Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

How Magical Is Magic-Angle Graphene?

The observation of correlated insulating states and unconventional superconductivity on magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) by Cao and Jarillo-Herrero in 2018 has aroused intensive scientific interest in the beautiful moiré-patterned superlattice. The magic angles are a discrete set of angles (with the largest one around 1.1°) at which the twisted bilayer graphene exhibits a unique electronic structure (a nearly flat band) with the vanishing of the Fermi velocity at the Dirac points. Based on such a special platform, strong interlayer electron couplings generate at certain filling states of the flat band and allow the observation of extraordinary physical phenomena. The earliest prediction of the magic angle can date back to 2007, but the magical properties on MATBG have been partially uncovered experimentally only in the last 2 years, including the most recent emergent ferromagnetism with anomalous Hall and quantized anomalous Hall effects. With ongoing endeavors in low-energy physics, we believe that more fascinating phenomena on MATBG and analogues will be discovered in the near future. Meanwhile, great efforts still need to be devoted to elucidating the underlying mechanisms and developing new technologies that could bring these exceptional properties into practical applications

Ultrafast, low‐cost, and mass production of high‐quality graphene

Fast, mass, and low‐cost production of high‐quality graphene, which is alluring, remains a great challenge, even though some approaches have shown potential for mass synthesis of graphene. Very recently a great breakthrough was made by Tour and co‐workers (Nature 2020, 577, 647–651): in just a second, easily exfoliated and highly crystalline graphene was produced from abundant carbon‐containing species by cost‐effective flash Joule heating with a low energy input of 7.2 kJ per gram graphene. Such an ultrafast, economic, and scalable process for high‐quality graphene production can be considered as a milestone in the graphene field and is highlighted in this article

3D Graphene Materials from the Reduction of CO2

Conspectus The content of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has been continuously growing and threatens the global environment by contributing to the greenhouse effect. The conversion of CO2 directly into value-added chemicals could not only reduce CO2 emission but also make valuable use of the waste gas. However, achieving a highly efficient CO2 conversion with high product selectivity and low energy cost remains a great challenge. Graphene, one of the most important engineering materials with a wide range of applications, is generally synthesized with valuable hydrocarbons as carbon sources. Producing versatile graphene materials directly from CO2 is intriguing and of profound meaning. Furthermore, it is of critical importance to produce 3D-structured graphene materials, which can avoid the restacking of the graphene sheets and thus keep the graphene properties for practical applications. Alkali-metal-based exothermic reactions with inorganic carbon compounds, which have been discovered by our group since 2013, offer ideal solutions for efficient CO2 utilization and cost-effective 3D graphene production. In the reactions, alkali metal salts formed simultaneously with the graphenization of CO2 and served as in situ templates for creating the splendid microscale 3D structured graphene materials, which could hardly be achieved using other methods. Meanwhile, the etching effect of CO2 molecules can realize controlled engineering of unique surface porous structures of the formed 3D graphene. Accordingly, diverse 3D graphene materials featuring fascinating properties that are desired for energy-related and environmental applications can be facilely obtained by tuning the conditions for the reactions of CO2 with alkali metals. This Account provides an overview of the 3D graphene materials from the reduction of CO2 via the state-of-the-art alkali-metal-chemistry-based strategy. After an emphasis on the significance of the CO2-to-graphene conversion process, the alkali-metal-based chemistry for CO2 conversion is introduced by delineating the thermodynamics of the reactions between CO2 and alkali metals and the forming mechanism of the 3D-structured graphene materials as well as the carbon etching effect of CO2. Subsequently, as typical examples, 3D cauliflower-fungus-like graphene, 3D crape myrtle flower-like graphene and mesochannel carbon nanowalls, 3D honeycomb-like structured graphene, and 3D surface-microporous graphene are specifically discussed in terms of their synthesis processes, structural characteristics, and reaction-condition-dependent properties. Furthermore, the great promise of these CO2-derived graphene materials for application in solar cells, supercapacitors, batteries, and environmental remediation are demonstrated. Finally, the challenges remaining in this area and the directions for its future development are addressed

1T Phase Transition Metal Dichalcogenides for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract: Metallic (1T) phases of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are promising alternatives for Pt as efficient and practically applicable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts. Group 6 1T TMDs are the most widely studied due to their impressively higher HER activity than that of their 2H counterparts. However, the mediocre electrochemical and thermal stability of these TMDs has limited their widespread application. Over the last decade, while immense attempts have been made to enhance the stability of group 6 1T TMDs, 1T TMDs based on other transition metals have gained increasing attention. To address the great potential of the 1T TMD family for industry-scale HER and inspire future breakthroughs in realizing their scalable utilization, a critical overview of 1T TMDs for application in HER is presented in this work. With an emphasis on the recent progress, the main contents include the elucidation of the “structure–performance” relationship in 1T TMD-based HER, the approaches for the synthesis and morphology control of 1T TMDs, and the types of 1T TMD-based materials that have been explored for efficient and long-term water splitting. Before the main discussions, the reaction mechanism of HER and the evaluation indexes for HER catalysts are introduced. Moreover, future perspectives on overcoming the primary challenges that hinder the practical application of 1T TMDs for HER are provided. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Catalysts for CO2reforming of CH4: a review

The increasing amount of greenhouse gases, especially CO2, in the atmosphere during the past decades has been a matter of great concern. Meanwhile, with the extensive exploration of natural gas resources, there is abundant CH4waiting for valorization. CO2or dry reforming of methane (CRM/DRM) is a promising approach to simultaneously utilize the two gases for the production of syngas. High-quality (free of sintering and carbon deposition during the reaction) and cost-effective catalysts are the key to the practical application of DRM. In this review article, the recent progress in the development of efficient and robust DRM catalysts is highlighted, after a brief introduction of the thermodynamics and general reaction mechanisms for DRM. The key factors in constructing highly efficient catalysts are addressed and the two major types of DRM catalysts,i.e., conventional supported catalysts and reduced solid solution catalysts, are clearly classified. Furthermore, with a firm belief in the great promise of DRM technology, the remaining challenges for DRM catalyst development are discussed along with our perspectives on the future research directions

Insights into the Thermo-Photo Catalytic Production of Hydrogen from Water on a Low-Cost NiO\u3csub\u3ex\u3c/sub\u3e-Loaded TiO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Catalyst

Thermo-photo catalytic water splitting, where the introduction of thermal energy increases the oxidation driving force for narrow-band-gap photocatalysts (with a low valence band potential), exhibited significantly advanced performance for hydrogen production as compared to general water splitting at room temperature. Herein, a low-cost NiOx-loaded TiO2 catalyst was reported for thermo-photo catalytic water splitting with methanol as the sacrificial agent. The catalyst with an optimal Ni ratio of 5 wt % achieved a hydrogen evolution rate of 53.7 mmol/h/g under simulated AM 1.5G sunlight at 260 °C, which was 2.5 times more than that without illumination, with apparent quantum efficiencies of 66.24%, 33.55%, 32.52%, and 15.35% at 380, 420, 450, and 500 nm, respectively. More impressively, under the irradiation of visible light (λ \u3e 420 nm) at this temperature, the photohydrogen yield could still reach 26.9 mmol/h/g, which was 5 orders of magnitude greater than that (0.0011 mmol/h/g) conducted at room temperature. Isotope tracer experiments demonstrated that the introduction of photoenergy promoted the hydrogen production mainly by enhancing hydrogen evolution from water splitting rather than methanol decomposition or reformation. Furthermore, the stepwise reaction mechanism was revealed with insights into the synergistic roles of thermo-energy and photoenergy for production of hydrogen from water. Those findings highlight the great promise of thermo-photo catalysis and should inspire more efforts for water splitting

Novel SW\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e-based 3D electrode with protecting scaffold for efficient and stable hydrogen evolution

The synthesis of an efficient and stable WS2-based three-dimensional (3D) electrode remains a challenge. Herein, a novel WS2-based 3D electrode (WS2/graphite rods (GR)) with significantly advanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity and stability was demonstrated. Compared to the film electrode of powdery WS2, WS2/GR showed a much lowered contact resistance (∼1 Ω), leading to a 200 mV lowered overpotential and a Tafel slope (47.9 mV·dec–1) much closer to that of the Pt electrode. Meanwhile, the novel 3D electrode exhibited greatly improved stability with little current decay after 15 h reaction. Further investigation revealed three different morphologies of WS2 nanostructures on and into the graphite rod. While the vertically growing WS2 nanosheets and WS2 nanoparticles inside played essential roles in advanced activity, the densely stacked ball-like self-assemblies of WS2 nanosheets on the surface of the rod was of little importance for the hydrogen evolution reaction performance. The reasons were that the confinement effect and the well protection of the graphite scaffold allowed the WS2 nanostructures inside the rod with largely exposed active sites and less likely to be oxidized. The work not only achieved excellent WS2-based 3D electrode but also provided effective approach for synthesizing efficient and stable 3D electrodes

Steam reforming of methane: Current states of catalyst design and process upgrading

Methane (CH4) is the major component of currently abundant natural gas and a prominent green-house gas. Steam reforming of methane (SRM) is an important technology for the conversion of CH4 into H2 and syngas. To improve the catalytic activity and coking resistance of SRM catalysts, great efforts (including the addition of promoters, development of advanced supports, and structural modification, etc.) have been made with considerable progress in the past decade. Meanwhile, a series of novel processes have been explored for more efficient and energy-saving SRM. In this scenario, a comprehensive review on the recent advances in SRM is necessary to provide a constructive insight into the development of SRM technology, however, is still lacking. Herein, the improvements in catalyst construction for conventional SRM and the newly developed SRM processes in the past decade are presented and analyzed. First, the critical issues of SRM catalysts are briefly introduced. Then, the recent research advances of the most popular Ni based catalysts and the catalysts based on the other non-noble metals (Co, Cu, Mo etc.) and the efficient but costly noble metals (Au, Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru etc.) are discussed. Furthermore, the development of the representative modified SRM processes, including thermo-photo hybrid SRM, sorbent enhanced SRM, oxidative SRM, chemical looping SRM, plasma and electrical-field enhanced SRM, is demonstrated, and their advantages and limits are compared. Finally, a critical perspective is provided to enlighten future work on this significant area