Solution-based Chemical Strategies to Purposely Control the Microstructure of Functional Materials

Micro/nanostructured crystals with controlled architectures are desirable for many applications in optics, electronics, biology, medicine, and energy conversions. Low-temperature, aqueous chemical routes have been widely investigated for the synthesis of particles, and arrays of oriented nanorods and nanotubes. In this paper, based on the ideal crystal shapes predicted by the chemical bonding theory, we have developed some potential chemical strategies to tune the microstructure of functional materials, ZnS and Nb205 nanotube arrays, MgO wiskers and nestlike spheres, and cubic phase Cu2O microcrystals were synthesized here to elucidate these strategies. We describe their controlled crystallization processes and illustrate the detailed key factors controlling their growth by examining various reaction parameters. Current results demonstrate that our designed chemical strategies for tuning microstructure of functional materials are applicable to several technologically important materials, and therefore may be used as a versatile and effective route to the controllable synthesis of other inorganic functional materials.

The Impact of Global Financial Crisis on China Chemical Fiber Industry and Response Strategies (Part Ⅱ)

Prospects of Global Financial Crisis and Economic Crisis The widely spreading global financial crisis has halted the fast growth of world economy in five consecutive years,and heavily stricken the financial and economic sectors worldwide.It’s second only to the "Great Depression" in the 1930’s.Governments

Carbon-supported ultrafine Pt nanoparticles modified with trace amounts of cobalt as enhanced oxygen reduction reaction catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

To accelerate the kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)in proton exchange membrane fuel cells,ultrafine Pt nanoparticles modified with trace amounts of cobalt were fabricated and decorated on carbon black through a strategy involving modified glycol reduction and chemical etching.The obtained Pt36Co/C catalyst exhibits a much larger electrochemical surface area(ECSA)and an improved ORR electrocatalytic activity compared to commercial Pt/C.Moreover,an electrode prepared with Pt36Co/C was further evaluated under H2-air single cell test conditions,and exhibited a maximum specific power density of 10.27 W mgPt^-1,which is 1.61 times higher than that of a conventional Pt/C electrode and also competitive with most state-of-the-art Pt-based architectures.In addition,the changes in ECSA,power density,and reacting resistance during the accelerated degradation process further demonstrate the enhanced durability of the Pt36Co/C electrode.The superior performance observed in this work can be attributed to the synergy between the ultrasmall size and homogeneous distribution of catalyst nanoparticles,bimetallic ligand and electronic effects,and the dissolution of unstable Co with the rearrangement of surface structure brought about by acid etching.Furthermore,the accessible raw materials and simplified operating procedures involved in the fabrication process would result in great cost-effectiveness for practical applications of PEMFCs.

Simultaneous optimization of transit network and public bicycle station network

The traditional manner to design public transportation system is to sequentially design the transit network and public bicycle network. A new public transportation system design problem that simultaneously considers both bus network design and public bicycle network design is proposed. The chemical reaction optimization(CRO) is designed to solve the problem. A shortcoming of CRO is that, when the two-molecule collisions take place, the molecules are randomly picked from the container.Hence, we improve CRO by employing different mating strategies. The computational results confirm the benefits of the mating strategies. Numerical experiments are conducted on the Sioux-Falls network. A comparison with the traditional sequential modeling framework indicates that the proposed approach has a better performance and is more robust. The practical applicability of the approach is proved by employing a real size network.

Efficient nanozyme engineering for antibacterial therapy

Antimicrobial resistance(AMR)poses a huge threat to human health.It is urgent to explore efficient ways to suppress the spread of AMR.Antibacterial nanozymes have become one of the powerful weapons to combat AMR due to their enzyme-like catalytic activity with a broad-spectrum antibacterial performance.However,the inherent low catalytic activity of nanozymes limits their expansion into antibacterial applications.In this regard,a variety of advanced chemical design strategies have been developed to improve the antimicrobial activity of nanozymes.In this review,we have summarized the recent progress of advanced strategies to engineer efficient nanozymes for fighting against AMR,which can be mainly classified as catalytic activity improvement,external stimuli,bacterial affinity enhancement,and multifunctional platform construction according to the basic principles of engineering efficient nanocatalysts and the mechanism of nanozyme catalysis.Moreover,the deep insights into the effects of these enhancing strategies on the nanozyme structures and properties are highlighted.Finally,current challenges and future perspectives of antibacterial nanozymes are discussed for their future clinical potential.

Layer-by-layer self-assembly and clinical application in orthopedics

Orthopedic implants for the treatment of bone defects from various causes have been challenged by insufficient osseointegration,bacterial infection,oxidative stress,immune rejection,and insufficient individualized treatment.These challenges not only impact treatment outcomes but also severely impact patients’daily lives.Layer-by-Layer(LbL)serves as a simple surface coating technique,in simple terms,to functionalize implants by sequentially adsorbing oppositely charged materials onto a substrate.In orthopaedics,LbL self-assembly technology solves some of the challenges by loading various drugs or biological agents on the implant surface and controlling their release precisely to the site of bone defects in a personalized way.This review will introduce the basic principle and the development of LbL in orthopaedics,review and analyze the chemical strategy of LbL in the preparation of bone implants to ensure the stability of the implant,and introduce the use of LbL bone implants in orthopaedics in recent years.The application of LbL includes the realization of programmed drug delivery and sustained release,thereby promoting osseointegration and the formation of new blood vessels,antibacterial,antioxidant,etc.This review focuses on the LbL technology,involving the technology selection for the preparation of bone implants,the chemical strategies of the stability guarantee of LbL implants,the pharmacological properties,loading and release mechanisms of loaded drugs,and the molecular mechanisms of osteogenesis and angiogenesis.The aim of this review is to provide an overview of current research advances,and a prospect in this field was also described.