Enhancing the Activity of N/C Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction by Fluorination

The synthesis of non-metal carbon catalysts with high catalytic activity for ORR(oxygen reduction reaction)in acidic media is a great challenge in the field of PEMFC(proton exchange membrane fuel cells).In this research,N-and F-codoped carbon catalyst with high performance was synthesized from ZIF-8 and NH4F,which are easily prepared structure and common chemical,respectively.The as-prepared catalyst has a high surface area of 789 m2/g and micro-porosity of~2 nm,facilitating more active sites to the ORR and O2 mass transfer in the diffusion of the catalyst matrix,respectively.The prepared N/C(NH4F)catalyst exhibited an onset potential of 0.94 V(vs.RHE)and a half-wave potential of 0.65 V in 0.1 M HClO4 solution.It also showed excellent durability in the cycling test of 10,000 times and a degradation shift of half-wave potential 70 mV was observed.Its diffusion-limiting current reached 5.85 mA/cm2 next to the theoretic value of 6 mA/cm2,suggesting that it has plenty of active sites for ORR,which could be attributed to fluorine introduction into the N/C catalyst.It proved that the introduction of fluorine into the structure of the N/C catalyst fine-tunes the Lewis basic sites of the carbon atoms adjacent to pyridinic and graphitic nitrogen species,facilitating the adsorption of oxygen molecules in the initial step of the ORR.The correlation between the N/C catalyst activity and the fluorination provides new insight into the ORR catalyst design.

<i>In Vitro</i>Characterization of Cell Surface Properties of 14 Vaginal <i>Lactobacillus</i>Strains as Potential Probiotics

Probiotics are live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host. Human-origin Lactobacillus is a preferable source of probiotic bacteria. This study screened 14 vaginal Lactobacillus strains as probiotic candidates by investigating probiotic-related cell surface characteristics including cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH), Lewis acidity/basicity, autoaggregation, and biofilm formation. Moderate to high CSH and autoaggregation, high basicity and low acidity were prevalent in the 14 tested strains. Biofilm formation varied in a large range among the 14 tested strains. CSH showed a high correlation with Lewis acidity and autoaggregation, while Lewis acidity was highly correlated with autoaggregation and biofilm formation. Four strains were selected as promising probiotic strains. This study was the first one to compare antibiotic sensitivity between biofilm-forming cells and planktonic cells of Lactobacillus species, and found that biofilm-forming cells of a L. fermentum strain had a significantly higher survival rate than planktonic cells in cefotaxime, cefmetazole and tetracycline, but were as sensitive to oxacillin and ampicillin as planktonic cells were.