ABSTRACT
Plasmonic semiconductors with broad spectral response hold significant promise for sustainable solar energy utilization. However, the surface inertness limits the photocatalytic activity. Herein, a novel approach is proposed to improve the body crystallinity and increase the surface oxygen vacancies of plasmonic tungsten oxide by the combination of hydrochloric acid (HCl) regulation and light irradiation, which can promote the adsorption of tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) on plasmonic tungsten oxide and overcome the hindrance of the surface depletion layer in photocatalytic alcohol dehydration. Additionally, this process can concentrate electrons for strong plasmonic electron oscillation on the near surface, facilitating rapid electron transfer within the adsorbed TBA molecules for C-O bond cleavage. As a result, the activation barrier for TBA dehydration is significantly reduced by 93% to 6.0 kJ mol-1, much lower than that of thermocatalysis (91 kJ mol-1). Therefore, an optimal isobutylene generation rate of 1.8 mol g-1 h-1 (selectivity of 99.9%) is achieved. A small flow reaction system is further constructed, which shows an isobutylene generation rate of 12 mmol h-1 under natural sunlight irradiation. This work highlights the potential of plasmonic semiconductors for efficient photocatalytic alcohol dehydration, thereby promoting the sustainable utilization of solar energy.
ABSTRACT
Precise monitoring and quantification of H2O2 is highly urgent and of great significance for biomedicine, food safety, environmental monitoring, etc. Herein, we proposed a facile near-infrared (NIR) excited fluorescent probe composed of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and non-metallic plasmonic WO3-x for ultrasensitive quantitative H2O2 detection. Plasmonic WO3-x with oxygen vacancy-induced LSPR achieved over 680-fold enhancement of upconversion fluorescence at 520 nm, and also acts as the sensitive recognition site for H2O2. H2O2 quenched the LSPR band of plasmonic WO3-x, further significantly influencing adjacent fluorescence signals depending on its concentration. The probe exhibits a good linear response to H2O2 with a low detection limit (10-9 M) and a wide concentration range (0-50 µM), and shows satisfactory application in the determination of H2O2 in blood and milk. This work may provide new ideas for the development of non-invasive fluorescent nanoprobes and plasmon-assisted biochemical detection methods.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pediatric inguinal hernia is one of the most common diseases in children, and laparoscopy is the main surgical method. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a new modified 2-port laparoscopic herniorrhaphy with Kirschner wire (TLHK) for inguinal hernia in children. METHODS: A total of 5304 children with inguinal hernia hospitalized at the Jiangmen Center Hospital from June 2003 to May 2016 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Four thousand one hundred thirty-five children underwent TLHK that comprised the observation group, while 1169 received single incision laparoscopy (SIL) as the control group (CG). A propensity score matched cohort study was conducted between these groups. We included all patients who were diagnosed as inguinal hernia and matched comparators with a proportion of 1:1. The propensity score was calculated using logistic regression with forward stepwise selection in 4 variables. The patients' operative details, intra- and postoperative complications, and postoperative hospital stay were analyzed. The follow-up lasted from 1 month to 2 years. RESULTS: Among 5304 potential patients, the propensity score identified 270 (135 TLHK cases and 135 comparators) patients. The age, sex, body mass index, and the hernia type and location did not differ between CG and TLHK. TLHK group had a shorter operative time (unilateral: 17.4â±â3.35âminutes vs 20.7â±â3.71âminutes; bilateral: 20.4â±â5.17âminutes vs 25.2â±â5.43âminutes), less complications (2.10% vs 2.65%), lower recurrence rate (0% vs 4.44%), and similar hospital stay (2.3â±â1.1 vs 2.1â±â1.3) as compared with CG. No iliac vessel injury, spermatic cord vessels injury, vas deferens injury, or iatrogenic cryptorchidism occurred in either of the groups. CONCLUSION: TLHK is a safe and feasible treatment for inguinal hernia in children due to less invasion and less recurrence rate than SIL.
