Boosting CO2 Hydrogenation to Formate over Edge-Sulfur Vacancies of Molybdenum Disulfide.

Synthesis of formate from hydrogenation of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is an atom-economic reaction but is confronted with challenges in developing high-performance non-precious metal catalysts for application of the process. Herein, we report a highly durable edge-rich molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) catalyst for CO2 hydrogenation to formate at 200 °C, which delivers a high selectivity of over 99 % with a superior turnover frequency of 780.7 h-1 surpassing those of previously reported non-precious metal catalysts. Multiple experimental characterization techniques combined with theoretical calculations reveal that sulfur vacancies at MoS2 edges are the active sites and the selective production of formate is enabled via a completely new water-mediated hydrogenation mechanism, in which surface OH* and H* species in dynamic equilibrium with water serve as moderate hydrogenating agents for CO2 with residual O* reduced by hydrogen. This study provides a new route for developing low-cost high-performance catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation to formate.

In-situ Raman spectroscopic insight into charge delocalization-improved electrical conductivity in metal-cyanide frameworks.

Porous crystalline materials (PCMs) have attracted widespread attention due to their high porosity and chemical tunability. To solve the problem of the low electrical conductivity of traditional PCMs, a guest-promoted approach has been developed to impart electrical conductivity, whereas microscopic understanding of this process from experiments is largely lacking. Here we use in-situ electrochemical surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (EC-SERS) to investigate the microscopic mechanism of the enhanced electrical conductivity in metal-cyanide frameworks, in Prussian Blue (PB), induced by alkali metal ions. The EC-SERS result demonstrates that the charge is localized around the iron atom in PB and becomes delocalized on the CN bond after insertion of the alkali metal ions, verified by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The enhanced electrical conductivity of PCMs promoted by the guest via the through-bond mechanism instead of the through-space hopping mechanism in pristine PB, offers a new approach to develop conductive PCMs.

Accelerated interfacial proton transfer for promoting electrocatalytic activity.

Interfacial pH is critical to electrocatalytic reactions involving proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) processes, and maintaining an optimal interfacial pH at the electrochemical interface is required to achieve high activity. However, the interfacial pH varies inevitably during the electrochemical reaction owing to slow proton transfer at the interfacial layer, even in buffer solutions. It is therefore necessary to find an effective and general way to promote proton transfer for regulating the interfacial pH. In this study, we propose that promoting proton transfer at the interfacial layer can be used to regulate the interfacial pH in order to enhance electrocatalytic activity. By adsorbing a bifunctional 4-mercaptopyridine (4MPy) molecule onto the catalyst surface via its thiol group, the pyridyl group can be tethered on the electrochemical interface. The pyridyl group acts as both a good proton acceptor and donor for promoting proton transfer at the interfacial layer. Furthermore, the pK a of 4MPy can be modulated with the applied potentials to accommodate the large variation of interfacial pH under different current densities. By in situ electrochemical surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (in situ EC-SERS), we quantitatively demonstrate that proton transfer at the interfacial layer of the Pt catalyst coated with 4MPy (Pt@4MPy) remains ideally thermoneutral during the H+ releasing electrocatalytic oxidation reaction of formic acid (FAOR) at high current densities. Thus, the interfacial pH is controlled effectively. In this way, the FAOR apparent current measured from Pt@4MPy is twice that measured from a pristine Pt catalyst. This work establishes a general strategy for regulating interfacial pH to enhance the electrocatalytic activities.

Operando Electrochemical X-ray Diffraction and Raman Spectroscopic Studies Revealing the Alkali-Metal Ion Intercalation Mechanism in Prussian Blue Analogues.

Prussian blue analogues are promising cathode material candidates for aqueous rechargeable metal-ion batteries. Although great efforts have been made on developing materials, there are still rare reports on optimizing cell performance from mechanistic understanding and studies. Here we unveil the alkali-metal-ion intercalation mechanism in Berlin green with a home-built spectroelectrochemical cell for operando X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopies, which allows us to obtain the correlated local structure, crystal structure, redox activity, and potential profiles during the charging and discharging processes. We found that the intercalation of Na+ follows a solid solution mechanism leading to a high capacity, and the intercalation of K+ follows a two-phase transition mechanism showing a high voltage. With this understanding, we propose a new strategy using a Na+/K+ hybrid cation electrolyte to realize both high voltage and energy density. This study offers a unique insight for improving the cell performance from the understanding of the reaction mechanism.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: benefits, trade-offs and future developments.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a vibrational spectroscopy technique with sensitivity down to the single molecule level that provides fine molecular fingerprints, allowing for direct identification of target analytes. Extensive theoretical and experimental research, together with continuous development of nanotechnology, has significantly broadened the scope of SERS and made it a hot research field in chemistry, physics, materials, biomedicine, and so on. However, SERS has not been developed into a routine analytical technique, and continuous efforts have been made to address the problems preventing its real-world application. The present minireview focuses on analyzing current and potential strategies to tackle problems and realize the SERS performance necessary for translation to practical applications.

In Situ Imaging of Live-Cell Extracellular pH during Cell Apoptosis with Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

Extracellular pH (pHe) is an important regulating factor that determines many cellular processes, including proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In our previous work, we developed 4-MPy (4-mercaptopyridine) modified Au nanoparticles as intracellular pH sensors based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). We herein modified a Au-nanoparticle-assembled solid SERS substrate with 4-MPy molecules for in situ pHe sensing during apoptosis. We found a more acidic extracellular environment of cancer cells than that of normal cells from the pH imaging. We then in situ investigated the temporal and spatial evolution of pHe of cancer cells after addition of transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß). The pHe showed a fast decrease at the beginning, followed by a slow decrease until the complete loss of cellular functions, and the pH values in and out of the cells became similar. This work shows that our SERS substrate combined with an in situ cell culture system is well suitable for in situ pHe sensing during cell processes and will be a promising technique for understanding more pHe-related biological and pathological issues.

Sensitive and simultaneous surface plasmon resonance detection of free and p53-bound MDM2 proteins from human sarcomas.

Murine double minute 2 (MDM2) is an oncoprotein mediating the degradation of the tumor suppressor p53 protein. The physiological levels of MDM2 protein are closely related to malignant transformation and tumor growth. In this work, the simultaneous and label-free determination of free and p53-bound MDM2 proteins from sarcoma tissue extracts was conducted using a dual-channel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instrument. Free MDM2 protein was measured in one fluidic channel covered with the consensus double-stranded (ds)-DNA/p53 conjugate, while MDM2 bound to p53 was captured by the consensus ds-DNA immobilized onto the other channel. To achieve higher sensitivity and to confirm specificity, an MDM2-specific monoclonal antibody (2A10) was used to recognize both the free and p53-bound MDM2 proteins. The resultant method afforded a detection limit of 0.55 pM of MDM2. The amenability of the method to the analysis of free and p53-bound MDM2 proteins was demonstrated for normal and sarcoma tissue extracts from three patients. Our data reveal that both free and total MDM2 (free and bound forms combined) proteins from sarcoma tissue extracts are of much higher concentrations than those from normal tissue extracts and the p53-bound MDM2 protein only constitutes a small fraction of the total MDM2 concentration. In comparison with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the proposed method possesses higher sensitivity, is more cost-effective, and is capable of determining free and p53-bound MDM2 proteins in clinical samples.

Multiplexed Electrochemical Detection of MiRNAs from Sera of Glioma Patients at Different Stages via the Novel Conjugates of Conducting Magnetic Microbeads and Diblock Oligonucleotide-Modified Gold Nanoparticles.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) serve as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for a wide variety of cancers. Via the novel conjugates of gold nanoparticle-coated magnetic microbeads (AuNP-MMBs) and the diblock oligonucleotide (ODN)-modified AuNPs, multiplexed electrochemical assay of miRNAs was performed. The hybridization to target miRNAs leads to the conformational change of the hairpin-structured ODN probes, and the attachment of the diblock ODN-modified AuNPs was achieved. By examining the oxidation peak currents of methylene blue (MB) and ferrocene (Fc) moieties residing on the diblock ODNs, simultaneous quantification of miRNA-182 and miRNA-381 was conducted. The detection signals were significantly enhanced due to the numerous MB and Fc tags on the AuNPs. The proposed assay was highly selective for discriminating miRNAs with similar sequences, and detection limits of 0.20 fM and 0.12 fM for miRNA-182 and miRNA-381, respectively, were achieved. The feasibility of the method for sensitive determination of miRNA-182 and miRNA-381 from serum samples of glioma patients at different stages was demonstrated. The sensing protocol thus holds great potential for early diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients.

Amplified voltammetric detection of miRNA from serum samples of glioma patients via combination of conducting magnetic microbeads and ferrocene-capped gold nanoparticle/streptavidin conjugates.

MicroRNA (miRNA) plays a key regulatory role in many biological processes, emerging as an important biomarker for a large variety of cancer diseases. Employing gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-coated magnetic microbeads (AuNP-MMBs) as an immobilization matrix for higher loading density of hairpin-structured DNA probes and then ferrocene (Fc)-capped gold nanoparticle/streptavidin conjugates, amplified electrochemical assay of miRNA has been performed. In the presence of target miRNA, a novel assembly was formed via linking biotinylated hairpin DNA probe-covered AuNP-MMBs with Fc-capped gold nanoparticle/streptavidin conjugates and then collected by magnetic electrodes for voltammetric detection. The enlarged surface area, good conductivity of AuNP-MMBs and the multiple Fc tags on the electrode surface ensure high sensitivity of the method. The oxidation peak current of Fc tags is proportional to the concentrations of miRNA ranging from 5 fM to 100 fM, and a detection limit of 0.14 fM was achieved. The proposed assay is highly selective and reproducible, serving as a viable alternative for the detection of miRNA-182 from serum samples of glioma patients.