Activity

developments and bringing them together from a united viewpoint, with an emphasis on how this affects the way of formulating microemulsions for a given application with desired properties.Antimicrobial polypeptides are promising mimics of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with low risks of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Polypeptides with facile and efficient production, high antimicrobial activity, and low toxicity toward mammalian cells are highly desirable for practical applications. Herein, triblock copolypeptides with chloro groups (PPGn-PCPBLGm) and different main-chain lengths were synthesized via an ultrafast ring-opening polymerization (ROP) using a macroinitiator, namely poly(propylene glycol) bis(2-aminopropyl ether), and purified or nonpurified monomer (i.e., CPBLG-NCA). PPGn-PCPBLGm with 90 amino acid residues can be readily prepared within 300 s. Imidazolium-based block copolypeptides (PPGn-PILm) were facilely prepared via nucleophilic substitution of PPGn-PCPBLGm with NaN3 and subsequent “click” chemistry. α-Helical PPGn-PILm can self-assemble into nanostructured and cationic micelles which displayed highly potent antimicrobial activity and low hemolysis. The top-performing material, namely PPG34-PIL70, showed low minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against both Gram-positive S. aureus and Gram-negative E. coli (25 μg mL-1). It also displayed low toxicity against mouse embryonic fibroblast (NIH 3T3) and human embryonic kidney (293T) cells at 2× MIC.This work demonstrated the enhanced photodegradation (PD) resulting from Co-rich doping of ZnO nanowire (NW) surfaces (Co2+/ZnO NWs) prepared by combining Co sputtering on ZnO NWs and immersion in deionized water to exploit the hydrophilic-hydrophobic transitions on the ZnO surfaces resulting from Co atom diffusion. Because of the controllable spin-dependent density of states (DOS) induced by Co2+, the PD of methylene blue dye can be enhanced by approximately 90% (when compared with bare ZnO NWs) by using a conventional permanent magnet with a relatively low magnetic field strength of approximately 0.15 T. The reliability of spin polarization-modulation attained through surface doping, based on the magnetic response observed from X-ray absorption measurements and magnetic circular dichroism, provides an opportunity to create highly efficient catalysts by engineering surfaces and tailoring their spin-dependent DOS.Solid oxide cells (SOCs) can switch between fuel cell and electrolysis cell modes, which alleviate environmental and energy problems. In this study, the La0.3Sr0.7Fe0.9Ti0.1O3-δ (LSFTi 91) perovskite is innovatively used as a symmetric electrode for solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) and solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). LSFTi 91 exhibits a pure perovskite phase in both oxidizing and reducing atmospheres, and the maximum conductivity in air and 5% H2/Ar is 150 and 1.1 S cm-1, respectively, which meets the requirement of the symmetric electrode. The polarization resistance (Rp) at 1.5 V is as low as 0.09 Ω cm2 in the SOEC mode due to the excellent CO2 adsorption capacity. The current density can reach 1.9 A cm-2 at 1.5 V and 800 °C, which is the highest electrolytic performance in the reported single-phase electrodes. LSFTi 91 also exhibits eminent oxygen reduction reaction and hydrogen oxidation reaction (ORR and HOR) activities, with Rp of 0.022 and 0.15 Ω cm2 in air and wet H2, respectively. The peak power density of SOFC could reach 847 mW cm-2 at 800 °C. In addition, good reversibility is confirmed in the cyclic operation of SOFC and SOEC.Modern smartphone-based sensing devices are generally standalone detection platforms that can transduce signals (via the built-in USB port, audio jack, or camera), perform analysis through mobile applications (apps), and display results on the screen/user interface. The advancement toward this ultimate form of on-site chemical analysis and point-of-care diagnosis is tied closely with the evolution of mobile technology. Previous reviews in the field mainly focused on the physical platforms while overlooking the role of mobile apps in such devices. There exist three general stages throughout the development (1) early generation telemedicine, (2) mobile phone-assisted clinical diagnosis (without apps), and (3) mobile app-based sensing devices for various analytes. This review presents the key breakthroughs during each stage, recent development, remaining challenges, and future perspectives of the field. Representative examples, spanning from the pioneering point-of-care testing to the latest devices with integrated mobile apps, are classified by their sensing mechanisms. The review also discusses the scarcity of open-source apps dedicated to molecular sensing. With the introduction of more open-source and commercial apps, the mobile app-based detection system is anticipated to dominate point-of-care diagnosis and on-site molecular sensing in our opinion.A combination of high open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current density (Jsc) typically creates effective organic solar cells (OSCs). Y5, a member of the Y-series acceptors, can achieve high Voc of 0.94 V with PM6 but low Jsc of 12.8 mA cm-2. To maintain the high Voc while increasing the Jsc of devices, we developed a new nonfullerene acceptor, namely, BTP-C2C4-N, by extending the conjugation of a Y5 molecule with a naphthalene-based end acceptor. In comparison with Y5-based devices, PM6BTP-C2C4-N-based devices exhibited significantly higher Jsc of 18.2 mA cm-2 followed by a high Voc. To further increase the photovoltaic properties of BTP-C2C4-N analogues, BTP-C4C6-N and BTP-C6C8-N molecules with better processability and film morphology are obtained by adjusting the alkyl branched chain length. The optimized OSCs based on BTP-C4C6-N with a moderate alkyl branched chain length exhibited the best PCE of 12.4% with a high Voc of 0.94 V and Jsc of 20.7 mA cm-2. Notably, the devices achieved a low energy loss of 0.49 eV (0.51 eV for Y5 system) accompanied by a small nonradiative energy loss. click here The results indicate that nonfullerene acceptors with extended terminal motifs and optimized branched chain lengths can effectively enhance the performance of OSCs and reduce energy loss.