Small StructuresPub Date : 2024-09-09DOI: 10.1002/sstr.202400214
Ziying Ji, Yiran Wu, Lu Liu, Wei Zheng, Meng Wu, Yuexia Li, Zhengming Sun, Guobing Ying
{"title":"Inkjet-Printed Flexible and Transparent Ti3C2Tx/TiO2 Composite Films: A Strategy for Photoelectrically Controllable Photocatalytic Degradation","authors":"Ziying Ji, Yiran Wu, Lu Liu, Wei Zheng, Meng Wu, Yuexia Li, Zhengming Sun, Guobing Ying","doi":"10.1002/sstr.202400214","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400214","url":null,"abstract":"The 2D Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub><i>x</i></sub> MXene has a large specific surface area, abundant functional groups, and low work function, which has potential in the field of photocatalytic materials. However, the manufacturing of controllable films with high photocatalytic properties and desirable transmittance is a challenging task. Herein, low-cost, large-scale, and rapid preparation of Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub><i>x</i></sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub> flexible composite films have been successfully prepared by inkjet printing technology, which can be applied in complex and special environments, as well as in photoelectrically controllable places for photocatalytic performance. With the increase of the anatase TiO<sub>2</sub>, the transmittance of Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub><i>x</i></sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub> films increases from 55.37% to 73.27% at 780 nm, corresponding to the square resistance of 1.112–206.496 kΩ sq<sup>−1</sup> and the figure of merit of 0.48–0.005. When the amount of anatase TiO<sub>2</sub> is 15%, the film has the best photocatalytic effect on methylene blue (MB) dye, reaching 68.94%. After five cycles of testing, the degradation efficiency of MB dye decreases by only 5.68%, showing that the film has good cycling stability. This work provides a new research direction for photoelectrically controllable photocatalytic degradation in complex and special environments.","PeriodicalId":21841,"journal":{"name":"Small Structures","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142218401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Small StructuresPub Date : 2024-09-09DOI: 10.1002/sstr.202470043
Frank Sailer, Hipassia M. Moura, Taniya Purkait, Lars Vogelsang, Markus Sauer, Annette Foelske, Rainer F. Winter, Alexandre Ponrouch, Miriam M. Unterlass
{"title":"Covalently Linked Pigment@TiO2 Hybrid Materials by One-Pot Solvothermal Synthesis","authors":"Frank Sailer, Hipassia M. Moura, Taniya Purkait, Lars Vogelsang, Markus Sauer, Annette Foelske, Rainer F. Winter, Alexandre Ponrouch, Miriam M. Unterlass","doi":"10.1002/sstr.202470043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202470043","url":null,"abstract":"<b>Hybrid Materials</b>","PeriodicalId":21841,"journal":{"name":"Small Structures","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142218397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Small StructuresPub Date : 2024-09-09DOI: 10.1002/sstr.202400273
Avi Arya, Sih-Ling Hsu, Chi-You Liu, Meng-Yuan Chang, Jeng-Kuei Chang, Elise Yu-Tzu Li, Yu-Sheng Su
{"title":"Small-Molecule Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons as Exceptional Long-Cycle-Life Li-Ion Battery Anode Materials","authors":"Avi Arya, Sih-Ling Hsu, Chi-You Liu, Meng-Yuan Chang, Jeng-Kuei Chang, Elise Yu-Tzu Li, Yu-Sheng Su","doi":"10.1002/sstr.202400273","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400273","url":null,"abstract":"The growing demand for cost-effective and sustainable energy-storage solutions has spurred interest in novel anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this study, the potential of small-molecule polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (SMPAHs) as promising candidates for LIB anodes is explored. Through a comprehensive experimental approach involving electrode fabrication, material characterization, and electrochemical testing, the electrochemical performance of SMPAHs, including naphthalene, biphenyl, 9,9-dimethylfluorene, phenanthrene, <i>p</i>-terphenyl, and pyrene (Py), is thoroughly investigated. In the results, the impressive cycle stability, high specific capacity, and excellent rate capability of the SMPAH electrode are revealed. Additionally, a direct contact prelithiation strategy is implemented to enhance the initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of SMPAH anodes, yielding significant improvements in the ICE and cycle stability. Computational simulations provide valuable insights into the electrochemical behavior and lithium-storage mechanisms of SMPAHs, confirming their potential as effective anode materials. The simulations reveal favorable lithium adsorption sites, the predominant storage mechanisms, and the dissolution mechanism of Py through computational calculations. Overall, in this study, the promise of SMPAHs is highlighted as sustainable anode materials for LIBs, advancing energy-storage technologies toward a greener future.","PeriodicalId":21841,"journal":{"name":"Small Structures","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142218408","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Deep-Learning-Assisted Affinity Classification for Humoral Immunoprotein Complexes","authors":"Bahar Dadfar, Safoura Vaez, Cristian Haret, Meike Koenig, Tahereh Mohammadi Hafshejani, Matthias Franzreb, Joerg Lahann","doi":"10.1002/sstr.202400204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400204","url":null,"abstract":"Immunoglobulins are important building blocks in biology and biotechnology. With the emergence of comprehensive deep-learning approaches, there are enormous opportunities for fast and accurate methods of classification of protein–protein interactions to arise. Herein, widely accessible image classification algorithms for species-specific typification of a range of different immunoglobulin G (IgG) complexes are repurposed. Droplets of various immunoglobulins mixed with a B-cell superantigen (SAg) (recombinant staphylococcal Protein A) are deposited onto hydrophobic polymer substrates and the resulting protein stains are imaged using polarized light microscopy. A comprehensive study based on 23 745 images finds that the pretrained convolutional neural network (CNN) InceptionV3 not only successfully categorizes IgGs from four different species but also predicts their binding affinity to Protein A: averaged over 36 binding pairs, the following are observed: 1) an overall accuracy of 81.4%, 2) the highest prediction accuracy for human IgG, the antibody with the highest binding affinity for Protein A, and 3) that the classification accuracy regarding the various IgG/Protein A ratios generally correlates with the binding strength of the protein–protein–complex as determined via circular dichroism spectroscopy. In addition, the CNN pretrained with IgG/Protein A stain images has been challenged with a new set of images using a different superantigen (SAg, Protein G). Despite the use of the unknown SAg, the CNN correctly classifies the images of human IgG and Protein G as indicated by a 94% accuracy over the various molar binding ratios. These findings are noteworthy because they demonstrate that appropriately pretrained CNNs can be used for the prediction of protein–protein interactions beyond the scope of the original training set. Aided by deep-learning methods, simple stains of mixed protein solutions may serve as accurate predictors of the strength of protein–protein interactions with relevance to protein engineering, self-aggregation, or protein stability in complex media.","PeriodicalId":21841,"journal":{"name":"Small Structures","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142218404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Small StructuresPub Date : 2024-09-09DOI: 10.1002/sstr.202400245
Hyeongmin Je, Sukyoung Won, Jeong Jae Wie, Sanha Kim
{"title":"Spatially Selective Ultraprecision Polishing and Cleaning by Collective Behavior of Micro Spinbots","authors":"Hyeongmin Je, Sukyoung Won, Jeong Jae Wie, Sanha Kim","doi":"10.1002/sstr.202400245","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400245","url":null,"abstract":"Untethered magnetic actuation is an attractive technique for controlling a batch of micrometer-sized soft robots. Recent advancements have enabled each robot to follow its path independently using a single magnetic device. However, applications of magnetic soft microrobots are mostly biased toward the biomedical field. In this study, thermoplastic polyurethane–Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanocomposite soft spinning microrobots, that is, spinbots that actuate on a tabletop magnetic stirrer, were utilized as innovative precision manufacturing tools for spatially selective precision polishing and cleaning. The pivot motion of the revolving spinbots, which involves repetitive sweeping during rotation cycles, is explored. This sweeping action physically removes nanometer-sized surface contaminants from the workpiece, achieving a cleaning efficiency of 99.6%. Multiple spinbots, up to 42 in total, simultaneously operated along their own orbital pathways on three vertically stacked wafers, thereby demonstrating an unprecedented cleaning method. In addition, the spinbots precisely removed materials from the workpiece using a three-body abrasion mechanism. Furthermore, the spinbots contributed to precise material removal, resulting in remarkable surface polishing (<i>R</i>\u0000<sub>a</sub> ≈ 1.8 nm). This novel polishing system, which uses the collective behavior of multiple spinbots on a tabletop magnetic stirrer, is 1000-fold lighter than current state-of-the-art equipment aimed at achieving similar levels of fine finishing.","PeriodicalId":21841,"journal":{"name":"Small Structures","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142218400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Small StructuresPub Date : 2024-09-09DOI: 10.1002/sstr.202400185
Ángela Matarín, Félix Sánchez, Laura Collado, Mariam Barawi, Victor A. de la Peña O'Shea, Avelina Arnanz, Marta Liras, Marta Iglesias
{"title":"Single Site W(0) versus Re(I)-Dipyridophenazine- Based Conjugated Porous Polymer for CO2 Photoreduction","authors":"Ángela Matarín, Félix Sánchez, Laura Collado, Mariam Barawi, Victor A. de la Peña O'Shea, Avelina Arnanz, Marta Liras, Marta Iglesias","doi":"10.1002/sstr.202400185","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400185","url":null,"abstract":"Herein, the synthesis and characterization of two robust tungsten and rhenium carbonyl complexes integrated into an organic polymer (<b>CPP-Re</b>, <b>CPP-W</b>) are reported. These polymers are obtained by a Suzuki coupling reaction between the corresponding dibromo metal-carbonyl substituted dipyrido[3,2-a:2′,3′-c]phenazine complex and 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene-4′,4″,4″,4‴-triboronic acid and integrated catalytic active sites and photosensitizer since they have not only nitrogen sites to coordinate metal active centers as rhenium or tungsten but photoactive units with good charge-separating ability which can significantly improve the CO<sub>2</sub> photoreduction reaction (CO<sub>2</sub>PRR). These polymers show similar activity in solid–gas CO<sub>2</sub>PRR in absence of sacrificial agents to produce syn gas (CO + H<sub>2</sub>) but <b>CPP</b><b>-W</b> selectivity to products change regarding <b>CPP-Re</b> being able to produce also large amount of more demanding electron products such as methane and ethane. Moreover, the single-site <b>Re-</b> or <b>W-CPP</b> catalysts could prevent the dimerization of complexes that produces its deactivation. This work shows the potential of CPPs as matrices to support single active centers for heterogeneous catalysis.","PeriodicalId":21841,"journal":{"name":"Small Structures","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142218402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Small StructuresPub Date : 2024-09-09DOI: 10.1002/sstr.202400250
Federico Loi, Luca Bignardi, Deborah Perco, Andrea Berti, Paolo Lacovig, Silvano Lizzit, Aras Kartouzian, Ulrich Heiz, Dario Alfè, Alessandro Baraldi
{"title":"Unveiling Inequality of Atoms in Ultrasmall Pt Clusters: Oxygen Adsorption Limited to the Uppermost Atomic Layer","authors":"Federico Loi, Luca Bignardi, Deborah Perco, Andrea Berti, Paolo Lacovig, Silvano Lizzit, Aras Kartouzian, Ulrich Heiz, Dario Alfè, Alessandro Baraldi","doi":"10.1002/sstr.202400250","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400250","url":null,"abstract":"The concept of preferential atomic and molecular adsorption site is of primary relevance in heterogeneous catalysis. In the case of ultrasmall size-selected clusters, distinguishing the role played by each atom in a reaction is extremely challenging due to their reduced size and peculiar structures. Herein, it is revealed how the inequivalent atoms composing graphene-supported Pt<sub>12</sub> and Pt<sub>13</sub> clusters behave differently in the photoinduced dissociation of O<sub>2</sub>, with only those in the uppermost layer of the clusters being involved in the reaction. In this process, the epitaxial graphene support plays a fundamental active role: its corrugation and pinning induced by the presence of the clusters are crucial for defining the preferential adsorption site on the Pt atomic agglomerates, facilitating the lateral diffusion of physisorbed oxygen at a distance that induces its selective adsorption in the topmost layer of the clusters, and inducing an inhomogeneous charge distribution within the clusters which directly affects the O<sub>2</sub> adsorption. The inhomogeneous oxidation of the clusters is resolved by means of synchrotron-based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and supported by ab initio density functional theory calculations. The possibility to identify the active sites on Pt clusters induced by cluster–support interactions has the potential to enhance the experimentally supported design of nanocatalysts.","PeriodicalId":21841,"journal":{"name":"Small Structures","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142218399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Small StructuresPub Date : 2024-09-04DOI: 10.1002/sstr.202400340
Narges Ahmadi, Dong Yun Kim, Seung Soo Shin, Sneha Daradmare, Jong-Man Kim, Bum Jun Park
{"title":"Gas-Shearing Microfluidic Fabrication of Polydiacetylene–Alginate Colorimetric Sensor Beads","authors":"Narges Ahmadi, Dong Yun Kim, Seung Soo Shin, Sneha Daradmare, Jong-Man Kim, Bum Jun Park","doi":"10.1002/sstr.202400340","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400340","url":null,"abstract":"Polydiacetylenes (PDA) are highly regarded for their unique colorimetric and fluorescent responses, making them ideal for sensor development. Despite their potential, conventional methods for fabricating biocompatible PDA-encapsulated hydrogel sensor beads often fail to offer precise control over bead size and morphology. This study introduces a coflow gas-shearing microfluidic system that effectively overcomes these limitations, enabling the controlled production of polydiacetylene/alginate (PDA/Alg) and polydiacetylene/polydimethylsiloxane/alginate (PDA/PDMS/Alg) microbeads. Through systematic variation of gas pressure, liquid flow rates, and nozzle sizes, the mechanisms of droplet breakup and generation are explored. This process is validated through numerical modeling based on the Weber number, which enhances our understanding of droplet size distribution and flow regimes. The solvatochromic properties of PDA/Alg microbeads are assessed, highlighting their potential as polar solvent sensors and discussing the solvatochromic mechanism in terms of intermolecular interactions and the dissolution of unpolymerized monomers. Additionally, PDA/PDMS/Alg microbeads exhibit a semireversible thermochromic response under repeated cycles of heating, cooling, and UV exposure. This response is attributed to the formation of new PDA domains inside the PDMS phase upon UV exposure onto the red-phase microbeads. Overall, this study successfully demonstrates a straightforward and effective microfluidic approach for producing well-defined stimulus-responsive PDA–hydrogel microbeads.","PeriodicalId":21841,"journal":{"name":"Small Structures","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142218330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Negative Charge Carbon Dots Manufacturing Electrostatic Shielding Layer for Stable Zinc Anode","authors":"Kai Wang, Jinqiang Gao, Huaxin Liu, Weishun Jian, Jiangnan Huang, XinYu Hu, Siyuan Lai, Yafei Li, Guoqiang Zou, Hongshuai Hou, Wentao Deng, Xiaobo Ji","doi":"10.1002/sstr.202400343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202400343","url":null,"abstract":"Alkaline zinc-based batteries (AZBs) can yield higher operating voltages due to a more negative electrode potential of zinc metal in alkaline electrolytes compared with neutral electrolytes, delivering high energy density in practical manufacturing applications. However, AZBs also exhibit more pronounced problems due to severe corrosion of the zinc anode by the strongly alkaline electrolyte environment. Combined with the reaction mechanism of alkaline zinc batteries, negatively charged carbon dots are innovatively used to construct a barrier with both physical and chemical effects. Zinc anode exposure to electrolyte is reduced by superior barrier, which assures transmission of zinc ions rather than zincate ions through electrostatic force balance, thus improving the distribution of the electric field for zinc ion deposition as well as avoiding accumulation of zincate ions at the interface. The number of harmful dendrite formation was found to be significantly suppressed by in situ optical microscopy. When coupled with silver oxide cathode for testing, the assembled silver-zinc battery results in a significant enhancement in its cyclic life. It is believed that this study will propel the development of zinc anode in alkaline batteries and provide new insights for their application.","PeriodicalId":21841,"journal":{"name":"Small Structures","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142218209","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}