Comparison of immune responses and intestinal flora in epicutaneously sensitized BALB/c or C57BL/6 mouse models of food allergy

Cutaneous exposure to food allergens through a disrupted skin barrier is recognized as an important cause of food allergy,and the cutaneous sensitized mouse model has been established to investigate relevant allergic disorders.However,the role of different genetic backgrounds of mice on immune responses to food allergens upon epicutaneous sensitization is largely unknown.In this study,two strains of mice,i.e.,the BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice,were epicutaneously sensitized with ovalbumin on atopic dermatitis(AD)-like skin lesions,followed by intragastric challenge to induce IgE-mediated food allergy.Allergic outcomes were measured as clinical signs,specific antibodies and cytokines,and immune cell subpopulations,as well as changes in intestinal barrier function and gut microbiota.Results showed that both strains of mice exhibited typical food-allergic symptoms with a Th2-skewed response.The C57BL/6 mice,rather than the BALB/c mice,were fitter for establishing an epicutaneously sensitized model of food allergy since a stronger Th2-biased response and severer disruptions in the intestinal barrier and gut homeostasis were observed.This study provides knowledge for selecting an appropriate mouse model to study food-allergic responses associated with AD-like skin lesions and highlights the role of genetic variations in the immune mechanism underlying pathogenesis of food allergy.

Antarctic red algae in dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells for water splitting

Phycoerythrin extracted from Antarctic red seaweeds shows promising characteristics to be applied as an anode sensitizer in water-splitting photoelectrochemical cells.Under light irradiation and using an LED lamp,the red-colored protein shows an interesting ability to profit the incident light,as confirmed by the presence of oxygen bubbles next to the electrode surface without applying any external potential.Our results showed that the addition of iodide is helpful to allow the regeneration of the dye;nevertheless,oxygen evolution is not favored.Thermodynamics analysis of the involved semi-reactions is also helpful to understand the observed results.The exploration of Antarctic resources offers then an alternative for the development of green energies,with a particular focus on their use as sensitizers to profit from the sunlight in water-splitting as well as in photovoltaic devices.

Efficient quantum dot sensitized solar cells via improved loading amount management

High light-harvesting efficiency and low interfacial charge transfer loss are essential for the fabrication of high-efficiency quantum dot-based solar cells(QDSCs). Increasing the thickness of mesoporous TiO2films can improve the loading of pre-synthesized QDs on the film and enhance the absorbance of photoanode, but commonly accompanied by the increase in the unfavorable charge recombination due to prolonged electron transmission paths. Herein, we systematically studied the influence of the balance between QD loading and TiO2film thickness on the performance of QDSCs. It is found that the relative thin photoanode prepared by the cationic surfactant-assisted multiple deposition procedure has achieved a high QD loading which is comparable to that of the thick photoanode commonly used. Under AM 1.5G illumination, Zn–Cu–In–Se and Zn–Cu–In–S based QDSCs with optimized 11.8 μm photoanodes show the PCE of 10.03% and 8.53%, respectively, which are comparable to the corresponding highest PCE of Zn–Cu–In–Se and Zn–Cu–In–S QDSCs(9.74% and 8.75%) with over 25.0 μm photoanodes. Similarly, an impressive PCE of 6.14% was obtained for the CdSe based QDSCs with a 4.1 μm photoanode, which is slightly lower than the best PCE(7.05%)of reference CdSe QDSCs with 18.1 μm photoanode.

Photodegradation of methyl orange by BiOI-sensitized TiO_2

BiOI-sensitized titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysts were prepared by a deposition method at room temperature and characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area measurements. The photocatalytic activities of the catalysts were evaluated for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) solution under UV and visible light irradiation. The effects of catalyst amount, initial pH value, initial concentration of MO, as well as KI amount were investigated. The repeatability of photocatalytic activity of the 1.7% BiOI/TiO2 catalyst was also tested. It is shown that BiOI sensitization enhances the photocatalytic activities of TiO2. With BiOI content increasing, the photocatalytic activities of BiOI/TiO2 under UV and visible light irradiation first increase, reaching a maximum around BiOI content of 1.7%, and then decrease with further increasing BiOI content. The 1.7% BiOI/TiO2 catalyst obviously exhibits much higher visible light photocatalytic activity than P25, and its UV light photocatalytic activity is slightly higher than that of P25. Under the conditions of a catalytic dose of 1.5 g.L-1, initial pH of 3.0, initial MO concentration of 20 mg.L-1, UV power of 300 W, and air flow rate of 0.8 L.min-1, complete degradatio is achieved within 60 min. The repeatability of photocatalytic activity of the 1.7% BiOI/TiO2 catalyst is highly reliable.

Titania Nanostructures for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Titania is one kind of important materials, which has been extensively investigated because of its unique electronic and optical properties. Research efforts have largely focused on the optimization of the dye,but recently the titania nanostructures electrode itself has attracted more attention. It has been shown that particle size, shape, crystallinity, surface morphology, and chemistry of the TiO_2 material are key parameters which should be controlled for optimized performance of the solar cell. Titania can be found in different shape of nanostructures including mesoporous, nanotube, nanowire, and nanorod structures. The present article reviews the structural, synthesis, electronic, and optical properties of TiO_2 nanostructures for dye sensitized solar cells.

200-nm long TiO_2 nanorod arrays for efficient solid-state Pb S quantum dot-sensitized solar cellsR

To ensure the infiltration of spiro-OMeTAD into the quantum dot-sensitized photoanode and to consider the limit of the hole diffusion length in the spiro-OMeTAD layer, a rutile TiO2 nanorod array with a length of 200 nm, a diameter of 20 nm and an areal density of 720 ram 2 was successfully prepared using a hydrothermal method with an aqueous-grown solution of 38 mM titanium isopropoxide and 6 M hydrochloric acid at 170 ℃ for 75 min. PbS quantum dots were deposited by a spin coating-assisted successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction （spin-SILAR）, and all solid-state PbS quantum dot-sensitized TiO2 nanorod array solar cells were fabricated using spiro-OMeTAD as electrolytes. The results revealed that the average crystal size of PbS quantum dots was -78 nm using Pb（NO3）2 as the lead source and remain unchanged with the increase of the number of spin-SILAR cycles. The all solid-state PbS quantum dot-sensitized TiO2 nanorod array solar cells with spin-SILAR cycle numbers of 20, 30 and 40 achieved the photoelectric conversion efficiencies of 3.74%, 4.12% and 3.11%, respectively, under AM 1.5 G illumination （100 mW/cm2）.

CdS Quantum Dots-sensitized TiO_2 Nanotube Arrays for Solar Cells

CdS quantum dots（QDs） sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays photoelectrodes were investigated for their photovoltaic performance of quantum dots-sensitized solar cells. The highly ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays（TNAs） were synthesized on Ti foils by anodic oxidation method. Then CdS quantum dots were deposited onto the TiO2 nanotube arrays by successive ionic layer absorption and reaction（SILAR） method to serve as the sensitizers. Cd（NO3）2 and Na2S were used as the precursor materials of Cd＋ and S2- ions, respectively. It is found that the CdS QDs sensitizer may significantly increase the light response of TiO2 nanotube arrays. With increasing CdS QDs deposition cycles, the visible light response increases. Maximum photocurrent was obtained for the QDs that have an absorption peak at about 500 nm. Under AM 1.5 G illuminations（100 mW cm^-2）, a 4.85 mA/cm^2 short circuit current density was achieved, and the maximium energy conversion efficiency of the asprepared CdS QDs-sensitized TNAs solar cells was obtained as high as 0.81% at five SILAR cycles.

9－ANTHROIC ACID SENSITIZED PHOTOLYSIS OF DIPHENYLIODONIUM SALTS THROUGH INTRA－ION PAIR ELECTRON TRANSFER

We have studied 9-anthroic acid sensitized photolysis of dipbenyliodonius salts through fluorescence quenching, products analysis and Photo-CIDNP. The photoinduced electron transfer rate constant bas calculated to be 8.6×10 10/mol s. From photo-CIDNP study, both diphenyliodo and pbenyl radicals were confirmed as intermediates. Benzene is a cage escaped product from a singlet radical pair and diphenyliodonium Salt is a recombination preduct from a triplet radical pair.

Decrease of back recombination rate in CdS quantum dots sensitized solar cells using reduced graphene oxide

The photovoltaic performance of CdS quantum dots sensitized solar cells （QDSSCs） using the 0.2 wt% of reduced graphene oxide and TiO2 nanoparticles （RGO＋TiO2 nanocomposite） photoanode is investigated. CdS QDs are adsorbed onto RGO＋TiO2 nanocomposite films by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction （SILAR） technique for several cycles. The current density-voltage （J-V） characteristic curves of the assembled QDSSCs are measured at AM1.5 simulated sunlight. The optimal photovoltaic performance for CdS QDSSC was achieved for six SILAR cycles. Solar cells based on the RGO＋TiO2 nanocomposite photoanode achieve a 33% increase in conversion efficiency （η） compared with those based on plain TiO2 nanoparticle （NP） photoanodes. The electron back recombination rates decrease significantly for CdS QDSSCs based on RGO＋TiO2 nanocomposite photoanodes. The lifetime constant （τ） for CdS QDSSC based on the RGO＋TiO2 nanocomposite photoanode is at least one order of magnitude larger than that based on the bare TiO2NPs photoanode.

Sensitized Luminescence of Rare Earths

The enhancement effect on the fluorescence intensities of an Eu3+ (or/and Sm3+ )-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA )-dibenzo-18-crown-6 (18-C-6 ) system and Eu 3+ (or /and Sm3+ ) -benzoyltrifluoroacetone (BTA )-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) system by dysprosium has been studied. In the presence of enhancing ions, the fluorescence intensities of the above systems were enhanced by a factor of about 40-150, respectively. The above systems were used for the determination of europlum or/and samarium in rare earths oxides and gave satisfactory results.

Composite Electrode SnO_2/TiO_2 for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Composite nanoporous electrode SnO2/TiO2 was fabricated for the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with N3 (Cis-Ru). After introducing of TiO2, the open-circuit photovoltage (Voc) was higher than that of the pure SnO2 electrode, while short-circuit photocurrent (Isc) was varied with the ratio of the TiO2. Appropriate content of the TiO2 can be beneficial to the efficiency of the solar cell, and it gives negative impact on the composite electrode when the content of TiO2 is higher.

Study on Property of Desensitized Explosive Film

The mechanical sensitivity, the critical thickness of detonation wave propagation and detonation velocity of desensitized PETN film were studied by experiments. The relationship between the mass of desensitizer paraffin wax and the friction sensitivity of desensitized PETN film was tested. According to the microstructure of film, the function of desensitizer was explained. It was proved that the explosive film could make explosive element micromation and kept its inherence properties by the result of testing the propagating critical dimension of the desensitized PETN film detonation wave. The explosive velocity of confined desensitized PETN film was tested by the multiplex optical fibre..

Assembly of Covalently Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Molecular Framework Based on Porphyrin and Phthalocyanine Derivatives—Sensitizer for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

The research on sensitizer for dye sensitized solar cells based on (metallo)porphyrin/phthalocyanine materials were reviewed, and experimental design and assembly method were advised. Latest progress and research status of sensitizer dyes based on metalloporphyrins applied in dye sensitized solar cells was summarized. The preparation and construction of sensitizer electrodes and dye sensitized solar cells based on metal organic frameworks (MOFs) of (metallo)porphyrin/phthalocyanine were projected.

Plant Seeds-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

In this work, we investigate the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on natural dyes extracted from ten different plant seeds. The extracts were characterized by UV-VIS absorption spectra. The solar cells were assembled using a TiO2 mesoporous film on FTO-coated glass. The photovoltaic properties of the DSSCs were studied under an incident irradiation of 100 mW/cm2. The best performance was for the DSSC sensitized with Eruca sativa with a solar energy conversion efficiency of 0.725%. Moreover, the validity of these extracts was compared using two types of semiconductor layers (TiO2 and ZnO), and finally the photovoltaic properties of one of these dyes were studied using different types of electrolytes.

New tetrazole-based organic dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells

A series of new metal-free organic dyes that contain donors with triphenylamine or its derivatives and tetrazole-based acceptors were synthesized and characterized by photophysical, electrochemical, and the- oretical computational methods. They were applied in nanocrystalline TiO2 solar cells （DSSCs）. It is found that the introduction of diphenylamine units as antennas in the as-synthesized dyes could improve photo- voltaic performance compared with phenothiazine and carbazole units as antennas in DSSCs. The dye with （2H-tetrazol-5-yl） acrylonitrile electron acceptor also displayed the highest solar-to-electrical energy conver- sion efficiency.

Photovoltaic Properties of CdSe Quantum Dot Sensitized Inverse Opal TiO₂Solar Cells: The Effect of TiCl₄Post Treatment

Recently, semiconductor quantum dot (QD) sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) are expected to achieve higher conversion efficiency because of the large light absorption coefficient and multiple exciton generation in QDs. The morphology of TiO2 electrode is one of the most important factors in QDSSCs. Inverse opal (IO) TiO2 electrode, which has periodic mesoporous structure, is useful for QDSSCs because of better penetration of electrolyte than conventional nanoparticulate TiO2 electrode. In addition, the ordered three dimensional structure of IO-TiO2 would be better for electron transport. We have found that open circuit voltage Voc of QDSSCs with IO-TiO2 electrodes was much higher (0.2 V) than that with nanoparticulate TiO2 electrodes. But short circuit current density Jsc was lower in the case of IO-TiO2 electrodes because of the smaller surface area of IO-TiO2. In this study, for increasing surface area of IO-TiO2, we applied TiCl4 post treatment on IO-TiO2 and investigated the effect of the post treatment on photovoltaic properties of CdSe QD sensitized IO-TiO2 solar cells. It was found that Jsc could be enhanced due to TiCl4 post treatment, but decreased again for more than one cycle treatment, which indicates excess post treatment may lead to worse penetration of electrolyte. Our results indicate that the appropriate post treatment can improve the energy conversion efficiency of the QDSSCs.

Alloyed CdTe_0.6S_0.4Quantum Dots Sensitized TiO₂Electrodes for Photovoltaic Applications

The photovoltaic performance of alloyed CdTe0.6S0.4 quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) is investigated. Fluorine doped Tin Oxide (FTO) substrates were coated with 20 nm-diameter TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). Presynthesized colloidal solution of alloyed CdTe0.6S0.4 quantum dots (QDs) of 4.2 nm was deposited onto TiO2 NPs substrates using direct adsorption (DA) technique, by dipping for different times at ambient conditions. The FTO counter electrodes were coated with platinum, while the electrolyte containing I-/I-3 redox species was sandwiched between the two electrodes. Compared to pure CdTe QDs and CdS QDs, CdTe0.6S0.4 QDs showed better photovoltaic performance. The J-V characteristic curves of the assembled QDSSCs were measured at AM 1.5 simulated sunlight. The short current density (Jsc) and efficiency (η) increase with dipping time. At 24 h dipping time, the open-circuit photovoltage Voc, Jsc, fill factor (FF), and η were 0.46 volts, 1.54 mA/cm2, 0.43% and 0.31%, respectively.

The Effect of Electrolyte on Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Using Natural Dye from Mango (<i>M. indica</i>L.) Leaf as Sensitizer

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) were fabricated with mango leaf dye extracts as natural dye sensitizers at pH value of 5.20 and temperature of 18.1°C. Methanol was used as dye-extracting solvent. DSSCs from dye extract of M. indica L. with KMnO4 electrolyte had the highest photocurrent density of 1.3 mA/cm2 and fill factor FF of 0.46 for the sun at its peak. Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) had a photocurrent density of 1.3 mA/cm2 and FF of 0.8 at sundown. Potassium Iodide (KI), Potassium Bromide (KBr) and Mercury Chloride (HgCl2) electrolytes had 0.2 mA/cm2, 0.08 mA/cm2 and 0.02 mA/cm2 photocurrent densities respectively. The fill factors of 0.09, 0.03 and 0.003 respectively for sun overhead while 0.08 mA/cm2, 0.01 mA/cm2 and 0.01 mA/cm2 were the values of photocurrent densities respectively at sundown. The fill factors were 0.02, 0.0006 and 0.003 respectively at sundown. The maximum power Pmax of the DSSCs were 0.5 mW/cm2, 0.10 mW/cm2, 0.01 mW/cm2 and 0.012 mW/cm2 respectively at 1300 h at 1630 h 0.9 mW/cm2, 0.14 mW/cm2, 0.005 mW/cm2 and 0.0015 mW/cm2 respectively.

Characterization of Dye Sensitized Cells Using Natural Dye from Oil Bean Leaf (<i>Pentaclethra macrophylla</i>): The Effect of Dye pH on the Photoelectric Parameters

Fresh leaves of oil bean (P. macrophylla) were used as sensitizers for fabrication of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) at four dye pH values of 2.58°C at 23.7°C, 2.62°C at 22.2°C, 2.65°C at 22.3°C and 3.61°C at 22.1 °C. The methanol extracts of P. macrophylla were extracted and used as sensitizers for the development of dye sensitized solar cells. The solar cells sensitized by P. macrophylla leaf extracts realised up to short circuit current (Jsc) 0.16 mA/cm2, open circuit voltage (Voc) 0.045 V, Pmax 0.031 mW/ cm2 and fill factor (FF) 0.50. The energy conversion efficiency (η) of the DSSCs is 0.43%. Phytochemical screening of P. macrophylla leaf extract shows the presence of flavonoids and anthraquinones. The nanostructured dye shows conversion of solar energy into electricity using low cost natural dyes as wide band-gap semiconductor sensitizers in DSSCs. This will provide economically viable substitute to silicon p-n junction photovoltaic (PV).