Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance of Halogenated Phenylacetylene-Decorated CuO Surfaces via Electronic Structure Modulation: A DFT and Experimental Study.

This study investigates the photocatalytic performance of CuO surfaces modified with halogen-substituted phenylacetylenes (4-XA), including 1-ethynyl-4-fluorobenzene (4-FA), 1-chloro-4-ethynylbenzene (4-CA), and 1-bromo-4-ethynylbenzene (4-BA), using an integrated theoretical and experimental approach. Through density functional theory (DFT) calculations and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) measurements, we analyze how these molecular decorators affect charge transfer dynamics and the electronic structure of the CuO {100}, {110}, and {111} facets. Two distinct photocatalytic mechanisms are proposed: one where electrons reach the vacuum level through the molecular decorator and another where electrons escape directly through the CuO surface via molecular-induced hybridized states.

Factors Associated with Decisional Regret After Shared Decision Making for Patients Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a treatment for knee pain, but some patients are not satisfied with their outcomes. Utilizing shared decision making (SDM) can lead to better decisions, satisfaction, and fewer regrets. However, healthcare professionals have little knowledge of risk factors for regret.

Atomic Layered ZnO Between Cu Nanoparticles and a PVP Polymer Layer Enable Exceptional Selectivity and Stability in Electrocatalytic CO Reduction to CH.

This study employs a chemically controlled strategy to construct a few-atomic-layer ZnO structure integrated with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and nanoscale metallic copper on active carbon. Hydrogen-bond interactions from PVP's N-vinylpyrrolidone allow ZnO to retain a specific proportion of metal atoms, confining electrons at the Cu/ZnO interface to form CuZn nanoalloy clusters. The nanoalloy's dual role in promoting CO adsorption and C─C coupling synergistically boosts CH production during electrochemical CO reduction (ECR).

Design of a Multifunctional Resin-Based Outdoor Spherical Robot Shell for Ultrahigh Visible to Near-Infrared Transmittance and Mid-Infrared Radiative Cooling.

As robots undertake increasingly complex tasks, such as real-time visible image sensing, environmental analysis, and weather monitoring under harsh conditions, design of an appropriate robot shell has become crucial to ensure the reliability of internal electronic components. Several key factors, such as the cooling efficiency, visible transparency, mechanical performance, and weathering resistance of the shell material, are proposed in this research to ensure future robot functionality. In this study, a polymeric double-layered shell for fabrication by stereolithography 3D printing was designed, featuring a porous outer layer and a spherical inner shell.

Intramedullary Screw versus Locking Plate Fixation for Traumatic Displaced Proximal Fifth Metatarsal Fractures: A Systematic Review.

Intramedullary screw fixation (IMS) and locking plate fixation (LPF) are currently recommended treatments for proximal fifth metatarsal fractures (PFMF). However, treating comminuted or small displaced avulsion PFMF with IMS poses challenges due to complications. A novel alternative fixation method, the locking compression plate for distal ulna hook plate fixation (LPF), has been introduced recently for distal ulna fractures and has shown improved clinical results.

Single Atom Ag Bonding Between PF3T Nanocluster and TiO Leads the Ultra-Stable Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic H Production.

Atomic Ag cluster bonding is employed to reinforce the interface between PF3T nano-cluster and TiO nanoparticle. With an optimized Ag loading (Ag/TiO = 0.5 wt%), the Ag atoms will uniformly disperse on TiO thus generating a high density of intermediate states in the band gap to form the electron channel between the terthiophene group of PF3T and the TiO in the hybrid composite (denoted as T@Ag05-P).

Engineering of Aromatic Naphthalene and Solvent Molecules to Optimize Chemical Prelithiation for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

A cost-effective chemical prelithiation solution, which consists of Li, polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), and solvent, is developed for a model hard carbon (HC) electrode. Naphthalene and methyl-substituted naphthalene PAHs, namely 2-methylnaphthalene and 1-methylnaphthalene, are first compared. Grafting an electron-donating methyl group onto the benzene ring can decrease electron affinity and thus reduce the redox potential, which is validated by density functional theory calculations.

Dual-plasmonic Au@CuS yolk@shell nanocrystals for photocatalytic hydrogen production across visible to near infrared spectral region.

Near infrared energy remains untapped toward the maneuvering of entire solar spectrum harvesting for fulfilling the nuts and bolts of solar hydrogen production. We report the use of Au@CuS yolk@shell nanocrystals as dual-plasmonic photocatalysts to achieve remarkable hydrogen production under visible and near infrared illumination. Ultrafast spectroscopic data reveal the prevalence of long-lived charge separation states for Au@CuS under both visible and near infrared excitation.

In Situ Atomic-Scale Investigation of Structural Evolution During Sodiation/Desodiation Processes in Na V (PO ) -Based All-Solid-State Sodium Batteries.

Recently, all-solid-state sodium batteries (Na-ASSBs) have received increased interest owing to their high safety and potential of high energy density. The potential of Na-ASSBs based on sodium superionic conductor (NASICON)-structured Na V (PO ) (Na VP) cathodes have been proven by their high capacity and a long cycling stability closely related to the microstructural evolution. However, the detailed kinetics of the electrochemical processes in the cathodes is still unclear.

Experimental Revelation of Surface and Bulk Lattices in Faceted Cu O Crystals.

Semiconductor crystals have generally shown facet-dependent electrical, photocatalytic, and optical properties. These phenomena have been proposed to result from the presence of a surface layer with bond-level deviations. To provide experimental evidence of this structural feature, synchrotron X-ray sources are used to obtain X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of polyhedral cuprous oxide crystals.

Electron Injection via Interfacial Atomic Au Clusters Substantially Enhance the Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic H Production of the PF3T Enclosed TiO Nanocomposite.

A hybrid composite of organic-inorganic semiconductor nanomaterials with atomic Au clusters at the interface decoration (denoted as PF3T@Au-TiO ) is developed for visible-light-driven H production via direct water splitting. With a strong electron coupling between the terthiophene groups, Au atoms and the oxygen atoms at the heterogeneous interface, significant electron injection from the PF3T to TiO occurs leading to a quantum leap in the H production yield (18 578 µmol g h ) by ≈39% as compared to that of the composite without Au decoration (PF3T@TiO , 11 321 µmol g h ). Compared to the pure PF3T, such a result is 43-fold improved and is the best performance among all the existing hybrid materials in similar configurations.

A micromechanical study on the effects of precipitation on the mechanical properties of CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloys with various annealing temperatures.

The CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloys remain an active field over a decade owing to its excellent mechanical properties. However, the application of CoCrFeMnNi is limited because of the relatively low tensile strength. Here we proposed a micromechanical model which adopted from the theory of dislocation density to investigate the strengthening mechanisms of precipitation of chromium-rich non-equiatomic CoCrFeMnNi alloy.

Dynamic Polarization Behaviors of Equimolar CoCrFeNi High-Entropy Alloy Compared with 304 Stainless Steel in 0.5 M HSO Aerated Aqueous Solution.

Three corrosion potentials and three corrosion current densities are clearly identified before the passivation for both dynamic polarization curves of equimolar CoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) and 304 stainless steel (304SS) in 0.5 M HSO aerated aqueous solution, by decomposing anodic and cathodic polarization curves. The passivated current density of the former is greater than the latter, compliant with not only the constant of solubility product (k) and redox equilibrium potential () of each metal hydroxide but also the sequence of bond energy () for monolayer hydroxide on their facets derived from the first principle founded on density function theory.

Artificial intelligence deep learning for 3D IC reliability prediction.

Three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D IC) technologies have been receiving much attention recently due to the near-ending of Moore's law of minimization in 2D IC. However, the reliability of 3D IC, which is greatly influenced by voids and failure in interconnects during the fabrication processes, typically requires slow testing and relies on human's judgement. Thus, the growing demand for 3D IC has generated considerable attention on the importance of reliability analysis and failure prediction.

Temperature-Dependent Superplasticity and Strengthening in CoNiCrFeMn High Entropy Alloy Nanowires Using Atomistic Simulations.

High strength and ductility, often mutually exclusive properties of a structural material, are also responsible for damage tolerance. At low temperatures, due to high surface energy, single element metallic nanowires such as Ag usually transform into a more preferred phase via nucleation and propagation of partial dislocation through the nanowire, enabling superplasticity. In high entropy alloy (HEA) CoNiCrFeMn nanowires, the motion of the partial dislocation is hindered by the friction due to difference in the lattice parameter of the constituent atoms which is responsible for the hardening and lowering the ductility.

Development of Novel Lightweight Dual-Phase Al-Ti-Cr-Mn-V Medium-Entropy Alloys with High Strength and Ductility.

A novel lightweight Al-Ti-Cr-Mn-V medium-entropy alloy (MEA) system was developed using a nonequiatiomic approach and alloys were produced through arc melting and drop casting. These alloys comprised a body-centered cubic (BCC) and face-centered cubic (FCC) dual phase with a density of approximately 4.5 g/cm.

Facet-Specific Photocatalytic Activity Enhancement of CuO Polyhedra Functionalized with 4-Ethynylanaline Resulting from Band Structure Tuning.

CuO rhombic dodecahedra, octahedra, and cubes were densely modified with conjugated 4-ethynylaniline (4-EA) for facet-dependent photocatalytic activity examination. Infrared spectroscopy affirms bonding of the acetylenic group of 4-EA onto the surface copper atoms. The photocatalytically inactive CuO cubes showed surprisingly high activity toward methyl orange photodegradation after 4-EA modification, while the already active CuO rhombic dodecahedra and octahedra exhibited a photocatalytic activity enhancement.

Electron Beam Irradiation-Induced Deoxidation and Atomic Flattening on the Copper Surface.

Electron beam (e-beam) has been developed for nanomaterial observation and moreover to induce structural evolutions in atomic scale. In this work, we demonstrate the deoxidation of cuprous oxide (CuO) and the formation of an atomically flat surface on a Cu nanowire by e-beam irradiation. To develop e-beam irradiation applications, the relation between e-beam radiation and the atomic surface is significant.

The influence of dilute aluminum and molybdenum on stacking fault and twin formation in FeNiCoCr-based high entropy alloys based on density functional theory.

Stacking faults, as defects of disordered crystallographic planes, are one of the most important slipping mechanisms in the commonly seen lattice, face-centered cubic (FCC). Such defects can initiate twinning which strengthens mechanical properties, e.g.

Facet-Dependent Photocatalytic Behaviors of ZnS-Decorated CuO Polyhedra Arising from Tunable Interfacial Band Alignment.

ZnS particles were grown over CuO cubes, octahedra, and rhombic dodecahedra for examination of their facet-dependent photocatalytic behaviors. After ZnS growth, CuO cubes stay photocatalytically inactive. ZnS-decorated CuO octahedra show enhanced photocatalytic activity, resulting from better charge carrier separation upon photoexcitation.

Observing phase transformation in CVD-grown MoSvia atomic resolution TEM.

We utilized in situ transmission electron microscopy to observe phase transformation in CVD-grown MoS. Significantly, the reaction was performed under electron irradiation through appropriate control of the electron dose and exposure time. Moreover, we proposed a new route between the 2H and 1T phases that involved the higher energy states TS1/TS2.

In Situ Investigation of Defect-Free Copper Nanowire Growth.

The fabrication and placement of high purity nanometals, such as one-dimensional copper (Cu) nanowires, for interconnection in integrated devices have been among the most important technological developments in recent years. Structural stability and oxidation prevention have been the key issues, and the defect control in Cu nanowire growth has been found to be important. Here, we report the synthesis of defect-free single-crystalline Cu nanowires by controlling the surface-assisted heterogeneous nucleation of Cu atomic layering on the graphite-like loop of an amorphous carbon (a-C) lacey film surface.

Prolonged suppression of HBV in mice by a novel antibody that targets a unique epitope on hepatitis B surface antigen.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of monoclonal antibody (mAb) against HBV as a novel treatment approach to chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in mouse models.

Methods: Therapeutic effects of mAbs against various epitopes on viral surface protein were evaluated in mice mimicking persistent HBV infection. The immunological mechanisms of mAb-mediated viral clearance were systematically investigated.

Liquid-like pseudoelasticity of sub-10-nm crystalline silver particles.

In nanotechnology, small-volume metals with large surface area are used as electrodes, catalysts, interconnects and antennae. Their shape stability at room temperature has, however, been questioned. Using in situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, we find that Ag nanoparticles can be deformed like a liquid droplet but remain highly crystalline in the interior, with no sign of dislocation activity during deformation.