A template/electrochemical deposition method for fabricating silver nanorod arrays based on porous anodic alumina was presented. The barrier layer of porous anodic alumina templates was thinned by step-by-step voltage decrement method. Subsequently, silver ions were reduced into the channels of porous anodic alumina templates by electrochemical deposition method. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was utilized for analyzing the thickness of barrier layer of porous anodic alumina templates; the elementary composition and the size of silver nanorod arrays were characterized by X-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscope, respectively. Experimental results showed that the thickness of barrier layer of porous anodic alumina was suitable for alternating current electrochemical deposition, when anodizing potential was decreased to 70 V and widening time of porous anodic alumina in H 3 PO 4 solution is 80 min. And the silver particles could be deposited into the channels of porous anodic alumina templates at 11 V, 13 V, and 15 V. Different sizes of silver nanorod arrays were obtained by controlling the deposition time. The average diameter of silver nanorod is in the range from 346 nm to 351 nm which is almost consistent with the pore diameter of porous anodic alumina templates (367 nm). The uniform silver nanorod arrays have a considerable potential in the flexible and wearable electronic devices, optics, solar cell, the catalytical electrode, and so on.

Cage-based metal−organic frameworks (MOFs) have large pore spaces but small pore windows, endowing them with unique potential in the fields of gas adsorption, separation, and so on. Here, we successfully synthesized a series of isostructural caged-based MOFs with different counteranions, i.e., { [ C u 3 ( T P A ) 4 ( B F 4 ) 6 ] n • ( s o l v e n t ) x } ( C u -T P A − B F 4 ) , {[Cu 3 (TPA) 4 (ClO 4 ) 6 ] n •(solvent) x } (Cu-TPA-ClO 4 ), and {[Cu 3 (TPA) 4 (NO 3 ) 6 ] n •(solvent) x } (Cu-TPA-NO 3 ), which are formed by the coordination of tridentate nitrogen-containing ligands tri(pyridin-4-yl)amine (TPA) and copper(II) cations. Nevertheless, after placing Cu-TPA−BF 4 in a glass tube for a long period, a more stable violet crystal {[Cu 3 (TPA) 4 (SiF 6 ) 3 ] n • (solvent) x } (Cu-TPA-SiF 6 ) is generated, while no transformation is observed for Cu-TPA-ClO 4 and Cu-TPA-NO 3 . Cu-TPA−BF 4 belongs to a tbo topology and possesses octahedral cages and two kinds of cuboctahedral cages, with the uncoordinated BF 4 − anions filling in the channels. In comparison, as a two-connected node, SiF 6 2− anions participate in the construction of the tetrahedral cages and icosahedral cages, resulting in conversion to Cu-TPA-SiF 6 with an ith-d topology. Further investigation indicates that the hydrolysis of BF 4 − anions and further reaction with SiO 2 will afford SiF 6 2− anions, which can be directly involved in the formation of Cu-TPA-SiF 6 to induce the transformation. Additionally, the stability and adsorption behaviors of Cu-TPA−BF 4 and Cu-TPA-SiF 6 are also investigated.

Ventral striatum (VS) processes rewarding and punishing stimuli. Women and men vary in externalizing and internalizing traits, which may influence neural responses to reward and punishment. To investigate sex differences in how individual traits influence VS responses to reward and punishment, we curated the data of the Human Connectome Project and identified 981 (473 men) subjects evaluated by the Achenbach Adult Self-Report Syndrome Scales. We processed the imaging data with published routines and extracted VS reactivity (β) to win and to loss vs. baseline in a gambling task for correlation with externalizing and internalizing symptom severity. Men vs. women showed more severe externalizing symptoms and higher VS response to monetary losses (VS-loss β) but not to wins. Men but not women showed a significant, positive correlation between VS-loss β and externalizing traits, and the sex difference was confirmed by a slope test. The correlation each of VS-loss and VS-win β vs. externalizing traits and of VS-loss β each vs. internalizing and vs. externalizing traits differed significantly in slope, confirming its specificity, in men. Further, the sex-specific relationship between VS-loss β and externalizing trait did not extend to activities during exposure to negative emotion in the face matching task. To conclude, VS responses to loss but not to win and their correlation with externalizing rather than internalizing symptom severity showed sex differences in young adults. The findings highlight the relationship of externalizing traits and VS reactivity to monetary loss and may have implications for psychological models of externalizing behaviors in men.