Multi-Layered Branched Surface Fluorination on PVDF Membrane for Anti-Scaling Membrane Distillation.

Membrane distillation (MD) has emerged as a promising technology for hypersaline wastewater treatment. However, membrane scaling is still a critical issue for common hydrophobic MD membranes. Herein, we report a multi-layered surface modification strategy on the commercial polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane via plasma treatment and surface fluorination cycles. The repeated plasma treatment process generates more reaction sites for the fluorination reaction, leading to higher fluorination density and more branched structures. MD tests with CaSO4 as the scaling agent show that the modification strategy mentioned above improves the membrane scaling resistance. Notably, the PVDF membrane treated with three cycles of plasma and fluorination treatments exhibits the best anti-scaling performance while maintaining almost the same membrane flux as the unmodified PVDF membrane. This study suggests that a highly branched surface molecular structure with low surface energy benefits the MD process in both membrane flux and scaling resistance. Besides, our research demonstrates a universal and facile approach for membrane treatment to improve membrane scaling resistance.

Improved Efficiency and Stability of Red Phosphorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes via Selective Deuteration.

The secondary kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) of red phosphorescent Ir(III) complexes and the corresponding devices have been investigated. The selective deuterated red emitters show negligible influence on the luminescent spectra, but have positive effects on the quantum efficiencies and stabilities in the devices. As secondary KIEs predicted, the photolysis coinciding with the electrolysis of the deuterated complexes in the devices, measured via decreasing of luminescent intensity, are reduced in rate. An about 33% increase of the device working lifetime could be readily obtained with the strategy of selective deuteration on the emitter complexes. The findings demonstrate the importance of the isotopic effect on the performance improvement of organic light emitting devices and will also trigger the study on organic optoelectronic materials via isotopic tools.

Clinical impact of Fn-induced high expression of KIR2DL1 in CD8 T lymphocytes in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the correlation between the inducing effect of Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) on the surface expression of the inhibitory receptor KIR2DL1 on CD8+ T cells in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and the clinicopathological features and survival prognosis and to explore its clinical significance. METHODS: The inducing effect of Fn on CD8+ T cell surface inhibitory receptor KIR2DL1 expression was analyzed in a coculture system of human CD8+ T cells and ESCC cells infected with Fn. Fn infection and the expression of KIR2DL1 on CD8+ T cells were detected by RNAscope and immunohistochemistry in ESCC tissues, and the correlations between the inducing effect of Fn on KIR2DL1 expression on CD8+ T cells and clinicopathological features were analyzed. COX regression was used to analyze the influence of each factor on the prognosis of ESCC. Survival curves were plotted by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the effect of KIR2DL1 induction on survival time was analyzed by the log-rank test. RESULTS: In the coculture system, KIR2DL1 expression on the surface of CD8+ T cells increased with increasing Fn infection time. In ESCC tissues, Fn infection was significantly correlated with high KIR2DL1 expression on CD8+ T cells. The Fn + CD8+KIR2DL1 positive patients were predominantly males who were smokers and alcohol drinkers. Moreover, patients with Fn infection were characterized by poor tumour differentiation, advanced clinical stage, and a short survival time. Meanwhile, Fn + CD8+KIR2DL1 positive group was independent risk factor affecting the prognosis of ESCC patients. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term drinking and smoking lead to an extremely unhealthy oral environment in which Fn infection and colonization are more likely to occur, thus inducing high expression of KIR2DL1 on the surface of CD8+ T cells, which can weaken the antitumour immune response and promote the malignant progression of ESCC.HIGHLIGHTSFn induced high expression of KIR2DL1 CD8+ T cells in a time-dependent manner.Fn can reduce the response of tumour cells to CDDP.The inducing effect of Fn on CD8+ T cell surface KIR2DL1 expression was significantly associated with the poor prognosis of ESCC patients.

Low-Threshold Amplified Spontaneous Emission from Air-Stable CsPbBr3 Perovskite Films Containing Trace Amounts of Polyethylene Oxide.

Organic additives can enhance the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) performance of inorganic cesium lead halide perovskites (CsPbBr3 ) but volatility, potential hygroscopicity and oxidative degradation of these additives jeopardizes the thermal stability and shelf-life of blended CsPbBr3 films. To address this problem, we have fabricated perovskite films in a two-step solution protocol involving as little added polyethylene oxide (PEO) as possible. These films exhibited enhanced crystallization, improved photoluminescence (PL) intensity and prolonged lifetimes. Their hierarchical morphology and surface passivation lowered the ASE threshold from 278 to 176 µÐˆ/cm2 under one-photon nanosecond laser excitation. The proportion of added PEO was 0.3 wt% and was subsequently almost fully removed, thereby reducing its adverse influence on the stability of resulting films under continuous pulsed laser excitation. Stable ASE spectra could be stimulated after storage in air for 10 months.

Structural modulation induced by cobalt-based ionic liquids for enhanced thermoelectric transport in PEDOT:PSS.

Poly(3,4ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has been intensively studied for its thermoelectric applications. Structural modulation to improve crystalline ordering, chain conformation and film morphology is a promising way to decouple the trade-off between conductivity and Seebeck coefficient and thus improve the thermoelectric power factor. Post treatment with ionic liquid ([CoCl2 ⋅ 6H2 O]:[ChCl]) bearing cobalt-containing anions resulted in a remarkable enhancement of the power factor to 76.8 µW m-1 K-2 . This IL combines the influence of a high-boiling polar organic solvent and diffusing ions. A high σ mainly resulted from the efficient removal of PSS chains, ordering of the structure and delocalization of bipoloran-dominant transport after conformational change. The increase in S was not due to dedoping of PEDOT chains, but rather the sharp feature of the density of states at the Fermi level induced by ion-exchange with unconventional anions.

Coordination polymers for n-type thermoelectric applications.

Coordination polymers (CPs) are potential thermoelectric (TE) materials to replace the sometimes costly, brittle and toxic heavy metal inorganic TEs for near-ambient-temperature applications. Air-stable and highly conductive p-type thermoelectric CPs are relatively well known, but the their n-type counterparts are only now emerging and both are needed for most practical applications. This perspective reviews recent advances in the development of n-type thermoelectric CPs, particularly the 1D and 2D metal bisdithiolenes, and introduces a relatively new class of guest@metal-organic framework(MOF)-based composites. Low dimensional CPs with reasonable n-type thermoelectric performance are emerging with good charge mobility and air-stability but still relatively low electrical conductivity.