While the precise design of catalysts is one of ultimate goals in catalysis, practical strategies often fall short, especially for complicated photocatalytic processes. Here, taking the hydrogen ...evolution reaction (HER) as an example, we introduce a theoretical approach for designing robust metal cocatalysts supported on TiO
using density functional theory calculations adopting on-site Coulomb correction and/or hybrid functionals. The approach starts with clarifying the individual function of each metal layer of metal/TiO
composites in photocatalytic HER, covering both the electron transfer and surface catalysis aspects, followed by conducting a function-oriented optimization via exploring competent candidates. With this approach, we successfully determine and verify bimetallic Pt/Rh/TiO
and Pt/Cu/TiO
catalysts to be robust substitutes for conventional Pt/TiO
. The right metal type as well as the proper stacking sequence are demonstrated to be key to boosting performance. Moreover, we tentatively identify the tunneling barrier height as an effective descriptor for the important electron transfer process in photocatalysis on metal/oxide catalysts. We believe that this study pushes forward the frontier of photocatalyst design towards higher water splitting efficiency.
Abstract
5-Methylfurfural (MF) is a very useful chemical. Selective hydrogenation of biomass platform molecule 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) to MF using H
2
as the reducing agent is very ...attractive, but challenging because hydrogenation of C=O bond in HMF is more favourable than C–OH both kinetically and thermodynamically, and this route has not been realized. In this work, we prepare isolated single atomic catalysts (SACs) Pt
1
/Nb
2
O
5
-Ov, Pd
1
/Nb
2
O
5
-Ov, and Au
1
/Nb
2
O
5
-Ov, in which single metal atoms are supported on oxygen defective Nb
2
O
5
(Nb
2
O
5
-Ov). It is discovered that the SACs can efficiently catalyze the hydrogenation of HMF to MF using H
2
as the reducing agent with MF selectivity of >99% at complete conversion, while the selectivities of the metal nanocatalysts supported on Nb
2
O
5
are very poor. A combination of experimental and density function theory (DFT) studies show that the unique features of the SACs for the reaction result from the cooperation of the Nb and Pt sites near the interface in the Pt
1
/Nb
2
O
5
-Ov. The Pt atoms are responsible for the activation of H
2
and the Nb sites activate C-OH in the reaction. This work opens the way for producing MF by direct hydrogenation of biomass-derived HMF using H
2
as the reductant.
We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) in Han Chinese, with 1,434 affected individuals (cases) and 4,270 controls in the discovery phase and follow-up of the ...top 61 SNPs in an additional 2,703 cases and 3,464 controls. We identified associations at 17p13 (rs3803800, P = 9.40 × 10(-11), OR = 1.21; rs4227, P = 4.31 × 10(-10), OR = 1.23) and 8p23 (rs2738048, P = 3.18 × 10(-14), OR = 0.79) that implicated the genes encoding tumor necrosis factor (TNFSF13) and α-defensin (DEFA) as susceptibility genes. In addition, we found multiple associations in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region (rs660895, P = 4.13 × 10(-20), OR = 1.34; rs1794275, P = 3.43 × 10(-13), OR = 1.30; rs2523946, P = 1.74 × 10(-11), OR = 1.21) and confirmed a previously reported association at 22q12 (rs12537, P = 1.17 × 10(-11), OR = 0.78). We also found that rs660895 was associated with clinical subtypes of IgAN (P = 0.003), proteinuria (P = 0.025) and IgA levels (P = 0.047). Our findings show that IgAN is associated with variants near genes involved in innate immunity and inflammation.
We explored whether medical health workers had more psychosocial problems than nonmedical health workers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
An online survey was run from February 19 to March 6, 2020; a ...total of 2,182 Chinese subjects participated. Mental health variables were assessed via the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Symptom Check List-revised (SCL-90-R), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), which included a 2-item anxiety scale and a 2-item depression scale (PHQ-2).
Compared with nonmedical health workers (n = 1,255), medical health workers (n = 927) had a higher prevalence of insomnia (38.4 vs. 30.5%, p < 0.01), anxiety (13.0 vs. 8.5%, p < 0.01), depression (12.2 vs. 9.5%; p< 0.04), somatization (1.6 vs. 0.4%; p < 0.01), and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (5.3 vs. 2.2%; p < 0.01). They also had higher total scores of ISI, GAD-2, PHQ-2, and SCL-90-R obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p ≤ 0.01). Among medical health workers, having organic disease was an independent factor for insomnia, anxiety, depression, somatization, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p < 0.05 or 0.01). Living in rural areas, being female, and being at risk of contact with COVID-19 patients were the most common risk factors for insomnia, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and depression (p < 0.01 or 0.05). Among nonmedical health workers, having organic disease was a risk factor for insomnia, depression, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p < 0.01 or 0.05).
During the COVID-19 outbreak, medical health workers had psychosocial problems and risk factors for developing them. They were in need of attention and recovery programs.
Great efforts have been made to convert renewable biomass into transportation fuels. Herein, we report the novel properties of NbOx‐based catalysts in the hydrodeoxygenation of furan‐derived adducts ...to liquid alkanes. Excellent activity and stability were observed with almost no decrease in octane yield (>90 % throughout) in a 256 h time‐on‐stream test. Experimental and theoretical studies showed that NbOx species play the key role in CO bond cleavage. As a multifunctional catalyst, Pd/NbOPO4 plays three roles in the conversion of aldol adducts into alkanes: 1) The noble metal (in this case Pd) is the active center for hydrogenation; 2) NbOx species help to cleave the CO bond, especially of the tetrahydrofuran ring; and 3) a niobium‐based solid acid catalyzes the dehydration, thus enabling the quantitative conversion of furan‐derived adducts into alkanes under mild conditions.
Fueling fuel production: Biomass conversion into liquid fuel depends on the design of multifunctional catalysts. In the direct conversion of furan‐based aldol adducts into liquid alkanes over a Pd/NbOPO4 catalyst under mild conditions (see scheme), NbOx species played an important role in CO bond cleavage.
Poly(1,2‐dithiolane)s are a family of intrinsically recyclable polymers due to their dynamic covalent disulfide linkages. Despite the common use of thiolate‐initiated anionic ring‐opening ...polymerization (ROP) under basic condition, cationic ROP is still not exploited. Here we report that disulfide bond can act as a proton acceptor, being protonated by acids to form sulfonium cations, which can efficiently initiate the ROP of 1,2‐dithiolanes and result in high‐molecular‐weight (over 1000 kDa) poly(disulfide)s. The reaction can be triggered by adding catalytic amounts of acids and non‐coordinating anion salts, and completed in few minutes at room temperature. The acidic conditions allow the applicability for acidic monomers. Importantly, the reaction condition can be under open air without inert protection, enabling the nearly quantitative chemical recycling from bulk materials to original monomers.
Acid can catalyze the reversible polymerization of cyclic disulfides, enabling a robust methodology that produces long poly(disulfide)s within a few minutes under open‐air condition. High‐yield chemical recycling from materials to monomers is achieved at gram scale, showing the capability of intrinsic dynamic polymers toward sustainable materials.
Abstract
The development of precious-metal-free catalysts to promote the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals from biomass remains an important and challenging target. Here, we report the ...efficient hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-dimethylfuran over a unique core-shell structured catalyst, Co@CoO that affords the highest productivity among all catalysts, including noble-metal-based catalysts, reported to date. Surprisingly, we find that the catalytically active sites reside on the shell of CoO with oxygen vacancies rather than the metallic Co. The combination of various spectroscopic experiments and computational modelling reveals that the CoO shell incorporating oxygen vacancies not only drives the heterolytic cleavage, but also the homolytic cleavage of H
2
to yield more active H
δ−
species, resulting in the exceptional catalytic activity. Co@CoO also exhibits excellent activity toward the direct hydrodeoxygenation of lignin model compounds. This study unlocks, for the first time, the potential of simple metal-oxide-based catalysts for the hydrodeoxygenation of renewable biomass to chemical feedstocks.
Tumor suppressor SMARCA4 (BRG1), a key SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling gene, is frequently inactivated in cancers and is not directly druggable. We recently uncovered that SMARCA4 loss in an ovarian ...cancer subtype causes cyclin D1 deficiency leading to susceptibility to CDK4/6 inhibition. Here, we show that this vulnerability is conserved in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), where SMARCA4 loss also results in reduced cyclin D1 expression and selective sensitivity to CDK4/6 inhibitors. In addition, SMARCA2, another SWI/SNF subunit lost in a subset of NSCLCs, also regulates cyclin D1 and drug response when SMARCA4 is absent. Mechanistically, SMARCA4/2 loss reduces cyclin D1 expression by a combination of restricting CCND1 chromatin accessibility and suppressing c-Jun, a transcription activator of CCND1. Furthermore, SMARCA4 loss is synthetic lethal with CDK4/6 inhibition both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that FDA-approved CDK4/6 inhibitors could be effective to treat this significant subgroup of NSCLCs.
Abstract
The integrated CO
2
capture and conversion (iCCC) technology has been booming as a promising cost-effective approach for Carbon Neutrality. However, the lack of the long-sought molecular ...consensus about the synergistic effect between the adsorption and in-situ catalytic reaction hinders its development. Herein, we illustrate the synergistic promotions between CO
2
capture and in-situ conversion through constructing the consecutive high-temperature Calcium-looping and dry reforming of methane processes. With systematic experimental measurements and density functional theory calculations, we reveal that the pathways of the reduction of carbonate and the dehydrogenation of CH
4
can be interactively facilitated by the participation of the intermediates produced in each process on the supported Ni–CaO composite catalyst. Specifically, the adsorptive/catalytic interface, which is controlled by balancing the loading density and size of Ni nanoparticles on porous CaO, plays an essential role in the ultra-high CO
2
and CH
4
conversions of 96.5% and 96.0% at 650 °C, respectively.
The recombination of electron–hole pairs severely detracts from the efficiency of photocatalysts. This issue could be addressed in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) through optimization of the ...charge-transfer kinetics via rational design of structures at atomic level. Herein, a pyrazolyl porphyrinic Ni-MOF (PCN-601), integrating light harvesters, active catalytic sites, and high surface areas, has been demonstrated as a superior and durable photocatalyst for visible-light-driven overall CO2 reduction with H2O vapor at room temperature. Kinetic studies reveal that the robust coordination spheres of pyrazolyl groups and Ni-oxo clusters endow PCN-601 with proper energy band alignment and ultrafast ligand-to-node electron transfer. Consequently, the CO2-to-CH4 production rate of PCN-601 far exceeds those of the analogous MOFs based on carboxylate porphyrin and the classic Pt/CdS photocatalyst by more than 3- and 20-fold, respectively. The reaction avoids the use of hole scavengers and proceeds in a gaseous phase which can take full advantage of the high gas uptake of MOFs. This work demonstrates that the rational design of coordination spheres in MOF structures not only reconciles the contradiction between reactivity and stability but also greatly promotes the interfacial charge transfer to achieve optimized kinetics, providing guidance for the design of highly efficient MOF photocatalysts.