An overview of recent advances and future prospects of three-dimensional biofilm electrode reactors (3D-BERs).

Three-dimensional biofilm electrode reactors (3D-BERs) have attracted extensive attention in recent years due to their wide application range, high efficiency and energy saving. On the basis of traditional bio-electrochemical reactor, 3D-BERs are filled with particle electrodes, also known as the third electrodes, which can not only be used as a carrier for microbial growth, but also improve the electron transfer rate of the whole system. This paper reviews the constitution, advantages and basic principles of 3D-BERs as well as current research status and progress of 3D-BERs in recent years. The selection of electrode materials, including cathode, anode and particle electrode are listed and analyzed. Different constructions of reactors, like 3D-unipolar extended reactor and coupled 3D-BERs are introduced and discussed. Various contaminants degraded by 3D-BERs including nitrogen, azo dyes, antibiotics and the others are calculated and the corresponding degradation effects are described. The influencing factors and mechanisms are also introduced. At the same time, according to the research advances of 3D-BERs, the shortcomings and weakness of this technology in the current research process are analyzed, and the future research direction of this technology is prospected. This review aims to summarize recent studies of 3D-BERs in bio-electrochemical reaction and open a bright window to this booming research theme.

[Temporal and Spatial Variation in Odor Pollution and Membrane Barrier Effect in Municipal Solid Waste Landfill].

In order to explore the source characteristics as well as the temporal and spatial variations in odor pollution in municipal waste landfills, gas samples were collected from a landfill in an eastern coastal area of China throughout winter and summer. The total concentration of malodorous substances reached 60000 µg·m-3. There were more types of odor pollutants detected in summer than in winter, the average concentration was 30-300 times higher than that in winter, and the concentration of sulfur compounds increased by 4.7-136.7 times in summer. Oxygenated compounds had the highest concentration, and the total concentration of sulfur compounds accounted for less than 10% of malodorous substances. However, sulfur compounds contributed more than 90% to the theoretical odor concentration. Sulfur compounds such as methyl mercaptan and propane mercaptan were the key odorants in the landfill. After the landfill unit was covered, the concentration of odorous substances and the theoretical odor concentration on the surface of the landfill showed an increasing trend with time, indicating that the covering had a certain odor barrier effect; however, the landfill unit still had a large odor release potential. The similarity analysis showed that the odorous gas accumulated in the unit with temporary cover and without an exhaust system could be released to the environment through the overlapping gap of the membrane and the location of membrane rupture, resulting in more serious odor pollution around the landfill at night than that during the day.

Hydrogen-Bond-Assisted Solution Discharge in Aprotic Li-O2 Batteries.

Surface discharge mechanism induced cathode passivation is a critical challenge that blocks the full liberation of the ultrahigh theoretical energy density in aprotic Li-O2 batteries. Herein, a facile and universal concept of hydrogen-bond-assisted solvation is proposed to trigger the solution discharge process for averting the shortcomings associated with surface discharge. 2,5-Di-tert-butylhydroquinone (DBHQ), an antioxidant with hydroxyl groups, is introduced as an exemplary soluble catalyst to promote solution discharge by hydrogen-bond-assisted solvation of O2 - and Li2 O2 (OH···O). Thus, a Li-O2 battery with 50 × 10-3 m DBHQ delivers an extraordinary discharge capacity of 18 945 mAh g-1 (i.e., 9.47 mAh cm-2 ), even surpassing the capacity endowed by the state-of-the-art reduction mediator of 2,5-di-tert-butyl-1,4-benzoquinone. Besides, an ultrahigh Li2 O2 yield of 97.1% is also achieved due to the depressed reactivity of the reduced oxygen-containing species (O2 - , LiO2 , and Li2 O2 ) by the solvating and antioxidative abilities of DBHQ. Consequently, the Li-O2 battery with DBHQ exhibits excellent cycling lifetime and rate capability. Furthermore, the generalizability of this approach of hydrogen-bond-assisted solution discharge is verified by other soluble catalysts that contain OH or NH groups, with implications that could bring Li-O2 batteries one step closer to being a viable technology.

Soluble and Perfluorinated Polyelectrolyte for Safe and High-Performance Li-O2 Batteries.

The severe performance degradation of high-capacity Li-O2 batteries induced by Li dendrite growth and concentration polarization from the low Li+ transfer number of conventional electrolytes hinder their practical applications. Herein, lithiated Nafion (LN) with the sulfonic group immobilized on the perfluorinated backbone has been designed as a soluble lithium salt for preparing a less flammable polyelectrolyte solution, which not only simultaneously achieves a high Li+ transfer number (0.84) and conductivity (2.5 mS cm-1 ), but also the perfluorinated anion of LN produces a LiF-rich SEI for protecting the Li anode from dendrite growth. Thus, the Li-O2 battery with a LN-based electrolyte achieves an all-round performance improvement, like low charge overpotential (0.18 V), large discharge capacity (9508 mAh g-1 ), and excellent cycling performance (225 cycles). Besides, the fabricated pouch-type Li-air cells exhibit promising applications to power electronic equipment with satisfactory safety.

Interface Engineering of CoP3/Ni2P for Boosting the Wide pH Range Water-Splitting Activity.

Developing electrocatalysts with low price, high energy efficiency, and universal pH value for hydrogen/oxygen evolution reaction (HER and OER) is very important for the wide application of electrochemical water splitting in hydrogen production. The results of density functional theory show that the interface region of CoP3/Ni2P heterostructures can significantly boost all of the catalytic performances. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to confirm the abundant structural defects and the corresponding adjustment of the electronic state, thus ameliorating the activation energy, conductivity, and active area of the catalyst. Benefiting from these, CoP3/Ni2P heterostructures exhibit superior performance of both HER and OER in a wide pH range. CoP3/Ni2P can also be used for water splitting (1.557 V at 10 mA cm-2) more than 40 h, superior to benchmark pairs of Pt/C and RuO2 on Ni foam.

Nonlocal Electronic Correlations in the Cohesive Properties of High-Pressure Hydrogen Solids.

High-pressure hydrogen exhibits remarkable phenomena including the insulator-to-metal (IM) transition; however, a complete resolution of its phase diagram is still an elusive goal despite many efforts and much controversy. Theoretical modeling is typically based on density functional theory (DFT) with a mean-field description of electronic correlations, which is known to be rather limited in describing IM transitions. Herein, we show that nonlocal electron correlations play a central role in the relative stability of solid hydrogen phases, and that DFT-correcting for these correlations by the many-body dispersion (MBD) model reaches the accuracy of quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations and predicts the same C2/c-24 → Cmca-12 → Cs(IV) IM transition. In contrast with the conventional assumption that many-body electronic correlations become localized in metallic systems because of exponential screening with interelectronic distance, we find that the anisotropy of the electronic response of hydrogen solids under pressure leads to longer-ranged many-body effects in metallic phases relative to insulating ones. This refines our understanding of phase diagram of hydrogen solids as well as anisotropic many-body correlations.

Apatinib inhibits tumor growth and angiogenesis in PNET models.

Angiogenesis has a pivotal role in the growth and metastasis of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs). Apatinib inhibits angiogenesis as a highly selective KDR inhibitor and has been used to treat advanced gastric cancer and malignancies in clinical settings. However, the efficacy of apatinib in PNETs remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the antitumor efficacy of apatinib with that of the standard PNET drug sunitinib in our subcutaneous and liver metastasis models of insulinoma and non-functional PNET. Our results revealed that apatinib had a generally comparable or even superior antitumor effect to that of sunitinib on primary PNET, and it inhibited angiogenesis without directly causing tumor cell cytotoxicity. Apatinib inhibited the tumor in a dose-dependent manner, and the high dose was well tolerated in mice. We also found that the apatinib efficacy in liver metastasis models was cell-type (disease) selective. Although apatinib efficiently inhibited INR1G9-represented non-functional PNET liver metastasis, it led to the emergence of a hypoxic area in the INS-1-represented insulinoma and promoted liver metastasis. Our study demonstrated that apatinib has promise for clinical applications in certain malignant PNETs, and the application of anti-angiogenesis drugs to benign insulinomas may require careful consideration.

Long-Term Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells under Different Growth Conditions: A Defect-Controlled Water Diffusion Mechanism.

Understanding the water-infiltration process is crucial for improving the long-term stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Although many attempts have been made in this regard, the role of growth condition in PSC synthesis, which has been observed experimentally to be essential for the stability of PSCs, remains elusive. Using first-principles tools, we demonstrate that the growth condition strongly controls the water-infiltration process of PSCs by dictating the formation of point defects on PSC surfaces. The resulting point defects are found to alter both the rate and the pathways of the water-infiltration process substantially. Our work builds a new scenario for understanding the relation between the PSC decomposition mechanism and its preparation methods; it not only sheds new insights for decrypting experimental phenomenon, but also provides important guidance for future preparation of PSCs with improved water resistance.

An Integrated Design with new Metal-Functionalized Covalent Organic Frameworks for the Effective Electroreduction of CO2.

One of the long-standing issues that prohibits large-scale CO2 reutilization is the low aqueous solubility of CO2 and the incurring inefficient mass transport of CO2 . Herein, we suggest a feasible way to promote the CO2 reutilization by integrating the storage and reduction, with a new covalent organic framework (COF) series constituted by cobalt-phthalocyanine and boronic acid linkers. We find that the porous structure of the cobalt COF is competitive in the CO2 storage and can sustain a high CO2 concentration around the reduction center, whereas the mass transport of CO2 as well as the efficiency of the CO2 reduction is significantly improved. The predicted cobalt COF exhibits an overpotential of 0.27 V and a CO production rate, which is 97.7 times higher than in aqueous solution, for the CO2 reduction. Our work provides a promising candidate for the CO2 reutilization, with valuable insights and an important prototype for future practical design.

Determination of six polyether antibiotic residues in foods of animal origin by solid phase extraction combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A new method using solid phase extraction (SPE) combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has been developed for the determination of six polyether antibiotics, including lasalocid, salinomycin, monensin, narasin, madubamycin and nigericin residues, in foods of animal origin. The samples were extracted with acetonitrile and purified by ENVI-Carb SPE columns after comparing the impurity effect and maneuverability of several SPE cartridges. Subsequently, the analytes were separated on a Hypersil Gold column (2.1×150mm, 5µm) and analyzed by MS/MS detection. The limit of quantization (LOQ) for milk and chicken was 0.4µg/kg, and for chicken livers and eggs, it was 1µg/kg. The linearity was satisfactory with a correlation coefficient of >0.9995 at concentrations ranging from 2 to 100µg/L. The average recoveries of the analytes fortified at three levels ranged from 68.2 to 114.3%, and the relative standard deviations ranged from 4.5 to 12.1%. The method was suitable for quantitative analysis and confirmation of polyether antibiotic residues in foods of animal origin.

Facile Synthesis of Non-Graphitizable Polypyrrole-Derived Carbon/Carbon Nanotubes for Lithium-ion Batteries.

Graphite is usually used as an anode material in the commercial lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The relatively low lithium storage capacity of 372 mAh g(-1) and the confined rate capability however limit its large-scale applications in electrical vehicles and hybrid electrical vehicles. As results, exploring novel carbon-based anode materials with improved reversible capacity for high-energy-density LIBs is urgent task. Herein we present TNGC/MWCNTs by synthesizing tubular polypyrrole (T-PPy) via a self-assembly process, then carbonizing T-PPy at 900 °C under an argon atmosphere (TNGC for short) and finally mixing TNGC with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). As for TNGC/MWCNTs, the discharge capacity of 561 mAh g(-1) is maintained after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g(-1). Electrochemical results demonstrate that TNGC/MWCNTs can be considered as promising anode materials for high-energy-density LIBs.

[Research on quality standards of Aleuritopteris Herba].

This study aims to establish quality standards of Aleuritopteris Herba (AH), which could supply scientific evidence for the quality control of AH. The morphological and microscopic identification characters were reformulated. The tests of water content, total ash, acid-insoluble ash and ethanol-soluble extractives of AH were carried out according to the methods recorded in appendix of Chinese Pharmacopeia (2010 edition, volume 1). The TLC method was established by using aleuritopesis A [2,19-diol（2ß,4α）-16-enekaureniod] and reference herb as references. With preparation of aleuritopesis A[2,19-diol（2ß,4α）-16-enekaureniod] reference substance, the content of aleuritopesis A in AH was determined by HPLC. As a result, the macroscopic identification, microscopic features and TLC methods were specific and simple. The water content, total ash, acid-insoluble ash and ethanol-soluble extractive and the content of aleuritopesis A of all samples varied in the ranges of 8.8%-10.9%, 7.6%-11.4%, 2.5%-4.2%, 9.3%-10.2% and 0.56%-0.71%, respectively. The improved quality standard can be used to evaluate and guarantee the quality of AH comprehensively.

Self-grown Ni(OH)(2) layer on bimodal nanoporous AuNi alloys for enhanced electrocatalytic activity and stability.

Au nanostructures as catalysts toward electrooxidation of small molecules generally suffer from ultralow surface adsorption capability and stability. Here, we report Ni(OH)2 layer decorated nanoporous (NP) AuNi alloys with a three-dimensional and bimodal porous architecture, which are facilely fabricated by a combination of chemical dealloying and in situ surface segregation, for the enhanced electrocatalytic performance in biosensors. As a result of the self-grown Ni(OH)2 on the AuNi alloys with a coherent interface, which not only enhances adsorption energy of Au and electron transfer of AuNi/Ni(OH)2 but also prohibits the surface diffusion of Au atoms, the NP composites are enlisted to exhibit significant enhancement in both electrocatalytic activity and stability toward glucose electrooxidation. The highly reliable glucose biosensing with exceptional reproducibility and selectivity as well as quick response makes it a promising candidate as electrode materials for the application in nonenzymatic glucose biosensors.

Integrated solid/nanoporous copper/oxide hybrid bulk electrodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Nanoarchitectured electroactive materials can boost rates of Li insertion/extraction, showing genuine potential to increase power output of Li-ion batteries. However, electrodes assembled with low-dimensional nanostructured transition metal oxides by conventional approach suffer from dramatic reductions in energy capacities owing to sluggish ion and electron transport kinetics. Here we report that flexible bulk electrodes, made of three-dimensional bicontinuous nanoporous Cu/MnO2 hybrid and seamlessly integrated with Cu solid current collector, substantially optimizes Li storage behavior of the constituent MnO2. As a result of the unique integration of solid/nanoporous hybrid architecture that simultaneously enhances the electron transport of MnO2, facilitates fast ion diffusion and accommodates large volume changes on Li insertion/extraction of MnO2, the supported MnO2 exhibits a stable capacity of as high as ~1100 mA h g(-1) for 1000 cycles, and ultrahigh charge/discharge rates. It makes the environmentally friendly and low-cost electrode as a promising anode for high-performance Li-ion battery applications.

Facile preparation of a cobalt hybrid/graphene nanocomposite by in situ chemical reduction: high lithium storage capacity and highly efficient removal of Congo red.

We report a facile approach to prepare a cobalt hybrid/graphene (Co/G) nanocomposite via a general one-pot hydrothermal synthesis. NaBH4 is used as the reducing agent. Co/G nanocomposite possesses narrow size-distribution and good dispersion, providing tremendous potential for energy and environment applications. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the use of the Co/G nanocomposite in a lithium-ion battery and an adsorbent for Congo red (CR), respectively. More importantly, more than 97% of capacity retention (605 mAh g(-1)) is retained after 50 cycles, indicative of high charge/discharge reversibility of the Co/G nanocomposite electrode. Furthermore the CR removal ability of the Co/G nanocomposite can reach 934.9 mg g(-1).

Low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis of α-Fe/Fe3O4 nanocomposite for fast Congo red removal.

A facile low-temperature hydrothermal process to synthesize α-Fe/Fe(3)O(4) nanocomposite is reported. TEM and HRTEM revealed that the α-Fe/Fe(3)O(4) nanocomposite was composed of catenulate α-Fe and lamellar structured Fe(3)O(4). The weight ratio of α-Fe in the α-Fe/Fe(3)O(4) nanocomposite is 35.6%. The α-Fe/Fe(3)O(4) nanocomposite demonstrates an extremely high Congo red (CR) removal efficiency from waste water showing almost complete removal within 3 min. For 100 mg L(-1) of CR aqueous solution, the maximum CR removal can reach 1297.06 mg g(-1). The large saturation magnetization (80.5 emu g(-1)) of the nanocomposite allows fast separation of α-Fe/Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles loaded with CR from the liquid suspension. The synergistic effect of the nanocomposite may contribute to the enhanced CR removal ability, because the CR can be removed by reduction reaction and adsorption at the same time. Based on the degradation products identified by UV-Vis spectra, XRD and FTIR spectra, a possible degradation mechanism of CR on the α-Fe/Fe(3)O(4) composite was proposed. The significantly reduced treatment time required to remove the CR and the simple, low-cost and pollution-free preparation method make α-Fe/Fe(3)O(4) nanocomposite promising for highly efficient removal of dyes from waste water.

Water-soluble Fe3O4 nanoparticles with high solubility for removal of heavy-metal ions from waste water.

In this contribution, we synthesized water-soluble Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles (NPs) with sufficiently high solubility (28 mg mL(-1)) and stability (at least one month) through a hydrothermal approach, and found that they exhibited excellent removal ability for heavy-metal ions from waste water. For the first time, the water-soluble Fe(3)O(4) NPs were used as adsorbents for heavy-metals removal from wastewater. It is noteworthy that the adsorption ability of the water-soluble Fe(3)O(4) NPs for Pb(2+) and Cr(6+) is stronger than water-insoluble Fe(3)O(4) NPs. Furthermore, the water-soluble Fe(3)O(4) NPs exhibited relatively high saturation magnetization (83.4 emu g(-1)), which allowed their highly-efficient magnetic separation from wastewater. The most important thing is that the water-soluble magnetite as an adsorbent can directly dissolve in water without the help of mechanical stirring or any extraneous forces, which may solve a key problem for the practical application of magnetic powders in the field of sewage purification. Moreover, the water-soluble Fe(3)O(4) NPs show a highly-efficient adsorption capacity for 10 ppm of Pb(2+) ions solution which can reach 90% within 2 minutes.

Preparation of nanocrystalline Fe 3-x LaxO4 ferrite and their adsorption capability for Congo red.

This investigation was to increase the adsorption capacity of magnetite for Congo red (CR) by adulterating a small quantity of La(3+) ions into it. The adsorption capability of nanocrystalline Fe(3-x)La(x)O(4) (x=0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.10) ferrite to remove CR from aqueous solution was evaluated carefully. Compared with undoped magnetite, the adsorption values were increased from 37.4 to 79.1 mg g(-1). The experimental results prove that it is effectual to increase the adsorption capacity of magnetite by doped La(3+) ions. Among the La(3+)-doped magnetite, Fe(2.95)La(0.05)O(4) nanoparticles exhibit the highest saturation magnetization and the maximum adsorption capability. The desorption ability of La(3+)-doped magnetite nanoparticles loaded by CR can reach 92% after the treatment of acetone. Furthermore, the Fe(3-x)La(x)O(4) nanoparticles exhibited a clearly ferromagnetic behavior under applied magnetic field, which allowed their high-efficient magnetic separation from wastewater. It is found that high magnetism facilitates to improve their adsorption capacity for the similar products.

[Chemical constituents from Polygala telephioides].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents of Polygala telephioides. METHOD: The compounds were isolated and purified on macroporous resin, silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, Chromatorex ODS column chromatograph and the structures were determined based on the spectral and chemical evidences. RESULT: Four compounds were obtained and characterized as telephiose G, telephiose D, isomangiferin, quescetin 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, respectively. CONCLUSION: Compounds 2-4 were obtained from this plant for the first time and the compound 2 (telephiose G) was a new compound.

[Chemical constituents from herb of Pholidota cantonensis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents of Pholidota cantonensis. METHOD: The compounds were isolated and purified on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, Chromatorex ODS column chromatography and the structures were determined based on the spectral and chemical evidences. RESULT: Four compounds were obtained and characterized as pholidonone (1), ephemeranthoquinone (2), orchinol (3), batatasin III (4). CONCLUSION: They have been isolated from this plant for the first time and pholidonone (1) was a new compound.