Effects of anion and cation doping on the thermoelectric properties of n-type PbS

The PbCl_xS_1-x and Pb_1-xBi_xS (x? =?0–0.05) bulks were fabricated with a facile method of hydrothermal synthesis and microwave sintering, and the effect of anionic and cationic donors on the thermoelectric performance of PbS was investigated. Although Cl^? and Bi³⁺ both effectively improved the thermoelectric properties of n-type PbS, more excellent thermoelectric performance was obtained from Cl^? doped samples because of higher electrical property and lower thermal conductivity at higher temperature (T? >?600?K). The thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) reaches 1.04 for PbCl_0.015S_0.985 at 800?K and increases with temperature increasing without sign of saturation, which is probably the highest value ever reported for single-phase polycrystalline n-type PbS. The results also indicate that the hydrothermal synthesis and microwave sintering can realize anion doping as well as cation doping for n-type PbS at low cost, and PbS should be a robust alternative for PbTe thermoelectric materials.     

Multiplex PCR system to track authorized and unauthorized genetically modified soybean events in food and feed

A diverse range of genetic elements has been used to develop genetically modified organisms (GMOs) over the last 18 years. Screening methods that target few elements, such as the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S promoter (P-35S) and Agrobacterium tumefaciens nopaline terminator (T-nos), are not sufficient to screen GMOs. In the present study, a multiplex PCR system for all globally commercialized GM soybean events was developed to easily trace the events. For this purpose, screening elements of 24 GM soybean events were investigated and 9 screening targets were selected and divided into three individual triplex PCR systems: P-35S, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase small subunit promoter of Arabidopsis thaliana, T-nos, T-35S, pea E9 terminator, open reading frame 23 terminator of A. tumefaciens, proteinase inhibitor II terminator of potato, acetohydroxy acid synthase large subunit terminator of A. thaliana, and the revealed 3′ flanking sequences of DP-305423-1. The specificity of the assays was confirmed using thirteen GM soybean events as the respective positive/negative controls. The limit of detection of each multiplex set, as determined using certified reference materials of specific GM events, ranged from 0.03 to 0.5%, depending upon target. Furthermore, 26 food samples that contained soybean ingredients, which were purchased from the USA, China, Japan, and Korea, were analyzed, 17 of which contained one or more GM soybean events. These results suggest that the developed screening method can be used to efficiently track and identify 24 GM soybean events in food and feed.     

CO2 abatement and CH4 recovery at vehicle exhausts: Comparison and characterization of Ru powder and pellet catalysts

The catalytic conversion of CO₂ to CH₄ (Sabatier reaction) has been studied to develop an after-treatment process at vehicles exhausts. Three different formulations of Ru commercial catalysts, two in powder and one in pellets shape, were tested and characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX), N₂ adsorption at −196 °C and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR).Experimental results show a high CO₂ conversion (X_CO2 = 0.96 @ T = 280 °C) for one powder catalyst formulation whereas the other one has maximum CO₂ conversion = 0.69. In both cases a high CH₄ selectivity is measured. High CO₂ conversion (X_CO2 = 0.92 @ T = 300 °C) is obtained also with pellet catalysts but only at lower GHSV values. The different behavior of the catalysts was ascribed to the different physicochemical properties and the key parameters for the application development of the process were identified. In particular, the possibility to use pellets or monolithic reactors, thus minimizing the pressure drops in the reactor, makes possible a commercial application in the treatment of vehicles exhausts.     

Investigation of flame spray synthesized La1-xSrxCoO3 perovskites with promotional catalytic performances on CO oxidation

To enhance the activity of catalysts for CO removal, the perovskite-type catalysts La_1-xSr_xCoO₃ (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8) with different Sr²⁺ doping amount were synthesized by flame spray synthesis (FSS) method. The perovskite-type catalyst synthesized by FSS has a much larger specific surface area (SSA) than that prepared by other conventional methods. The SSA of catalyst increases with the increase of Sr²⁺ doping amount and the SSA of La_0.2Sr_0.8CoO₃ reaches 31.65 m²/g. Compared with other conventional methods, FSS method significantly improves the activity of catalyst and makes it close to the performances of catalysts with surface modification. The substitution of La³⁺ by Sr²⁺ promotes the generation of secondary phase Co₃O₄ and SrCO₃. The catalytic activity of La_1-xSr_xCoO₃ increases with the addition of Sr²⁺, which results from the increasing active sites and oxygen vacancies. Interestingly, La_0.4Sr_0.6CoO₃ performs the highest activity for CO oxidation and the CO conversion reaches 50% at 148.6 °C and 90% at 165.9 °C. The oxidation of CO over La_1-xSr_xCoO₃ catalyst may follow a combination of MvK and L-H mechanisms according to the experimental results of H₂-TPR. Moreover, the catalyst exhibits good catalytic activity in consecutive oxidation cycles. In consecutive oxidation experiments with La_0.4Sr_0.6CoO₃, the CO conversion reaches 50% at 168.8 °C and 90% at 197.8 °C in the eighth oxidation cycle. These results prove that FSS method can further improve the activity of catalysts and is suitable for the preparation of efficient catalysts.     

Iron mediated cathodic electrosynthesis of hausmannite nanoparticles

A novel synthetic route has been proposed to prepare hausmannite nanoparticles. The synthetic route comprises an iron mediated constant current cathodic electrodeposition of manganite and heat treatment of the latter to obtain hausmannite. The obtained nanostructures have been characterized using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) and Fourier transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR). The role of iron in the formation of manganite precursor has been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). A formation mechanism based on iron mediated formation of Mn³⁺ and subsequent cathodic reduction of the disproportionated products has been proposed accordingly. The prepared nanoparticles exhibited specific capacitance of 143 F g⁻¹ in 0.5 M Na₂SO₄ solution. The retained specific capacity was 87% after 2000 cycles.     

含膦酸酯结构单元的磺胺衍生物合成与抗菌活性

为了寻找抗菌候选化合物,采用基于片段的药物发现方法,以氨基膦酸酯和磺酰氯为原料,设计合成了15个含膦酸酯结构单元的磺胺衍生物,经IR、1HNMR和13CNMR确认结构。采用两倍稀释法测定目标化合物的MIC(最小抑菌浓度)。结果表明:部分目标化合物呈潜在的抗菌活性,对所测试标准菌和耐药菌均有抑制活性。其中,化合物Ⅱf〔N-[(二乙氧基膦酰基)-4-氟苯甲基]-4-甲氧基苯磺酰胺〕对金黄色葡萄球菌(S. aureus)、大肠埃希菌(E. coli)、耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌(MRSA)及耐氟喹诺酮类大肠杆菌(MREC)的MIC分别为32、64、128和128μg/mL,化合物Ⅱl〔N-[(二乙氧基膦酰基)-4-氟苯甲基]-4-氟苯磺酰胺〕对S. aureus、E. coli、MRSA及MREC的MIC分别为32、32、64和64μg/mL,抗菌活性优于对照药磺胺嘧啶。     

ZnIn2S4/In(OH)3 hollow microspheres fabricated by one-step l-cysteine-mediated hydrothermal growth for enhanced hydrogen production and MB degradation

An intervening barrier for photocatalytic water decomposition and pollutant degradation is the frustratingly quick recombination of e⁻ - h⁺ pairs. Delicate design of heterojunction photocatalysts by coupling the semiconductors at nanoscale with well-matched geometrical and electronic alignments is an effective strategy to ameliorate the charge separation. Here a facile and environment-friendly l-cysteine-assisted hydrothermal process under weakly alkaline conditions is demonstrated for the first time to fabricate ZnIn₂S₄/In(OH)₃ hollow microspheres with intimate contact, which are verified by XRD, SEM, (HR)TEM, XPS, N₂ adsorption-desorption, UV–Vis DRS and photoluminescence spectra. ZnIn₂S₄/In(OH)₃ heterostructure (L-cys/Zn²⁺ = 4, molar ratio) with a band-gap of 2.50 eV, demonstrates the best photocatalytic performance for water reduction and MB degradation under visible light, outperforming its counterparts (In(OH)₃ and ZnIn₂S₄). The excellent activity of ZnIn₂S₄/In(OH)₃ heterostructure arises from the intercrossed band-edge positions as well as the unique hollow structure with large surface area and wide pore-size distribution, which are beneficial for the efficient charge migration from bulk to surface as well as at the interface between ZnIn₂S₄ and In(OH)₃. This work provides an efficient and eco-friendly strategy for one-pot synthesis of heterostructured composites with intimate contact for photocatalytic application.     

Proton-Detected Solid-State NMR of the Cell-Free Synthesized α-Helical Transmembrane Protein NS4B from Hepatitis C Virus

Proton-detected 100 kHz magic-angle-spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR is an emerging analysis method for proteins with only hundreds of microgram quantities, and thus allows structural investigation of eukaryotic membrane proteins. This is the case for the cell-free synthesized hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural membrane protein 4B (NS4B). We demonstrate NS4B sample optimization using fast reconstitution schemes that enable lipid-environment screening directly by NMR. 2D spectra and relaxation properties guide the choice of the best sample preparation to record 2D ¹H-detected ¹H,¹⁵N and 3D ¹H,¹³C,¹⁵N correlation experiments with linewidths and sensitivity suitable to initiate sequential assignments. Amino-acid-selectively labeled NS4B can be readily obtained using cell-free synthesis, opening the door to combinatorial labeling approaches which should enable structural studies.