Regulation water electrolytes

Zinc metal is an attractive anode material for rechargeable aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs). However, the dendrite growth, water-induced parasitic reactions and freezing problem of aqueous electrolyte at low temperatures are the major roadblocks that hinder the widely commercialization of ZIBs with Zn anodes. Herein, tetrahydrofuran (THF) is proposed as the electrolyte additive to improve the reversibility and stability of Zn anode. Theoretical calculation and experimental results reveal that the introduction of THF into the aqueous electrolyte can optimize the solvation structure and preferentially form solvated clusters with Zn2+, which can effectively alleviate the H2O-induced side reactions and protect Zn anode from being corrosion...

Dendrite formation and water-triggered side reactions on the surface of Zn metal anodes severely restrict the commercial viability of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). In this work, we introduce erythritol (Et) as an electrolyte additive to enhance the reversibility of zinc anodes, given its cost-effectiveness, mature technology, and extensive utilization in various domains such as food, medicine, and other industries. By combining multiscale theoretical simulation and experimental characterization, it was demonstrated that Et molecules can partially replace the coordination H2 O molecules to reshape the Zn2+ solvation sheath and destroy the hydrogen bond network of the aqueous electrolyte...

Heavy metals (HMs) contamination, owing to their potential links to various chronic diseases, poses a global threat to agriculture, environment, and human health. Nickel (Ni) is an essential element however, at higher concentration, it is highly phytotoxic, and affects major plant functions. Beneficial roles of plant growth regulators (PGRs) and organic amendments in mitigating the adverse impacts of HM on plant growth has gained the attention of scientific community worldwide. Here, we performed a greenhouse study to investigate the effect of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA @ 10- 5 M) and compost (1% w/w) individually and in combination in sustaining cauliflower growth and yield under Ni stress...

The cleaning and utilization of industry wastewater are still a big challenge. In this work, we mainly investigate the effect of electron transfer among multi-interfaces on water electrolysis reaction. Typically, the CoS2 , Co3 S4 /CoS2 (designated as CS4-2) and Co3 S4 /Co9 S8 /CoS2 (designated as CS4-8-2) samples are prepared on a large scale by one-step molten salt method. It is found that because of the different work functions (designated as WF; WF(Co3 S4 )=4.48eV, WF(CoS2 )=4.41eV, WF(Co9 S8 )=4.18 eV), the effective heterojunctions at the multi-interfaces of CS4-8-2 sample, which obviously improve interface charge transfer...

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with customizable geometry and redox centers are an ideal candidate for supercapacitors and hybrid capacitive deionization (HCDI). However, their poor intrinsic conductivity and micropore-dominated pore structures severely impair their electrochemical performance, and the synthesis process using organic solvents brings serious environmental and cost issues. Herein, a 2D redox-active pyrazine-based COF (BAHC-COF) was anchored on the surface of graphene in a solvent-free strategy for heterointerface regulation...

The endocrine and neuroendocrine systems exert powerful and broad control over the regulation of homeostasis in animals. Secreted hormones play significant roles in lifetime-related events such as germ cell development, sexual maturation, development, metamorphosis, aging, feeding, and energy metabolism. Additionally, hormones, particularly sex steroid hormones, are involved in reproduction, including sexual behavior and dimorphism. Changes in body color protect against external enemies, and circadian rhythms direct physiology and behaviors in synchrony with light and dark cycles...

Salinity stress badly restricts the growth, yield and quality of vegetable crops. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is a friendly and effective mean to enhance plant growth and salt tolerance. However, information on the regulatory mechanism of PGPR on vegetable crops in response to salt stress is still incomplete. Here, we screened a novel salt-tolerant PGPR strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa HG28-5 by evaluating the tomatoes growth performance, chlorophyll fluorescence index, and relative electrolyte leakage (REL) under normal and salinity conditions...

The rational design of morphology and heterogeneous interfaces for non-precious metal electrocatalysts is crucial in electrochemical water decomposition. In this paper, a bifunctional electrocatalyst (Ni/NiFe LDH), which coupling nickel with nickel-iron layer double hydroxide (NiFe LDH), is synthesized on carbon cloth. At current density of 10 mA cm-2 , the Ni/NiFe LDH exhibits a low hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) overpotential of only 36 mV due to the accelerated electrolyte penetration, which is caused by superhydrophilic interface...

Porous polymers have many industrial applications, but their pore structures (open or closed) are usually fixed during polymerization. In this study, polymers with reversible and controllable pore structures, namely, thermosensitive porous hydrogels with regulated volume phase transition temperature, were prepared using a Pickering high-internal-phase emulsion as the template. Upon heating, the hydrogels transformed not only in their wettability (between hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity with water contact angles of 21...

It is still a great challenge to reasonably design green, low cost, high activity and good stability catalysts for overall water splitting (OWS). Here, we introduce a novel catalyst with ferric niobate (FeNbO4) in-situ growing in honey-derived porous carbon of high specific surface area, and its catalytic activity is further enhanced by micro-regulation (oxygen vacancy and N-doping). From the experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the oxygen vacancy in catalyst FeNbO4-x@NC regulates the local charge density of active site, thus increasing conductivity and optimizing hydrogen/oxygen species adsorption energy...

The design and exploration of advanced materials as a durable multifunctional electrocatalyst toward sustainable energy generation and storage development is the most perdurable challenge in the domain of renewable energy research. Herein, a facile in situ solvothermal approach has been adopted to prepare a methylviologen-regulated crystalline metal phosphonate compound, [C12 H14 N2 ][Ni(C11 H11 N2 )(H2 hedp)2 ]2 •6H2 O ( NIT1 ), (H4 hedp = 1-hydroxyethane 1,1-diphosphonic acid) and well characterized by several techniques...

Aqueous zinc-metal batteries (AZMBs) usually suffered from poor reversibility and limited lifespan because of serious water induced side-reactions, hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) and rampant zinc (Zn) dendrite growth. Reducing the content of water molecules within Zn-ion solvation sheaths can effectively suppress those inherent defects of AZMBs. In this work, we originally discovered that the two carbonyl groups of N-Acetyl-ε-caprolactam (N-ac) chelating ligand can serve as dual solvation sites to coordinate with Zn2+, thereby minimizing water molecules within Zn-ion solvation sheaths, and greatly inhibit water-induced side-reactions and HER...

BACKGROUND: Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) allows for the assessment and resuscitation of ex-vivo human livers prior to transplantation. Commercially available NMP systems are closed circuits that accumulate metabolic waste and cytokines over time, potentially limiting organ preservation times. Dialysis has been proposed as a method to remove waste and excess fluid from such systems. This study aimed to demonstrate the utility of integrating dialysis into a commercially available system by quantifying solute removal...

Alkaline Al-air batteries (AABs) are gaining increasing attention for large-scale energy storage systems due to their attractive intrinsic safety and cost-effectiveness. Nonetheless, the future development of AABs is substantially hampered by water-induced self-corrosion processes on the Al anode. In this work, we introduce an amino acid derivative, namely N α-Boc- N 1-formyl-L-tryptophan (NBLT), into a 4 M NaOH electrolyte to construct a unique layer that can effectively regulate the surface microstructure of the Al anode...

We investigated the effects of exogenous melatonin on the osmotic regulation and antioxidant capacity of 4-year-old Ginkgo biloba seedlings under salt stress. There were three treatments, with low (50 mmol·L-1 ), medium (100 mmol·L-1 ), and high (200 mmol·L-1 ) NaCl stress. Leaves were sprayed and the soil was watered with melatonin solution (0, 0.02, 0.1, 0.5 mmol·L-1 ). The results showed that saline stress significantly inhibited the osmoregulation and antioxidant capacities of G. biloba seedlings...

Owing to the strong basicity and reactivity, residual sodium compounds (RSCs) on the surface of Na-based layered oxides for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) cause the deterioration of the electrochemical performance and processability of the oxide cathode materials. Herein, considering P2-type Na0.66 Ni0.26 Zn0.07 Mn0.67 O2 as the model material, the water-washing treatment is proven to be a facile, economic, and highly efficient method to improve the electrochemical performance of P2-type Ni/Mn-based layered oxides...

Over expression of MsSPL12 improved alfalfa salt tolerance by reducing Na+  accumulation and increasing antioxidant enzyme activity and regulating down-stream gene expression. Improvement of salt tolerance is one of the major goals in alfalfa breeding. Here, we demonstrated that MsSPL12, an alfalfa transcription factor gene highly expressed in the stem cells, plays a positive role in alfalfa salt tolerance. MsSPL12 is localized in the nucleus and shows transcriptional activity in the presence of its C-terminus...

Globally, salinity is an important abiotic stress in agriculture. It induced oxidative stress and nutritional imbalance in plants, resulting in poor crop productivity. Applying silicon (Si) can improve the uptake of macronutrients. On the other hand, using biochar as a soil amendment can also decrease salinity stress due to its high porosity, cation exchange capacity, and water-holding capacity. That's why the current experiment was conducted with novelty to explore the impact of silicon nanoparticle-based biochar (Si-BC) on wheat cultivated on salt-affected soil...

Rechargeable aqueous Zn batteries have the edge in resource reserve, cost, energy and conversion efficiency due to the inherent features of metal Zn anodes. However, the application of Zn-based batteries is being seriously hindered by Zn dendrites and water-induced side-reactions. Here, potassium polyacrylate (K-PAM) is proposed as the electrolyte additive to form a synergistic cation-anion interface on Zn surface. The carboxyl anions and K+ cations are preferentially adsorbed on the Zn surface due to the intrinsic surfactant characteristics, which could homogenize Zn plating and suppress parasitic reactions...

Co9 S8 has been extensively studied as a promising catalyst for water electrolysis. Doping Co9 S8 with Fe improves its oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance by regulating the catalyst self-reconfigurability and enhancing the absorption capacity of OER intermediates. However, the poor alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) properties of Co9 S8 limit its application in bifunctional water splitting. Herein, we combined Fe doping and sulfur vacancy engineering to synergistically enhance the bifunctional water-splitting performance of Co9 S8 ...