A set of embedded atom model (EAM) interatomic potentials was developed to represent highly idealized face-centered cubic (FCC) mixtures of Fe–Ni–Cr–Co–Al at near-equiatomic compositions. Potential functions for the transition metals and their crossed interactions are taken from our previous work for Fe–Ni–Cr–Co–Cu [D. Farkas and A. Caro: J. Mater. Res. 33 (19), 3218–3225, 2018], while cross-pair interactions involving Al were developed using a mix of the component pair functions fitted to known intermetallic properties. The resulting heats of mixing of all binary equiatomic random FCC mixtures not containing Al is low, but significant short-range ordering appears in those containing Al, driven by a large atomic size difference. The potentials are utilized to predict the relative stability of FCC quinary mixtures, as well as ordered L12 and B2 phases as a function of Al content. These predictions are in qualitative agreement with experiments. This interatomic potential set is developed to resemble but not model precisely the properties of this complex system, aiming at providing a tool to explore the consequences of the addition of a large size-misfit component into a high entropy mixture that develops multiphase microstructures.

We investigated high-resistivity cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe):In single crystals annealed in hydrogen to reveal the passivation effect of defects. An overall reduction in the concentration of defect levels induced by annealing was obviously observed by thermally stimulated current measurements. There is a large decrease by 56.51% in the concentration of secondly ionized Cd vacancies (T3) after hydrogenation. The concentration of firstly ionized Cd vacancies (T2) was a little bit lower (17.99%) in the hydrogenated CZT crystals. The formation of neutral InH complex and lower occupation of VCd by In dopant would result in a significant decrease (68.31%) in the trap density of ${\rm In}_{\rm Cd}^ +$ related shallow donor (T1) after hydrogenation. The bulk resistivity was calculated from I–V characteristic curves to be ~1.97 × 1010 Ωcm before annealing and ~1.78 × 1010 Ωcm after annealing. Hall measurements also reveal n-type conduction for the hydrogenated crystals. Electron mobility was fitted to be about 110 cm2/Vs before annealing and 488 cm2/Vs after annealing, demonstrating better carrier transport properties. Electron mobility-lifetime product could be fitted to be about 3.60 × 10−4 cm2/V before annealing and 5.45 × 10−4 cm2/V after annealing, demonstrating better detector performances.

The capability of borospherene to detect radioactive pollutants (radon and radium) is investigated utilizing density functional theory and nonequilibrium Green's function regime. The quantum transport is evaluated by calculating the density of states, chemical potential, transmission and molecular energy spectra, highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap, electron densities, current–voltage curve, and differential and quantum conductance. LUMO-mediated transmission is observed in all the cases. The conduction considerably declines in B40 molecular junction doped with radioactive pollutants in comparison to pure B40 molecular junction. This decrease in conduction is due to reduced electron density and higher chemical potential in doped B40 junctions. Due to different values of current and differential conductance, we propose utilization of B40 in detecting the presence of radioactive pollutants in underground water. Also, all molecular junctions assay lifting of Coulomb blockade at equilibrium state; thus, these devices can be effectively utilized in single-electron transistor applications.

A novel ionic liquid/α-ZrP (C16MIM/α-ZrP) lamellar nanocomposite was fabricated via the electrostatic self-assembly deposition technique by using exfoliated α-ZrP nanosheets and guest molecules (1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide) as building blocks under mild conditions. C16MIM/α-ZrP nanocomposite was characterized by various analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and synchronous thermal analyzer. The net interlayer spacing of α-ZrP determined by XRD confirmed that the C16MIM cations formed a monolayer arrangement between the α-ZrP nanosheets. The morphology and microstructure of C16MIM/α-ZrP composite were observed using SEM and TEM. The C16MIM/α-ZrP modified glass carbon electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of nitrite in weak base media. The results obtained with differential pulse voltammetry demonstrated that the C16MIM/α-ZrP hybrid detected nitrite linearly in the concentration range from 7.3 μM to 1.25 mM with the detection limit of 1.26 μM (S/N = 3). Additionally, the prepared sensor showed outstanding reproducibility, high stability, and anti-interference capability.

Since the photocatalytic effect of a single conventional photocatalyst is often not ideal, it is particularly important to design and construct an efficient and stable photocatalyst in a compound way. In this study, we exploited the sol–gel method to combine BiOCl and TiO2 and gave full play to their respective advantages to prepare BiOCl/TiO2 composite materials. Then, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) characterization techniques were utilized to study important indicators of composites—composition, morphology, and structure. In the photodegradation experiment of methyl orange (MO), it was found that the photocatalytic performance of 10BTO (the molar ratio of TiO2 to BiOCl is 10:1) was the best among all the composite photocatalysts, and almost complete degradation of MO was realized. Besides, repeated experiments and recyclability tests on composite materials display favorable stability. Through ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–Vis DRS), photoluminescence (PL), transient photocurrent response, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and electron spin resonance (ESR), a possible degradation mechanism is proposed. Given that there are serious environmental pollution problems in our country, we sincerely hope this research will do its best to degrade organic pollutants in wastewater.

To detect low concentrations of formaldehyde selectively, the sensing properties of SnO2 nanostructured are enhanced by modifying with p-type semiconductor NiO. In this study, a nanostructured SnO2/NiO composite was prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) peak in 532.4 eV proved that the existence of the SnO2/NiO composite structure increased the amount of adsorbed oxygen O− and O2− significantly. Gas-sensing tests showed that these mixed phases SnO2/NiO are highly promising for gas sensor applications, as the gas response for formaldehyde was significantly enhanced in gas response, selectivity at an operating temperature of 230 °C. The sensor fabricated by SnO2/NiO composite can detect as low as 1 ppm of formaldehyde at 230 °C, and the corresponding response is 1.57. The results of physicochemical properties tests of the samples show that the enhancement in sensitivity and selectivity is attributed to the oxygen vacancies and heterojunction between SnO2 and NiO. The SnO2/NiO composites can be applied to sensitive materials of formaldehyde sensors.

Growing zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) on yarns promotes smart sensing and creates opportunities for new applications. ZnO NWs sensing performance is influenced by its dimensions, which can be tailored by controlling the growth parameters. In this study, we investigated the effect of the growth parameters (time, temperature, and precursor concentration ratio) on the NWs’ morphology, dimensions, and piezoelectric performance. Our results showed that ZnO NWs produced with 6 and 9 h had long nanowires; however, they mainly got tangled with the nanowires on the adjacent fibers and peeled-off the fiber surface. Growth at a 1:1 precursor concentration ratio for 9 h produced the same nanowires’ length (~3 μm) as growth at a 3:1 precursor concentration ratio for 3 h. Among all of the studied growth conditions, ZnO NWs produced with a 3:1 precursor concentration ratio at 90 °C for 3 h showed uniform dimensions and stable electrical charge output.

Effective cancer therapy is usually limited by the off target distribution of chemotherapeutic drugs and multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells. As a result, the development of a drug delivery system (DDS) capable of targeting cancer cells while at the same time delivering two or more chemotherapeutic drugs is believed to be a good solution to this dilemma. Herein, a hyaluronan-coated meta-organic framework nanoparticles (HM) were fabricated as a DDS in our study to deliver cisplatin (PDD) and oleanolic acid (Ola). Positive results were obtained in our study which reveal that the DDS (HM/PDD/Ola) is favorable in colorectal cancer (HCT116) therapy by enhancing targeted apoptosis and reversing MDR. Compared with applying free drugs or mono DDS, the dual loaded HM/PDD/Ola showed synergistic effects and better performance, which might be a future alternative for the chemotherapy of colorectal cancer.

The cellular accumulation of drug delivery systems (DDSs) is a critical parameter to determine the final outcome of cancer chemotherapy. Herein, we designed a red blood cells membrane-based vehicle (RV) and employed it to load both doxorubicin (Dox) and IR 780 (RV/I-D). The photothermal-assisted chemotherapy efficacy of RV/I-D on the treatment of cancer was tested on a prostate cancer model. Excitingly, the results showed that RV/I-D was stable and safe nanoparticles with size at about 100 nm. Moreover, upon the increase of system temperature using photothermal effects of IR780, the drug release of the DDS was accelerated. Above all, the DDS also increased the accumulation of drugs into the Dox-resistant prostate cancer cells (PC-3/Dox) both in vitro and in vivo and showed enhanced anticancer performance.

There is a significant interest in developing the corrosion-resistant magnesium (Mg) alloy as a degradable biomaterial. In this work, the magnesium–zirconium (Zr = 1 wt%)–strontium (Sr = 2 wt%)–cerium (Ce = 0, 0.5 wt%) alloy was developed using the casting process. Effects of Ce addition on alloy microstructure, corrosion behavior, and biocompatibility were systematically investigated. Detailed microstructural analysis indicated that 0.5 wt% Ce addition refined the second phase (Mg17Sr2) in the Mg–2Sr–1Zr alloy. Furthermore, phase analysis of corrosion product showed the formation of stable CeO2 oxide layer on the corroded surface of the Mg alloy. Both the precipitate refinement and stable CeO2 layer formation significantly contributed toward enhanced corrosion resistance of the Mg–Sr–Zr–Ce alloy, as determined by both electrochemical and immersion corrosion in phosphate-buffered saline. Significantly higher osteoblast-like cell (MG-63) proliferation was observed in Ce-containing Mg alloy at both day 1 and day 3. Overall, the results showed that Ce addition could modulate degradation behavior and biocompatibility of the ternary Mg alloy.

The multidrug resistance (MDR) is a widely observed phenotype that contributed to the major obstacle of impairing the outcome of cancer chemotherapy. With the aim to reverse MDR in the breast cancer cell line, the autophagy-related 7 (ATG7) small interfering RNA (siRNA) capable of downregulating the cellular autophagy level was loaded into a cationic nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) with doxorubicin (Dox) to build a platform (NLC/D-R) for effective chemotherapy of breast cancer. Our results revealed that NLC/D-R was well-dispersed nanoparticles with satisfy protection to siRNA. In addition, NLC/D-R also exerted a sufficient drug release of both cargos under an acidic environment with high stability and biocompatibility at the physiological environment. Furthermore, NLC/D-R showed a preferable transfection profile to PEI 25k. The downregulated autophagy level in NLCF-7/Adr cells resulted in reverse of MDR and accumulated Dox retention in cells. The in vitro cytotoxicity using both cells on flat surfaces and multicellular tumor spheroid (NLCTS) model confirmed that NLC/D-R showed much elevated anticancer performance than NLC/Dox or NLC/siRNA, which suggested the synergistic effect between anti-autophagy and chemotherapy.