Enormous efforts have been devoted to the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) by utilizing various driving forces, such as heat, electricity, and radiation. However, the efficient reduction of CO2 is ...still challenging because of sluggish kinetics. Recent pioneering studies from several groups, including us, have demonstrated that the coupling of solar energy and thermal energy offers a novel and promising strategy to promote the activity and/or manipulate selectivity in CO2 reduction. Herein, we clarify the definition and principles of coupling solar energy and thermal energy, and comprehensively review the status and prospects of CO2 reduction by coupling solar energy and thermal energy. Catalyst design, reactor configuration, photo‐mediated activity/selectivity, and mechanism studies in photo‐thermo CO2 reduction will be emphasized. The aim of this Review is to promote understanding towards CO2 activation and provide guidelines for the design of new catalysts for the efficient reduction of CO2.
A bundle of energy: The coupling of solar energy and thermal energy is a promising strategy to mediate the activity and/or selectivity of CO2 reduction. The status and prospects of this topic are reviewed, with the aim of providing guidelines for the design of new catalysts.
This technical note presents a second-order multi-agent network for distributed optimization with a sum of convex objective functions subject to bound constraints. In the multi-agent network, the ...agents connect each others locally as an undirected graph and know only their own objectives and constraints. The multi-agent network is proved to be able to reach consensus to the optimal solution under mild assumptions. Moreover, the consensus of the multi-agent network is converted to the convergence of a dynamical system, which is proved using the Lyapunov method. Compared with existing multi-agent networks for optimization, the second-order multi-agent network herein is capable of solving more general constrained distributed optimization problems. Simulation results on two numerical examples are presented to substantiate the performance and characteristics of the multi-agent network.
Microplastics, emerging contaminants in the ocean, are thought to sink and accumulate in sediments, and thus may pose a potential ecological risk to benthic communities. In this study, abundances and ...characteristics of microplastics in sediments and benthic organisms from the South Yellow Sea were investigated. First, we optimized the sediment sampling for microplastic analysis and found that the top layer (0–5 cm) had the highest abundance, and microplastic abundances decreased significantly with increase in sediment depth. The abundance of microplastics was 560–4205 n/kg dry weight in the surface sediments (the topmost 3 cm) of 14 sites and 1.7–47.0 n/g wet weight in the tissues of benthic organisms. Moreover, microplastic abundances in sediments and benthic organisms were both positively correlated with water depth. Fibers, transparent microplastics, and small microplastics (<0.5 mm) were the most dominant types in sediments and organisms. FTIR analysis showed that polypropylene (PP, 31%), polyester (PE, 24%), nylon (19%), and polystyrene (PS, 15%) were the most abundant polymers in sediments. The results of SEM showed rough surfaces and obvious cracks on the microplastics isolated from sediments. In addition, characteristics of microplastics in Ophiura sarsii, Crangon affinis, and Acila mirabilis were compared. Our results demonstrate that a comprehensive investigation of microplastics in sediments and benthic communities will help to fully understand the ecological risk of microplastic pollution.
Display omitted
•Microplastics in sediments and benthic organisms in South Yellow Sea were analyzed.•Microplastic abundances decreased significantly with increase in sediment depth.•Microplastic abundance was 560–4205 n/kg in sediment and 1.7–47.0 n/g in organisms.•Fibers, transparent and small microplastics (<0.5 mm) were the most dominant types.•Microplastic abundances were positively correlated with water depth.
Oxygen‐redox of layer‐structured metal‐oxide cathodes has drawn great attention as an effective approach to break through the bottleneck of their capacity limit. However, reversible oxygen‐redox can ...only be obtained in the high‐voltage region (usually over 3.5 V) in current metal‐oxide cathodes. Here, we realize reversible oxygen‐redox in a wide voltage range of 1.5–4.5 V in a P2‐layered Na0.7Mg0.2Fe0.2Mn0.6□0.2O2 cathode material, where intrinsic vacancies are located in transition‐metal (TM) sites and Mg‐ions are located in Na sites. Mg‐ions in the Na layer serve as “pillars” to stabilize the layered structure during electrochemical cycling, especially in the high‐voltage region. Intrinsic vacancies in the TM layer create the local configurations of “□–O–□”, “Na–O–□” and “Mg–O–□” to trigger oxygen‐redox in the whole voltage range of charge–discharge. Time‐resolved techniques demonstrate that the P2 phase is well maintained in a wide potential window range of 1.5–4.5 V even at 10 C. It is revealed that charge compensation from Mn‐ and O‐ions contributes to the whole voltage range of 1.5–4.5 V, while the redox of Fe‐ions only contributes to the high‐voltage region of 3.0–4.5 V. The orphaned electrons in the nonbonding 2p orbitals of O that point toward TM‐vacancy sites are responsible for reversible oxygen‐redox, and Mg‐ions in Na sites suppress oxygen release effectively.
Na0.7Mg0.2Fe0.2Mn0.6□0.2O2 with native transitional metal (TM) vacancies is designed as a novel cathode material for sodium‐ion batteries. The TM vacancies lead to nonbonding O 2p orbitals in this material, pointing toward these vacancies triggering reversible whole‐voltage‐range oxygen redox during charge and discharge processes. This work provides new ideals for design of cathode materials in anionic redox chemistry.
The intrinsic zinc dendrite growth aggravated by the uneven electric field at the Zn anode surface and the water‐induced parasitic reactions have largely impeded rechargeable aqueous zinc‐ion ...batteries for the practical applications in large‐scale energy storage. Here, an effective strategy is proposed to manipulate Zn deposition and simultaneously prevent the generation of insulating by‐products (Zn4SO4(OH)6·xH2O) for improved plating/stripping on Zn anodes by the addition of a nontoxic electrolyte additive, β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD). The simulation results indicate that β‐CD molecules prefer to adsorb horizontally on Zn (002) plane, regulating the diffusion pathways and deposition sites of Zn2+ for the preferred Zn deposition along (002) plane without dendrite formation and inhibiting the H2 generation and the formation of Zn4SO4(OH)6·xH2O by facilitating desolvation of Zn(H2O)62+. Consequently, an ultra‐long stable cycling up to 1700 h at a high current density of 4 mA cm−2 can be achieved by the addition of β‐CD, 17 times that of the pure ZnSO4 electrolyte and the remarkable stability is also maintained under harsh test condition (40 mA cm−2, 20 mAh cm−2). This study highlights the important role of β‐CD in engineering the interfacial stability during Zn plating/stripping for high‐performing aqueous batteries.
β‐Cyclodextrin (β‐CD) additive with a special cavity structure is developed to regulate the deposition orientation of zinc ions and inhibit the parasitic reaction at the same time, resulting in highly reversible and stable Zn anode. Herein, the Zn//Zn cells with β‐CD display remarkable stability at different current densities ranging from 4 to 40 mA cm−2, much better than that in pure ZnSO4 electrolyte. This study demonstrates the remarkable effect of β‐CD on stabilizing the Zn anodes and provides insight into the design of versatile electrolytes for aqueous ion batteries.
Microplastic pollution has become an emergency issue in the global environment. However, little is known about the occurrence and distribution of microplastics in agroecological system. In this ...study, we investigated the pollution of microplastics in vegetable farmlands in suburb of Wuhan, central China. Results showed that the abundance of microplastics ranged from 320 to 12,560 items/kgdw. Microplastic pollution adjacent to the suburban roads was about 1.8 times as serious as that in the residential areas. Microplastics with size less than 0.2 mm were dominated, reaching 70% in total. The main types of microplastics were fibers and microbeads. Moreover, polyamide (32.5%) and polypropylene (28.8%) were the main types of polymer. This study proclaims the occurrence and characteristics of microplastic pollution in typical farmland soils of suburb land. It may provide significant basis for subsequent research about microplastics contaminant in the terrestrial ecosystem.
Display omitted
•Microplastics were widespread in vegetable farmlands in suburb of Wuhan, central China.•The abundance of microplastics adjacent to the suburban roads was higher than that in residential areas.•Small-sized, fibrous and microspheric were the main contamination characteristics of microplastics.•Polyamide and polypropylene were the dominated polymer-types.
Microplastic pollution in agricultural soils from central China.
We demonstrated the metabolic benefits of Parabacteroides distasonis (PD) on decreasing weight gain, hyperglycemia, and hepatic steatosis in ob/ob and high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Treatment with ...live P. distasonis (LPD) dramatically altered the bile acid profile with elevated lithocholic acid (LCA) and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and increased the level of succinate in the gut. In vitro cultivation of PD demonstrated its capacity to transform bile acids and production of succinate. Succinate supplementation in the diet decreased hyperglycemia in ob/ob mice via the activation of intestinal gluconeogenesis (IGN). Gavage with a mixture of LCA and UDCA reduced hyperlipidemia by activating the FXR pathway and repairing gut barrier integrity. Co-treatment with succinate and LCA/UDCA mirrored the benefits of LPD. The binding target of succinate was identified as fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, the rate-limiting enzyme in IGN. The succinate and secondary bile acids produced by P. distasonis played key roles in the modulation of host metabolism.
Display omitted
•Parabacteroides distasonis alleviates obesity and obesity-related dysfunctions in mice.•P. distasonis generates succinate and secondary bile acids in the gut.•P. distasonis activates intestinal gluconeogenesis (IGN) and FXR pathways in the gut.•Succinate is a ligand of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, the rate-limiting enzyme in IGN.
Wang et al. report the metabolic benefits of gut commensal Parabacteroides distasonis via secondary bile acid-activated FXR signaling and succinate-activated intestinal gluconeogenesis (IGN). Succinate binds fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, the rate-limiting enzyme in IGN.
Thellungiella salsuginea, a close relative of Arabidopsis , represents an extremophile model for abiotic stress tolerance studies. We present the draft sequence of the T. salsuginea genome, assembled ...based on ∼134-fold coverage to seven chromosomes with a coding capacity of at least 28,457 genes. This genome provides resources and evidence about the nature of defense mechanisms constituting the genetic basis underlying plant abiotic stress tolerance. Comparative genomics and experimental analyses identified genes related to cation transport, abscisic acid signaling, and wax production prominent in T. salsuginea as possible contributors to its success in stressful environments.
Microplastic pollution in global aquatic environments has aroused increasing concern in recent years. In this study, the occurrence of microplastics in multiple environmental compartments was ...investigated in Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake of China. The abundance of microplastics was respectively 5–34 items/L for surface waters, 54–506 items/kg for sediments, and 0–18 items per individual for wild crucians (Carassius auratus). The distribution of microplastics in Poyang Lake varied heterogeneously in space, with the highest abundance being observed in the middle region of the lake for surface waters and in the northern region for sediments. Anthropogenic and topographic factors were speculated to be the major factors affecting the abundance and distribution of microplastics. The majority of the detected microplastics were found with a size of < 0.5 mm, with fibrous and coloured being the predominant characteristics. Polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) were the major polymer types of the selected plastic particles, indicating that domestic sewage and fishing activities might be the main sources of microplastics in the lake. No significant correlation was observed between microplastic abundance in surface water and sediment samples. Our results demonstrated the wide occurrence of microplastics in water, sediment and biota of the Poyang Lake, which may assist in extending our knowledge regarding microplastics pollution in inland freshwater systems.
Display omitted
•High abundances of microplastics were detected in the largest freshwater lake of China.•Domestic sewage and fishing activities might be the main sources of microplastics in the lake.•Anthropogenic and topographic factors affected microplastic distributions.•PP and PE were the main polymer types.
PDF
