Additional file 1 of Association of smoking with cartilage loss of knee osteoarthritis: data from two longitudinal cohorts

Additional file

Robust Synthesis of Silver Nanocubes in Oil Phase

Although various methods have been developed to synthesize Ag nanocubes, their synthesis in oil phase has received little attention. We report a robust method to synthesize single-crystalline Ag nanocubes with high purity (>95%) and uniform size in oil phase. The evolution of Ag nanoparticles from different reaction times indicates that multiply twinned seeds (MTDs) and single-crystalline seeds were formed together at the early stage of the reaction. With the reaction process, the MTDs were gradually etched by chloride ions and air, and the remaining single-crystalline seeds grew into nanocubes. The effect of synthetic parameters such as temperature, air flow, and the concentration of cupric chloride and AgNO3 precursors on the morphology and size of Ag nanocubes has been systematically investigated, among which temperature plays an important role in controlling the balance between the etching rate and growth rate. Due to the slow ion diffusion rate compared to that in the water or polyol system, oil-phase synthesis provides a wide regulatory window for completely etching the MTDs, ensuring the high purity of single-crystalline Ag nanocubes

Illuminating the Nanoparticle Array: Unveiling the Interplay between Photodegradation and Aggregation Degree of CsPbBr₃ Nanocrystals

All inorganic CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, I) nanocrystals (NCs) have attracted significant attention because of their outstanding photoelectrical properties. However, the stability of CsPbX3 NCs still poses a challenge for their practical applications due to the inherent ionic nature. Previous research has investigated the photodegradation of CsPbBr3 NCs, but the exact structure–property correlation is still not very clear. Furthermore, whether the photodegradation is affected by the aggregation degrees of the CsPbBr3 NCs has not yet been considered. Here, a robust strategy to fabricate the CsPbBr3 NC array with varied aggregation degrees was developed through atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoxerography. The number of CsPbBr3 NCs in one spot of the array, noted as the aggregation degree, could be tuned by the corresponding surface potential values. Based on the precise positioning within the array system, each spot can be easily associated with on-site TEM characterization. In addition, photoluminescence intensity traces over time of each spot could be simultaneously measured under the same conditions. The statistical results clearly demonstrated that spots with higher aggregation degrees (25–60 NCs) exhibited a relatively slower decline rate, indicating higher photostability. These findings could provide valuable insights into the development of functional nanodevices based on CsPbBr3 NCs

Illuminating the Nanoparticle Array: Unveiling the Interplay between Photodegradation and Aggregation Degree of CsPbBr₃ Nanocrystals

All inorganic CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, I) nanocrystals (NCs) have attracted significant attention because of their outstanding photoelectrical properties. However, the stability of CsPbX3 NCs still poses a challenge for their practical applications due to the inherent ionic nature. Previous research has investigated the photodegradation of CsPbBr3 NCs, but the exact structure–property correlation is still not very clear. Furthermore, whether the photodegradation is affected by the aggregation degrees of the CsPbBr3 NCs has not yet been considered. Here, a robust strategy to fabricate the CsPbBr3 NC array with varied aggregation degrees was developed through atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoxerography. The number of CsPbBr3 NCs in one spot of the array, noted as the aggregation degree, could be tuned by the corresponding surface potential values. Based on the precise positioning within the array system, each spot can be easily associated with on-site TEM characterization. In addition, photoluminescence intensity traces over time of each spot could be simultaneously measured under the same conditions. The statistical results clearly demonstrated that spots with higher aggregation degrees (25–60 NCs) exhibited a relatively slower decline rate, indicating higher photostability. These findings could provide valuable insights into the development of functional nanodevices based on CsPbBr3 NCs

Patterning of Molecules/Ions via Reverse Micelle Vessels by Nanoxerography

Precise patterning of molecules/ions in the nanometer scale is a crucial but challenging technique for the fabrication of advanced functional nanodevices. We developed a robust method to print molecules/ions into arbitrarily defined patterns with sub-20 nm precision assisted by reverse micelles. The reverse micelle, serving as a nano-sized vessel, can load molecules/ions and then be patterned onto the predefined positions by electrostatic attraction. The number of molecules/ions on each spot, the spot spacing, and pattern shapes can be flexibly adjusted, reaching 10 nm position accuracy, 30 nm spot size, and 100 nm spot spacing (>250,000 DPI). Then, water-soluble dye molecules, protein molecules, and chloroaurate ions were loaded in the micelles and successfully patterned into nanoarrays, which provides an important platform for the convenient, flexible, and robust fabrication of functional molecule/ion-based nanodevices, such as biochips, for high-throughput and ultrasensitive analysis

ZnO Nanorod Induced Omniphobic Polypropylene Membrane for Improved Antiwetting Performance in Membrane Distillation

Maintaining hydrophobicity of the membrane in membrane distillation is vital for treating high-salinity feedwater containing surface active substances due to their wetting impact on the membrane. An effective approach to mitigate membrane wetting is to build rough nanostructures on a pristine membrane to render its surface omniphobic. Directly building nanostructures on polypropylene (PP), however, is challenging, as the material is chemically inert. In this study, a novel method was developed to physically plant ZnO seeds on the PP membrane above the material’s heat deflection temperature. A biomimetic nanostructure was then constructed on the membrane surface by growing fluorinated ZnO nanorods along the seeded PP substrate. The resulting omniphobic membrane exhibited a contact angle constantly above 160° against a test solution containing 50 g/L NaCl and 0.06 mM sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate. Compared to the pristine PP membrane, the modified PP membrane showed a nearly complete salt rejection and much improved antiwetting capacity against the surfactant added in the test solution. The physical seeding method presented in this study is therefore a promising alternative approach to functionalize chemically inert polymeric substrates with constructed biomimetic nanostructures

Modulating the Chemical Microenvironment of Pt Nanoparticles within Ultrathin Nanosheets of Isoreticular MOFs for Enhanced Catalytic Activity

The catalytic activity of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) embedded in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is affected by the electronic interactions between MNPs and MOFs. In this report, we fabricate a series of ultrathin nanosheets of isoreticular MOFs (NMOFs) with different metal nodes as supports and successfully encapsulate Pt NPs within these NMOFs, affording Pt@NMOF-Co, Pt@NMOF-Ni1Co1, Pt@NMOF-Ni3Co1, and Pt@NMOF-Ni nanocomposites. The microchemical environment on the surface of Pt NPs can be modulated by varying the metal nodes of NMOFs. The catalytic activity of the nanocomposites toward liquid-phase hydrogenation of 1-hexene shows obvious difference, in which Pt@NMOF-Ni possesses the highest activity followed by Pt@NMOF-Ni3Co1, Pt@NMOF-Ni1Co1, and Pt@NMOF-Co in a decreasing order of activity. Obviously, increasing gradually the amount of Ni2+ nodes in the carriers can improve the catalytic activity. The difference of catalytic activity of the nanocomposites might originate from the distinct electron interactions between Pt NPs and NMOFs, as ascertained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectrum and density functional theory calculations. This work provides a rare example that the catalytic activity of MNPs could be controlled by accurately regulating the microchemical environment using ultrathin NMOFs as supports

Omniphobic Polyvinylidene Fluoride Membrane Decorated with a ZnO Nano Sea Urchin Structure: Performance Against Surfactant-Wetting in Membrane Distillation

Membrane distillation, an emerging desalination technology, shows much promise for treating industrial wastewater with high salinity. One major challenge that impedes its implementation for industrial applications is the wetting of hydrophobic membranes such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), resulting in a sharp decline in salt rejection. Wetting occurs when the feed solution contains surfactants, such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). It has been demonstrated that growing rough structures on the membrane surface followed by fluorination helps the membrane maintain its hydrophobicity. In this study, an omniphobic membrane was successfully prepared by first growing a layer of dense nano-ZnO needles on the surface of a pristine PVDF membrane, followed by a typical fluorination treatment. The modified membrane, with its surface similar to a nano sea urchin in appearance, exhibited a superior antiwetting property, having a high contact angle about 160° against a 50 g/L NaCl solution containing 0.3 mM SDS. The modified membrane showed a fairly good wetting resistance against 0.3 mM SDS, having a nearly 100% salt rejection in treating 50 g/L NaCl, whereas the pristine PVDF membrane could be easily wetted. The modified PVDF membrane shows promise in treating high-salinity wastewaters containing surface-active substances

Low-Voltage, High-Performance Flexible Organic Field-Effect Transistors Based on Ultrathin Single-Crystal Microribbons

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) have acquired increasing attention because of their wide range of potential applications in electronics; nevertheless, high operating voltage and low carrier mobility are considered as major bottlenecks in their commercialization. In this work, we demonstrate low-voltage, flexible OFETs based on ultrathin single-crystal microribbons. Flexible OFETs fabricated with 2,7-dioctylbenzothieno­[3,2-b]­benzothiophene (C8-BTBT) based solution-processed ultrathin single-crystal microribbon as the semiconductor layer and high-k polymer, polysiloxane–poly­(vinyl alcohol) composite as an insulator layer manifest a significantly low operating voltage of −4 V, and several devices showed a high mobility of >30 cm2 V–1 s–1. Besides, the carrier mobility of the fabricated devices exhibits a slight degradation in static bending condition, which can be retained by 83.3% compared with its original value under a bending radius of 9 mm. As compared to the bulk C8-BTBT single-crystal-based OFET, which showed a large crack only after 50 dynamic bending cycles, our ultrathin single-crystal-based counterpart demonstrates a much better dynamic force stability. Moreover, under a 20 mm bending radius, the mobility of the device decreased by only 11.7% even after 500 bending cycles and no further decrease was observed until 1000 bending cycles. Our findings reveal that ultrathin C8-BTBT single-crystal-based flexible OFETs are promising candidates for various high-performance flexible electronic devices