Nowadays,ozone contamination becomes dominant in air and thus challenges the research and development of cost-effective catalyst.In this study,metal doped Cu_(2)O catalysts are synthesized via reduction of Cu^(2+)by a...Nowadays,ozone contamination becomes dominant in air and thus challenges the research and development of cost-effective catalyst.In this study,metal doped Cu_(2)O catalysts are synthesized via reduction of Cu^(2+)by ascorbic acid in base solutions containing doping metal ions.The results show that compared with pure Cu_(2)O,the Mg^(2+)and Fe^(2+)dopants enhance the O_(3)removal efficiency while Ni2+depresses the activity.In specific,Mg-Cu_(2)O shows high O3removal efficiency of 88.4%in harsh environment of 600,000 mL/(g·hr) space velocity and 1500 ppmV O_(3),which is one of the highest in the literature.Photoluminescence and electron paramagnetic spectroscopy characterization shows higher concentration of crystal defects induced by the Mg^(2+)dopants,favoring the O3degradation.The in-situ diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy shows the intermediate species in the O_(3)degradation process change from O_(2)^(2-)dominant of pure Cu_(2)O to O_(2)^(-)dominant of Mg-Cu2O,which would contribute to the high activity.All these results show the promising prospect of the Mg-Cu_(2)O for highly efficiency O_(3)removal.展开更多
As the increasing number of the individuals suffering from AIDs,chemotherapy,and radiotherapy,pathogenic fungi,which may rapidly grow and invade the host tissues in these immune-compromised patients,is becoming great ...As the increasing number of the individuals suffering from AIDs,chemotherapy,and radiotherapy,pathogenic fungi,which may rapidly grow and invade the host tissues in these immune-compromised patients,is becoming great threat to human health.In this study,we constructed a novel fungal pathogen-responsive assembly of cuprous oxide(Cu_(2)O)nanoparticles(NPs)for specific targeting and inhibiting growth and biofilm formation of the representative fungal pathogen,Candida albicans(C.albicans).This assembly was formed by coating the initial Cu_(2)O NPs with both phosphatidylethanolamine(PE)and bovine serum albumin(BSA),followed by hydrophobic/electrostatic interaction-driven formation of the Cu_(2)O-PE-BSA microaggregates.The formed microaggregates could be induced for disassembly by the fungal pathogen C.albicans,leading to close binding of the NPs to the cell wall of the pathogen.Both confocal microscopy and viability assays showed that the assembly strongly inhibited growth and biofilm formation of the pathogen,but had extreme low toxicity to mammalian cells.In vivo mouse wound model further revealed that the assembly had high capacity of healing the fungus-infected wounds and reduced the fungal burden of the wound tissues.This study sheds a novel light on facile development of pathogen-responsive nano-assemblies for efficient and safe antifungal therapy.展开更多
Understanding and establishing the structure-activity relation of nanoparticles is a prerequisite for rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts.Cu_(2)O nanoparticles enclosed with different crystal facets,n...Understanding and establishing the structure-activity relation of nanoparticles is a prerequisite for rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts.Cu_(2)O nanoparticles enclosed with different crystal facets,namely,o-Cu_(2)O NPs with{111}facets,c-Cu_(2)O NPs with{100}facets are prepared and their electrocatalytic properties for oxygen evolution reaction(OER)in alkaline condition are evaluated at single nanoparticle level with a combination of scanning electrochemical cell microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.It is found that the o-Cu_(2)O NPs have significantly superior OER electrocatalytic activity compared to c-Cu_(2)O,which is almost inert.The estimated turnover frequency(TOF)at 1.97 V vs.RHE on{111}facet increases from 4 s^(-1) to 115 s^(-1) with the octahedron edge length decreasing from 1.3μm to 100 nm.Deposition of carbon on c-Cu_(2)O surface barely promotes the activity,suggesting the inherent poor electric conductivity within the nanocrystal is most likely the reason for low activity.This work provides direct probing to single transition metal oxide crystals with dramatically different activity.展开更多
The current strategy of co-delivering copper ions and disulfiram(DSF)to generate cytotoxic CuET faces limitations in achieving rapid and substantial CuET production,specifically in tumor lesions.To overcome this chall...The current strategy of co-delivering copper ions and disulfiram(DSF)to generate cytotoxic CuET faces limitations in achieving rapid and substantial CuET production,specifically in tumor lesions.To overcome this challenge,we introduce a novel burst-release cascade reactor composed of phase change materials(PCMs)encapsulating ultrasmall Cu_(2-x)Se nanoparticles(NPs)and DSF(DSF/Cu_(2-x)Se@PCM).Once triggered by second near-infrared(NIR-II)light irradiation,the reactor swiftly releases Cu_(2-x)Se NPs and DSF,enabling catalytic reactions that lead to the rapid and massive production of Cu_(2-x)Se-ET complexes,thereby achieving in situ chemotherapy.The mechanism of the burst reaction is due to the unique properties of ultrasmall Cu_(2-x)Se NPs,including their small size,multiple defects,and high surface activity.These characteristics allow DSF to be directly reduced and chelated on the surface defect sites of Cu_(2-x)Se,forming Cu_(2-x)Se-ET complexes without the need for copper ion release.Additionally,Cu_(2-x)Se-ET has demonstrated a similar(to CuET)anti-tumor activity through increased autophagy,but with even greater potency due to its unique two-dimensional-like structure.The light-triggered cascade of interlocking reactions,coupled with in situ explosive generation of tumor-suppressive substances mediated by the size and valence of Cu_(2-x)Se,presents a promising approach for the development of innovative nanoplatforms in the field of precise tumor chemotherapy.展开更多
Cu_2NiSnS_4 nanoparticles were prepared for the first time using a facile solid-phase process at a temperature of 180 °C. The crystalline structure, morphology and optical properties of the Cu_2NiSnS_4 nanopartic...Cu_2NiSnS_4 nanoparticles were prepared for the first time using a facile solid-phase process at a temperature of 180 °C. The crystalline structure, morphology and optical properties of the Cu_2NiSnS_4 nanoparticles were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction(XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), transmission electron microscope(TEM) and ultraviolet-visible(UV-vis) spectrophotometer. The band gap and conversion efficiency of Cu_2NiSnS_4 nanoparticles were studied at various temperature. The results showed that the Cu_2NiSnS_4 nanoparticles exhibited an optimum band gap of 1.58 e V and a conversion efficiency of 0.64% at 180 °C, indicating that it maybe be useful in low-cost thin film solar cells.展开更多
With the fabrication of high-performance thermoelectric(TE)materials,developments are being made in enhanc-ing the figure of merit,zT,of TE materials.Liquid-like binary copper selenide(Cu_(2) Se)chalcogenides recently...With the fabrication of high-performance thermoelectric(TE)materials,developments are being made in enhanc-ing the figure of merit,zT,of TE materials.Liquid-like binary copper selenide(Cu_(2) Se)chalcogenides recently gained significant recognition because of their anomalous but fascinating electrical and thermal transport perfor-mances.In this study,a facile synthesis technique was adopted in fabricating Cu_(2) Se nanoparticles using a rapid microwave-assisted hydrothermal route at different reaction times.The results were compared with those of the Cu_(2) Se solid-state(SS)sample synthesized using the traditional melting and annealing technique.X-ray diffrac-tion patterns revealed successful synthesis of nanoparticles and a phase transition from orthorhombic𝛼-phase and cubic𝛽-phase to a single orthorhombic structure after hot-pressing.Scanning electron microscopic images revealed that although the grain sizes of the nanoparticle(NP)bulk samples increased with the reaction time of the microwave hydrothermal process,the grain sizes were significantly smaller than that of the SS sample.Additionally,NP bulk samples exhibited plenty of nano-grains and pores that are absent in the SS sample.The size and distribution of the grains and pores were measured to study their effects on the transport of carriers and phonons.The NP30 sample exhibited the highest power factor of 983.3μW K−2 m at 673 K among the NP samples,exhibiting intermediate values of resistivity and Seebeck coefficient that are close to those of the SS sample.Moreover,the NP samples exhibited appreciably lower thermal conductivity than the SS sample that is attributed to strengthened phonon scattering.The minimum thermal conductivity of the NP05 sample,0.78 WK−1 m−1 at 348 K,is 1.7 times lower than that of the SS sample.Finally,a maximum zT of 0.56 at 673 K,being approximately 1.3 times higher than that of the SS sample owing to the optimized thermal conductivity,was achieved for the NP30 sample.This value is comparable to or higher than that reported for Cu_(2) Se synthesized using the traditional SS method.Investigations revealed that the proposed microwave hydrothermal synthesis technique is a facile,rapid,and reliable method that results in Cu_(2) Se alloys with excellent TE performance.展开更多
SnO 2 nanospheres with diameters of 30∼50 nm and Pt x Cu 1-x bimetallic nanoparticles with sizes of approxi-mately 10 nm were synthesized via hydrothermal and solvothermal methods,respectively.The Pt x Cu 1-x bimetal...SnO 2 nanospheres with diameters of 30∼50 nm and Pt x Cu 1-x bimetallic nanoparticles with sizes of approxi-mately 10 nm were synthesized via hydrothermal and solvothermal methods,respectively.The Pt x Cu 1-x bimetal-lic nanoparticles were impregnated on the surface of the SnO 2 spheres to form Pt x Cu 1-x-SnO 2 nanocomposites.By varying the atomic ratios between platinum(Pt)and copper(Cu),we found that Pt 0.75 Cu 0.25-SnO 2,with a large specific surface area of 89.21 m 2/g,enabled the selective and accurate detection of low-concentration formalde-hyde compared to other metal-deposited samples and pure SnO 2.The response value of Pt 0.75 Cu 0.25-SnO 2 to 500×10−9 formaldehyde was approximately 20 at an operating temperature of 160◦C with an extremely high-speed response(15 s).The porous structures with large specific surface areas,as well as the improved catalytic effects of Pt 0.75 Cu 0.25,comprehensively contributed to the enhanced sensing performance towards formaldehyde.展开更多
基金supported by Chengdu Science and Technology Program (No.2019-YF05-01833-SN)the National Key R & DProgram of China (No.2016YFC0207100)。
文摘Nowadays,ozone contamination becomes dominant in air and thus challenges the research and development of cost-effective catalyst.In this study,metal doped Cu_(2)O catalysts are synthesized via reduction of Cu^(2+)by ascorbic acid in base solutions containing doping metal ions.The results show that compared with pure Cu_(2)O,the Mg^(2+)and Fe^(2+)dopants enhance the O_(3)removal efficiency while Ni2+depresses the activity.In specific,Mg-Cu_(2)O shows high O3removal efficiency of 88.4%in harsh environment of 600,000 mL/(g·hr) space velocity and 1500 ppmV O_(3),which is one of the highest in the literature.Photoluminescence and electron paramagnetic spectroscopy characterization shows higher concentration of crystal defects induced by the Mg^(2+)dopants,favoring the O3degradation.The in-situ diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy shows the intermediate species in the O_(3)degradation process change from O_(2)^(2-)dominant of pure Cu_(2)O to O_(2)^(-)dominant of Mg-Cu2O,which would contribute to the high activity.All these results show the promising prospect of the Mg-Cu_(2)O for highly efficiency O_(3)removal.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31870139 and 81873961)the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin(19JCZDJC33800)+1 种基金the National Training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates(201810055105)the Fundamental Research for the Central Universities。
文摘As the increasing number of the individuals suffering from AIDs,chemotherapy,and radiotherapy,pathogenic fungi,which may rapidly grow and invade the host tissues in these immune-compromised patients,is becoming great threat to human health.In this study,we constructed a novel fungal pathogen-responsive assembly of cuprous oxide(Cu_(2)O)nanoparticles(NPs)for specific targeting and inhibiting growth and biofilm formation of the representative fungal pathogen,Candida albicans(C.albicans).This assembly was formed by coating the initial Cu_(2)O NPs with both phosphatidylethanolamine(PE)and bovine serum albumin(BSA),followed by hydrophobic/electrostatic interaction-driven formation of the Cu_(2)O-PE-BSA microaggregates.The formed microaggregates could be induced for disassembly by the fungal pathogen C.albicans,leading to close binding of the NPs to the cell wall of the pathogen.Both confocal microscopy and viability assays showed that the assembly strongly inhibited growth and biofilm formation of the pathogen,but had extreme low toxicity to mammalian cells.In vivo mouse wound model further revealed that the assembly had high capacity of healing the fungus-infected wounds and reduced the fungal burden of the wound tissues.This study sheds a novel light on facile development of pathogen-responsive nano-assemblies for efficient and safe antifungal therapy.
基金the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Nos.2232020A-09,2232021G-04)Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai(No.19ZR1470800)+1 种基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.21804018)Opening Project of PCOSS from Xiamen University(No.201906)for financial support.
文摘Understanding and establishing the structure-activity relation of nanoparticles is a prerequisite for rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts.Cu_(2)O nanoparticles enclosed with different crystal facets,namely,o-Cu_(2)O NPs with{111}facets,c-Cu_(2)O NPs with{100}facets are prepared and their electrocatalytic properties for oxygen evolution reaction(OER)in alkaline condition are evaluated at single nanoparticle level with a combination of scanning electrochemical cell microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.It is found that the o-Cu_(2)O NPs have significantly superior OER electrocatalytic activity compared to c-Cu_(2)O,which is almost inert.The estimated turnover frequency(TOF)at 1.97 V vs.RHE on{111}facet increases from 4 s^(-1) to 115 s^(-1) with the octahedron edge length decreasing from 1.3μm to 100 nm.Deposition of carbon on c-Cu_(2)O surface barely promotes the activity,suggesting the inherent poor electric conductivity within the nanocrystal is most likely the reason for low activity.This work provides direct probing to single transition metal oxide crystals with dramatically different activity.
基金support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC,81971734,32071323,32271410,and 82202330)the National Key Research&Development Program of China(2019YFE0113600)+1 种基金the Science and Technology Projects in Fujian Province(2022FX1,2023Y4008)the Program for Innovative Research Team in Science and Technology in Fujian Province University,and the Scientific Research Funds of Huaqiao University(23BS113).
文摘The current strategy of co-delivering copper ions and disulfiram(DSF)to generate cytotoxic CuET faces limitations in achieving rapid and substantial CuET production,specifically in tumor lesions.To overcome this challenge,we introduce a novel burst-release cascade reactor composed of phase change materials(PCMs)encapsulating ultrasmall Cu_(2-x)Se nanoparticles(NPs)and DSF(DSF/Cu_(2-x)Se@PCM).Once triggered by second near-infrared(NIR-II)light irradiation,the reactor swiftly releases Cu_(2-x)Se NPs and DSF,enabling catalytic reactions that lead to the rapid and massive production of Cu_(2-x)Se-ET complexes,thereby achieving in situ chemotherapy.The mechanism of the burst reaction is due to the unique properties of ultrasmall Cu_(2-x)Se NPs,including their small size,multiple defects,and high surface activity.These characteristics allow DSF to be directly reduced and chelated on the surface defect sites of Cu_(2-x)Se,forming Cu_(2-x)Se-ET complexes without the need for copper ion release.Additionally,Cu_(2-x)Se-ET has demonstrated a similar(to CuET)anti-tumor activity through increased autophagy,but with even greater potency due to its unique two-dimensional-like structure.The light-triggered cascade of interlocking reactions,coupled with in situ explosive generation of tumor-suppressive substances mediated by the size and valence of Cu_(2-x)Se,presents a promising approach for the development of innovative nanoplatforms in the field of precise tumor chemotherapy.
基金supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Public Welfare Research Institutes (No.TKS20200311)。
文摘Cu_2NiSnS_4 nanoparticles were prepared for the first time using a facile solid-phase process at a temperature of 180 °C. The crystalline structure, morphology and optical properties of the Cu_2NiSnS_4 nanoparticles were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction(XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), transmission electron microscope(TEM) and ultraviolet-visible(UV-vis) spectrophotometer. The band gap and conversion efficiency of Cu_2NiSnS_4 nanoparticles were studied at various temperature. The results showed that the Cu_2NiSnS_4 nanoparticles exhibited an optimum band gap of 1.58 e V and a conversion efficiency of 0.64% at 180 °C, indicating that it maybe be useful in low-cost thin film solar cells.
基金supported financially by the National Key R&D Pro-gram of China(2017YFE0195200)the Natural Science Fund of China(under grant nos.51871134,52171216,and 52111530034)+1 种基金the Science Fund of Shandong Province(under grant no.ZR2019MEM007)the Qilu Young Scholar Program of Shandong University.
文摘With the fabrication of high-performance thermoelectric(TE)materials,developments are being made in enhanc-ing the figure of merit,zT,of TE materials.Liquid-like binary copper selenide(Cu_(2) Se)chalcogenides recently gained significant recognition because of their anomalous but fascinating electrical and thermal transport perfor-mances.In this study,a facile synthesis technique was adopted in fabricating Cu_(2) Se nanoparticles using a rapid microwave-assisted hydrothermal route at different reaction times.The results were compared with those of the Cu_(2) Se solid-state(SS)sample synthesized using the traditional melting and annealing technique.X-ray diffrac-tion patterns revealed successful synthesis of nanoparticles and a phase transition from orthorhombic𝛼-phase and cubic𝛽-phase to a single orthorhombic structure after hot-pressing.Scanning electron microscopic images revealed that although the grain sizes of the nanoparticle(NP)bulk samples increased with the reaction time of the microwave hydrothermal process,the grain sizes were significantly smaller than that of the SS sample.Additionally,NP bulk samples exhibited plenty of nano-grains and pores that are absent in the SS sample.The size and distribution of the grains and pores were measured to study their effects on the transport of carriers and phonons.The NP30 sample exhibited the highest power factor of 983.3μW K−2 m at 673 K among the NP samples,exhibiting intermediate values of resistivity and Seebeck coefficient that are close to those of the SS sample.Moreover,the NP samples exhibited appreciably lower thermal conductivity than the SS sample that is attributed to strengthened phonon scattering.The minimum thermal conductivity of the NP05 sample,0.78 WK−1 m−1 at 348 K,is 1.7 times lower than that of the SS sample.Finally,a maximum zT of 0.56 at 673 K,being approximately 1.3 times higher than that of the SS sample owing to the optimized thermal conductivity,was achieved for the NP30 sample.This value is comparable to or higher than that reported for Cu_(2) Se synthesized using the traditional SS method.Investigations revealed that the proposed microwave hydrothermal synthesis technique is a facile,rapid,and reliable method that results in Cu_(2) Se alloys with excellent TE performance.
基金This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shan-dong Province(No.ZR2019QF012)the Natural Science and Develop-ment Foundation of Shenzhen(JCYJ20190807093205660)the Na-tional Natural Science Foundation of China(No.21902085).
文摘SnO 2 nanospheres with diameters of 30∼50 nm and Pt x Cu 1-x bimetallic nanoparticles with sizes of approxi-mately 10 nm were synthesized via hydrothermal and solvothermal methods,respectively.The Pt x Cu 1-x bimetal-lic nanoparticles were impregnated on the surface of the SnO 2 spheres to form Pt x Cu 1-x-SnO 2 nanocomposites.By varying the atomic ratios between platinum(Pt)and copper(Cu),we found that Pt 0.75 Cu 0.25-SnO 2,with a large specific surface area of 89.21 m 2/g,enabled the selective and accurate detection of low-concentration formalde-hyde compared to other metal-deposited samples and pure SnO 2.The response value of Pt 0.75 Cu 0.25-SnO 2 to 500×10−9 formaldehyde was approximately 20 at an operating temperature of 160◦C with an extremely high-speed response(15 s).The porous structures with large specific surface areas,as well as the improved catalytic effects of Pt 0.75 Cu 0.25,comprehensively contributed to the enhanced sensing performance towards formaldehyde.
