A 3D fluorine-doped SnO (FTO)/FTO-nanocrystal (NC)/TiO inverse opal (IO) structure is designed and fabricated as a new "host and guest" type of composite photoanode for efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this novel photoanode design, the highly conductive and porous FTO/FTO-NC IO acts as the "host" skeleton, which provides direct pathways for faster electron transport, while the conformally coated TiO layer acts as the "guest" absorber layer. The unique composite IO structure is fabricated through self-assembly of colloidal spheres template, a hydrothermal method and atomic layer deposition (ALD). Owing to its large surface area and efficient charge collection, the FTO/FTO-NC/TiO composite IO photoanode shows excellent photocatalytic properties for PEC water splitting. With optimized dimensions of the SnO nanocrystals and the thickness of the ALD TiO absorber layers, the 3D FTO/FTO-NC/TiO composite IO photoanode yields a photocurrent density of 1.0 mA cm at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) under AM 1.5 illumination, which is four times higher than that of the FTO/TiO IO reference photoanode.
Withania coagulans
is an Indian
medicinal herb, the natural extracts of which are purported to have
health-benefiting properties. In this study, the extract was encapsulated
in nature-derived polymers with the aim of enhancing its bioavailability.
The aqueous extract obtained from the plant
W. coagulans
was found to elicit the glucose-lowering effect by means of promoting
insulin secretion from pancreatic β cells. The cells treated
with the extract showed a nearly 2-fold increase in insulin secretion
compared to untreated cells. A delivery system for the extract was
developed based on electrosprayed chitosan nanoparticles coated with
food-based starch. The enteric starch coating retarded (by 2.5 times)
the release of the extract in the stomach. The bioactivity of the
encapsulated extract was subsequently tested in vitro on mouse-derived
pancreatic β cells, whereby the delivery system was found to
promote insulin secretion. Finally, the extract-encapsulated oral
delivery system was tested on diabetic mice and was validated to decrease
blood glucose levels by 60%. In summary, it could be inferred that
food-grade enteric-coated polysaccharide-based particles increase
the bioavailability of the extracted compounds from the plant
W. coagulans
.
Periodic fluorine‐doped tin oxide inverse opals (FTO IOs) grafted with CdS nanorods (NRs) and CdSe clusters are reported for improved photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. This hierarchical photoanode is fabricated by a combination of dip‐coating, hydrothermal reaction, and chemical bath deposition. The growth of 1D CdS NRs on the periodic walls of 3D FTO IOs forms a unique 3D/1D hierarchical structure, providing a sizeable specific surface area for the loading of CdSe clusters. Significantly, the periodic FTO IOs enable uniform light scattering while the abundant surrounded CdS NRs induce additional random light scattering, combining to give multiple light scattering within the complete hierarchical structure, significantly improving light‐harvesting of CdS NRs and CdSe clusters. The high electron collection ability of FTO IOs and the CdS/CdSe heterojunction formation also contribute to the enhanced charge transport and separation. Due to the incorporation of these enhancement strategies in one hierarchical structure, FTO IOs/CdS NRs/CdSe clusters present an improved PEC performance. The photocurrent density of FTO IOs/CdS NRs/CdSe clusters at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode reaches 9.2 mA cm−2, which is 1.43 times greater than that of CdS NRs/CdSe clusters and 3.83 times of CdS NRs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.