A flexible Li–S battery based on an integrated structure of sulfur and graphene on a separator is developed. The internal graphene current collector offers a continuous conductive pathway, a modified ...interface with sulfur, and a good barrier to and an effective reservoir for dissolved polysulfides, consequently improving the capacity and cyclic life of the Li–S battery.
Pioneering efforts well studied the deformation decomposition of single earthquake using a pair of ascending (ASC) and descending (DES) track interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data. ...However, deformation decomposition of sequent events is rarely discussed and hard to implement. That's because it's hard to ensure deformations related to each earthquake can be recorded by a pair of ASC and DES track data. Three sequent earthquakes (Mw>5.5) just hit Central Greece in March 2021, and this earthquake sequence provides us with a perfect case to study 2-D (east-west and up-down) deformation decomposition when the mentioned premise cannot be satisfied. In this context, we proposed a Multi-track and Multi-temporal 2-D (MTMT2-D) method. Its novelty and behind rationale are to decompose 2-D deformations of each event through fusing multitrack and multitemporal interferograms. Based on the decomposed deformations, we invert the slip distribution of three earthquakes respectively. We found that the decomposed deformations can better constrain the fault geometry than the single InSAR interferogram. Furthermore, our geodetic inversion results also suggest a domino-like triggering rupture process for this earthquake sequence. It indicates that our MTMT2-D method can potentially reveal more details about earthquake sequence.
Electrolyte engineering via fluorinated additives is promising to improve cycling stability and safety of high‐energy Li‐metal batteries. Here, an electrolyte is reported in a porous lithium fluoride ...(LiF) strategy to enable efficient carbonate electrolyte engineering for stable and safe Li‐metal batteries. Unlike traditionally engineered electrolytes, the prepared electrolyte in the porous LiF nanobox exhibits nonflammability and high electrochemical performance owing to strong interactions between the electrolyte solvent molecules and numerous exposed active LiF (111) crystal planes. Via cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth analysis, it is revealed that the electrolyte in active porous LiF nanobox involves the formation of a high‐fluorine‐content (>30%) solid electrolyte interphase layer, which enables very stable Li‐metal anode cycling over one thousand cycles under high current density (4 mA cm−2). More importantly, employing the porous LiF nanobox engineered electrolyte, a Li || LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 pouch cell is achieved with a specific energy of 380 Wh kg−1 for stable cycling over 80 cycles, representing the excellent performance of the Li‐metal pouch cell using practical carbonate electrolyte. This study provides a new electrolyte engineering strategy for stable and safe Li‐metal batteries.
Electrolyte engineering via fluorinated additives is promising to improve the cycling stability and safety of high‐energy Li‐metal batteries. The electrolyte in an active porous LiF nanobox involves the formation of a high‐fluorine‐content (>30%) solid electrolyte interphase layer to achieve a ≈3.5 Ah Li || LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 pouch cell with a specific energy of 380 Wh kg−1 under a practical carbonate electrolyte.
Developing cost‐efficient multifunctional electrocatalysts is highly critical for the integrated electrochemical energy‐conversion systems such as water electrolysis based on hydrogen/oxygen ...evolution reactions (HER/OER) and metal‐air batteries based on OER/oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). The core–shell structured materials with transition metal phosphide as the core and nitrogen‐doped carbon (NC) as the shell have been known as promising HER electrocatalysts. However, their oxygen‐related electrocatalytic activities still remain unsatisfactory, which severely limits their further applications. Herein an effective strategy to improve the core and shell performances of core–shell Co2P@NC electrocatalysts through secondary metal (e.g., Fe, Ni, Mo, Al, Mn) doping (termed M‐Co2P@M‐N‐C) is reported. The as‐synthesized M‐Co2P@M‐N‐C electrocatalysts show multifunctional HER/OER/ORR activities and good integrated capabilities for overall water splitting and Zn‐air batteries. Among the M‐Co2P@M‐N‐C catalysts, Fe‐Co2P@Fe‐N‐C electrocatalyst exhibits the best catalytic activities, which is closely related to the configuration of highly active species (Fe‐doping Co2P core and Fe‐N‐C shell) and their subtle synergy, and a stable carbon shell for outstanding durability. Combination of electrochemical‐based in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with extensive experimental investigation provides deep insights into the origin of the activity and the underlying electrocatalytic mechanisms at the molecular level.
By incorporating various secondary metals (e.g., Fe, Ni, Mo, Mn, and Al) into core–shell Co2P@NC system, the trifunctional catalytic activities of core and shell of Co2P@NC toward HER/OER/ORR is enhanced simultaneously, leading to an advanced catalytic system (Fe‐Co2P@Fe‐N‐C) with high catalytic efficiency and remarkable stability for efficient water electrolysis and rechargeable liquid/all‐solid‐state Zn‐air batteries.
Alginate oligosaccharides produced by enzymatic degradation show versatile physiological functions and biological activities. In this study, a new alginate lyase encoding gene
from
sp. S02 was ...recombinantly expressed at a high level in
, with the highest extracellular activity in the supernatant reaching 36.8 ± 2.1 U/mL. AlyS02 was classified in the polysaccharide lyase (PL) family 7. The optimal reaction temperature and pH of this enzyme were 30 °C and 7.6, respectively, indicating that AlyS02 is a cold-adapted enzyme. Interestingly, AlyS02 contained more than 90% enzyme activity at 25 °C, higher than other cold-adapted enzymes. Moreover, AlyS02 is a bifunctional alginate lyase that degrades both polyG and polyM, producing di- and trisaccharides from alginate. These findings suggest that AlyS02 would be a potent tool for the industrial applications.
Quinoline and quinazoline alkaloids, two important classes of N‐based heterocyclic compounds, have attracted tremendous attention from researchers worldwide since the 19th century. Over the past 200 ...years, many compounds from these two classes were isolated from natural sources, and most of them and their modified analogs possess significant bioactivities. Quinine and camptothecin are two of the most famous and important quinoline alkaloids, and their discoveries opened new areas in antimalarial and anticancer drug development, respectively. In this review, we survey the literature on bioactive alkaloids from these two classes and highlight research achievements prior to the year 2008 (Part I). Over 200 molecules with a broad range of bioactivities, including antitumor, antimalarial, antibacterial and antifungal, antiparasitic and insecticidal, antiviral, antiplatelet, anti‐inflammatory, herbicidal, antioxidant and other activities, were reviewed. This survey should provide new clues or possibilities for the discovery of new and better drugs from the original naturally occurring quinoline and quinazoline alkaloids.
Modern morphological and structural studies are coming to a new level by incorporating the latest methods of three-dimensional electron microscopy (3D-EM). One of the key problems for the wide usage ...of these methods is posed by difficulties with sample preparation, since the methods work poorly with heterogeneous (consisting of tissues different in structure and in chemical composition) samples and require expensive equipment and usually much time. We have developed a simple protocol allows preparing heterogeneous biological samples suitable for 3D-EM in a laboratory that has a standard supply of equipment and reagents for electron microscopy. This protocol, combined with focused ion-beam scanning electron microscopy, makes it possible to study 3D ultrastructure of complex biological samples, e.g., whole insect heads, over their entire volume at the cellular and subcellular levels. The protocol provides new opportunities for many areas of study, including connectomics.
Lipid droplets (LDs) are neutral lipid storage organelles that transfer lipids to various organelles including peroxisomes. Here, we show that the hereditary spastic paraplegia protein M1 Spastin, a ...membrane-bound AAA ATPase found on LDs, coordinates fatty acid (FA) trafficking from LDs to peroxisomes through two interrelated mechanisms. First, M1 Spastin forms a tethering complex with peroxisomal ABCD1 to promote LD-peroxisome contact formation. Second, M1 Spastin recruits the membrane-shaping ESCRT-III proteins IST1 and CHMP1B to LDs via its MIT domain to facilitate LD-to-peroxisome FA trafficking, possibly through IST1- and CHMP1B-dependent modifications in LD membrane morphology. Furthermore, LD-to-peroxisome FA trafficking mediated by M1 Spastin is required to relieve LDs of lipid peroxidation. M1 Spastin's dual roles in tethering LDs to peroxisomes and in recruiting ESCRT-III components to LD-peroxisome contact sites for FA trafficking may underlie the pathogenesis of diseases associated with defective FA metabolism in LDs and peroxisomes.
•Conduct 3D profile and fatigue test to investigate the effects of corrosion pits on fatigue life.•Analyze pitting characterizations and establish a qualitative relationship with fatigue ...life.•Propose a nondestructive method based on 3D profile and AFGROW to predict fatigue life.
The effects of corrosion pits on the fatigue life of pre-corroded Q235 steel plates were investigated. 3D profile measurements were conducted to obtain the distribution and morphology characterization of corrosion pits. Three types of pits were observed and categorized for thoroughly understanding their effects on fatigue behavior. Results indicate that corrosion pits reduce the fatigue life significantly, particularly the sharp pits and the interacting pits. A nondestructive methodology based on 3D profile data for fatigue life prediction has been presented. This method (a) provides a finite element method (FEM) to determine the dimensions of critical pits, (b) considers pit-to-crack transition and (c) considers the effect of multiple critical pits. The predictions are shown to compare well against experimental results.
The development of photocatalysts with high catalytic activity and high stability is one of the effective ways to alleviate the energy shortage. A simple hydrothermal method was used to deposit a ...two-dimensional (2D) non-precious-metal cocatalyst Ni12P5 on the surface of three-dimensional (3D) CdIn2S4 in situ. A 2D/3D Ni12P5/CdIn2S4 heterostructure with close contact was obtained in this work. Its hydrogen production activity can reach 5.01 mmol/g/h, which was about 18 times higher than that of pure CdIn2S4. The apparent quantum yield of 3% Ni12P5/CdIn2S4 at 400 nm was 23.5%. In addition, the band structures of Ni12P5 and CdIn2S4 were calculated according to the experimental data of UV–visible diffuse reflection, Mott–Schottky analysis, and XPS valence band spectrum characterization. With the help of XPS testing, the transfer direction of photogenerated electrons and holes in the composite catalyst was predicted, and then the possible photocatalytic mechanism was speculated.
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