Sustainable hydrogen production via photocatalytic, electrocatalytic, and synergetic photoelectrocatalytic processes has been regarded as an effective strategy to address both energy and environmental crises. Due to their unique structures and properties, emerging ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) materials can bring about promising opportunities to realize high-efficiency hydrogen evolution. This review presents a critical appraisal of advantages and advancements for ultrathin 2D materials in catalytic hydrogen evolution, with an emphasis on structure–activity relationship. Furthermore, strategies for tailoring the microstructure, electronic structure, and local atomic arrangement, so as to further boost the hydrogen evolution activity, are discussed. Finally, we also present the existing challenges and future research directions regarding this promising field. 相似文献
Advanced biocompatible and robust platforms equipped with diverse properties are highly required in biomedical imaging applications for the early detection of atherosclerotic vascular disease and cancers. Designing nanohybrids composed of noble metals and fluorescent materials is a new way to perform multimodal imaging to overcome the limitations of single-modality counterparts. Herein, we propose the novel design of a multimodal contrast agent; namely, an enhanced nanohybrid comprising gold nanorods (GNRs) and carbon dots (CDs) with silica (SiO2) as a bridge. The nanohybrid (GNR@SiO2@CD) construction is based on covalent bonding between SiO2 and the silane-functionalized CDs, which links the GNRs with the CDs to form typical core–shell units. The novel structure not only retains and even highly improves the optical properties of the GNRs and CDs, but also possesses superior imaging performance in both diffusion reflection (DR) and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) measurements compared with bare GNRs or fluorescence dyes and CDs. The superior bioimaging properties of the GNR@SiO2@CD nanohybrids were successfully exploited for in vitro DR and FLIM measurements of macrophages within tissue-like phantoms, paving the way toward a theranostic contrast agent for atherosclerosis and cancer.
Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted enormous attention due to their functional applications in energy storage. In this work, a low-temperature molten-salt chemical exfoliation methodology is developed for producing free-standing 2D mesoporous Si through deintercalation of CaSi2 in excess molten AlCl3 at 195 °C. The average dimension of these sheets is 1.5 μm, and the thickness of a single sheet is approximately 10 nm. The as-prepared 2D Si has a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 154 m2·g?1 and an average pore size of 5.87 nm. With this unique structure, the 2D Si exhibits superior Li-storage performance, including a reversible capacity of 2,974 mA·h·g?1 at 0.2 C, reversible capacities of 2,162, 1,947, and 1,527 mA·h·g?1 at 0.8, 2, and 5 C after 200 cycles, and a capacity retention of 357 mA·h·g?1 even at 30 C (90 A·g?1).
Metal oxide/graphene nanocomposites are emerging as promising materials for developing room-temperature gas sensors. However, the unsatisfactory performances owing to the relatively low sensitivity, slow response, and recovery kinetics limit their applications. Herein, a highly sensitive and rapidly responding room-temperature NO2 gas sensor based on WO3 nanorods/sulfonated reduced graphene oxide (S-rGO) was prepared via a simple and cost-effective hydrothermal method. The optimal sensor response of the WO3/S-rGO sensor toward 20 ppm NO2 is 149% in 6 s, which is 4.7 times higher and 100 times faster than that of the corresponding WO3/rGO sensors. In addition, the sensor exhibits excellent reproducibility, selectivity, and extremely fast recovery kinetics. The mechanism of the WO3/S-rGO nanocomposite gas sensor is investigated in detail. In addition to the high transport capability of S-rGO as well as its excellent NO2 adsorption ability, the superior sensing performance of the S-rGO/WO3 sensor can be attributed to the favorable charge transfer occurring at the S-rGO/WO3 interfaces. We believe that the strategy of compositing a metal oxide with functionalized graphene provides a new insight for the future development of room-temperature gas sensors.
Although gas-filled microbubbles with high echogenicity are widely applied inclinical ultrasonography, the micron scale particle size impedes their use in the treatment of solid tumors,which are accessible to objects less than several hundred nanometers. We herein propose an unusual approach involving apH-induced core–shell micelle-to-vesicle transition to prepare ultrasound-sensitive polymeric nanospheres (polymersomes in structure) possessing multiple features, including nanosize, monodispersity, and incorporation of a phase-transitional imaging agent into the aqueous lumen. These features are not achievable via the conventional double-emulsion method for polymersome preparation. The nanospheres were constructed based on a novel triblock copolymer with dual pH sensitivity. The liquid-to-gas phase transition of the imaging agent induced by external low-frequency ultrasound may destroy the nanospheres for a rapid drug release, with simultaneous tissue-penetrating drug delivery inside a tumor. These effects may provide new opportunities for the development of an effective cancer therapy with few adverse effects.
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