Hierarchical-Structured Fe2O3 Anode with Exposed (001) Facet for Enhanced Lithium Storage Performance.

The hierarchical structure is an ideal nanostructure for conversion-type anodes with drastic volume expansion. Here, we demonstrate a tin-doping strategy for constructing Fe2O3 brushes, in which nanowires with exposed (001) facets are stacked into the hierarchical structure. Thanks to the tin-doping, the conductivity of the Sn-doped Fe2O3 has been improved greatly. Moreover, the volume changes of the Sn-doped Fe2O3 anodes can be limited to ~4% vertical expansion and ~13% horizontal expansion, thus resulting in high-rate performance and long-life stability due to the exposed (001) facet and the unique hierarchical structure. As a result, it delivers a high reversible lithium storage capacity of 580 mAh/g at a current density of 0.2C (0.2 A/g), and excellent rate performance of above 400 mAh/g even at a high current density of 2C (2 A/g) over 500 cycles, which is much higher than most of the reported transition metal oxide anodes. This doping strategy and the unique hierarchical structures bring inspiration for nanostructure design of functional materials in energy storage.

Pan-Cancer Study of SHC-Adaptor Protein 1 (SHC1) as a Diagnostic, Prognostic and Immunological Biomarker in Human Cancer.

Background: Recent studies highlight the carcinogenesis role of SHC-adaptor protein 1 (SHC1) in cancer initiation, development, and progression. However, its aberrant expression, diagnostic and prognostic value remain unknown in a variety of tumors. Methods: The SHC1 expression profiles were analyzed using GTEx database, TCGA database, Oncomine and CPTAC database. The survival analysis was conducted using GEPIA2, Kaplan-Meier Plotter, UALCAN, and PrognoScan. The diagnostic values of SHC1 were calculated with the "pROC" package in R software. The genetic alteration of SHC1 and mutations were analyzed using cBioPortal. TIMER2 was employed to estimate the correlations between SHC1 expression and tumor-infiltrating immune cells in the TCGA cohort. Enrichment analysis of SHC1 was conducted using the R package "clusterProfiler." Results: SHC1 was ubiquitously highly expressed and closely associated with worse prognosis of multiple major cancer types (all p < 0.05). Further, SHC1 gene mutations were strongly linked to poor OS and DFS in SKCM (all p < 0.05). An enhanced phosphorylation level of SHC1 at the S139 site was observed in clear cell RCC. Additionally, the results revealed SHC1 expression was strongly linked to TMB, MMRs, MSI, TAMs, DNA methylation, m6A RNA methylation, tumor-associated immune infiltration, and immune checkpoints in multiple cancers (all p < 0.05). In addition, the results of the ROC analysis indicated the SHC1 exhibited strong diagnostic capability for KICH (AUC = 0.92), LIHC (AUC = 0.95), and PAAD (AUC = 0.95). Finally, enrichment analysis indicated that SHC1 may potentially involve in the regulation of numerous signaling pathways in cancer metabolism and protein phosphorylation-related functions. Conclusions: These findings highlight that SHC1 plays an important role in the tumor immune microenvironment, and SHC1 has been identified to have prognostic and diagnostic value in multiple cancers. Thus, SHC1 is a potential target for cancer immunotherapy and effective prognostic and diagnostic biomarker.

The Ultrahigh Adsorption Capacity and Excellent Photocatalytic Degradation Activity of Mesoporous CuO with Novel Architecture.

In this paper, mesoporous CuO with a novel architecture was synthesized through a conventional hydrothermal approach followed by a facile sintering procedure. HR-TEM analysis found that mesoporous CuO with an interconnected pore structure has exposed high-energy crystal planes of (002) and (200). Theoretical calculations indicated that the high-energy crystal planes have superior adsorption capacity for H+ ions, which is critical for the excellent adsorption and remarkable photocatalytic activity of the anionic dye. The adsorption capacity of CuO to methyl orange (MO) at 0.4 g/L was approximately 30% under adsorption equilibrium conditions. We propose a state-changing mechanism to analyze the synergy and mutual restraint relation among the catalyst CuO, H+ ions, dye and H2O2. According to this mechanism, the degradation rate of MO can be elevated 3.5 times only by regulating the MO ratio in three states.

Rapid preparation of ultra-fine and well-dispersed SnO2 nanoparticles via a double hydrolysis reaction for lithium storage.

An efficient and rapid method is reported for preparing ultra-fine and well-dispersed SnO2 nanoparticles in a large scale. A simple double hydrolysis reaction between SnO32- and Fe3+ ions was masterly used to form a stable colloid system, in which colloidal particles of H2SnO3 with negative charges and Fe(OH)3 with positive charges electrostatically interact with each other and form honeycomb-like "core-shell" units. Through the hydrothermal reaction, the units are easily transformed into SnO2@FeO(OH) structures. Ultra-fine and well-dispersed SnO2 particles with less than 6 nm diameter were finally obtained with a high yield by further etching using hydrochloric acid. When used as anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the ultra-fine SnO2 particles can be easily dispersed into the carbon networks originating from the carbon source of glucose during the hydrothermal reaction. Electrochemical tests confirmed that these ultra-fine SnO2/C materials were endowed with excellent cyclic stability and C-rate performance. Even at a 1.56 A g-1 (2C) high current density, the reversible capacity could be maintained at 710 mA h g-1 after 100 cycles owing to the ultra-fine particle size of SnO2 and the rich carbon networks.

Surface Roughed and Pt-Rich Bimetallic Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Platinum-based alloys with low cost transition metals have been considered as promising electrocatalysts in the field of sustainable energy conversion and storage. Herein, chloroplatinic acid, cobalt chloride, and carbon nanotubes are used as platinum, cobalt precursors, and carriers, respectively, to prepare rich Pt dealloying PtCo nanoparticles (SD-PtCo/CNT) via co-liquid phase reduction and chemical dealloying methods. The characterization and test results confirm that PtCo alloy nanoparticles are evenly dispersed on carbon nanotubes, further dealloying and resulting in the partial dissolving of cobalt, simultaneously generating a rich Pt layer and roughly active surface. Benefiting from the unique structure, the SD-PtCo/CNT catalyst displays obviously enhanced HER activity in both acidic and alkaline conditions. In 1.0 M KOH, SD-PtCo/CNT exhibits a low overpotential of 78 mV at 10 mA/cm2 and a small tafel slope (38.28 mV/dec). In 0.5 M H2SO4, SD-PtCo/CNT still shows the superior performance compared with un-dealloying PtCo/CNT, with an overpotential of 17 mV at 10 mA/cm2 and corresponding tafel slope of 21.35 mV/dec. The high HER activity of SD-PtCo/CNT can be attributed to the formation of a platinum rich layer and the uniformly dispersed PtCo nanoparticles supported on superior conductive carbon nanotubes, suggesting its great potential for hydrogen generation via water splitting.

Synthesis of TiO2@g-C3N4 core-shell nanorod arrays with Z-scheme enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light.

Novel rutile TiO2@g-C3N4 core-shell photocatalysts were synthesized by a facile saturated aqueous solution method. The composites were further characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission microscopy (HRTEM), UV-visible light diffusion reflectance spectrometry (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and so on. The results indicated that an ultrathin layer of g-C3N4 was in-situ fabricated over the surface of rutile TiO2 nanorod. The rutile TiO2@ g-C3N4 core-shell structures showed much higher photo-current and photocatalytic activity for Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under visible irradiation. The enhanced performance was attributed to the high separation efficiency of photo-induced carriers via a Z-scheme form.

Molybdenum carbide as anodic catalyst for microbial fuel cell based on Klebsiella pneumoniae.

A pure beta-molybdenum carbide (M(O2)C) with a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) special surface area of 77.5 m2/g, prepared by solution derived precursor, was used as anodic catalyst of microbial fuel cell (MFC) based on Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae). The electrochemical activity of the prepared M(O2)C and the performance of the MFC were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization curve measurement. The results show that the prepared M(O2)C has high electrocatalytic activity and is a potential alternative to platinum as the anodic catalyst of MFCs. The maximum power density of single-cube MFC with 6.0 mg/cm2 M(O2)C as anodic catalyst is 2.39 W/m3. This power density is far higher than that of the MFC with carbon felt as anode without any catalyst (0.61 W/m3), and comparable to that of the MFC using 0.5 mg/cm2 Pt as anodic catalyst (3.64 W/m3).