ACS Earth and Space Chemistry最新文献

Photothermal superhydrophobic coatings offer immense promise for anti-icing and deicing applications. However, achieving long-term passive anti-icing and active deicing in photothermal superhydrophobic coating remains a significant challenge. We introduce a durable photothermal superhydrophobic coating, coprepared from water-soluble polytrimethylsiloxane (PMATF) in synergy with cactus-inspired composite nanoparticles (MPCS), which is composed of MoS₂, polydopamine (PDA), Cu nanoparticles, and octadecanethiol (18-SH). The PM-MPCS coating exhibits a maximum water contact angle (WCA) of 171.8° and retains a high WCA after 330 cycles of sandpaper abrasion and 210 cycles of tape peeling. Additionally, the PM-MPCS coating exhibits exceptional photothermal conversion ability. The PM-MPCS films attain a surface temperature of 86.9 °C, displaying a photothermal conversion efficiency of 77.4%. In anti-icing tests conducted at -15 °C, PM-MPCS significantly prolonged the freezing time; the freezing time of a 5 μL water droplet was extended to 43 min. The active deicing performance is similarly effective, with PM-MPCS melting a 5 μL ice sphere in 5.5 min. Furthermore, PM-MPCS exhibits a low ice adhesion strength of 6.0 kPa, enabling effective ice removal even after numerous freeze-thaw cycles. The exceptional anti-icing and deicing performance can be attributed to the synergistic effects of the composite nanoparticles, which minimize ice penetration and enhance the photothermal conversion capabilities of the particles. These findings underscore the potential of PM-MPCS as a viable candidate for advanced anti-icing and deicing applications across various industries.

Defect engineering is an effective method for tuning the performance of thermoelectric materials and shows significant promise in advancing thermoelectric performance. Given the rapid progress in this research field, this Review summarizes recent advances in the application of defect engineering in thermoelectric materials, offering insights into how defect engineering can enhance thermoelectric performance. By manipulating the micro/nanostructure and chemical composition to introduce defects at various scales, the physical impacts of diverse types of defects on band structure, carrier and phonon transport behaviors, and the improvement of mechanical stability are comprehensively discussed. These findings provide more reliable and efficient solutions for practical applications of thermoelectric materials. Additionally, the development of relevant defect characterization techniques and theoretical models are explored to help identify the optimal types and densities of defects for a given thermoelectric material. Finally, the challenges faced in the conversion efficiency and stability of thermoelectric materials are highlighted and a look ahead to the prospects of defect engineering strategies in this field is presented.

Inspired from ion channels in the myelinated axon of Xenopus laevis found to be affected by gadolinium on axonal currents, we present a solid nanochannel membrane sensitive to gadolinium (Gd³⁺), which can be achieved via the use of the macrocyclic triacetic acid derivative in the host-guest chemistry approach. The macrocyclic nanochannel has good responsiveness toward Gd³⁺, even at the nanomolar concentration level, evidenced by discernible changes in rectification, ionic conductance, and XPS analyses. Notably, the Gd³⁺-sensitive nanochannel membrane can be switched by the addition of a diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) derivative. Further studies have indicated that the gated behavior of Gd³⁺ in the nanochannel can be attributed to the strong binding strength between DO3A and Gd³⁺, which induces a surface charge reversal within the nanochannel. The mechanism has been confirmed through several experimental techniques, including isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments, fluorescence titration experiments, and finite element analysis. Based on its Gd³⁺ responsiveness of the constructed ion channel, we successfully developed an advanced multilevel information encryption application of the artificial solid nanochannel membrane. Furthermore, it is anticipated that a more effective encryption system will be built by utilizing the bionic ion channel system's ease of use and straightforward functionalization.

To interrogate the importance of intermolecular interactions on charge transport at the nanoscale, we investigate molecular tunnel junctions based on mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 1-alkyl (CnT) thiols and their fluorinated counterparts (F-CnT) that have substantially different tunneling conductances. Experiments on mixed CnT_1-x:F-CnT_x SAMs between Au contacts reveal a strongly nonlinear (exponential) dependence of the tunneling conductance G on composition x, a behavior that is tempting to assign to the strong impact of intra-SAM intermolecular interactions. However, analysis suggests that the exponential dependence of G on x does not arise from intra-SAM intermolecular interactions, but instead emerges from the work function modification of the Au electrode which varies linearly with x.

To address the increasingly serious water scarcity across the world, sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting (SAWH) continues to attract attention among various water production methods, due to it being less dependent on climatic and geographical conditions. Water productivity and energy efficiency are the two most important evaluation indicators. Therefore, this review aims to comprehensively and systematically summarize and discuss the water productivity and energy efficiency enhancement methods for SAWH systems based on three levels, from material to component to system. First, the material level covers the characteristics, categories, and mechanisms of different sorbents. Second, the component level focuses on the sorbent bed, regeneration energy, and condenser. Third, the system level encompasses the system design, operation, and synergetic effect generation with other mechanisms. Specifically, the key and promising improvement methods are: synthesizing composite sorbents with high water uptake, fast sorption kinetics, and low regeneration energy (material level); improving thermal insulation between the sorbent bed and condenser, utilizing renewable energy or electrical heating for desorption and multistage design (component level); achieving continuous system operation with a desired number of sorbent beds or rotational structure, and integrating with Peltier cooling or passive radiative cooling technologies (system level). In addition, applications and challenges of SAWH systems are explored, followed by potential outlooks and future perspectives. Overall, it is expected that this review article can provide promising directions and guidelines for the design and operation of SAWH systems with the aim of achieving high water productivity and energy efficiency.

Nicotiana benthamiana is a model organism widely adopted in plant biology. Its complete assembly remains unavailable despite several recent improvements. To further improve its usefulness, we generate and phase the complete 2.85 Gb genome assembly of allotetraploid N. benthamiana. We find that although Solanaceae centromeres are widely dominated by Ty3/Gypsy retrotransposons, satellite-based centromeres are surprisingly common in N. benthamiana, with 11 of 19 centromeres featured by megabase-scale satellite arrays. Interestingly, the satellite-enriched and satellite-free centromeres are extensively invaded by distinct Gypsy retrotransposons which CENH3 protein more preferentially occupies, suggestive of their crucial roles in centromere function. We demonstrate that ribosomal DNA is a major origin of centromeric satellites, and mitochondrial DNA could be employed as a core component of the centromere. Subgenome analysis indicates that the emergence of satellite arrays probably drives new centromere formation. Altogether, we propose that N. benthamiana centromeres evolved via neocentromere formation, satellite expansion, retrotransposon enrichment and mtDNA integration.