A Novel Paradigm Defines Functional Molecule Clusters for an Anti-Alzheimer's Disease Recipe from Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) prescriptions are organically composed of compatible herbs according to the TCM theory. The complex ingredients of TCM could act on multiple targets through various pathways simultaneously to exert pharmacological effects, making TCM an unrivaled gem in the medical world. However, due to a lack of comprehensive and standard study methods, the research of TCM products has been quite limited. A novel paradigm that could aid in the discovery of the material basis and fully clarify the mechanism of TCM prescriptions is urgently needed. In this study, a similarity analysis based on molecular fingerprints was adopted to explore the representative molecules of the Tiaoxin recipe, a Chinese patent formula approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 38 out of 1047 chemicals were finally screened out. Next, we tried to define a new concept of a "functional molecule cluster" for chemicals with similar pharmacological effects to elucidate how the chemical mixture from TCMs produce their therapeutic effects. Four anti-AD functional molecule clusters from the Tiaoxin recipe were identified: an anti-inflammatory cluster, an anti-ROS cluster, an anti-AChE activity cluster, and an anti-A[Formula: see text] aggregation cluster. Furthermore, the chemicals from the anti-inflammatory cluster and anti-ROS cluster were proved to display their multi-target and multi-pathway roles partially or mainly through molecules of the TLR4-MYD88-NF-[Formula: see text]B and Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathways. The functional molecule clusters may be vital to the explanation of the efficacy of the Tiaoxin recipe, which could give us a more profound understanding of TCM prescriptions. Our paradigm may open a novel path for TCM research.

Synthesis of Large-Area MXenes with High Yields through Power-Focused Delamination Utilizing Vortex Kinetic Energy.

Evaluating the delamination process in the synthesis of MXenes (2D transition metal carbides and nitrides) is critical for their development and applications. However, the preparation of large defect-free MXene flakes with high yields is challenging. Here, a power-focused delamination (PFD) strategy is demonstrated that can enhance both the delamination efficiency and yield of large Ti3 C2 Tx MXene nanosheets through repetitive precipitation and vortex shaking processes. Following this protocol, a colloidal concentration of 20.4 mg mL-1 of the Ti3 C2 Tx MXene can be achieved after five PFD cycles, and the yield of the basal-plane-defect-free Ti3 C2 Tx nanosheets reaches 61.2%, which is 6.4-fold higher than that obtained using the sonication-exfoliation method. Both nanometer-thin devices and self-supporting films exhibit excellent electrical conductivities (≈25 000 and 8260 S cm-1 for a 1.8 nm thick monolayer and 11 µm thick film, respectively). Hydrodynamic simulations reveal that the PFD method can efficiently concentrate the shear stress on the surface of the unexfoliated material, leading to the exfoliation of the nanosheets. The PFD-synthesized large MXene nanosheets exhibit superior electrical conductivities and electromagnetic shielding (shielding effectiveness per unit volume: 35 419 dB cm2 g-1 ). Therefore, the PFD strategy provides an efficient route for the preparation of high-performance single-layer MXene nanosheets with large areas and high yields.

Gold Catalyst Anchored to Pre-Reduced Co3O4 Nanorods for the Hydrodeoxygenation of Vanillin Using Alcohols as Hydrogen Donors.

The preparation of highly dispersed metal catalysts with strong electronic metal-support interactions (EMSIs) is of great significance. In this study, oxygen vacancies (OVs) were generated on the surfaces of Co3O4 nanorods (NRs) through NaBH4 treatment, and then the generated surface OVs were used to anchor gold clusters. The resulting catalyst was used for the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of vanillin based on transfer hydrogenation with alcohol donors. The conversion of vanillin and the selectivity to 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (MMP) both reached 99% under the optimized reaction conditions, and these values were significantly higher than those obtained for the gold catalyst supported on the untreated Co3O4 NRs. The obtained results were verified by theoretical calculations and experimental data and confirmed the existence of strong EMSIs between the OV-enriched Co3O4 NRs (Co3O4 NRs-OVs) and the gold clusters, which allows electron transfer from the Co3O4 NRs to gold. Increasing the number of electrons on the gold surface can promote the catalytic hydrogen transfer of alcohol, in addition to selectively adsorbing the C═O group in vanillin to improve the selectivity toward MMP. This strategy based on the OV-anchoring of metals onto the surface of a support can be extended to other metals, thereby providing a promising method for the design of advanced and highly efficient metal catalysts.

High Concentration of Ti3C2Tx MXene in Organic Solvent.

MXenes are currently one of the most widely studied two-dimensional materials due to their properties. However, obtaining highly dispersed MXene materials in organic solvent remains a significant challenge for current research. Here, we have developed a method called the tuned microenvironment method (TMM) to prepare a highly concentrated Ti3C2Tx organic solvent dispersion by tuning the microenvironment of Ti3C2Tx. The as-proposed TMM is a simple and efficient approach, as Ti3C2Tx can be dispersed in N,N-dimethylformamide and other solvents by stirring and shaking for a short time, without the need for a sonication step. The delaminated single-layer MXene yield can reach 90% or greater, and a large-scale synthesis has also been demonstrated with TMM by delaminating 30 g of multilayer Ti3C2Tx raw powder in a one-pot synthesis. The synthesized Ti3C2Tx nanosheets dispersed in an organic solvent possess a clean surface, uniform thickness, and large size. The Ti3C2Tx dispersed in an organic solvent exhibits excellent oxidation resistance even under aerobic conditions at room temperature. Through the experimental investigation, the successful preparation of a highly concentrated Ti3C2Tx organic solvent dispersion via TMM can be attributed to the following factors: (1) the intercalation of the cation can lead to the change in the hydrophobicity and surface functionalization of the material; (2) proper solvent properties are required in order to disperse MXene nanosheets well. To demonstrate the applicability of the highly concentrated Ti3C2Tx organic solvent dispersion, a composite fiber with excellent electrical conductivity is prepared via the wet-spinning of a Ti3C2Tx (dispersed in DMF) and polyacrylonitrile mixture. Finally, various types of MXenes, such as Nb2CTx, Nb4C3Tx, and Mo2Ti2C3Tx, can also be prepared as highly concentrated MXene organic solvent dispersions via TMM, which proves the universality of this method. Thus, it is expected that this work demonstrates promising potential in the research of the MXene material family.

Recent Advances in Supported Metal Catalysts and Oxide Catalysts for the Reverse Water-Gas Shift Reaction.

The reverse water-gas shift reaction (RWGSR), a crucial stage in the conversion of abundant CO2 into chemicals or hydrocarbon fuels, has attracted extensive attention as a renewable system to synthesize fuels by non-traditional routes. There have been persistent efforts to synthesize catalysts for industrial applications, with attention given to the catalytic activity, CO selectivity, and thermal stability. In this review, we describe the thermodynamics, kinetics, and atomic-level mechanisms of the RWGSR in relation to efficient RWGSR catalysts consisting of supported catalysts and oxide catalysts. In addition, we rationally classify, summarize, and analyze the effects of physicochemical properties, such as the morphologies, compositions, promoting abilities, and presence of strong metal-support interactions (SMSI), on the catalytic performance and CO selectivity in the RWGSR over supported catalysts. Regarding oxide catalysts (i.e., pure oxides, spinel, solid solution, and perovskite-type oxides), we emphasize the relationships among their surface structure, oxygen storage capacity (OSC), and catalytic performance in the RWGSR. Furthermore, the abilities of perovskite-type oxides to enhance the RWGSR with chemical looping cycles (RWGSR-CL) are systematically illustrated. These systematic introductions shed light on development of catalysts with high performance in RWGSR.