Plate-like copper-substituted P2-type Na0.67CuxMn1−xO2 is able to rapidly charge and discharge within 5 minutes while still giving a capacity of about 90 mA h g−1 at a current of 1000 mA g−1.

Facile chemical approaches for the controllable synthesis of CuSe, CuInSe2 nanowire, and CuInSe2/CuInS2 core/shell nanocable bundles were developed. Hexagonal CuSe nanowire bundles with lengths up to hundreds of micrometers, consisting of many aligned nanowires with a diameter of about 10-15 nm, were prepared by reacting cubic Cu(2-x)Se nanowire bundles with a sodium citrate solution at room temperature. The CuSe nanowire bundles were then used as self-sacrificial templates for making bundles of tetragonal chalcopyrite CuInSe2 nanowires by reacting with InCl3 via a solvothermal process. Furthermore, bundles of CuInSe2/CuInS2 core/shell nanocables were obtained by adding sulfur to the reaction system, and the shell thickness of the polycrystalline CuInS2 in the nanocables increased with increasing S/Se molar ratios. It was found that the small radius of copper ions allows their fast outward diffusion from the interior to the surface of nanowires to react with sulfur atoms/anions and indium ions to form a CuInS2 shell. Enhanced optical absorption in the vis-NIR region of CuInSe2/CuInS2 core/shell nanocable bundles is demonstrated, which is considered beneficial for applications in optoelectronic devices and solar energy conversion.

A novel copper nanoparticles were synthesized from cupric sulfate using hydrazine as reducing reagents. A series of aromatic nitro compounds were reacted with sodium borohydride in the presence of the copper nanoparticles catalysts to afford the aromatic amino compounds in high yields. Additionally, the catalysts system can be recycled and maintain a high catalytic effect in the reduction of aromatic nitro compounds.

To make nanomedicine potentially applicable in clinic, several methods have been developed to synthesize pure nanodrugs (PNDs) without using any additional inert carriers. In this work, we report a novel green, low-cost and scalable ice-template-assisted approach which shows several unique characteristics. Firstly, the whole process only requires adding drug solution into an ice template and subsequent melting (or freeze-drying), allowing easy industrial mass production with low capital investment. Secondly, the production yield is much higher than that of the traditional reprecipitation approach. The yield of Curcumin (Cur) PNDs is over two orders (~ 140 times) magnitude higher than that obtained in a typical reprecipitation preparation. By adjusting simple processing parameters, PNDs with different sizes (~ 20-200 nm) can be controllably obtained. Finally, the present approach can be easily applicable for a wide range of hydrophobic therapeutic drugs without any structural modification.

Cadmium (Cd) and Arsenate (As) are the main toxic elements in soil environments and are easily taken up by plants. Unraveling the kinetics of the adsorption and subsequent precipitation/immobilization on mineral surfaces is of considerable importance for predicting the fate of these dissolved species in soils. Here we used in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) to image the dissolution on the (010) face of brushite (dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, CaHPO·2HO) in CdCl- or NaHAsO-bearing solutions over a broad pH and concentration range. During the initial dissolution processes, we observed that Cd or As adsorbed on step edges to modify the morphology of etch pits from the normal triangular shape to a four-sided trapezium. Following extended reaction times, the respective precipitates were formed on brushite through a coupled dissolution-precipitation mechanism. In the presence of both CdCl and NaHAsO in reaction solutions at pH 8.0, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) showed a coexistence of both amorphous and crystalline phases, i.e., a mixed precipitate of amorphous and crystalline CdCa (AsO)(PO) OH phases was detected. These direct dynamic observations of the transformation of adsorbed species to surface precipitates may improve the mechanistic understanding of the calcium phosphate mineral interface-induced simultaneous immobilization of both Cd and As and subsequent sequestration in diverse soils.

The oxidation of a simple p-methoxyphenol derivative by HClO induces an intramolecular charge transfer from the end phenyl units to the middle benzoquinone, which leads to colorimetric and fluorescent changes. This detection can be run in aqueous solution with high selectivity over other reactive oxygen species.

No abstract

In the course of this study, desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (DAPCI-MS) was applied to readily acquire the mass spectral fingerprints of camphor wood and other wood samples under ambient conditions. Characteristic natural analytes, such as camphor and geraniol, were successfully detected in their protonated form and then identified by tandem mass spectrometry (MS(n)). Further principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) of the mass spectrometric results allow a confident discrimination of camphor wood products from inferior/fake ones. These experimental findings demonstrate that DAPCI-MS is a valuable tool for differential analysis of untreated camphor wood products with sufficient sensitivity and high throughput.