Defect-Induced Atomic Arrangement in CoFe Bimetallic Heterostructures with Boosted Oxygen Evolution Activity.

Three CoFe-bimetallic oxides with different compositions (termed as CoFeOx -A/N/H) are prepared by thermally treating metal-organic-framework (MOF) precursors under different atmospheres (air, N2, and NaBH4 /N2 ), respectively. With the aid of vast oxygen vacancies (Ov ), cobalt at tetrahedral sites (Co2+ (Th)) in spinel Co3 O4 is diffused into interstitial octahedral sites (Oh) to form rocksalt CoO and ternary oxide CoFe2 O4 has been induced to give the unique defective CoO/CoFe2 O4 heterostructure. The resultant CoFeOx -H exhibits superb electrocatalytic activity toward water oxidation: overpotential at 10 mA cm-2 is 192 mV, which is 122 mV smaller than that of CoFeOx -A. The smaller Tafel slope (42.53 mV dec-1 ) and higher turnover frequency (785.5 h-1 ) suggest fast reaction kinetics. X-ray absorption spectroscopy, ex situ characterizations, and theoretical calculations reveal that defect engineering effectively tunes the electronic configuration to a more active state, resulting in the greatly decreased binding energy of oxo intermediates, and consequently much lower catalytic overpotential. Moreover, the construction of hetero-interface in CoFeOx -H can provide rich active sites and promote efficient electron transfer. This work may shed light on a comprehensive understanding of the modulation of electron configuration of bimetallic oxides and inspire the smart design of high-performance electrocatalysts.

Non-Apoptotic Programmed Cell Death as Targets for Diabetic Retinal Neurodegeneration.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains the leading cause of blindness among the global working-age population. Emerging evidence underscores the significance of diabetic retinal neurodegeneration (DRN) as a pivotal biomarker in the progression of vasculopathy. Inflammation, oxidative stress, neural cell death, and the reduction in neurotrophic factors are the key determinants in the pathophysiology of DRN. Non-apoptotic programmed cell death (PCD) plays a crucial role in regulating stress response, inflammation, and disease management. Therapeutic modalities targeting PCD have shown promising potential for mitigating DRN. In this review, we highlight recent advances in identifying the role of various PCD types in DRN, with specific emphasis on necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, parthanatos, and the more recently characterized PANoptosis. In addition, the therapeutic agents aimed at the regulation of PCD for addressing DRN are discussed.

Dispersed Cu2O octahedrons on h-BN nanosheets for p-nitrophenol reduction.

We demonstrate here that two-dimensional boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets can be employed as a robust supporting substrate to incorporate function metal oxides. The Cu2O@h-BN composites are thus obtained by dispersing Cu2O octahedrons on the surfaces of h-BN nanosheets. The -OH and -NH groups on the surfaces of h-BN nanosheets are found to be beneficial for anchoring Cu2O octahedrons. Moreover, the Cu2O@h-BN composites exhibit superior activity for the reduction of p-nitrophenol to pure Cu2O crystals and h-BN nanosheets. The h-BN component in the composites plays a critical role in the formation and adsorbing of the p-nitrophenolate ions, and, at the same time, Cu2O components react with brohydride ions and transfer a surface hydrogen species and electrons, resulting in the reduction of p-nitrophenol into p-aminophenol. Our results provide a new approach for the rational design and development of metal oxides composites and open the way to a range of important applications of h-BN-based materials.