Hollow cubic ternary PdCuB nanocage electrocatalysts with greatly enhanced catalytic performance for formic acid oxidation.

The prepared PdCuB Ngs/C catalysts exhibited outstanding catalytic activity and stability in the formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR). The improvement in electrocatalytic performance is due to the introduction of Cu and B atoms and the hollow nanocage structure, which changes the electronic structures of Pd, increases the reactive sites, and accelerates the reaction mass transfer rates.

Sn-doped PdCu alloy nanosheet assemblies as an efficient electrocatalyst for formic acid oxidation.

A ternary alloy catalyst has been confirmed to be an effective catalyst for anode catalysis in direct formic acid fuel cells, which can improve the electrocatalytic performance of the fuel cell by introducing commonly used metal elements to change the Pd electronic structure and can reduce the use of precious metals and the cost of catalyst production. In this study, PdCuSn Ns/C with a special 3D structure was synthesized by a simple two-step wet chemical method. The PdCuSn Ns/C catalyst prepared exhibits excellent catalytic activity and stability for the formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR). The mass activity of 2420.1 mA mg-1Pd is 3.94 times that of the Pd/C catalyst. The improvement in the electrocatalytic performance stems from the introduction of Cu and Sn atoms and the unique 3D nanosheet structure, which changes the electronic structure of Pd to increase the reactive active site and accelerates the reaction mass transfer rate, and also reduces the content of precious metals, while improving the electrocatalytic performance. Therefore, the PdCuSn Ns/C catalyst has a promising future in the field of electrocatalysis.

Efficacy and safety of percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy followed by 125I seed brachytherapy for VX2 hepatic tumors in a rabbit model.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy (PMCT) followed by 125I seed brachytherapy for VX2 liver cancer in rabbits. Eighty New Zealand rabbits were injected with suspensions of VX2 tumor cells to create an animal model. The rabbits were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=20); the control, PMCT, 125I seed brachytherapy and combination groups. Group A was treated with PMCT at 40 W for 120 sec, group B was treated with 125I seed brachytherapy and group C was treated with PMCT followed by 125I seed brachytherapy. Group D were not treated and served as the control group. At 21 days after treatment, the rabbits were sacrificed for pathological assessment. The complete tumor necrosis rate was 19 out of 20 tumors (95%) in group C, 6 (30%) in group A, 0 (0%) in group B and 0 (0%) in the control group. The complete tumor necrosis rate was observed to be significantly different between groups C and A, and between groups C and B (P<0.01). No intraheptic metastasis occurred in group C, compared with an incidence of 7 (35%) in group A, 2 (10%) in group B and 20 (100%) in the control group. Between groups C and A, and between groups C and D, the intraheptic metastasis rate was statistically significant (P<0.01). PMCT followed by 125I seed brachytherapy increased the rate of carcinoma necrosis and decreased carcinoma metastasis in the VX2 rabbit model. This combined treatment is a safe, effective and minimally invasive therapeutic option for liver cancer.

Carbon-riveted Pt catalyst supported on nanocapsule MWCNTs-Al2O3 with ultrahigh stability for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

Pt catalyst supported on nanocapsule MWCNTs-Al(2)O(3) (multi-walled carbon nanotubes, MWCNTs) catalyst has been prepared by microwave-assisted polyol process (MAPP). The results of electrochemical measurements show that the nanocapsule Pt/MWCNTs-Al(2)O(3) catalyst has higher activity due to more uniform dispersion and smaller size of Pt nanoparticles, and higher stability ascribed to the stronger metal-support interaction (SMSI) between Pt nanoparticles and nanocapsule support than in Pt/MWCNTs. Furthermore, the carbon-riveted nanocapsule Pt/MWCNTs-Al(2)O(3) catalyst has been designed and synthesized on the basis of in situ carbonization of glucose. The physical characteristics such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) have indicated that α-Al(2)O(3) indeed entered into the inside of the MWCNTs and formed a nanocapsule support of MWCNTs with α-Al(2)O(3) as stuffing. The accelerated potential cycling tests (APCT) show that carbon-riveted nanocapsule Pt/MWCNTs-Al(2)O(3) possesses 10 times the stability of Pt/C and has 4.5 times the life-span of carbon-riveted Pt/TiO(2)-C reported in our previous work. The significantly enhanced stability for carbon-riveted nanocapsule Pt/MWCNTs-Al(2)O(3) catalyst is attributed to the reasons as follows: the inherently excellent mechanical resistance and stability of α-Al(2)O(3) and MWCNTs in acidic and oxidative environments; SMSI between Pt nanoparticles and the nanocapsule support; the anchoring effect of the carbon layers formed during the carbon-riveting process (CRP); the increase of Pt(0) composition during CRP.