21 research outputs found
Fuel-Free Light-Powered TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus Micromotors for Enhanced Nitroaromatic Explosives Degradation
Nitroaromatic explosives such as
2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (2,4,6-TNT) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT)
are two common nitroaromatic compounds in ammunition. Their leakage
leads to serious environmental pollution and threatens human health.
It is important to remove or decompose them rapidly and efficiently.
In this work, we present that light-powered TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus
micromotors have high efficiency for the “on-the-fly”
photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-DNT and 2,4,6-TNT in pure water
under UV irradiation. The redox reactions, induced by photogenerated
holes and electrons on the TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus micromotor surfaces,
produce a local electric field that propels the micromotors as well
as oxidative species that are able to photodegrade 2,4-DNT and 2,4,6-TNT.
Furthermore, the moving TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus micromotors show
an efficient degradation of nitroaromatic compounds as compared to
the stationary ones thanks to the enhanced mixing and mass transfer
in the solution by movement of these micromotors. Such fuel-free light-powered
micromotors for explosive degradation are expected to find a way to
environmental remediation and security applications
Fuel-Free Light-Powered TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus Micromotors for Enhanced Nitroaromatic Explosives Degradation
Nitroaromatic explosives such as
2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (2,4,6-TNT) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT)
are two common nitroaromatic compounds in ammunition. Their leakage
leads to serious environmental pollution and threatens human health.
It is important to remove or decompose them rapidly and efficiently.
In this work, we present that light-powered TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus
micromotors have high efficiency for the “on-the-fly”
photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-DNT and 2,4,6-TNT in pure water
under UV irradiation. The redox reactions, induced by photogenerated
holes and electrons on the TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus micromotor surfaces,
produce a local electric field that propels the micromotors as well
as oxidative species that are able to photodegrade 2,4-DNT and 2,4,6-TNT.
Furthermore, the moving TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus micromotors show
an efficient degradation of nitroaromatic compounds as compared to
the stationary ones thanks to the enhanced mixing and mass transfer
in the solution by movement of these micromotors. Such fuel-free light-powered
micromotors for explosive degradation are expected to find a way to
environmental remediation and security applications
Fuel-Free Light-Powered TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus Micromotors for Enhanced Nitroaromatic Explosives Degradation
Nitroaromatic explosives such as
2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (2,4,6-TNT) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT)
are two common nitroaromatic compounds in ammunition. Their leakage
leads to serious environmental pollution and threatens human health.
It is important to remove or decompose them rapidly and efficiently.
In this work, we present that light-powered TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus
micromotors have high efficiency for the “on-the-fly”
photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-DNT and 2,4,6-TNT in pure water
under UV irradiation. The redox reactions, induced by photogenerated
holes and electrons on the TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus micromotor surfaces,
produce a local electric field that propels the micromotors as well
as oxidative species that are able to photodegrade 2,4-DNT and 2,4,6-TNT.
Furthermore, the moving TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus micromotors show
an efficient degradation of nitroaromatic compounds as compared to
the stationary ones thanks to the enhanced mixing and mass transfer
in the solution by movement of these micromotors. Such fuel-free light-powered
micromotors for explosive degradation are expected to find a way to
environmental remediation and security applications
Fuel-Free Light-Powered TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus Micromotors for Enhanced Nitroaromatic Explosives Degradation
Nitroaromatic explosives such as
2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (2,4,6-TNT) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT)
are two common nitroaromatic compounds in ammunition. Their leakage
leads to serious environmental pollution and threatens human health.
It is important to remove or decompose them rapidly and efficiently.
In this work, we present that light-powered TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus
micromotors have high efficiency for the “on-the-fly”
photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-DNT and 2,4,6-TNT in pure water
under UV irradiation. The redox reactions, induced by photogenerated
holes and electrons on the TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus micromotor surfaces,
produce a local electric field that propels the micromotors as well
as oxidative species that are able to photodegrade 2,4-DNT and 2,4,6-TNT.
Furthermore, the moving TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt Janus micromotors show
an efficient degradation of nitroaromatic compounds as compared to
the stationary ones thanks to the enhanced mixing and mass transfer
in the solution by movement of these micromotors. Such fuel-free light-powered
micromotors for explosive degradation are expected to find a way to
environmental remediation and security applications
Autonomous Motion and Temperature-Controlled Drug Delivery of Mg/Pt-Poly(<i>N</i>‑isopropylacrylamide) Janus Micromotors Driven by Simulated Body Fluid and Blood Plasma
In this work, we have demonstrated
the autonomous motion of biologically-friendly
Mg/Pt-Poly(<i>N</i>-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) Janus
micromotors in simulated body fluids (SBF) or blood plasma without
any other additives. The pit corrosion of chloride anions and the
buffering effect of SBF or blood plasma in removing the Mg(OH)<sub>2</sub> passivation layer play major roles for accelerating Mg–H<sub>2</sub>O reaction to produce hydrogen propulsion for the micromotors.
Furthermore, the Mg/Pt-PNIPAM Janus micromotors can effectively uptake,
transport, and temperature-control-release drug molecules by taking
advantage of the partial surface-attached thermoresponsive PNIPAM
hydrogel layers. The PNIPAM hydrogel layers on the micromotors can
be easily replaced with other responsive polymers or antibodies by
the surface modification strategy, suggesting that the as-proposed
micromotors also hold a promising potential for separation and detection
of heavy metal ions, toxicants, or proteins
Responsive Hydrogel-based Photonic Nanochains for Microenvironment Sensing and Imaging in Real Time and High Resolution
Microenvironment
sensing and imaging are of importance in microscale
zones like microreactors, microfluidic systems, and biological cells.
But they are so far implemented only based on chemical colors from
dyes or quantum dots, which suffered either from photobleaching, quenching,
or photoblinking behaviors, or from limited color gamut. In contrast,
structural colors from hydrogel-based photonic crystals (PCs) may
be stable and tunable in the whole visible spectrum by diffraction
peak shift, facilitating the visual detection with high accuracy.
However, the current hydrogel-based PCs are all inappropriate for
microscale detection due to the bulk size. Here we demonstrate the
smallest hydrogel-based PCs, responsive hydrogel-based photonic nanochains
with high-resolution and real-time response, by developing a general
hydrogen bond-guided template polymerization method. A variety of
mechanically separated stimuli-responsive hydrogel-based photonic
nanochains have been obtained in a large scale including those responding
to pH, solvent, and temperature. Each of them has a submicrometer
diameter and is composed of individual one-dimensional periodic structure
of magnetic particles locked by a tens-of-nanometer-thick peapod-like
responsive hydrogel shell. Taking the pH-responsive hydrogel-based
photonic nanochains, for example, pH-induced hydrogel volume change
notably alters the nanochain length, resulting in a significant variation
of the structural color. The submicrometer size endows the nanochains
with improved resolution and response time by 2–3 orders of
magnitude than the previous counterparts. Our results for the first
time validate the feasibility of using structural colors for microenvironment
sensing and imaging and may further promote the applications of responsive
PCs, such as in displays and printing
Complex-Mediated Synthesis of Tantalum Oxyfluoride Hierarchical Nanostructures for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
In
this work, we have, for the first time, developed a facile wet-chemical
route to obtain a novel photocatalytic material of tantalum oxyfluoride
hierarchical nanostructures composed of amorphous cores and single
crystalline TaO<sub>2</sub>F nanorod shells (ACHNs) by regulating
the one-step hydrothermal process of TaF<sub>5</sub> in a mixed solution
of isopropanol (i-PrOH) and H<sub>2</sub>O. In this approach, elaborately
controlling the reaction temperature and volume ratio of i-PrOH and
H<sub>2</sub>O enabled TaF<sub>5</sub> to transform into intermediate
coordination complex ions of [TaOF<sub>3</sub>·2F]<sup>2–</sup> and [TaF<sub>7</sub>]<sup>2–</sup>, which subsequently produced
tantalum oxyfluoride ACHNs via a secondary nucleation and growth due
to a stepwise change in hydrolysis rates of the two complex ions.
Because of the unique chemical composition, crystal structure and
micromorphology, the as-prepared tantalum oxyfluoride ACHNs show a
more negative flat band potential, an accelerated charge transfer,
and a remarkable surface area of 152.4 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>–1</sup> contributing to increased surface reaction sites. As a result, they
exhibit a photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production up to 1.95
mmol h<sup>–1</sup> g<sup>–1</sup> under the illumination
of a simulated solar light without any assistance of co-catalysts,
indicating that the as-prepared tantalum oxyfluoride ACHNs are a novel
promising photocatalytic material for hydrogen production
Low-Cost Carbothermal Reduction Preparation of Monodisperse Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/C Core–Shell Nanosheets for Improved Microwave Absorption
This
paper demonstrates a facile and low-cost carbothermal reduction preparation
of monodisperse Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/C core–shell nanosheets
(NSs) for greatly improved microwave absorption. In this protocol,
the redox reaction between sheet-like hematite (α-Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>) precursors and acetone under inert atmosphere and
elevated temperature generates Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/C core–shell
NSs with the morphology inheriting from α-Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>. Thus, Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/C core–shell NSs
of different sizes (<i>a</i>) and Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/C core–shell nanopolyhedrons are obtained by using different
precursors. Benefited from the high crystallinity of the Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> core and the thin carbon layer, the resultant NSs exhibit
high specific saturation magnetization larger than 82.51 emu·g<sup>–1</sup>. Simultaneously, the coercivity enhances with the
increase of <i>a</i>, suggesting a strong shape anisotropy
effect. Furthermore, because of the anisotropy structure and the complementary
behavior between Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> and C, the as-obtained
Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/C core–shell NSs exhibit strong
natural magnetic resonance at a high frequency, enhanced interfacial
polarization, and improved impedance matching, ensuring the enhancement
of the microwave absorption. The 250 nm NSs–paraffin composites
exhibit reflection loss (RL) lower than −20 dB (corresponding
to 99% absorption) in a large frequency (<i>f</i>) range
of 2.08–16.40 GHz with a minimum RL of −43.95 dB at <i>f</i> = 3.92 GHz when the thickness is tuned from 7.0 to 1.4
mm, indicating that the Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/C core–shell
NSs are a good candidate to manufacture high-performance microwave
absorbers. Moreover, the as-developed carbothermal reduction method
could be applied for the fabrication of other composites based on
ferrites and carbon
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Flexible Guidance of Microengines by Dynamic Topographical Pathways in Ferrofluids
In this work, we
demonstrate a simple, versatile, and real-time
motion guidance strategy for artificial microengines and motile microorganisms
in a ferrofluid by dynamic topographical pathways (DTPs), which are
assembled from superparamagnetic nanoparticles in response to external
magnetic field (<i>H</i>). In this general strategy, the
DTPs can exert anisotropic resistance forces on autonomously moving
microengines and thus regulate their orientation. As the DTPs with
different directions and lengths can be reversibly and swiftly assembled
in response to the applied <i>H</i>, the microengines in
the ferrofluid can be guided on demand with controlled motion directions
and trajectories, including circular, elliptical, straight-line, semi-sine,
and sinusoidal trajectories. The as-demonstrated control strategy
obviates reliance on the customized responses of micromotors and applies
to autonomously propelling agents swimming both in bulk and near substrate
walls. Furthermore, the microengines (or motile microorganisms) in
a ferrofluid can be considered as an integrated system, and it may
inspire the development of intelligent systems with cooperative functions
for biomedical and environmental applications