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Li C, Zhang G, Wang Y, Lin L, Ken Ostrikov K. Rational synthesis of methylsilsesquioxane aerogels addressing thermal load and compression recovery issues in Li-ion batteries. J Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 669:157-174. [PMID: 38713955 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/09/2024]
Abstract
Li-ion batteries suffer from two key safety issues: thermal overload and compression recovery, which may lead to flammability and mechanical failure. Silica aerogels are promising solutions to both these issues owing to their excellent thermal stability and tailored mechanical properties. However, finding the optimum sol composition in sol-gel-based aerogel synthesis is needed to address these issues at industry-relevant scales. Here, we propose an innovative approach to determine the optimum sol composition for methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) aerogel sheets, which is based on the mechanisms of the effects of molar ratios of hydrolysis water and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) on the physical properties of MSQ aerogel sheets and according to the ternary contour distribution of their properties. The synthesized MSQ aerogels exhibited a soft, light, and powderless texture and featured superhydrophobic properties (150.2°), low thermal conductivity of 33.6 mW/(m·K), high thermal stability temperature in nitrogen atmosphere at 479.3 °C and moderate short-term (<6 h) service temperature of 120.0 °C. Significantly, the structural stability and elasticity of the aerogels surpassed the current state-of-the-art, showing recovery to 81.3 % of the original thickness and 85.2 % of the original stress after being subjected to 400 cycles of high-speed and high-strain consecutive compression, respectively. These excellent properties make the MSQ aerogel sheets promising for applications in thermal load and compression recovery management of diverse energy storage devices, including batteries for next-generation electric vehicles.
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Liu Q, Zhu J, Ouyang W, Ding C, Wu Z, Ostrikov KK. Cold plasma turns mixed-dye-contaminated wastewater bio-safe. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 246:118125. [PMID: 38199474 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
The excessive and uncontrollable discharge of diverse organic pollutants into the environment has emerged as a significant concern, presenting a substantial risk to human health. Among the advanced oxidation processes used for the purification of wastewater, cold plasma technology is superior in fast and effective decontamination but often fails facing mixed pollutants. To address these issues, here we develop the new conceptual approach, plasma process, and proprietary reactor that ensure, for the first time, that the efficiency of treatment (114.7%) of two mixed organic dyes, methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO), is higher than when the two dyes are treated separately. We further reveal the underlying mechanisms for the energy-efficient complete degradation of the mixed dyes. The contribution of plasma-induced ROS and the distinct degradation characteristics and mechanism of pollutants in mixed treatment are discussed. The electron transfer pathway revealed for the first time suggest that the mixed pollutants reduce the overall redox potentials and facilitate electron transfer during the plasma treatment, promoting synergistic degradation effects. The integrated frameworks including both direct and indirect mechanisms provide new insights into the high-efficiency mixed-contaminant treatment. The degradation products for mixed degradation are revealed based on the identification of intermediate species. The plasma-treated water is proven safe for living creatures in waterways and sustainable fishery applications, using in vivo zebrafish model bio-toxicity assay. Overall, these findings offer a feasible approach and new insights into the mechanisms for the development of highly-effective, energy-efficient technologies for wastewater treatment and reuse in agriculture, industry, and potentially in urban water networks.
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Liu X, Chen G, Guo Y, Li T, Huang J, Chen W, Ostrikov KK. Fabric-like rhodium-nickel-tungsten oxide nanosheets for highly-efficient electrocatalytic H 2 generation in an alkaline electrolyte. J Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 659:895-904. [PMID: 38219308 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.01.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Transition-metal based oxides with custom-designed phases are effective oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts. However, their applications in water splitting are limited because of insufficient catalytic performance in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media. In this work, we engineer fabric-like rhodium-nickel-tungsten oxide nanosheets (Rh2O3-NiWO4) on plasma-treated nickel foam (PNF) with a one-step hydrothermal approach for potential applications as industry-grade HER electrocatalysts. Benefiting from rich active sites exposed on the heterostructure, low hydrogen binding energy on Rh, and enhanced charge delivery rates, Rh2O3-NiWO4/PNF catalyst exhibits superior HER activity than that achieved by a commercially available Pt/C catalyst. This is evidenced by the fact that the overpotentials of Rh2O3-NiWO4/PNF for delivering current densities of 10 (j10) and 1000 (j1000) mA cm-2 in 1.0 M KOH are merely 19 and 293 mV, respectively. Meanwhile, the small Tafel slope (18 mV dec-1) of the optimized catalyst manifests the fast HER kinetics. In addition, Rh2O3-NiWO4/PNF exhibits ultra-stable HER performance, and the current density (j100) only decrease 7.69 % after 100 h chronoamperometric curves (I-t) test. The present work provides a new approach for designing high-performance, low-cost 2D electrocatalysts for H2 production and other clean energy-related applications.
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Qu Z, Zhou R, Sun J, Gao Y, Li Z, Zhang T, Zhou R, Liu D, Tu X, Cullen P, Ostrikov KK. Plasma-Assisted Sustainable Nitrogen-to-Ammonia Fixation: Mixed-phase, Synergistic Processes and Mechanisms. CHEMSUSCHEM 2024; 17:e202300783. [PMID: 37994281 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202300783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
Ammonia plays a crucial role in industry and agriculture worldwide, but traditional industrial ammonia production methods are energy-intensive and negatively impact the environment. Ammonia synthesis using low-temperature plasma technology has gained traction in the pursuit of environment-benign and cost-effective methods for producing green ammonia. This Review discusses the recent advances in low-temperature plasma-assisted ammonia synthesis, focusing on three main routes: N2+H2 plasma-only, N2+H2O plasma-only, and plasma coupled with other technologies. The reaction pathways involved in the plasma-assisted ammonia synthesis, as well as the process parameters, including the optimum catalyst types and discharge schemes, are examined. Building upon the current research status, the challenges and research opportunities in the plasma-assisted ammonia synthesis processes are outlined. The article concludes with the outlook for the future development of the plasma-assisted ammonia synthesis technology in real-life industrial applications.
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Babikir AH, Mao X, Du A, Riches JD, Ostrikov KK, O'Mullane AP. Electrochemical Nitrate-to-Ammonia Conversion Enabled by Carbon-Decoration of Ni─GaOOH Synthesized via Plasma-Assisted CO 2 Reduction. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024:e2311302. [PMID: 38429242 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202311302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
The release of nitrates into the environment leads to contaminated soil and water that poses a health risk to humans and animals. Due to the transition to renewable energy-based technologies, an electrochemical approach is an emerging option that can selectively produce valuable ammonia from nitrate sources. However, traditional metal-based electrocatalysts often suffer from low nitrate adsorption that reduces NH3 production rates. Here, a Ni-GaOOH-C/Ga electrocatalyst for electrochemical nitrate conversion into NH3 is synthesized via a low energy atmospheric-pressure plasma process that reduces CO2 into highly dispersed activated carbon on dispersed Ni─GaOOH particles produced from a liquid metal Ga─Ni alloy precursor. Nitrate conversion rates of up to 26.3 µg h-1 mg-1 cat are achieved with good stability of up to 20 h. Critically, the presence of carbon centers is central to improved performance where both Ni─C and NiO─C interfaces act as NO3- adsorption and reduction centers during the reaction. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that the NiO─C and Ni─C reaction sites reduce the Gibbs free energy required for NO3- reduction to NH3 compared to NiO and Ni. Importantly, catalysts without carbon centers do not produce NH3 , emphasizing the unique effects of incorporating carbon nanoparticles into the electrocatalyst.
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Wang P, Zhou R, Zhou R, Feng S, Zhao L, Li W, Lin J, Rajapakse A, Lee CH, Furnari FB, Burgess AW, Gunter JH, Liu G, Ostrikov KK, Richard DJ, Simpson F, Dai X, Thompson EW. Epidermal growth factor potentiates EGFR(Y992/1173)-mediated therapeutic response of triple negative breast cancer cells to cold atmospheric plasma-activated medium. Redox Biol 2024; 69:102976. [PMID: 38052106 PMCID: PMC10746566 DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2023.102976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) holds promise as a cancer-specific treatment that selectively kills various types of malignant cells. We used CAP-activated media (PAM) to utilize a range of the generated short- and long-lived reactive species. Specific antibodies, small molecule inhibitors and CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing approaches showed an essential role for receptor tyrosine kinases, especially epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor, in mediating triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell responses to PAM. EGF also dramatically enhanced the sensitivity and specificity of PAM against TNBC cells. Site-specific phospho-EGFR analysis, signal transduction inhibitors and reconstitution of EGFR-depleted cells with EGFR-mutants confirmed the role of phospho-tyrosines 992/1173 and phospholipase C gamma signaling in up-regulating levels of reactive oxygen species above the apoptotic threshold. EGF-triggered EGFR activation enhanced the sensitivity and selectivity of PAM effects on TNBC cells. The proposed approach based on the synergy of CAP and EGFR-targeted therapy may provide new opportunities to improve the clinical management of TNBC.
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Yu K, Li X, Zhao H, Ma C, Wang Z, Lv P, Hu E, Zheng J, Wei W, Ostrikov KK. Plasma-Induced 2D Electron Transport at Hetero-Phase Titanium Oxide Interface. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2304919. [PMID: 38059826 PMCID: PMC10837385 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202304919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Interfaces of metal oxide heterojunctions display a variety of intriguing physical properties that enable novel applications in spintronics, quantum information, neuromorphic computing, and high-temperature superconductivity. One such LaAlO3 /SrTiO3 (LAO/STO) heterojunction hosts a 2D electron liquid (2DEL) presenting remarkable 2D superconductivity and magnetism. However, these remarkable properties emerge only at very low temperatures, while the heterostructure fabrication is challenging even at the laboratory scale, thus impeding practical applications. Here, a novel plasma-enabled fabrication concept is presented to develop the TiO2 /Ti3 O4 hetero-phase bilayer with a 2DEL that exhibits features of a weakly localized Fermi liquid even at room temperature. The hetero-phase bilayer is fabricated by applying a rapid plasma-induced phase transition that transforms a specific portion of anatase TiO2 thin film into vacancy-prone Ti3 O4 in seconds. The underlying mechanism relies on the screening effect of the achieved high-density electron liquid that suppresses the electron-phonon interactions. The achieved "adiabatic" electron transport in the hetero-phase bilayer offers strong potential for low-loss electric or plasmonic circuits and hot electron harvesting and utilization. These findings open new horizons for fabricating diverse multifunctional metal oxide heterostructures as an innovative platform for emerging clean energy, integrated photonics, spintronics, and quantum information technologies.
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Huang B, Yu J, Dong J, Zhou Y, Zhai L, Dou L, Wu C, Liang X, Zhang C, Ostrikov KK, Shao T. Improving Charge Storage of Biaxially-Oriented Polypropylene under Extreme Electric Fields by Excimer UV Irradiation. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024:e2311713. [PMID: 38302103 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202311713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) is one of the most commonly used materials for film-based capacitors for power electronics and pulsed power systems. To address the pressing issue of performance-limiting loss under extreme electric-fields, here a one-step, high-throughput, and environment-friendly process based on very low-dose ultra-violet irradiation from KrCl (222 nm) and Xe2 (172 nm) excimer is demonstrated. The performance of commercial BOPP is boosted in terms of withstanding electric-field extremes (Weibull breakdown strength 694 to 811 V µm-1 by 17% at 25 °C and 428 to 651 V µm-1 by 52% at 120 °C), discharged energy density, and conduction losses. Importantly, the depth profile of space charge is precisely measured in situ with a high resolution of 500 nm by laser induced pressure pulse. Consequently, the space charge effect and electric-field distortion are reduced and related to the improved polymer films. It is demonstrated that energetic UV photons act as scissors for BOPP chains and dissociate oxygen molecules leading to the more thermally stable oxygen-containing structures, as deep traps to impede charge migration. This work provides a promising approach to produce polymers with customized microscopic characteristics that is compatible with the assembly lines of polymer-based capacitors.
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Tian M, Liu Y, Zhang S, Yu C, Ostrikov KK, Zhang Z. Author Correction: Overcoming the permeability-selectivity challenge in water purification using two-dimensional cobalt-functionalized vermiculite membrane. Nat Commun 2024; 15:737. [PMID: 38272909 PMCID: PMC10810799 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45259-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
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Tian M, Liu Y, Zhang S, Yu C, Ostrikov KK, Zhang Z. Overcoming the permeability-selectivity challenge in water purification using two-dimensional cobalt-functionalized vermiculite membrane. Nat Commun 2024; 15:391. [PMID: 38195579 PMCID: PMC10776859 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44699-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Clean water and sanitation are major global challenges highlighted by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Water treatment using energy-efficient membrane technologies is one of the most promising solutions. Despite decades of research, the membrane permeability-selectivity trade-off remains the major challenge for synthetic membranes. To overcome this challenge, here we develop a two-dimensional cobalt-functionalized vermiculite membrane (Co@VMT), which innovatively combines the properties of membrane filtration and nanoconfinement catalysis. The Co@VMT membrane demonstrates a high water permeance of 122.4 L·m-2·h-1·bar-1, which is two orders of magnitude higher than that of the VMT membrane (1.1 L·m-2·h-1·bar-1). Moreover, the Co@VMT membrane is applied as a nanofluidic advanced oxidation process platform to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for degradation of several organic pollutants (dyes, pharmaceuticals, and phenols) and shows excellent degradation performance (~100%) and stability (for over 107 h) even in real-world water matrices. Importantly, safe and non-toxic effluent water quality is ensured by the Co@VMT membrane/PMS system without brine, which is totally different from the molecular sieving-based VMT membrane with the concentrated pollutants remaining in the brine. This work can serve as a generic design blueprint for the development of diverse nanofluidic catalytic membranes to overcome the persistent membrane permeability-selectivity issue in water purification.
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Zheng L, Chen G, Huang J, Chen W, Han T, Li T, Ken Ostrikov K. Oxygen evolution catalyzed by Ni-Co-Nb ternary metal sulfides on plasma-activated Ni-Co support. J Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 653:117-128. [PMID: 37713910 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.09.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023]
Abstract
As a four-electron-proton coupled reaction, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) requires a high overpotential for electrocatalytic water splitting. Most of the reported OER catalysts still need higher overpotentials than the thermodynamic water decomposition potential (1.23 V). Therefore, developing the efficient and cost-effective OER electrocatalysts remains a challenge in the electrocatalysis filed. Herein, multiphase Ni-Co-Nb sulfides (NiCoNbSx) are in-situ engineered on the plasma-activated nickel-cobalt foam (PNCF), and the synthesized NiCoNbSx/PNCF exhibits rich heterointerfaces and active sites, causing a high OER performance in an alkaline medium. The NiCoNbSx/PNCF catalyst features the low overpotentials of 48 and 382 mV for delivering the current densities of 10 (j10) and 1000 mA cm-2 (j1000), with a good electrocatalytic stability. The theoretical calculations reveal that the heterojunction interface of NiS (401)-Co9S8 (440) acts as the active center for OER. These results provide a new effective surface modification approach and insights into catalytic processes enabling water electrolysis pursued for clean and sustainable energy applications.
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Komal Zafar H, Zainab S, Masood M, Sohail M, Shoaib Ahmad Shah S, Karim MR, O'Mullane A, Ostrikov KK, Will G, Wahab MA. Recent Advances on Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbons Towards Electrochemical Supercapacitor Applications. CHEM REC 2024; 24:e202300161. [PMID: 37582638 DOI: 10.1002/tcr.202300161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
Due to ever-increasing global energy demands and dwindling resources, there is a growing need to develop materials that can fulfil the World's pressing energy requirements. Electrochemical energy storage devices have gained significant interest due to their exceptional storage properties, where the electrode material is a crucial determinant of device performance. Hence, it is essential to develop 3-D hierarchical materials at low cost with precisely controlled porosity and composition to achieve high energy storage capabilities. After presenting the brief updates on porous carbons (PCs), then this review will focus on the nitrogen (N) doped porous carbon materials (NPC) for electrochemical supercapacitors as the NPCs play a vital role in supercapacitor applications in the field of energy storage. Therefore, this review highlights recent advances in NPCs, including developments in the synthesis of NPCs that have created new methods for controlling their morphology, composition, and pore structure, which can significantly enhance their electrochemical performance. The investigated N-doped materials a wide range of specific surface areas, ranging from 181.5 to 3709 m2 g-1 , signifies a substantial increase in the available electrochemically active surface area, which is crucial for efficient energy storage. Moreover, these materials display notable specific capacitance values, ranging from 58.7 to 754.4 F g-1 , highlighting their remarkable capability to effectively store electrical energy. The outstanding electrochemical performance of these materials is attributed to the synergy between heteroatoms, particularly N, and the carbon framework in N-doped porous carbons. This synergy brings about several beneficial effects including, enhanced pseudo-capacitance, improved electrical conductivity, and increased electrochemically active surface area. As a result, these materials emerge as promising candidates for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. The challenges and outlook in NPCs for supercapacitor applications are also presented. Overall, this review will provide valuable insights for researchers in electrochemical energy storage and offers a basis for fabricating highly effective and feasible supercapacitor electrodes.
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Zhang T, Knezevic J, Zhu M, Hong J, Zhou R, Song Q, Ding L, Sun J, Liu D, Ostrikov KK, Zhou R, Cullen PJ. Catalyst-Free Carbon Dioxide Conversion in Water Facilitated by Pulse Discharges. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:28233-28239. [PMID: 38103175 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c11102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
By inducing CO2-pulsed discharges within microchannel bubbles and regulating thus-forming plasma microbubbles, we observe high-performance, catalyst-free coformation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and oxalate directly from CO2 and water. With isotope-labeled C18O2 as the feedstock, peaks of H218O16O and H216O2 observed by ex situ surface-enhanced Raman spectra indicate that single-atom oxygen (O) from CO2 dissociations and H2O-derived OH radicals both contribute to H2O2 formation. The global plasma chemistry modeling suggests that high-density, energy-intense electron supply enables high-density CO2- (aq) and HCO2- (aq) formation and their subsequent coupling to produce oxalate. The enhanced solvation of CO2, facilitated by the efficient transport of CxOy ionic species and CO, is demonstrated as a crucial benefit of spark discharges interacting with water at the bubble interface. We expect this plasma microbubble approach to provide a novel power-to-chemical avenue to convert CO2 into valuable H2O2 and oxalic acid platform chemicals, thus leveraging renewable energy resources.
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Yue X, Cheng L, Guan C, Liao Y, Xu Z, Ostrikov KK, Xiang Q. In-Plane Palladium and Interplanar Copper Dual Single-Atom Catalyst in Bulk-Like Carbon Nitride for Cascade CO 2 Photoreduction. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023:e2308767. [PMID: 37949814 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202308767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Dual single-atom catalysts (DSACs) are promising for breaking the scaling relationships and ensuring synergistic effects compared with conventional single-atom catalysts (SACs). Nevertheless, precise synthesis and optimization of DSACs with specific locations and functions remain challenging. Herein, dual single-atoms are specifically incorporated into the layer-stacked bulk-like carbon nitride, featuring in-plane three-coordinated Pd and interplanar four-coordinated Cu (Pd1 -Cu1 /b-CN) atomic sites, from both experimental results and DFT simulations. Using femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption (fs-TA) spectroscopy, it is found that the in-plane Pd features a charge decay lifetime of 95.6 ps which is much longer than that of the interplanar Cu (3.07 ps). This finding indicates that the in-plane Pd can provide electrons for the reaction as the catalytically active site in both structurally and dynamically favorable manners. Such a well-defined bi-functional cascade system ensures a 3.47-fold increase in CO yield compared to that of bulk-like CN (b-CN), while also exceeding the effects of single Pd1 /b-CN and Cu1 /b-CN sites. Furthermore, DFT calculations reveal that the inherent transformation from s-p coupling to d-p hybridization between the Pd site and CO2 molecule occurs during the initial CO2 adsorption and hydrogenation processes and stimulates the preferred CO2 -to-CO reaction pathway.
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Kim JS, Heo SW, Lee SY, Lim JM, Choi S, Kim SW, Mane VJ, Kim C, Park H, Noh YT, Choi S, van der Laan T, Ostrikov KK, Park SJ, Doo SG, Han Seo D. Utilization of 2D materials in aqueous zinc ion batteries for safe energy storage devices. NANOSCALE 2023; 15:17270-17312. [PMID: 37869772 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr03468b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
Aqueous rechargeable battery has been an intense topic of research recently due to the significant safety issues of conventional Li-ion batteries (LIBs). Amongst the various candidates of aqueous batteries, aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) hold great promise as a next generation safe energy storage device due to its low cost, abundance in nature, low toxicity, environmental friendliness, low redox potential, and high theoretical capacity. Yet, the promise has not been realized due to their limitations, such as lower capacity compared to traditional LIB, dendrite growth, detrimental degradation of electrode materials structure as ions intercalate/de-intercalate, and gas evolution/corrosion at the electrodes, which remains a significant challenge. To address the challenges, various 2D materials with different physiochemical characteristics have been utilized. This review explores fundamental physiochemical characteristics of widely used 2D materials in AZIBs, including graphene, MoS2, MXenes, 2D metal organic framework, 2D covalent organic framework, and 2D transition metal oxides, and how their characteristics have been utilized or modified to address the challenges in AZIBs. The review also provides insights and perspectives on how 2D materials can help to realize the full potential of AZIBs for next-generation safe and reliable energy storage devices.
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Chen W, Zhu X, Wei W, Chen H, Dong T, Wang R, Liu M, Ken Ostrikov K, Peng P, Zang SQ. Neighboring Platinum Atomic Sites Activate Platinum-Cobalt Nanoclusters as High-Performance ORR/OER/HER Electrocatalysts. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023; 19:e2304294. [PMID: 37490529 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202304294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
The rational design of efficient and multifunctional electrocatalysts for energy conversion devices is one of the major challenges for clean and renewable energy transition. Herein, the local electronic structure of cobalt-platinum nanoclusters is regulated by adjacent platinum atomic site encapsulated in N-doped hollow carbon nanotubes (PtSA -PtCo NCs/N-CNTs) by pyrolysis of melamine-orientation-induced zeolite imidazole metal-organic frameworks (ZIF-67) with thimbleful platinum doping. The introduction of melamine can reactivate adjacent carbon atoms and initiate the oriented growth of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes. The systematic analysis suggests the significant role of thimbleful neighboring low-coordinated Pt─N2 in altering the localized electronic structure of PtCo nanoclusters. The optimized PtSA -PtCo NCs/N-CNTs-900 exhibit excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)/oxygen evolution reaction (OER)/oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)/ catalytic performance reaching the current density of 10 mA cm-2 in 1 m KOH under the low 47 (HER) and 252 mV (OER) overpotentials, and a high half-wave potential of 0.86 and 0.89 V (ORR) in 0.1 m KOH and 0.1 m HClO4 , respectively. Remarkably, the PtSA -PtCo NC/N-CNT-900 also presents outstanding catalytic performances toward water splitting and rechargeable Zn-air batteries. The theoretical calculations reveal that optimal regulation of the electronic structure of PtCo nanoclusters by thimbleful neighboring Pt atomic reduces the reaction energy barrier in electrochemical process, facilitating the ORR/OER/HER performance.
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Cheng L, Tang Y, Ostrikov KK, Xiang Q. Single-Atom Heterogeneous Catalysts: Human- and AI-Driven Platform for Augmented Designs, Analytics and Reality-Enabled Manufacturing. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023:e202313599. [PMID: 37891153 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202313599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
Heterogeneous catalysts with targeted functionality can be designed with atomic precision, but it is challenging to retain the structure and performance upon the scaled-up manufacturing. Particularly challenging is to ensure the "atomic economy", where every catalytic site is most gainfully utilized. Given the emerging synergistic integration of human- and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven augmented designs (AD), augmented analytics (AA), and augmented reality manufacturing (AM) platforms, this minireview focuses on single-atom heterogeneous catalysts (SAHCs) and examines the current status, challenges, and future perspectives of translating atomic-level structural precision and data-driven discovery to next-generation industrial manufacturing. We critically examine the atomistic insights into structure-driven SAHCs functionality and discuss the opportunities and challenges on the way towards the synergistic human-AI collaborative data-driven platform capable of monitoring, analyzing, manufacturing, and retaining the atomic-scale structure and functions. Enhanced by the atomic-level AD, AA, and AM, evolving from the current high-throughput capabilities and digital materials manufacturing acceleration, this synergistic human-AI platform is promising to enable atom-efficient and atomically precise heterogeneous catalyst production.
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Xu Q, Wu Q, Wang C, Zhang X, Cai Z, Lin L, Gu X, Ostrikov KK, Nan H, Xiao S. High-performance multilayer WSe 2/SnS 2p-n heterojunction photodetectors by two step confined space chemical vapor deposition. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2023; 34:505604. [PMID: 37748477 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/acfcc3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
Two-dimensional (2D) p-n heterojunctions have attracted great attention due to their outstanding properties in electronic and optoelectronic devices, especially in photodetectors. Various types of heterojunctions have been constituted by mechanical exfoliation and stacking. However, achieving controlled growth of heterojunction structures remains a tremendous challenge. Here, we employed a two-step KI-assisted confined-space chemical vapor deposition method to prepare multilayer WSe2/SnS2p-n heterojunctions. Optical characterization results revealed that the prepared WSe2/SnS2vertical heterostructures have clear interfaces as well as vertical heterostructures. The electrical and optoelectronic properties were investigated by constructing the corresponding heterojunction devices, which exhibited good rectification characteristics and obtained a high detectivity of 7.85 × 1012Jones and a photoresponse of 227.3 A W-1under visible light irradiation, as well as a fast rise/fall time of 166/440μs. These remarkable performances are likely attributed to the ultra-low dark current generated in the depletion region at the junction and the high direct tunneling current during illumination. This work demonstrates the value of multilayer WSe2/SnS2heterojunctions for applications in high-performance photodetectors.
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Wong PC, Kurniawan D, Wu JL, Wang WR, Chen KH, Chen CY, Chen YC, Veeramuthu L, Kuo CC, Ostrikov KK, Chiang WH. Plasma-Enabled Graphene Quantum Dot Hydrogel-Magnesium Composites as Bioactive Scaffolds for In Vivo Bone Defect Repair. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:44607-44620. [PMID: 37722031 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c05297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/20/2023]
Abstract
Bioactive and mechanically stable metal-based scaffolds are commonly used for bone defect repair. However, conventional metal-based scaffolds induce nonuniform cell growth, limiting damaged tissue restoration. Here, we develop a plasma nanotechnology-enhanced graphene quantum dot (GQD) hydrogel-magnesium (Mg) composite scaffold for functional bone defect repair by integrating a bioresource-derived nitrogen-doped GQD (NGQD) hydrogel into the Mg ZK60 alloy. Each scaffold component brings major synergistic advantages over the current alloy-based state of the art, including (1) mechanical support of the cortical bone and calcium deposition by the released Mg2+ during degradation; (2) enhanced uptake, migration, and distribution of osteoblasts by the porous hydrogel; and (3) improved osteoblast adhesion and proliferation, osteogenesis, and mineralization by the NGQDs in the hydrogel. Through an in vivo study, the hybrid scaffold with the much enhanced osteogenic ability induced by the above synergy promotes a more rapid, uniform, and directional bone growth across the hydrogel channel, compared with the control Mg-based scaffold. This work provides insights into the design of multifunctional hybrid scaffolds, which can be applied in other areas well beyond the demonstrated bone defect repair.
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Luo Y, Yang H, Ying C, Wang R, Bo Z, Yan J, Cen K, Ostrikov KK. Plasma-Activated Solutions Regulate Surface-Terminating Groups Enhancing Pseudocapacitive Ti 3 C 2 T x Electrode Performance. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023:e2305383. [PMID: 37661349 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202305383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
2D transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) are actively pursued as pseudocapacitive materials for supercapacitors owing to their advantages in electronic conductivity and surface reactivity. Increasing the fraction of ─O terminal groups in Ti3 C2 Tx is a promising approach to improve the pseudocapacitive charge storage in H2 SO4 electrolytes, but it suffers from a lack of effective functionalization methods and stability of the groups in practical operation. Here a low-temperature and environment-friendly approach via the interaction of nonequilibrium plasmas with Ti3 C2 Tx dispersion is demonstrated to generate abundant and stable surface-terminating O groups. The impact of the discharge environment (Ar, O2 , and H2 ) on the structural characteristics and electrochemical performance of Ti3 C2 Tx nanosheets is studied. The Ti3 C2 Tx modified in Ar and H2 maintains their original morphology but a significantly lower F content. Consequently, an extraordinarily high content (78.5%) of surface-terminating O groups is revealed by the high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra for the Ti3 C2 Tx samples modified in H2 plasma-treated solutions. Additionally, the Ti3 C2 Tx treated using H2 plasmas exhibits the best capacitive performance of 418.3 F g-1 at 2 mV s-1 , which can maintain 95.88% capacity after 10 000 cycles. These results contribute to the development of advanced nanostructured pseudocapacitive electrode materials for renewable energy storage applications.
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Niu J, Liu Y, Wang X, Liu J, Zhao Z, Liu X, Ostrikov KK. Biomass-Derived Bifunctional Cathode Electrocatalyst and Multiadaptive Gel Electrolyte for High-Performance Flexible Zn-Air Batteries in Wide Temperature Range. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023; 19:e2302727. [PMID: 37222632 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202302727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
High-efficiency and low-cost bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), as well as gel electrolytes with high thermal and mechanical adaptability are required for the development of flexible batteries. Herein, abundant Setaria Viridis (SV) biomass is selected as the precursor to prepare porous N-doped carbon tubes with high specific surface area and the 900 °C calcination product of SV (SV-900) shows the optimum ORR/OER activities with a small EOER -EORR of 0.734 V. Meanwhile, a new multifunctional gel electrolyte named C20E2G5 is prepared using cellulose extracted from another widely distributed biomass named flax as the skeleton, epichlorohydrin as the cross-linker and glycerol as the antifreezing agent. C20E2G5 possesses high ionic conductivity from -40 to + 60 °C, excellent tensile and compressive resistance, high adhesion, strong freezing and heat resistance. Moreover, the symmetrical cell assembled with C20E2G5 can significantly inhibit Zn dendrite growth. Finally, flexible solid-state Zn-air batteries assembled with SV-900 and C20E2G5 show high open circuit voltage, large energy density, and long-term operation stability between -40 and + 60 °C. This biomass-based approach is generic and can be used for the development of diverse next-generation electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices.
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Han Z, Fang R, Chu D, Wang DW, Ostrikov KK. Introduction to Supercapacitors. NANOSCALE ADVANCES 2023; 5:4015-4017. [PMID: 37560421 PMCID: PMC10408583 DOI: 10.1039/d3na90074f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
Guest editors Zhaojun Han, Ruopian Fang, Dewei Chu, Da-Wei Wang and Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov, introduce this Nanoscale Advances themed issue on supercapacitors.
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Lin J, Li D, Li C, Zhuang Z, Chu C, Ken Ostrikov K, Thompson EW, Liu G, Wang P. A review on reactive oxygen species (ROS)-inducing nanoparticles activated by uni- or multi-modal dynamic treatment for oncotherapy. NANOSCALE 2023. [PMID: 37427536 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr01735d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Cancer seriously threatens human health. As compared to normal tissue cells, tumor cells are generally more susceptible to oxidative stress and accumulate higher concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Accordingly, nanomaterials-based therapies that boost intracellular ROS generation have recently been effective in targeting and eliminating cancer cells by causing programmed death. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of ROS-generation induced by nanoparticles and critically examines the associated therapies which can be categorized as uni-modal (chemodynamic therapy, photodynamic therapy, sonodynamic therapy) and multi-modal (uni-modal therapy + chemotherapy, uni-modal therapy + uni-modal therapy) therapies. Comparison of the relative tumor volume ratio between the experimental and initial tumor volumes shows that multi-modal therapy significantly outperformed other treatments. However, the limitations of multi-modal therapy are in the difficulties of materials preparation and sophisticated operation protocols, thus limiting its applications in clinical practice. As an emerging treatment modality, cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a reliable source of ROS, light, and electromagnetic fields that can be used to implement multi-modal treatments in a simple setting. Therefore, the field of tumor precision medicine is expected to increasingly benefit from these promising and rapidly emerging multi-modal therapies based on ROS-generating nanomaterials and reactive media such as CAPs.
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Liu Q, Ouyang W, Yang X, He Y, Wu Z, Ostrikov KK. Plasma-microbubble treatment and sustainable agriculture application of diclofenac-contaminated wastewater. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 334:138998. [PMID: 37211167 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The demand for efficient wastewater treatment is becoming increasingly urgent due to the rising threat of pharmaceutical residues in water. As a sustainable advanced oxidation process, cold plasma technology is a promising approach for water treatment. However, the adoption of the technology encounters several challenges, including the low treatment efficiency and the potentially unknown environmental impact. Here, microbubble generation was integrated with cold plasma system to enhance treatment of wastewater contaminated with diclofenac (DCF). The degradation efficiency depended on the discharge voltage, gas flow, initial concentration, and pH value. The best degradation efficiency was 90.9% after 45 min plasma-bubble treatment under the optimum process parameters. The hybrid plasma-bubble system exhibited strongly synergistic performance heralded by up to seven-times higher DCF removal rates than the two systems operated separately. The plasma-bubble treatment remains effective even after addition of SO42-, Cl-, CO32-, HCO3-, and humic acid (HA) as interfering background substances. The contributions of •O2-, O3, •OH, and H2O2 reactive species to the DCF degradation process were specified. The synergistic mechanisms for DCF degradation were deduced through the analysis of the degradation intermediates. Further, the plasma-bubble treated water was proven safe and effective to stimulate seed germination and plant growth for sustainable agriculture applications. Overall, these findings provide new insights and a feasible approach with a highly synergistic removal effect for the plasma-enhanced microbubble wastewater treatment, without generating secondary contaminants.
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Chen J, Wang Z, Sun J, Zhou R, Guo L, Zhang H, Liu D, Rong M, Ostrikov KK. Plasma-Activated Hydrogels for Microbial Disinfection. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 10:e2207407. [PMID: 36929325 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202207407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
A continuous risk from microbial infections poses a major environmental and public health challenge. As an emerging strategy for inhibiting bacterial infections, plasma-activated water (PAW) has proved to be highly effective, environmental-friendly, and non-drug resistant to a broad range of microorganisms. However, the relatively short lifetime of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and the high spreadability of liquid PAW inevitably limit its real-life applications. In this study, plasma-activated hydrogel (PAH) is developed to act as reactive species carrier that allow good storage and controlled slow-release of RONS to achieve long-term antibacterial effects. Three hydrogel materials, including hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), carbomer 940 (Carbomer), and acryloyldimethylammonium taurate/VP copolymer (AVC) are selected, and their antibacterial performances under different plasma activation conditions are investigated. It is shown that the composition of the gels plays the key role in determining their biochemical functions after the plasma activation. The antimicrobial performance of AVC is much better than that of PAW and the other two hydrogels, along with the excellent stability to maintain the antimicrobial activity for more than 14 days. The revealed mechanism of the antibacterial ability of the PAH identifies the unique combination of short-lived species (1 O2 , ∙OH, ONOO- and O2 - ) stored in hydrogels. Overall, this study demonstrates the efficacy and reveals the mechanisms of the PAH as an effective and long-term disinfectant capable of delivering and preserving antibacterial chemistries for biomedical applications.
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Kurniawan D, Mathew J, Rahardja MR, Pham HP, Wong PC, Rao NV, Ostrikov KK, Chiang WH. Plasma-Enabled Graphene Quantum Dot Hydrogels as Smart Anticancer Drug Nanocarriers. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023; 19:e2206813. [PMID: 36732883 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202206813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
One of the major challenges on the way to low-cost, simple, and effective cancer treatments is the lack of smart anticancer drug delivery materials with the requisite of site-specific and microenvironment-responsive properties. This work reports the development of plasma-engineered smart drug nanocarriers (SDNCs) containing chitosan and nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs) for drug delivery in a pH-responsive manner. Through a customized microplasma processing, a highly cross-linked SDNC with only 4.5% of NGQD ratio can exhibit enhanced toughness up to threefold higher than the control chitosan group, avoiding the commonly used high temperatures and toxic chemical cross-linking agents. The SDNCs demonstrate improved loading capability for doxorubicin (DOX) via π-π interactions and stable solid-state photoluminescence to monitor the DOX loading and release through the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism. Moreover, the DOX loaded SDNC exhibits anticancer effects against cancer cells during cytotoxicity tests at minimum concentration. Cellular uptake studies confirm that the DOX loaded SDNC can be successfully internalized into the nucleus after 12 h incubation period. This work provides new insights into the development of smart, environmental-friendly, and biocompatible nanographene hydrogels for the next-generation biomedical applications.
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Li P, Cheng W, Zhou Y, Zhao D, Liu J, Li L, Ouyang X, Liu B, Jia W, Xu Q, Ostrikov KK. Large Scale BN-perovskite Nanocomposite Aerogel Scintillator for Thermal Neutron Detection. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023:e2209452. [PMID: 36974596 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202209452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
State-of-the-art thermal neutron scintillation detectors rely on rare isotopes for neutron capture, lack stability and scalability of solid-state scintillation devices, and poorly discriminate between the neutron and gamma rays. The boron nitride (BN)-CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocomposite aerogel scintillator enables discriminative detection of thermal neutrons, features the largest known size (9 cm across), the lowest density (0.17 g cm-3 ) among the existing scintillation materials, high BN (50%) perovskite (1%) contents, high optical transparency (85%), and excellent radiation stability. The new detection mechanism relies on thermal neutron capture by 10 B and effective energy transfer from the charged particles to visible-range scintillation photons between the densely packed BN and CsPbBr3 nanocrystals. Low density minimizes the gamma ray response. The neutrons and gamma rays are discriminated by complete decoupling of the respective single pulses in time and intensity. These outcomes open new avenues for neutron detection in resource exploration, clean energy, environmental, aerospace, and homeland security applications.
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Wu E, Nie L, Liu D, Lu X, Ostrikov KK. Plasma poration: Transdermal electric fields, conduction currents, and reactive species transport. Free Radic Biol Med 2023; 198:109-117. [PMID: 36781059 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2023.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Abstract
Radical species and electric fields produced by gas plasmas are increasingly used in dermatology. Plasma-poration is the key basis for the efficient plasma skin treatment, which involves the plasma electric field, the directional motion of charged particles, and the transport of reactive particles. However, the enabling mechanisms of the plasma-poration remain unclear and require urgent attention. Here, the plasma-induced electric fields in each skin layer are accurately measured for the first time. The maximum electric field in the stratum corneum is 43 kV/cm, while the electric field in the active epidermis and dermis is about 1.8 kV/cm. This electric field strength is in the range of strength required for electroporation. Different from traditional electroporation treatments, the plasma-poration mainly relies on the effects of strong electric fields and the conductive current. The active power of the plasma-poration up to 18.5 kW/cm3 in the stratum corneum can rapidly change the structure of the skin. At the same time, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species also pass through the stratum corneum and effectively interact with the skin tissue. The plasma-poration does not cause any pain, which is an inevitable side effect of common electroporation.
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Pannu AS, Sen S, Wang XT, Jones R, Ostrikov KK, Sonar P. Hybrid 2D perovskite and red emitting carbon dot composite for improved stability and efficiency of LEDs. NANOSCALE 2023; 15:2659-2666. [PMID: 36655913 DOI: 10.1039/d2nr06942c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Organic-inorganic hybrid lead trihalide perovskites have shown promise consistently in optoelectronic devices such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), solar cells, photodetectors, sensors, and other optoelectronic devices. Perovskite-based LEDs (PSK-LEDs) have shown enormous potential, mostly due to their lower cost, easy synthesis via solution processibility, and highly tunable light-emitting behavior with higher performance. Despite the recent developments in green and blue PSK-LEDs over the years, there has been less development in the research area of red-emitting PSK-LEDs. Although some developments have led to spectrally, stable red-emitting PSK-LEDs, the stability of those devices still needs to be improved upon further for any practical application. In this work, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time, we used red-emitting 2D PSK as an active light-emitting layer which was further stabilized by red-emitting carbon dots (CDs). The CD-PSK composite films were used as an active layer in red emitting LEDs, and they showed high operational stability, and improved performance compared to the control device with only PSK film as the active layer. The composite device showed improved maximum luminescence (3011 cd m-2), charge density (330 mA cm-2), operational stability (8 hours), better EQE (10.2%), and low turn-on voltage of 2.6 V compared to the control device with maximum luminescence (1512 cd m-2), charge density (134 mA cm-2), operational stability (<2 hours), EQE (2.6%) and turn on voltage of 3.2 V. The low-cost hybrid approach using PSK building blocks together with CDs opens a new approach leading to a composite material, which has immense possibilities for tuning the structure further to maximize the performance.
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Li W, Luna-Flores CH, Anangi R, Zhou R, Tan X, Jessen M, Liu L, Zhou R, Zhang T, Gissibl A, Cullen PJ, Ostrikov KK, Speight RE. Oxidative stress induced by plasma-activated water stimulates astaxanthin production in Phaffia rhodozyma. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2023; 369:128370. [PMID: 36423765 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Astaxanthin is used extensively in the nutraceutical, aquaculture, and cosmetic industries. The current market necessitates higher astaxanthin production from Phaffia rhodozyma (P. rhodozyma) due to its higher cost compared to chemical synthesis. In this study, a bubble discharge reactor was developed to generate plasma-activated water (PAW) to produce PAW-made yeast malt (YM) medium. Due to oxidative stress induced by PAW, strains cultured in 15 and 30 min-treated PAW-made medium produced 7.9 ± 1.2 % and 12.6 ± 1.4 % more carotenoids with 15.5 ± 3.3 % and 22.1 ± 1.3 % more astaxanthin, respectively. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay results showed that ROS generated by plasma-water interactions elevated intracellular ROS levels. Proteomic analysis revealed increased expression of proteins involved in the cellular response to oxidative stress as well as carotenoid biosynthesis, both of which contribute to higher yields of astaxanthin. Overall, this study supports the potential of PAW to increase astaxanthin yields for industrial-scale production.
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Lim JM, Jang YS, Van T Nguyen H, Kim JS, Yoon Y, Park BJ, Seo DH, Lee KK, Han Z, Ostrikov KK, Doo SG. Advances in high-voltage supercapacitors for energy storage systems: materials and electrolyte tailoring to implementation. NANOSCALE ADVANCES 2023; 5:615-626. [PMID: 36756532 PMCID: PMC9890941 DOI: 10.1039/d2na00863g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
To achieve a zero-carbon-emission society, it is essential to increase the use of clean and renewable energy. Yet, renewable energy resources present constraints in terms of geographical locations and limited time intervals for energy generation. Therefore, there is a surging demand for developing high-performance energy storage systems (ESSs) to effectively store the energy during the peak time and use the energy during the trough period. To this end, supercapacitors hold great promise as short-term ESSs for rapid power recovery or frequency regulation to improve the quality and reliability of power supply. In particular, the electrical double layer capacitor (EDLC) which offers long and stable cycle retention, high power densities, and fast charge/discharge characteristics with a moderate operating voltage window, is a suitable candidate. Yet, for implementation of the EDLC in ESSs, further research effort is required in terms of increasing the operating voltage and energy densities while maintaining the long-term cycle stability and power densities which are desirable aspects for ESS operation. Here, we examine the advances in EDLC research to achieve a high operating voltage window along with high energy densities, covering from materials and electrolytes to long-term device perspectives for next-generation supercapacitor-based ESSs.
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Xia T, Yang Y, Song Q, Luo M, Xue M, Ostrikov KK, Zhao Y, Li F. In situ characterisation for nanoscale structure-performance studies in electrocatalysis. NANOSCALE HORIZONS 2023; 8:146-157. [PMID: 36512394 DOI: 10.1039/d2nh00447j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Recently, electrocatalytic reactions involving oxygen, nitrogen, water, and carbon dioxide have been developed to substitute conventional chemical processes, with the aim of producing clean energy, fuels and chemicals. A deepened understanding of catalyst structures, active sites and reaction mechanisms plays a critical role in improving the performance of these reactions. To this end, in situ/operando characterisations can be used to visualise the dynamic evolution of nanoscale materials and reaction intermediates under electrolysis conditions, thus enhancing our understanding of heterogeneous electrocatalytic reactions. In this review, we summarise the state-of-the-art in situ characterisation techniques used in electrocatalysis. We categorise them into three sections based on different working principles: microscopy, spectroscopy, and other characterisation techniques. The capacities and limits of the in situ characterisation techniques are discussed in each section to highlight the present-day horizons and guide further advances in the field, primarily aiming at the users of these techniques. Finally, we look at challenges and possible strategies for further development of in situ techniques.
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Yeh YJ, Le TN, Hsiao WWW, Tung KL, Ostrikov KK, Chiang WH. Plasmonic nanostructure-enhanced Raman scattering for detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein and spike protein variants. Anal Chim Acta 2023; 1239:340651. [PMID: 36628748 PMCID: PMC9677586 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2022.340651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Epidemiological control and public health monitoring during the outbreaks of infectious viral diseases rely on the ability to detect viral pathogens. Here we demonstrate a rapid, sensitive, and selective nanotechnology-enhanced severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection based on the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) responses from the plasma-engineered, variant-specific antibody-functionalized silver microplasma-engineered nanoassemblies (AgMEN) interacting with the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins. The three-dimensional (3D) porous AgMEN with plasmonic-active nanostructures provide a high sensitivity to virus detection via the remarkable SERS signal collection. Moreover, the variant-specific antibody-functionalization on the SERS-active AgMEN enabled the high selectivity of the SARS-CoV-2 S variants, including wild-type, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron, under the simulated human saliva conditions. The exceptional ultrahigh sensitivity of our SERS biosensor was demonstrated via SARS-CoV-2 S and N proteins at the detection limit of 1 fg mL-1 and 0.1 pg mL-1, respectively. Our work demonstrates a versatile SERS-based detection platform can be applied for the ultrasensitive detection of virus variants, infectious diseases, and cancer biomarkers.
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Zeng X, Zhang S, Hu X, Zhang C, Ostrikov KK, Shao T. Recent advances in plasma-enabled ammonia synthesis: state-of-the-art, challenges, and outlook. Faraday Discuss 2023. [PMID: 37016973 DOI: 10.1039/d3fd00006k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
With the increase in greenhouse effect and reduction of fossil fuel resources, it is urgent to find a feasible solution to directly convert power to chemicals using renewable energy and...
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Pi X, Sun X, Wang R, Chen C, Wu S, Zhan F, Zhong J, Wang Q, Ken Ostrikov K. MoS 2 nanosheets on plasma-nitrogen-doped carbon cloth for high-performance flexible supercapacitors. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 629:227-237. [PMID: 36152579 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.09.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
With the surging demand for flexible and portable electronic devices featuring high energy and power density, the development of next-generation lightweight, flexible energy storage devices is crucial. However, achieving the expected energy and power density of supercapacitors remains a great challenge. This work reports a facile plasma-enabled method for preparing supercapacitor electrodes made of MoS2 nanosheets grown on flexible and lightweight N-doped carbon cloth (NCC). The MoS2/NCC presents an outstanding specific capacitance of 3834.28 mF/cm2 at 1 mA/cm2 and energy density of 260.94 µWh/cm2 at a power density of 354.48 µW/cm2. An aqueous symmetric supercapacitor fitted with two MoS2/NCC electrodes achieved the maximum energy density of 138.12 µWh/cm2 and the highest power density of 7,417.33 µW/cm2, along with the excellent cycling stability of 83.3 % retention over 10,000 cycles. The high-performance energy storage ASSSs (all-solid-state supercapacitors) are demonstrated to power devices in both rigid and flexible operation modes. This work provides a new perspective for fabricating high-performance all-solid-state flexible supercapacitors for clean energy storage.
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Zebardastan N, Bradford J, Lipton-Duffin J, MacLeod J, Ostrikov KK, Tomellini M, Motta N. High quality epitaxial graphene on 4H-SiC by face-to-face growth in ultra-high vacuum. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2022; 34:105601. [PMID: 36562509 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/aca8b2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Epitaxial graphene on SiC is the most promising substrate for the next generation 2D electronics, due to the possibility to fabricate 2D heterostructures directly on it, opening the door to the use of all technological processes developed for silicon electronics. To obtain a suitable material for large scale applications, it is essential to achieve perfect control of size, quality, growth rate and thickness. Here we show that this control on epitaxial graphene can be achieved by exploiting the face-to-face annealing of SiC in ultra-high vacuum. With this method, Si atoms trapped in the narrow space between two SiC wafers at high temperatures contribute to the reduction of the Si sublimation rate, allowing to achieve smooth and virtually defect free single graphene layers. We analyse the products obtained on both on-axis and off-axis 4H-SiC substrates in a wide range of temperatures (1300 °C-1500 °C), determining the growth law with the help of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Our epitaxial graphene on SiC has terrace widths up to 10μm (on-axis) and 500 nm (off-axis) as demonstrated by atomic force microscopy and scanning tunnelling microscopy, while XPS and Raman spectroscopy confirm high purity and crystalline quality.
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Van Duc Long N, Al-Bared M, Lin L, Davey K, Tran NN, Pourali N, Ken Ostrikov K, Rebrov E, Hessel V. Understanding plasma-assisted ammonia synthesis via crossing discipline borders of literature: A critical review. Chem Eng Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2022.118097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Kurniawan D, Sharma N, Rahardja MR, Cheng YY, Chen YT, Wu GX, Yeh YY, Yeh PC, Ostrikov KK, Chiang WH. Plasma Nanoengineering of Bioresource-Derived Graphene Quantum Dots as Ultrasensitive Environmental Nanoprobes. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:52289-52300. [PMID: 36349361 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c15251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Environmental contamination and energy shortage are among the most critical global issues that require urgent solutions to ensure sustainable ecological balance. Rapid and ultrasensitive monitoring of water quality against pollutant contaminations using a low-cost, easy-to-operate, and environmentally friendly technology is a promising yet not commonly available solution. Here, we demonstrate the effective use of plasma-converted natural bioresources for environmental monitoring. The energy-efficient microplasmas operated at ambient conditions are used to convert diverse bioresources, including fructose, chitosan, citric acid, lignin, cellulose, and starch, into heteroatom-doped graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with controlled structures and functionalities for applications as fluorescence-based environmental nanoprobes. The simple structure of citric acid enables the production of monodispersed 3.6 nm averaged-size GQDs with excitation-independent emissions, while the saccharides including fructose, chitosan, lignin, cellulose, and starch allow the synthesis of GQDs with excitation-dependent emissions due to broader size distribution. Moreover, the presence of heteroatoms such as N and/or S in the chemical structures of chitosan and lignin coupled with the highly reactive species generated by the plasma facilitates the one-step synthesis of N, S-codoped GQDs, which offer selective detection of toxic environmental contaminants with a low limit of detection of 7.4 nM. Our work provides an insight into the rapid and green fabrication of GQDs with tunable emissions from natural resources in a scalable and sustainable manner, which is expected to generate impact in the environmental safety, energy conversion and storage, nanocatalysis, and nanomedicine fields.
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Amini M, Rasouli M, Ghoranneviss M, Momeni M, Ostrikov KK. Synergistic cellulose-based nanocomposite packaging and cold plasma decontamination for extended saffron preservation. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18275. [PMID: 36316404 PMCID: PMC9619018 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23284-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Sterilization of saffron packaging and maintaining the quality of saffron content are the main priorities in saffron preservation. Common modalities do not offer lasting saffron preservation and it is urgent to develop novel packaging approaches from renewable resources and prevent packaging waste. Here, simultaneous decontamination and quality maintenance of saffron is demonstrated, for the first time, through the synergistic application of nano-clay-loaded carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanocomposites (CNCs) and cold plasmas (CP). Compared to the separate uses of CP and CMC/PVA/nano clay, our results confirm the synergies between CP and CMC/PVA/nano clay cause complete inactivation of Escherichia coli bacteria, while not significantly affecting the concentrations of the essential saffron components (safranal, crocin, and picrocrocin). Overall, the CP-treated CMC/PVA/nano clay fosters saffron preservation, through contamination removal and quality maintenance of the food product. The synergistic application of CP and CMC/PVA/nano clay thus represents a promising strategy for packaging, sterilization, and preservation of high-value food products.
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Lin J, Zhang J, Zhou R, Guo L, Liu D, Rong M, Kong MG, Ostrikov KK. Plasma-enhanced microbial electrolytic disinfection: Decoupling electro- and plasma-chemistry in plasma-electrolyzed oxidizing water using ion-exchange membranes. WATER RESEARCH 2022; 225:119174. [PMID: 36206683 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Pathogenic microorganisms pose a global threat to public health and environment. Common antibacterial chemicals produce toxic residues, inevitably harming the environment. Electrolyzed oxidizing water (EOW), a promising environment-friendly alternative disinfectant, still lacks effective production processes, sufficient bactericidal efficacy and stability, while the enabling physico-chemical mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report, for the first time, an effective hybrid plasma electrochemical EOW production process and reveal the mechanisms by combining nonthermal plasmas and a two-chamber electrochemical cell separated by a cation exchange membrane (CEM) for decoupling the chemical reactions during the plasma treatment of water. Experimental results demonstrate that combined chlorine (chloramine) was the main chlorine product in the plasma-enhanced EOW (P-EOW) without a membrane, owing to the consumption of free chlorine (Cl2, HOCl, ClO-) by plasma-generated reactive nitrogen species. With a CEM in the plasma electrolysis system and through controlling the plasma discharge polarity, the production of free chlorine and other reactive species can be selectively controlled, with the highest concentration of free chlorine obtained in the negative plasma-enhanced EOW (NP-EOW). According to the transportation of cations by the CEM, the high concentrations of free chlorine may be attributed to the higher consuptions of H+ in cathode cell of negative plasma. The study of antibacterial ability of EOW produced under different conditions revealed that Staphylococcus aureus cells were best inactivated by the NP-EOW with CEM, which is mainly attributed to the higher concentration of free chlorine. This study demonstrates the feasibility of plasma-enhanced microbial electrolytic disinfection and offers new insights into the fundamental aspects of P-EOW chemistries for the future development of sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective multipurpose sustainable chemical technologies for water research and treatment.
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Zhou M, Bo Z, Ostrikov KK. Challenges and prospects of high-voltage aqueous electrolytes for energy storage applications. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:20674-20688. [PMID: 36052687 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp02795j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Aqueous electrolytes have attracted widespread attention as they are safe, environmentally benign and cost effective, holding great promise for future low-cost and sustainable energy storage devices. Nonetheless, the narrow electrochemical stability window caused by water electrolysis, as well as the trade-off between the stability window and other properties remain the bottleneck problem for the practical applications of aqueous electrolytes. Deep insights into the correlations between the microscopic physicochemical and electrochemical mechanisms and the macroscopic properties of aqueous electrolyte are essential for the envisaged applications, yet a systematic analysis of the recent progress in this area is still lacking. In this Perspective article, the basic mechanisms and influencing factors of water electrolysis including the hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions is critically examined. We systematically review the current state-of-the-art on high-voltage aqueous electrolytes focusing on the fundamental mechanisms of ion kinetics leading to dynamic electrolyte restructuring. Recent advances on the optimization of high-voltage aqueous electrolytes are also summarized. The existing challenges are identified and perspectives for exploring and developing future high-voltage aqueous electrolytes are provided.
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Rasouli M, Amini M, Khandan S, Ghoranneviss M, Nikmaram H, Ostrikov KK. Arc and pulsed spark discharge inactivation of pathogenic P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, M. canis, T. mentagrophytes, and C. albicans microorganisms. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:56442-56453. [PMID: 35347612 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-19847-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
There is a strong and ever-escalating need for sterilization tools that are effective against a broad range of pathogenic microorganisms. To address this issue, this study evaluates the inactivation potential of arc and pulsed spark plasma discharges on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Microsporum canis, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Candida albicans microorganisms. Our results show that the electrical discharge plasma systems are effective in the inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms. The inactivation of the considered strains was greatly affected by the type of microorganisms. Higher viability losses of the pathogenic strains were observed in bacterial strains than in the fungal strains. Moreover, in the case of fungal strains, the population of C. albicans was decreased the most, followed by Trichophyton mentagrophyte, while the population of Microsporum canis was decreased the least. Besides, the arc discharge system was compared with the pulsed spark discharge system. It can be obtained from the results that the pulsed spark discharge treatment successfully enhanced the reduction of the pathogenic cells more than the arc discharge treatment. The higher efficiency of the pulsed spark discharge is due to the generation of discharge streamers on the water surface. The SEM analyses showed that electrical discharge plasmas produced serious damage to pathogenic eukaryotic and prokaryotic microorganisms. Also, the plasma-induced changes in pH values and temperature values were measured. The pulsed spark discharge-treated samples have more significant changes in pH value while arc discharge-treated samples have larger temperature changes.
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Chen Y, Yang B, Xu L, Shi Z, Han R, Yuan F, Ouyang J, Yan X, Ostrikov KK. Inhalation of Atmospheric-Pressure Gas Plasma Attenuates Brain Infarction in Rats With Experimental Ischemic Stroke. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:875053. [PMID: 35516812 PMCID: PMC9063166 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.875053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies suggest the potential efficacy of neuroprotective effects of gaseous atmospheric-pressure plasma (APP) treatment on neuronal cells. However, it remains unclear if the neuroprotective properties of the gas plasmas benefit the ischemic stroke treatment, and how to use the plasmas in the in vivo ischemic stroke models. Rats were subjected to 90 min middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) to establish the ischemic stroke model and then intermittently inhaled the plasma for 2 min at 60 min MCAO. The regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) was monitored. Animal behavior scoring, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, and hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining were performed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the gas plasma inhalation on MCAO rats. Intermittent gas plasma inhalation by rats with experimental ischemic stroke could improve neurological function, increase regional CBF, and decrease brain infarction. Further MRI tests showed that the gas plasma inhalation could limit the ischemic lesion progression, which was beneficial to improve the outcomes of the MCAO rats. Post-stroke treatment with intermittent gas plasma inhalation could reduce the ischemic lesion progression and decrease cerebral infarction volume, which might provide a new promising strategy for ischemic stroke treatment.
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Liu K, Zuo J, Ran C, Yang M, Geng W, Liu S, Ken Ostrikov K. Reduced electric field and gas temperature effects on chemical product dynamics in air surface dielectric barrier discharges: from macro-physical parameters to micro-chemical mechanisms. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:8940-8949. [PMID: 35373801 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp00547f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
To gain insights into the mechanisms of plasma chemical product interactions, the dynamic changes of the surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) products are experimentally related to the reduced electric field and gas temperature. The higher applied voltage and frequency cause faster product changes from the O3-containing to the O3-free state, while raising the electron energy and gas temperature. The electron energy affects the electron collision reactions and the production of various reactive species, steering the chemical reactions towards the predominant production of NO over O3. The gas temperature affects the generation and quenching rates of the key products. Collectively, this work bridges macro-physical parameters and micro-chemical mechanisms through the electron energy and gas temperature effects, and contributes to better understanding of the physico-chemical processes in low-temperature plasmas.
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Cai Q, Li X, Hu E, Wang Z, Lv P, Zheng J, Yu K, Wei W, Ostrikov KK. Overcoming Ion Transport Barrier by Plasma Heterointerface Engineering: Epitaxial Titanium Carbonitride on Nitrogen-Doped TiO 2 for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2022; 18:e2200694. [PMID: 35266638 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202200694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Anatase TiO2 is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to its high specific capacity, low cost, and excellent cycle stability. However, low electrical conductivity and poor Na+ ion transport in TiO2 limit its practical applications. Here, substantially boosted Na+ ion transport and charge transfer kinetics are demonstrated by constructing a near-ideal non-rectifying titanium carbonitride/nitrogen-doped TiO2 (TiCx N1- x /N-TiO2 ) heterostructure. Owing to the fast plasma effects and metastable hybrid phases, the TiCx N1- x is epitaxially grown on TiO2 . Energy band engineering at the interface induces high electron densities and a strong built-in electric field, which lowers the Na+ diffusion barrier by a factor of 1.7. As a result, the TiCx N1- x /N-TiO2 electrode exhibits excellent electrochemical performance. The reversible specific capacities at rates of 0.1 and 10 C reach 312.3 and 173.7 mAh g-1 , respectively. After 600 cycles of charge and discharge at 10 C, the capacity retention rate is 98.7%. This work discovers an effective non-equilibrium plasma-enabled process to construct heterointerfaces that can enhance Na+ ion transport and provides generic guidelines for the design of heterostructures for a broader range of energy storage, separation, and other devices that rely on controlled ionic transport.
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Dai X, Li J, Chen Y, Ostrikov KK. When Onco-Immunotherapy Meets Cold Atmospheric Plasma: Implications on CAR-T Therapies. Front Oncol 2022; 12:837995. [PMID: 35280746 PMCID: PMC8905244 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.837995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
T cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) have demonstrated its widespread efficacy as a targeted immunotherapeutic modality. Yet, concerns on its specificity, efficacy and generalization prevented it from being established into a first-line approach against cancers. By reviewing challenges limiting its clinical application, ongoing efforts trying to resolve them, and opportunities that emerging oncotherapeutic modalities may bring to temper these challenges, we conclude that careful CAR design should be done to avoid the off-tumor effect, enhance the efficacy of solid tumor treatment, improve product comparability, and resolve problems such as differential efficacies of co-stimulatory molecules, cytokine storm, tumor lysis syndrome, myelosuppression and severe hepatotoxicity. As a promising solution, we propose potential synergies between CAR-T therapies and cold atmospheric plasma, an emerging onco-therapeutic strategy relying on reactive species, towards improved therapeutic efficacies and enhanced safety that deserve extensive investigations.
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Ni J, Mi H, Tan P, An X, Gao L, Luo X, Cai Z, Ni Z, Gu X, Xiao S, Nan H, Ostrikov KK. Lithography-free and high-efficiency preparation of black phosphorous devices by direct evaporation through shadow mask. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2022; 33:225201. [PMID: 35172297 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ac55d5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Two-dimensional (2D) materials including black phosphorus (BP) have been extensively investigated because of their exotic physical properties and potential applications in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. Fabricating BP based devices is challenging because BP is extremely sensitive to the external environment, especially to the chemical contamination during the lithography process. The direct evaporation through shadow mask technique is a clean method for lithography-free electrode patterning of 2D materials. Herein, we employ the lithography-free evaporation method for the construction of BP based field-effect transistors and photodetectors and systematically compare their performances with those of BP counterparts fabricated by conventional lithography and transfer electrode methods. The results show that BP devices fabricated by direct evaporation method possess higher mobility, faster response time, and smaller hysteresis than those prepared by the latter two methods. This can be attributed to the clean interface between BP and evaporated-electrodes as well as the lower Schottky barrier height of 20.2 meV, which is given by the temperature-dependent electrical results. Furthermore, the BP photodetectors exhibit a broad-spectrum response and polarization sensitivity. Our work elucidates a universal, low-cost and high-efficiency method to fabricate BP devices for optoelectronic applications.
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Li W, Zhou R, Zhou R, Weerasinghe J, Zhang T, Gissibl A, Cullen PJ, Speight R, Ostrikov KK. Insights into amoxicillin degradation in water by non-thermal plasmas. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 291:132757. [PMID: 34736946 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/31/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Antibiotics have been extensively used as pharmaceuticals for diverse applications. However, their overuse and indiscriminate discharge to water systems have led to increased antibiotic levels in our aquatic environments, which poses risks to human and livestock health. Non-thermal plasma water. However, the issues of process scalability and the mechanisms towards understanding the plasma-induced degradation remain. This study addresses these issues by coupling a non-thermal plasma jet with a continuous flow reactor to reveal the effective mechanisms of amoxicillin degradation. Four industry-relevant feeding gases (nitrogen, air, argon, and oxygen), discharge voltages, and frequencies were assessed. Amoxicillin degradation efficiencies achieved using nitrogen and air were much higher compared to argon and oxygen and further improved by increasing the applied voltage and frequency. The efficiency of plasma-induced degradation depended on the interplay of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitrite (NO2-), validated by mimicked chemical solutions tests. Insights into prevailing degradation pathways were elucidated through the detection of intermediate products by advanced liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
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Rahman MH, Jubair M, Rahaman MZ, Ahasan MS, Ostrikov KK, Roknuzzaman M. RbSnX 3 (X = Cl, Br, I): promising lead-free metal halide perovskites for photovoltaics and optoelectronics. RSC Adv 2022; 12:7497-7505. [PMID: 35424654 PMCID: PMC8982351 DOI: 10.1039/d2ra00414c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Lead (Pb) free metal halide perovskites by atomistic design are of strong interest to photovoltaics and optoelectronics industries because of the pressing need to resolve Pb-related toxicity and instability challenges. In this study, structural, mechanical, electronic, and optical properties of Pb-free RbSnX3 (X = Cl, Br, I) perovskites have been evaluated by using ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The computed elastic constants suggest that the Rb-based halide perovskites are mechanically stable and highly ductile, making them suitable as flexible thin films in optoelectronic devices. Besides, the investigated electronic band structures reveal that the RbSnX3 compounds are direct bandgap semiconductors, suitable for photovoltaic and optoelectronic applications. Furthermore, several optical parameters such as dielectric functions, reflectivity, photon absorptions, refractive index, optical conductivity, and loss functions have been investigated and the results predict the excellent optoelectronic efficiency of RbSnX3. Also, the computed mechanical and optical properties of RbSnX3 (X = Cl, Br, I) have been compared with the previously studied CsBX3 (B = Ge, Sn, Pb; X = Cl, Br, I) phases, revealing that the Rb-based perovskites are extremely ductile and possess excellent light absorption and optical conductivity compared to the Cs-based perovskites. Importantly, RbSnI3 shows superior ductility, absorption coefficient, and optical conductivity compared to the CsBX3 (B = Ge, Sn, Pb; X = Cl, Br, I) perovskites. Superior absorption at the ultraviolet region of RbSnI3 holds great promise of this perovskite to be used in next-generation ultraviolet photodetectors. This work summarizes that RbSnX3 (X = Cl, Br, I) exhibits remarkable ductility and absorption in the ultraviolet (UV) region of the electromagnetic spectrum compared to those of CsBX3 (B = Ge, Sn, Pb; X = Cl, Br, I) metal halide perovskites.![]()
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Xi W, Guo L, Liu D, Zhou R, Wang Z, Wang W, Liu Z, Wang X, Ostrikov KK, Rong M. Upcycle hazard against other hazard: Toxic fluorides from plasma fluoropolymer etching turn novel microbial disinfectants. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 424:127658. [PMID: 34802825 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The release of toxic fluoride byproducts is a seemingly unavoidable artifact of surface engineering, causing severe environmental and human health problems. Here we propose and implement a new "upcycle hazard against other hazard" concept in the case study of cold atmospheric plasma surface modification of fluoropolymers such as polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE). Capitalizing on the excellent controllability, precision and energy efficiency of the plasma surface processing, complemented with the recently discovered ability of plasmas to activate water to produce a potent electrochemical disinfectant, referred to as the plasma-activated water (PAW), we demonstrate a radically new solution to capture the hazardous gaseous fluorides into the PAW and use the as-fluorinated PAW (F-PAW) as a very effective antimicrobial disinfectant. A customized surface discharge reactor is developed to evaluate the effects of fluorides released from the plasma etching of PTFE on the chemistries in gas-phase plasmas and F-PAW, as well as the antibacterial effect of F-PAW. The results show that gaseous fluorides, including COF2, CF3COF, and SiF4 are produced in gas-phase plasmas, and the dissolution of thus-generated fluorides into PAW has a strong effect on inactivating catalase and destroying the oxidation resistance of bacterial cells. As a result, the antibacterial effect of PAW-fluorides against the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is enhanced by > 5 log reductions, suggesting that otherwise hazardous fluorides from the plasma processing of PTFE can be used to enhance the microbial disinfection efficiency of PAW. The demonstrated approach opens new avenues for sustainable hazard valorization exemplified by converting toxic fluoride-etching products into potent antimicrobial and potentially anti-viral disinfectants.
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