Particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) is an enzyme that oxidizes methane to methanol with high activity and selectivity. Limited success has been achieved in incorporating biologically relevant ...ligands for the formation of such active site in a synthetic system. Here, we report the design and synthesis of metal–organic framework (MOF) catalysts inspired by pMMO for selective methane oxidation to methanol. By judicious selection of a framework with appropriate topology and chemical functionality, MOF-808 was used to postsynthetically install ligands bearing imidazole units for subsequent metalation with Cu(I) in the presence of dioxygen. The catalysts show high selectivity for methane oxidation to methanol under isothermal conditions at 150 °C. Combined spectroscopies and density functional theory calculations suggest bis(μ-oxo) dicopper species as probable active site of the catalysts.
Promotion of C–C bonds is one of the key fundamental questions in the field of CO2 electroreduction. Much progress has occurred in developing bulk-derived Cu-based electrodes for CO2-to-multicarbons ...(CO2-to-C2+), especially in the widely studied class of high-surface-area “oxide-derived” copper. However, fundamental understanding into the structural characteristics responsible for efficient C–C formation is restricted by the intrinsic activity of these catalysts often being comparable to polycrystalline copper foil. By closely probing a Cu nanoparticle (NP) ensemble catalyst active for CO2-to-C2+, we show that bias-induced rapid fusion or “electrochemical scrambling” of Cu NPs creates disordered structures intrinsically active for low overpotential C2+ formation, exhibiting around sevenfold enhancement in C2+ turnover over crystalline Cu. Integrating ex situ, passivated ex situ, and in situ analyses reveals that the scrambled state exhibits several structural signatures: a distinct transition to single-crystal Cu2O cubes upon air exposure, low crystallinity upon passivation, and high mobility under bias. These findings suggest that disordered copper structures facilitate C–C bond formation from CO2 and that electrochemical nanocrystal scrambling is an avenue toward creating such catalysts.
Atomically dispersed catalysts refer to substrate-supported heterogeneous catalysts featuring one or a few active metal atoms that are separated from one another. They represent an important class of ...materials ranging from single-atom catalysts (SACs) and nanoparticles (NPs). While SACs and NPs have been extensively reported, catalysts featuring a few atoms with well-defined structures are poorly studied. The difficulty in synthesizing such structures has been a critical challenge. Here we report a facile photochemical method that produces catalytic centers consisting of two Ir metal cations, bridged by O and stably bound to a support. Direct evidence unambiguously supporting the dinuclear nature of the catalysts anchored on α-Fe₂O₃ is obtained by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (AC-STEM). Experimental and computational results further reveal that the threefold hollow binding sites on the OH-terminated surface of α-Fe₂O₃ anchor the catalysts to provide outstanding stability against detachment or aggregation. The resulting catalysts exhibit high activities toward H₂O photooxidation.
Neutrophilic Fe-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) are often identified by their distinctive morphologies, such as the extracellular twisted ribbon-like stalks formed by Gallionella ferruginea or ...Mariprofundus ferrooxydans. Similar filaments preserved in silica are often identified as FeOB fossils in rocks. Although it is assumed that twisted iron stalks are indicative of FeOB, the stalk's metabolic role has not been established. To this end, we studied the marine FeOB M. ferrooxydans by light, X-ray and electron microscopy. Using time-lapse light microscopy, we observed cells excreting stalks during growth (averaging 2.2 μm h(-1)). Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy show that stalks are Fe(III)-rich, whereas cells are low in Fe. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that stalks are composed of several fibrils, which contain few-nanometer-sized iron oxyhydroxide crystals. Lepidocrocite crystals that nucleated on the fibril surface are much larger (∼100 nm), suggesting that mineral growth within fibrils is retarded, relative to sites surrounding fibrils. C and N 1s NEXAFS spectroscopy and fluorescence probing show that stalks primarily contain carboxyl-rich polysaccharides. On the basis of these results, we suggest a physiological model for Fe oxidation in which cells excrete oxidized Fe bound to organic polymers. These organic molecules retard mineral growth, preventing cell encrustation. This model describes an essential role for stalk formation in FeOB growth. We suggest that stalk-like morphologies observed in modern and ancient samples may be correlated confidently with the Fe-oxidizing metabolism as a robust biosignature.
The efficiency of the synthesis of renewable fuels and feedstocks from electrical sources is limited, at present, by the sluggish water oxidation reaction. Single-atom catalysts (SACs) with a ...controllable coordination environment and exceptional atom utilization efficiency open new paradigms toward designing high-performance water oxidation catalysts. Here, using operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements with calculations of spectra and electrochemical activity, we demonstrate that the origin of water oxidation activity of IrNiFe SACs is the presence of highly oxidized Ir single atom (Ir
) in the NiFe oxyhydroxide under operating conditions. We show that the optimal water oxidation catalyst could be achieved by systematically increasing the oxidation state and modulating the coordination environment of the Ir active sites anchored atop the NiFe oxyhydroxide layers. Based on the proposed mechanism, we have successfully anchored Ir single-atom sites on NiFe oxyhydroxides (Ir
/Ni
Fe SAC) via a unique in situ cryogenic-photochemical reduction method that delivers an overpotential of 183 mV at 10 mA ⋅ cm
and retains its performance following 100 h of operation in 1 M KOH electrolyte, outperforming the reported catalysts and the commercial IrO
catalysts. These findings open the avenue toward an atomic-level understanding of the oxygen evolution of catalytic centers under in operando conditions.
Ectopic calcification is a driving force for a variety of diseases, including kidney stones and atherosclerosis, but initiating factors remain largely unknown. Given its importance in seemingly ...divergent disease processes, identifying fundamental principal actors for ectopic calcification may have broad translational significance. Here we establish a Drosophila melanogaster model for ectopic calcification by inhibiting xanthine dehydrogenase whose deficiency leads to kidney stones in humans and dogs. Micro X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (μXANES) synchrotron analyses revealed high enrichment of zinc in the Drosophila equivalent of kidney stones, which was also observed in human kidney stones and Randall's plaques (early calcifications seen in human kidneys thought to be the precursor for renal stones). To further test the role of zinc in driving mineralization, we inhibited zinc transporter genes in the ZnT family and observed suppression of Drosophila stone formation. Taken together, genetic, dietary, and pharmacologic interventions to lower zinc confirm a critical role for zinc in driving the process of heterogeneous nucleation that eventually leads to stone formation. Our findings open a novel perspective on the etiology of urinary stones and related diseases, which may lead to the identification of new preventive and therapeutic approaches.
Rapidly growing interest in the nanoparticle-mediated delivery of DNA and RNA to plants requires a better understanding of how nanoparticles and their cargoes translocate in plant tissues and into ...plant cells. However, little is known about how the size and shape of nanoparticles influence transport in plants and the delivery efficiency of their cargoes, limiting the development of nanotechnology in plant systems. In this study we employed non-biolistically delivered DNA-modified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of various sizes (5-20 nm) and shapes (spheres and rods) to systematically investigate their transport following infiltration into Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Generally, smaller AuNPs demonstrated more rapid, higher and longer-lasting levels of association with plant cell walls compared with larger AuNPs. We observed internalization of rod-shaped but not spherical AuNPs into plant cells, yet, surprisingly, 10 nm spherical AuNPs functionalized with small-interfering RNA (siRNA) were the most efficient at siRNA delivery and inducing gene silencing in mature plant leaves. These results indicate the importance of nanoparticle size in efficient biomolecule delivery and, counterintuitively, demonstrate that efficient cargo delivery is possible and potentially optimal in the absence of nanoparticle cellular internalization. Overall, our results highlight nanoparticle features of importance for transport within plant tissues, providing a mechanistic overview of how nanoparticles can be designed to achieve efficacious biocargo delivery for future developments in plant nanobiotechnology.
Research to develop highly versatile, chiral, heterogeneous catalysts for asymmetric organic transformations, without quenching the catalytic reactivity, has met with limited success. While chiral ...supramolecular structures, connected by weak bonds, are highly active for homogeneous asymmetric catalysis, their application in heterogeneous catalysis is rare. In this work, asymmetric catalyst was prepared by encapsulating metallic nanoclusters in chiral self-assembled monolayer (SAM), immobilized on mesoporous SiO2 support. Using olefin cyclopropanation as an example, it was demonstrated that by controlling the SAM properties, asymmetric reactions can be catalyzed by Au clusters embedded in chiral SAM. Up to 50% enantioselectivity with high diastereoselectivity were obtained while employing Au nanoclusters coated with SAM peptides as heterogeneous catalyst for the formation of cyclopropane-containing products. Spectroscopic measurements correlated the improved enantioselectivity with the formation of a hydrogen-bonding network in the chiral SAM. These results demonstrate the synergetic effect of the catalytically active metallic sites and the surrounding chiral SAM for the formation of a mesoscale enantioselective catalyst.
A particular challenge for nanotoxicology is the evaluation of the biological fate and toxicity of nanomaterials that dissolve in aqueous fluids. Zinc oxide nanomaterials are of particular concern ...because dissolution leads to release of the toxic divalent zinc ion. Although zinc ions have been implicated in ZnO cytotoxicity, direct identification of the chemical form of zinc taken up by cells exposed to ZnO nanoparticles, and its intracellular fate, has not yet been achieved. We combined high resolution X-ray spectromicroscopy and high elemental sensitivity X-ray microprobe analyses to determine the fate of ZnO and less soluble iron-doped ZnO nanoparticles following exposure to cultures of human bronchial epithelial cells, BEAS-2B. We complemented two-dimensional X-ray imaging methods with atomic force microscopy of cell surfaces to distinguish between nanoparticles that were transported inside the cells from those that adhered to the cell exterior. The data suggest cellular uptake of ZnO nanoparticles is a mechanism of zinc accumulation in cells. Following uptake, ZnO nanoparticles dissolved completely generating intracellular Zn2+ complexed by molecular ligands. These results corroborate a model for ZnO nanoparticle toxicity that is based on nanoparticle uptake followed by intracellular dissolution.
Arsenic and barium are ubiquitous environmental toxins that accumulate in higher trophic-level organisms. Whereas metazoans have detoxifying organs to cope with toxic metals, sponges lack organs but ...harbour a symbiotic microbiome performing various functions. Here we examine the potential roles of microorganisms in arsenic and barium cycles in the sponge Theonella swinhoei, known to accumulate high levels of these metals. We show that a single sponge symbiotic bacterium, Entotheonella sp., constitutes the arsenic- and barium-accumulating entity within the host. These bacteria mineralize both arsenic and barium on intracellular vesicles. Our results indicate that Entotheonella sp. may act as a detoxifying organ for its host.
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