The simultaneous and efficient evolution of hydrogen and oxygen with earth-abundant, highly active, and robust bifunctional electrocatalysts is a significant concern in water splitting. Herein, non-noble metalbased Ni-Co-S bifunctional catalysts with tunable stoichiometry and morphology are realized. The engineering of electronic structure and subsequent morphological design synergistically contributes to significantly elevated electrocatalytic performance. Stable overpotentials (η 10 ) of 243 mV (vs reversible hydrogen electrode) for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and 80 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), as well as Tafel slopes of 54.9 mV dec −1 for OER and 58.5 mV dec −1 for HER, are demonstrated. In addition, density functional theory calculations are performed to determine the optimal electronic structure via the electron density differences to verify the enhanced OER activity is related to the Co top site on the (110) surface. Moreover, the tandem bifunctional NiCo 2 S 4 exhibit a required voltage of 1.58 V (J = 10 mA cm −2 ) for simultaneous OER and HER, and no obvious performance decay is observed after 72 h. When integrated with a GaAs solar cell, the resulting photoassisted water splitting electrolyzer shows a certified solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of up to 18.01%, further demonstrating the feasibility of engineering protocols and the promising potential of bifunctional NiCo 2 S 4 for large-scale overall water splitting.

Abstract:The properties of carbides, such as morphology, size, and type, in H13 hot work die steel were studied with optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis; their size distribution and quantity after tempering, at different positions within the ingot, were analyzed using Image-Pro Plus software. Thermodynamic calculations were also performed for these carbides. The microstructures near the ingot surface were homogeneous and had slender martensite laths. Two kinds of carbide precipitates have been detected in H13: (1) MC and M 6 C, generally smaller than 200 nm; and (2) M 23 C 6 , usually larger than 200 nm. MC and M 6 C play the key role in precipitation hardening. These are the most frequent carbides precipitating at the halfway point from the center of the ingot, and the least frequent at the surface. From the center of the ingot to its surface, the size and volume fraction of the carbides decrease, and the toughness improves, while the contribution of the carbides to the yield strength increases.

Objective: The aim of this study was to screen for possible biomarkers of metastatic osteosarcoma (OS) using a DNA microarray. Methods: We downloaded the gene expression profile GSE49003 from Gene Expression Omnibus database, which included 6 gene chips from metastatic and 6 from non-metastatic OS patients. The R package was used to screen and identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between metastatic and non-metastatic OS patients. Then we compared the expression of DEGs in the two groups and sub-grouped into up-regulated and down-regulated, followed by functional enrichment analysis using the DAVID system. Subsequently, we constructed an miRNA-DEG regulatory network with the help of WebGestalt software. Results: A total of 323 DEGs, including 134 up-regulated and 189 down-regulated, were screened out. The up-regulated DEGs were enriched in 14 subcategories and most significantly in cytoskeleton organization, while the down-regulated DEGs were prevalent in 13 subcategories, especially wound healing. In addition, we identified two important miRNAs (miR-202 and miR-9) pivotal for OS metastasis, and their relevant genes, CALD1 and STX1A. Conclusions: MiR-202 and miR-9 are potential key factors affecting the metastasis of OS and CALD1 and STX1A may be possible targets beneficial for the treatment of metastatic OS. However, further experimental studies are needed to confirm our results.

Corrosion—reactions occuring between engineering materials and their environment—can cause material failure and catastrophic accidents, which have a serious impact on economic development and social stability. Recently, super-hydrophobic coatings have received much attention due to their effectiveness in preventing engineering materials from further corrosion. In this paper, basic principles of wetting properties and corrosion protection mechanism of super-hydrophobic coatings are introduced firstly. Secondly, the fabrication methods by electrochemical surface engineering—including electrochemical anodization, micro-arc oxidation, electrochemical etching, and deposition—are presented. Finally, the stabilities and future directions of super-hydrophobic coatings are discussed in order to promote the movement of such coatings into real-world applications. The objective of this review is to bring a brief overview of the recent progress in the fabrication of super-hydrophobic coatings by electrochemical surface methods for corrosion protection of engineering materials.

In this paper, reduced graphene oxide functionalized with cobalt ferrite nanocomposites (CoFe@rGO) as a novel type of electromagnetic wave (EW) absorbing materials was successfully prepared by a three-step chemical method including hydrothermal synthesis, annealing process and mixing with paraffin. The effect of the sample thickness and the amount of paraffin on the EW absorption properties of the composites was studied, revealing that the absorption peaks shifted toward the low frequency regions with the increasing thickness while other conditions had little or no effect. It is found that the CoFe@rGO enhanced both dielectric losses and magnetic losses and had the best EW absorption properties and the wide wavelength coverage of the hole Ku-Band when adding only 5wt% composites to paraffin. Therefore, CoFe@rGO could be used as an efficient and lightweight EW absorber. Compared with the research into traditional absorbing materials, this figures of merit are typically of the same order of magnitude, but given the lightweight nature of the material and the high level of compatibility with mass production standards, making use of CoFe@rGO as an electromagnetic absorber material shows great potential for real product applications.