Advances in chemical removal and degradation technologies for microplastics in the aquatic environment: A review.

In recent years, global attention has been extensively focused on the water pollution and health risks caused by microplastics(MPs), thereby making the treatment of microplastics a key area of research. Chemical removal and degradation present effective approaches to addressing this issue. Consequently, this review summarizes the latest research advancements in the chemical removal and degradation of microplastics in water, comparing the treatment efficacy and advantages and disadvantages of various removal/degradation techniques. It elucidates the chemical mechanisms underlying the removal/degradation of microplastics and identifies the primary influencing factors during the treatment process. A systematic analysis of the performance of microplastic treatment technologies is conducted, examining the impact of microplastic characteristics, operational conditions, and other parameters on the effectiveness of microplastic treatment.

Ultra-broad bandwidth array waveguide grating for high-speed backbone network transmission.

With the rapid development of the backbone network rates, there has been a gradual increase in channel spacing and bandwidth. The C&L band ultra-broad bandwidth array waveguide gratings (AWG) of 60-channel 100 GHz channel spacing are designed and fabricated based on silica waveguide. A new parabolic design is used to achieve ultra-broad bandwidth and good spectrum. For the C band ultra-broad bandwidth AWG, the peak insertion loss, uniformity, 0.5 dB bandwidth, 1 dB bandwidth and 3 dB bandwidth are 2.98 dB, 0.36 dB, 0.614 nm, 0.721 nm and 0.937 nm, respectively. For the L band ultra-broad bandwidth AWG, the peak insertion loss, uniformity, 0.5 dB bandwidth, 1 dB bandwidth and 3 dB bandwidth are 2.91 dB, 0.27 dB, 0.560 nm, 0.665 nm and 0.879 nm, respectively. To ensure ultra-broad bandwidth AWG operation at different temperatures, a temperature control circuit is integrated into the packaging design. It has been observed that the performances remain virtually unchanged within the temperature range of -15 to 65 degree. The ultra-broadband AWGs have been successfully tested to transmit 96 Gbaud signals and can be applied to 600 G/800 G backbone network transmission. By using the C&L ultra-broad bandwidth AWGs of 60-channel 100 GHz channel spacing, the total transmission speed over a single-mode fiber can reach 72Tbps/96Tbps.

Over 5 × 103-Fold Enhancement of Responsivity in Ga2O3-Based Solar Blind Photodetector via Acousto-Photoelectric Coupling.

The emergence of the wide-band-gap semiconductor Ga2O3 has propelled it to the forefront of solar blind detection activity owing to its key features. Although various architectures and designs of Ga2O3-based solar blind photodetectors have been proposed, their performance still falls short of commercial standards. In this study, we demonstrate a method to enhance the performance of a simple metal-semiconductor-metal-structured Ga2O3-based solar blind photodetector by exciting acoustic surface waves. Specifically, we demonstrate that under a bias voltage of 100 mV and a radio frequency signal of 20 dBm, the responsivity and detectivity can increase from 2.78 to 1.65 × 104 A/W and from 8.35 × 1014 to 2.66 × 1016 jones, respectively, rivaling a commercial photomultiplier tube. The over 5 × 103-fold enhancement in responsivity could be attributed to the acousto-photoelectric coupling mechanism. Furthermore, since surface acoustic waves can also serve as signal receivers, such photodetectors offer the prospect of dual-mode detection. Our findings reveal a promising pathway for achieving high-performance Ga2O3-based electronics and optoelectronics.

Epsilon-MnO2 simply prepared by redox precipitation as an efficient catalyst for ciprofloxacin degradation by activating peroxymonosulfate.

Four kinds of manganese oxides were successfully prepared by hydrothermal and redox precipitation methods, and the obtained oxides were used for CIP removal from water by activating PMS. The microstructure and surface properties of four oxides were systematically characterized. The results showed that ε-MnO2 prepared by the redox precipitation method had large surface area, low crystallinity, high surface Mn(III)/Mn(Ⅳ) ratio and the highest activation efficiency for PMS, that is, when the concentration of PMS was 0.6 g/L, 0.2 g/L ε-MnO2 could degrade 93% of CIP within 30 min. Multiple active oxygen species, such as sulfate radical, hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen, were found in CIP degradation, among which sulfate radical was the most important one. The degradation reaction mainly occurred on the surface of the catalyst, and the surface hydroxyl group played an important role in the degradation. The catalyst could be regenerated in situ through the redox reaction between Mn4+ and Mn3+. The ε-MnO2 had the advantages of simple preparation, good stability and excellent performance, which provided the potential for developing new green antibiotic removal technology.

[Differences in Fungal Communities in Different Material Cellar Sediments and Their Correlation with Environmental Factors].

There are rich and diverse fungal communities in rainfall-cellar sediments. Fungi play a key role in the rainfall-cellar ecosystem as a bridge and link for material exchange between the rainfall-cellar ecosystem and the sediments. The changes in fungal community structure are usually closely related to the changes in environmental factors. The 16S rRNA gene Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology was used to study the diversity and difference of fungal communities in the cellar sediments under two different catchment environments. The results revealed that the cellar sediments under the concrete catchment environment had higher diversity and richness of fungal communities than those under the loess land catchment environment. The dominant bacteria of the fungal communities under the two catchment environments were the same, namely Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota, which constituted more than 90% of the abundance of the bacteria; however, the former had better homogeneity and stability. The indicator species based on LEfSe analysis demonstrated that Basidiobolales had the largest contribution to the diversity in the catchment environment of the loess land, and Mycosphaerella had the smallest contribution; Saccharomycetales contributed the most to the diversity in the concrete concentration environment, whereas Periconia contributed the least. The results of the co-occurrence network of the microbial community and environmental factors demonstrated that the positive relationship between fungi and environmental factors was stronger than the negative relationship. The research results have enhanced the understanding of the diversity of fungal communities in the cellar sediments and provided a reference for ensuring the drinking safety of rainwater harvesting cellar water for humans and livestock and improving the quality of cellar water.

Strategies for enhancing performance of perovskite bismuth ferrite photocatalysts (BiFeO3): A comprehensive review.

Organic pollutants pose a significant threat to water safety, and their degradation is of paramount importance. Photocatalytic technology has emerged as a promising approach for environmental remediation, and Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) has been shown to exhibit remarkable potential for photocatalytic degradation of water pollutants, with its excellent crystal structure properties and visible light photocatalytic activity. This review presents an overview of the crystal properties and photocatalytic mechanism of perovskite bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3), as well as a summary of various strategies for enhancing its efficiency in photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. These strategies include pure phase preparation, microscopic modulation, composite modification of BiFeO3, and the integration of Fenton-like reactions and external field-assisted methods to improve its photocatalytic performance. The review emphasizes the impact of each strategy on photocatalytic enhancement. By providing comprehensive strategies for improving the efficiency of BiFeO3 photocatalysis, this review inspires new insights for efficient degradation of organic pollutants using BiFeO3 photocatalysis and contributes to the development of photocatalysis in environmental remediation.

Molecular regulation of electrolytes for enhancing anode interfacial stability in lithium-sulfur batteries.

We addressed the poor interfacial stability of the Li metal anode in Li-S batteries through molecular regulation of electrolytes using arylthiol additives with various numbers of anchoring sites. The dual functional tetrathiol additive markedly enhanced the Li anode interfacial stability, controlled the sulfur redox kinetics and suppressed side reactions towards polysulfides, thus leading to an improved capacity retention of 70% after 500 cycles at 1 C.

Chinese Giant Salamander Iridovirus 025L Is a Viral Essential Gene.

Ranavirus is a large nucleocytoplasmic DNA virus. Chinese giant salamander iridovirus (CGSIV) belongs to the ranavirus genus, and its replication involves a series of essential viral genes. Viral PCNA is a gene closely associated with viral replication. CGSIV-025L also encodes PCNA-like genes. We have described the function of CGSIV-025L in virus replication. The promoter of CGSIV-025L is activated during viral infection, and it is an early (E) gene that can be effectively transcribed after viral infection. CGSIV-025L overexpression promoted viral replication and viral DNA replication. siRNA interfered with CGSIV-025L expression and attenuated viral replication and viral DNA replication. The Δ025L-CGSIV strain with the deletion of CGSIV-025L could not replicate normally and could be rescued by the replenishment of 025L. CGSIV-025L was proven to be an essential gene for CGSIV by overexpression, interference, and deletion mutation experiments. CGSIV-025L was found to interact with CGSIV-062L by yeast two-hybrid, CoIP, and GST pulldown. Thus, the current study demonstrated that CGSIV-025L is an essential gene of CGSIV, which may be involved in viral infection by participating in viral DNA replication and interacting with replication-related proteins.

Water quality characteristics and evaluation of Qilian Mountain National Park section in Heihe River Basin based on water quality indices and 3D fluorescence technology.

The water quality of the Heihe River Basin affects the life quality and health of tens of thousands of residents along it. However, there are relatively few studies that evaluate its water quality. In this study, we used principal component analysis (PCA), an improved comprehensive water quality index (WQI), and three-dimensional (3D) fluorescence technology to identify pollutants and evaluate water quality at nine monitoring sites in the Qilian Mountain National Park in Heihe River Basin. PCA was applied to concentrate the water quality indices into nine items. The analysis shows that the water quality in the study area is mainly polluted by organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus. According to the revised WQI model, the water quality of the study area is from moderate to good, while the water quality of Qinghai section is worse than that of Gansu section. According to the 3D fluorescence spectrum analysis of the monitoring sites, the organic pollution of water comes from vegetation decay, animal feces, and some human activities. This study can not only provide support and basis for water environment protection and management in the Heihe River Basin, but also promote the healthy development of the water environment in the Qilian Mountains.

Distribution and risk assessment of microplastics in Liujiaxia Reservoir on the upper Yellow River.

Microplastics (MPSs) distribution in global freshwater systems is extensively reported, but the distribution of MPSs in reservoirs of the Yellow River has rarely been studied. To fill in this gap, we systematically investigated the distribution of MPSs in surface water and bank sediments gleaned from Liujiaxia Reservoir of the upper Yellow River for the first time and conducted an ecological risk assessment in succession in this work. The results showed that the main polymer types of MPSs in the surface water and bank sediments of Liujiaxia Reservoir were polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), and polypropylene (PP), and the abundance of MPSs in the reservoir surface water and bank sediments ranged from 4.48 to 12.09 item/L and 447.27 to 1543.80 item/kg (dry weight), respectively. Further physical morphology analysis of MPSs in the samples revealed that MPSs in the surface water and bank sediments of Liujiaxia Reservoir were predominantly fibrous with small particle sizes (<1 mm), and there was abundant color, mainly exhibiting transparent, black, and blue. The results of the MPS pollution load index (PLI>1) and the hazard ranking of MPSs (HZone = 10.20 for surface water and HZone = 14.06 for bank sediments) yielded a hazard class II for MPS pollution in Liujiaxia Reservoir, the combined pollution risk index (PRIZone = 17.05 for surface water and PRIZone = 31.25 for bank sediments) stated clearly the potential ecological risk in the Liujiaxia Reservoir. Briefly, this study supplemented and enriched the data on the distribution of MPSs in the reservoirs of the Yellow River basin, and provide a benchmark for future pollution control and management in the reservoir area.

Electrolyte engineering via ether solvent fluorination for developing stable non-aqueous lithium metal batteries.

Fluorination of ether solvents is an effective strategy to improve the electrochemical stability of non-aqueous electrolyte solutions in lithium metal batteries. However, excessive fluorination detrimentally impacts the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte, thus limiting the battery performance. Here, to maximize the electrolyte ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability, we introduce the targeted trifluoromethylation of 1,2-dimethoxyethane to produce 1,1,1-trifluoro-2,3-dimethoxypropane (TFDMP). TFDMP is used as a solvent to prepare a 2 M non-aqueous electrolyte solution comprising bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide salt. This electrolyte solution shows an ionic conductivity of 7.4 mS cm-1 at 25 °C, an oxidation stability up to 4.8 V and an efficient suppression of Al corrosion. When tested in a coin cell configuration at 25 °C using a 20 µm Li metal negative electrode, a high mass loading LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2-based positive electrode (20 mg cm-2) with a negative/positive (N/P) capacity ratio of 1, discharge capacity retentions (calculated excluding the initial formation cycles) of 81% after 200 cycles at 0.1 A g-1 and 88% after 142 cycles at 0.2 A g-1 are achieved.

Enhanced gain and detectivity of unipolar barrier solar blind avalanche photodetector via lattice and band engineering.

Ga2O3-based solar blind avalanche photodetectors exhibit low voltage operation, optical filter-free and monolithic integration of photodetector arrays, and therefore they are promising to be an alternative to the bulky and fragile photomultiplier tubes for weak signal detection in deep-ultraviolet region. Here, by deliberate lattice and band engineering, we construct an n-Barrier-n unipolar barrier avalanche photodetector consisting of ß-Ga2O3/MgO/Nb:SrTiO3 heterostructure, in which the enlarged conduction band offsets fortify the reverse breakdown and suppress the dark current while the negligible valance band offsets faciliate minority carrier flow across the heterojunction. The developed devices exhibit record-high avalanche gain up to 5.9 × 105 and detectivity of 2.33 × 1016 Jones among the reported wafer-scale grown Ga2O3-based photodetectors, which are even comparable to the commercial photomultiplier tubes. These findings provide insights into precise manipulation of band alignment in avalanche photodetectors, and also offer exciting opportunities for further developing high-performance Ga2O3-based electronics and optoelectronics.

Unrevealing Temporal Mechanoluminescence Behaviors at High Frequency via Piezoelectric Actuation.

Mechanoluminescence (ML) materials present widespread applications. Empirically, modulation for a given ML material is achieved by application of programmed mechanical actuation with different amplitude, repetition velocity and frequency. However, to date modulation on the ML is very limited within several to a few hundred hertz low-frequency actuation range, due to the paucity of high-frequency mechanical excitation apparatus. The universality of temporal behavior and frequency response is an important aspect of ML phenomena, and serves as the impetus for much of its applications. Here, we push the study on ML into high-frequency range (∼250 kHz) by combining with piezoelectric actuators. Two representative ML ZnS:Mn and ZnS:Cu, Al phosphors were chosen as the research objects. Time-resolved ML of ZnS:Mn and ZnS:Cu, Al shows unrevealed frequency-dependent saturation and quenching, which is associated with the dynamic processes of traps. From the point of applications, this study sets the cut-off frequency for ML sensing. Moreover, by in-situ tuning the strain frequency, ZnS:Mn exhibits reversible frequency-induced broad red-shift into near-infrared range. These findings offer keen insight into the photophysics nature of ML and also broaden the physical modulation of ML by locally adjusting the excitation frequency.

The removal of microplastics from water by coagulation: A comprehensive review.

Drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are the first and last hurdles for the prevention of microplastics (MPs) pollution, respectively. With coagulation as one of the most critical technologies for the removal of MPs in water treatment plants, there is an urgent need to gain an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms and influencing factors of MPs removal during coagulation. In this paper, the research progress of adopting coagulation in MPs removal in recent years is reviewed, the removal effect of coagulation in water treatment plants are compared, and the role of three coagulation mechanisms, i.e., charge neutralization, adsorption bridging, and sweep flocculation in MPs removal process are identified. The effect of coagulant performance, MPs characteristics, operation conditions and other parameters on the removal of MPs are systematically analyzed. It is found that the combined coagulation techniques have better removal efficiency, can better decrease MP pollution and meet strict discharge standards. Moreover, flaws in the application of coagulation technology are pointed out, and strategies to deal with them are also proposed. Hopefully, this review can not only contribute to a better understanding of the mechanism of MPs removal by coagulation technology, but also serve as a useful guide for future research on MPs removal.

The combination of hydroxychloroquine and 2-deoxyglucose enhances apoptosis in breast cancer cells by blocking protective autophagy and sustaining endoplasmic reticulum stress.

2-Deoxyglucose (2-DG) can be used in antitumour research by inhibiting glycolysis and promoting the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) pathway, but its clinical application is restricted due to dose-limiting side effects and survival chance for cancer cells by protective autophagy. Therefore, our research explored whether the combination of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), an FDA-approved autophagy inhibiting drug, and 2-DG is a promising therapeutic strategy. Here, we report that HCQ combined with 2-DG can further inhibit the viability and migration and induce apoptosis of breast tumour cells compared with other individual drugs. The combination of 2-DG and HCQ can significantly reduce transplanted tumour size and tumour cell metastasis of the lung and liver in vivo. At the cellular level, HCQ suppressed autolysosome formation and terminated the autophagy process induced by 2-DG-mediated ERS, resulting in the continuous accumulation of misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum, which generated sustained ERS through the PERK-eIF2α-ATF-4-CHOP axis and triggered the transformation from a survival process to cell death. Our research reinforced the research interest of metabolic disruptors in triple-negative breast cancer and emphasized the potential of the combination of 2-DG and HCQ as an anticancerous treatment.

Fluorinated ether electrolyte with controlled solvation structure for high voltage lithium metal batteries.

The development of new solvents is imperative in lithium metal batteries due to the incompatibility of conventional carbonate and narrow electrochemical windows of ether-based electrolytes. Whereas the fluorinated ethers showed improved electrochemical stabilities, they can hardly solvate lithium ions. Thus, the challenge in electrolyte chemistry is to combine the high voltage stability of fluorinated ethers with high lithium ion solvation ability of ethers in a single molecule. Herein, we report a new solvent, 2,2-dimethoxy-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,3-dioxolane (DTDL), combining a cyclic fluorinated ether with a linear ether segment to simultaneously achieve high voltage stability and tune lithium ion solvation ability and structure. High oxidation stability up to 5.5 V, large lithium ion transference number of 0.75 and stable Coulombic efficiency of 99.2% after 500 cycles proved the potential of DTDL in high-voltage lithium metal batteries. Furthermore, 20 µm thick lithium paired LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 full cell incorporating 2 M LiFSI-DTDL electrolyte retained 84% of the original capacity after 200 cycles at 0.5 C.

Integrated Ring-Chain Design of a New Fluorinated Ether Solvent for High-Voltage Lithium-Metal Batteries.

Ether-based electrolytes offer promising features such as high lithium-ion solvation power and stable interface, yet their limited oxidation stability impedes application in high-voltage Li-metal batteries (LMBs). Whereas the fluorination of the ether backbone improves the oxidative stability, the resulting solvents lose their Li+ -solvation ability. Therefore, the rational molecular design of solvents is essential to combine high redox stability with good ionic conductivity. Here, we report the synthesis of a new high-voltage fluorinated ether solvent through integrated ring-chain molecular design, which can be used as a single solvent while retaining high-voltage stability. The controlled Li+ -solvation environment even at low-salt-concentration (1 M or 2 M) enables a uniform and compact Li anode and an outstanding cycling stability in the Li|NCM811 full cell (20 µm Li foil, N/P ratio of 4). These results show the impact of molecular design of electrolytes towards the utilization of LMBs.

Control of upconversion luminescence by tailoring energy migration in doped perovskite superlattices.

We describe an experimental investigation of photon upconversion (UC) in a series of perovskite BaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices doped with different lanthanide compositions. We show that UC emission can be effectively enhanced by precisely incorporating a set of lanthanide ions into separated layers rather than homogeneously distributing the dopant ions in the host lattice. The use of an inert layer in the superlattice can suppress deleterious energy cross-relaxation. Furthermore, UC emission can be rendered by controlling the energy migration mediated by the Yb-doped sublattice. These results demonstrate the opportunity to modulate energy migration and transfer processes through the rational design of superlattice structures.

Mechanically induced enhancement and modulation of upconversion photoluminescence by bending lanthanide-doped perovskite oxides.

We report experimental studies of the bending strain impact on the upconversion processes in Yb3+, Er3+, and Mn2+ co-doped BaTiO3 (BTO) thin films with mica as the flexible substrate. Bending strain induces strong enhancement and modulation of the upconversion emission in doped BTO thin films. Because the unshielded 3d5 configuration of Mn2+ is more susceptible to crystal field changes, the introduction of an Mn2+ ion further promotes the strain-induced modulation effect. The upconversion intensity is amplified by six times at bending strain ε = 1.83% in BTO:Yb3+/Er3+/Mn2+ thin films. These results demonstrate the opportunity of rendering an upconversion emission through integrating lanthanide-doped ferroelectric films with flexible mica, especially by incorporating an Mn2+ ion.