To meet the growing need for affordable, high-performance electrode materials in energy storage, this study presents a green, cost-effective one-step carbonization method to create nitrogen-doped porous carbon for energy storage, using bamboo residues as the carbon source, KMnO4 as the activating agent, and urea as both the nitrogen precursor and activator. By optimizing the carbonization temperature and precursor ratios, a sponge-like hierarchical porous carbon with an interlocked nanoparticle network (N-BC-2) was successfully constructed. The synthesized material achieves a remarkable specific surface area of 2420.09 m2 & sdot;g-1, which contributes to its exceptional electrochemical behavior, demonstrating a specific capacitance of 420.1 F & sdot;g-1 at a current density of 1 A & sdot;g-1. The symmetric N-BC-2//N-BC-2 device, assembled in 6 M KOH, delivers an energy density of 12.29 Wh & sdot;kg-1 and shows excellent cycling performance, retaining 108% of its initial capacitance and nearly 100% coulombic efficiency after 10,000 cycles at a current density of 10 A & sdot;g-1. Notably, when 1 M Na2SOa is employed as the electrolyte, the device shows remarkable performance, reaching a high energy density of 41.54 Wh & sdot;kg-1 while delivering a power density of 374.98 W & sdot;kg-1. Even at a lower energy density of 20.14 Wh & sdot;kg-1, the device maintains an impressive power density of 18,750.87 W & sdot;kg-1. Furthermore, after 20,000 charge-discharge cycles at 20 A & sdot;g-1, the device still preserves 90.5% of its initial capacitance and excellent coulombic efficiency. In addition, in-situ XPS was performed to further analyze the charge storage mechanism. This work provides a sustainable pathway for converting low-cost bamboo waste into high-efficiency energy storage materials.

Developing green pathways to convert biomass residues into advanced carbon materials plays a crucial role in promoting carbon neutrality and renewable energy utilization. In this study, bamboo-derived residues were adopted as the carbon feed material, L-methionine provided nitrogen and sulfur functionalities, and KMnO4 served as a co-activating agent. The proportional control strategy coupled with one-step carbonization enabled the formation of coral-like carbon architectures (BWC-Met) with N and S dual incorporation and cross-linked porosity. BWC-Met-2 outperformed its counterparts owing to its high accessible surface (1385.62 m2 g-1) and superior charge-storage capability (460.2 F g-1 at 1 A g-1). At a power density of 500 W kg-1, the symmetric supercapacitor assembled from BWC-Met-2 exhibited an energy density of 8.6 Wh & sdot;kg-1. Even after 10,000 charge-discharge cycles, the device preserved 94.2 % of its initial capacitance, indicating outstanding cycling durability. The proposed green and straightforward fabrication approach enables controllable generation of porous carbon frameworks from renewable biomass residues, while simultaneously enhancing the capacitive output of the devices. This strategy provides a promising avenue for advancing bio-derived carbon materials toward next-generation energy storage applications.

Hypoxia poses a significant challenge to the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer treatment. This study aims to design and synthesize PEGylated liposomes encapsulating MnO₂, indocyanine green (ICG), and H-chain ferritin (HFn) to potentially address hypoxia and enhance the therapeutic outcomes of PDT. PEGylated liposomes (ICG/MnO₂-HFn-mPEG-DSPE-Lip) were constructed with a rod-like structure, incorporating MnO₂ as a hypoxia-modulating agent and ICG as a photosensitizer. The drug loading capacity, stability and safety of liposomes were characterized. Singlet oxygen quantum yield (ΦΔ) was measured under simulated tumor microenvironment conditions. In vitro phototoxicity was evaluated using A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Liposomes have a high drug loading capacity, good biocompatibility and good long-term stability. Under tumor-simulated conditions, ΦΔ was significantly improved, increasing from 0.210 for free ICG to 0.507. The liposomes demonstrated remarkable phototoxic effects on A549 cells (90.5

Magnetic biochar (Zn/Fe-BC) was prepared from jujube branches via an impregnation pyrolysis–coprecipitation technique to eliminate Cr(VI) from water. ZnFe2O4 was introduced through ZnCl2-based impregnation and pyrolysis, which can regulate the microstructure of hydrocarbon frameworks. Furthermore, FeSO4·7H2O was used as the precursor for co-precipitation to embed Fe3O4 into the material, improving its reducibility and magnetism. The results demonstrated that Zn/Fe-BC exhibited excellent Cr(VI) removal efficiency. Under optimal conditions (an initial Cr(VI) concentration of 50 mg/L, pH 2, and an adsorbent dosage of 2 g/L), the maximum adsorption capacity of Zn/Fe-BC reached 27.85 mg/g, which was significantly higher than that of unmodified biochar (23.20 mg/g). Following five cycles of adsorption and desorption, the desorption efficiency was still higher than 60.35%. The following were the inhibitory effects of coexisting anions on the elimination of Cr(VI): CO32− > PO43− > SO42− > NO3−. According to kinetic and isothermal adsorption experiments, the adsorption process adhered to the Freundlich isotherm and followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, indicating a multilayer adsorption process. Cr(VI) removal by Zn/Fe-BC was driven by physical adsorption and chemical reduction, involving a synergistic combination of electrostatic attraction, reduction, complexation, precipitation, and pore filling. These findings demonstrate the potential of the Zn/Fe-BC magnetic biochar as an effective adsorbent for Cr(VI) remediation in water treatment applications.

Drug delivery systems utilizing tumor targeting, microenvironment responsiveness, and combination therapy have demonstrated advantages in antitumor research by enhancing efficacy and reducing side effects. In this study, a bifunctional amphiphilic carrier material (HA-SSS-MC) with targeting and glutathione-responsive properties was developed by linking hydrophilic hyaluronic acid (HA) and hydrophobic methyl cholate (MC) via a trisulfide bond. The photosensitizer zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and the chemotherapeutic drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) were encapsulated within the amphiphiles to form dual drug-loaded nanomicelles (HA-SSS-MC/5-FU/ZnPc). These nanomicelles exhibited high drug loading efficiency, stability, and glutathione (GSH)-sensitive release properties. Notably, the singlet oxygen quantum yield of the drug-loaded nanomicelles was significantly higher than that of the free photosensitizer under high glutathione conditions. In vitro cellular assays confirmed that HA-SSS-MC/5-FU/ZnPc nanomicelles exhibited low cytotoxicity and demonstrated a significant cancer cell-killing effect, surpassing Free 5-FU or ZnPc alone. Furthermore, the nanomicelles showed targeting capabilities and accumulated within endosomes. In A549 tumor-bearing mice, HA-SSS-MC/5-FU/ZnPc exhibited the strongest antitumor efficacy and the lowest toxicity compared to all other groups. In conclusion, the targeted GSH-responsive dual drug-carrying nanomicelles will be a promising strategy for cancer therapy.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have become a newly developed type of potential electrode material for supercapacitors due to their special structural characteristics. Nevertheless, the inadequate electrochemical properties that characterize individual MOF structures preclude the direct application of MOFs to supercapacitors. This paper introduces a laminated stacked nanostructured NiCo-MOF electrode material based on 4,4''-ddiamino-p-terphenyl structural units, prepared using a controlled one-step solvothermal method. Owing to the three benzene rings and self-doped N atoms in the ligand, the NiCo–MOF possesses a porous and fragmented lamellar structure with numerous active sites and enhanced electrochemical properties. The synthesized layered nano-electrode material NiCo-MOF has obtained an exceptional specific capacitance of 1866 F g-1 at 1 A g-1. Additionally, despite increasing the current density resulting in 30 A g-1, an extraordinary multiplicity performance of 77.16% was achieved. More importantly, the NiCo-MOF/AC ASC assembled apparatus maintains 74.42% of its initial capacitance even after 3,000 cycles. Within a working voltage that starts at 1.55V, the assembled ASC device achieves an ultra-high energy density of 57 Wh kg-1 and an extraordinary power density of 775 W kg-1. Above MOF materials prepared from 4,4''-diamino-p-terphenyl ligands through a one-step solvothermal method are strong candidates for supercapacitor material applications.

Red mud is a highly alkaline solid waste discharged from the alumina industry, and its high sodium content is the key factor limiting its wide utilization. Therefore, effective control of the “frosting” phenomenon during the application of red mud has received significant attention. In this study, the changes of particle size, phase, morphology, and pore size of red mud after sodium removal with different amounts of citric acid pretreatment were investigated. The single-factor experiment shows that the Na+ leaching rate is 86.33

This study focuses on the ore characteristics and occurrence status of lithium in lithium-poor clay-type ores by employing activation pretreatment by calcination followed by leaching with tartaric acid. This study investigates the influence of factors such as calcination temperature, calcination time, and leaching temperature on the leaching yield of Li. The findings show the optimal leaching conditions for Li extraction as follows: calcination temperature, 600 degrees C; calcination time, 5 min; leaching temperature, 100 degrees C; ore-tartaric acid mass ratio, 5:7; leaching time, 5 h; and ore-water ratio, 1:3 (g/mL), resulting in a leaching yield of Li of 85.0%. According to the results of the three-cycle leaching experiments, the Li concentration in the leach liquor increased from 40.2 mg/L to 125 mg/L, indicating efficient utilization of tartaric acid and successful Li enrichment. Moreover, the XRD, SEM, TG-DSC, and FTIR analyses of the samples reveal that tartaric acid dissociates into C4H5O6- and C4H4O62-, which then form complexes with ions such as Li+, Al3+, Ca2+, and Fe3+ that are dissolved during the ore leaching process. With an increase in leaching time, complexes involving Al, Ca, Fe, and tartaric acid radicals result in precipitation, leading to a reduction in the content of these ions in the leach liquor. This increases the selectivity of Li extraction, which is beneficial for the subsequent separation and extraction of Li.

γ-Glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) is a cell surface-associated enzyme, which has been proven to be closely related to many diseases. Thus, development of simple and effective GGT-activatable fluorescent probes for early diagnosis of diseases is of great significance. Herein, a series of simple isomeric pyridine-based GGT-activatable fluorescent probes has been successfully designed and synthesized. The preliminary experimental results indicate that Py-GGT-1 has a significant fluorescence response to GGT via a rare fluorescence-off approach. Further fluorescence response experiments, such as the time-/dose-dependent fluorescence change and the selectivity/specificity estimation, reveal that Py-GGT-1 has an excellent ability to monitor endogenous GGT activity. Mechanism studies through HRMS analysis, DFT calculations and molecular docking have theoretically verified the catalytic process between Py-GGT-1 and GGT. To develop its practical application, live-cell imaging and serum-sample analysis were carried out, demonstrating that Py-GGT-1 coud effectively track GGT within cells and organisms. Based its high selectivity and reasonable sensitivity, we expect that the probe will be applied in clinical diagnosis of GGT-related diseases in the future.

The sensitive detection of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) holds great practical importance for ensuring public health and food safety. In this study, a sensitivity and stability ratiometric electrochemical aptasensor using graphene quantum dots/[Cu2.5 (benzotriazole-5-COO)1.5 (benzotriazole-5-COOH)0.5 (μ-Cl)0.5 (μ3-OH)-(H2O)]·3 H2O nanocomposite (GQDs/Cu-MOF) was constructed for S. aureus detection. The GQDs enhanced the sensitivity of the electrochemical aptasensor due to their excellent conductivity and provided stability through their abundant carboxyl groups. The Cu-MOF, possessing electrical activity, not only enhanced the performance of the electrochemical aptasensor but also served as a signal label. The single-stranded DNA1 (S1) was immobilized on the surface of a GQDs/Cu-MOF/screen-printed carbon electrode (S1/GQDs/Cu-MOF/SPCE) as the sensing interface. Subsequently, the S1/GQDs/Cu-MOF/SPCE was hybridized with the probe DNA-ferrocene (S2-Fc), resulting in the generation of electrochemical signals from Cu-MOF (ICu-MOF) and S2-ferrocene (IS2-FC) within the system. However, the electron transfer performance of DNA at the sensing interface was compromised, leading to a reduction in the ICu-MOF. When S. aureus was present in the system, S2-Fc reacted with it and detached from the sensing surface, resulting in a gradual decrease in IS2-FC and an increase in ICu-MOF. Then a ratiometric electrochemical aptasensor was established for S. aureus detection with remarkable sensitivity (0.97 CFU·mL-1), excellent stability, and a broad linear range. Furthermore, the aptasensor was successfully applied to detect S. aureus in tap water, milk, Lonicera japonica, urine, and Zhangjiang River. Additionally, this aptasensor design can be adapted for the detection of other foodborne pathogens, which indicates that the design scheme of the aptasensor has good universality.

With the escalating market demand for lithium, the development and efficient utilization of lithium resources have become crucial. This study introduced a method for leaching lithium from raw clay-type lithium ores using a composite sulfuric acid oxalic acid system. The experimental results revealed that the optimal conditions for the leaching process included roasting temperature of 600 degrees C, sulfuric acid concentration of 0.8 mol/L, liquid- solid ratio of 5 mL/g, leaching temperature of 90 degrees C, leaching duration of 90 min, and oxalic acid dosage of 2 g. Under these conditions, the leaching efficiency of lithium reached 93.45 %. The structural changes during the lithium leaching process and leaching mechanism were analyzed by XRD, SEM, TOF-SIMS. It was found that the minerals after mixed-acid leaching showed a loose morphology, a decrease in the average particle size, and a significant increase in the specific surface area as well as the pore volume, leading to improved lithium leaching efficiency. Furthermore, the mechanism underlying the mixed-acid leaching of lithium from clay-type lithium ores was explored. According to this mechanism, sulfuric acid first dissociated H+, which disrupted the mineral structure, allowing further destruction by oxalic acid. During this process, Li+ was continuously replaced by H+ and reacted with C 2 O 4 2- dissociated from oxalic acid to form water-soluble Li2C2O4.

Exploration of electrocatalysts suitable for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR) is essential for electrocatalytic hydrogen production. In this work, a ligand substitution strategy is used to synthesize ultrathin-nanosheet electrocatalysts of Cl-doped NiSe2 (NiSe2-a and NiSe2-b), which exhibit high-electrocatalytic activity during OER and UOR. NiSe2-a and NiSe2-b only need an overpotential of 227 and 268 mV, respectively, to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2 during OER. Furthermore, NiSe2-a with its smaller steric effects exhibits excellent catalytic performance for UOR, requiring an ultralow potential of 1.360 V to deliver a current density of 100 mA cm-2. This excellent performance can be attributed to the nonmetallic elements (Se and Cl) modulating and optimizing the charge state of the metal sites, thereby increasing the electrocatalytic activity. Overall, this work provides an unparalleled example of tuning space structures to design efficient electrocatalysts and has promising industrial applications.

Electrochemical C-H mono/multi-bromination regulation of N-sulfonylanilines on the cost-effective CF electrode is described. This reaction proceeds smoothly under mild conditions with a broad substrate scope, affording diverse mono/multi-brominated anilines in moderate to good yields. Mechanism study reveals that this transformation involves anodic oxidation, aromatic electrophilic substitution, and deprotonation. Preliminary electroactive molecule screening results in its prospective application in electroactive MBs for electrochemical biosensors.

Dopamine, a pivotal excitatory neurotransmitter, plays a crucial role in metabolic, cardiovascular, renal, central nervous, and endocrine systems. Abnormal dopamine within the human body can cause various diseases. Therefore, the precise quantification of dopamine levels, both in vivo and in vitro, holds paramount significance for clinical applications and physiological investigations. Carbon dots (CDs) exhibit a plethora of remarkable properties, including a substantial specific surface area, robust electrical conductivity, commendable biocompatibility, minimal toxicity, and high photostability. Considering these unique characteristics, CDs demonstrate substantial potential for fluorescent sensors, colorimetric sensors, and electrochemical sensors for dopamine detection. This review systematically examined the challenges and prospects for the utilization of CDs-based fluorescent sensors, electrochemical biosensors, and colorimetric sensors for monitoring dopamine levels in recent years. These findings unveil promising avenues for further advancements in the field of dopamine detection.

Food safety has become a major global concern. In order to ensure food safety and human health, it is urgent to develop methods to detect harmful substances in foods. Nanomaterials have accelerated the development of food safety detection methods. Among them, green fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) have been widely used in the field of food safety detection due to their good biocompatibility, wide range of raw material sources, low cost, simple methods, and strong photostability. Especially the CDs prepared from food wastes residue not only have good detection performance, but also achieve wastes utilization. This manuscript reviews the advancements in CDs generated from food wastes in the past 5 years. The application of carbon dots in food safety is focused on four aspects: detection of food additives, heavy metal ions, foodborne pathogens, and antibiotics. What’s more, the challenges and future direction of research on the preparation of CDs and their applications in food safety testing are also discussed.

Phosphogypsum (PG) cementitious paste backfill (CPB) was prepared by using PG and fly ash (FA) as the main raw materials, red mud (RM) as the alkaline activator, Portland cement (OPC) as the binder, and silica fume (SF) as the additive, and its properties were investigated to achieve the objective of "treating harm with waste." The results showed that the addition of OPC facilitated the flowability of the slurry, while the addition of RM and SF had the opposite effect. The slurry presented ideal flowability when the water/binder ratio was 0.2 and the superplasticizer (SP) content was 0.7%. The mechanical properties and water resistance were improved significantly with increasing OPC, RM, and SF doping. The strength of the CPB material exceeded 22 MPa after curing at room temperature for 28 days, which met the mine filling requirements. Changes in the ion concentrations of the solution were first monitored during immersion. The dissolution rules of Ca2+ and SO42- at different immersion ages confirmed that RM promoted the continuous hydration of CPB, which was the key to improve water resistance. Microstructural analysis showed that the main hydration products were AFt and C-S-H, which played an important role in the strength development of the material. The leaching results demonstrated that the metal ion content satisfied the requirements of the III categories of Chinese environmental standards (GB/T 14848-2017), indicating that the technology is a reliable and environmentally friendly technology for PG, FA, and RM recovery that can simultaneously support safe mining.

Hair becomes white due to melanin deficiency, and hair dye can be used to restore hair color. Currently, commercial hair dyes are dominated by p-phenylenediamine (PPD) hair dyes, although PPD has been suspected of being carcinogenic. Natural plant polyphenols, when complexed with metals, produce a variety of colors that can be used for hair coloration. Gallic acid and ferrous ions self-assemble to form a network structure, and the addition of dopamine results in a composite hair dye. By using ethanolamine to unfold the natural white hair scales, dye molecules can penetrate through the hair scales to the hair cortex, and the dopamine oxidative self-polymerization in the hair dye forms an adhesion film in the hair cortex layer, thereby fixing the dye molecules. A hair washability test showed that the color difference value remained unchanged after 40 washes. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of the hair after dyeing showed that the hair dye did not destroy the hair structure. Additionally, results from hair stretch tests displayed good stretch resistance to the hair. This study shows that hair dye based on a polyphenol-metal complexes containing dopamine could be used as an alternative to PPD-based hair dyes.

Combination therapy and the drug delivery in response to the tumor microenvironment can effectively improve the efficacy of anticancer therapy. Polymeric nanoparticles can increase the solubility of water-insoluble drugs and have been evaluated as carriers for anti-cancer drugs in several clinical trials. In this paper, zinc phthalocyanine-encapsulated with a boronate-linked polydopamine-poloxamers 407 nanoparticles were developed for pH response and reactive oxygen species (ROS) response release, as well as synergistic photothermal and photodynamic effects. These nanoparticles exhibited a favorable size of 75.02 & PLUSMN; 1.12 nm, stability within 28 days, pH and ROS release up to 57.29% within 84 h, and 73.5% inhibition of A549 cells at a concentration of 5 & mu;g/mL. Overall, our work provides an effective strategy for the encapsulation of hydrophobic photosensitizers, combined PDT and PTT therapy.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a non-invasive modality where photosensitizer (PS) plays an indispensable role for treating tumors. This study proposes a novel Zein nanoparticle (ZP) encapsulating Zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) that targets tumor through intravenous delivery. The ZPs were prepared by phase separation process. Modification of ZPs were realized through encapsulation of polydopamine (PDA) and hyaluronic acid (HA) in order to maintain photothermal, pH-responsive, and tumor-targeting properties. The physiochemical properties, in vitro release, and in vitro evaluation of photothermal and photodynamic effects were studied. The biosafety was analyzed through cytotoxicity assay using human lung cancer cell line A549 as model. The excellent biosafety and significant anti-tumor effect demonstrated that the novel ZPs can be potential candidates for the alternative treatment of cancer.