Reaction-Driven Dynamic and Reversible Transformations of Au Single Atoms and Au-Zr Alloys on Zirconia for Efficient Acetylene Hydrochlorination.

Catalysis involving gold supported on metal oxides has undergone extensive examination. However, the nature of the catalytic site under actual reaction conditions and the role of the support continue to be vigorously debated. This study addresses these issues through experimental investigations and theoretical simulations. We explore a novel catalytic mechanism that employs dynamic single-atom catalysis for the hydrochlorination of acetylene. This catalytic mechanism occurs in defective ZrO2-supported Au-Zr single-atom alloys. Specifically, the dynamic single-atom catalysis is a result of the mobility of the gold cation, which is accelerated by Cl radicals and strongly couples with the abundant unsaturated surface sites of ZrO2 in a synergistic manner. As a result, the Au electronic structure dynamically evolves, leading to a decrease in the addition reaction energy barrier. Notably, the Au cation can detach from the Au-Zr alloy structure to catalyze the hydrochlorination of acetylene near the Zr-Ov-Zr sites and then reintegrate back into the Au-Zr alloy structure upon completion of the reaction. This study underscores the significance of dynamic active sites under reaction conditions and their pivotal role in catalysis.

The role of strigolactone analog (GR24) in endogenous hormone metabolism and hormone-related gene expression in tobacco axillary buds.

KEY MESSAGE: Strigolactone has the potential to influence hormone metabolism, in addition to having a role in inhibiting axillary bud elongation, which could be regulated by the expression of phytohormones-related genes. The elongation of axillary buds affects the economic benefits of tobacco. In this study, it was investigated the effect of strigolactone (SL) on the elongation of tobacco axillary buds and its endogenous hormone metabolism and related gene expression by applying the artificial analog of SL, GR24, and an inhibitor of SL synthesis, TIS-108, to the axillary buds. The results showed that the elongation of axillary buds was significantly inhibited by GR24 on day 2 and day 9. Ultra-high-performance liquid-chromatography-mass spectrometry results further showed that SL significantly affected the metabolism of endogenous plant hormones, altering both their levels and the ratios between each endogenous hormone. Particularly, the levels of auxin (IAA), trans-zeatin-riboside (tZR), N6-(∆2-isopentenyl) adenine (iP), gibberellin A4 (GA4), jasmonic acid (JA), and jasmonoyl isoleucine (JA-Ile) were decreased after GR24 treatment on day 9, but the levels of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) and gibberellin A1 (GA1) were significantly increased. Further analysis of endogenous hormonal balance revealed that after the treatment with GR24 on day 9, the ratio of IAA to cytokinin (CTK) was markedly increased, but the ratios of IAA to abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), ACC, JAs, and, GAs were notably decreased. In addition, according to RNA-seq analysis, multiple differentially expressed genes were found, such as GH3.1, AUX/IAA, SUAR20, IPT, CKX1, GA2ox1, ACO3, ERF1, PR1, and HCT, which may play critical roles in the biosynthesis, deactivation, signaling pathway of phytohormones, and the biosynthesis of flavonoids to regulate the elongation of axillary buds in tobacco. This work lays the certain theoretical foundation for the application of SL in regulating the elongation of axillary buds of tobacco.

Catalytic supercritical water oxidation of o-chloroaniline over Ru/rGO: Reaction variables, conversion pathways and nitrogen distribution.

To ascertain the reaction variables on o-chloroaniline (o-ClA) mineralization, total nitrogen (TN) removal rate, and N-species distribution, o-ClA was subjected to catalytic supercritical water oxidation (CSCWO) in a fused quartz tube reactor (FQTR). The findings demonstrated that when the temperature, reaction time, and excess oxidant were 400 °C, 90 min, and 150%, respectively, the mineralization rate of o-ClA could reach more than 95%. Moreover, potential degradation pathways of o-ClA in supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) was proposed according to the GC-MS results. TN removal rate is significantly impacted by Ru/rGO, despite the fact that its catalytic effect on the mineralization of o-ClA was not particularly noteworthy. Compared with no catalyst, the TN removal rate of o-ClA obviously increased from 44.1% to 90.3% at 400 °C, 10 wt% Ru loading, 90 min and 200% excess oxidant. In addition, N-species distribution in SCWO and CSCWO were also investigated. Results indicated that the Ru/rGO catalyst could accelerate the oxidation of ammonia-N and convert it to nitrate-N, promoting N2 generation. Finally, the possible N transformation pathway in CSCWO of o-ClA was proposed. As a result, this work offers fundamental information about o-ClA catalytic oxidation removal in the SCWO process.

New insights into nitrogen control strategies in sewage sludge pyrolysis toward environmental and economic sustainability.

Sewage sludge (SS) contains a certain amount of nitrogen (N), resulting in various content of N in the pyrolysis products. Investigates on how to control the generation of NH3 and HCN (deleterious gas-N species) or convert it to N2 and maximize transforming N in sewage sludge (SS-N) into potentially valuable N-containing products (such as char-N and/or liquid-N) are of great significance for SS management. Understanding the nitrogen migration and transformation (NMT) mechanisms in SS during the pyrolysis process is essential for investigating the aforementioned issues. Therefore, in this review, the N content and species in SS are summarized, and the influencing factors during the SS pyrolysis process (such as temperature, minerals, atmosphere, and heating rate) that affect NMT in char, gas, and liquid products are analyzed. Furthermore, N control strategies in SS pyrolysis products are proposed toward environmental and economic sustainability. Finally, the state-of-the-art of current research and future prospects are summarized, with a focus on the generation of value-added liquid-N and char-N products, while concurrently reducing NOx emission.

Humic Acid Improves Greenhouse Tomato Quality and Bacterial Richness in Rhizosphere Soil.

Humic acid (HA) has attracted increasing attention as a new type of organic fertilizer in horticultural production, such as greenhouse-planted cherry tomato. However, we need more information to evaluate the effects of HA on soil rhizosphere bacteria and tomato performance under greenhouse conditions. In this study, greenhouse-planted cherry tomato was observed with HA added at dosages of 1500, 3000, 4500, and 6000 kg·ha-1, respectively. The other two organic fertilizers [farmyard manure (FM) and commercial organic fertilizer (COF)], were used as comparison with a dosage of 3000 kg·ha-1. Illumina MiSeq sequencing was conducted for bacterial diversity analysis, and tomato quality analysis based on total soluble solids, titratable acid, and sugar-acid ratio was performed for different fertilizer treatments. The results revealed that HA application resulted in the best flavor, compared to CK without the organic fertilizer used and with the other two organic fertilizers. The Chaol estimator and Shannon index showed that fertilizer addition decreased microbial diversity but increased species richness. At a dosage of 3000 kg·ha-1, the effects of different fertilizers were ranked as HA > FM > COF. Our findings offered suggestions to reasonably optimize cherry tomato organic fertilizer application.

Self-cleaning MnZn ferrite/biochar adsorbents for effective removal of tetracycline.

A renewable tri-metallic spinel decorated biochar adsorbent (MZF-BC) was fabricated by a facile hydrothermal method and to remove tetracycline. The physicochemical properties of MZF-BC were well studied. MZF-BC with a hybrid pore structure of mesopores (~7.6 nm) and macropores (~50 nm) has the maximum tetracycline adsorption capacity reaching 142.4 mg g-1. Through the study of adsorption kinetics, isotherms and key influencing factors, it was found that MZF-BC adsorption on tetracycline was primarily multi-layer effect with the initial adsorption behavior of pore filling associated with hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking. Furthermore, the MZF-BC performs excellent regeneration ability by driving Fenton-like catalysis as the self-cleaning process in the liquid phase. This study contributes to a new insight into the in-situ regeneration of biochar-based adsorbents after adsorbing organic pollutants in pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.

Cometabolic biodegradation system employed subculturing photosynthetic bacteria: A new degradation pathway of 4-chlorophenol in hypersaline wastewater.

4-chlorophenol (4-CP) as a toxic persistent pollutant is quite difficult treatment by using traditional biological processes. Herein, photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) driven cometabolic biodegradation system associated with exogeneous carbon sources (e.g., sodium acetate) has been demonstrated as an effective microbial technique. The biodegradation rate (ri) can be at 0.041 d-1 with degradation efficiency of 93% in 3094 lx. Through the study of subculturing PSB in absence of NaCl, it was found that 50% inoculation time can be saved but keeping a similar 4-CP biodegradation efficiency in scale-up salinity system. A new plausible biodegradation pathway for 4-CP in 4th G PSB cometabolic system is proposed based on the detected cyclohexanone generation followed by ring opening. It is probably ascribed to the increasement of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes at phyla level classified based on microbial community. This study contributes to a new insight into cometabolic technology for chlorophenol treatment in industrial hypersaline wastewater.

Humic Substances Derived From Biomass Waste During Aerobic Composting and Hydrothermal Treatment: A Review.

Humic substances (HSs) occupy 80% of organic matter in soil and have been widely applied for soil remediation agents, potential battery materials, and adsorbents. Since the HS extraction rate is very low by microbial degradation in nature, artificial humification processes such as aerobic composting (AC) and hydrothermal treatment (HT) have attracted a great deal of attention as the most important strategies in HS production. This article aims to provide a state-of-the-art review on the development of conversion of biomass waste into HSs based on AC and HT for the first time in terms of mechanisms, characteristics of HSs' molecular structure, and influencing factors. In addition, some differences based on the aforementioned information between AC and HT are reviewed and discussed in the conversion of biomass waste into HSs in a pioneering way. For biomass waste conversion, a feasible strategy on effective humification processes by combining AC with HT is proposed.

Molecular Simulation Study on the Density Behavior of n-Alkane/CO2 Systems.

The density and volumetric behavior of three typical n-alkanes (hexane, octane, and decane) influenced by different mole fractions of CO2 injected in them at temperatures from 303 to 363 K and pressures from 3.8 to 8.67 MPa were investigated by performing molecular dynamics simulations. It is shown that the mass density first increases and then decreases with increasing CO2 mole fraction. Correspondingly, the system volume only slightly swells at low CO2 contents while suddenly expanding when the CO2 mole fraction exceeds a value of ∼60%. The calculations of structural properties and interaction energies indicate that at low CO2 mole fractions, there are a few CO2 molecules existing in the gap of alkane molecules, resulting in poor compressibility, while at higher CO2 concentrations, the CO2 molecules begin to separate from the CO2-saturated alkane phase and form a gas phase, leading to higher compressibility. Therefore, at high CO2 mole fractions, the system density and volume can more easily be changed by temperature and pressure than that at low CO2 mole fractions. In addition, since it is harder for alkanes with longer chains to separate from each other, the volume swelling decreases and the density increases with increasing carbon number of n-alkane chains. Finally, we found that the increase in CO2 mole fraction, temperature, and the decrease in alkane chain length would promote the diffusion of both CO2 and alkane molecules. However, the influence of pressure on molecular diffusion is very limited except when P = 8.67 MPa and T = 333 K, where CO2 is in the supercritical state. This work is helpful for understanding the density and volumetric behavior of n-alkane/CO2 mixtures at a molecular level and provides useful information for guiding carbon sequestration and CO2-enhanced oil recovery.

Symbolic Transformer Accelerating Machine Learning Screening of Hydrogen and Deuterium Evolution Reaction Catalysts in MA2Z4 Materials.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been developed into various catalysts with high performance, but employing them for developing highly stable and active nonprecious hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts still encounters many challenges. To this end, the machine learning (ML) screening of HER catalysts is accelerated by using genetic programming (GP) of symbolic transformers for various typical 2D MA2Z4 materials. The values of the Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption (ΔGH*) are accurately and rapidly predicted via extreme gradient boosting regression by using only simple GP-processed elemental features, with a low predictive root-mean-square error of 0.14 eV. With the analysis of ML and density functional theory (DFT) methods, it is found that various electronic structural properties of metal atoms and the p-band center of surface atoms play a crucial role in regulating the HER performance. Based on these findings, NbSi2N4 and VSi2N4 are discovered to be active catalysts with thermodynamical and dynamical stability as ΔGH* approaches to zero (-0.041 and 0.024 eV). In addition, DFT calculations reveal that these catalysts also exhibit good deuterium evolution reaction (DER) performance. Overall, a multistep workflow is developed through ML models combined with DFT calculations for efficiently screening the potential HER and DER catalysts from 2D materials with the same crystal prototype, which is believed to have significant contribution to catalyst design and fabrication.

Ultra-Fast and Scalable Saline Immersion Strategy Enabling Uniform Zn Nucleation and Deposition for High-Performance Zn-Ion Batteries.

Although aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) with low cost and high safety show great potential in large-scale energy storage system, metallic Zn anode still suffers from unsatisfactory cycle stability due to unregulated growth of Zn dendrites, corrosion, and formation of various side products during electrochemical reaction. Here, an ultrafast and simple method to achieve a stable Zn anode is developed. By simply immersing a Zn plate into an aqueous solution of CuSO4 for only 10-60 s, a uniform and robust protective layer (Zn4 SO4 (OH)6 ·5H2 O/Cu2 O) is formed on commercial Zn plate (Zn/ZCO), which enables uniform electric field distribution and controllable dendrite growth, leading to a long-term cycle life of over 1400 h and high average Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.2% at 2.0 mA cm-2 and 2.0 mAh cm-2 . These excellent characteristics of the prepared Zn anode show great potential in practical applications for high-performance aqueous Zn-ion batteries.

Effect of Biochar on the Degradation Dynamics of Chlorantraniliprole and Acetochlor in Brassica chinensis L. and Soil under Field Conditions.

Although biochar is a promising soil enhancement material, we have limited understanding of its effect on certain pesticide in soils and plants under field conditions. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of walnut shell biochar (WSB), which is rich in benzylic ring C and lignin charcoal, on the degradation dynamics of chlorantraniliprole (CAP) and acetochlor in Brassica chinensis L. fields. The functional group structure, aromatic ring structure, and crystallite size of the WSB were determined by thermogravimetric analysis and derivative thermogravimetry analysis (TGA-DTG), NMR, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction, respectively. With WSB applications of 5% (v/v) in root soil, B. chinensis L. growth was facilitated. Degradation dynamic analysis showed that the half-life of CAP on B. chinensis L. and in soil did not change greatly. For acetochlor, the half-life in soil was 6.93 days with WSB application and 9.90 days without WSB application. The WSB application increased bioconcentration factor values more significantly for acetochlor than for CAP. These results show that WSB has a greater impact on acetochlor than on CAP when used for pesticide degradation in the field.

Co-metabolic biodegradation of 4-chlorophenol by photosynthetic bacteria.

ABSTRACTEnvironmental contamination by 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) is a major concern. Photosynthetic bacteria have the ability to biodegrade 4-CP under dark aerobic conditions. In this study, we found that using different carbon sources (i.e. glucose, sodium acetate, sodium propionate sucrose, and malic acid) as co-metabolic substrates accelerated the biodegradation of 4-CP, and this acceleration was especially pronounced in the glucose treatment. A maximum degradation rate of 96.99% was reached under a concentration of 3.0 g·L-1 after 6 days of culture. The optimum conditions were pH 7.5, a temperature of 30°C, and a rotation speed of 135 rpm. The biodegradation of 4-CP was achieved at a range of salinities (0-3.0% NaCl, w/v). The biodegradation kinetics agreed with the Haldane model, and the kinetic constants were rmax = 0.14 d-1, Km = 33.9 mg·L-1, and Ki = 159.6 mg·L-1. Additionally, the coexistence of phenol or 2,4-dichlorophenol (2, 4-DCP) had a certain impact on the degradation of 4-CP under dark aerobic conditions. When the coexisting phenol concentration reached 100 mg·L-1, the maximum degradation rate of 4-CP reached 90.20%. The degradation rate of 4-CP decreased as the concentration of coexisting 2, 4-DCP increased.

Synergistic effect of two action sites on a nitrogen-doped carbon catalyst towards acetylene hydrochlorination.

Whether the reaction pathway is steady or dynamic over the whole life cycle of a catalyst process can facilitate our understanding of its catalytic behavior. Herein, the dynamic reaction pathways of nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts are investigated in acetylene hydrochlorination. When triggered, the reaction follows the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism with pyrrolic N and pyridinic N as dual active sites. However, pyridinic N is deactivated first, due to the strong adsorption of hydrogen chloride, causing the reaction to further run with pyrrolic N as the single active site and follow the Eley-Rideal mechanism. This work provides a new promising way to study the catalytic behavior of nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts.

Constructing and controlling ruthenium active phases for acetylene hydrochlorination.

Ru-Based catalysts with distinct active phases from Ru0, to RuO2, RuCl3 and RuCl2N were synthesized and evaluated in acetylene hydrochlorination. RuCl2N is identified as the efficient active phase due to its co-activation of acetylene and hydrogen chloride. This discovery holds great potential to accelerate the large-scale application of Ru-based catalysts in industry.

Effects of Vitrinite in Low-Rank Coal on the Structure and Combustion Reactivity of Pyrolysis Chars.

Pyrolysis is a highly promising technology for the efficient utilization of low-rank coal. The structure of coal plays an important role in its utilization. In this paper, the evolution of the char structure during heat treatment (200-800 °C) of Naomaohu coal and its different vitrinite-rich fractions was studied. The functional group structure, aromatic ring structure, and crystallite size of chars were determined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicated that minerals inhibit the condensation reaction of aromatic rings during pyrolysis. The high vitrinite content in coal is conducive to the formation of larger char crystallite average sizes (L a). The relationship between L a (1.69-3.10 nm) and the Raman band area ratio A (GR+VL+VR)/A D or A D/A all was established. In addition, the combustion performance and kinetics of chars were also investigated. The results showed that the char from high contents of the liptinite fraction has lower combustion reactivity, and demineralization treatment has significantly reduced the combustion reactivity of char.

Raman spectroscopic technique towards understanding the degradation of phenol by sodium persulfate in hot compressed water.

Degradation of phenol by sodium persulfate (SPS) in hot compressed water (HCW) was investigated in a lab-built fused quartz tube reactor (FQTR) coupled with Raman spectroscopy system. The species of S2O82-, SO42-, HSO4-, SO32- and HSO3- in the reaction system were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. The hydrothermal stability of phenol and SPS at different temperature and the degradation of phenol by SPS were also studied. The results indicated that phenol was not stable in aqueous solution above 200 °C, and that only SO42- was generated in the hydrolysis of SPS at temperatures below 50 °C, and SO42- and HSO4- were generated at higher temperatures. The maximum conversion rate (90.93%) and mineralization efficiency (38.88%) of phenol by SPS was obtained at reaction temperature of 300 °C with 180 min reaction time. During the degradation of phenol by SPS, HSO4- was the main product and S∗ (not detected by Raman spectroscopy) exhibits a positive correlation with temperature. In addition, a degradation pathway of phenol by SPS was proposed. The degradation data for the kinetic analysis indicated that the reaction followed pseudo first-order kinetics, and the reaction rate constants (ks) were given as k50 °C = 0.0083 min-1, k100°C = 0.0197 min-1, k200 °C = 0.0498 min-1, k300 °C = 0.0619 min-1 and k400°C = 0.0505 min-1 at 30 min reaction. Moreover, the activation energy (12.580 kJ mol-1), the enthalpy change (9.064 kJ mol-1) and the entropy change (-222.104 J mol-1) of the reaction were also calculated.

Boron-doped carbon nanodots dispersed on graphitic carbon as high-performance catalysts for acetylene hydrochlorination.

Boron-doped carbon nanodot materials, comprising evenly distributed BC3-nanodots in a layered carbon matrix, are prepared through a pre-assembly assisted carbonization synthetic strategy. The prepared materials are endowed with high electron affinity and distortion resistance, which provides a stable framework while generating affinity to substrates.

Improved three-dimensional reconstruction algorithm from a multifocus microscopic image sequence based on a nonsubsampled wavelet transform.

In the multifocus microscopic image measurement method, the distortion of the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction model has always been an important factor affecting the measurement result. In spatial domains, the focus measure algorithm is based on the gradient change of the pixel point to determine the degree of focus of the pixel. So it will be difficult to accurately extract the focus of the pixel in the areas where color difference is not obvious, resulting in 3D model distortion. According to the optical principle, the high-frequency coefficients of the clear image are larger than the high-frequency coefficients of the blurred image. Based on this characteristic, this paper proposes a new multifocus microscopic image 3D reconstruction algorithm using a nonsubsampled wavelet transform (NSWT). The NSWT does not consider the downsampling in wavelet decomposition and has translational invariance. Therefore, the wavelet transform value of each pixel can be calculated in the image, so the high-frequency coefficient of each pixel can be obtained; then the convolution calculation is performed on the high-frequency coefficients of the pixel points in the fixed window as the focus measure value of the pixel point. Compared with the traditional algorithm, the algorithm proposed in this paper can show better unimodal and antinoise performance on the focusing measure curve. In this paper, the reconstruction of the experimental object is Alicona standard block triangular and semicylindrical. The proposed algorithm and the traditional algorithm for comprehensive measure use the root mean square error, peak signal to noise ratio, and correlation coefficient as the measure index. The experimental results and comparative analysis prove the correctness of the proposed algorithm and enable more accurate reconstruction of 3D models based on multifocus microscopic images.

Biodegradation of aniline in an alkaline environment by a novel strain of the halophilic bacterium, Dietzia natronolimnaea JQ-AN.

Dietzia natronolimnaea JQ-AN was isolated from industrial wastewater containing aniline. Under aerobic conditions, the JQ-AN strain degraded 87% of the aniline in a 300 mg L(-1) aniline solution after 120 h of shake flask incubation in a medium containing sodium acetate. This strain had an unusually high salinity tolerance in minimal medium (0-6% NaCl, w/v). The optimal pH for microbial growth and aniline biodegradation was pH 8.0. Two liters of simulated aniline wastewater was created in a reactor at pH 8.0 and 3% NaCl (w/v), and biodegradation of aniline was tested over 7 days at 30 °C. For the initial concentrations of 100, 300, and 500 mg L(-1), 100%, 80.5% and 72% of the aniline was degraded, respectively. Strain JQ-AN may use an ortho-cleavage pathway for dissimilation of the catechol intermediate.