Single Organic Droplet Collision Voltammogram via Electron Transfer Coupled Ion Transfer.

Single-emulsion toluene oil droplets (femtoliter) containing a hydrophobic redox probe that are dispersed in water stochastically collide with an ultramicroelectrode (UME). The fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) or Fourier-transformed sinusoidal voltammetry (FTSV) is applied: the UME was scanned with a fast, repetitive triangular, or sinusoidal potential, and its current in time/frequency domains were monitored. The electron transfer at the UME/oil interface is coupled with ion transfer at the oil/water interface. Thus, the obtained transient voltammograms of a myriad of ions were used to estimate thermodynamics of ion transfer at the toluene/water interface. Additionally, the single-droplet voltammogram combined with finite element simulations reveal the droplet's size and shape distributions. Four collision mechanisms with new physical insights were also uncovered via comprehensive analysis of phase angle in the frequency domain, time domain FSCVs, and finite element simulations.

3D carbonized wood-based integrated electrochemical immunosensor for ultrasensitive detection of procalcitonin antigen.

This work presents a novel 3D carbonized wood-based integrated electrochemical immunosensor for ultrasensitive detection of procalcitonin (PCT) antigen at picogram level, achieving a wide linear detection range for PCT concentrations range from 0.05 to 90 pg mL-1 with a low detection limit of 0.014 pg mL-1 (S/N = 3), outperforming the previous reports. 3D carbonized wood as a new immunosensor matrix is used for electrochemical PCT biosensing, improving the stability of electrode and overcoming the disadvantages of traditional glassy carbon electrode (GCE). It obtained an excellent detection result, due to it has abundant mutual crisscross microchannels that promote the reactants and electrons transfer, greatly amplify the current signal. This novel sandwich-type electrochemical immunosensor is composed of 3D carbonized wood, carboxylic multi-walled carbon nanotube (cMWCNT), Au@Co3O4 core-shell nanosphere and Au/single layer nitrogen-doped graphene (Au/SL-NG), when it is applied for PCT detection in real clinical samples, it exhibits high accuracy same as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.

Clustered piperidinium-functionalized poly(terphenylene) anion exchange membranes with well-developed conductive nanochannels.

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) attract considerable attention owing to their high-power density and potential utilization of cheap non-noble metal catalysts. However, anion exchange membranes (AEMs) still face the problems of low conductivity, poor dimensional and chemical stability. To address these issues, AEMs with clustered piperidinium groups and ether-bond-free poly(terphenylene) backbone (3QPAP-x, x = 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) were designed. Transmission electron microscope results show that the clustered ionic groups are responsible for fabricating well-developed conductive nanochannels and restraining the swelling behavior of the membranes. 3QPAP-0.4 and 3QPAP-0.5 AEMs exhibit higher conductivity (117.5 mS cm-1, 80 °C) and lower swelling ratio than that of commercial FAA-3-50 (80.4 mS cm-1, 80 °C). The conductivity of 3QPAP-0.5 only decreased by 10.4% after treating with 1 M NaOH at 80 °C for 720 h. The Hofmann elimination degradation of the cationic groups is restrained by the long flexible alkyl chain between cations. Based on the high performance of 3QPAP-0.5, an H2-O2-type AEMFC reaches 291.2 mW cm-2 (60 °C), which demonstrates that the as-prepared AEMs are promising for application in fuel cells.