Design Strategy of High Stability Vertically Aligned RGO@V2O5 Heterostructure Cathodes for Flexible Quasi-Solid-State Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Among various cathodes for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs), vanadium-based oxides have garnered significant attention in research circles owing to their exceptionally high theoretical specific capacity. However, the outstanding zinc storage capacity of vanadium pentoxide is constrained by its irreversible dissolution in an aqueous solution. Here, we propose a laser reduction of graphene oxide and construct a heterostructure of V2O5 coated with vertically aligned reduced graphene oxide (VrGO). The VrGO nanosheets effectively suppress the dissolution of V2O5 and provide channels for the efficient transport of zinc ions and electrons, so the electrochemical reaction kinetics of the electrode are improved. The AZIB based on the VrGO@V2O5 heterostructure cathode has a high specific capacity of 254.9 mAh g-1 at 0.2 A g-1 and excellent cycle stability with a capacity retention rate of 90.1% after 5000 cycles of charge and discharge. When assembled into a flexible quasi-solid-state AZIB, the capacity of the device is reduced by only 2% after 1000 bending cycles, showing good potential for wearable applications. This work provides a reliable strategy for designing flexible AZIB with high electrochemical performance and structural stability.

Wide-Potential-Window Bimetallic Hydrated Eutectic Electrolytes with High-Temperature Resistance for Zinc-Ion Hybrid Capacitors.

Aqueous zinc-ion hybrid capacitors (ZHCs) are considered ideal energy-storage devices. However, the common aqueous Zn2+ -containing electrolytes used in ZHCs often cause parasitic reactions during charging-discharging owing to free water molecules. Hydrated eutectic electrolytes (HEEs) that bind water molecules through solvation shells and hydrogen bonds can be applied at high temperatures and within a wide potential window. This study reports a novel bimetallic HEE (ZnK-HEE), consisting of zinc chloride, potassium chloride, ethylene glycol, and water, which enhances the capacity and electrochemical reaction kinetics of ZHCs. The bimetallic solvation shell in ZnK-HEE is studied by molecular dynamics and density functional theory, confirming its low step-by-step desolvation energy. A Zn//activated carbon ZHC in ZnK-HEE shows a high operating voltage of 2.1 V, along with an ultrahigh capacity of 326.9 mAh g-1 , power density of 2099.7 W kg-1 , and energy density of 343.2 Wh kg-1 at 100 °C. The reaction mechanisms of charging-discharging process are investigated by ex situ X-ray diffraction. This study reports a promising electrolyte for high-performance ZHCs, which exhibits high-temperature resistance and is operable within a wide potential window.

Neuroprotective effects of Shende'an tablet in the Parkinson's disease model.

BACKGROUND: Shende'an tablet (SDA) is a newly capsuled Chinese herbal formula derived from the Chinese traditional medicine Zhengan Xifeng Decoction which is approved for the treatment of neurasthenia and insomnia in China. This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of SDA against Parkinson's disease (PD) in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: In the present work, the neuroprotective effects and mechanism of SDA were evaluated in the cellular PD model. Male C57BL/6J mice were subject to a partial MPTP lesion alongside treatment with SDA. Behavioural test and tyrosine-hydroxylase immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate nigrostriatal tract integrity. HPLC analysis and Western blotting were used to assess the effect of SDA on dopamine metabolism and the expression of HO-1, PGC-1α and Nrf2, respectively. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that SDA had neuroprotective effect in dopaminergic PC12 cells with 6-OHDA lesion. It had also displayed efficient dopaminergic neuronal protection and motor behavior alleviation properties in MPTP-induced PD mice. In the PC12 cells and MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease animal models, SDA was highly efficacious in α-synuclein clearance associated with the activation of PGC-1α/Nrf2 signal pathway. CONCLUSIONS: SDA demonstrated potential as a future therapeutic modality in PD through protecting dopamine neurons and alleviating the motor symptoms, mediated by the activation of PGC-1α/Nrf2 signal pathway.

Porous biochar/chitosan composites for high performance cellulase immobilization by glutaraldehyde.

In this work, porous biochar derived from sugarcane bagasse was prepared and then coated with different amounts of chitosan (C@CS) for cellulase immobilization. Cellulase was covalently immobilized on the support by using glutaraldehyde as a linker. The chemical characteristics and morphology of the samples were determined by SEM, BET, FT-IR and XPS. The properties of immobilized enzyme were evaluated by activity recovery, optimum pH value and temperature, and recyclability. The results showed that all the three kinds of immobilized cellulase did not change the optimum pH value of 4 and temperature of 60 °C, and they also exhibited good activity and reusability. Especially for C@CS25 (the feeding ratio of porous biochar to chitosan was 0.5 g: 25 mg), the support retained the morphology of porous biochar well. The corresponding immobilized cellulase kept 67 % activity of free cellulase at pH = 4 and 60 °C, and showed a glucose productivity of 90.8 % even after 10 cycles.

Thermal Welding by the Third Phase Between Polymers: A Review for Ultrasonic Weld Technology Developments.

Ultrasonic welding (USW) is a promising method for the welds between dissimilar materials. Ultrasonic thermal welding by the third phase (TWTP) method was proposed in combination with the formation of a third phase, which was confirmed as an effective technology for polymer welding between the two dissimilar materials compared with the traditional USW. This review focused on the advances of applying the ultrasonic TWTP for thermoplastic materials. The research development on the ultrasonic TWTP of polycarbonate (PC) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polylactic acid (PLA) and polyformaldehyde (POM), and PLA and PMMA are summarized according to the preparation of the third phase, welded strength, morphologies of rupture surfaces, thermal stability, and others. The review aimed at providing guidance for using ultrasonic TWTP in polymers and a basic understanding of the welding mechanism, i.e., interdiffusion and molecular motion mechanisms between the phases.

Preparation of Polyaniline/Emulsion Microsphere Composite for Efficient Adsorption of Organic Dyes.

Surface-functionalized polymeric microspheres have wide applications in various areas. Herein, monodisperse poly(styrene-methyl methacrylate-acrylic acid) (PSMA) microspheres were prepared via emulsion polymerization. Polyaniline (PANI) was then coated on the PSMA surface via in situ polymerization, and a three-dimensional (3D) structured reticulate PANI/PSMA composite was, thus, obtained. The adsorption performance of the composite for organic dyes under different circumstances and the adsorption mechanism were studied. The obtained PANI/PSMA composite exhibited a high adsorption rate and adsorption capacity, as well as good adsorption selectivity toward methyl orange (MO). The adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm. The maximum adsorption capacity for MO was 147.93 mg/g. After five cycles of adsorption-desorption, the removal rate remained higher than 90%, which indicated that the adsorbent has great recyclability. The adsorbent materials presented herein would be highly valuable for the removal of organic dyes from wastewater.

Preparation and Properties of a High-Performance EOEOEA-Based Gel-Polymer-Electrolyte Lithium Battery.

Gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) is a promising candidate for lithium-ion batteries due to its adhesion property (like a solid), diffusion property (like a liquid), and inhibition of the growth of lithium dendrite. In this paper, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate (EOEOEA) and LiBF4 electrolyte were mixed as precursors of gel polymer electrolytes. Through thermal curing, a thermally stable GPE with high ionic conductivity (5.60 × 10-4 s/cm at 30 °C) and wide room temperature electrochemical window (4.65 V) was prepared, and the properties of the GPE were measured by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), AC impedance spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric analysis (TG), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. On the basis of the in-situ deep polymerization on a LiFePO4 electrode and cellulose membrane in a battery case, EOEOEA-based GPE could be derived on both LiFePO4 electrode and cellulose membrane. Meanwhile, the contact between GPE, LiFePO4 electrode, and lithium electrode was promoted. The capacity retention rate of the as-prepared LiBF4-EOEOEA 30% gel lithium battery reached 100% under the condition of 0.1 °C after 50 cycles, and the Coulombic efficiency was over 99%. Meanwhile, the growth of lithium dendrite could be effectively inhibited. GPE can be applied in high-performance lithium batteries.

High-Voltage Sulfolane Plasticized UV-Curable Gel Polymer Electrolyte.

A high-voltage electrolyte can match high-voltage positive electrode material to fully exert its capacity. In this research, a sulfolane plasticized polymer electrolyte was prepared by in situ photocuring. First, the effect of the sulfolane content on the ionic conductivity of the gel polymer electrolyte was investigated. Results showed that the ionic conductivity variation trend was in good agreement with the exponential function model for curve fitting. Second, the activation energy was calculated from the results of the variable temperature conductivity tests. The activation energy was inversely proportional to the sulfolane content. For the sulfolane content of 80 wt. % in gel polymer electrolyte (GPE)-80 (19.5 kJ/mol), the activation energy was close to conventional liquid electrolyte (9.5 kJ/mol), and the conductivity and electrochemical window were 0.64 mS/cm and 5.86 V, respectively. The battery cycle performance test showed that the initial specific discharge capacities of GPE-80 and liquid electrolyte were 176.8 and 148.3 mAh/g, respectively. After 80 cycles, the discharge capacities of GPE-80 and liquid electrolyte were 115.8 and 41.1 mAh/g, and the capacity retention rates were 65.5% and 27.7%, respectively; indicating that GPE-80 has a better specific discharge capacity and cycling performance than the liquid electrolyte. SEM images indicated that GPE-80 can suppress the growth of lithium dendrites. The EDS test showed that GPE-80 can inhibit the dissolution of metal ions in the cathode material.

Preparation and Evaluation of Coal Fly Ash/Chitosan Composites as Magnetic Supports for Highly Efficient Cellulase Immobilization and Cellulose Bioconversion.

Two magnetic supports with different morphologies and particle sizes were designed and prepared for cellulase immobilization based on chitosan and industrial by-product magnetic coal fly ash (MCFA). One was prepared by coating chitosan onto spherical MCFA particles to form non-porous MCFA@chitosan gel microcomposites (Support I) with a size of several micrometers, and the other was prepared using the suspension method to form porous MCFA/chitosan gel beads (Support II) with a size of several hundred micrometers. Cellulase was covalent binding to the support by glutaraldehyde activation method. The morphology, structure and magnetic property of immobilized cellulase were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and a vibrating-sample magnetometer. The cellulase loading on Support I was 85.8 mg/g with a relatlvely high activity recovery of 76.6%, but the immobilized cellulase exhibited low thermal stability. The cellulase loading on Support II was 76.8 mg/g with a relative low activity recovery of 51.9%, but the immobilized cellulase showed high thermal stability. Cellulase immobilized on Support I had a glucose productivity of 219.8 mg glucose/g CMC and remained 69.9% of the original after 10 cycles; whereas the glucose productivity was 246.4 mg glucose/g CMC and kept 75.5% of its initial value after 10 repeated uses for Support II immobilized cellulase. The results indicate that the two supports can be used as cheap and effective supports to immobilize enzymes.

Design and Fabrication of an All-Solid-State Polymer Supercapacitor with Highly Mechanical Flexibility Based on Polypyrrole Hydrogel.

A conducting polymer-based hydrogel (PPy/CPH) with a polypyrrole-poly(vinyl alcohol) interpenetrating network was prepared by utilization of a chemical cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol)-H2SO4 hydrogel (CPH) film as flexible substrate followed by vapor-phase polymerization of pyrrole. Then an all-solid-state polymer supercapacitor (ASSPS) was fabricated by sandwiching the CPH film between two pieces of the PPy/CPH film. The ASSPS is mechanically robust and flexible with a tensile strength of 20.83 MPa and a break elongation of 377% which is superior to other flexible conducting polymer hydrogel-based supercapacitors owing to the strong hydrogen bonding interactions among the layers and the high mechanical properties of the PPy/CPH. It exhibits maximum volumetric specific capacitance of 13.06 F/cm3 and energy density of 1160.9 µWh/cm3. The specific capacitance maintains 97.9% and 86.3% of its initial value after 10 000 folding cycles and 10 000 charge-discharge cycles, respectively. The remarkable electrochemical and mechanical performance indicates this novel ASSPS device is promising for flexible electronics.

Enhanced Conductivity and Electrochemical Performance of Electrode Material Based on Multifunctional Dye Doped Polypyrrole.

Polypyrrole were prepared via in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization in the presence of multisulfonate acid dye (acid violet 19). In this work, acid violet 19 could play the role as dopant, surfactant and physical cross-linker for pyrrole polymerization, and had impact on the morphology, dispersion stability, thermal stability, electrical conductivity and electrochemical behavior of the samples. The thermal stability of the dye doped polypyrrole was enhanced than pure polypyrrole due to the strong interactions between polypyrrole and acid violet 19. The dispersion stability of the samples in water was also improved by incorporating an appropriate amount of acid violet 19. The sample with 20% of acid violet 19 showed granular morphology with the smallest diameter of -50 nm and possessed the maximum electrical conductivity of 39.09 S/cm. The as-prepared multifunctional dye doped polypyrrole samples were used to fabricate electrodes and exhibited a mass specific capacitance of 379-206 F/g in the current density range of 0.2-1.0 A/g. The results indicated that the multifunctional dye could improve the performances of polypyrrole as electrode material for supercapacitors.

Preparation and application of conducting polymer/Ag/clay composite nanoparticles formed by in situ UV-induced dispersion polymerization.

In this work, composite nanoparticles containing polypyrrole, silver and attapulgite (PPy/Ag/ATP) were prepared via UV-induced dispersion polymerization of pyrrole using ATP clay as a templet and silver nitrate as photoinitiator. The effects of ATP concentration on morphology, structure and electrical conductivity were studied. The obtained composite nanoparticles with an interesting beads-on-a-string morphology can be obtained in a short time (10 min), which indicates the preparation method is facile and feasible. To explore the potential applications of the prepared PPy/Ag/ATP composite nanoparticles, they were served as multifunctional filler and blended with poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) matrix to prepare biodegradable composite material. The distribution of fillers in polymer matrix and the interfacial interaction between fillers and PBS were confirmed by scanning electron microscope, elemental mapping and dynamic mechanical analysis. The well dispersed fillers in PBS matrix impart outstanding antibacterial property to the biodegradable composite material as well as enhanced storage modulus due to Ag nanoparticles and ATP clay. The biodegradable composite material also possesses modest surface resistivity (10(6)~ 10(9) Ω/◻).

Anti-hepatitis B virus activity of α-DDB-FNCG, a novel nucleoside-biphenyldicarboxylate compound in vitro and in vivo.

A novel codrug, α-DDB-FNCG, was synthesized through coupling of α-biphenyl dimethyl dicarboxylate (α-DDB) and the nucleoside analogue FNCG, via an ester bond. The anti-HBV activity and hepatoprotective effects of this compound were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. In HBV-transfected HepG2.2.15 cell line, the secretion of HBsAg and HBeAg as well as the levels of extracellular and intracellular viral DNA were determined by ELISA and real-time fluorescent quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (FQ-PCR), respectively. In DHBV-infected ducks, the viral DNA levels in serum and liver were determined by FQ-PCR. In addition, the levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in both serum and liver were also examined. The improvement of ducks' livers was evaluated by histopathological analysis. It has been demonstrated that α-DDB-FNCG could suppress the levels of HBV antigens and viral DNA in a time- and dose-dependent manner in the HepG2.2.15 cell line. Furthermore, this codrug could also significantly inhibit the viral DNA replication and reduce the ALT and AST levels in both serum and liver of DHBV-infected ducks, with improved hepatocellular architecture in drug-treated ducks. In short, these results suggest that α-DDB-FNCG could be a promising candidate for further development of new anti-HBV agents with hepatoprotective effects.

Theoretical prediction of the linear isomers for rare gas-carbon disulfide complexes: He-CS2, Ne-CS2, and Ar-CS2.

Theoretical studies of the potential energy surfaces (PESs) and bound states are performed for rare gas-carbon disulfide complexes, He-CS2, Ne-CS2, and Ar-CS2. Three two-dimensional intermolecular PESs are constructed from ab initio data points which are calculated at the CCSD(T) level with aug-cc-pVTZ basis set supplemented with bond functions. We find that the three PESs have very similar features and each PES can be characterized by a global T-shaped minimum, two equivalent local linear minima, and the saddle points between them. The T-shaped isomer is energetically more stable than the linear isomer for each complex. The linear isomers, which have not been observed in experiment so far, are predicted from our PESs and further identified by bound state calculations. Moreover, we assign several intermolecular vibrational states for both the T-shaped and linear isomers of the three complexes via the analysis of wavefunctions. The corresponding vibrational frequencies are calculated from the bound state energies for these assigned states. These frequencies could be helpful for further experimental studies, especially for the linear isomers. We also calculate the rovibrational transition frequencies for the three T-shaped isomers and the pure rotational transition frequencies for the linear isomers, respectively. The accuracy of the PESs is validated by the good agreement between theoretical and experimental results for the rovibrational transition frequencies and spectroscopic parameters.

Anti-hepatitis B virus activity of α-DDB-DU, a novel nucleoside analogue, in vitro and in vivo.

α-DDB-DU, 2'-deoxy-3'-(4,4'-dimethoxy-2'-methoxycarbonyl-5,6,5',6'-bis(methylenedioxy)-1,1'-biphenyl-2-carboxyl)uridine, is a novel nucleoside analogue accomplished by linking α-DDB (α-dimenthoxy dicarboxylate biphenyl) and DU (2'-deoxyuridine) via an ester bond. In the current study, the anti-HBV activity and hepatoprotective effect of this compound were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. In the human HBV-transfected liver cell line HepG2.2.15, α-DDB-DU effectively suppressed the secretion of the HBV antigens in a dose-dependent manner, with inhibition rate of 42.31% for HBsAg and 31.52% for HBeAg at 5 µM on day 9. In addition, it could inhibit the viral DNA replication effectively at the concentration of 5 µM, with 81.18% intracellular inhibition and 88.55% extracellular inhibition, respectively, on day 9. In the duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) infected model, DHBV DNA levels were markedly reduced after treatment with the α-DDB-DU at the dosages of 0.8 mg/kg day, 4 mg/kg day and 20 mg/kg day. The inhibition rate of α-DDB-DU at the dose of 20 mg/kg day reached 93.75% and 89.43%, in duck serum and liver, respectively, on day 10. Furthermore, the levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in both serum and livers were notably reduced on day 10 and histopathological evaluation of the animals' livers indicated significant improvement. In conclusion, α-DDB-DU possesses significant inhibitory activity against HBV replication and ameliorates hepatic pathology significantly.

Anti-hepatitis B virus activities of α-DDB-FNC, a novel nucleoside-biphenyldicarboxylate compound in cells and ducks, and its anti-immunological liver injury effect in mice.

Infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to be a major global cause of acute and chronic liver disease with high mortality. Herein, we examined both the anti-HBV and hepatoprotective activity of α-DDB-FNC. In human HBV-transfected liver cell line HepG2.2.15, α-DDB-FNC effectively suppressed the secretion of HBV antigens in a time and dose-dependent manner with 25.11% inhibition on HBeAg and 43.68% on HBsAg at 2.5 µM on day 9. Consistent with the HBV antigen reduction, α-DDB-FNC (2.5 µM) also reduced HBV DNA level by 77.74% extracellularly and 78.94% intracellularly on day 9. In the duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) infected ducks, after α-DDB-FNC was given once daily for 10 days, the serum and liver DHBV DNA levels were reduced markedly with 96.81% and 97.21% at 10 mgkg(-1) on day 10, respectively. In Con A-induced immunological liver-injury mice, α-DDB-FNC significantly inhibited the elevation of serum ALT, AST, TBiL and liver MDA, NO levels. Furthermore, significant improvement of the liver was observed after α-DDB-FNC treatment both in ducks and mice, as evaluated by the histopathological analysis. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that α-DDB-FNC possesses both antiviral activity against HBV and hepatoprotective effect to Con A-induced liver-injury mice.