Studies showed that complexation of polyphenols with milk allergens reduced their immunogenic potential.However,the relationship between structures of polyphenols and their hypoallergenic effects on milk allergens in ...Studies showed that complexation of polyphenols with milk allergens reduced their immunogenic potential.However,the relationship between structures of polyphenols and their hypoallergenic effects on milk allergens in association with physiological and conformational changes of the complexes remain unclear.In this study,polyphenols from eight botanical sources were extracted to prepare non-covalent complexes withβ-lactoglobulin(β-LG),a major allergen in milk.The dominant phenolic compounds bound toβ-LG with a diminished allergenicity were identified to investigate their respective role on the structural and allergenic properties ofβ-LG.Extracts from Vaccinium fruits and black soybeans were found to have great inhibitory effects on the IgE-and IgG-binding abilities ofβ-LG.Among the fourteen structure-related phenolic compounds,flavonoids and tannins with larger MWs and multi-hydroxyl substituents,notably rutin,EGCG,and ellagitannins were more potent to elicit changes on the conformational structures ofβ-LG to decrease the allergenicity of complexedβ-LG.Correlation analysis further demonstrated that a destabilized secondary structure and protein depolymerization caused by polyphenol-binding were closely related to the allergenicity property of formed complexes.This study provides insights into the understanding of structure-allergenicity relationship ofβ-LG-polyphenol interactions and would benefit the development of polyphenol-fortified matrices with hypoallergenic potential.展开更多
Optimizing the catalytic activity and stability of molybdenum disulfide (MoS_(2)) towards alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is significant for sustaining green hydrogen. A moderate localized electronic struct...Optimizing the catalytic activity and stability of molybdenum disulfide (MoS_(2)) towards alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is significant for sustaining green hydrogen. A moderate localized electronic structure of active sites plays a crucial role in determining the activity and stability of the catalysts, yet how to construct such localized electronic structure still remains indeterminacy. Enlightened by theoretical prediction, herein, the introduction of both single-atom Re and the adjacent S vacancy in MoS_(2) (denoted as Re-MoS_(2)-Vs) exhibits collaborative effect on regulating the localized electronic structure of active sites (viz. Re-(S, Vs)-Mo). Such regulated electronic structure helps to decrease the energy barrier of the water dissociation and optimize hydrogen adsorption energy for enhancing alkaline HER performance. Most importantly, Mo-S bonds in the above local Re-(S, Vs)-Mo configurations are also strengthened for preventing the leaching of Mo and S atoms and then ensuring the long-time stability. Consequently, the deliberately designed Re-MoS_(2)-Vs with a Re coordination number of ~ 5.0 is experimentally verified to exhibit a comparable electrocatalytic performance and robust operational stability over 120 h. This strategy provides a promising guidance for modulating the electronic structure of MoS_(2) based catalysts via double-tuning atomic-scale local configuration for HER applications.展开更多
Biomass‐derived carbon is a promising electrode material in energy storage devices.However,how to improve its low capacity and stability,and slow diffusion kinetics during lithium storage remains a challenge.In this ...Biomass‐derived carbon is a promising electrode material in energy storage devices.However,how to improve its low capacity and stability,and slow diffusion kinetics during lithium storage remains a challenge.In this research,we propose a“self‐assembly‐template”method to prepare B,N codoped porous carbon(BN‐C)with a nanosandwich structure and abundant pyridinic N‐B species.The nanosandwich structure can increase powder density and cycle stability by constructing a stable solid electrolyte interphase film,shortening the Li^(+) diffusion pathway,and accommodating volume expansion during repeated charging/discharging.The abundant pyridinic N‐B species can simultaneously promote the adsorption/desorption of Li^(+)/PF_(6)^(−) and reduce the diffusion barrier.The BN‐C electrode showed a high lithium‐ion storage capacity of above 1140 mAh g^(−1) at 0.05 A g^(−1) and superior stability(96.5% retained after 2000 cycles).Moreover,owing to the synergistic effect of the nanosandwich structure and pyridinic N‐B species,the assembled symmetrical BN‐C//BN‐C full cell shows a high energy density of 234.7Wh kg^(−1),high power density of 39.38 kW kg−1,and excellent cycling stability,superior to most of the other cells reported in the literature.As the density functional theory simulation demonstrated,pyridinic N‐B shows enhanced adsorption activity for Li^(+) and PF_(6)^(−),which promotes an increase in the capacity of the anode and cathode,respectively.Meanwhile,the relatively lower diffusion barrier of pyridinic N‐B promotes Li^(+) migration,resulting in good rate performance.Therefore,this study provides a new approach for the synergistic modulation of a nanostructure and an active site simultaneously to fabricate the carbon electrode material in energy storage devices.展开更多
γ-Secretase,called“the proteasome of the membrane,”is a membrane-embedded protease complex that cleaves 150+peptide substrates with central roles in biology and medicine,including amyloid precursor protein and the ...γ-Secretase,called“the proteasome of the membrane,”is a membrane-embedded protease complex that cleaves 150+peptide substrates with central roles in biology and medicine,including amyloid precursor protein and the Notch family of cell-surface receptors.Mutations inγ-secretase and amyloid precursor protein lead to early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease.γ-Secretase has thus served as a critical drug target for treating familial Alzheimer’s disease and the more common late-onset Alzheimer’s disease as well.However,critical gaps remain in understanding the mechanisms of processive proteolysis of substrates,the effects of familial Alzheimer’s disease mutations,and allosteric modulation of substrate cleavage byγ-secretase.In this review,we focus on recent studies of structural dynamic mechanisms ofγ-secretase.Different mechanisms,including the“Fit-Stay-Trim,”“Sliding-Unwinding,”and“Tilting-Unwinding,”have been proposed for substrate proteolysis of amyloid precursor protein byγ-secretase based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations.While an incorrect registry of the Notch1 substrate was identified in the cryo-electron microscopy structure of Notch1-boundγ-secretase,molecular dynamics simulations on a resolved model of Notch1-boundγ-secretase that was reconstructed using the amyloid precursor protein-boundγ-secretase as a template successfully capturedγ-secretase activation for proper cleavages of both wildtype and mutant Notch,being consistent with biochemical experimental findings.The approach could be potentially applied to decipher the processing mechanisms of various substrates byγ-secretase.In addition,controversy over the effects of familial Alzheimer’s disease mutations,particularly the issue of whether they stabilize or destabilizeγ-secretase-substrate complexes,is discussed.Finally,an outlook is provided for future studies ofγ-secretase,including pathways of substrate binding and product release,effects of modulators on familial Alzheimer’s disease mutations of theγ-secretase-substrate complexes.Comprehensive understanding of the functional mechanisms ofγ-secretase will greatly facilitate the rational design of effective drug molecules for treating familial Alzheimer’s disease and perhaps Alzheimer’s disease in general.展开更多
Here, using the Scale-Symmetric Theory (SST) we explain the cosmological tension and the origin of the largest cosmic structures. We show that a change in value of strong coupling constant for cold baryonic matter lea...Here, using the Scale-Symmetric Theory (SST) we explain the cosmological tension and the origin of the largest cosmic structures. We show that a change in value of strong coupling constant for cold baryonic matter leads to the disagreement in the galaxy clustering amplitude, quantified by the parameter S8. Within the same model we described the Hubble tension. We described also the mechanism that transforms the gravitational collapse into an explosion—it concerns the dynamics of virtual fields that lead to dark energy. Our calculations concern the Type Ia supernovae and the core-collapse supernovae. We calculated the quantized masses of the progenitors of supernovae, emitted total energy during explosion, and we calculated how much of the released energy was transferred to neutrinos. Value of the speed of sound in the strongly interacting matter measured at the LHC confirms that presented here model is correct. Our calculations show that the Universe is cyclic.展开更多
Plankton size structure is crucial for understanding marine ecosystem dynamics and the associated biogeochemical processes.A fixation step by acid Lugol’s solution has been commonly employed to preserve plankton samp...Plankton size structure is crucial for understanding marine ecosystem dynamics and the associated biogeochemical processes.A fixation step by acid Lugol’s solution has been commonly employed to preserve plankton samples in the field.However,the acid Lugol’s solution can bias the estimation of size structure and the preserved plankton size structure can vary with time.Here,we explore the impact of sample storage time on the size-structure of the plankton community preserved by Lugol’s solution.Two short-term experiments and one long-term experiment were conducted to explore the change of plankton community size structure with the storage time:covering from a week to a month,and to nearly seven months based on particle-size data obtained by continuous Flow Cytometer and Microscope(FlowCAM)measurements.We found a linear change of plankton size with the storage time in short-term periods(less than 3 months)with a decrease of the slope but an increase of the intercept for the normalized biomass size spectrum(NBS S).However,there were opposite trends for NBSS with increasing slope but decreasing intercept after3 months.The potential causes of the distinct patterns of the NBSS parameters are addressed in terms of the interplay between particle aggregation and fragmentation.We found large changes in plankton biovolume and abundance among different size classes,which may indicate a distinct effect of acid Lugol’s solution on various plankton size classes.The mechanism driving temporal change in the size-structure of the Lugolfixed plankton community was further discussed in terms of particle aggregation and fragmentation.Finally,we emphasize that the effect of storage time should be taken into account when interpreting or comparing data of plankton community acquired from samples with various storage durations.展开更多
Biomass-derived carbon has demonstrated great potentials as advanced electrode for capacitive deionization(CDI),owing to good electroconductivity,easy availability,intrinsic pores/channels.However,conventional simple ...Biomass-derived carbon has demonstrated great potentials as advanced electrode for capacitive deionization(CDI),owing to good electroconductivity,easy availability,intrinsic pores/channels.However,conventional simple pyrolysis of biomass always generates inadequate porosity with limited surface area.Moreover,biomass-derived carbon also suffers from poor wettability and single physical adsorption of ions,resulting in limited desalination performance.Herein,pore structure optimization and element co-doping are integrated on banana peels(BP)-derived carbon to construct hierarchically porous and B,N co-doped carbon with large ions-accessible surface area.A unique expansionactivation(EA)strategy is proposed to modulate the porosity and specific surface area of carbon.Furthermore,B,N co-doping could increase the ions-accessible sites with improved hydrophilicity,and promote ions adsorption.Benefitting from the synergistic effect of hierarchical porosity and B,N co-doping,the resultant electrode manifest enhanced CDI performance for NaCl with large desalination capacity(29.5 mg g^(-1)),high salt adsorption rate(6.2 mg g^(-1)min^(-1)),and versatile adsorption ability for other salts.Density functional theory reveals the enhanced deionization mechanism by pore and B,N co-doping.This work proposes a facile EA strategy for pore structure modulation of biomass-derived carbon,and demonstrates great potentials of integrating pore and heteroatoms-doping on constructing high-performance CDI electrode.展开更多
In order to ameliorate the electrochemical hydrogen storage performance of La-Mg-Ni system A2B7-type electrode alloys, a small amount of Si was added. The La0.8Mg0.2Ni3.3Co0.2Six (x=0-0.2) electrode alloys were prep...In order to ameliorate the electrochemical hydrogen storage performance of La-Mg-Ni system A2B7-type electrode alloys, a small amount of Si was added. The La0.8Mg0.2Ni3.3Co0.2Six (x=0-0.2) electrode alloys were prepared by casting and annealing. The effects of adding Si on the structure and electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the alloys were investigated systematically. The results indicate that the as-cast and annealed alloys hold multiple structures, involving two major phases of (La, Mg)2Ni7 with a Ce2Ni7-type hexagonal structure and LaNi5 with a CaCu5-type hexagonal structure as well as one residual phase LaNi3. The addition of Si results in a decrease in (La, Mg)2Ni7 phase and an increase in LaNi5 phase without changing the phase structure of the alloys. What is more, it brings on an obvious effect on electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the alloys. The discharge capacities of the as-cast and annealed alloys decline with the increase of Si content, but their cycle stabilities clearly grow under the same condition. Furthermore, the measurements of the high rate discharge ability, the limiting current density, hydrogen diffusion coefficient as well as electrochemical impedance spectra all indicate that the electrochemical kinetic properties of the electrode alloys first increase and then decrease with the rising of Si content.展开更多
基金supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(LGN22C200027 and LZ23C200001).
文摘Studies showed that complexation of polyphenols with milk allergens reduced their immunogenic potential.However,the relationship between structures of polyphenols and their hypoallergenic effects on milk allergens in association with physiological and conformational changes of the complexes remain unclear.In this study,polyphenols from eight botanical sources were extracted to prepare non-covalent complexes withβ-lactoglobulin(β-LG),a major allergen in milk.The dominant phenolic compounds bound toβ-LG with a diminished allergenicity were identified to investigate their respective role on the structural and allergenic properties ofβ-LG.Extracts from Vaccinium fruits and black soybeans were found to have great inhibitory effects on the IgE-and IgG-binding abilities ofβ-LG.Among the fourteen structure-related phenolic compounds,flavonoids and tannins with larger MWs and multi-hydroxyl substituents,notably rutin,EGCG,and ellagitannins were more potent to elicit changes on the conformational structures ofβ-LG to decrease the allergenicity of complexedβ-LG.Correlation analysis further demonstrated that a destabilized secondary structure and protein depolymerization caused by polyphenol-binding were closely related to the allergenicity property of formed complexes.This study provides insights into the understanding of structure-allergenicity relationship ofβ-LG-polyphenol interactions and would benefit the development of polyphenol-fortified matrices with hypoallergenic potential.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.22209193)Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(Nos.ZR2020ZD10 and ZR2021QB111)+1 种基金the Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province(No.tstq20221151)the Innovation Funds of Shandong Energy Institute(No.SEI I202140).
文摘Optimizing the catalytic activity and stability of molybdenum disulfide (MoS_(2)) towards alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is significant for sustaining green hydrogen. A moderate localized electronic structure of active sites plays a crucial role in determining the activity and stability of the catalysts, yet how to construct such localized electronic structure still remains indeterminacy. Enlightened by theoretical prediction, herein, the introduction of both single-atom Re and the adjacent S vacancy in MoS_(2) (denoted as Re-MoS_(2)-Vs) exhibits collaborative effect on regulating the localized electronic structure of active sites (viz. Re-(S, Vs)-Mo). Such regulated electronic structure helps to decrease the energy barrier of the water dissociation and optimize hydrogen adsorption energy for enhancing alkaline HER performance. Most importantly, Mo-S bonds in the above local Re-(S, Vs)-Mo configurations are also strengthened for preventing the leaching of Mo and S atoms and then ensuring the long-time stability. Consequently, the deliberately designed Re-MoS_(2)-Vs with a Re coordination number of ~ 5.0 is experimentally verified to exhibit a comparable electrocatalytic performance and robust operational stability over 120 h. This strategy provides a promising guidance for modulating the electronic structure of MoS_(2) based catalysts via double-tuning atomic-scale local configuration for HER applications.
基金Jiangsu Key Lab of Biomass Energy and Material,Grant/Award Number:JSBEMS‐202101National Natural Science Foundation of China,Grant/Award Numbers:51902162,51902162+4 种基金National Key R&D Program of China,Grant/Award Number:2022YFB4201904Foundation of Jiangsu Key Lab of Biomass Energy and Material,Grant/Award Number:JSBEM‐S‐202101National Key R&D Program,Grant/Award Number:2022YFB4201904Jiangsu Co‐Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources,the International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materialsanjing Forestry University。
文摘Biomass‐derived carbon is a promising electrode material in energy storage devices.However,how to improve its low capacity and stability,and slow diffusion kinetics during lithium storage remains a challenge.In this research,we propose a“self‐assembly‐template”method to prepare B,N codoped porous carbon(BN‐C)with a nanosandwich structure and abundant pyridinic N‐B species.The nanosandwich structure can increase powder density and cycle stability by constructing a stable solid electrolyte interphase film,shortening the Li^(+) diffusion pathway,and accommodating volume expansion during repeated charging/discharging.The abundant pyridinic N‐B species can simultaneously promote the adsorption/desorption of Li^(+)/PF_(6)^(−) and reduce the diffusion barrier.The BN‐C electrode showed a high lithium‐ion storage capacity of above 1140 mAh g^(−1) at 0.05 A g^(−1) and superior stability(96.5% retained after 2000 cycles).Moreover,owing to the synergistic effect of the nanosandwich structure and pyridinic N‐B species,the assembled symmetrical BN‐C//BN‐C full cell shows a high energy density of 234.7Wh kg^(−1),high power density of 39.38 kW kg−1,and excellent cycling stability,superior to most of the other cells reported in the literature.As the density functional theory simulation demonstrated,pyridinic N‐B shows enhanced adsorption activity for Li^(+) and PF_(6)^(−),which promotes an increase in the capacity of the anode and cathode,respectively.Meanwhile,the relatively lower diffusion barrier of pyridinic N‐B promotes Li^(+) migration,resulting in good rate performance.Therefore,this study provides a new approach for the synergistic modulation of a nanostructure and an active site simultaneously to fabricate the carbon electrode material in energy storage devices.
基金supported in part by Award 2121063 from National Science Foundation(to YM)AG66986 from the National Institutes of Health(to MSW).
文摘γ-Secretase,called“the proteasome of the membrane,”is a membrane-embedded protease complex that cleaves 150+peptide substrates with central roles in biology and medicine,including amyloid precursor protein and the Notch family of cell-surface receptors.Mutations inγ-secretase and amyloid precursor protein lead to early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease.γ-Secretase has thus served as a critical drug target for treating familial Alzheimer’s disease and the more common late-onset Alzheimer’s disease as well.However,critical gaps remain in understanding the mechanisms of processive proteolysis of substrates,the effects of familial Alzheimer’s disease mutations,and allosteric modulation of substrate cleavage byγ-secretase.In this review,we focus on recent studies of structural dynamic mechanisms ofγ-secretase.Different mechanisms,including the“Fit-Stay-Trim,”“Sliding-Unwinding,”and“Tilting-Unwinding,”have been proposed for substrate proteolysis of amyloid precursor protein byγ-secretase based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations.While an incorrect registry of the Notch1 substrate was identified in the cryo-electron microscopy structure of Notch1-boundγ-secretase,molecular dynamics simulations on a resolved model of Notch1-boundγ-secretase that was reconstructed using the amyloid precursor protein-boundγ-secretase as a template successfully capturedγ-secretase activation for proper cleavages of both wildtype and mutant Notch,being consistent with biochemical experimental findings.The approach could be potentially applied to decipher the processing mechanisms of various substrates byγ-secretase.In addition,controversy over the effects of familial Alzheimer’s disease mutations,particularly the issue of whether they stabilize or destabilizeγ-secretase-substrate complexes,is discussed.Finally,an outlook is provided for future studies ofγ-secretase,including pathways of substrate binding and product release,effects of modulators on familial Alzheimer’s disease mutations of theγ-secretase-substrate complexes.Comprehensive understanding of the functional mechanisms ofγ-secretase will greatly facilitate the rational design of effective drug molecules for treating familial Alzheimer’s disease and perhaps Alzheimer’s disease in general.
文摘Here, using the Scale-Symmetric Theory (SST) we explain the cosmological tension and the origin of the largest cosmic structures. We show that a change in value of strong coupling constant for cold baryonic matter leads to the disagreement in the galaxy clustering amplitude, quantified by the parameter S8. Within the same model we described the Hubble tension. We described also the mechanism that transforms the gravitational collapse into an explosion—it concerns the dynamics of virtual fields that lead to dark energy. Our calculations concern the Type Ia supernovae and the core-collapse supernovae. We calculated the quantized masses of the progenitors of supernovae, emitted total energy during explosion, and we calculated how much of the released energy was transferred to neutrinos. Value of the speed of sound in the strongly interacting matter measured at the LHC confirms that presented here model is correct. Our calculations show that the Universe is cyclic.
基金Supported by the Guangdong Province Special Support Plan for Leading Talents(No.2019TX05H216)the Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Guangzhou)(No.GML2019ZD0305)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41906132)the Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou(No.202102021229)。
文摘Plankton size structure is crucial for understanding marine ecosystem dynamics and the associated biogeochemical processes.A fixation step by acid Lugol’s solution has been commonly employed to preserve plankton samples in the field.However,the acid Lugol’s solution can bias the estimation of size structure and the preserved plankton size structure can vary with time.Here,we explore the impact of sample storage time on the size-structure of the plankton community preserved by Lugol’s solution.Two short-term experiments and one long-term experiment were conducted to explore the change of plankton community size structure with the storage time:covering from a week to a month,and to nearly seven months based on particle-size data obtained by continuous Flow Cytometer and Microscope(FlowCAM)measurements.We found a linear change of plankton size with the storage time in short-term periods(less than 3 months)with a decrease of the slope but an increase of the intercept for the normalized biomass size spectrum(NBS S).However,there were opposite trends for NBSS with increasing slope but decreasing intercept after3 months.The potential causes of the distinct patterns of the NBSS parameters are addressed in terms of the interplay between particle aggregation and fragmentation.We found large changes in plankton biovolume and abundance among different size classes,which may indicate a distinct effect of acid Lugol’s solution on various plankton size classes.The mechanism driving temporal change in the size-structure of the Lugolfixed plankton community was further discussed in terms of particle aggregation and fragmentation.Finally,we emphasize that the effect of storage time should be taken into account when interpreting or comparing data of plankton community acquired from samples with various storage durations.
基金We gratefully acknowledge financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52202371,51905125,52102364)the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(No.ZR2020QE066)+2 种基金Opening Project of State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Float Glass(No.2020KF08)SDUT&Zibo City Integration Development Project(No.2021SNPT0045)the fellowship of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2020M672081).
文摘Biomass-derived carbon has demonstrated great potentials as advanced electrode for capacitive deionization(CDI),owing to good electroconductivity,easy availability,intrinsic pores/channels.However,conventional simple pyrolysis of biomass always generates inadequate porosity with limited surface area.Moreover,biomass-derived carbon also suffers from poor wettability and single physical adsorption of ions,resulting in limited desalination performance.Herein,pore structure optimization and element co-doping are integrated on banana peels(BP)-derived carbon to construct hierarchically porous and B,N co-doped carbon with large ions-accessible surface area.A unique expansionactivation(EA)strategy is proposed to modulate the porosity and specific surface area of carbon.Furthermore,B,N co-doping could increase the ions-accessible sites with improved hydrophilicity,and promote ions adsorption.Benefitting from the synergistic effect of hierarchical porosity and B,N co-doping,the resultant electrode manifest enhanced CDI performance for NaCl with large desalination capacity(29.5 mg g^(-1)),high salt adsorption rate(6.2 mg g^(-1)min^(-1)),and versatile adsorption ability for other salts.Density functional theory reveals the enhanced deionization mechanism by pore and B,N co-doping.This work proposes a facile EA strategy for pore structure modulation of biomass-derived carbon,and demonstrates great potentials of integrating pore and heteroatoms-doping on constructing high-performance CDI electrode.
基金Projects(50961009,51161015)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(2011AA03A408)supported by the High-tech Research and Development Program of ChinaProjects(2011ZD10,2010ZD05)supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Inner Mongolia,China
文摘In order to ameliorate the electrochemical hydrogen storage performance of La-Mg-Ni system A2B7-type electrode alloys, a small amount of Si was added. The La0.8Mg0.2Ni3.3Co0.2Six (x=0-0.2) electrode alloys were prepared by casting and annealing. The effects of adding Si on the structure and electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the alloys were investigated systematically. The results indicate that the as-cast and annealed alloys hold multiple structures, involving two major phases of (La, Mg)2Ni7 with a Ce2Ni7-type hexagonal structure and LaNi5 with a CaCu5-type hexagonal structure as well as one residual phase LaNi3. The addition of Si results in a decrease in (La, Mg)2Ni7 phase and an increase in LaNi5 phase without changing the phase structure of the alloys. What is more, it brings on an obvious effect on electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the alloys. The discharge capacities of the as-cast and annealed alloys decline with the increase of Si content, but their cycle stabilities clearly grow under the same condition. Furthermore, the measurements of the high rate discharge ability, the limiting current density, hydrogen diffusion coefficient as well as electrochemical impedance spectra all indicate that the electrochemical kinetic properties of the electrode alloys first increase and then decrease with the rising of Si content.