Strong Interactions between Au Nanoparticles and BiVO4 Photoanode Boosts Hole Extraction for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting.

Strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) is widely proposed as a key factor in tuning catalytic performances. Herein, the classical SMSI between Au nanoparticles (NPs) and BiVO4 (BVO) supports (Au/BVO-SMSI) is discovered and used innovatively for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Owing to the SMSI, the electrons transfer from V4+ to Au NPs, leading to the formation of electron-rich Au species (Auδ-) and strong electronic interaction (i.e., Auδ--Ov-V4+), which readily contributes to extract photogenerated holes and promote charge separation. Benefitted from the SMSI effect, the as-prepared Au/BVO-SMSI photoanode exhibits a superior photocurrent density of 6.25 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode after the deposition of FeOOH/NiOOH cocatalysts. This work provides a pioneering view for extending SMSI effect to bimetal oxide supports for PEC water splitting, and guides the interfacial electronic and geometric structure modulation of photoanodes consisting of metal NPs and reducible oxides for improved solar energy conversion efficiency.

Research progress on intestinal microbiota regulating cognitive function through the gut-brain axis.

The intestinal microbiota community is a fundamental component of the human body and plays a significant regulatory role in maintaining overall health and in the management disease states.The intestinal microbiota-gut-brain axis represents a vital connection in the cognitive regulation of the central nervous system by the intestinal microbiota.The impact of intestinal microbiota on cognitive function is hypothesized to manifest through both the nervous system and circulatory system. Imbalances in intestinal microbiota during the perioperative period could potentially contribute to perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction. This article concentrates on a review of existing literature to explore the potential influence of intestinal microbiota on brain and cognitive functions via the nervous and circulatory systems.Additionally, it summarizes recent findings on the impact of perioperative intestinal dysbacteriosis on perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction and suggests novel approaches for prevention and treatment of this condition.

Carbon Nanotubes Enabled Laser 3D Printing of High-Performance Titanium with Highly Concentrated Reinforcement.

Zero- to two-dimensional nanomaterials have been incorporated into metal-matrices to improve the strength of metals, but challengingly, high-volume-fraction nanomaterials are difficult to disperse uniformly in metal matrices, severely degrading the ductility of conventionally processed metals. Here, a considerably dense uniform dispersion of in situ formed nanoscale lamellar TiC reinforcement (16.1 wt %) in Ti matrix is achieved through laser-tailored 3D printing and complete reaction of Ti powder with a small amount (1.0 wt %) of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). An enhanced tensile strength of 912 MPa and an outstanding fracture elongation of 16% are simultaneously achieved for laser-printed components, showing a maximum 350% improvement in "product of strength and elongation" compared with conventional Ti. In situ nanoscale TiC reinforcement favors the formation of ultrafine equiaxed Ti grains and metallurgically coherent interface with minimal lattice misfit between TiC lamellae and Ti matrix. Our approach hopefully provides a feasible way to broaden structural applications of CNTs in load-bearing Ti-based engineering components via laser-tailored reorganization with Ti.

Effective purification of lysozyme from chicken egg white by tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane affinity nanofiber membrane.

Polyacrylonitrile nanofiber membrane functionalized with tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (P-Tris) was used in affinity membrane chromatography for lysozyme adsorption. The effects of pH and protein concentration on lysozyme adsorption were investigated. Based on Langmuir model, the adsorption capacity of P-Tris nanofiber membrane was estimated to be 345.83 mg/g. For the operation of dynamic membrane chromatography with three-layer P-Tris nanofiber membranes, the optimal operating conditions were at pH 9, 1.0 mL/min of feed flow rate, and 2 mg/mL of feed concentration. Chicken egg white (CEW) was applied as the crude feedstock of lysozyme in the optimized dynamic membrane chromatography. The percent recovery and purification factor of lysozyme obtained from the chromatography were 93.28% and 103.98 folds, respectively. Our findings demonstrated the effectiveness of P-Tris affinity nanofiber membrane for the recovery of lysozyme from complex CEW solution.

Optimization of bio-inspired bi-directionally corrugated panel impact-resistance structures: Numerical simulation and selective laser melting process.

The telson (tail plate) of Stomatopoda (mantis shrimp) shows excellent impact resistance properties, and its special structure is an ideal prototype to mimic. In this paper, a series of bi-directionally corrugated panel (DCP) structures inspired by the telson of mantis shrimp was designed. The crush simulation of DCP structures with different structural parameters, namely wavelength (λ) and amplitude (A), was carried out using ANSYS LS-DYNA. In order to verify the simulation results, AlSi10Mg components with DCP structures were fabricated by selective laser melting and the out-of-plane compression tests were conducted to investigate the compression performance. The numerical simulation results indicated that the influence of wavelength of DCP structure on the energy absorption (EA) and specific energy absorption (SEA) capability was greater than that of the amplitude, and the DCP structure with A = 8 mm and λ = 6 mm possessed the best impact resistance performance. The SLM-processed AlSi10Mg components with DCP structures showed high surface quality and good forming accuracy, and the relation between experimental compression behavior and the DCP structure parameter was in good agreement with the numerical results.

Development a polymer-based electronic pulse diagnosis instrument for measuring and analyzing pulse wave velocity.

A novel pulse-diagnosis system was proposed in this study for measuring pulse wave velocities. In contrast with most conventional mechanical, rigid-type pulse diagnosis instruments such as pressure transducers and microactuators, a conductive elastic polymer was adopted as the sensor material. The soft and formability properties of such material enabled fabricating a flexible pulse diagnosis instrument. In addition, the flexible design was integrated with a contemporary, wrist-type pulse-wave acquisition system to ensure stable measurements. Closely related to the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, pulse wave velocity was analyzed in applications to verify the feasibility of this system. Regarding signal processing, the cun, guan, and chi pulse signals obtained through the data acquisition device were sent to the LabVIEW platform for reconstructing the pulse waveforms. Finally, the results of 20 measured samples were compared and analyzed to evaluate the level of system performance.

Plasma nitriding induced growth of Pt-nanowire arrays as high performance electrocatalysts for fuel cells.

In this work, we demonstrate an innovative approach, combing a novel active screen plasma (ASP) technique with green chemical synthesis, for a direct fabrication of uniform Pt nanowire arrays on large-area supports. The ASP treatment enables in-situ N-doping and surface modification to the support surface, significantly promoting the uniform growth of tiny Pt nuclei which directs the growth of ultrathin single-crystal Pt nanowire (2.5-3 nm in diameter) arrays, forming a three-dimensional (3D) nano-architecture. Pt nanowire arrays in-situ grown on the large-area gas diffusion layer (GDL) (5 cm(2)) can be directly used as the catalyst electrode in fuel cells. The unique design brings in an extremely thin electrocatalyst layer, facilitating the charge transfer and mass transfer properties, leading to over two times higher power density than the conventional Pt nanoparticle catalyst electrode in real fuel cell environment. Due to the similar challenges faced with other nanostructures and the high availability of ASP for other material surfaces, this work will provide valuable insights and guidance towards the development of other new nano-architectures for various practical applications.