An ultrafast and facile nondestructive strategy to convert various inefficient commercial nanocarbons to highly active Fenton-like catalysts

The Fenton-like process catalyzed by metal-free materials presents one of the most promising strategies to deal with the ever-growing environmental pollution. However, to develop improved catalysts with adequate activity, complicated preparation/modification processes and harsh conditions are always needed. Herein, we proposed an ultrafast and facile strategy to convert various inefficient commercial nanocarbons into highly active catalysts by noncovalent functionalization with polyethylenimine (PEI). The modified catalysts could be in situ fabricated by direct addition of PEI aqueous solution into the nanocarbon suspensions within 30 s and without any tedious treatment. The unexpectedly high catalytic activity is even superior to that of the single-atom catalyst and could reach as high as 400 times higher than the pristine carbon material. Theoretical and experimental results reveal that PEI creates net negative charge via intermolecular charge transfer, rendering the catalyst higher persulfate activation efficiency.

Влияние условий осаждения из паров металлоорганических соединений на получение эпитаксиальных слоев n-CdTe с использованием изопропилиодида

The dependence of iodine incorporation in CdTe layers on the deposition conditions during metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy is investigated. The growth of the layers was carried out from dimethylcadmium and diethyltellurium in the hydrogen flow in a vertical reactor with a hot wall condition at a total pressure of 20 kPa. The total iodine concentration was determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry, the electrically active concentration was determined from the Hall effect measurement. The iodine incorporation depends on the crystallographic orientation of the substrate (were studied (100), (310), (111)A, (111)B, (211)A and (211)B), the concentration of the doping precursor (flux range 5·10–8–3·10–6 mol/min), the mole ratio of organometallic compounds (DMCd/DETe=0.25–4), growth temperature (335–390°C) and the walls of the reactor above the pedestal (hot wall zone 290–320°C). The total iodine concentration reached 5·1018 cm–3 and the activation efficiency was ~4 %. After thermal annealing in cadmium vapor at 500°C the activation efficiency was ~100 %.

Internal Promoters and Their Effects on the Transcription of Operon Genes for Epothilone Production in Myxococcus xanthus

The biosynthetic genes for secondary metabolites are often clustered into giant operons with no transcription terminator before the end. The long transcripts are frangible and the transcription efficiency declines along with the process. Internal promoters might occur in operons to coordinate the transcription of individual genes, but their effects on the transcription of operon genes and the yield of metabolites have been less investigated. Epothilones are a kind of antitumor polyketides synthesized by seven multifunctional enzymes encoded by a 56-kb operon. In this study, we identified multiple internal promoters in the epothilone operon. We performed CRISPR-dCas9–mediated transcription activation of internal promoters, combined activation of different promoters, and activation in different epothilone-producing M. xanthus strains. We found that activation of internal promoters in the operon was able to promote the gene transcription, but the activation efficiency was distinct from the activation of separate promoters. The transcription of genes in the operon was influenced by not only the starting promoter but also internal promoters of the operon; internal promoters affected the transcription of the following and neighboring upstream/downstream genes. Multiple interferences between internal promoters thus changed the transcriptional profile of operon genes and the production of epothilones. Better activation efficiency for the gene transcription and the epothilone production was obtained in the low epothilone-producing strains. Our results highlight that interactions between promoters in the operon are critical for the gene transcription and the metabolite production efficiency.

Increase of activation efficiency of hardening backfilling mixture components by application mining and metallurgical wastes

The main operation associated with the preparation of mining and metallurgical wastes for use as a hardening mixture and backfilling of mined-out space is their crushing and activation. Improving the activation processes is an urgent task, since their use can significantly increase the strength of the filling mass or reduce the consumption of the binder while maintaining its strength characteristics. For the efficient operation of mining enterprises, including ferrous metallurgy mines, it is necessary to provide highquality binders for the preparation of hardening mixtures for filling man-made voids formed during underground mining of solid mineral deposits. It has been established that the use of vibration, mechanical and electrical activation of the components of the hardening backfill mixture at mining enterprises leads to an increase in the activity of substandard materials by up to 10–40% for each apparatus. In particular, the enrichment of inert materials on a vibrating screen ГВ-1,2/3,2, Ukraine, increases the activity by 15– 20%. It has been substantiated that the activation of binders (blast-furnace granular slags) in a vertical vibrating mill МВВ-0,7, Ukraine, and a disintegrator ДУ-65 company “Disintegrator”, Estonia, increases the activity of the binder by 20–25%, when the active class of fractions 0.074 mm – by 55% is released versus 40% in ball mills. The recommended vibratory conveying installations increase the activity of the components of the hardening backfill mixture by 10–15%. The use of vibro-gravity transport installations ensures the supply of the filling mixture at a distance 15–20 times higher than the height of the vertical stack.

High Hole Concentration and Diffusion Suppression of Heavily Mg-Doped p-GaN for Application in Enhanced-Mode GaN HEMT

The effect of Mg doping on the electrical and optical properties of the p-GaN/AlGaN structures on a Si substrate grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition was investigated. The Hall measurement showed that the activation efficiency of the sample with a 450 sccm Cp2Mg flow rate reached a maximum value of 2.22%. No reversion of the hole concentration was observed due to the existence of stress in the designed sample structures. This is attributed to the higher Mg-to-Ga incorporation rate resulting from the restriction of self-compensation under compressive strain. In addition, by using an AlN interlayer (IL) at the interface of p-GaN/AlGaN, the activation rate can be further improved after the doping concentration reaches saturation, and the diffusion of Mg atoms can also be effectively suppressed. A high hole concentration of about 1.3 × 1018 cm−3 can be achieved in the p-GaN/AlN-IL/AlGaN structure.

Study on the Compressive Strength of Alkali Activated Fly Ash and Slag under the Different Silicate Structure

Due to its high activation efficiency, waterglass has been widely used for alkali activations in geopolymer. In this study, the n(SiO2)/n(Na2O) (Ms) of waterglass was selected as the variable to investigate the role of the silicate structure on the mechanical properties of harden pastes. Ms was changed by the addition of NaOH to obtain the different silicate group, structure and experiments were performed by employing the liquid-sate 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) techniques. Furthermore, selected dissolution, scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and FTIR experiments were used to measure the development of the amorphous gel and other materials with different curing condition. Results show that silicate structure of the waterglass was changed via the Si-ONa+ formation and the electric charge effect of Na+. Under the lower Ms waterglass, the Q0, Q1 and QC2 structure reverted to the main structure of the silicate group, which was kind of lower seize, molecule weight, linear or circular chain lower geopolymerization degree silicon structure. It would accelerate the geopolymerization speed of prepolymer formation. In addition, higher activity degree of Q0 and Q1 were useful to increase the formation amount of the gel structure with a low Si/Al ratio and size. Thus, silicate structure of waterglass controls the amorphous gel properties to adjust the compressive strength of alkali-activated materials.

A light-activatable antibiotic with high activation efficiency and uncompromised bactericidal potency in the activated state

Achieving activatable antibiotics represents one promising solution to tackle the occurrence of side effects, one major issue now plaguing antibiotic usage in collagen-based biomaterials. Despite considerable effort, however, rationale design of activatable antibiotics that display high activation efficiency and uncompromised bactericidal potency in the activated state remains difficult. Here, we demonstrate a design principle that helps to address this challenge. This strategy differs from previous attempts by underscoring photolytic removal of a functionality directly conjugated to the pharmacophore of an antibiotic, enabling not only an activation efficiency significantly improved beyond previous light-activatable antibiotics, but also bactericidal activity in the activated state as potent as the parent drug. Graphical abstract

Structurally screening calixarenes as peptide transport activators

Calixarenes are reportedly excellent activators that can remarkably improve the transport efficiencies of cell penetrating peptides. We employed eight calixarenes to systematically study the influence of structure on activation efficiency,...

The activation efficiency of mechanophores can be modulated by adjacent polymer composition

Chemical modifications of the linking units between a mechanophore and the polymer backbone can significantly enhance or reduce the rupture force of the mechanophore.