Ultrathin Nitrogen-Doped Holey Carbon@Graphene Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Reactions in Alkaline and Acidic Media.

Efficient nonprecious-metal oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts are key for the commercial viability of fuel cells, metal-air batteries, and water-splitting systems. Thus, high-performance ORR and OER electrocatalysts in acidic electrolytes are needed to support high-efficiency proton exchange membrane (PEM)-based systems. Herein, we report a new approach to design and prepare an ultrathin N-doped holey carbon layer (HCL) on a graphene sheet that exhibits outstanding bifunctional ORR/OER activities in both alkaline and acidic media. The edge sites of HCL are utilized to achieve selective doping of highly active pyridinic-N. The sandwiched graphene sheet provides mechanical support, stabilizes HCL structure and promotes charge transfer. The synergetic effect of the catalyst structure overcomes the drawbacks of holey graphene approaches. The resulting ORR and OER performances are equal to or better than the top-ranked electrocatalysts.

Bread-derived 3D macroporous carbon foams as high performance free-standing anode in microbial fuel cells.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a promising clean energy source to directly convert waste chemicals to available electric power. However, the practical application of MFCs needs the increased power density, enhanced energy conversion efficiency and reduced electrode material cost. In this study, three-dimensional (3D) macroporous N, P and S co-doped carbon foams (NPS-CFs) were prepared by direct pyrolysis of the commercial bread and employed as free-standing anodes in MFCs. As-obtained NPS-CFs have a large specific surface area (295.07 m2 g-1), high N, P and S doping level, and excellent electrical conductivity. A maximum areal power density of 3134 mW m-2 and current density of 7.56 A m-2 are generated by the MFCs equipped with as-obtained NPS-CF anodes, which is 2.57- and 2.63-fold that of the plain carbon cloth anodes (areal power density of 1218 mW m-2 and current density of 2.87 A m-2), respectively. Such improvement is explored to mainly originate from two respects: the good biocompatibility of NPS-CFs favors the bacterial adhesion and enrichment of electroactive Geobacter species on the electrode surface, while the high conductivity and improved bacteria-electrode interaction efficiently promote the extracellular electron transfer (EET) between the bacteria and the anode. This study provides a low-cost and sustainable way to fabricate high power MFCs for practical applications.

Molecular engineering of Ni-/Co-porphyrin multilayers on reduced graphene oxide sheets as bifunctional catalysts for oxygen evolution and oxygen reduction reactions.

Ni- and Co-porphyrin multilayers on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets are reported as novel bifunctional catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). After binding with organic porphyrin molecules, the catalytically-active Ni2+ and Co2+ ions are periodically constructed onto the rGO surfaces via the layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly technique. The resulting catalysts exhibit good performance towards both OER and ORR, which is achieved with accurate control of the composition and thickness of the multilayer structures. This work highlights the potential for the fabrication of efficient electrocatalysts via molecular design.

[Phenolic compounds from Rhododendron phaeochrysum var. agglutinatum].

Eight phenolic compounds were isolated from Rhododendron phaeochrysum var. agglutinatum and their sructures were identified as phaeochrysin (1), (2R)-4-(3',4'-dihydroxyphenyl) -2-butanol (2), (-) -rhododendrol (3), rhododendrin (4), (+) -isolariciresinol (5), (-) -lyoniresinol (6), lyoniresinol-9'-O-ß-D-xylopyranoside (7), and dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl-3a-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (8). Compound 1 is new, and compounds 2, 5-8 were isolated from this plant for the first time.

[Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus on the seedling growth of grafted watermelon and the defensive enzyme activities in the seedling roots].

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus versiforme on the seedling growth and root membrane permeability, malondiadehyde (MDA) content, and defensive enzyme activities of non-grafted and grafted watermelon growing on the continuously cropped soil. Inoculation with G. versiforme increased the seedling biomass and root activity significantly, and decreased the root membrane permeability and MDA content. The seedling shoot fresh mass, shoot dry mass, and root activity of non-grafted watermelon increased by 57.6%, 60.0% and 142.1%, and those of grafted watermelon increased by 26.7%, 28.0% and 11.0%, respectively, compared with no G. versiforme inoculation. The root membrane permeability of non-grafted seedlings (C), grafted seedlings (G), non-grafted seedlings inoculated with G. versiforme (C+M), and grafted seedlings inoculated with G. versiforme (G+M) was in the order of C >G>C+M>G+M, and the root MDA content was in the sequence of C>G>G+M>C+M. G. versiforme inoculation increased the root phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), beta-1,3-glucanase and chitinase activities of grafted and non-grafted seedlings significantly, and the peaks of the POD, PAL and beta-1,3-glucanase activities in the mycorrhizal roots appeared about two weeks earlier than those in the non-inoculated roots. These results indicated that inoculating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus G. versiforme could activate the defensive enzyme activities of non-grafted and grafted watermelon seedlings, enable the seedling roots to produce rapid response to adversity, and thus, improve the capability of watermelon seedling against continuous cropping obstacle.