Room-temperature and atmospheric-pressure hydrogenation of lignin-derived phenol to KA oil by Pt/NiO@MOFs

Hydrogenation of lignin-derived phenol to KA oil(the mixture of cyclohexanone(K)and cyclohexanol(A))is attractive yet challenging in the sustainable upgrading of biomass derivatives under mild conditions.Traditional supported metal catalysts have been widely studied but the active components on supports often exhibit low recyclability due to their instability under experimental conditions.Here we show fabricating ultrasmall Pt/NiO in the pores of chromium terephthalate MIL-101 as catalysts for hydrogenation of phenol.Impressively,Pt/NiO@MIL-101 achieves catalytic phenol hydrogenation to KA oils of tunable K/A ratios and good reusability under room temperature and atmospheric hydrogen pressure,superior to contrast Pt@MIL-101 and Pt/NiO samples.Such excellent performance mainly originates from the effective adsorption and activation of phenol by coordinatively unsaturated Cr sites and H2 activation on ultrasmall Pt/NiO as well as its effective spillover to the adsorbed phenol over Cr sites for hydrogenation reaction.Substantially,such catalyst also displays the excellent performances for hydrogenation of phenol’s derivatives under mild conditions.

Monodisperse silica nanoparticle suspension for developing latent blood fingermarks

Traditional fingermark developing methods are unsuitable for developing and extracting latent blood fingermarks on dark surfaces at crime scene because of their ineffectiveness or tedious operation procedures.In the present work,an effective and simple method was developed to serve this purpose using a suspension of monodisperse silica nanoparticles(MSNs).A suspension of 0.1 g/mL of MSNs was prepared by dispersing MSNs ultrasonically into an ethanol solution containing 1.0%Tween 80 and then uniformly sprayed onto the latent blood fingermarks on black plastic bags.Approximately 20 s later,ethanol was sprayed to clean the superfluous developing liquid.After the ethanol had evaporated,the latent fin-germarks became visible as a result of the photonic crystal effect produced by the MSNs that had adsorbed to the fingermark ridges.The developed fingermarks were then photo-graphed using a digital camera under a white or monospectral light source,revealing fine ridges and clear fingermark details.This novel,simple and effective method uses the pho-tonic crystal effect of MSNs to develop latent blood fingermarks without the need for sur-face functionalization and conjugation to dye or fluorescently label molecules.The method can detect latent blood fingermarks that have been retained on a black plastic bag surface for at least 30 d.Given the simplicity and effectiveness of the developed method,MSNs may be a useful alternative material for use in developing latent fingermarks.Further research on the topic is warranted.

Shifting chemical defence or novel weapons? A review of defence traits in Agarophyton vermiculophyllum and other invasive seaweeds

Seaweed bioinvasions increasingly affect coastal environments around the world, which increases the need for predictive models and mitigation strategies. The biotic interactions between seaweed invaders and invaded communities are often considered a key determinant of invasion success and failure and we here revise the current evidence that the capacity of seaweed invaders to deter enemies in newly reached environments correlates with their invasion success. Particularly efficient chemical defences have been described for several of the more problematic seaweed invaders during the last decades. However, confirmed cases in which seaweed invaders confronted un-adapted enemies in newly gained environments with deterrents that were absent from these environments prior to the invasion (so-called “novel weapons”) are scarce, although an increasing number of invasive and non-invasive seaweeds are screened for defence compounds. More evidence exists that seaweeds may adapt defence intensities to changing pressure by biological enemies in newly invaded habitats. However, most of this evidence of shifting defence was gathered with only one particular model seaweed, the Asia-endemic red alga Agarophyton vermiculophyllum, which is particularly accessible for direct comparisons of native and non-native populations in common garden experiments. A. vermiculophyllum interacts with consumers, epibionts and bacterial pathogens and in most of these interactions, non-native populations have rather gained than lost defensive capacity relative to native conspecifics. The increases in the few examined cases were due to an increased production of broad-spectrum deterrents and the relative scarcity of specialized deterrents perhaps reflects the circumstance that seaweed consumers and epibionts are overwhelmingly generalists.

A Gold Nanoparticle‑enhanced Surface Plasmon Resonance Aptasensor for the Detection of 2,4,6‑trinitrotoluene

A gold nanoparticle‑enhanced surface plasmon resonance(SPR)aptasensor was developed for high‑specificity and high‑sensitivity detection of 2,4,6‑trinitrotoluene(TNT).Self‑assembly film‑forming technology was used to modify the gold surface of the sensor chip with 2,4,6‑trinitrophenyl glycine,a TNT analogue,using polyethylene glycol to which the thiol group and carboxyl group are attached.Aptamer‑gold nanoparticle complexes were formed through Au‑S bonding.To detect TNT,the samples were incubated with the aptamer‑gold nanoparticle complexes,and the solution competition method was applied through the SPR aptasensor.The results showed that the SPR aptasensor achieved fast,real‑time detection of TNT.This gold nanoparticle‑enhanced SPR aptasensor is suitable for TNT detection in the field of public safety and environmental monitoring.