A kind of 2D-layered material, Ti3C2 MXenes, was successfully used as a new and efficient co-catalyst to improve the photocatalytic NH3 synthesis performance of P25, due to its large surface area/2D-layered structure, large electric capacity, excellent electrical conductivity and effective chemisorption/activation of N2 molecules. The generation yield of NH3 was improved by 5 times on the optimized sample of 6% Ti3C2 MXenes-P25 compared with pure P25 under full spectrum light irradiation, consistent with the measured both photocurrent densities and charge lifetime. The further mechanistic study showed that Ti3C2 MXenes played an important role in the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs by accumulating the excited electrons from the excited P25. Most importantly, Ti3C2 MXenes could dramatically improve chemisorption and activation of N2 as demonstrated by ESR spectra and DFT calculations. In addition, Ti3C2 MXenes loading on P25 could introduce oxygen vacancies in P25, also beneficial for photocatalytic NH3 synthesis. Thus this study provides an efficient and promising co-catalyst for the photocatalytic NH3 synthesis process from N2 in air

Characteristic aroma volatile compounds from different parts of cayenne pineapple were analyzed by headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The main volatile compounds were esters, terpenes, ketones and aldehydes. The number and content of aroma compounds detected in pulp were higher than those found in core. In pulp, the characteristic aroma compounds were ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, ethyl hexanoate, 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone (DMHF), decanal, ethyl 3-(methylthio)propionate, ethyl butanoate, and ethyl (E)-3-hexenoate; while in core the main compounds were ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, ethyl hexanoate and DMHF. The highest odor units were found to correspond to ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, followed by ethyl hexanoate and DMHF. The odor units found for pulp were higher than those for core.

Electrocatalytic reduction of nitrates (NO 3 RR) selectively generating ammonia (NH 3 ) opens up a new idea for treating nitrates in wastewater, which not only reduces nitrates but also obtains the valuable product ammonia. By first-principles calculations, we explore the activity and selectivity for NO 3 RR to NH 3 of TM/g-C 3 N 4 single-atom catalysts. Six TM/g-C 3 N 4 catalysts (TM = Ti, Os, Ru, Cr, Mn, and Pt) are selected by a four-step screening method. Ru/g-C 3 N 4 is the most promising of these six TM/g-C 3 N 4 catalysts because of its lowest energy barrier and extraordinary selectivity. The origin of the NO 3 RR activity of Ru/g-C 3 N 4 is explained from the viewpoint of NO 3 − adsorption. In addition, the hydrogen evolution reaction has also been implied to be uncompetitive for the poor adsorption on H atoms. This work provides a screening mechanism for finding new catalysts for NO 3 RR to NH 3 , promotes the development of NO 3 RR, and provides a stimulating impetus for further experimental exploration.

In order to study the spin–orbit charge transfer induced intersystem crossing (SOCT-ISC), Bodipy (BDP)–carbazole (Cz) compact electron donor/acceptor dyads were prepared. Charge transfer (CT) emission bands were observed for dyads showing strong electronic coupling between the donor and the acceptor (coupling matrix elements VDA, 0.06 eV–0.18 eV). Depending on the coupling magnitude, the CT state of the dyads can be either dark or emissive. Equilibrium between the 1LE (locally excited) state and the 1CT state was confirmed by temperature-dependent fluorescence studies. Efficient ISC was observed for the dyads with Cz connected at the meso-position of the BDP. Interestingly, the dyad with non-orthogonal geometry shows the highest ISC efficiency (ΦΔ = 58%), which is different from the previous conclusion. The photo-induced charge separation (CS, time constant: 0.7 ps) and charge recombination (CR, ∼3.9 ns) were studied by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy indicated that the BDP-localized triplet state was exceptionally long-lived (602 µs). Using pulsed laser excited time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, the SOCT-ISC mechanism was confirmed, and we show that the electron spin polarization of the triplet state is highly dependent on the mutual orientation of the donor and acceptor. The dyads were used as triplet photosensitizers for triplet–triplet-annihilation (TTA) upconversion, and the quantum yield is up to 6.7%. TTA-based delayed fluorescence was observed for the dyads (τDF = 41.5 µs). The dyads were also used as potent photodynamic therapy reagents (light toxicity of IC50 = 0.1 µM and dark toxicity of IC50 = 70.8 µM).

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The eggplant was mutagenized with ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) to enhance its genetic variability in our previous paper. In this article, we further analyzed the phenotype of M2 generation of mutant eggplants. A total of 325 independent M2 families were investigated for phenotypic variation. In addition to the visible phenotypic variation, chlorogenic acid (CGA) concentrations were analyzed in 26 fruits of mutants with High Performance Liquid Chromatography assay. Seventeen fruits exhibited significantly higher concentrations of CGAs than those in wild-type. The anthocyanin concentration of S9-1, the purple black mutant, was higher than WT, meanwhile, the anthocyanin concentration of L6-4 and U36-1 was lower than WT. Furthermore, our RT-PCR result demonstrated that the expression levels of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes, except for SmPAL, were increased in S9-1, and the regulator SmMYB1 was decreased in L6-4 and U36-1 mutants. Together, our data indicated that, M2 generation showed abundant phenotypic variations and the strong potential usage for next step of breeding and molecular genetic mechanisms in eggplant.

A novel urea-based anion receptor with an electron-deficient aromatic structural unit, N-p-nitrophenyl-N-(4-vinyl-2-five-fluoro-benzoic acid benzyl ester)-phenyl-urea (FUR), was designed to probe the potential for halide-anion recognition through the cooperation of two distinct noncovalent interactions including hydrogen bonds and anion-π in this work. The nature of the recognition interactions between halide-anion and the designed receptor was theoretically investigated at the molecular level. The geometric features of the hydrogen bond and anion-π of the FUR@X(-) (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) systems were thoroughly investigated. The binding energies and thermodynamic information on the halide-anion recognitions show that the presently designed FUR might selectively recognize anion F(-) based on the cooperation of the N-H···F(-) hydrogen bond and anion-π interactions both in vacuum and in solvents. IR and UV-visible spectra of free FUR and FUR@F(-) have been simulated and discussed qualitatively, which may be helpful for further experimental investigations in the future. Additionally, the electronic properties and behaviors of the FUR@X(-) systems were discussed according to the calculations on the natural bond orbital (NBO) data, molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), and weak interaction regions.

Alopecurus aequalis Sobol. is a common grass weed, which has become increasingly troublesome to control in China wheat fields. One A. aequalis population, collected from Anhui Province China, was suspected to be resistant to fenoxaprop-P-ethyl and mesosulfuron-methyl. This study aimed to establish the cross-resistance pattern using the purified subpopulation and explore the potential targetsite and non-target-site based resistance mechanisms. Sequencing results showed that a single nucleotide change of ATT to AAT was present in acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) gene of the resistant (R) plants, resulting in an Ile2041Asn amino acid substitution. Besides, another single nucleotide change of CCC to CGC was present in acetolactate synthase (ALS) gene of the R plants, resulting in a Pro197Arg amino acid substitution. The homozygous resistant plants were isolated and the seeds were used in whole-plant herbicide bioassays. Compared with the susceptible (S) population, R population displayed high level resistance to fenoxaprop-P-ethyl and mesosulfuronmethyl. Cross resistance patterns showed that the R population was highly resistant to clodinafop-propargyl, moderately resistant to pyroxsulam and flucarbazoncsodium, lowly resistant to pinoxaden, and susceptible to tralkoxydim, sethoxydim, and isoproturon. The pretreatment of piperonyl butoxide reduced the 50% growth reduction (GR50) value of fenoxaprop-P-ethyl, suggesting that target-site resistance and non-target-site resistance mechanisms were both present in fenoxaprop-P-ethyl-resistance of A. aequalis. This is the first report of ACCase Ile2041Asn and ALS Pro197Arg mutation in A. aequalis.