Growth kinetics and temporal size/shape evolution of gold nanocrystals by citrate reduction in boiling water were studied systematically and quantitatively. Results reveal that the size variation and overall reaction mechanism were mostly determined by the solution pH that was in turn controlled by the concentration of sodium citrate (Na3Ct) in the traditional Frens's synthesis. This conclusion was further confirmed by the reactions with variable pH but fixed concentrations of the two reactants, HAuCl4 and Na3Ct. Two substantially different reaction pathways were identified, with the switching point at pH = 6.2-6.5. The first pathway is for the low pH range and consists of three overlapping steps: nucleation, random attachment to polycrystalline nanowires, and smoothing of the nanowires via intra-particle ripening to dots. The second pathway that occurred above the pH switching point is consistent with the commonly known nucleation-growth route. Using the second pathway, we demonstrated a new synthetic route for the synthesis of nearly monodisperse gold nanocrystals in the size range from 20 to 40 nm by simply varying the solution pH with fixed concentrations of HAuCl4 and Na3Ct. The switching of the reaction pathways is likely due to the integration nature of water as a reaction medium. In the citrate reduction, the solution pH was varied by changing the initial HAuCl4/Na3Ct ratio. Consequently, when pH was higher than about 6.2, the very reactive [AuCl3(OH)]- would be converted to less reactive [AuCl2(OH)2]- and [AuCl(OH)3]-.

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Although oxygen has been reported to regulate biofilm formation by several Shewanella species, the exact regulatory mechanism mostly remains unclear. Here, we identify a direct oxygen-sensing diguanylate cyclase (DosD) and reveal its regulatory role in biofilm formation by Shewanella putrefaciens CN32 under aerobic conditions. In vitro and in vivo analyses revealed that the activity of DosD culminates to synthesis of cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) in the presence of oxygen. DosD regulates the transcription of bpfA operon which encodes seven proteins including a large repetitive adhesin BpfA and its cognate type I secretion system (TISS). Regulation of DosD in aerobic biofilms is heavily dependent on an adhesin BpfA and the TISS. This study offers an insight into the molecular mechanism of oxygen-stimulated biofilm formation by S. putrefaciens CN32.

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Bisphenol A (BPA), a typical endocrine-disrupting chemical, is widely present in water environments, and its efficient and cost-effective removal is greatly needed. Among various physicochemical methods for BPA degradation, visible-light-driven catalytic degradation of BPA is a promising approach because of its utilization of solar energy. Bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) is recognized as an efficient photocatalyst, but its band gap, >3.0 eV, makes it inefficient for solar energy utilization, especially for degrading nondye pollutants like BPA. Thus, preparation and application of bismuth oxychloride photocatalysts with an increased visible-light activity are essential. In this work, inspired by density functional theory calculations, a novel bismuth oxychloride photocatalyst, Bi12O15Cl6, was designed. The nanosheets were successfully synthesized using a facile solvothermal method followed by a thermal treatment route. The prepared Bi12O15Cl6 nanosheets had a favorable energy band structure and thus exhibited a superior visible-light photocatalytic activity for degrading BPA. The BPA degradation rate by the Bi12O15Cl6 was determined to be 13.6 and 8.7 times faster than those for BiOCl and TiO2 (P25), respectively. The photogenerated reactive species and degradation intermediates were identified, and the photocatalytic mechanism was elucidated. Furthermore, the as-synthesized Bi12O15Cl6 nanosheets remained stable in the photocatalytic process and could be used repeatedly, demonstrating their promising application in the degradation of diverse pollutants in water and wastewater.

Strategies of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) utilisation are among the factors determining plant distribution. It has been argued that submersed macrophytes adapted to lower light environments are more efficient in maintaining C metabolic homeostasis due to their conservative C strategy and ability to balance C shortage. We studied how depth distributions of 12 submersed macrophytes in Lake Erhai, China, were linked to their C-N metabolic strategies when facing acute dosing. dosing changed C-N metabolism significantly by decreasing the soluble carbohydrate (SC) content and increasing the -N and free amino acid (FAA) content of plant tissues.The proportional changes in SC contents in the leaves and FAA contents in the stems induced by dosing were closely correlated (positive for SC and negative for FAA) with the colonising water depths of the plants in Lake Erhai, the plants adapted to lower light regimes being more efficient in maintaining SC and FAA homeostasis.These results indicate that conservative carbohydrate metabolism of submersed macrophytes allowed the plants to colonise greater water depths in eutrophic lakes, where low light availability in the water column diminishes carbohydrate production by the plants.