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Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021 Feb 13;28(7):8050-8073. Epub 2020 Oct 13.

Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Laboratory of Hydrogeoscience and Biological Engineering, L.G. Rich Environmental Laboratory, Clemson University, 342 Computer Court, Anderson, SC, 29625, USA.

The risks of environmental exposures of quantum dot (QD) nanoparticles are increasing, but these risks are difficult to assess because fundamental questions remain about factors affecting the mobility of QDs. The objective of this study is to help address this shortcoming by evaluating the physico-chemical mechanisms controlling the transport and retention of CdSe/ZnS QDs under various environmental conditions. The approach was to run a series of laboratory-scale column experiments where QDs were transported through saturated porous media with different pH values and concentrations of citrate and Suwannee River natural organic matter (SRNOM). Read More

ACS Nano 2020 Oct 1;14(10):13775-13783. Epub 2020 Oct 1.

Wood Materials Science, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.

Most materials used for optical lighting applications need to produce a uniform illumination and require high mechanical and hydrophobic properties. However, they are rarely eco-friendly. Herein, a bio-based, polymer matrix-free, luminescent, and hydrophobic film with excellent mechanical properties for optical lighting purposes is demonstrated. Read More

Nanoscale 2020 Oct 15;12(37):19241-19252. Epub 2020 Sep 15.

Division of Biotechnology, Advanced Institute of Environmental and Bioscience, College of Environmental and Bioresource Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Iksan 570-752, Republic of Korea.

To solve energy crisis, the engineering of highly efficient and cost-effective photoanodes is urgently required for clean fuel generation. Herein, CdSe(en) (en = ethylenediamine) hybrid photoanodes were synthesized by a solvothermal approach. It was revealed that a second in situ hydrothermal treatment successfully converts cadmium foil-based inorganic-organic CdSe(en) (en = ethylenediamine) hybrid nanosheets to an oriented cadmium hydroxide crowned CdSe nanowire-decorated porous nanosheet (Cd(OH)/CdSe NW/NS) heterostructure by dissolution and regrowth mechanisms. Read More

J Colloid Interface Sci 2020 Nov 6;579:805-814. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education & International Center for Dielectric Research, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.

Recently, various phases of CuS (1 ≤ x ≤ 2) were extensively explored as superb counter electrode (CE) materials for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). Herein, hexagonal covellite CuS (HC-CuS) with hierarchical nanostructure was grown on porous Ti substrates by chemical bath deposition, and then heat treated in the temperature range of 150-450 °C under N atmosphere. The reaction process and the evolution of morphology, composition and crystalline structure of CuS with the variation of heat treatment temperature were studied by XRD, SEM, EDX, TEM and XPS. Read More

J Colloid Interface Sci 2020 Sep 25;575:158-167. Epub 2020 Apr 25.

Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, PR China. Electronic address:

We report the rational design and fabrication of magnetically separable zinc ferrite@titanium dioxide (ZnFeO@TiO) hollow core/shell nanospheres as photocatalysts for efficient H evolution by loading the TiO shell layer on the prepared ZnFeO hollow nanospheres using the kinetics-controlled coating method. Meanwhile, the incident light absorption, photogenerated charge transfer and separation and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity were remarkably improved by well anchoring cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots on the ZnFeO@TiO hollow core/shell nanospheres. This unique design integrates the structural and functional merits of the ZnFeO, TiO, and CdSe quantum dots into porous hollow nanospheres with the double-shell heterostructure. Read More