Flexocatalytic Reduction of Tumor Interstitial Fluid/Solid Pressure for Efficient Nanodrug Penetration

The practical efficacy of nanomedicines for treating solid tumors is frequently low, predominantly due to the elevated interstitial pressure within such tumors that obstructs the penetration of nanomedicines. This increased interstitial pressure originates from both liquid and solid stresses related to an undeveloped vascular network and excessive fibroblast proliferation. To specifically resolve the penetration issues of nanomedicines for tumor treatment, this study introduces a holistic "dual-faceted" approach. A treatment platform predicated on the WS2/Pt Schottky heterojunction was adopted, and flexocatalysis technology was used to disintegrate tumor interstitial fluids, thus producing oxygen and reactive oxygen species and effectively mitigating the interstitial fluid pressure. The chemotherapeutic agent curcumin was incorporated to further suppress the activity of cancer-associated fibroblasts, minimize collagen deposition in the extracellular matrix, and alleviate solid stress. Nanomedicines achieve homologous targeting by enveloping the tumor cell membrane. It was found that this multidimensional strategy not only alleviated the high-pressure milieu of the tumor interstitium─which enhanced the efficiency of nanomedicine delivery─but also triggered tumor cell apoptosis via the generated reactive oxygen species and modulated the tumor microenvironment. This, in turn, amplified immune responses, substantially optimizing the therapeutic impacts of nanomedicines.

The effect of the metal and selenium precursors on the properties of NbSe2 and Nb2Se9 nanostructures and their application in dye-sensitized solar cells

Herein, we report on the effect of the precursors on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of niobium selenide using the heat-up colloidal method. The metal precursor was varied from the conventional NbCl5 to NbF5 whilst Se, SeO2, and selenourea were used as the selenium precursors. The NbCl5 and NbF5 resulted in the formation of NbSe2 and Nb2Se9 respectively. While maintaining the two different metal precursors and varying the selenium precursor from Se, SeO2 to selenourea, the properties of NbSe2 and Nb2Se9 changed slightly, however the effect of changing the selenium precursor was less pronounced than changing the metal precursors. From the XRD and XPS, the NbSe2 nanostructures were more susceptible to oxidation than Nb2Se9 as Nb2O5 was observed in the XRD and the percentage of M-O in the XPS was much higher in NbSe2. NbSe2 formed nanoflowers whilst Nb2Se9 formed rods with 3.29 eV and 2.43 eV band-gaps, respectively. Also, the band-gaps were red-shifted as the selenium precursors were varied. The NbSe2 nanoflowers and Nb2Se9 nanorods were used as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells. Two methods were used to fabricate the counter electrodes i.e. spin coating and drop casting. The electrochemical properties of the spin coated counter electrodes were better than the drop casted ones; hence, they were employed in dye-sensitized solar cells. The spin coated NbSe2 nanoflowers had the highest efficiency of 6.84%, attributed to the nanoflower morphology.

Noble metal (Ag, Au, Pd and Pt) doped TaS2 monolayer for gas sensing: a first-principles investigation

Two-dimensional (2D) layered nanomaterials have attracted increasing attention in gas sensing due to their graphene-like properties. Although the gas sensing performances of 2D layered semiconductor transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), including MoS₂, WS₂, MoSe₂ and WSe₂, have been extensively studied, it has remained a grand challenge to develop a high-performance gas sensing material that can meet practical applications. Tantalum disulfide (TaS₂), as a metallic TMD with low resistance and high current signal, has great promise in high-performance gas sensing. In stark contrast with Mo and W, Ta has a stronger positive charge, which contributes to a higher surface energy to capture gas molecules. Herein, through calculating the adsorption energy, charge transfer, electronic structure, and work function of the adsorption system with first-principles calculations, we first systematically studied the performance of noble metal atom substitution doping on a TaS₂ monolayer for toxic nitrogen-containing gas (NH₃, NO and NO₂) sensing. We found that the TaS₂ monolayer exhibits excellent NO sensing performance with an adsorption energy of 0.49 eV and a charge transfer of 0.17 e. However, it has a considerable adsorption energy (-0.22 and -0.39 eV) to NH₃ and NO₂ molecules, but a low charge transfer (-0.03 and 0.04 e) between the gas molecules and the TaS₂ monolayer. To further enhance the gas-sensing performance of the TaS₂ monolayer, noble metal atoms (Ag, Au, Pd and Pt) were substitutionally doped into the lattice of the TaS₂ monolayer. The results showed that the values of adsorption energy and charge transfer can be significantly improved, and the electronic structure and work function of the doping system has also greatly changed, which makes it much easier to detect the changes in electrical signal due to gas adsorption. Our work indicates that the intrinsic as well as the noble metal doped TaS₂ monolayers are promising candidates for high-performance gas sensors.

Hierarchical Nanoflowers of Colloidal WS2 and Their Potential Gas Sensing Properties for Room Temperature Detection of Ammonia

A one-step colloidal synthesis of hierarchical nanoflowers of WS2 is reported. The nanoflowers were used to fabricate a chemical sensor for the detection of ammonia vapors at room temperature. The gas sensing performance of the WS2 nanoflowers was measured using an in-house custom-made gas chamber. SEM analysis revealed that the nanoflowers were made up of petals and that the nanoflowers self-assembled to form hierarchical structures. Meanwhile, TEM showed the exposed edges of the petals that make up the nanoflower. A band gap of 1.98 eV confirmed a transition from indirect-to-direct band gap as well as a reduction in the number of layers of the WS2 nanoflowers. The formation of WS2 was confirmed by XPS and XRD with traces of the oxide phase, WO3. XPS analysis also confirmed the successful capping of the nanoflowers. The WS2 nanoflowers exhibited a good response and selectivity for ammonia.

Tungsten-disulphide-based heterojunction photodetector

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have realized significant new applications in photonics, electronics, and optoelectronics. Among these materials is tungsten disulphide (WS₂), which is a 2D material that shows excellent optoelectronic properties, tunable/sizable bandgap in the visible range, and good absorption. A polycrystalline WS₂ thin film is successfully deposited on a substrate using radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The x-ray diffraction pattern reveals two hexagonal structured peaks along the (100) and (110) planes. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy reveals a non-stoichiometric WS₂ film with 1.25 ratio of S/W for a 156.3 nm thick film, while Raman shifts are observed at the E2g1 and A_1g phonon modes located at 350.70  cm^-1 and 415.60  cm^-1, respectively. A sandwiched heterojunction photodetector device is successfully fabricated and illuminated within the violet range at 441 nm and 10 V of bias voltage. The maximum photocurrent values are calculated as 0.95 μA, while the responsivity is observed at 169.3  mA W^-1 and detectivity 1.48×10⁸ Jones at illuminated power of 0.6124 μm. These results highlight the adaptability of the present technique for large-scale applications as well as the flexibility to promote development of advanced optoelectronic devices.

2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides and Graphene-Based Ternary Composites for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution and Pollutants Degradation

Photocatalysis have attracted great attention due to their useful applications for sustainable hydrogen evolution and pollutants degradation. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as MoS₂ and WS₂ have exhibited great potential as cocatalysts to increase the photo-activity of some semiconductors. By combination with graphene (GR), enhanced cocatalysts of TMD/GR hybrids could be synthesized. GR here can act as a conductive electron channel for the transport of the photogenerated electrons, while the TMDs nanosheets in the hybrids can collect electrons and act as active sites for photocatalytic reactions. This mini review will focus on the application of TMD/GR hybrids as cocatalysts for semiconductors in photocatalytic reactions, by which we hope to provide enriched information of TMD/GR as a platform to develop more efficient photocatalysts for solar energy utilization.

Flower-like superstructures of AIE-active tetraphenylethylene through solvophobic controlled self-assembly

The development of well-organized structures with high luminescent properties in the solid and aggregated states is of both scientific and technological interest due to their applications in nanotechnology. In this paper we described the synthesis of amphiphilic and dumbbell shaped AIE-active tetraphenylethylene (TPE) derivatives and studied their self-assembly with solvophobic control. Interestingly, both TPE derivatives form a 3D flower-shape supramolecular structure from THF/water solutions at varying water fractions. SEM microscopy was used to visualise step-wise growth of flower-shape assembly. TPE derivatives also show good mechanochromic properties which can be observed in the process of grinding, fuming and heating. These TPE derivative self-assemblies are formed due to two main important properties: (i) the TPE-core along with alkyl chains, optimizing the dispersive interactions within a construct, and (ii) amide-linkage through molecular recognition. We believe such arrangements prevent crystallization and favour the directional growth of flower-shape nanostructures in a 3D fashion.

A NiMoS flower-like structure with self-assembled nanosheets as high-performance hydrodesulfurization catalysts

Uniform 3D NiMoS nanoflowers with self-assembled nanosheets were successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal growth method using cheap and nontoxic elemental sulfur as sulfur sources. The structure and morphology of the nanomaterials were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, Raman and XPS analyses, revealing that the NiMoS nanoflowers were composed of ultrathin nanosheets with a thickness of approximately 6-12 nm. The HRTEM results indicate that the curve/short MoS2 slabs on the nanosheets possess the characteristics of dislocations, distortions and discontinuity, which suggests a defect-rich structure, resulting in the exposure of additional Ni-Mo-S edge sites. The obtained NiMoS nanoflowers exhibited an excellent activity for thiophene hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene deep HDS due to their high density of active sites. The outstanding HDS performance suggests that these NiMoS composites with a unique flower-like nanostructure could be useful as promising catalysts for deep desulfurization of fuel oils.

Template-directed approach to two-dimensional molybdenum phosphide–carbon nanocomposites with high catalytic activities in the hydrogen evolution reaction

MoP-embedded 2D N-doped porous carbon nanosheets, with excellent electrical conductivity and abundant active sites, achieved high catalytic activity in the HER.

Flowerlike WSe2 and WS2 microspheres: one-pot synthesis, formation mechanism and application in heavy metal ion sequestration

WSe₂ and WS₂ microspheres were synthesized by a solvothermal method and demonstrated outstanding uptake capacities for Pb²⁺ and Hg²⁺.

Flower-like supramolecular self-assembly of phosphonic acid appended naphthalene diimide and melamine

Diverse supramolecular assemblies ranging from nanometres to micrometers of small aromatic π-conjugated functional molecules have attracted enormous research interest in light of their applications in optoelectronics, chemosensors, nanotechnology, biotechnology and biomedicines. Here we study the mechanism of the formation of a flower-shaped supramolecular structure of phosphonic acid appended naphthalene diimide with melamine. The flower-shaped assembly formation was visualised by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging, furthermore, XRD and DLS used to determined mode of aggregation. Characteristically, phosphonic acid-substituted at imide position of NDIs possess two important properties resulting in the formation of controlled flower-like nanostructures: (i) the aromatic core of the NDI which is designed to optimize the dispersive interactions (π-π stacking and van der Waals interactions) between the cores within a construct and (ii) phosphonic acid of NDI interact with malamine through molecular recognition i.e. strong hydrogen-bonding (H-bonding). We believe such arrangements prevent crystallization and favour the directional growth of flower-like nanostructure in 3D fashion. These works demonstrate that complex self-assembly can indeed be attained through hierarchical non-covalent interactions of two components. Furthermore, flower-like structures built from molecular recognition by these molecules indicate their potential in other fields if combined with other chemical entities.

Controlled synthesis of layered double hydroxide nanoplates driven by screw dislocations

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are a family of two-dimensional (2D) materials with layered crystal structures that have found many applications. Common strategies to synthesize LDHs lead to a wide variety of morphologies, from discrete 2D nanosheets to nanoflowers. Here, we report a study of carefully controlled LDH nanoplate syntheses using zinc aluminum (ZnAl) and cobalt aluminum (CoAl) LDHs as examples and reveal their crystal growth to be driven by screw dislocations. By controlling and maintaining a low precursor supersaturation using a continuous flow reactor, individual LDH nanoplates with well-defined morphologies were synthesized on alumina-coated substrates, instead of the nanoflowers that result from uncontrolled overgrowth. The dislocation-driven growth was further established for LDH nanoplates directly synthesized using the respective metal salt precursors. Atomic force microscopy revealed screw dislocation growth spirals, and under transmission electron microscopy, thin CoAl LDH nanoplates displayed complex contrast contours indicative of strong lattice strain caused by dislocations. These results suggest the dislocation-driven mechanism is generally responsible for the growth of 2D LDH nanostructures, and likely other materials with layered crystal structures, which could help the rational synthesis of well-defined 2D nanomaterials with improved properties.