Microbial synthesis of N, P co-doped carbon supported PtCu catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Developing highly efficient and stable platinum-based electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) is critical to expediting commercialization of fuel cells.Herein,several PtCu alloy nanocatalysts supported on N,P co-doped carbon(PtCu/NPC) were prepared by microbial-sorption and carbonization-reduction.Among them,PtCu/NPC-700 ℃ exhibits excellent catalytic performance for ORR with a mass activity of 0.895 A mg_(pt)^(-1)(@0.9 V) which is 8.29 folds of commercial Pt/C.Additionally,the ECSA and MA of PtCu/NPC-700℃ only decrease by 14.2% and 18.7% respectively,while Pt/C decreases by 35.2% and 52.8% after 10,000 cycles of ADT test.Moreover,the PtCu/NPC-700℃ catalyst emanates a maximum power density of 715 mW cm^(-2) and only 11.1% loss of maximum power density after 10,000 ADTs in single-cell test,indicating PtCu/NPC-700℃ also manifests higher activity and durability in actual single-cell operation than Pt/C.This research provides an easy and novel strategy for developing highly active and durable Pt-based alloy catalyst.

Defect-manipulated magnetoresistance and above-room-temperature ferromagnetism in two-dimensional BaNi_(2)V_(2)O_(8)

The intricate correlation between multiple degrees of freedom and physical properties is a fascinating area in solid state chemistry and condensed matter physics.Here,we report a quantum-magnetic system BaNi_(2)V_(2)O_(8)(BNVO),in which the spin correlation was modulated by unusual oxidation state,leading to different magnetic behavior.The BNVO was modified with topochemical reduction(TR)to yield TR-BNVO with partially reduced valance state of Ni^(+)in the two-dimensional NiO_(6)-honeycomb lattice.Accordingly,the antiferromagnetic order is suppressed by the introduction of locally interposed Ni^(+)and oxygen vacancies,resulting in a ferromagnetic ground state with the transition temperature up to 710 K.A positive magnetoresistance(7.5%)was observed in the TR-BNVO at 40 K under 7 T.These findings show that topological reduction is a powerful approach to engineer low-dimensional materials and accelerate the discovery of new quantum magnetism.

Facile scalable one-step wet-spinning of surgical sutures with shape memory function and antibacterial activity for wound healing

Surgical suture is commonly used in clinic due to its action in accelerating the process of wound healing.However,difficultly handling in minimally invasive surgery and bacteria-induced infection usually limit its use in a wide range of applications.Here,we report a facile scalable strategy to fabricate surgical sutures with shape memory function and antibacterial activity for wound healing.Specifically,a shape memory polyurethane(SMPU)with a transition temperature(Ttrans)at 41.3℃was synthesized by adjusting the mole ratio of the hard/soft segment,and then the shape memory surgical sutures containing polyhexamethylene biguanide hydrochloride(PHMB)as a model drug for antibacterial activity were fabricated by a facile scalable one-step wet-spinning approach,in which PHMB was directly dissolved in the coagulation bath that enable its loading into the sutures through the dual diffusion during the phase separation.The prepared sutures were characterized by their morphology,mechanical properties,shape memory,antibacterial activity,as well as biocompatibility before the wound healing capability was tested in a mouse skin suture-wound model.It was demonstrated that the optimized suture is capable of both shape memory function and antibacterial activity,and promote wound healing,suggesting that the facile scalable one-step wet-spinning strategy provides a promising tool to fabricate surgical sutures for wound healing.