Poly(N‐phenylglycine)‐Based Nanoparticles as Highly Effective and Targeted Near‐Infrared Photothermal Therapy/Photodynamic Therapeutic Agents for Malignant Melanoma

Malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive tumor resistant to chemotherapy. Therefore, the development of new highly effective therapeutic agents for the treatment of malignant melanoma is highly desirable. In this study, a new class of polymeric photothermal agents based on poly(N‐phenylglycine) (PNPG) suitable for use in near‐infrared (NIR) phototherapy of malignant melanoma is designed and developed. PNPG is obtained via polymerization of N‐phenylglycine (NPG). Carboxylate functionality of NPG allows building multifunctional systems using covalent bonding. This approach avoids complicated issues typically associated with preparation of polymeric photothermal agents. Moreover, PNPG skeleton exhibits pH‐responsive NIR absorption and an ability to generate reactive oxygen species, which makes its derivatives attractive photothermal therapy (PTT)/photodynamic therapy (PDT) dual‐modal agents with pH‐responsive features. PNPG is modified using hyaluronic acid (HA) and polyethylene glycol diamine (PEG‐diamine) acting as the coupling agent. The resultant HA‐modified PNPG (PNPG‐PEG‐HA) shows negligible cytotoxicity and effectively targets CD44‐overexpressing cancer cells. Furthermore, the results of in vitro and in vivo experiments reveal that PNPG‐PEG‐HA selectively kills B16 cells and suppresses malignant melanoma tumor growth upon exposure to NIR light (808 nm), indicating that PNPG‐PEG‐HA can serve as a very promising nanoplatform for targeted dual‐modality PTT/PDT of melanoma.     

High Rate,Long Lifespan LiV3O8 Nanorods as a Cathode Material for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

LiV₃O₈ nanorods with controlled size are successfully synthesized using a nonionic triblock surfactant Pluronic‐F127 as the structure directing agent. X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy techniques are used to characterize the samples. It is observed that the nanorods with a length of 4–8 µm and diameter of 0.5–1.0 µm distribute uniformly. The resultant LiV₃O₈ nanorods show much better performance as cathode materials in lithium‐ion batteries than normal LiV₃O₈ nanoparticles, which is associated with the their unique micro–nano‐like structure that can not only facilitate fast lithium ion transport, but also withstand erosion from electrolytes. The high discharge capacity (292.0 mAh g^?1 at 100 mA g^?1), high rate capability (138.4 mAh g^?1 at 6.4 A g^?1), and long lifespan (capacity retention of 80.5% after 500 cycles) suggest the potential use of LiV₃O₈ nanorods as alternative cathode materials for high‐power and long‐life lithium ion batteries. In particular, the synthetic strategy may open new routes toward the facile fabrication of nanostructured vanadium‐based compounds for energy storage applications.     

Precisely Aligned Monolayer MoS2 Epitaxially Grown on h‐BN basal Plane

Control of the precise lattice alignment of monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) on hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN) is important for both fundamental and applied studies of this heterostructure but remains elusive. The growth of precisely aligned MoS₂ domains on the basal plane of h‐BN by a low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition technique is reported. Only relative rotation angles of 0° or 60° between MoS₂ and h‐BN basal plane are present. Domains with same orientation stitch and form single‐crystal, domains with different orientations stitch and from mirror grain boundaries. In this way, the grain boundary is minimized and a continuous film stitched by these two types of domains with only mirror grain boundaries is obtained. This growth strategy is also applicable to other 2D materials growth.     

The Electrochemical Response of Single Crystalline Copper Nanowires to Atmospheric Air and Aqueous Solution

In this paper, single crystalline copper nanowires (CuNWs) have been electrochemically grown through anodic aluminum oxide template. The environmental stability of the as‐obtained CuNWs in both 40% relative humidity (RH) atmosphere and 0.1 m NaOH aqueous solution has been subsequently studied. In 40% RH atmosphere, a uniform compact Cu₂O layer is formed as a function of exposure time following the logarithmic law and epitaxially covers the CuNW surfaces. It is also found that the oxide layers on CuNWs are sequentially grown when subjected to the cyclic voltammetry measurement in 0.1 m NaOH solution. An epitaxially homogeneous Cu₂O layer is initially formed over the surface of the CuNW substrates by solid‐state reaction (SSR). Subsequently, the conversion of Cu₂O into epitaxial CuO based on the SSR takes place with the increase of applied potential. This CuO layer is partially dissolved in the solution forming Cu(OH)₂, which then redeposited on the CuNW surfaces (i.e., dissolution‐redeposition (DR) process) giving rise to a mixed polycrystalline CuO/Cu(OH)₂ layer. The further increase of applied potential allows the complete oxidation of Cu₂O into CuO to form a dual‐layer structure (i.e., CuO inner layer and Cu(OH)₂ outer layer) with random orientations through an enhanced DR process.     

A Novel and Facile Route to Synthesize Atomic‐Layered MoS2 Film for Large‐Area Electronics

High‐quality and large‐area molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) thin film is highly desirable for applications in large‐area electronics. However, there remains a challenge in attaining MoS₂ film of reasonable crystallinity due to the absence of appropriate choice and control of precursors, as well as choice of suitable growth substrates. Herein, a novel and facile route is reported for synthesizing few‐layered MoS₂ film with new precursors via chemical vapor deposition. Prior to growth, an aqueous solution of sodium molybdate as the molybdenum precursor is spun onto the growth substrate and dimethyl disulfide as the liquid sulfur precursor is supplied with a bubbling system during growth. To supplement the limiting effect of Mo (sodium molybdate), a supplementary Mo is supplied by dissolving molybdenum hexacarbonyl (Mo(CO)₆) in the liquid sulfur precursor delivered by the bubbler. By precisely controlling the amounts of precursors and hydrogen flow, full coverage of MoS₂ film is readily achievable in 20 min. Large‐area MoS₂ field effect transistors (FETs) fabricated with a conventional photolithography have a carrier mobility as high as 18.9 cm² V^?1 s^?1, which is the highest reported for bottom‐gated MoS₂‐FETs fabricated via photolithography with an on/off ratio of ≈10⁵ at room temperature.