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Use of legacy brominated flame retardants (BFRs), including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), has been reduced due to adverse effects of these chemicals. Several novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), such decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) and bis­(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE), have been developed as replacements for PBDEs. NBFRs are used in various industrial and consumer products, which leads to their ubiquitous occurrence in the environment. This article reviews occurrence and fate of a select group of NBFRs in the environment, as well as their human exposure and toxicity. Occurrence of NBFRs in both abiotic, including air, water, dust, soil, sediment and sludge, and biotic matrices, including bird, fish, and human serum, have been documented. Evidence regarding the degradation, including photodegradation, thermal degradation and biodegradation, and bioaccumulation and biomagnification of NBFRs is summarized. The toxicity data of NBFRs show that several NBFRs can cause adverse effects through different modes of action, such as hormone disruption, endocrine disruption, genotoxicity, and behavioral modification. The primary ecological risk assessment shows that most NBFRs exert no significant environmental risk, but it is worth noting that the result should be carefully used owing to the limited toxicity data.

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are among the most promising grid‐scale energy storage technologies. However, the development of RFBs with high round‐trip efficiency, high rate capability, and long cycle life for practical applications is highly restricted by the lack of appropriate ion‐conducting membranes. Promising RFB membranes should separate positive and negative species completely and conduct balancing ions smoothly. Specific systems must meet additional requirements, such as high chemical stability in corrosive electrolytes, good resistance to organic solvents in nonaqueous systems, and excellent mechanical strength and flexibility. These rigorous requirements put high demands on the membrane design, essentially the chemistry and microstructure associated with ion transport channels. In this Review, we summarize the design rationale of recently reported RFB membranes at the molecular level, with an emphasis on new chemistry, novel microstructures, and innovative fabrication strategies. Future challenges and potential research opportunities within this field are also discussed.

Incorporating two-dimensional (2D) graphene sheets into a 3D graphene structure provides porous structures to bind enzyme but with low enzyme affinity and unstable structure because of removal of the surficial functional group and the flexibility of graphene sheets. To address this issue, we herein constructed a 3D porous Ti3C2T x MXene–graphene (MG) hybrid film through a facile mixing–drying process. Ti3C2T x MXene nanosheets (MNS) with hydrophilic groups on the rigid flakes endowed the MG hybrid film with open porous structure and a highly hydrophilic miroenvironment. By simply controlling the content of Ti3C2T x MNS and graphene sheets, the sizes of the internal pores were accordingly tunable. The 3D porous hybrid film, fabricated from Ti3C2T x MNS and graphene sheets (weight ratios of 1:2 abd 1:3), supplied more open structure to facilitate the glucose oxidase (GOx) entering the internal pores, which probably enhanced the stable immobilization and retaining of the GOx in the film. As a result, the as-proposed biosensor exhibited prominent electrochemical catalytic capability toward glucose biosensing, which was finally applied for glucose assay in sera. The preparation of the size-controlled 3D porous hybrid film provided a method for effectively binding enzymes/protein further to develop elegant biosensors.

A crystal is an object with translational symmetry. Basic research into and production of new materials necessitates the preparation of crystals of a particular morphology and with well-defined crystal defects. In this work, we found novel silica mesoporous crystal spheres with polyhedral hollows (icosahedral, such as those observed for proteins of virus capsids, decahedral, Wulff polyhedral, etc.) formed by the reverse multiply twinned bicontinuous double diamond mesostructure. Vesicles with a low-curvature lamellar structure were first formed by the self-assembly of amphiphilic carboxylic acid molecules in the presence of a nonionic surfactant and then underwent a structural transformation process that gave a reverse multiply twinned mesoporous shell while maintaining the hollow shape. These polyhedral hollow crystals showed an enhanced contrast of backscattering signatures relative to the incident acoustic signals and thus could be used as a potential contrast agent in medical ultrasonography with drug loadings in the mesopores.

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At the onset of cancer, specific biomarkers get elevated or modified in body fluids or tissues. Early diagnosis of these biomarkers can greatly improve the survival rate or facilitate effective treatment with different modalities. Potential nanomaterial-based biosensing and bioimaging are the main techniques in nanodiagnostics because of their ultra-high selectivity and sensitivity. Emerging graphene, including two dimensional (2D) graphene films, three dimensional (3D) graphene architectures and graphene hybrids (GHs) nanostructures, are attracting increasing interests in the field of biosensing and bioimaging. Due to their remarkable optical, electronic, and thermal properties; chemical and mechanical stability; large surface area; and good biocompatibility, graphene-based nanomaterials are applicable alternatives as versatile platforms to detect biomarkers at the early stage of cancer. Moreover, currently, extensive applications of graphene-based biosensing and bioimaging has resulted in promising prospects in cancer diagnosis. We also hope this review will provide critical insights to inspire more exciting researches to address the current remaining problems in this field.

An ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescent immunoassay (ECLIA) for aflatoxins M1 (ATM1) in milk using magnetic Fe3O4-graphene oxides (Fe-GO) as the absorbent and antibody-labeled cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe QDs) as the signal tag is presented. Firstly, Fe3O4 nanoparticles were immobilized on GO to fabricate the magnetic nanocomposites, which were used as absorbent to ATM1. Secondly, aflatoxin M1 antibody (primary antibody, ATM1 Ab1), was attached to the surface of the CdTe QDs-carbon nanotubes nanocomposite to form the signal tag (ATM1 Ab1/CdTe-CNT). The above materials were characterized. The optimal experimental conditions were obtained. Thirdly, Fe-GO was employed for extraction of ATM1 in milk. Results indicated that it can adsorb ATM1 efficiently and selectively within a large extent of pH from 3.0 to 8.0. Adsorption processes reached 95% of the equilibrium within 10 min. Lastly, the ATM1 with a serial of concentrations absorbed on Fe-GO was conjugated with ATM1 Ab1/CdTe-CNT signal tag based on sandwich immunoassay. The immunocomplex can emit a strong ECL signal whose intensity depended linearly on the logarithm of ATM1 concentration from 1.0 to 1.0 × 105 pg/mL, with the detection limit (LOD) of 0.3 pg/mL (S/N = 3). The method was more sensitive for ATM1 detection compared to the ELISA method. Finally, ten samples of milk were tested based on the immunoassay. The method is fast and requires very little sample preparation, which was suitable for high-throughput screening of mycotoxins in food.