Nanostructured photoelectrochemical solar cells with polyaniline nanobelts acting as hole conductors

通讯作者地址: Chen, ZNanostructured photoelectrochemical solar cells have been prepared by combining a Sb2S3-sensitized photoactive electrode, polyaniline nanobelts, and a Ag counter electrode to form a layered structure. Here, Sb2S3 acts as an absorbing semiconductor, and polyaniline acts as both a hole conductor and light absorber (a hole-conducting dye). Via the optimization that eventually determines the chemical bath deposition duration to be 3 h, the cell shows a high photovoltaic performance with 7.05 mA/cm(2)-short-circuit current density, 0.695 V-open-circuit voltage, 0.457 fill factor, and 2.24 % power conversion efficiency. The prepared devices are stable under room light in ambient conditions (even without encapsulation).NNSF of China 2132700

Giant polarization in super-tetragonal ferroelectric thin films through interphase strain

Strain engineering has emerged as a powerful tool to enhance the performance of known functional materials. Here we demonstrate a general and practical method to obtain super-tetragonality and giant polarization using interphase strain. We use this method to create an out-of-plane–to–in-plane lattice parameter ratio of 1.238 in epitaxial composite thin films of tetragonal lead titanate (PbTiO3), compared to 1.065 in bulk. These thin films with super-tetragonal structure possess a giant remanent polarization, 236.3 microcoulombs per square centimeter, which is almost twice the value of known ferroelectrics. The super-tetragonal phase is stable up to 725°C, compared to the bulk transition temperature of 490°C. The interphase-strain approach could enhance the physical properties of other functional materials.PostprintPeer reviewe

In₂S₃@TiO₂/In₂S₃ Z-Scheme Heterojunction with Synergistic Effect for Enhanced Photocathodic Protection of Steel

In this work, a TiO2/In2S3 heterojunction film was successfully synthesized using a one-step hydrothermal method and applied in the photocathodic protection (PCP) of 304SS. The octahedral In2S3 and In2S3@TiO2 nanoparticles combined and coexisted with each other, with In2S3 quantum dots growing on the surface of TiO2 to form In2S3@TiO2 with a wrapping structure. The composite photoelectrode, which includes TiO2 with a mixed crystalline phase and In2S3, exhibited significantly enhanced PCP performance for 304SS compared with pure In2S3 and TiO2. The In2S3@TiO2/In2S3 composites with 0.3 g of P25 titanium dioxide (P25) showed the best protection performance, resulting in a cathodic shift of its OCP coupled with 304SS to −0.664 VAgCl. The electron transfer tracking results demonstrate that In2S3@TiO2/In2S3 forms a Z-scheme heterojunction structure. The enhanced PCP performance could be attributed to the synergistic effect of the mixed crystalline phase and the Z-scheme heterojunction system. The mixed crystalline phase of TiO2 provides more electrons, and these electrons are gathered at higher energy potentials in the Z-scheme system. Additionally, the built-in electric field further promotes the more effective electrons transfer from photoelectrode to the protected metals, thus, leading to enhanced photoelectrochemical cathodic protection of 304SS

MoS2 nanoflower supported Pt nanoparticle as an efficient electrocatalyst for ethanol oxidation reaction

Developing highly active and stable ethanol oxidation electrocatalysts is crucial for direct ethanol fuel cells. Herein, platinum/molybdenum disulfide nanoflower (Pt/MoS2) nano-composite is synthesized through a facile method and is first applied as catalyst for ethanol oxidation reaction. In situ electrochemical nuclear magnetic resonance is carried out to investigate the electrocatalytic activity of Pt/MoS2 and the detailed mechanism of ethanol oxidation reaction. Experimental results indicate that in situ electrochemical nuclear magnetic resonance possesses great advantages for real-time investigation of ethanol oxidation reaction, and Pt/MoS2 is found to exhibit better electrocatalytic performances in terms of higher current density, better stability, and stronger anti-poisoning activity compared to commercial Pt/C and pure Pt catalysts in acid electrolyte, suggesting its potential for application in direct ethanol fuel cells. Density functional theory calculations indicate that MoS2-supported Pt atom has a smaller energy barrier for the dissociation of ethanol compared to those of Pt and C-supported Pt atom, leading to the enhancement of catalytic activity. This work reveals the importance of the supporting materials for high performance direct ethanol fuel cells catalysts

Microenvironment-Sensitive Fluorescent Dyes for Recognition of Serum Albumin in Urine and Imaging in Living Cells

A series of microenvironment-sensitive fluorescent dyes, <b>SA1</b>–<b>4</b>, have been presented, which can light up human serum albumin (HSA) in aqueous media and solid state with colorful emissions as well as dramatic fluorescence enhancements respectively, based on twisted intramolecular charge transfer and molecular rotor strategy. These microenvironment-sensitive <b>SA1</b>–<b>4</b> exhibited excellent fluorescent capabilities in the fast, convenient, selective, and sensitive recognition of HSA, especially in the quantitative albumin assay in human urine for assessment of kidney function and diagnosis of renal disease. Moreover, <b>SA1</b>–<b>4</b>/HSA complexes could be applied in fluorescence imaging in living cells

Immunophenotypes Based on the Tumor Immune Microenvironment Allow for Unsupervised Penile Cancer Patient Stratification

The tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) plays an important role in penile squamous cell carcinoma (peSCC) pathogenesis. Here, the immunophenotype of the TIME in peSCC was determined by integrating the expression patterns of immune checkpoints (programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1), cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4), and Siglec-15) and the components of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, including CD8+ or Granzyme B+ T cells, FOXP3+ regulatory T cells, and CD68+ or CD206+ macrophages, in 178 patients. A high density of Granzyme B, FOXP3, CD68, CD206, PD-1, and CTLA-4 was associated with better disease-specific survival (DSS). The patients with diffuse PD-L1 tumor cell expression had worse prognoses than those with marginal or negative PD-L1 expression. Four immunophenotypes were identified by unsupervised clustering analysis, based on certain immune markers, which were associated with DSS and lymph node metastasis (LNM) in peSCC. There was no significant relationship between the immunophenotypes and high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection. However, the hrHPV&ndash;positive peSCC exhibited a higher density of stromal Granzyme B and intratumoral PD-1 than the hrHPV&ndash;negative tumors (p = 0.049 and 0.002, respectively). In conclusion, the immunophenotypes of peSCC were of great value in predicting LNM and prognosis, and may provide support for clinical stratification management and immunotherapy intervention

Study on the Hydrogen Permeation Through Zinc Electrodeposit

针对氢在镀锌层中的扩散渗透性，采用电化学氢渗透技术对Ｆｅ／电镀Ｚｎ双层试样进行了研究．得到了镀锌层的厚度对镀层氢扩散系数以及氢稳态渗透通量的影响方式．研究结果表明，电镀锌层中氢扩散系数约为１０－１１ｃｍ２·ｓ－１数量级，镀锌层能够阻滞氢的扩散渗透．相应地，随镀层厚度增大，试样氢稳态渗透通量和氢有效扩散系数减小The electrochemical hydrogen_permeation technique was used to study hydrogen permeation through zinc electrodeposit with bilayer specimens of Fe substrate/zinc electrodeposit.The effect of coating thickness on hydrogen diffusion coefficient and hydrogen steady-state flux was studied. The results showed that hydrogen diffusion coefficient was approximately in the range of 10-11 cm2s-1 rank and zinc coating could retard hydrogen permeation. Accordingly, hydrogen steady_state flux and effective diffusion coefficient declined while the coating thickness increased.作者联系地址：北京科技大学表面科学与腐蚀工程系Author's Address: Dept.of Surf. Sci. and Corrosion Engin.Univ. of Sci. and Tech. Beijing,Beijing10008