Effect of Aerated Irrigation on the Growth and Rhizosphere Soil Fungal Community Structure of Greenhouse Grape Seedlings

Conventional irrigation methods decrease greenhouse soil aeration, which leads to restricted root growth and reduced soil fungal abundance in greenhouse grapes. In this study, aerated irrigation equipment was used to investigate the effects of aerated irrigation on the biomass accumulation, root growth, and soil fungal community structure of grape seedlings. The results show that aerated irrigation significantly increased the root length, root surface area, root volume, and number of root tips by 38.5%, 32.1%, 62.1%, and 23.4%, respectively, at a soil depth of 20–40 cm (p ≤ 0.05). The chao1 index and ACE index of fungi at different soil depths under aerated irrigation were higher than those without aerated treatment; aerated irrigation changed the relative abundance of dominant fungi in rhizosphere soil. At a soil depth of 20–40 cm, aerated irrigation increased the abundance of Fusarium by 42.2%. Aerated irrigation also contributed to the abundance of the beneficial fungal genera Mortierella, Cladosporium, and Glomus. At a soil depth of 0–20 cm, the abundance of Mortierella in the soil that received aerated treatment was 180.6% higher than in the control treatment. These findings suggest that aerated irrigation is a promising strategy for the promotion of grape root growth and biomass accumulation, and it can also increase the abundance of some beneficial fungi

Strongly coupled metal oxide nanorod arrays with graphene nanoribbons and nanosheets enable novel solid-state hybrid cells

Electrochemical capacitors and rechargeable batteries are still limited in applications by the low energy and power densities they can deliver, respectively, holding back their deployment in electric vehicles. Here we develop a type of solid-state hybrid cells (SHCs) composed of graphene nanoribbons and nanosheets-coated metal oxide nanorod arrays ((MOx/GNR)@GNS). GNR and GNS are deposited on the surface of MOx nanorod arrays to improve the electron transport characteristic, and thus enhance the energy storage performance. The (MOx/GNR)@GNS-based SHCs can achieve a maximum volumetric energy density of 0.9 mWh cm(-3), and still retain 0.4 mWh cm(-3) even at 0.1 W cm(-3). The energy storage performance is much better than the electrochemical capacitors reported previously, and can even rival the commercial Li thin-film battery but with a significantly higher power density, lower cost and higher safety. Also demonstrated is the good long-term cycle life with only similar to 17% loss after 2500 cycles. These salient features make the (MOx/GNR)@GNS composites-based SHCs a strong contender for electrochemical energy storage. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Core-shell Co@Co3O4 nanoparticle-embedded bamboo-like nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (BNCNTs) as a highly active electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction

The current bottleneck for fuel cells and metal-air batteries lies in the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on the cathode side. Despite tremendous efforts, to develop a highly efficient ORR catalyst at low cost remains a great challenge. Herein, we have synthesized core-shell Co@Co3O4 nanoparticles embedded in the bamboo-like N-doped carbon tubes (BNCNTs) by a simple approach comprising thermal treatment of cobalt carbonate hydroxide and urea and oxidization. The ORR catalytic activities of the Co@Co3O4/BNCNT composites are closely dependent on the oxidization degree of the Co nanoparticles and the N content in the BNCNTs. When oxidized at 300 degrees C, the as-formed Co@Co3O4/BNCNTs-300 composite catalyst with an N/C molar ratio of similar to 1.6% achieves the maximum ORR catalytic activity. The composite catalyst also exhibits a higher ORR catalytic activity than the Co3O4/carbon nanotube (CNT) catalyst. The tolerance for methanol molecules and the cycle stability performance of the composite catalyst are even superior to those of the highly efficient Pt/C catalyst. Such an excellent ORR catalytic activity can be ascribed to (1) the core-shell Co@Co3O4 nanoparticles embedded in BNCNTs, (2) the N-doping in BNCNTs, and (3) the synergetic effect of (1) and (2) on Co3O4 firmly attached to both Co nanoparticles and BNCNTs, resulting in accelerated electron transport and enhanced charge delocalization

Electrochemical C-N coupling with perovskite hybrids toward efficient urea synthesis

Electrocatalytic C-N coupling reaction by co-activation of both N-2 and CO2 molecules under ambient conditions to synthesize valuable urea opens a new avenue for sustainable development, while the actual catalytic activity is limited by poor adsorption and coupling capability of gas molecules on the catalyst surface. Herein, theoretical calculation predicts that the well-developed built-in electric field in perovskite hetero-structured BiFeO3/BiVO4 hybrids can accelerate the local charge redistribution and thus promote the targeted adsorption and activation of inert N-2 and CO2 molecules on the generated local electrophilic and nucleophilic regions. Thus, a BiFeO3/BiVO4 heterojunction is designed and synthesized, which delivers a urea yield rate of 4.94 mmol h(-1) g(-1) with a faradaic efficiency of 17.18% at -0.4 V vs. RHE in 0.1 M KHCO3, outperforming the highest values reported as far. The comprehensive analysis further confirms that the local charge redistribution in the heterojunction effectively suppresses CO poisoning and the formation of the endothermic *NNH intermediate, which thus guarantees the exothermic coupling of *N=N* intermediates with the generated CO via C-N coupling reactions to form the urea precursor *NCON* intermediate. This work opens a new avenue for effective electrocatalytic C-N coupling under ambient conditions

Palladium Nanoparticles Anchored on Amine-Functionalized Silica Nanotubes as a Highly Effective Catalyst

The catalytic performance of supported heterogeneous catalysts is mainly dependent on their constitutive components including active species and supports. Therefore, the design and development of effective catalysts with synergistic enhanced effect between active sites and supports is of great significance. A facile in situ reduction approach to prepare amine-functionalized silica nanotubes (ASNTs)-supported Pd (ASNTs@Pd) composite catalyst is demonstrated in this article. Benefiting from the intrinsic physical and chemical properties of the ASNTs support and deposited Pd nanoparticles (NPs), the as-prepared ASNTs@Pd catalyst exhibits superior catalytic activity, stability, and reusability toward nitroarene reduction reactions. For catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol, the turnover frequency (TOF) is as high as 313.5 min^–1, which is much higher than that of commercial Pd/C (5.0 wt %) and many noble-metal based catalysts reported in the last 5 years. In addition, a high TOF of 57.4 min^–1 was also realized by ASNTs@Pd catalyst for the Suzuki coupling reaction

Energy harvesting research:the road from single source to multisource

Abstract Energy harvesting technology may be considered an ultimate solution to replace batteries and provide a long‐term power supply for wireless sensor networks. Looking back into its research history, individual energy harvesters for the conversion of single energy sources into electricity are developed first, followed by hybrid counterparts designed for use with multiple energy sources. Very recently, the concept of a truly multisource energy harvester built from only a single piece of material as the energy conversion component is proposed. This review, from the aspect of materials and device configurations, explains in detail a wide scope to give an overview of energy harvesting research. It covers single‐source devices including solar, thermal, kinetic and other types of energy harvesters, hybrid energy harvesting configurations for both single and multiple energy sources and single material, and multisource energy harvesters. It also includes the energy conversion principles of photovoltaic, electromagnetic, piezoelectric, triboelectric, electrostatic, electrostrictive, thermoelectric, pyroelectric, magnetostrictive, and dielectric devices. This is one of the most comprehensive reviews conducted to date, focusing on the entire energy harvesting research scene and providing a guide to seeking deeper and more specific research references and resources from every corner of the scientific community