Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Cu@IrO₂ Core-Shell Nanowires for Low-Temperature Methane Conversion

A facile microwave-assisted synthesis was developed for the tunable fabrication of a Cu@IrO2 core@shell nanowire motif. Experimental parameters, such as (i) the reaction time, (ii) the method of addition of the Ir precursor, (iii) the capping agent, (iv) the reducing agent, and (v) the capping agent-to-reducing agent ratio, were subsequently optimized. The viability of other methods based on the previously reported literature, such as refluxing, stirring, and physical sonication, was studied and compared with our optimized microwave-assisted protocol in creating our as-prepared materials. It should be noted that the magnitude of the IrO2 shell could be tailored based on varying the Cu:Ir ratio coupled with judicious variations in the amounts of the capping agent and the reducing agent. Structural characterization techniques, such as XRD, XPS, and HRTEM (including HRTEM-EDS), were used to analyze our Cu@IrO2 motifs. Specifically, the shell could be reliably tailored from sizes of 10, 8, 6, and 3.5 nm with corresponding Cu:Ir ratios of 10:1, 15:1, 20:1, and 25:1, respectively. Moreover, the structural integrity of the motifs was probed and found to have been maintained after not only heat treatment but also the post-methane conversion process, indicative of an intrinsically high stability. Both components within the CuO-IrO2 interface were able to activate methane at temperatures between 400 and 500 K with a reduction of the associated metal cations (Cu2+ → Cu1+; Ir4+ → Ir3+) and the deposition of CHx fragments on the surface, as clearly observed in the ambient-pressure XPS results. Thus, on the basis of their stability and chemical activity, these core-shell materials could be very useful for the catalytic conversion of methane into “higher-value” chemicals

Additional file 2: of Relapsing optic neuritis and meningoencephalitis in a child: case report of delayed diagnosis of MOG-IgG syndrome

Spinal cord MRI. (A) Spinal cord MRI was normal at August 2010; (B) On July 2018, some prominence in the central canal in spinal cord was found at vertebral body of C6/7. (TIF 4320 kb

Additional file 1: of Relapsing optic neuritis and meningoencephalitis in a child: case report of delayed diagnosis of MOG-IgG syndrome

Multimode brain MRI. (A) On the magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) sequence at July 2017, increase in choline compounds (Cho) was found in the right frontal lobe lesion; (B) MRS sequence was performed again at July 2018; lesions were with Cho elevated and had a decline in N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA); (C,D) Small veins pass through the center of the lesion can be seen on the susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI); (E) No abnormalities were found in magnetic resonance angiography and magnetic resonance venogram. (TIF 4860 kb

Data_Sheet_1_Distinct Biogeography of Different Fungal Guilds and Their Associations With Plant Species Richness in Forest Ecosystems.xlsx

Plant pathogens are increasingly considered as important agents in promoting plant coexistence, while plant symbionts like ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) can facilitate plant dominance by helping conspecific individuals to defend against plant pathogens. However, we know little about their relationships with plants at large scales. Here, using soil fungal data collected from 28 forest reserves across China, we explored the latitudinal diversity gradients of overall fungi and different fungal functional guilds, including putative plant pathogens, EMF, and saprotrophic fungi. We further linked the spatial patterns of alpha diversities of putative plant pathogens and EMF to the variation of plant species richness. We found that the relationships between latitude and alpha diversities of putative plant pathogens and EMF were region-dependent with sharp diversity shifts around the mid-latitude (~35°N), which differed from the unimodal diversity distributions of the overall and saprotrophic fungi. The variations in the diversities of putative plant pathogens and EMF were largely explained by the spatial regions (south vs. north/subtropical zone vs. temperate zone). Additionally, the alpha diversities of these two fungal guilds exhibited opposing trends across latitude. EMF could alter the relationship between diversities of putative plant pathogens and plants in the south/subtropical region, but not vice versa. We also found that the ratio of their alpha diversities (EMF to putative plant pathogens) was negatively related to plant species richness across the spatial regions (north to south), and explained ~10% of the variation of plant species richness. Overall, our findings suggest that plant-microbe interactions not only shape the local plant diversity but also may have non-negligible contributions to the large-scale patterns of plant diversity in forest ecosystems.</p

Data_sheet_2_Distinct Biogeography of Different Fungal Guilds and Their Associations With Plant Species Richness in Forest Ecosystems.docx

Plant pathogens are increasingly considered as important agents in promoting plant coexistence, while plant symbionts like ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) can facilitate plant dominance by helping conspecific individuals to defend against plant pathogens. However, we know little about their relationships with plants at large scales. Here, using soil fungal data collected from 28 forest reserves across China, we explored the latitudinal diversity gradients of overall fungi and different fungal functional guilds, including putative plant pathogens, EMF, and saprotrophic fungi. We further linked the spatial patterns of alpha diversities of putative plant pathogens and EMF to the variation of plant species richness. We found that the relationships between latitude and alpha diversities of putative plant pathogens and EMF were region-dependent with sharp diversity shifts around the mid-latitude (~35°N), which differed from the unimodal diversity distributions of the overall and saprotrophic fungi. The variations in the diversities of putative plant pathogens and EMF were largely explained by the spatial regions (south vs. north/subtropical zone vs. temperate zone). Additionally, the alpha diversities of these two fungal guilds exhibited opposing trends across latitude. EMF could alter the relationship between diversities of putative plant pathogens and plants in the south/subtropical region, but not vice versa. We also found that the ratio of their alpha diversities (EMF to putative plant pathogens) was negatively related to plant species richness across the spatial regions (north to south), and explained ~10% of the variation of plant species richness. Overall, our findings suggest that plant-microbe interactions not only shape the local plant diversity but also may have non-negligible contributions to the large-scale patterns of plant diversity in forest ecosystems.</p

Latitudinal diversity gradients of plant pathogen and ectomycorrhizal fungi and their association with plant species richness in forest ecosystems of China

Original data was used to explore latitudinal diversity pattern of forest soil fungal pathogen across China

Mechanistic Insights into the Interplay between Ion Intercalation and Water Electrolysis in Aqueous Batteries

Improving electrolyte stability to suppress water electrolysis represents a basic principle for designing aqueous batteries. Herein, we investigate counterintuitive roles that water electrolysis plays in regulating intercalation chemistry. Using the NaxFe­[Fe­(CN)6]∥NaTi2(PO4)3 (x < 1) aqueous battery as a platform, we report that high-voltage overcharging can serve as an electrochemical activation approach to achieving concurrent Na-ion intercalation and an electrolytic oxygen evolution reaction. When the cell capacity is intrinsically limited by deficient cyclable Na ions, the electrolytic water oxidation on the cathode allows for extra Na-ion intercalation from the electrolyte to the NaTi2(PO4)3 anode, leading to a major increase in cyclable Na ions and specific capacity. The parasitic oxygen generation and potential transition-metal dissolution, as proved by our synchrotron and imaging tools, can be significantly mitigated with a simple reassembling approach, which enables stable electrochemical performance and sheds light on manipulating ion intercalation and water electrolysis for battery fast charging and recycling

Mechanistic Insights into the Interplay between Ion Intercalation and Water Electrolysis in Aqueous Batteries

Improving electrolyte stability to suppress water electrolysis represents a basic principle for designing aqueous batteries. Herein, we investigate counterintuitive roles that water electrolysis plays in regulating intercalation chemistry. Using the NaxFe­[Fe­(CN)6]∥NaTi2(PO4)3 (x < 1) aqueous battery as a platform, we report that high-voltage overcharging can serve as an electrochemical activation approach to achieving concurrent Na-ion intercalation and an electrolytic oxygen evolution reaction. When the cell capacity is intrinsically limited by deficient cyclable Na ions, the electrolytic water oxidation on the cathode allows for extra Na-ion intercalation from the electrolyte to the NaTi2(PO4)3 anode, leading to a major increase in cyclable Na ions and specific capacity. The parasitic oxygen generation and potential transition-metal dissolution, as proved by our synchrotron and imaging tools, can be significantly mitigated with a simple reassembling approach, which enables stable electrochemical performance and sheds light on manipulating ion intercalation and water electrolysis for battery fast charging and recycling

Realizing High Capacity and Zero Strain in Layered Oxide Cathodes via Lithium Dual-Site Substitution for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Sodium-ion batteries have garnered unprecedented attention as an electrochemical energy storage technology, but it remains challenging to design high-energy-density cathode materials with low structural strain during the dynamic (de)­sodiation processes. Herein, we report a P2-layered lithium dual-site-substituted Na0.7Li0.03[Mg0.15Li0.07Mn0.75]­O2 (NMLMO) cathode material, in which Li ions occupy both transition-metal (TM) and alkali-metal (AM) sites. The combination of theoretical calculations and experimental characterizations reveals that LiTM creates Na–O–Li electronic configurations to boost the capacity derived from the oxygen anionic redox, while LiAM serves as LiO6 prismatic pillars to stabilize the layered structure through suppressing the detrimental phase transitions. As a result, NMLMO delivers a high specific capacity of 266 mAh g–1 and simultaneously exhibits the nearly zero-strain characteristic within a wide voltage range of 1.5–4.6 V. Our findings highlight the effective way of dual-site substitution to break the capacity–stability trade-off in cathode materials for advanced rechargeable batteries