Efficient Contact between H_(2)O and N-Coordinate Ru Nanoparticles in Three-Dimensionally Ordered Macro/Mesoporous Carbon Boosting Alkaline HER

In this study,a novel approach is proposed to achieve the uniformly dispersed Ru nanoparticles with N coordination loaded on three-dimensionally ordered macro/mesoporous carbon(3DOMMC)through simultaneous pyrolysis of Ru^(3+)and cyanamide on 33DOMMC.In an alkaline medium,the synthesized catalysts exhibit exceptional hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)performance.Specificall,Ru-N/3DOMMC demonstrates a significantly low overpotential of 13.8 mV to achieve acrent density of 10 mA.cmzandit exhibits a mass activity 17.5 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C.The outstanding performance could be attributed to the ultrahigh Ru dispersion and more efficient contact between active sites and reactant,which derived from the large specific surface area and interconnective three-dimensionally macro/mesopores of 3DOMMC.

Biomass-derived nitrogen self-doped porous activation carbon as an effective bifunctional electrocatalysts

The strategy of adopting cheap precursors or abundant resources,which can be obtained directly from nature,is a simple and excellent method of introducing accessible research into environmentally friendly development.Moreover,this is also an urgent requirement for the sustainable development of green technology.Herein,we introduce a simplistic and expandable method to prepare metal-free biomassderived nitrogen self-doped porous activation carbon(N-PAC) with large specific surface area(S_(BET)=1300.58 m^(2)/g).Moreover,the manufactural electrocatalysts exhibit prominent oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) performance in all PH values.As compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst,the N-PAC/800 with a positive onset potential at 10 mA/cm^(2)(0.93 V),half-wave potential(0.87 V),and limiting current(6.34 mA/cm^(2)) bring to light excellent catalytic stability,selectivity,and much-enhanced methanol tolerance.Furthermore,the prepared electrocatalysts possess considerable hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) performance with a less onset potential of 0.218 V(acidic medium) and0.271 V(alkaline medium) respectively,which can show similar catalytic activity across the whole pH range.Such bifunctional electrocatalyst,with excellent electrocatalytic properties,resource-rich,low cost,and environmental-friendly,hold a promising application in energy conversion and reserve.

Fluorescent probe gold nanodots to quick detect Cr(VI) via oxidoreduction quenching process

A method is described here for the quickly(<30 s) accurate determination of Cr(VI)(Cr_2O_7^(2-)), based on fluorescent probes gold nanodots(AuNDs, excitation/emission peaks at 395/604 nm) coated with glutathione(GSH). The fluorescence of the AuNDs responses linearly to Cr(VI) concentrations, ranging widely from 1 nM to 10 m M with detection limit as low as 0.35 nM. At the same time, the AuNDs is demonstrated highly selective for Cr(VI) detection over other acid group ions and metal ions without any masking reagent. These make probability for practical use. The quenching mechanism is investigated deeply via fluorescent lifetime, XPS and TEM analysis. Different from most reported quenching explanation of aggregation derived from charge attraction, these results verify the redox reaction between Cr_2O_7^(2-)and sulfhydryl(–S) of GSH. The Au(I)–S bonds of AuNDs broke, accompanies with the oxidation of –S to form S–S bonds. As a result, AuNDs cross linked to each other. In the end, the fluorescence quenched. Attractively, the present study provides a new strategy for pollutant detection, such as from harmful Cr(VI) of Cr_2O_7^(2-)to nontoxic Cr(III).

Ultra-small nanodots coated with oligopeptides providing highly negative charges to enhance osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs better than osteogenic induction medium

For bone regenerative engineering,it is a promising method to form skeletal tissues differentiating from human bone morrow mesenchyme stem cells(hBMSCs).However,it is still a critical challenge to efficiently control ostogenesis and clearly reveal the influence factor.To this end,the fluorescent gold nanodots(Au NDs) with highly negative charges as osteogenic induction reagent are successfully synthesized,which display better than commercial osteogenic induction medium through the investigations of ALP activity(2.5 folds) and cytoskeleton staining(1.5 folds).Two kinds of oligopeptides with different bio-structures(cysteine,Cys and glutathione,GSH) are selected for providing surficial charges on Au NDs.It is revealed that Au-Cys with more negative charges(-51 mV) play better role than Au-GSH(-19 mV) in osteogenic differentiation,when both of them have same size(~2 nm),sphere shape and show similar cell uptake amount.To explore deeply,osteogenesis related signaling pathways are monitored,revealing that the enhancement of osteogenic differentiation was through autophagy signaling pathway triggered by Au-Cys.And the promotion of highly negative charges in osteogenic diffe rentiation was further proved via sliver nanodots(Ag NDs,Ag-Cys and Ag-GSH) and carbon nanodots(CDs,Cys-CDs and GSH-CDs).This work indicates part of insights during hBMSCs differentiation and provides a novel strategy in osteogenic differentiation process.

Polycation-functionalized gold nanodots with tunable near-infrared fluorescence for simultaneous gene delivery and cell imaging

Near-infrared （NIR） fluorescent metal nanodots may have significant advantages in biological detection and bioimaging. Herein, we introduce tunable near-infrared fluorescent gold nanodots （AuNDs） protected by branched polyethylenimine （PEI） modified by surface segmental attachment of sulfhydryl groups （PEI-SH）, abbreviated as PEI-SH-AuNDs, for simultaneous gene delivery and cell imaging. The modified PEI endows the resultant PEI-SH-AuNDs with the following excellent advantages. Sulfhydryl groups of PEI-SH anchor to the surface of AuNDs, and such polycations with amine groups give PEI-SH-AuNDs remarkable stability. The cationic polymer PEI-SH with positive charges enables PEI-SH-AuNDs to perform gene delivery, and the gene transfection efficiency can reach 22.8%. Moreover, the fluorescence of PEI-SH-AuNDs is tunable from visible red light （wavelength 609 nm） to NIR light （wavelength 811 run） via an increase in the size of AuNDs. PEI-SH-AuNDs yielded gene transfection efficiency similar to that of commercial PEI, but showed much lower cytotoxicity and much greater red-shift fluorescence. With excellent photoluminescent properties, such multifunctional fluorescent PEI-SH-AuNDs hold promise in applications to bioimaging and as ideal fluorescent probes for tracking gene transfection behavior.