RESUMEN
Transparent, conductive coatings on porous, three-dimensional materials are often used as the current collector for photoelectrode designs in photoelectrochemical applications. These structures allow for improved light trapping and absorption in chemically synthesized, photoactive overlayers while minimizing parasitic absorption in the current collecting layer. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is particularly useful for fabricating transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) like Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) and Al-doped ZnO (AZO) for structured materials because the deposition is specific to exposed surfaces. Unlike line-of-sight deposition methods (evaporation, spray pyrolysis, sputtering), ALD can access the entire complex interface to make a conformal transparent conductive layer. While ITO and AZO can be grown by ALD, they are intrinsically soluble in the acidic and basic environments common for electrochemical applications like water splitting. To take advantage of the unique characteristics of ALD in these applications, it is important to develop strategies for fabricating TCO layers with enhanced chemical stability. Ultrathin coatings of stable materials can be used to protect otherwise unstable electrochemical interfaces while maintaining the desired function. Here, we describe experiments to characterize the chemical and electrochemical stability of ALD-deposited AZO TCO thin films protected by a 10 nm TiO2 overlayer. The addition of a TiO2 protection layer is demonstrated to improve the chemical stability of AZO by orders of magnitude compared to unprotected, yet otherwise identically prepared, AZO films. The electrochemical stability is enhanced accordingly in both acidic and basic environments. We demonstrate that TiO2-protected AZO can be used as a TCO for both the cathodic hydrogen evolution (HER) and anodic water oxidation (OER) half-reactions of electrochemical water splitting in base and for HER in acid when the appropriate electrocatalysts are added. As a result, we show that ALD can be used to synthesize a chemically stable TCO heterostructure, expanding the range of materials and electrochemical environments available for building complex photoelectrode architectures.
RESUMEN
Several gill claudin (Cldn) tight junction proteins in Japanese medaka are regulated by salinity (cldn10 paralogs and cldn28b), while others are constitutively expressed (cldn27a, cldn28a and cldn30c). The role of the endocrine system in this regulation has yet to be understood. The in vitro effects of cortisol and prolactin on cldn expression in gill explant cultures were investigated in medaka. ncc2b and cftr were used as markers of specific ionocytes associated with freshwater- and seawater-acclimation, respectively. Concentration-response experiments were performed by overnight incubation with 0, 0.1, 1 and 10µgmL-1 cortisol or 0, 0.01, 0.1 and 1µgmL-1 ovine prolactin. Cortisol significantly up-regulated cftr, ncc2b, cldn10 paralogs, cldn27a and cldn30c from 1.2- to 5-fold control levels at 10µgmL-1. Cortisol had no effect on cldn28a and cldn28b. Prolactin had a concentration-dependent effect, decreasing expression of cftr (1µgmL-1, 2.2-fold) while increasing ncc2b (from 0.1µgmL-1, 6-7-fold). Prolactin up-regulated expression of 3 cldns: cldn28b (0.1 and 1µgmL-1), cldn10c and cldn10f (1µgmL-1), with up to 2-, 2.5- and 2-fold of control level, respectively. A combination experiment with both hormones showed that they act in synergy on cldn28b and have an additive effect on cftr, ncc2b, cldn10c and cldn10f. Our results showed that cortisol and prolactin are essential to maintain the expression of specific branchial claudins. This work also provides evidence that both hormones act directly on gill of medaka to modulate determinants of paracellular ion movement.
