Heterobifunctional PEG-grafted black phosphorus quantum dots: “Three-in-One”nano-platforms for mitochondria-targeted photothermal cancer therapy

Black phosphorus(BP)nano-materials,especially BP quantum dots(BPQDs),performs outstanding photothermal antitumor effects,excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability.However,there are several challenges to overcome before offering real benefits,such as poor stability,poor dispersibility as well as difficulty in tailoring other functions.Here,a“three-in-one”mitochondria-targeted BP nano-platform,called as BPQD-PEG-TPP,was designed.In this nano-platform,BPQDs were covalently grafted with a heterobifunctional PEG,in which one end was an aryl diazo group capable of reacting with BPQDs to form a covalent bond and the other end was a mitochondria-targeted triphenylphosphine(TPP)group.In addition to its excellent near-infrared photothermal properties,BPQD-PEG-TPP had much enhanced stability and dispersibility under physiological conditions,efficient mitochondria targeting and promoted ROS production through a photothermal effect.Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that BPQD-PEG-TPP performed much superior photothermal cytotoxicity than BPQDs and BPQD-PEG as the mitochondria targeted PTT.Thus this“three-in-one”nanoplatform fabricated through polymer grafting,with excellent stability,dispersibility and negligible side effects,might be a promising strategy for mitochondria-targeted photothermal cancer therapy.

Construction of dual Z-scheme Bi2WO6/g-C_(3)N_(4)/black phosphorus quantum dots composites for effective bisphenol A degradation

In this work,a novel dual Z-scheme Bi_(2)WO_(6)/g-C_(3)N_(4)/black phosphorus quantum dots(Bi_(2)WO_(6)/g-C_(3)N_(4)/BPQDs)composites were fabricated and utilized towards photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A(BPA)under visible-light irradiation.Optimizing the content of g-C_(3)N_(4) and BPQDs in Bi_(2)WO_(6)/g-C_(3)N_(4)/BPQDs composites to a suitable mass ratio can enhance the visible-light harvesting capacity and increase the charge separation efficiency and the transfer rate of excited-state electrons and holes,resulting in much higher photocatalytic activity for BPA degradation(95.6%,at 20 mg/L in 120 min)than that of Bi2WO6(63.7%),g-C_(3)N_(4)(25.0%),BPQDs(8.5%),and Bi_(2)WO_(6)/g-C_(3)N_(4)(79.6%),respectively.Radical trapping experiments indicated that photogenerated holes(h+)and superoxide radicals(•O_(2)−)played crucial roles in photocatalytic BPA degradation.Further,the possible degradation pathway and photocatalytic mechanism was proposed by analyzing the BPA intermediates.Thiswork also demonstrated that the Bi2WO6/g-C_(3)N_(4)/BPQDs as effective photocatalystswas stable and have promising potential to remove environmental contaminants from real water samples.

Light response and adsorption interaction of black phosphorus quantum dots and single‑layer graphene phototransistor

Black phosphorus quantum dots(BPQDs)are synthesized and combined with graphene sheet.The fabricated BPQDs/graphene devices are capable of detecting visible and near infrared radiation.The adsorption efect of BPQDs in graphene is clarifed by the relationship of the photocurrent and the shift of the Dirac point with diferent substrate.The Dirac point moves toward a neutral point under illumination with both SiO_(2)/Si and Si(3)N_(4)/Si substrates,indicating an anti-doped feature of photo-excitation.To our knowledge,this provides the frst observation of photoresist induced photocurrent in such systems.Without the infuence of the photoresist the device can respond to infrared light up to 980 nm wavelength in vacuum in a cryostat,in which the photocurrent is positive and photoconduction efect is believed to dominate the photocurrent.Finally,the adsorption efect is modeled using a frst-principle method to give a picture of charge transfer and orbital contribution in the interaction of phosphorus atoms and single-layer graphene.

Black phosphorus quantum dot/g-C_3N_4 composites for enhanced CO_2 photoreduction to CO

The development of low cost, metal free semiconductor photocatalysts for CO2 reduction to fuels and valuable chemical feedstocks is a practically imperative for reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In this work, black phosphorus quantum dots（BPQDs） were successfully dispersed on a graphitic carbon nitride（g-C3N4） support via a simple electrostatic attraction approach, and the activities of BP@g-C3N4 composites were evaluated for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. The BP@g-C3N4 composites displayed improved carrier separation efficiency and higher activities for photocatalytic CO2 reduction to CO（6.54 μmol g^-1h^-1 at the optimum BPQDs loading of 1 wt%） compared with pure g-C3N4（2.65 μmol g^-1h^-1）. This work thus identifies a novel approach towards metal free photocatalysts for CO2 photoreduction.

Black phosphorus quantum dots: A new-type of water-based high-efficiency lubricant additive

Black phosphorus quantum dots(BPQDs),obtained via a typical solution-based top-down method,were used as water-based lubricant additives.BPQDs exhibited remarkable friction reduction and anti-wear properties even at the ultra-low concentration of 0.005 wt%,which reduced the friction coefficient and wear volume of the base liquid by 32.3%and 56.4%,respectively.In addition,the load-supporting capacity of the base liquid increased from 120 N to over 300 N.BPQDs-based additives exhibited a relatively long lifetime at a relatively high load of 80 N.The performance of BPQDs considerably exceeded that of the BP;this may be attributed to their small and uniform particle size,good dispersion stability in water,and high reactivity at the frictional surfaces.The results of the surface wear resistance analysis demonstrated that a robust tribochemical film with a thickness of approximately 90 nm was formed on the rubbing surface lubricated with 0.005 wt%of BPQDs dispersion.Moreover,the film served as a direct evidence of the excellent tribological performance of BPQDs.

Black phosphorus quantum dots as multifunctional nanozymes for tumor photothermal/catalytic synergistic therapy

Nanozymes are nanomaterials with enzyme-like properties that have attracted significant interest owing to their high stability,easy preparation,and tunable catalytic properties,especially in the field of cancer therapy.However,the unfavorable catalytic effects of nanozymes in the acidic tumor microenvironment have limited their applications.Herein,we developed a biomimetic erythrocyte membrane-camouflaged ultrasmall black phosphorus quantum dots(BPQDs)nanozymes that simultaneously exhibited an exceptional near-infrared(NIR)photothermal property and dramatically photothermal-enhanced glucose oxidase(GOx)-like activity in the acidic tumor microenvironment.We demonstrated the engineered BPQDs gave a photothermal conversion efficiency of 28.9%that could rapidly heat the tumor up to 50℃ while effectively localized into tumors via homing peptide iRGD leading after intravenously injection.Meanwhile,the significantly enhanced GOx-like activity of BPQDs under NIR irradiation was capable of catalytical generating massive toxic reactive oxygen species via using cellular glucose.By combining the intrinsic photothermal property and the unique photothermal-enhanced GOx-like catalytic activity,the developed BPQDs were demonstrated to be an effective therapeutic strategy for inhibiting tumor growth in vivo.We believe that this work will provide a novel perspective for the development of nanozymes in tumor catalytic therapy.

Boosting the efficiency of quantum dot–sensitized solar cells over 15%through light-harvesting enhancement

How to improve the capacity of light-harvesting is still an important point and essential strategy for the assembling of high-efficiency quantum dot–sensitized solar cells(QDSCs).A believable approach is to implant new light absorption materials into QDSCs to stimulate the charge transfer.Herein,the few-layer black phosphorus quantum dots(BPQDs)are synthesized by electrochemical intercalation technology using bulk BP as source.Then the obtained BPQDs are deposited onto the surface of Zn–Cu–In–S–Se(ZCISSe)QD-sensitized TiO2 substrate to serve as another light-harvesting material for the first time.The experimental results have shown that BPQDs can not only increase the absorption intensity by photoanode but also reduce unnecessary charge recombination processes at the interface of photoanode/electrolyte.Through optimizing the size and deposition process of BPQDs,the champion power conversion efficiency of ZCISSe QDSCs is increased to 15.66%(26.88 mA/cm2,Voc=0.816 V,fill factor[FF]=0.714)when compared with the original value of 14.11%(Jsc=25.41 mA/cm^(2),Voc=0.779 V,FF=0.713).