Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to Ethylene by Molecular Cu‐Complex Immobilized on Graphitized Mesoporous Carbon

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to hydrocarbons is a challenging task because of the issues in controlling the efficiency and selectivity of the products. Among the various transition metals, copper has attracted attention as it yields more reduced and C2 products even while using mononuclear copper center as catalysts. In addition, it is found that reversible formation of copper nanoparticle acts as the real catalytically active site for the conversion of CO₂ to reduced products. Here, it is demonstrated that the dinuclear molecular copper complex immobilized over graphitized mesoporous carbon can act as catalysts for the conversion of CO₂ to hydrocarbons (methane and ethylene) up to 60%. Interestingly, high selectivity toward C2 product (40% faradaic efficiency) is achieved by a molecular complex based hybrid material from CO₂ in 0.1 m KCl. In addition, the role of local pH, porous structure, and carbon support in limiting the mass transport to achieve the highly reduced products is demonstrated. Although the spectroscopic analysis of the catalysts exhibits molecular nature of the complex after 2 h bulk electrolysis, morphological study reveals that the newly generated copper cluster is the real active site during the catalytic reactions.     

Algorithmic Fairness in Mortgage Lending: from Absolute Conditions to Relational Trade-offs

Minds and Machines - To address the rising concern that algorithmic decision-making may reinforce discriminatory biases, researchers have proposed many notions of fairness and corresponding...     

5-二茂铁基噁唑的合成研究

以二茂铁甲醛和对甲苯磺酰基异氰(TOSMIC)为原料,经过Van Leusen反应,一步合成目标化合物5-二茂铁基噁唑,通过~1HNMR、~(13)CNMR和ESI-MS对其结构进行表征,并对影响收率的主要因素进行考察。结果表明,在物料比n(TOSMIC)∶n(二茂铁甲醛)为1.1∶1、反应溶剂为甲醇、K_2CO_3用量即n(K_2CO_3)∶n(二茂铁甲醛)为2.0∶1、反应温度为65℃、反应时间为8 h的最佳条件下,目标化合物收率达到74.7%。该方法具有原料廉价易得、反应操作简单、收率高等优点,具有一定的应用价值。     

Chromophore-Free Sealing and Repair of Soft Tissues Using Mid-Infrared Light-Activated Biosealants

Poor strength, infection, leakage, long procedure times, and inflammation limit the efficacy of common tissue sealing devices in surgeries and trauma. Light-activated sealing is attractive for tissue sealing and repair, and can be facilitated by the generation of local heat following absorption of nonionizing laser energy by chromophores. Here, the inherent ability of biomaterials is exploited to absorb nonionizing, mid-infrared (midIR) light in order to engender rapid photothermal sealing and repair of soft tissue wounds. In this approach, the biomaterial simultaneously acts as a photothermal convertor as well as a biosealant, which dispenses the need for exogeneous light-absorbing nanoparticles or dyes. Biomechanical recovery, mathematical modeling, histopathology analyses, tissue strain mapping using digital imaging correlation, and visualization of the biosealant-tissue interface using hyperspectral imaging indicate superior performance of midIR sealing in live mice compared to conventional sutures and glue. The midIR-biosealant approach demonstrates rapid sealing of soft tissues, improves cosmesis, lowers potential for scarring, obviates safety concerns because of the nonionizing light used, and allows adoption of a wide diversity of biomaterials. Taken together, the studies demonstrate a novel advance both in biomaterials for surgical sealing along with the use of nonionizing midIR light, with high potential for clinical translation.     

High-efficiency Silicon Solar Cells: A Review

Over the past few decades, crystalline silicon solar cells have been extensively studied due to their high efficiency, high reliability, and low cost. In addition, these types of cells lead the industry and account for more than half of the market. For the foreseeable future, Si will still be a critical material for photovoltaic devices in the solar cell industry. In this paper, we discuss key issues, cell concepts, and the status of recent high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells.     

Anticancer activity of flavonoids accompanied by redox state modulation and the potential for a chemotherapeutic strategy

Since researchers began studying the mechanism of flavonoids’ anticancer activity, little attention has been focused on the modulation of redox state in cells as a potential chemotherapeutic strategy. However, recent studies have begun identifying that the anticancer effect of flavonoids occurs both in their antioxidative activity which scavenges ROS and their prooxidative activity which generates ROS. Against this backdrop, this study attempts to achieve a comprehensive analysis of the individual and separate study findings regarding flavonoids’ modulation of redox state in cancer cells. It focuses on the mechanism behind the anticancer effect, and mostly on the modulation of redox potential by flavonoids such as quercetin, hesperetin, apigenin, genistein, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), luteolin and kaempferol in both in vitro and animal models. In addition, the clinical applications of and bioavailability of flavonoids were reviewed to help build a treatment strategy based on flavonoids’ prooxidative potential.