Being considered greener alternatives to ionic liquids (IL), deep eutectic solvents (DES) and natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) have currently attracted broad interests from academics and industry. In this study, the transformation of isoeugenol to vanillin catalyzed by Lysinibacillus fusiformis CGMCC1347 cells was taken as the model reaction to examine the impacts of 24 DESs and 21 NADESs as cosolvents on whole-cell biocatalysis. Both types of cosolvents showed the ability of improving the production yields up to 142% and 132% of the ones obtained in (NA)­DES-free aqueous systems, respectively. The data obtained by confocal laser scanning microscopy and flow cytometry tests and measurements of OD260 and OD280 agreed well with the bioconversion data, suggesting that addition of these cosolvents may be beneficial to whole-cell biocatalysis in enhancing the cellular membrane permeability. Interaction of DES with bacterial cell wall was discussed. The cells immobilized in PVA-alginate beads granted an augmented production yield in the presence of DES and NADES, up to 181% of the one obtained in a pure water system, and their catalytic activity was well maintained after being used for at least 13 cycles.

No abstract

Cost‐effective synthesis of carbon nanospheres with a desirable mesoporous network for diversified energy storage applications remains a challenge. Herein, a direct templating strategy is developed to fabricate monodispersed N‐doped mesoporous carbon nanospheres (NMCSs) with an average particle size of 100 nm, a pore diameter of 4 nm, and a specific area of 1093 m2 g−1. Hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide and tetraethyl orthosilicate not only play key roles in the evolution of mesopores but also guide the assembly of phenolic resins to generate carbon nanospheres. Benefiting from the high surface area and optimum mesopore structure, NMCSs deliver a large specific capacitance up to 433 F g−1 in 1 m H2SO4. The NMCS electrodes–based symmetric sandwich supercapacitor has an output voltage of 1.4 V in polyvinyl alcohol/H2SO4 gel electrolyte and delivers an energy density of 10.9 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 14014.5 W kg−1. Notably, NMCSs can be directly applied through the mask‐assisted casting technique by a doctor blade to fabricate micro‐supercapacitors. The micro‐supercapacitors exhibit excellent mechanical flexibility, long‐term stability, and reliable power output.