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Aqueous proton transport at interfaces is ubiquitous and crucial for a number of fields, ranging from cellular transport and signalling, to catalysis and membrane science. However, due to their light mass, small size and high chemical reactivity, uncovering the surface transport of single protons at room temperature and in an aqueous environment has so far remained out-of-reach of conventional atomic-scale surface science techniques, such as scanning tunnelling microscopy. Here, we use single-molecule localization microscopy to resolve optically the transport of individual excess protons at the interface of hexagonal boron nitride crystals and aqueous solutions at room temperature. Single excess proton trajectories are revealed by the successive protonation and activation of optically active defects at the surface of the crystal. Our observations demonstrate, at the single-molecule scale, that the solid/water interface provides a preferential pathway for lateral proton transport, with broad implications for molecular charge transport at liquid interfaces.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41565-020-0695-4 | DOI Listing |
J Colloid Interface Sci
September 2025
Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei 230026, PR China. Electronic address:
Heterojunctions have garnered significant attention in the field of photocatalysis due to their exceptional ability to facilitate the separation of photogenerated charge carriers and their high efficiency in hydrogen reaction. However, their overall photocatalytic performance is often constrained by electron transport rates and suboptimal hydrogen adsorption/desorption kinetics. To address these challenges, this study develops a g-CN/MoS@MoC dual-effect synergistic solid-state Z-type heterojunction, synthesized through the in-situ sulfurization of MoC combined with ultrasonic self-assembly technique.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanomicro Lett
September 2025
Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.
3D printing, as a versatile additive manufacturing technique, offers high design flexibility, rapid prototyping, minimal material waste, and the capability to fabricate complex, customized geometries. These attributes make it particularly well-suited for low-temperature hydrogen electrochemical conversion devices-specifically, proton exchange membrane fuel cells, proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells, anion exchange membrane electrolyzer cells, and alkaline electrolyzers-which demand finely structured components such as catalyst layers, gas diffusion layers, electrodes, porous transport layers, and bipolar plates. This review provides a focused and critical summary of the current progress in applying 3D printing technologies to these key components.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cell Biol
October 2025
Autophagy, Inflammation and Metabolism Center of Biochemical Research Excellence, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
The mechanisms governing mammalian proton pump V-ATPase function are of fundamental and medical interest. The assembly and disassembly of cytoplasmic V1 domain with the membrane-embedded V0 domain of V-ATPase is a key aspect of V-ATPase localization and function. Here, we show that the mammalian protein ATG16L1, primarily appreciated for its role in canonical autophagy and in noncanonical membrane atg8ylation processes, controls V-ATPase.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Biosci (Landmark Ed)
August 2025
University of Angers, MitoLab, Unité MITOVASC, UMR CNRS 6015, INSERM U1083, SFR ICAT, 49330 Angers, France.
The bioenergetic machinery of the cell is protected and structured within two layers of mitochondrial membranes. The mitochondrial inner membrane is extremely rich in proteins, including respiratory chain complexes, substrate transport proteins, ion exchangers, and structural fusion proteins. These proteins participate directly or indirectly in shaping the membrane's curvature and facilitating its folding, as well as promoting the formation of nanotubes, and proton-rich pockets known as cristae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMater Horiz
September 2025
New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, State Key Laboratory for Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Dispersing iridium onto high-specific-surface-area supports is a widely adopted strategy to maximize iridium utilization in anode catalysts of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE). However, here we demonstrate that the overall cell performance, including initial efficiency and long-term stability, does not benefit from the typical high specific surface area of catalyst supports. The conventional understanding that high iridium utilization on high-specific-surface-area supports increases activity holds only in aqueous electrolytes, while under the typical working conditions of PEMWE, the mass transport within the anode catalyst layers plays a more significant role in the overall performance.
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