Seawater electrolysis is an attractive approach for producing clean hydrogen fuel in scenarios where freshwater is scarce and renewable electricity is abundant. However, chloride ions (Cl − ) in seawater can accelerate electrode corrosion and participate in the undesirable chlorine evolution reaction (CER). This problem is especially acute in acidic conditions that naturally arise at the anode as a result of the desired oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we demonstrate that ultrathin silicon oxide (SiO x ) overlayers on model platinum anodes are highly effective at suppressing the CER in the presence of 0.6 M Cl − in both acidic and unbuffered pH-neutral electrolytes by blocking the transport of Cl − to the catalytically active buried interface while allowing the desired oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to occur there. The permeability of Cl − in SiO x overlayers is 3 orders of magnitude less than that of Cl − in a conventional salt-selective membrane used in reverse osmosis desalination. The overlayers also exhibit robust stability over 12 h in chronoamperometry tests at moderate overpotentials. SiO x overlayers demonstrate a promising step toward achieving selective and stable seawater electrolysis without the need to adjust the pH of the electrolyte.

Fast drug delivery is very important to utilize drug molecules that are short-lived under physiological conditions. Techniques that can release model molecules under physiological conditions could play an important role to discover the pharmacokinetics of short-lived substances in the body. Here an experimental method is developed for the fast release of the liposomes' payload without a significant increase in (local) temperatures. This goal is achieved by using short magnetic pulses to disrupt the lipid bilayer of liposomes loaded with magnetic nanoparticles. The drug release has been tested by two independent assays. The first assay relies on the AC impedance measurements of MgSO4 released from the magnetic liposomes. The second standard release assay is based on the increase of the fluorescence signal from 5(6)-carboxyfluorescein dye when the dye is released from the magneto liposomes. The efficiency of drug release ranges from a few percent to up to 40% in the case of the MgSO4. The experiments also indicate that the magnetic nanoparticles generate ultrasound, which is assumed to have a role in the release of the model drugs from the magneto liposomes.

The reactions of acetonitrile, propionitrile, butyronitrile, N,N-dimethylaminoacetonitrile, benzonitrile, o-tolunitrile and 1,4-dicyanobenzene with HF/AsF5 or HF/SbF5 in anhydrous HF result in protonation of the nitrile. The obtained nitrilium ions were isolated as [AsF6](-), [SbF6](-) and [Sb2F11](-) salts and characterized by multinuclear NMR and vibrational spectroscopy, and their X-ray crystal structures.