High intensity ultrasonic (HUS, 20 kHz, 400 W) pre-treatments of soybean protein isolate (SPI) improved the water holding capacity (WHC), gel strength and gel firmness (final elastic moduli) of glucono-δ-lactone induced SPI gels (GISG). Sonication time (0, 5, 20, and 40 min) had a significant effect on the above three properties. 20 min HUS-GISG had the highest WHC (95.53 ± 0.25%), gel strength (60.90 ± 2.87 g) and gel firmness (96340Pa), compared with other samples. Moreover, SH groups and non-covalent interactions of GISG also changed after HUS pre-treatments. The HUS GISG had denser and more uniform microstructures than the untreated GISG. Rheological investments showed that the cooling step (reduce the temperature from 95 to 25 °C at a speed of 2 °C/min) was more important for the HUS GISG network formation while the heat preservation step (keep temperature at 95 for 20 min) was more important for the untreated GISG. HUS reduced the particle size of SPI and Pearson correlation test showed that the particle size of SPI dispersions was negatively correlated with WHC, gel strength and gel firmness.

We report a facile and low-cost bottom-up synthesis of ultrathin Zn(bim)(OAc) MOF nanosheets (with thicknesses of ∼5 nm and a high yield of ∼65%) and their derived N-doped porous ultrathin (2.5 ± 0.8 nm) carbon nanosheets (UT-CNSs) for energy storage.

Carbon nanofibers grown on the surface of graphite felt by chemical vapour deposition was investigated for the first time in vanadium redox flow batteries. The electrochemical activity and reversibility of the carbon nanofibers modified graphite felt electrode are enhanced. A catalytic mechanism for electrochemical reaction of V(IV)/V(V) couple is proposed.

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Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have been widely investigated owing to their potential applications as optoelectronic devices. However, these materials suffer from poor water stability, which make them impossible to be applied in biomedicine. Here, insoluble CsPbBr3/CsPb2Br5 composite NCs were successfully synthesized via simple water-assisted chemical transformation of perovskite NCs. Water plays two key roles in this synthesis: (i) stripping CsBr from CsPbBr3/Cs4PbBr6 and (ii) modifying the coordination number of Pb2+ (six in CsPbBr3 and Cs4PbBr6 vs eight in CsPb2Br5). The as-prepared CsPbBr3/CsPb2Br5 composite NCs not only retain the photoluminescence quantum yield (up to 80%) and a narrow full width to half-maximum of 16 nm, but also present excellent water stability and low cytotoxicity. With these properties, the CsPbBr3/CsPb2Br5 composite NCs were demonstrated as efficient fluorescent probes in live HeLa cells. We believe that our finding not only provides a new method to prepare insoluble, narrow-band, and brightly luminescent CsPbBr3/CsPb2Br5 composite NCs, but also extend the potential applications of lead halides in biomedicine.

This review gives an overview of the recent advances of metal-containing organic compounds in memory and data storage applications. The challenges and future research directions of the field are also discussed.

Energy transfer from Tb3+ to Eu3+ was observed and verified in a warm white light emission phosphor SZYP:Tb3+,Eu3+ with high thermal stability.