An Anti-Scaling Strategy for Electrochemical Wastewater Treatment: Leveraging Tip-Enhanced Electric Fields.

Electrode scaling poses a critical barrier to the adoption of electrochemical processes in wastewater treatment, primarily due to electrode inactivation and increased internal reactor resistance. We introduce an antiscaling strategy using tip-enhanced electric fields to redirect scale-forming compounds (e.g., Mg(OH)2 and CaCO3) from the electrode-electrolyte interface to the bulk solution. Our study utilized Cu nanowires (Cu NW) with high-curvature nanostructures as the cathode, in contrast to Cu nanoparticles (Cu NP), Cu foil (CF), and Cu mesh (CM), to evaluate the electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR) performance in hard water conditions. The Cu NW/CF cathode demonstrated superior NO3RR efficiency, with an apparent rate constant (Kapp) of 1.04 h-1, significantly outperforming control electrodes under identical conditions (Kapp < 0.051 h-1). Through experimental and theoretical analysis, including COMSOL simulations, we show that the high-curvature design of Cu NW induced localized electric field enhancements, propelling OH- ions away from the electrode surface into the bulk solution, thus mitigating scale formation on the cathode. Testing with real nitrate-contaminated wastewater confirms that the Cu NW/CF cathode maintained excellent denitrification efficiency over a 60-day period. This study offers a promising perspective on preventing electrode scaling in electrochemical wastewater treatment, paving the way for more efficient and sustainable practices.

Closed Bipolar Nanoelectrode Array for Ultra-Sensitive Detection of Alkaline Phosphatase and Two-Dimensional Imaging of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors.

The combination of closed bipolar electrodes (cBPE) with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) imaging has demonstrated remarkable capabilities in the field of bioanalysis. Here, we established a cBPE-ECL platform for ultrasensitive detection of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and two-dimensional imaging of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). This cBPE-ECL system consists of a high-density gold nanowire array in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane as the cBPE coupled with ECL of highly luminescent cadmium selenide quantum dots (CdSe QDs) luminophores to achieve cathodic electro-optical conversion. When an enzyme-catalyzed amplification effect of ALP with 4-aminophenyl phosphate monosodium salt hydrate (p-APP) as the substrate and 4-aminophenol (p-AP) as the electroactive probe is introduced, a significant improvement of sensing sensitivity with a detection limit as low as 0.5 fM for ALP on the cBPE-ECL platform can be obtained. In addition, the cBPE-ECL sensing system can also be used to detect cancer cells with an impressive detection limit of 50 cells/mL by labeling ALP onto the EGFR protein on A431 human epidermal cancer cell membranes. Thus, two-dimensional (2D) imaging of the EGFR proteins on the cell surface can be achieved, demonstrating that the established cBPE-ECL sensing system is of high resolution for spatiotemporal cell imaging.

Design of inductive electrostatic boom spray system based on embedded closed electrode structure and droplet distribution test in soybean field.

The large water demand, insufficient deposition on the back of the leaf and the uneven distribution of droplets are the problems of traditional agricultural ground plant protection machinery, which leads to low agricultural control efficiency. Combined with the advantages of electrostatic spray technology and the characteristics of high working efficiency and low probability of droplets drift of ground sprayer, an inductive electrostatic boom spray system based on embedded electrode structure is designed and mounted on a large self-propelled boom sprayer for field testing. Based on the working characteristics of the fan nozzle and the analysis of the theory of charge, the inductive electrostatic spray device is designed. The performance of the device is tested and the rationality of the system design is verified by COMSOL numerical simulations, charge-to-mass ratio, and particle size distribution measurements. The spray deposition scanning software and the Box-Behnken experimental design method are used to analyze the spray droplet deposition rate and coverage density of the sprayer on the front and back of the target leaves. The results show that the embedded closed electrode structure designed in this paper can avoid the problem of electrode wetting, and the electric field generated by it is mainly concentrated in the spray liquid film area, and the intensity reaches 6~7 V/m. At the conventional application height (500 mm), the maximum charge-to-mass ratio is 2.91 mC/kg, and the average particle size is 168.22 µm, which is 12.87% lower than that of ordinary spray, when the spray pressure is 0.3 MPa and the electrostatic voltage is 12 kV. The results of field experiments show that the optimum combination of the working parameters with the spray speed is 8.40 m/s, the spray pressure is 0.35 MPa, the charging voltage is 11.50 kV, the amount of droplet deposition in the lower dorsal area of the blade is 1.44 µL·cm-2. This study can provide a certain basis for the application of electrostatic spray technology in ground sprayers.

A disposable electrochemical magnetic immunosensor for the rapid and sensitive detection of 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine in DNA.

5-formylcytosine (5 fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC) serve as key intermediates in DNA demethylation process with significant implications for gene regulation and disease progression. In this study, we introduce a novel electrochemical sensing platform specifically designed for the sensitive and selective detection of 5 fC and 5caC in DNA. Protein A-modified magnetic beads (ProtA-MBs) coupled with specific antibodies facilitate the immunorecognition and enrichment of these modified bases. Signal amplification is achieved through several chemical reactions involving the interaction between N3-kethonaxl and guanine, copper-free click chemistry for the attachment of dibenzocyclooctyne (DBCO)-Biotin, and the subsequent recognition by streptavidin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase (SA-HRP). The assay's readout is performed on a disposable laser-induced graphene (LIG) electrode, modified with the bead-antibody-DNA complex in a magnetic field, and analyzed using differential pulse voltammetry in a system employing hydroquinone (HQ) as the redox mediator and H2O2 as the substrate. This immunosensor displayed excellent sensitivity, with detection limits of 14.8 fM for 5 fC across a 0.1-1000 pM linear range and 87.4 fM for 5caC across a 0.5-5000 pM linear range, and maintained high selectivity even in the presence of interferences from other DNA modifications. Successful application in quantifying 5 fC and 5caC in genomic DNA from cell extracts, with recovery rates between 97.7% to 102.9%, underscores its potential for clinical diagnostics. N3-kethoxal was used for the first time in an electrochemical sensor. This work not only broadens the toolkit for detecting DNA modifications but also provides a fresh impetus for the development of point-of-care testing (POCT) technologies.

Demulsification with simultaneous water purification by coupling filtration and enhanced oil droplet coalescence at anode interface in an electrochemical reactor.

With the increasing demand of recycling disposal of industrial wastewater, oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion has been paid much attention in recent years owing to its high oil content. However, due to the presence of surfactant and salt, the emulsion was usually stable with complex physicochemical interfacial properties leading to increased processing difficulty. Herein, a novel flow-through electrode-based demulsification reactor (FEDR) was well designed for the treatment of saline O/W emulsion. In contrast to 53.7% for electrical demulsification only and 80.3% for filtration only, the COD removal efficiency increased to 92.8% under FEDR system. Moreover, the pore size of electrode and the applied voltage were two key factors that governed the FEDR demulsification performance. By observing the morphology of oil droplets deposited layer after different operation conditions and the behavior of oil droplets at the electrode surface under different voltage conditions, the mechanism was proposed that the oil droplets first accumulated on the surface of flow-through electrode by sieving effect, subsequently the gathered oil droplets could further coalesce with the promoting effect of the anode, leading to a high-performing demulsification. This study offers an attractive option of using flow-through electrode to accomplish the oil recovery with simultaneous water purification.

Ion-Selective Metathesis Design of Flow-Electrode Capacitive Deionization for Energy-Saving and Anti-Scaling Softening of Brackish Water.

While flow-electrode capacitive deionization (FCDI) is recognized as an attractive desalination technology, its practical implementation has been hindered by the ease of scaling and energy-intensive nature of the single-cell FCDI system, particularly when treating brackish water with elevated levels of naturally coexisting SO42- and Ca2+. To overcome these obstacles, we propose and design an innovative ion-selective metathesis FCDI (ISM-FCDI) system, consisting of a two-stage tailored cell design. Results indicate that the specific energy consumption per unit volume of water for the ISM-FCDI is lower (by up to ∼50%) than that of a conventional single-stage FCDI due to the parallel circuit structure of the ISM-FCDI. Additionally, the ISM-FCDI benefits from a conspicuous disparity in the selective removal of ions at each stage. The separate storage of Ca2+ and SO42- by the metathesis process in the ISM-FCDI (46.25% Ca2+, 14.25% SO42- in electrode 1 and 4.75% Ca2+, 35.25% SO42- in electrode 2) can effectively prevent scaling. Furthermore, configuration-performance analysis on the ion-selective migration suggests that the properties of the ion exchange membrane, rather than the carbon species, govern the selectivity of ion removal. This work introduces system-level enhancements aimed at enhancing energy conservation and scaling prevention, providing critical optimization of the FCDI for brackish water softening.

Utilizing an Integrated Flow Cathode-Membrane Filtration System for Effective and Continuous Electrochemical Hydrodechlorination.

Pd-based electrodes are recognized to facilitate effective electrochemical hydrodechlorination (EHDC) as a result of their superior capacity for atomic hydrogen (H*) generation. However, challenges such as electrode stability, feasibility of treating complex matrices, and high cost associated with electrode synthesis hinder the application of Pd-based electrodes for EHDC. In this work, we investigated the feasibility of degrading 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) by EHDC employing Pd-loaded activated carbon particles, prepared via a simple wet-impregnation method, as a flow cathode (FC) suspension. Compared to other Pd-based EHDC studies, a much lower Pd loading (0.02-0.08 mg cm-2) was used. Because of the excellent mass transfer in the FC system, almost 100% 2,4-DCP was hydrodechlorinated to phenol within 1 h. The FC system also showed excellent performance in treating complex water matrices (including hardness ion-containing wastewater and various other chlorinated organics such as 2,4-dichlorobenzoic acid and trichloroacetic acid) with a relatively low energy consumption (0.26-1.56 kW h m-3 mg-1 of 2,4-DCP compared to 0.32-7.61 kW h m-3 mg-1 of 2,4-DCP reported by other studies). The FC synthesized here was stable over 36 h of continuous operation, indicating its potential suitability for real-world applications. Employing experimental investigations and mathematical modeling, we further show that hydrodechlorination of 2,4-DCP occurs via interaction with H*, with no role of direct electron transfer and/or HO•-mediated processes in the removal of 2,4-DCP.

Neural activity shaping in visual prostheses with deep learning.

OBJECTIVE: The visual perception provided by retinal prostheses is limited by the overlapping current spread of adjacent electrodes. This reduces the spatial resolution attainable with unipolar stimulation. Conversely, simultaneous multipolar stimulation guided by the measured neural responses - Neural Activity Shaping (NAS) - can attenuate excessive spread of excitation allowing for more precise control over the pattern of neural activation. However, predicting the results of a multipolar stimulus pattern is a challenging task. Previous attempts focused on analytical solutions based on an assumed linear nonlinear model of retinal response; an Analytical Model Inversion (AMI) approach. Here, we propose a model-free solution for NAS, using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) that could be trained with data acquired from the implant. APPROACH: Our method consists of two ANNs trained sequentially. The Measurement Predictor Network (MPN) is trained on data from the implant and is used to predict how the retina responds to multipolar stimulation. The Stimulus Generator Network (STG) is trained on a large dataset of natural images and uses the trained MPN to determine efficient multipolar stimulus patterns by learning its inverse model. We validate our method in silico using a realistic model of retinal response to multipolar stimulation. Main Results: We show that our ANN-based NAS approach produces sharper retinal activations than the conventional unipolar stimulation strategy. As a theoretical bench-mark of optimal NAS results, we implemented AMI stimulation by inverting the model used to simulate the retina. Our ANN strategy produced equivalent results to AMI, while not being restricted to any specific type of retina model and being three orders of magnitude more computationally efficient. SIGNIFICANCE: Our novel protocol provides a method for efficient and personalized retinal stimulation, which may improve the visual experience and quality of life of retinal prosthesis users. .

Comparative performance analysis of mussel-inspired polydopamine, polynorepinephrine, and poly-α-methyl norepinephrine in electrochemical biosensors.

Polydopamine (PDA) has garnered significant interest for applications in biosensors, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. However, similar polycatecholamines like polynorepinephrine (PNE) with additional hydroxyl groups and poly-α-methylnorepinephrine (PAMN) with additional hydroxyl and methyl groups remain unexplored in the biosensing domain. This research introduces three innovative biosensing platforms composed of ternary nanocomposite based on reduced graphene oxide (RGO), gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), and three sister polycatecholamine compounds (PDA, PNE, and PAMN). The study compares and evaluates the performance of the three biosensing systems for the ultrasensitive detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). The formation of the nanocomposites was meticulously examined through UV-Visible, Raman, XRD, and FT-IR studies with FE-SEM and HR-TEM analysis. Cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry measurements were also performed to determine the electrochemical characteristics of the modified electrodes. Electrochemical biosensing experiments reveal that the RGO-PDA-Au, RGO-PNE-Au, and RGO-PAMN-Au-based biosensors detected target DNA up to a broad detection range of 0.1 × 10-8 to 0.1 × 10-18 M, with a low detection limit (LOD) of 0.1 × 10-18, 0.1 × 10-16, and 0.1 × 10-17 M, respectively. The bioelectrodes were proved to be highly selective with excellent sensitivities of 3.62 × 10-4 mA M-1 (PDA), 7.08 × 10-4 mA M-1 (PNE), and 6.03 × 10-4 mA M-1 (PAMN). This study pioneers the exploration of two novel mussel-inspired polycatecholamines in biosensors, opening avenues for functional nanocoatings that could drive further advancements in this field.

[Research Progress of Functional Materials for Conversion of Agricultural Biomass Wastes].

Excess agricultural biomass waste is increasing rapidly, leading to many environmental and governance issues. Therefore, increased attention has been paid to the recycling and value-added application of agricultural biomass waste. In recent years, the research of agricultural biomass waste utilization and derived functional materials has mainly included the following two aspects： ① the extraction of natural polymers and value-added applications and ② the direct preparation of new carbon-based materials, including adsorption, catalysis, energy storage electrode, and composite functional materials. The conversion of agricultural biomass waste into functional materials has been gradually realized and widely used. To enable industrial-scale production and the quality and safety of agricultural biomass waste derivatives and to develop highly feasible and cost-effective biomass waste conversion methods should be the focus of future studies.

Technical note: Computational study on thermal management schemes for tumor-treating fields therapy.

BACKGROUND: The study focuses on thermal management in tumor-treating fields (TTFields) therapy, crucial for patient compliance and therapeutic effectiveness. TTFields therapy, an established treatment for glioblastoma, involves applying alternating electric fields to the brain. However, managing the thermal effects generated by electrodes is a major challenge, impacting patient comfort and treatment efficiency. PURPOSE: This research aims to explore methods for controlling temperature increases during TTFields therapy without reducing its duty cycle. The study emphasizes optimizing electrode configurations and array arrangements to mitigate temperature rise, thereby maintaining therapy effectiveness and patient compliance. METHODS: Using a simplified multi-layer tissue model and finite element analysis, various electrode configurations and array shapes were tested in COMSOL Multiphysics v6.0. Adjustments included changing the electrode gel layer radius from 8 to 12 mm, electrode spacing, and transitioning to a more uniform array arrangement, such as a square array or a circular array. RESULTS: The study revealed a strong correlation between high temperatures and edge current density distributions on electrodes. It was found that increasing the electrode gel layer's diameter, enlarging electrode spacing, and adopting a uniform array arrangement markedly mitigated temperature rises. By increasing the gel layer radius from the original 10 to 12 mm, a reduction in the peak temperature increases of approximately 0.3°C was observed. Changing the layout from rectangular to circular with the same area further reduced the peak temperature rise by 0.5°C. Additionally, enlarging the spacing between electrodes also contributed to temperature control. By integrating these strategies, we designed a new circular electrode array with an electrode spacing of 45 mm and a gel radius of 12 mm, successfully reducing the peak temperature from 42.1°C to 40.8°C, effectively achieving temperature control. CONCLUSIONS: The research demonstrates that improving electrode and array configurations can effectively manage temperature in TTFields therapy without compromising treatment duration. This strategy is crucial as TTFields therapy relies on prolonged field exposure for effectiveness. The findings offer valuable insights into thermal management in electrode array design and could lead to enhanced patient compliance and treatment efficacy in TTFields therapy.

Computational analysis of electrode structure and configuration for efficient and localized neural stimulation.

Neuromodulation technique using electric stimulation is widely applied in neural prosthesis, therapy, and neuroscience research. Various stimulation techniques have been developed to enhance stimulation efficiency and to precisely target the specific area of the brain which involves optimizing the geometry and the configuration of the electrode, stimulation pulse type and shapes, and electrode materials. Although the effects of electrode shape, size, and configuration on the performance of neural stimulation have individually been characterized, to date, there is no integrative investigation of how this factor affects neural stimulation. In this study, we computationally modeled the various types of electrodes with varying shapes, sizes, and configurations and simulated the electric field to calculate the activation function. The electrode geometry is then integratively assessed in terms of stimulation efficiency and stimulation focality. We found that stimulation efficiency is enhanced by making the electrode sharper and smaller. A center-to-vertex distance exceeding 100 µm shows enhanced stimulation efficiency in the bipolar configuration. Additionally, the separation distance of less than 1 mm between the reference and stimulation electrodes exhibits higher stimulation efficiency compared to the monopolar configuration. The region of neurons to be stimulated can also be modified. We found that sharper electrodes can locally activate the neuron. In most cases, except for the rectangular electrode shape with a center-to-vertex distance smaller than 100 µm, the bipolar electrode configuration can locally stimulate neurons as opposed to the monopolar configuration. These findings shed light on the optimal selection of neural electrodes depending on the target applications.

Overcoming challenges of protonation effects induced by high isoelectric point amino acids through a synergistic strategy towards highly stable and reversible zinc electrode-electrolyte interface.

Amino acids are among the most commercially promising additive solutions for achieving stable zinc anodes. However, greater attention should be given to the limitation arising from the protonation effects induced by high isoelectric point amino acids in the weakly acidic electrolytes of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). In this study, we introduce histidine (HIS) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as hybrid additives into the aqueous electrolyte. Protonated HIS is adsorbed onto the anode interface, inducing uniform deposition and excluding H2O from the inner Helmholtz plane (IHP). Furthermore, the addition of EDTA compensates for the limitation of protonated HIS in excluding solvated H2O. EDTA reconstructs the solvation structure of Zn2+, resulting in a denser zinc deposition morphology. The results demonstrate that the Zn||Zn battery achieved a cycling lifespan exceeding 1480 h at 5 mA cm-2 and 5 mAh cm-2. It also reached over 900 h of cycling at a zinc utilization rate of 70 %. This study provides an innovative perspective for advancing the further development of AZIBs.

Generalisation capabilities of machine-learning algorithms for the detection of the subthalamic nucleus in micro-electrode recordings.

PURPOSE: Micro-electrode recordings (MERs) are a key intra-operative modality used during deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrode implantation, which allow for a trained neurophysiologist to infer the anatomy in which the electrode is placed. As DBS targets are small, such inference is necessary to confirm that the electrode is correctly positioned. Recently, machine learning techniques have been used to augment the neurophysiologist's capability. The goal of this paper is to investigate the generalisability of these methods with respect to different clinical centres and training paradigms. METHODS: Five deep learning algorithms for binary classification of MER signals have been implemented. Three databases from two different clinical centres have also been collected with differing size, acquisition hardware, and annotation protocol. Each algorithm has initially been trained on the largest database, then either directly tested or fine-tuned on the smaller databases in order to estimate their generalisability. As a reference, they have also been trained from scratch on the smaller databases as well in order to estimate the effect of the differing database sizes and annotation systems. RESULTS: Each network shows significantly reduced performance (on the order of a 6.5% to 16.0% reduction in balanced accuracy) when applied out-of-distribution. This reduction can be ameliorated through fine-tuning the network on the new database through transfer learning. Although, even for these small databases, it appears that retraining from scratch may still offer equivalent performance as fine-tuning with transfer learning. However, this is at the expense of significantly longer training times. CONCLUSION: Generalisability is an important criterion for the success of machine learning algorithms in clinic. We have demonstrated that a variety of recent machine learning algorithms for MER classification are negatively affected by domain shift, but that this can be quickly ameliorated through simple transfer learning procedures that can be readily performed for new centres.

Scalable Cathodic H2O2 Electrosynthesis using Cobalt-Coordinated Nanocellulose Electrocatalyst.

Converting hierarchical biomass structure into cutting-edge architecture of electrocatalysts can effectively relieve the extreme dependency of nonrenewable fossil-fuel-resources typically suffering from low cost-effectiveness, scarce supplies, and adverse environmental impacts. A cost-effective cobalt-coordinated nanocellulose (CNF) strategy is reported for realizing a high-performance 2e-ORR electrocatalysts through molecular engineering of hybrid ZIFs-CNF architecture. By a coordination and pyrolysis process, it generates substantial oxygen-capturing active sites within the typically oxygen-insulating cellulose, promoting O2 mass and electron transfer efficiency along the nanostructured Co3O4 anchored with CNF-based biochar. The Co-CNF electrocatalyst exhibits an exceptional H2O2 electrosynthesis efficiency of ≈510.58 mg L-1 cm-2 h-1 with an exceptional superiority over the existing biochar-, or fossil-fuel-derived electrocatalysts. The combination of the electrocatalysts with stainless steel mesh serving as a dual cathode can strongly decompose regular organic pollutants (up to 99.43% removal efficiency by 30 min), showing to be a desirable approach for clean environmental remediation with sustainability, ecological safety, and high-performance.

Cell growth monitoring in a tetrapolar electrode configuration.

There are various methods for cell growth monitoring. However, most of these methods have drawbacks, such as being invasive, not providing real-time results, or being costly. In this study, we present an alternate method of cell growth monitoring, which is low-cost, non-invasive, real-time, and uses Electrical Impedance Spectro-scopy (EIS). In this work, commercially available culture plates were fitted with custom tetrapolar electrodes, and mouse cells were cultured on them. The variation of culture media impedance, resulting from cell growth, proliferation and other metabolic activities, was recorded over a period of seven days. The results demonstrated an initial increase in impedance corresponding with the cell growth phase, followed by a decrease during the cell death (apoptosis) phase, as confirmed by microscope images. Overall, the results show that our method to monitor cell growth using tetrapolar electrodes is promising and can be further refined for related applications.

Enhanced brackish water desalination in capacitive deionization with composite Zn-BTC MOF-incorporated electrodes.

In this study, composite electrodes with metal-organic framework (MOF) for brackish water desalination via capacitive deionization (CDI) were developed. The electrodes contained activated carbon (AC), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and zinc-benzene tricarboxylic acid (Zn-BTC) MOF in varying proportions, improving their electrochemical performance. Among them, the E4 electrode with 6% Zn-BTC MOF exhibited the best performance in terms of CV and EIS analyses, with a specific capacity of 88 F g-1 and low ion charge transfer resistance of 4.9 Ω. The E4 electrode showed a 46.7% increase in specific capacitance compared to the E1 electrode, which did not include the MOF. Physicochemical analyses, including XRD, FTIR, FESEM, BET, EDS, elemental mapping, and contact angle measurements, verified the superior properties of the E4 electrode compared to E1, showcasing successful MOF synthesis, desirable pore size, elemental and particle-size distribution of materials, and the superior hydrophilicity enhancement. By evaluating salt removal capacity (SRC) in various setups using an initially 100.0 mg L-1 NaCl feed solution, the asymmetric arrangement of E1 and E4 electrodes outperformed symmetric arrangements, achieving a 21.1% increase in SRC to 6.3 mg g-1. This study demonstrates the potential of MOF-incorporated electrodes for efficient CDI desalination processes.

A universal AC electrokinetics-based strategy toward surface antifouling of underwater optics.

The practical applications of underwater optical devices, such as cameras or sensors, often suffer from widespread surface biofouling. Current antifouling techniques are primarily hindered by low efficiency, poor compatibility, as well as environmental pollution issues. This paper presents a transparent electrode coating as antifouling system of underwater optics as potential substitute for alternating current electrokinetic (ACEK)-based systems. A strong-coupling model is established to predict the Joule heating induced fluid flows and the negative dielectrophoretic (nDEP) effect for mobilizing organisms or deposited sediments on optic surfaces. The performance of the proposed antifouling system is numerically evaluated through simulations of electrostatic, fluid and temperature fields as well as trajectories of submicron particles, which is then experimentally verified and found to be in good agreement. A parametric study revealed that the degree of electrodes asymmetry is the key factor affecting the flow pattern and therefore the overall performance of the system. This ACEK-based universal strategy is expected to shed light on designing high performance and non-toxic platforms toward energy-efficient surface antifouling applications of underwater optics.

Development of implantable electrode based on bioresorbable Mg alloy for tissue welding application.

An implantable electrode based on bioresorbable Mg-Nd-Zn-Zr alloy was developed for next-generation radiofrequency (RF) tissue welding application, aiming to reduce thermal damage and enhance anastomotic strength. The Mg alloy electrode was designed with different structural features of cylindrical surface (CS) and continuous long ring (LR) in the welding area, and the electrothermal simulations were studied by finite element analysis (FEA). Meanwhile, the temperature variation during tissue welding was monitored and the anastomotic strength of welded tissue was assessed by measuring the avulsion force and burst pressure. FEA results showed that the mean temperature in the welding area and the proportion of necrotic tissue were significantly reduced when applying an alternating current of 110 V for 10 s to the LR electrode. In the experiment of tissue welding ex vivo, the maximum and mean temperatures of tissues welded by the LR electrode were also significantly reduced and the anastomotic strength of welded tissue could be obviously improved. Overall, an ideal welding temperature and anastomotic strength which meet the clinical requirement can be obtained after applying the LR electrode, suggesting that Mg-Nd-Zn-Zr alloy with optimal structure design shows great potential to develop implantable electrode for next-generation RF tissue welding application.

Pecan Shell-Derived Activated Carbon for High-Electrochemical Performance Supercapacitor Electrode.

Carbon nanomaterials-based electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) are reliable and appealing energy-storage systems offering high power density and long cycling stability. However, these energy storage devices are plagued with critical shortcomings, such as low specific capacitance, inefficient physical/chemical activation process, and self-discharge of electrode materials, hindering their future application. In this work, we use a self-activation process, an environmentally benign and low-cost process, to produce high-performance activated carbon (AC). Novel activated carbon from pecan shells (PS) was successfully synthesized through a single-step self-activation process, which combines the carbonization and activation processes. The as-synthesized pecan shell-derived activated carbon (PSAC) provides a high-porosity, low-resistance, and ordered pore structure with a specific pore volume of 0.744 cm3/g and BET surface area of 1554 m2/g. The supercapacitors fabricated from PSAC demonstrate a specific capacitance of 269 F/g at 2 A/g, excellent cycling stability over 15,000 cycles, and energy and power density of 37.4 Wh/kg and of 2.1 kW/kg, respectively. It is believed that the high-efficiency PSAC synthesized from the novel self-activation method could provide a practical route to environmentally friendly and easily scalable supercapacitors.