Development of an AIE-active fluorescent probe for the simultaneous detection of Al3+ and viscosity and imaging in Alzheimer's disease model.

Alzheimer's disease is associated both with imbalances in Al3+ production and changes in viscosity in cells. Their simultaneous measurement could therefore provide valuable insights into Alzheimer's disease pathology. Their simultaneous measurement would therefore be of great value in investigating the pathological mechanism of Alzheimer's disease. We designed a fluorescent probe YM2T with AIE effect that is capable of selectively responding to Al3+ by fluorescence colormetrics and to viscosity by fluorescence "turn on" modes. Additionally, Al3+ and viscosity were simultaneously detected in PC12 cells using the low cytotoxic probe YM2T via blue and green fluorescence channels. More importantly, the YM2T probe was used to image mice with AD. Hence, the YM2T probe shows potential as a useful molecular instrument for studying the pathological impact of Al3+ and viscosity.

An efficient electrochemical sensor based on the Ce-MOF/g-C3N5 composite for the detection of nitrofurazone.

The Ce-MOF/g-C3N5 composite was first constructed using a simple reflux method in an oil bath. Herein, we report that the electrochemical sensor fabricated based on this composite exhibits high performance in the detection of nitrofurazone. Interestingly, this sensor exhibits an extra-wide linear range of detection composed of two line segments (7-100 µM and 100-2913 µM), as well as a low detection limit (LOD) of 6.15 µM (S/N = 3) under optimal experimental conditions. Additionally, the sensor demonstrates exceptional selectivity, reproducibility and stability. More importantly, the proposed electrochemical sensor can effectively monitor nitrofurazone in real samples such as urea and tap water, and obtain ideal recoveries. The sensor has such excellent performance because of the synergistic effect of the two components in the Ce-MOF/g-C3N5 composite. Compared with Ce-MOF, the introduction of g-C3N5 effectively not only enhances the conductivity of Ce-MOF/g-C3N5 but also exposes more active sites, which is conducive to increasing the electrocatalytic activity to reduce nitrofurazone. This research contributes new scientific research ideas for fabricating ideal electrochemical sensors based on g-C3N5 and MOFs.

Fabrication of nanocomposite MoC-Mo2C@C/Cd0.5Zn0.5S: promoted electron migration and improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

In this work, we successfully prepared composites of carbon-modified in-phase MoC-Mo2C (MoC-Mo2C@C, MMC) nanosheets with Cd0.5Zn0.5S (ZCS) nanorods. The loading of MMC nanosheets significantly improved the hydrogen production rate of ZCS nanorods. The results showed that the photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of ZCS is the highest when MMC nanosheets are 1 wt% of ZCS nanorods (1-MMC/ZCS), reaching 68.8 mmol h-1 g-1, which is 7.7 times that of pure ZCS nanorods. The 1-MMC/ZCS photocatalyst was measured with Na2S/Na2SO3 as a hole sacrifice reagent under irradiation with 420 nm monochromatic light, and the quantum efficiency of 1-MMC/ZCS was 32.9%. The carbon layer can promote the rapid transfer of photogenerated electrons, and in-phase Mo2C-MoC as the active site can synergistically improve the photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of ZCS. Most Mo2C-based materials are still used in the field of electrocatalysis. This study provides a new idea for exploring new molybdenum-based co-catalyst materials in the field of visible light catalytic hydrogen production.

Solar water oxidation using TaON-BiVO4 photoanodes functionalized with WO3.

Efficient solar-powered water oxidation over BiVO4-based anodes requires coupling photoactive semiconductors to improve inferior activity and stability. Herein, we examine how functionalization with coated tungsten trioxide WO3 affects the photoelectrocatalytic performance of TaON-BiVO4 photoanodes prepared by the doctor-blade method. The effects of the formation of the particularly-porous microstructure and PEC performance of the resulting anodes are explored. Significant enhancements were achieved in water oxidation photocurrent densities at 1.23 V (vs. RHE) with the use of TaON-BiVO4/WO3 photoanodes compared to unmodified TaON-BiVO4. All the composites and photoanodes were studied via numerous characterization methods. Besides, the formation process and probable transfer mechanism of photoinduced carriers were also investigated in detail.

Efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production over a direct Z-scheme system of TaON/Cd0.5Zn0.5S with a NiS cocatalyst.

In this work, a series of samples of Cd0.5Zn0.5S (ZCS) nanoparticles decorated with porous TaON were successfully prepared as a direct Z-scheme system. The photocatalytic evolution of H2 with a high efficiency was explored using NiS decorated with TaON sensitized ZCS nanocomposites (NiS-TaON/ZCS) and Na2SO3/Na2S as sacrificial reagents. The results showed that 0.5 wt% NiS deposited on the surface of 4 wt% TaON-ZCS nanocomposites could reach the highest photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of 34.8 mmol h-1 g-1 with a maximum quantum yield of about 25.5% under 420 nm monochromatic light. The activity of the TaON-ZCS photocatalyst for photocatalytic H2 evolution is higher than that of either pure ZCS or TaON. This high photocatalytic performance is ascribed firstly to the hierarchical structure of the coupled semiconductor system and secondly to the efficient transfer and separation of photogenerated charge carriers with NiS as a cocatalyst, which could serve as an electron collector.

A visible-light-responsive TaON/CdS photocatalytic film with a ZnS passivation layer for highly extraordinary NO2 photodegradation.

Recently, TaON has become a promising photoelectrode material in the photocatalytic field owing to its suitable band gap and superior charge carrier transfer ability. In this work, we prepared a TaON/CdS photocatalytic film using a CdS nanoparticle-modified TaON film by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. For the first time, the ZnS nanoparticles were deposited on the TaON/CdS film using the same method. We found that pure TaON had a nanoporous morphology, thus resulting in high specific surface area and better gas adsorption capacity. Furthermore, the TaON/CdS/ZnS film displayed a highly efficient NO2 photodegradation rate under visible light irradiation owing to its stronger visible light response, photocorrosion preventive capacity, and the high separation efficiency of photo-induced electrons and holes. Interestingly, the promising TaON/CdS/ZnS film also possessed remarkable recyclability for NO2 degradation. Therefore, we suggest that the TaON/CdS/ZnS photocatalytic film might be used for the photocatalytic degradation of other pollutants or in other applications. We also put forward the feasible NO2 photocatalytic degradation mechanism for the TaON/CdS/ZnS film. From the schematic diagram, we could further obtain the photo-generated carrier transport process and NO2 photodegradation principle in detail over the ternary photocatalytic film. Moreover, the trapping experiment demonstrates that ·O2 - and h+ all play significant roles in NO2 degradation under visible light irradiation.

Dual modification of TiO2 nanorod arrays with SiW11Co and Ag nanoparticles for enhanced photocatalytic activity under simulated sunlight.

Well-organized TiO2 nanorod arrays (TNRs) have increasingly attracted our attention in recent years due to their excellent photocatalytic properties. However, it is of great importance to prepare more efficient photocatalysts using a facile method towards their more widespread use. In this work, K6SiW11O39Co(ii)(H2O) (SiW11Co) and Ag nanoparticles were introduced into TNRs using spin-coating and chemical bath deposition methods. It was found that TNRs/SiW11Co/Ag composite films with an active area of only 1 cm2 exhibit highly efficient and sustainable properties for the photodegradation of NO2 and display a significant enhancement compared with P25 and pure TNRs. Photocatalytic measurements demonstrated that both SiW11Co and Ag synergistically improve the light absorption and charge separation efficiency, thus obtaining the most efficient photocatalytic performance. In addition, the probable photocatalytic mechanism and the dominating active species for NO2 photodegradation were also proposed, in order to testify the effectively enhanced photocatalytic ability of the TNRs/SiW11Co/Ag composite. Hence, the design of these polyoxometalate and metal particle co-modified TNRs may provide a new tactic for developing promising materials for photocatalytic degradation.

Loading Co3N nanoparticles as efficient cocatalysts over Zn0.5Cd0.5S for enhanced H2 evolution under visible light.

Exploiting high performance and noble-metal-free catalysts is of great interest in photocatalytic water splitting. In this study, Co3N nanoparticles were successfully decorated on Cd0.5Zn0.5S as highly efficient co-catalysts via a facile method. The Co3N(2 wt%)/Cd0.5Zn0.5S composite sample showed the highest photocatalytic H2 evolution activity. A corresponding H2 evolution rate of 160.7 mmol h-1 g-1 was achieved in 0.35 M Na2S/0.25 M Na2SO3, which was about 25 times higher than that of a pure Cd0.5Zn0.5S sample. The H2 production rate of Co3N(2 wt%)/Cd0.5Zn0.5S reached 218.8 mmol h-1 g-1 in 1.05 M Na2S/0.75 M Na2SO3 under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm) and the apparent quantum yield (AQY) was 30.2% at 420 nm.

A layered titanium(iv)-peroxo-pyridine dicarboxylic cluster: crystal structure and photoelectrochemical sensing of dopamine.

A layered titanium(iv)-peroxo-pyridine dicarboxylic cluster K9[Ti3O4(O2)3(C7H3O4N)3(OH2)2]Cl·4H2O 1 has been synthesized by the H2O2-assisted reaction between TiCl4 and dipicolinic acid ligands. The semiconducting properties of this solid state compound were revealed from measurements of the diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectra and photocurrent response. Its photoelectrochemical sensing of dopamine was also investigated.

Large grain growth for hole-conductor-free fully printable perovskite solar cells via polyoxometalate molecular doping.

A large-grained perovskite film, with a crystal grain size of ca. 30-50 µm, was achieved by polyoxometalate-induced Ostwald ripening. Aiming at commercially-oriented fully printable hole-conductor-free perovskite solar cells, the power conversion efficiency of the device was significantly improved from 9.17% to 11.35% (average) via polyoxometalate molecular doping. This is because the large-grained perovskite film could effectively reduce bulk defects and charge recombination, thereby facilitating charge transport.