A Generic Bamboo-Based Carbothermal Method for Preparing Carbide (SiC, B\u3csub\u3e4\u3c/sub\u3eC, TiC, TaC, NbC, Ti\u3csub\u3ex\u3c/sub\u3eNb\u3csub\u3e1-x\u3c/sub\u3eC, and Ta\u3csub\u3ex\u3c/sub\u3e Nb\u3csub\u3e1-x\u3c/sub\u3eC) Nanowires

Finding a general procedure to produce a whole class of materials in a similar way is a desired goal of materials chemistry. In this work, we report a new bamboo-based carbothermal method to prepare nanowires of covalent carbides (SiC and B4C) and interstitial carbides (TiC, TaC, NbC, TixNb1−xC, and TaxNb1−xC). The use of natural nanoporous bamboo as both the renewable carbon source and the template for the formation of catalyst particles greatly simplifies the synthesis process. Based on the structural, morphological and elemental analysis, volatileoxides or halides assisted vapour–liquid–solid growth mechanism was proposed. This bamboo based carbothermal method can be generalized to other carbide systems, providing a general, one-pot, convenient, low-cost, nontoxic, mass production, and innovative strategy for the synthesis of carbide nanostructures

Discovery, optimization, and target identification of novel coumarin derivatives as HIV-1 reverse transcriptase-associated ribonuclease H inhibitors

Despite significant advances in antiretroviral therapy, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome remains as one of the leading causes of death worldwide. New antiretroviral drugs combined with updated treatment strategies are needed to improve convenience, tolerability, safety, and antiviral efficacy of available therapies. In this work, a focused library of coumarin derivatives was exploited by cell phenotypic screening to discover novel inhibitors of HIV-1 replication. Five compounds (DW-3, DW-4, DW-11, DW-25 and DW-31) showed moderate activity against wild-type and drug-resistant strains of HIV-1 (IIIB and RES056). Four of those molecules were identified as inhibitors of the viral RT-associated RNase H. Structural modification of the most potent DW-3 and DW-4 led to the discovery of compound 8a. This molecule showed increased potency against wild-type HIV-1 strain (EC = 3.94 ± 0.22 μM) and retained activity against a panel of mutant strains, showing EC values ranging from 5.62 μM to 202 μM. In enzymatic assays, 8a was found to inhibit the viral RNase H with an IC of 12.3 μM. Molecular docking studies revealed that 8a could adopt a binding mode similar to that previously reported for other active site HIV-1 RNase H inhibitors.Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC Nos. 81973181, 81903453), Shandong Provincial Key research and development project (Nos. 2019JZZY021011), Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2019BH011, ZR2020YQ61, ZR2020JQ31), Foreign cultural and educational experts Project (GXL20200015001), Qilu Young Scholars Program of Shandong University, the Taishan Scholar Program at Shandong Province, and KU Leuven (GOA 10/014). Work in Madrid was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant PID2019-104176RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), and an institutional grant of Fundación Ramón Areces (Madrid, Spain)

Catalyst-Free Sytnthesis, Structural, and Mechanical Characterization of Twinned Mb\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3eB\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3eO\u3csub\u3e5\u3c/sub\u3e Nanowires

Mg2B2O5 nanowires with (010) twins were synthesized for the first time using a catalyst-free method. The microstructure of the Mg2B2O5 nanowires has been extensively studied by cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Nanoindentation tests were performed directly on individual nanowires to probe their mechanical properties. It was found that the twinned Mg2B2O5 nanowires achieve comparable hardness but 19% decrease in elastic modulus compared to their bulk counterpart. The elastic softening mechanisms of the Mg2B2O5 nanowires are discussed with reference to their twin defects, size, and surface effects

Nanomechnical Characterization of One-Step Combustion-Synthesized Al\u3csub\u3e4\u3c/sub\u3eB\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3eO\u3csub\u3e9\u3c/sub\u3e and Al\u3csub\u3e18\u3c/sub\u3eB\u3csub\u3e4\u3c/sub\u3eO\u3csub\u3e33\u3c/sub\u3e Nanowires

Two kinds of aluminum borate nanowires, Al4B2O9 and Al18B4O33, were successfully synthesized by a one-step combustion method through control of the Al:B atomic ratio and synthesis temperature. Both nanowires are single crystalline but have distinguishing growth habits. Nanoindentation tests were performed directly on individual nanowires to reveal their mechanical properties. A 70% reduction in elastic modulus was found in Al18B4O33 nanowires compared with their bulk counterpart. Al18B4O33 nanowires exhibited higher hardness and elastic modulus than Al4B2O9 nanowires

Surface engineering toward stable lithium metal anodes

The lithium (Li) metal anode (LMA) is susceptible to failure due to the growth of Li dendrites caused by an unsatisfied solid electrolyte interface (SEI). With this regard, the design of artificial SEIs with improved physicochemical and mechanical properties has been demonstrated to be important to stabilize the LMAs. This review comprehensively summarizes current efficient strategies and key progresses in surface engineering for constructing protective layers to serve as the artificial SEIs, including pretreating the LMAs with the reagents situated in different primary states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas) or using some peculiar pathways (plasma, for example). The fundamental characterization tools for studying the protective layers on the LMAs are also briefly introduced. Last, strategic guidance for the deliberate design of surface engineering is provided, and the current challenges, opportunities, and possible future directions of these strategies for the development of LMAs in practical applications are discussed.Published versionThis work is supported by the funding of the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFB2502000), the “Leading Innovative and Entrepreneur Team Introduction Program of Zhejiang” (2020R01002), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 52225208, 51972285, and U21A20174)