The catalytic conversion of nitrogen to ammonia is one of the most important processes in nature and chemical industry. However, the traditional Haber-Bosch process of ammonia synthesis consumes substantial energy and emits a large amount of carbon dioxide. Solar-driven nitrogen fixation holds great promise for the reduction of energy consumption and environmental pollution. On the basis of both experimental results and density functional theory calculations, here we report that the oxygen vacancy engineering on ultrathin BiOBr nanosheets can greatly enhance the performance for photocatalytic nitrogen fixation. Through the addition of polymetric surfactant (polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP) in the synthesis process, V O-BiOBr nanosheets with desirable oxygen vacancies and dominant exposed {001} facets were successfully prepared, which effectively promote the adsorption of inert nitrogen molecules at ambient condition and facilitate the separation of photoexcited electrons and holes. The oxygen defects narrow the bandgap of V O-BiOBr photocatalyst and lower the energy requirement of exciton generation. In the case of the specific surface areas are almost equal, the V O-BiOBr nanosheets display a highly improved photocatalytic ammonia production rate (54.70 μmol·g–1·h–1), which is nearly 10 times higher than that of the BiOBr nanoplates without oxygen vacancies (5.75 μmol·g–1·h–1). The oxygen vacancy engineering on semiconductive nanomaterials provides a promising way for rational design of catalysts to boost the rate of ammonia synthesis under mild conditions.

Organic sodium-ion batteries (OSIBs) have numerous promising advantages for foreseeable large-scale applications, particularly including the convenience of performance optimization through molecular design. However, the reported organic cathodes still suffer from limited capacity, low cyclability, and poor rate performance. The tailoring of the p-conjugated system reported here can enhance the p-p intermolecular interactions, leading to insolubility, long-range layer-by-layer p-p stacking, fast-charge transport, and extraordinary stability and ionic conductivity (10 À9 cm 2 s À1 ). Consequently, the obtained cathodes delivered high electrochemical performance with high capacity ($290 mAh g À1 ), superior fast-chargedischarge ability ($160 and 100 mAh g À1 at 10 and 50 A g À1 , respectively), and ultra-long cycle life (capacity as high as 97 mAh g À1 after 10,000 cycles at 50 A g À1 ).

Rechargeable magnesium batteries have attracted increasing attention due to the high theoretical volumetric capacities, dendrite formation-free characteristic and low cost of Mg metal anodes. However, the development of magnesium batteries is seriously hindered by the lack of capable cathode materials with long cycling life and fast solid-state diffusion kinetics for highly-polarized divalent Mg ions. Herein, vanadium tetrasulfide (VS ) with special one-dimensional atomic-chain structure is reported to be able to serve as a favorable cathode material for high-performance magnesium batteries. Through a surfactant-assisted solution-phase process, sea-urchin-like VS nanodendrites are controllably prepared. Benefiting from the chain-like crystalline structure of VS , the S dimers in the VS nanodendrites provide abundant sites for Mg insertion. Moreover, the VS atomic-chains bonded by weak van der Waals forces are beneficial to the diffusion kinetics of Mg ions inside the open channels of VS . Through a series of systematic ex situ characterizations and density functional theory calculations, the magnesiation/demagnesiation mechanism of VS are elucidated. The VS nanodendrites present remarkable performance for Mg storage among existing cathode materials, exhibiting a remarkable initial discharge capacity of 251 mAh g at 100 mA g and an impressive long-term cyclability at large current density of 500 mA g (74 mAh g after 800 cycles).

Coronavirus infection, including SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV2, causes daunting diseases that can be fatal because of lung failure and systemic cytokine storm. The development of coronavirus-evoked pneumonia is associated with excessive inflammatory responses in the lung, known as "cytokine storms," which results in pulmonary edema, atelectasis, and acute lung injury (ALI) or fatal acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). No drugs are available to suppress overly immune responsemediated lung injury effectively. In light of the low toxicity and its antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and antiviral activity, it is plausible to speculate that curcumin could be used as a therapeutic drug for viral pneumonia and ALI/ARDS. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the mounting evidence obtained from preclinical studies using animal models of lethal pneumonia where curcumin exerts protective effects by regulating the expression of both pro-and anti-inflammatory factors such as IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and COX-2, promoting the apoptosis of PMN cells, and scavenging the reactive oxygen species (ROS), which exacerbates the inflammatory response. These studies provide a rationale that curcumin can be used as a therapeutic agent against pneumonia and ALI/ARDS in humans resulting from coronaviral infection.

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