Highly Stable CsSnCl3 Quantum Dots Grown in an Ionic Liquid/Gelatin Composite System through an In Situ Method.

Lead halide perovskite quantum dots (QDs) are controversial due to their high lead content. Tin, a low-toxic element with an outer electronic structure similar to that of Pb, becomes a strong candidate for preparing lead-free perovskite QDs. However, tin-based perovskite QDs, especially CsSnCl3 QDs, exhibit poor environmental stability. Herein, we proposed an strategy for highly stable CsSnCl3 QDs using an ionic liquid as a solvent and antioxidant and gelatin as a multidentate ligand and coating material through an in situ method ([AMIM]Cl/gelatin-QDs). The results showed that the abundant active groups of gelatin served as the nucleation growth center for QDs and further passivated QDs. At the same time, the long molecular chain of gelatin can coat the QDs to isolate the environment and fully protect QDs, and the size of QDs grown in gelatin was 5-10 nm. In addition, the oxidation resistance of ionic liquids and the halogen-rich environment formed also played an important role. Even if [AMIM]Cl/gelatin-QDs were treated with water and ultraviolet light simultaneously, its remaining fluorescence intensity was still above 60% within 72 h. Meaningfully, QDs endowed the composite system mildew resistance, which can resist the erosion of gelatin by molds, thereby realizing the system's long-term protection toward CsSnCl3 QDs.

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of SMALL AUXIN UP RNA (SAUR) genes in rice (Oryza sativa).

SMALL AUXIN UP RNAs (SAURs), the largest family of early auxin response genes, plays crucial roles in multiple processes, including cell expansion, leaf growth and senescence, auxin transport, tropic growth and so on. Although the rice SAUR gene family was identified in 2006, it is necessary to identify the rice SAUR gene due to the imperfection of its analysis methods. In this study, a total of 60 OsSAURs (including two pseudogenes) distributed on 10 chromosomes were identified in rice (Oryza sativa). Bioinformatics tools were used to systematically analyze the physicochemical properties, subcellular localization, motif compositions, chromosomal location, gene duplication, evolutionary relationships, auxin-responsive cis-elements of the OsSAURs. In addition, the expression profiles obtained from microarray data analysis showed that OsSAUR genes had different expression patterns in different tissues and responded to auxin treatment, indicating functional differences among members of OsSAUR gene family. In a word, this study provides basic information for SAUR gene family of rice and lays a foundation for further study on the role of SAUR in rice growth and development.

Construction and evaluation of environment-friendly POSS multi-crosslinked mulch film based on bone gelatin.

The non-degradable traditional polyethylene (PE) mulch film has caused great harm to both the ecological environment as well as human health. Therefore, the biodegradable bone gelatin (B-Gel) was innovatively selected to build the mulch film. To further enhance the toughness of the B-Gel mulch films, a POSS star-shaped polymer/bone gelatin (P(POSS-AGE-HEA)/B-Gel) composite was prepared by introducing POSS star-shaped polymer into B-Gel via in situ polymerization using polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS), allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) and hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) as raw material, and then was cast to obtain the P(POSS-AGE-HEA)/B-Gel mulch film. The epoxy group of POSS star-shaped polymer with the -COOH and -NH2 of B-Gel forms a covalent bond, and the hydroxyl group with the active groups of B-Gel forms hydrogen bonds. Meanwhile, the multiple side chains of POSS star-shaped polymer are intertwined with B-Gel. These covalent and hydrogen bonds as sacrificial bonds for effective energy dissipation giving the bone gelatin-based film excellent mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 7.56 ± 0.64 MPa and elongation at break of 197.49 ± 17.63 %. Additionally, it also demonstrated sound water vapor barrier, surface hydrophobicity, light transmittance and the effect of facilitating the growth and germination ratio (93.75 %) of wheat.