It is highly attractive but challenging to develop earth‐abundant electrocatalysts for energy‐saving electrolytic hydrogen generation. Herein, we report that Ni2P nanoarrays grown in situ on nickel ...foam (Ni2P/NF) behave as a durable high‐performance non‐noble‐metal electrocatalyst for hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) in alkaline media. The replacement of the sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction with such the more thermodynamically favorable HzOR enables energy‐saving electrochemical hydrogen production with the use of Ni2P/NF as a bifunctional catalyst for anodic HzOR and cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction. When operated at room temperature, this two‐electrode electrolytic system drives 500 mA cm−2 at a cell voltage as low as 1.0 V with strong long‐term electrochemical durability and 100 % Faradaic efficiency for hydrogen evolution in 1.0 m KOH aqueous solution with 0.5 m hydrazine.
A Ni2P nanoarray grown on nickel foam (Ni2P/NF) behaves as a bifunctional catalyst for anodic hydrazine oxidation and cathodic hydrogen evolution in alkaline hydrazine solution. This two‐electrode electrolytic system drives 500 mA cm−2 at a cell voltage as low as 1.0 V with strong long‐term electrochemical durability and 100 % Faradaic efficiency for hydrogen evolution.
The topotactic conversion of cobalt phosphide nanoarray on Ti mesh into a cobalt phosphate nanoarray (Co‐Pi NA) via oxidative polarization in phosphate‐buffered water is presented. As a 3D oxygen ...evolution reaction (OER) catalyst electrode at neutral pH, the resulting Co‐Pi NA/Ti shows exceptionally high catalytic activity and demands an overpotential of only 450 mV to drive a geometrical catalytic current density of 10 mA cm−2. Notably, this catalyst also shows superior long‐term electrochemical stability. The excellent catalytic activity can be attributed to that such 3D nanoarray configuration allows for the exposure of more active sites and the easier diffusion of electrolytes and oxygen.
Oxidative polarization of a cobalt phosphide (CoP) nanoarray in phosphate‐buffered water causes its topotactic conversion into a cobalt phosphate nanoarray (Co‐Pi NA). As a durable 3D catalytic electrode for water oxidation, Co‐Pi NA/Ti exhibits high activity, with a geometrical catalytic current densities of 10 mA cm−2 at an overpotential of 450 mV in 0.1 m PBS.
The development of efficient bifunctional catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of extreme importance for future renewable energy systems. This ...Communication reports the recent finding that room‐temperature treatment of CoO nanowire array on Ti mesh by NaBH4 in alkaline media leads to in situ development of CoB nanoparticles on nanowire surface. The resulting self‐supported CoB@CoO nanoarray behaves as a 3D bifunctional electrocatalyst with high activity and durability for both HER (<17% current density degradation after 20 h electrolysis) and OER (<14% current density degradation after 20 h electrolysis) with the need of the overpotentials of 102 and 290 mV to drive 50 mA cm−2 in 1.0 m KOH, respectively. Moreover, its two‐electrode alkaline water electrolyzer also shows remarkably high durability and only demands a cell voltage of 1.67 V to deliver 50 mA cm−2 water‐splitting current with a current density retention of 81% after 20 h electrolysis. This work provides a promising methodology for the designing and fabricating of metal‐boride based nanoarray as a high‐active water‐splitting catalyst electrode for applications.
Room‐temperature treatment of CoO nanowire array on Ti mesh by NaBH4 in alkaline media leads to in situ surface development of CoB nanoparticles. Such CoB@CoO core–shell nanoarray is stable and efficient for water splitting with the need of 1.67 V to deliver 50 mA cm−2 in 1.0 m KOH.
Development of efficient noble metal-free bifunctional electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is an ongoing challenge. Herein, we report the ...development of nickel promoted cobalt disulfide nanowire array supported on carbon cloth (Ni2.3%-CoS2/CC) as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting with superior activity and good durability in basic media. This Ni2.3%-CoS2/CC electrode delivers 100mAcm−2 at overpotential of 231mV for HER and 100mAcm−2 at overpotential of 370mV for OER. The water electrolyzer based on Ni2.3%–CoS2/CC only requires a cell voltage of 1.66V to afford 10mAcm−2, implying the great potential for water splitting applications.
•Ni promoted CoS2 nanowire array acts as a bifunctional water-splitting catalyst.•Ni2.3%-CoS2/CC exhibits high catalytic activity in basic media.•Ni2.3%-CoS2/CC maintains strong electrochemical durability in basic media.
Heterostructures composed of two‐dimensional black phosphorus (2D BP) with unique physical/chemical properties are of great interest. Herein, we report a simple solvothermal method to synthesize ...in‐plane BP/Co2P heterostructures for electrocatalysis. By using the reactive edge defects of the BP nanosheets as the initial sites, Co2P nanocrystals are selectively grown on the BP edges to form the in‐plane BP/Co2P heterostructures. Owing to disposition on the original defects of BP, Co2P improves the conductivity and offers more active electrocatalytic sites, so that the BP/Co2P nanosheets exhibit better and more stable electrocatalytic activities in the hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions. Our work not only extends the application of BP to electrochemistry, but also provides a new idea to improve the performance of BP by utilization of defects. Furthermore, this strategy can be extended to produce other BP heterostructures to expand the corresponding applications.
In‐plane black phosphorus (BP)/Co2P heterostructures were synthesized using the reactive edge defects of the BP nanosheets as the initial sites. Co2P selectively grown on the BP edges improves the conductivity and offers more active electrocatalytic sites. The BP/Co2P nanosheets exhibit a better and more stable electrocatalytic activity in hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions.
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•Rosavin could ameliorate Bulmonary fibrosis progression in bleomycin(BLM) in mice.•The expression levels of Nrf2, NF-κB p65, TGF-β1 and α-SMA were inhibited.•The mechanisms relies on ...the inflammatory response and antioxidative capacity.
Idiopathic Pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is diagnosed as a life-threatening, progressive and incurable lung disease characterized by accumulation of extracellular matrix and myofibroblasts, resulting in the function degradation and structural alterations in normal lung parenchyma. Notably, Pulmonary Fibrosis has been considering as a difficult problem in clinical with high mortality and effective treatment strategies. Rosavin, a benzylPropylene glycoside, is isolated from Rhodiola rosea L., exhibiting nootropic, anti-depressant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities. In this study, we attended to elucidate the pharmacological activity of Rosavin for treatment of pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin in mice. The results indicated that Rosavin could significantly ameliorate the lung index and Pathological structure of mice with Pulmonary fibrosis by bleomycin-induced. Additionally, Rosavin could evidently decreased inflammatory cells infiltration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and pro-inflammatory cytokines expression in lung tissue specimens induced by bleomycin. Rosavin could down-regulate the expression of hydroxyproline and malondialdehyde and increased the activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase in lung tissue. The expression of Nrf2 were increased, and the expression of NF-κB p65, TGF-β1 and α-SMA were inhibited. The findings revealed the protective effects and the primary mechanism of rosavin on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, which provided a scientific foundation for Rosavin as a promising candidate for Pulmonary fibrosis treatment.
► Nano-TiO2-supported activated carbon (TiO2/AC) was developed and applied to enhance microwave (MW) degradation of azo dye in aqueous solution. ► The supported-TiO2/AC displayed higher catalytic ...activity than AC alone under MW irradiation. ► The effects of supported-TiO2 content, MW irradiation time, C0, catalyst dose and pH on the degradation extent were assessed. ► The supported TiO2 on AC can be excited to help generate hydroxyl radical in aqueous solution under MW irradiation.
In this study, nano-TiO2-supported activated carbon (TiO2/AC) was developed for the microwave (MW) degradation of an azo dye, methyl orange (MO), selected as a model contaminant in aqueous solution. The effects of selected process parameters such as supported TiO2 content, MW irradiation time, initial MO concentration, catalyst dose, and solution pH on the degradation were assessed in detail. The results showed that the supported TiO2 on AC could be excited resulting in the production of hydroxyl radical (OH) in aqueous solution under MW irradiation, which significantly enhanced the performance of AC/MW process for the degradation of MO. Also, the supported-TiO2/AC displayed higher catalytic activity than AC alone under MW irradiation. By comparison, the supported-TiO2/AC/MW process exhibited several advantages, including high degradation rate, short irradiation time, no residual intermediates and no secondary pollution. Hence, it shows to be a promising technology for the destruction of organic contaminants in dye treatment applications.
Plant architecture associated with increased grain yield and adaptation to the local environments is selected during wheat (Triticum aestivum) breeding. The internode length of individual stems and ...tiller length of individual plants are important for the determination of plant architecture. However, few studies have explored the genetic basis of these traits.
Here, we conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to dissect the genetic basis of geographical differentiation of these traits in 306 worldwide wheat accessions including both landraces and traditional varieties. We determine the changes of haplotypes for the associated genomic regions in frequency in 831 wheat accessions that are either introduced from other countries or developed in China from last two decades. We identify 83 loci that are associated with one trait, while the remaining 247 loci are pleiotropic. We also find 163 associated loci are under strong selective sweep. GWAS results demonstrate independent regulation of internode length of individual stems and consistent regulation of tiller length of individual plants. This makes it possible to obtain ideal haplotype combinations of the length of four internodes. We also find that the geographical distribution of the haplotypes explains the observed differences in internode length among the worldwide wheat accessions.
This study provides insights into the genetic basis of plant architecture. It will facilitate gene functional analysis and molecular design of plant architecture for breeding.
Abstract
Background
Large-scale genotype–phenotype association studies of crop germplasm are important for identifying alleles associated with favorable traits. The limited number of ...single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in most wheat genome-wide association studies (GWASs) restricts their power to detect marker-trait associations. Additionally, only a few genes regulating grain number per spikelet have been reported due to sensitivity of this trait to variable environments.
Results
We perform a large-scale GWAS using approximately 40 million filtered SNPs for 27 spike morphology traits. We detect 132,086 significant marker-trait associations and the associated SNP markers are located within 590 associated peaks. We detect additional and stronger peaks by dividing spike morphology into sub-traits relative to GWAS results of spike morphology traits. We propose that the genetic dissection of spike morphology is a powerful strategy to detect signals for grain yield traits in wheat. The GWAS results reveal that
TaSPL17
positively controls grain size and number by regulating spikelet and floret meristem development, which in turn leads to enhanced grain yield per plant. The haplotypes at
TaSPL17
indicate geographical differentiation, domestication effects, and breeding selection.
Conclusion
Our study provides valuable resources for genetic improvement of spike morphology and a fast-forward genetic solution for candidate gene detection and cloning in wheat.
The Crested Ibis (
) has long fascinated ornithologists with its enigmatic plumage color change. After more than a century of curiosity, the mystery was finally unraveled in the 1970s, unveiling the ...mechanism behind this remarkable transformation. Unlike other bird species, the Crested Ibis achieves its nuptial plumage coloration through a unique daubing behavior. After a water-bathing, it applies a sticky black substance secreted by a patch of skin in the neck and throat region. However, the chemical components of this black substance have not been studied in detail until now. To address this issue, we conducted a study to detect the components of the black substance and explore the relationship between sex hormone levels and the secretion of the black substance. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure the monthly changes in steroid hormone levels (estradiol E2, testosterone T, and progesterone PROG) levels in feces. We also analyzed the correlation between sex hormone levels and daubing behavior. The results showed that the sex hormone levels are closely related to the secretion and application of the black substance. In addition, we qualitatively analyzed the chemical components of the black substance using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), uncovering the presence of 117 distinct chemical components. We assume that the black coloration results from the polymerization of selected chemical constituents among these components. These findings provide a groundwork for further exploration into the biological significance of the black substance. Overall, our study detected components in the black substance and studied how sex hormone levels relate to its secretion. Understanding the hormone effects on coloration helps in precise habitat management, like wetland preservation, crucial for Crested Ibis survival. Implementing hormone-boosting measures during breeding seasons enhances reproduction and health, vital for their conservation.
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