RSC Advances最新文献

This study aims to reduce dependence on copper while enhancing the energy density of lithium-ion batteries. Plastic-based current collectors (PBCCs) offer a promising approach to replace copper, minimize the proportion of inactive material, and ultimately increase the energy density of lithium-ion batteries. A key challenge involved the synergistic optimization of the PBCC's conductive framework and its interfacial surface properties. Herein, a PI-CNT-Cu composite membrane was constructed by depositing copper onto electrospun PI fibers containing CNTs. This hierarchical architecture coupled the intrinsic longitudinal conductivity of the CNT network within the fibers with the transverse conductivity of the continuous copper layer, resulting in a composite membrane with a volumetric conductivity of 5.6 × 10³ S cm^-1. In the electrochemical performance evaluations, graphite anodes employing PI-CNT-Cu CCs exhibited a capacity retention of 95.29% after 190 cycles at 0.5C. The performance enhancement could be attributed to the markedly rougher surface of the PI-CNT-Cu CC (Sa = 2.668 µm) relative to copper foil (Sa = 0.938 µm). This morphology enhanced the contact area and adhesion with the electrode layer, which was crucial for maintaining the structural integrity of the electrode during long-term cycling. In contrast to copper foil, the PI-CNT-Cu CC, with its fiber-woven structure, exhibited a significantly lower areal density with identical thickness values. The capacity of the anode electrode, was calculated based on the total mass including active materials and CCs. Utilizing PI-17%CNT-Cu exhibited significantly higher discharge capacities of 81.7 mA h g^-1 at the same rates compared to the Cu foil at 35.08 mA h g^-1.

Due to the significant greenhouse effect of SF₆, CF₃SO₂F has emerged as a potential alternative that meets the requirements for insulation gases in high-voltage electrical equipment. Herein, the atmospheric lifetime and global warming potential (GWP) of CF₃SO₂F were evaluated based on its interactions with hydroxide radicals (·OH) using theoretical calculations. By employing the Monte Carlo method, we constructed molecular structures of SF₆-H₂O and CF₃SO₂F-H₂O as mixed-gas systems to simulate the dissociation of these insulation gases under atmospheric conditions. The adversative efficiency (RE) of CF₃SO₂F was determined to be 0.177 W (m² ppbv)^-1, with an atmospheric lifetime of 52.02 years and a GWP of 4320. The reactive models, developed using density functional theory (DFT) and Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD), not only enable the determination of the dissociation pathway in the atmosphere, but also provide detailed insights into the interactions with ·OH based on the overall dynamic behaviour.

Despite remarkable progress in tumor therapy, key challenges-including the immunosuppressive "cold" tumor microenvironment and treatment resistance-remain unresolved and severely impede clinical outcomes. Indocyanine Green (ICG)-based Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), a modality that activates the photosensitizer ICG to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), has emerged as a pivotal strategy to rewire "cold" tumors into immunologically responsive "hot" tumors, laying the foundation for effective combination therapies. However, PDT itself faces inherent limitations (e.g., poor light penetration, low ROS generation efficiency), and ICG suffers from specific drawbacks (e.g., poor aqueous stability, rapid systemic clearance), collectively restricting their clinical translation. Nanotechnology has become an indispensable tool to address these synergistic challenges, enabling enhanced tumor targeting, prolonged circulation time, and improved ROS generation efficiency of ICG-based PDT. This review summarizes the latest advancements in ICG-based PDT combined with nanotechnology for cancer treatment and discusses its potential and challenges in synergizing with chemotherapy and immunotherapy to amplify antitumor efficacy.

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs), available in a variety of sizes and morphologies, have emerged as versatile nanomaterials with broad applicability across numerous fields, particularly in biomedicine. Most experimental and theoretical studies have focused on either dopant effects or surface functionalization independently, often using relatively large graphene models. A molecular-level understanding of how B/N doping and hydroxyl functionalization jointly influence biomolecular adsorption and spectroscopic signatures at the ultrasmall GQD scale remains limited, motivating the present DFT investigation of amino acid-GQD interactions. In this study, we investigate the physisorption behavior of individual amino acid molecules on pristine and hydroxyl-functionalized GQDs, as well as on their B/N doped counterparts, to gain insights into potential interactions relevant to protein environments. All calculations were performed using density functional theory (DFT) at the M06-2X/6-31G(d,p) level. Pristine GQDs with a lateral dimension of 1.3 nm, together with their singly/doubly doped and hydroxyl-functionalized variants, were fully optimized. Electronic properties and vibrational signatures were obtained through IR and Raman spectral analyses. Glycine (Gly) and serine (Ser) were subsequently adsorbed onto the modified GQD surfaces to quantify adsorption energies and assess changes in their electronic and spectroscopic properties. For hydroxyl-functionalized GQDs, the most stable adsorption configurations involved the formation of dual hydrogen bonds between the functional groups and the amino acids. The relative positioning of dopant atoms significantly influenced the stabilization or disruption of π-electron density across the GQD surface. These structural modifications produced notable enhancements in electronic properties, including band-gap modulation and increased affinity for noncovalent interactions. Overall, both functionalization and doping substantially improved amino acid adsorption, regardless of amino acid type.

The industrial-scale microbial conversion of waste carbon into medium-chain carboxylic acids (MCCAs) has become feasible, and their subsequent utilization for hydrocarbon production via the Kolbe reaction as a bioenergy source represents a highly promising route. However, controlling the concentrations of MCCAs, pH, and electrode potential during the coupling of these reactions to ensure efficient elongation and improve Kolbe reaction efficiency is crucial for reducing bioenergy production costs. Our study demonstrated that the Kolbe electrolysis of n-caproic acid exhibits a concentration threshold of 800 mM; beyond this concentration, the Faraday efficiency stabilizes, reaching a peak of 51.2%. The Kolbe electrolysis at higher substrate concentration could reduce the energy consumption required to produce the same amount of biofuel by approximately 87%. Both acidic and neutral conditions effectively promote the Kolbe reaction. In terms of electrode potential regulation, a voltage of 3.5 V generally yields better electrolysis results.

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films with different SnO₂ doping contents (0-20 wt%) were successfully deposited via microwave-assisted spray pyrolysis. The structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties of the as-deposited films were systematically investigated. In contrast to the undoped In₂O₃ film, which exhibits a (222) preferential orientation, the SnO₂-doped ITO films shows a shifted preferential preferential orientation toward (400) along with a reduced (400) diffraction intensity. This orientation change induces significant variations in crystal texture, surface morphology, film thickness, as well as optical and electrical properties. As the SnO₂ doping content increased from 0 to 20 wt%, the thickness of the prepared films decreased continuously, while the surface roughness, the resistance, resistivity, and carrier concentration first decreased significantly and then increased. Notably, the 10 wt% SnO₂-doped ITO film achieved substantially enhanced surface morphology, optical and electrical properties. This film is composed of regular spherical particles with a crystallite size of 43 nm, a root-mean-square roughnessof 5.27 nm, and a total thickness of 310.3 nm. Furthermore, it exhibited an 85.94% transmittance in the visible wavelength range relative to the quartz substrate, a band gap energy of 3.84 eV, a sheet resistance of 7.4 Ω sq^-1 of, and a resistivity of 1.9×10^-4 Ω cm, respectively. Compared with ITO films prepared by traditional spray pyrolysis or other method, this film possesses superior electircal conductivity while maintaining comparable optical transmittance. Thus, the ITO film doped with 10 wt% SnO₂ is well-suited for electronic applications, particularly those requiring high-performance transparent conductive electrodes.

This work presents the first report of integrating the Zn-based metal-organic framework (MOF), CALF-20, into electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers for wastewater treatment. CALF-20, previously explored for CO₂ capture, is applied here for the first time in fiber-based composite form manufactured via direct electrospinning, with MOF loadings ranging from 0 to 70 wt%. These resulting mats are promising for Pb(ii) and Cu(ii) removal. The PAN + CALF-20 mats, which have uniform morphology, were systematically characterized. They showed good mechanical integrity (up to 60 wt% CALF-20) and high removal capacities for Pb(ii) and Cu(ii) ions from aqueous solutions, 248.3 mg g^-1 and 128.2 mg g^-1, respectively. Structural analyses (SEM, XRD, and FTIR) confirmed that the dominant removal mechanism is not adsorption but surface-induced precipitation, with distinct crystalline phases forming post-treatment. These results introduce a novel and scalable platform for heavy metal remediation using electrospun MOF-based composites and establish PAN + CALF-20 mat as a promising candidate for multifunctional environmental applications.

Cancer is a serious global health issue and remains one of the top causes of death worldwide. To overcome the problems of the existing anticancer drugs in terms of specificity and resistance, a new class of hybrid bis-heterocyclic compounds with a pyridine bridge has been designed and synthesized via the Hantzsch reaction. The results of elemental analysis and spectral data were used for the confirmation of the synthesized compounds. Among the tested analogs, the highest cytotoxic activity was shown by compound 7 against the HepG2, A549, and MCF7 cancer cell lines, with IC₅₀ values of 18.07, 14.45, and 30.89 µg mL^-1, respectively, while the cytotoxicity against normal fibroblasts was negligible with an IC₅₀ greater than 100 µg mL^-1. The structure-activity relationship results emphasized the key role of the molecular planarity and sulfur atom substitution. The results from molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and MM/PBSA and MM/GBSA binding free energy calculations indicated a strong binding of compound 7 with EGFR. The results of the EGFR inhibition assay further strengthened the binding of the EGFR with the mentioned compound. The results from the ADME and toxicological analyses indicated a good pharmacokinetic and safety profile for the compound.

Despite its clinical success, conventional deep-brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's remains limited by its invasive nature. To overcome this, we engineered ZnO@polydopamine (ZnO@PDA) nanocomposites as a non-invasive neurotherapeutic platform. By leveraging rational nanostructure design, ZnO@PDA enabled reversible blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening via a photothermal mechanism, thereby permitting targeted nanoparticle delivery. Upon reaching the brain, nanocomposites harness ultrasound-driven electrical stimulation to precisely modulate neuronal circuits, thus offering a groundbreaking alternative to traditional DBS. Simultaneously, their potent antioxidant activity neutralizes reactive oxygen species, suppresses microglial overactivation, and mitigates pathological α-synuclein aggregation. In vivo studies demonstrated that laser-triggered ZnO@PDA treatment significantly restored dopaminergic neuronal function and improved motor coordination, whereas ultrasound-based protocols alone were less effective owing to insufficient BBB penetration. Our work presents a "penetration-accumulation-stimulation" cascade strategy, delivering a transformative approach to non-invasive treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Immunoassays require high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of low-abundance analytes in complex matrices such as blood plasma. The use of functionalized magnetic beads can increase assay sensitivity by selectively binding and concentrating target analytes, facilitating their separation. However, magnetophoretic bead collection still represents a critical bottleneck. It must be performed repeatedly throughout sequential mixing, washing, and dilution steps, which is time-consuming and prone to cumulative bead loss, ultimately reducing assay performance. Here, we present a comprehensive framework for the design of magnetic bead collection systems integrated on a rotating microfluidic (lab-on-a-disc) platform. We establish a finite-element multiphysics model of bead collection that couples magnetophoretic forces, centrifugal effects, magnetophoresis-induced convection, and cooperative bead motion. The model is experimentally validated on a dedicated setup using Dynabeads M270. Increased bead collection speed is attributed to convection-enhanced transport and bead aggregation into chains. The model enables systematic investigation of geometric parameters, fluid viscosity, bead properties, and rotational protocols, as well as the efficiency of various permanent magnet configurations. We investigate magnet arrangements, vary the rotational speed between 300 and 800 rpm, and the magnet-fluid distance between 2 and 6 mm. Within this range, our results show, for any targeted collection fraction, a linear decrease in collection time with increasing magnet-fluid distance and an exponential reduction with decreasing rotational speed. Beyond performance gains, this predictive in silico framework reduces the reliance on costly trial-and-error optimization and can accelerate assay development.