Metal ions

Revealing protein binding sites with other molecules, such as nucleic acids, peptides, or small ligands, sheds light on disease mechanism elucidation and novel drug design. With the explosive growth of proteins in sequence databases, how to accurately and efficiently identify these binding sites from sequences becomes essential. However, current methods mostly rely on expensive multiple sequence alignments or experimental protein structures, limiting their genome-scale applications. Besides, these methods haven't fully explored the geometry of the protein structures...

The development of a new generation of anticorrosion pigments for paints remains an important challenge to replace the usual sparingly-soluble pigments and thus avoid the dissemination of heavy metals in the environment and the formation of holes in polymer coatings. For this purpose, α-zirconium hydrogenophosphate (Zr(HPO4 )2 ·H2 O, denoted as α-ZrP) was intercalated with the corrosion inhibitor 2-aminobenzimidazole (ABIM). Various microstructural analyses have proven the insertion of ABIM in the interlayer space by an acid-base exchange reaction and allowed us to propose a structural model for the new ABIM-ZrP pigment...

Bismuth halide perovskites are widely regarded as nontoxic alternatives to lead halide perovskites for optoelectronics and solar energy harvesting applications. With a tailorable composition and intriguing optical properties, bismuth halide perovskites are also promising candidates for tunable photonic devices. However, robust control of the anion composition in bismuth halide perovskites remains elusive. Here, we established chemical vapor deposition and anion exchange protocols to synthesize bismuth halide perovskite nanoflakes with controlled dimensions and variable compositions...

Alkaline earth (AE) metal complexes have garnered significant interest in various functional fields due to their nontoxicity, low density, and low cost. However, there is a lack of systematic investigation into the structural characteristics and physical properties of AE-metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In this research, we synthesized isostructural MOFs consisting of AE4(μ4-Cl) clusters bridged by benzo-(1,2;3,4;5,6)-tris(thiophene-2'-carboxylic acid) (BTTC3-) ligands. The resulting structure forms a truncated octahedral cage denoted as [AE4(m4-Cl)]6(BTTC)8, which further linked to a porous three-dimensional framework...

The Ion-Gas-Neutral Interactions with Surfaces-2 (IGNIS-2) surface science facility has been designed at the Pennsylvania State University with the specific purpose of enabling experiments to study plasma-material interactions. This in situ surface modification and characterization facility consists of multiple reconfigurable substations that are connected through a central transfer chamber. This fully connected vacuum system ensures that the physical and chemical properties of samples are not altered between surface modification and analysis...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Concerns have emerged regarding elevated levels of cobalt and chromium in patients with metal-on-metal megaprostheses. This prospective study aims to identify systemic cobalt and chromium levels in metal-on-polyethylene knee and hip megaprostheses and their associations with other factors. METHODS: 56 patients underwent knee or hip megaprosthesis surgery at 2 sarcoma centers. Serum cobalt and chromium levels were measured preoperatively and thrice within the first year using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry...

Nanostructured activated carbon (AC) adsorbents derived from woody biomass have garnered attention for their potential usage to remove toxic substances from the environment due to their high specific surface area, superior micro/mesoporosity, and tunable surface chemistry profile. However, chemical dopants widely used to enhance the chemical reactivity with heavy metals would pollute the environment and conflict with the vision of a cleaner and sustainable environment. Herein, we report a facile, green, and sustainable approach using fungi modification combined with alkali activation to produce AC for heavy metal removal...

Protein structure plays an essential role on their stability, functionality, and catalytic activity. In this work, the interplay between the β-sheet structure and its catalytic implications to the design of enzyme-inspired materials is investigated. Here, inspiration is drawn from the active sites and β-sheet rich structure of the highly efficient multicopper oxidase (MCO) to engineer a bio-inspired electrocatalyst for water oxidation utilizing the abundant metal, copper. Copper ions are coordinated to poly-histidine (polyCuHis), as they are in MCO active sites...

The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) nanolithography technology is the keystone for developing the next-generation chips. As conventional chemically amplified resists are approaching the resolution limit, metal-containing photoresists, especially tin-oxo clusters, seize the opportunity to embrace this challenge owing to their small sizes, precise atomic structures, and strong EUV absorption. However, atomistic insights into the mechanism for regulating their photolithographic behavior are lacking. Herein, we systematically explored the effects of ligands, counterions, and endohedral doping on the photophysical properties of tin-oxo cage clusters by first-principles calculations combined with molecular dynamics simulations...

Influenced by heating, the concentration of atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5 ) rises in autumn and winter in northern cities. In this study, Q-ACSM, AE33, and Xact 625 were used to carry out online monitoring of PM2.5 chemical components with high time resolution in Xi'an from October 25 to November 17, 2019, to analyze the characteristics of PM2.5 pollution during the transition period of the heating season. Additionally, we analyzed the sources of PM2.5 in combination with the positive matrix factorization model...

Chemosensing, an interdisciplinary scientific domain, plays a pivotal role ranging from environmental monitoring to healthcare diagnostics and (inter)national security. Metal-organic gels (MOGs) are recognized for their stability, selectivity, and responsiveness, making them valuable for chemosensing applications. Researchers have explored the development of MOGs based on different metal ions and ligands, allowing for tailored properties and sensitivities, and have even demonstrated their applications as portable sensors such as paper-based test strips for practical use...

Two heterometallic Cu(II)/Ni(II) coordination polymers, [Cu2 (Hbdea)2 Ni(CN)4 ] n ( 1 ) and [Cu2 (dmea)2 Ni(CN)4 ] n · n H2 O ( 2 ), were successfully self-assembled in water by reacting Cu(II) nitrate with H2 bdea ( N -butyldiethanolamine) and Hdmea ( N , N -dimethylethanolamine) in the presence of sodium hydroxide and [Ni(CN)4 ]2- . These new coordination polymers were investigated by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction and fully characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, elemental analysis, variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements, and theoretical DFT and CASSCF calculations...

Lithium-ion battery electrodes are typically manufactured via slurry casting, which involves mixing active material particles, conductive carbon, and a polymeric binder in a solvent, followed by casting and drying the coating on current collectors (Al or Cu). These electrodes are functional but still limited in terms of pore network percolation, electronic connectivity, and mechanical stability, leading to poor electron/ion conductivities and mechanical integrity upon cycling, which result in battery degradation...

The designed biomedical implants require excellent shear strength primarily for mechanical stability against forces in human body. However, metallic implants undergo stress shielding with release of toxic ions in the body. Thus, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) has made significant progress in the biomedical field through the production of customized implants. The mechanical behavior is highly dependent on printing parameters, however, the effect of these parameters on punch shear strength of ASTM D732-02 standard specimens has not been explored...

Ion exchange is a powerful method to access metastable materials with advanced functionalities for energy storage applications. However, high concentrations and unfavourably large excesses of lithium are always used for synthesizing lithium cathodes from parent sodium material, and the reaction pathways remain elusive. Here, using layered oxides as model materials, we demonstrate that vacancy level and its corresponding lithium preference are critical in determining the accessible and inaccessible ion exchange pathways...

Membrane separation technology in the last 40 years has experienced impressive growth, displacing conventional separation processes due to inherent advantages such as less capital investment, and energy efficiency and the devices were simple, compact, and modular. In the current work, we aimed to synthesize a thin-sheet nanofiltration membrane using chitosan (CS), poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVA), and montmorillonite nanoclay (MMT) for copper removal from aqueous solution. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were employed to evaluate the thermal stability of a novel organic-inorganic hybrid membrane...

Iron homeostasis is a critical process for living organisms because this metal is an essential co-factor for fundamental biochemical activities, like energy production and detoxification, albeit its excess quickly leads to cell intoxication. The protein Fur (ferric uptake regulator) controls iron homeostasis in bacteria by switching from its apo- to holo-form as a function of the cytoplasmic level of ferrous ions, thereby modulating gene expression. The Helicobacter pylori HpFur protein has the rare ability to operate as a transcriptional commutator; apo- and holo-HpFur function as two different repressors with distinct DNA binding recognition properties for specific sets of target genes...

Soil cadmium (Cd) is immobilized by the progressing biomineralization process as microbial induced phosphate precipitation (MIPP), which is regulated by phosphate (P) solubilizing microorganisms and P sources. However, little attention has been paid to the implications of Cd biosorption during MIPP. In this study, the newly isolated Penicillium oxalicum could immobilize 5.4-12.6 % of Cd2+ , while the presence of hydroxyapatite (HAP) considerably enhanced Cd2+ immobilization in P. oxalicum and reached over 99 % Cd2+ immobilization efficiency within 7 days...

Selective and efficient removal of thiosulfates (S2 O3 2- ) to recover high-purity and value-added thiocyanate products by fractional crystallization process is a promising route for the resource treatment of coke oven gas desulfurization wastewater. Herein, catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO), with manganese-based oxide synthesized from spent ternary lithium-ion batteries (MnOx -LIBs), was proposed to selectively remove S2 O3 2- from desulfurization wastewater. 98.0 % of S2 O3 2- is selectively removed by the MnOx -LIBs CWAO system, which was 4...

Diquat (DQ) is a typical bipyridine herbicide widely used to control weeds in fields and orchards. The severe toxicity of diquat poses a serious threat to the environment and human health. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received widespread attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties and applications in the detection of toxic and harmful substances. In this work, a two-dimensional (2D) Tb(III) functionalized MOF Tb(III)@1 (1 = [Cd(HTATB)(bimb)]n ·H2 O (Cd-MOF), H3 TATB = 4,4',4″-triazine-2,4,6-tribenzoicacid, bimb = 1,4-bis((1H-imidazol-1-yl)methyl)benzene) has been prepared and characterized...