Kink-Controlled Gold Nanoparticles for Electrochemical Glucose Oxidation.

Enzymes in nature efficiently catalyze chiral organic molecules by elaborately tuning the geometrical arrangement of atoms in the active site. However, enantioselective oxidation of organic molecules by heterogeneous electrocatalysts is challenging because of the difficulty in controlling the asymmetric structures of the active sites on the electrodes. Here, we show that the distribution of chiral kink atoms on high-index facets can be precisely manipulated even on single gold nanoparticles; and this enabled stereoselective oxidation of hydroxyl groups on various sugar molecules. We characterized the crystallographic orientation and the density of kink atoms and investigated their specific interactions with the glucose molecule due to the geometrical structure and surface electrostatic potential.

Iridium-Cooperated, Symmetry-Broken Manganese Oxide Nanocatalyst for Water Oxidation.

The water oxidation reaction, the most important reaction for hydrogen production and other sustainable chemistry, is efficiently catalyzed by the Mn4CaO5 cluster in biological photosystem II. However, synthetic Mn-based heterogeneous electrocatalysts exhibit inferior catalytic activity at neutral pH under mild conditions. Symmetry-broken Mn atoms and their cooperative mechanism through efficient oxidative charge accumulation in biological clusters are important lessons but synthesis strategies for heterogeneous electrocatalysts have not been successfully developed. Here, we report a crystallographically distorted Mn-oxide nanocatalyst, in which Ir atoms break the space group symmetry from I41/amd to P1. Tetrahedral Mn(II) in spinel is partially replaced by Ir, surprisingly resulting in an unprecedented crystal structure. We analyzed the distorted crystal structure of manganese oxide using TEM and investigated how the charge accumulation of Mn atoms is facilitated by the presence of a small amount of Ir.

Magnetic Control of the Plasmonic Chirality in Gold Helicoids.

Chiral plasmonic nanostructures have facilitated a promising method for manipulating the polarization state of light. While a precise structural modification at the nanometer-scale-level could offer chiroptic responses at various wavelength ranges, a system that allows fast response control of a given structure has been required. In this study, we constructed uniformly arranged chiral gold helicoids with cobalt thin-film deposition that exhibited a strong chiroptic response with magnetic controllability. Tunable circular dichroism (CD) values from 0.9° to 1.5° at 550 nm wavelength were achieved by reversing the magnetic field direction. In addition, a magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) study revealed that the gap structure and size-related surface plasmon resonance induced MCD peaks. We demonstrated the transmitted color modulation, where the color dynamically changed from green-to-red, by controlling the field strength and polarizer axis. We believe current work broadens our understanding of magnetoplasmonic nanostructure and expands its potential applicability in optoelectronics or optical-communications.

Capturing Manganese Oxide Intermediates in Electrochemical Water Oxidation at Neutral pH by In Situ Raman Spectroscopy.

Electrochemical water splitting is a promising means to produce eco-friendly hydrogen fuels. Inspired by the Mn4 CaO5 cluster in nature, substantial works have been performed to develop efficient manganese (Mn)-based heterogeneous catalysts. Despite improvements in catalytic activity, the underlying mechanism of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is not completely elucidated owing to the lack of direct spectroscopic evidence for the active Mn-oxo moieties. We identify water oxidation intermediates on the surface of Mn3 O4 nanoparticles (NPs) in the OER at neutral pH by in situ Raman spectroscopy. A potential-dependent Raman peak was detected at 760 cm-1 and assigned to the active MnIV =O species generated during water oxidation. Isotope-labeling experiments combined with scavenger experiments confirmed the generation of surface terminal MnIV =O intermediates in the Mn-oxide NPs. This study provides an insight into the design of systems for the observation of reaction intermediates.

Electrochemical Synthesis of Glycine from Oxalic Acid and Nitrate.

In manufacturing C-N bond-containing compounds, it is an important challenge to alternate the conventional methodologies that utilize reactive substrates, toxic reagents, and organic solvents. In this study, we developed an electrochemical method to synthesize a C-N bond-containing molecule avoiding the use of cyanides and amines by harnessing nitrate (NO3- ) as a nitrogen source in an aqueous electrolyte. In addition, we utilized oxalic acid as a carbon source, which can be obtained from electrochemical conversion of CO2. Thus, our approach can provide a route for the utilization of anthropogenic CO2 and nitrate wastes, which cause serious environmental problems including global warming and eutrophication. Interestingly, the coreduction of oxalic acid and nitrate generated reactive intermediates, which led to C-N bond formation followed by further reduction to an amino acid, namely, glycine. By carefully controlling this multireduction process with a fabricated Cu-Hg electrode, we demonstrated the efficient production of glycine with a faradaic efficiency (F.E.) of up to 43.1 % at -1.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl (current density≈90 mA cm-2 ).

Electrochemical Characteristics of All-Solid Lithium Ion Battery with Lithium Titanate/Lithium Lanthanum Zirconium Oxide Composite Electrode.

Composite anodes for all solid-state lithium secondary batteries based on lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) were fabricated by a wet process. The effect of the content of polyethylene oxide in the lithium titanate composite anode on the interfacial control for enhancing the ionic conductivity and binding between the constituent materials in the electrode was examined. The content of Super-P and garnet-type lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide in the composite lithium titanate electrode was fixed and the electrochemical characteristics of a half-cell were evaluated as a function of the lithium titanate and polyethylene oxide content in the electrode, where the polyethylene oxide content was varied from 35-70 wt%. A maximum discharge capacity of about 160 mAh g-1 was obtained with the electrode comprising lithium titanate, lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide, Super-P, and polyethylene oxide in a weight ratio of 40:10:10:40. This value is about 94% of the theoretical capacity (170 mAh g-1) of the lithium titanate electrode, and was almost equal to the half-cell capacity of the liquid-type congener. Furthermore, when this composite lithium titanate electrode was fabricated and evaluated in the full cell of an all-solid lithium secondary battery, a discharge capacity of about 140 mAh g-1 was obtained.

Exon 9 skipping of apoptotic caspase-2 pre-mRNA is promoted by SRSF3 through interaction with exon 8.

Alternative splicing plays an important role in gene expression by producing different proteins from a gene. Caspase-2 pre-mRNA produces anti-apoptotic Casp-2S and pro-apoptotic Casp-2L proteins through exon 9 inclusion or skipping. However, the molecular mechanisms of exon 9 splicing are not well understood. Here we show that knockdown of SRSF3 (also known as SRp20) with siRNA induced significant increase of endogenous exon 9 inclusion. In addition, overexpression of SRSF3 promoted exon 9 skipping. Thus we conclude that SRSF3 promotes exon 9 skipping. In order to understand the functional target of SRSF3 on caspase-2 pre-mRNA, we performed substitution and deletion mutagenesis on the potential SRSF3 binding sites that were predicted from previous reports. We demonstrate that substitution mutagenesis of the potential SRSF3 binding site on exon 8 severely disrupted the effects of SRSF3 on exon 9 skipping. Furthermore, with the approach of RNA pulldown and immunoblotting analysis we show that SRSF3 interacts with the potential SRSF3 binding RNA sequence on exon 8 but not with the mutant RNA sequence. In addition, we show that a deletion of 26nt RNA from 5' end of exon 8, a 33nt RNA from 3' end of exon 10 and a 2225nt RNA from intron 9 did not compromise the function of SRSF3 on exon 9 splicing. Therefore we conclude that SRSF3 promotes exon 9 skipping of caspase-2 pre-mRNA by interacting with exon 8. Our results reveal a novel mechanism of caspase-2 pre-mRNA splicing.

A Reflection on Sustainable Anode Materials for Electrochemical Chloride Oxidation.

Chloride oxidation is a key industrial electrochemical process in chlorine-based chemical production and water treatment. Over the past few decades, dimensionally stable anodes (DSAs) consisting of RuO2 - and IrO2 -based mixed-metal oxides have been successfully commercialized in the electrochemical chloride oxidation industry. For a sustainable supply of anode materials, considerable efforts both from the scientific and industrial aspects for developing earth-abundant-metal-based electrocatalysts have been made. This review first describes the history of commercial DSA fabrication and strategies to improve their efficiency and stability. Important features related to the electrocatalytic performance for chloride oxidation and reaction mechanism are then summarized. From the perspective of sustainability, recent progress in the design and fabrication of noble-metal-free anode materials, as well as methods for evaluating the industrialization of novel electrocatalysts, are highlighted. Finally, future directions for developing highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts for industrial chloride oxidation are proposed.

Ru-Doped Co3O4 Nanoparticles as Efficient and Stable Electrocatalysts for the Chlorine Evolution Reaction.

The electrochemical chlorine evolution reaction (CER) is one of the most important electrochemical reactions. Typically, iridium (Ir)- or ruthenium (Ru)-based mixed metal oxides have been used as electrocatalysts for the CER due to their high activities and durabilities. However, the scarcity of Ir and Ru has indicated the need to develop alternative earth-abundant transition-metal-based CER catalysts. In this study, we report a Co3O4 nanoparticle (NP) catalyst synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Furthermore, Ru was successfully incorporated into the Co3O4 NPs (RuxCo3-xO4 NPs) for further improvement of catalytic performance in chlorine generation. Electrokinetic analyses combined with in situ X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) results suggested an identical CER mechanism for the Co3O4 NPs and RuxCo3-xO4 NPs. Various characterization techniques demonstrated that the homogeneous substitution of Ru4+ ions into the Co3+ octahedral sites enhanced the structural disorder and changed the electronic state of Co3O4, resulting in additional exposed active sites. Remarkably, the Ru0.09Co2.91O4 NP electrode exhibited outstanding stability for more than 150 h even at a high current density of 500 mA/cm2, which shows its commercial viability for active chlorine generation.

Morphological Evolution Trajectory of Multifaceted Palladium Nanoparticles.

Precise control over the morphology and facets of Pd nanomaterials has great importance in catalytic and sensing applications. In this study, we synthesized Pd nanoparticles with multiple types of low-Miller-index-faceted morphologies by systematically defining the synthesis conditions of the seed-mediated colloidal preparation method. We discovered the morphological evolution of Pd nanoparticles by following the trajectory of the surface Miller indices, which were determined by the cooperative effects of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and ascorbic acid. By precise control of the morphological trajectory, Pd nanoparticles with a new cuborhombicube morphology, composed of 36 facets and concave edges, were discovered. This study provides important insight into the design of the surface Miller indices and morphologies of functional nanomaterials.

Metal Halide Perovskites for Solar Fuel Production and Photoreactions.

Photocatalysis is an easily configurable and cost-effective technology for the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy. Recently, increasing attention has been given to metal halide perovskite (MHP) photocatalysts because of the development of stabilization strategies for MHPs under reaction conditions. From this perspective, we first describe several substantial breakthroughs in the photocatalytic application of MHPs. Performance trends in the solar fuel production applications of MHPs, including photocatalytic H2 generation and photocatalytic CO2 reduction reactions, are then described. Recent developments to extend the use of MHPs to various photocatalytic organic transformations are also highlighted. Finally, we propose several scientific challenges for the practical implications of MHPs for solar fuel production and various photoreactions.

Complex Impedance Analysis on Charge Accumulation Step of Mn3O4 Nanoparticles during Water Oxidation.

The development of efficient water-oxidizing electrocatalysts is a key issue for achieving high performance in the overall water electrolysis technique. However, the complexity of multiple electron transfer processes and large activation energies have been regarded as major bottlenecks for efficient water electrolysis. Thus, complete electrochemical processes, including electron transport, charge accumulation, and chemical bond formation/dissociation, need to be analyzed for establishing a design rule for film-type electrocatalysts. In light of this, complex capacitance analysis is an effective tool for investigating the charge accumulation and dissipation processes of film-type electrocatalysts. Here, we conduct complex capacitance analysis for the Mn3O4 nanocatalyst, which exhibits superb catalytic activity for water oxidation under neutral conditions. Charge was accumulated on the catalyst surface by the change in Mn valence between Mn(II) and Mn(IV) prior to the rate-determining O-O bond forming step. Furthermore, we newly propose the dissipation ratio (D) for understanding the energy balance between charge accumulation and charge consumption for chemical O-O bond formation. From this analysis, we reveal the potential- and thickness-dependent contribution of the charge accumulation process on the overall catalytic efficiency. We think that an understanding of complex capacitance analysis could be an effective methodology for investigating the charge accumulation process on the surface of general film-type electrocatalysts.

Mechanistic Investigation of Biomass Oxidation Using Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles in a CO2-Saturated Electrolyte for Paired Electrolysis.

A highly efficient CO2 electrolysis system could be created by introducing biomass oxidation as an alternative anodic reaction to the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction in a CO2-saturated and near-neutral electrolyte. Here, we successfully demonstrate anodic biomass oxidation by synthesizing 5 nm nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs). NiO NPs show a unique electrocatalytic activity for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) oxidation under near-neutral conditions, exhibiting an anodic current onset (1 mA cm-2) at 1.524 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode and a total Faradaic efficiency of ≤70%. Electrokinetic and in situ ultraviolet-visible spectroscopic analyses suggest that a redox active nickel hydroxide species is formed on the surface of NiO electrocatalysts during HMF oxidation, and this oxidation of Ni(II) hydroxide to Ni(III) oxyhydroxide could be the rate-determining step. This mechanistic study of biomass oxidation in a CO2-saturated electrolyte provides insight into constructing a highly efficient system for the paired electrolysis of CO2 reduction and biomass oxidation.

Spectroscopic capture of a low-spin Mn(IV)-oxo species in Ni-Mn3O4 nanoparticles during water oxidation catalysis.

High-valent metal-oxo moieties have been implicated as key intermediates preceding various oxidation processes. The critical O-O bond formation step in the Kok cycle that is presumed to generate molecular oxygen occurs through the high-valent Mn-oxo species of the water oxidation complex, i.e., the Mn4Ca cluster in photosystem II. Here, we report the spectroscopic characterization of new intermediates during the water oxidation reaction of manganese-based heterogeneous catalysts and assign them as low-spin Mn(IV)-oxo species. Recently, the effects of the spin state in transition metal catalysts on catalytic reactivity have been intensely studied; however, no detailed characterization of a low-spin Mn(IV)-oxo intermediate species currently exists. We demonstrate that a low-spin configuration of Mn(IV), S = 1/2, is stably present in a heterogeneous electrocatalyst of Ni-doped monodisperse 10-nm Mn3O4 nanoparticles via oxo-ligand field engineering. An unprecedented signal (g = 1.83) is found to evolve in the electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum during the stepwise transition from the Jahn-Teller-distorted Mn(III). In-situ Raman analysis directly provides the evidence for Mn(IV)-oxo species as the active intermediate species. Computational analysis confirmed that the substituted nickel species induces the formation of a z-axis-compressed octahedral C4v crystal field that stabilizes the low-spin Mn(IV)-oxo intermediates.

Fabrication and Electrical Characteristics of Graphite/Carbon Nanotube/Polyvinyl Butyral Composite Film via Tape-Casting and Heat-Treatment.

Composite stacking films, which can be applied as the bipolar plates of redox flow batteries, were fabricated via a tape-casting process that used slurry of graphite, CNT, and resin materials. The slurry was made of 25~45 wt% conductive filler (graphite, CNT) and 55~75 wt% polyvinyl butyral (PVB) binder solution (binder, dispersant, plasticizer, and solvent). The sheet thickness of the composite films was controlled to 70~150 µm, and composite films of about 1 mm in thickness were also fabricated by stacking and laminating the sheet film, including the conductive filler of above 85 wt%. The effects of the shape and physical properties of the graphite were investigated with regard to the dispersion behavior and flow of the slurry on the carrier film of the tape-casting device. As a result, the acicular graphite showed a good dispersion property with the resin of the PVB binder, as compared to spherical graphite. The composite film with acicular graphite showed a lower resistivity than that of a film with spherical graphite. Furthermore, the effects of adding a small amount of CNT and the heat-treatment to the composite stacking film were also studied. Finally, the composite film showed an electrical characteristic of below 50 mΩ·cm and a high bending strength of above 20 MPa.