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Visible-light-driven organic oxidations carried out under mild conditions offer a sustainable approach to performing chemical transformations important to the chemical industry. This work reports an efficient photocatalytic benzyl alcohol oxidation process using one-dimensional (1D) TiO2 nanorod (NR)-based photoanodes with surface-adsorbed ruthenium polypyridyl photocatalysts at room temperature. The photocatalyst bis­(2,2′-bipyridine)­(4,4′-dicarboxy-2,2′-bipyridine)­Ru­(II) (RuC) was covalently anchored onto TiO2 nanorod arrays grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrode surfaces (FTO|t-TiO2|RuC, t = the thickness of TiO2 NR). Under aerobic conditions, the photophysical and photocatalytic properties of FTO|t-TiO2|RuC (t = 1, 2, or 3.5 μm) photoanodes were investigated in a solution containing a hydrogen atom transfer mediator (4-acetamido-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl, ACT) as cocatalyst. Dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (DSPECs) using the FTO|t-TiO2|RuC (t = 1, 2, or 3.5 μm) photoanodes and ACT-containing electrolyte were investigated for carrying out photocatalytic oxidation of a lignin model compound containing a benzylic alcohol functional group. The best-performing anode surface, FTO|1-TiO2|RuC (shortest NR length), oxidized the 2° alcohol of the lignin model compound to the Cα-ketone form with a > 99% yield over a 4 h photocatalytic experiment with a Faradaic efficiency of 88%. The length of TiO2 NR arrays (TiO2 NRAs) on the FTO substrate influenced the photocatalytic performance with longer NRAs underperforming compared to the shorter arrays. The influence of the NR length is hypothesized to affect the homogeneity of the RuC coating and accessibility of the ACT mediator to the RuC-coated TiO2 surface. The efficient photocatalytic alcohol oxidation with visible light at room temperature as demonstrated in this study is important to the development of sustainable approaches for lignin depolymerization and biomass conversion.

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Functional nanomaterials have attracted significant attention in a variety of research fields (in particular, in the healthcare system) because of the easily controllable morphology, their high chemical and environmental stability, biocompatibility, and unique optoelectronic and sensing properties. The sensing properties of nanomaterials can be used to detect biomolecules such as cholesterol. Over the past few decades, remarkable progress has been made in the production of cholesterol biosensors that contain nanomaterials as the key component. In this article, various nanomaterials for the electrochemical sensing of cholesterol were reviewed. Cholesterol biosensors are recognized tools in the clinical diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The function of nanomaterials in cholesterol biosensors were thoroughly discussed. In this study, different pathways for the sensing of cholesterol with functional nanomaterials were investigated.

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A chemically sintered and binder-free paste of TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) was prepared using a binary-liquid mixture of 1octanol and CCl 4 . The 1:1 (v/v) complex of CCl 4 and 1-octanol easily interacted chemically with the TiO 2 NPs and induced the formation of a highly viscous paste. The as-prepared binary-liquid paste (P BL )-based TiO 2 film exhibited the complete removal of the binary-liquid and residuals with the subsequent low-temperature sintering (~150ºC) and UV-O 3 treatment. This facilitated the fabrication of TiO 2 photoanodes for flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (f-DSSCs). For comparison purposes, pure 1-octanol-based TiO 2 paste (P O ) with moderate viscosity was prepared. The P BL -based TiO 2 film exhibited strong adhesion and high mechanical stability with the conducting oxide coated glass and plastic substrates compared to the P O -based film. The corresponding low-temperature sintered P BL -based f-DSSC showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.5%, while it was 2.0% for P O -based f-DSSC. The P BL -based low-and high-temperature (500ºC) sintered glassbased rigid DSSCs exhibited the PCE of 6.0 and 6.3%, respectively, while this value was 7.1% for a 500ºC sintered rigid DSSC based on a commercial (or conventional) paste.

To understand the sex reversal characteristics in the longtooth grouper (Epinephelus bruneus), this study examined the sex reversal and artificial masculinization of wild caught E. bruneus reared in indoor rearing tank after a 17α-methyltestosterone injection. To domesticate a broodstock, 64 wild caught E. bruneus, between 47.0 to 110.0 cm in total length and from 1.5 to 21.4 kg in body weight, were reared in indoor rearing tank (4.0 to 5.0 m wide, and 2.5 to 3.0 m depth) for four years. Seven specimens showed sex reversal from female to male during indoor rearing condition, whose total length and body weights were from 63.0 to 99.0 cm and from 4.4 to 13.2 kg, respectively. After inducing artificial masculinization in 14 female E. bruneus with a 17α-methyltestosterone (2.0 mg/kg BW) implants for 3 years, spermiation occurred in 9 specimens (total length: 54.0 to 68.0 cm, body weight: 2.3 to 4.3 kg). Among the female to male sex reversals, two specimens returned back to being female, whose body weights were 2.8 kg (initially 2.6 kg) and 2.7 kg (initially 2.3 kg). Therefore, this study suggested that E. bruneus (> 3.0 kg) was more effective in masculinizing by 17α-methyltestosterone implants.