Accelerated plasma degradation of organic pollutants in milliseconds and examinations by mass spectrometry

The rapid degradation of organic pollutants,process monitoring and online controlling to obtain advanced products and decreased by-products are great and challenging tasks in environmental treatments.Herein,an accelerated plasma degradation in milliseconds was achieved by combining electrospray-based acceleration and plasma-based degradation.Taking the degradation of chloroaniline as an example,97%of the degradation can be achieved in milliseconds.The velocity distribution of droplets was determined to be 40-50 m/s after being degraded for 0.30 ms,which exhibited different degradation behaviors in different milliseconds.Simultaneously,by virtue of the real-time and on-line detection ability of ambient mass spectrometry,intermediates,by-products and advanced products were monitored.Therefore,degradation mechanisms for different degradation times were proposed,which would provide theoretical guidance on obtaining efficient and green degradation.The fabrication,examining and understanding of accelerated plasma degradation not only enlarged application of accelerated reactions,but also promoted green and efficient degradation for environmental treatments.

The Catalytic Effect of Metal Ions on the Degradation of 4-Chlorophenol Induced by an Aqueous Pulsed Discharge Plasma

The influence of metal ions, such as Fe^2＋, Fe^3＋, Cu^2＋ and Mn^2＋, on 4-CP degrada-tion was investigated in an aqueous pulsed discharge plasma system with or without the addition of a TiO2 photo-catalyst. From an analysis of the pseudo first-order rate constant （kcp） and energy efficiency （G50%） for 4-CP degradation, the experimental results show that the degrada- tion of 4-CP is much enhanced in the presence of ferrous ions at the optimal concentration of 0.2-0.8 mmol/L or 0.2 mmol/L in an aqueous pulsed discharge plasma without or with the TiO2 system, respectively, and the enhancement is ascribed to plasma induced Fenton and photo-Fenton reactions. Meanwhile, the rank of such metal ions for catalytic effect on 4-CP degradation was Fe^2＋〉 Fe^3＋ 〉 Cu^2＋ 〉 Mn^2＋ and Fe^2＋ 〉 Fe^3＋ 〉 Mn^2＋ 〉 Cu^2＋ for the former and the latter systems, respectively, and the reasons behind this were discussed through the analysis of active species, especially hydrogen peroxide.

Three modes of a direct-current plasma jet operated underwater to degrade methylene blue

A direct-current air plasma jet operated underwater presents three stable modes including an intermittently-pulsed discharge, a periodically-pulsed discharge and a continuous discharge with increasing the power voltage. The three discharge modes have different appearances for the plasma plumes. Moreover, gap voltage-current characteristics indicate that the continuous discharge is in a normal glow regime. Spectral lines from reactive species（OH, N2, N2^＋, Hα,and O） have been revealed in the emission spectrum of the plasma jet operated underwater.Spectral intensities emitted from OH radical and oxygen atom increase with increasing the power voltage or the gas flow rate, indicating that reactive species are abundant. These reactive species cause the degradation of the methylene blue dye in solution. Effects of the experimental parameters such as the power voltage, the gas flow rate and the treatment time are investigated on the degradation efficiency. Results indicate that the degradation efficiency increases with increasing the power voltage, the gas flow rate or the treatment time. Compared with degradation in the intermittently-pulsed mode or the periodically-pulsed one, it is more efficient in the continuous mode, reaching 98% after 21 min treatment.

Influence of Atomic Hydrogen on Transparent Conducting Oxide During Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Si Preparation by PECVD

The hydrogen plasma degradation of transparent conduction oxides （TCO） is studied for hydrogenated microcrystalline Si（μc-Si：H）prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition （PECVD）. TCO films such as SnO2 and SnO2/ZnO bi-layer films were exposed to atomic H at various substrate temperatures and for various treatment times. A decrease in the transmittance due to reduction by atomic H was scarcely observed for SnO2 / ZnO bi-layer,while a decrease for SnO2 was found to depend strongly on the substrate temperature. The resistivity of SnO2 films decreases significantly when substrate temperature exceeds 150℃in H-plasma. However, H-plasma treatment has little impact on the resistivity of SnO2/ZnO bi-layer film. The reason for the decrease in the transmittance is the appearance of metallic Sn on the surface, and under this condition no μc-Si： H film is deposited. SnO2/ZnO bi-layer is very effective for the suppression of the reduction of TCO during μc-Si：H deposition. The performance of microcrystalline silicon solar cells fabricated on ZnO/SnO2/glass is also investigated.

Efficient degradation of chlorobenzene in a non-thermal plasma catalytic reactor supported on CeO_2/HZSM-5 catalysts

Chlorobenzene removal was investigated in a non-thermal plasma reactor using CeO2/HZSM-5catalysts.The performance of catalysts was evaluated in terms of removal and energy efficiency.The decomposition products of chlorobenzene were analyzed.The results show that CeO2/HZSM-5 exhibited a good catalytic activity,which resulted in enhancements of chlorobenzene removal,energy efficiency,and the formation of lower amounts of by-products.With regards to CO2 selectivity,the presence of catalysts favors the oxidation of by-products,leading to a higher CO2 selectivity.With respect to ozone,which is considered as an unavoidable by-product in air plasma reactors,a noticeable decrease in its concentration was observed in the presence of catalysts.Furthermore,the stability of the catalyst was investigated by analyzing the evolution of conversion in time.The experiment results indicated that CeO2/HZSM-5 catalysts have excellent stability：chlorobenzene conversion only decreased from 78%to 60%after 75 hr,which means that the CeO2/HZSM-5 suffered a slight deactivation.Some organic compounds and chlorinated intermediates were adsorbed or deposited on the catalysts surface as shown by the results of Fourier Transform Infrared（FT-IR） spectroscopy,scanning electron microscope（SEM） and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy（EDS） analyses of the catalyst before and after the reaction,revealing the cause of catalyst deactivation.

TOLs Function as Ubiquitin Receptors in the Early Steps of the ESCRT Pathway in Higher Plants

Protein abundance and localization at the plasma membrane(PM)shapes plant development and mediates adaptation to changing environmental conditions.It is regulated by ubiquitination,a post-translational modification crucial for the proper sorting of endocytosed PM proteins to the vacuole for subsequent degradation.To understand the significance and the variety of roles played by this reversible modification,the function of ubiquitin receptors,which translate the ubiquitin signature into a cellular response,needs to be elucidated.In this study,we show that TOL(TOM1-like)proteins function in plants as multivalent ubiquitin receptors,governing ubiquitinated cargo delivery to the vacuole via the conserved Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport(ESCRT)pathway.TOL2 and TOL6 interact with components of the ESCRT machinery and bind to K63-linked ubiquitin via two tandemly arranged conserved ubiquitin-binding domains.Mutation of these domains results not only in a loss of ubiquitin binding but also altered localization,abolishing TOL6 ubiquitin receptor activity.Function and localization of TOL6 is itself regulated by ubiquitination,whereby TOL6 ubiquitination potentially modulates degradation of PM-localized cargoes,assisting in the fine-tuning of the delicate interplay between protein recycling and downregulation.Taken together,our findings demonstrate the function and regulation of a ubiquitin receptor that mediates vacuolar degradation of PM proteins in higher plants.

A comparative study of liquid and solid inner contact roxatidine acetate ion-selective electrode membranes

A comparative study was conducted using two designs of a roxatidine acetate （ROX）-selective electrode; a conventional liquid inner contact called electrode A and a graphite-coated solid contact called electrode 13. The fabrication of electrodes was based on roxatidine-tetraphenylborate （ROX-TPB） as an ion-association complex in a PVC matrix using different plasticizers. Electrode A has a linear dynamic range of 2.2 ×10^-5 mol/L to 1.0 ×10^-2 mol/L, with a Nernstian slope of 54.7 mV/decade and a detection limit of 1.4 ×10^-6 mol/L. Electrode B shows linearity over the concentration range of 1.0×10^-6 mol/L to 1.0×10^-2 tool/L, with a Nernstian slope of 51.2 mV/decade and a limit of detection of 1.1×10^7 mol/L which is remarkably improved as a result of diminishing ion fluxes in this solid contact, ion-selective electrode. The proposed sensors display useful analytical characteristics for the determination of ROX in bulk powder and its pharmaceutical formulation. The present electrodes show clear discrimination of ROX from several inorganic, organic ions, sugars, some common drug excipients and the degradation product （3-[3-（1-piperidinyl methyl） phenoxy] propyl amine） of ROX. Furthermore, the proposed electrodes were utilized for the determination of ROX in human plasma, where electrode B covers drug Cmax which indicated its applicability to pharmacokinetic, bioavailability and bioequivalent studies. The results obtained by the proposed electrodes were statistically analyzed and compared with those obtained by a reported HPLC method. No significant difference for either accuracy or precision was observed.