl nanoparticles were successfully loaded onto chitosan without obvious aggregation. All Ag/AgCl/chitosan composites exhibited efficient photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible-light irradiation. The result of photocatalytic degradation experiment indicated that 20% of the mass ratio of AgCl to chitosan was the optimum, and after 40 min photocatalytic reaction, the degradation rate reached about 96%.     

NiCo-selenide as a novel catalyst for water oxidation

The design and fabrication of sustainable and efficient electrocatalyst for water splitting are crucial for rechargeable metal-air batteries and regenerative fuel cells. In this report, a highly stable and active NiCo-selenide electrocatalyst was successfully prepared by a facile two-step solvothermal approach. In 0.1 M KOH alkaline electrolyte solution, the novel NiCo-selenide electrocatalyst afforded the current density of 10 mA cm^?2 at a lower overpotential of 393 mV, a smaller Tafel slope of ~89 mV dec^?1 and better stability, compared with NiCo-based oxide and sulfide.