Understanding Electrocatalytic Hydrodechlorination of Chlorophenols on Palladium-Modified Cathode in Aqueous Solution

This work aimed at investigating electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination (ECH) mechanisms of chlorophenols (CPs) on a Pd-modified cathode. Experiments on the ECH of 2,4-dichlorophenol were conducted under extreme test conditions, i.e., with various buffer solutions and several sodium salt solutions as supporting electrolytes. Buffer solutions promote dechlorination due to their property of retarding the alkalinity of a solution. ECH was found to be significantly inhibited by sulfite. Experimental results showed that sulfite poisoning on Pd catalysts was reversible. Protonation may account, at least in part, for the observed high pH dependency of ECH, which proceeded rapidly, with lower apparent activation energy (<i>E</i>_a) in the acidic electrolyte. In addition, pH influenced the selectivity of dechlorination of CPs. It was inferred that the ECH of CPs on the Pd-modified electrode was a preactivated electrocatalytic reaction

Defect-Healed Carbon Nanomembranes for Enhanced Salt Separation: Scalable Synthesis and Performance

Carbon nanomembranes (CNMs), with a high density of subnanometer channels, enable superior salt separation performance compared to conventional membranes. However, defects that occur during the synthesis and transfer processes impede their technical realization on a macroscopic scale. Here, we introduce a practical and scalable interfacial polymerization method to effectively heal defects while preserving the subnanometer pores within CNMs. The defect-healed freestanding CNMs show an exceptional performance in forward osmosis (FO), achieving a water flux of 105 L m–2 h–1 and a specific reverse salt flux of 0.1 g L–1 when measured with 1 M NaCl as draw solution. This water flux is 10 times higher than that of commercially available FO membranes, and the reverse salt flux is 70% lower. Through successful implementation of the defect-healing method and support optimization, we demonstrate the synthesis of fully functional, centimeter-scale CNM-based composite membranes showing high water permeance and a high salt rejection. Our defect-healing method presents a promising pathway to overcome limitations in CNM synthesis, advancing their potential for practical salt separation applications

Image_1_Physiological concentration of protocatechuic acid directly protects vascular endothelial function against inflammation in diabetes through Akt/eNOS pathway.JPEG

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been the major cause of mortality in type 2 diabetes. However, new approaches are still warranted since current diabetic medications, which focus mainly on glycemic control, do not effectively lower cardiovascular mortality rate in diabetic patients. Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a phenolic acid widely distributed in garlic, onion, cauliflower and other plant-based foods. Given the anti-oxidative effects of PCA in vitro, we hypothesized that PCA would also have direct beneficial effects on endothelial function in addition to the systemic effects on vascular health demonstrated by previous studies.Methods and resultsSince IL-1β is the major pathological contributor to endothelial dysfunction in diabetes, the anti-inflammatory effects of PCA specific on endothelial cells were further verified by the use of IL-1β-induced inflammation model. Direct incubation of db/db mouse aortas with physiological concentration of PCA significantly ameliorated endothelium-dependent relaxation impairment, as well as reactive oxygen species overproduction mediated by diabetes. In addition to the well-studied anti-oxidative activity, PCA demonstrated strong anti-inflammatory effects by suppressing the pro-inflammatory cytokines MCP1, VCAM1 and ICAM1, as well as increasing the phosphorylation of eNOS and Akt in the inflammatory endothelial cell model induced by the key player in diabetic endothelial dysfunction IL-1β. Upon blocking of Akt phosphorylation, p-eNOS/eNOS remained low and the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines by PCA ceased.ConclusionPCA exerts protection on vascular endothelial function against inflammation through Akt/eNOS pathway, suggesting daily acquisition of PCA may be encouraged for diabetic patients.</p

Image_2_Physiological concentration of protocatechuic acid directly protects vascular endothelial function against inflammation in diabetes through Akt/eNOS pathway.jpg

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been the major cause of mortality in type 2 diabetes. However, new approaches are still warranted since current diabetic medications, which focus mainly on glycemic control, do not effectively lower cardiovascular mortality rate in diabetic patients. Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a phenolic acid widely distributed in garlic, onion, cauliflower and other plant-based foods. Given the anti-oxidative effects of PCA in vitro, we hypothesized that PCA would also have direct beneficial effects on endothelial function in addition to the systemic effects on vascular health demonstrated by previous studies.Methods and resultsSince IL-1β is the major pathological contributor to endothelial dysfunction in diabetes, the anti-inflammatory effects of PCA specific on endothelial cells were further verified by the use of IL-1β-induced inflammation model. Direct incubation of db/db mouse aortas with physiological concentration of PCA significantly ameliorated endothelium-dependent relaxation impairment, as well as reactive oxygen species overproduction mediated by diabetes. In addition to the well-studied anti-oxidative activity, PCA demonstrated strong anti-inflammatory effects by suppressing the pro-inflammatory cytokines MCP1, VCAM1 and ICAM1, as well as increasing the phosphorylation of eNOS and Akt in the inflammatory endothelial cell model induced by the key player in diabetic endothelial dysfunction IL-1β. Upon blocking of Akt phosphorylation, p-eNOS/eNOS remained low and the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines by PCA ceased.ConclusionPCA exerts protection on vascular endothelial function against inflammation through Akt/eNOS pathway, suggesting daily acquisition of PCA may be encouraged for diabetic patients.</p