Ionic Liquid Assisted Chemical Strategy to TiO₂ Hollow Nanocube Assemblies with Surface-Fluorination and Nitridation and High Energy Crystal Facet Exposure for Enhanced Photocatalysis

Realization of anionic nonmetal doping and high energy crystal facet exposure in TiO₂ photocatalysts has been proven to be an effective approach for significantly improving their photocatalytic performance. A facile strategy of ionic liquid assisted etching chemistry by simply hydrothermally etching hollow TiO₂ spheres composed of TiO₂ nanoparticles with an ionic liquid of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate without any other additives is developed to create highly active anatase TiO₂ nanocubes and TiO₂ nanocube assemblies. With this one-pot ionic liquid assisted etching process, the surface-fluorination and nitridation and high energy {001} crystal facets exposure can be readily realized simultaneously. Compared with the benchmark materials of P25 and TiO₂ nanostructures with other hierarchical architectures of hollow spheres, flaky spheres, and spindles synthesized by hydrothermally etching hollow TiO₂ spheres with nonionic liquid of NH₄F, the TiO₂ nanocubes and TiO₂ nanocube assemblies used as efficient photocatalysts show super high photocatalytic activity for degradation of methylene blue, methyl orange, and rhodamine B, due to their surface-fluorination and nitridation and high energy crystal facet exposure. The ionic liquid assisted etching chemistry is facile and robust and may be a general strategy for synthesizing other metal oxides with high energy crystal facets and surface doping for improving photocatalytic activity

Organic Selenium Supplementation Increases Mercury Excretion and Decreases Oxidative Damage in Long-Term Mercury-Exposed Residents from Wanshan, China

Due to a long history of extensive mercury mining and smelting activities, local residents in Wanshan, China, are suffering from elevated mercury exposure. The objective of the present study was to study the effects of oral supplementation with selenium-enriched yeast in these long-term mercury-exposed populations. One hundred and three volunteers from Wanshan area were recruited and 53 of them were supplemented with 100 μg of organic selenium daily as selenium-enriched yeast while 50 of them were supplemented with the nonselenium-enriched yeast for 3 months. The effects of selenium supplementation on urinary mercury, selenium, and oxidative stress-related biomarkers including malondialdehyde and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine were assessed. This 3-month selenium supplementation trial indicated that organic selenium supplementation could increase mercury excretion and decrease urinary malondialdehyde and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine levels in local residents