No abstract

Solar interfacial evaporation has been recognized as a versatile energy conversion protocol for cutting-edge applications such as water treatment and power generation (e.g., hydro voltaic effect). Recently, to enhance water evaporation rates, water temperature and evaporation area have been considered as essential ingredients, and thus photothermal materials and three-dimensional hierarchical structures have been developed to promote light-to-heat conversion efficiency and enhance interfacial evaporation. However, less attention has been paid to the airflow effect, because the interfacial floatability of photothermal membranes should be considered under air blast. Here, inspired from the stable interfacial floatability of lotus leaves, we report the airflow enhanced solar interfacial evaporation approach using a graphene-based Janus membrane. Laser-induced graphene (LIG) film was treated unilaterally by O2 plasma, forming a LIG/oxidized LIG (LIG-O) Janus membrane with distinct wettability on two sides. Higher water evaporation rate of 1.512 kg m–2 h–1 is achieved. The high solar interfacial evaporation performance can be attributed to the two advantages: (i) the combination of microscale capillary water transporting and nanoscale light trapping; (ii) hydrophobic/hydrophilic Janus membrane for stable interfacial floatability under airflow. Our approach is feasible for developing high-performance solar interfacial evaporation devices for practical clean energy utilization.

MiR399 and its target PHOSPHATE2 (PHO2) play pivotal roles in phosphate signaling in plants. Loss of function mutation in PHO2 leads to excessive Pi accumulation in shoots and growth retardation in diploid plants like Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa). Here we isolated three PHO2 homologous genes TaPHO2-A1, -B1 and -D1 from hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum). These TaPHO2 genes all contained miR399-binding sites and were able to be degraded by tae-miR399. TaPHO2-D1 was expressed much more abundantly than TaPHO2-A1 and -B1. The ion beam-induced deletion mutants were used to analyze the effects of TaPHO2s on phosphorus uptake and plant growth. The tapho2-a1, tapho2-b1 and tapho2-d1 mutants all had significant higher leaf Pi concentrations than did the wild type, with tapho2-d1 having the strongest effect, and tapho2-b1 the weakest. Two consecutive field experiments showed that knocking out TaPHO2-D1 reduced plant height and grain yield under both low and high phosphorus conditions. However, knocking out TaPHO2-A1 significantly increased phosphorus uptake and grain yield under low phosphorus conditions, with no adverse effect on grain yield under high phosphorus conditions. Our results indicated that TaPHO2s involved in phosphorus uptake and translocation, and molecular engineering TaPHO2 shows potential in improving wheat yield with less phosphorus fertilizer.

TiO2 nanofibers with controllable diameters have been successfully fabricated by a facile electrospinning method. Their crystal structure and morphology features were monitored by X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanofibers was evaluated by the photodecomposition of rhodamine B aqueous solution. It was found that the diameter of the nanofibers, controlled by changing the tetrabutyl titanate content in the precursor solution, plays an important role on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanofibers. There is an optimal value of diameter on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanofibers, which increases with the increasing of fiber diameter up to about 200 nm and then decreases. The mechanism may relate to the dynamics of electron/hole recombination on surface sites.