Cubic and octahedral Cu2O nanocrystals and Au–Cu2O core–shell heterostructures are used as sacrificial templates for the growth of Cu2S nanocages and Au–Cu2S core–cage structures. A rapid sulfidation process involving a surface reaction of Cu2O nanocrystals with Na2S, followed by etching of the Cu2O cores with HCl solution for ≈5 sec, results in the fabrication of Cu2S cages with a wall thickness of 10–20 nm. Transmission electron microscopy characterization reveals the formation of crystalline walls and the presence of ultrasmall pores with sizes of 1 nm or less. Formation of Cu2O–Cu2S core–shell structures and their conversion into Cu2S cages is verified by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. X‐ray photoelectron spectra further confirm the composition of the cages as Cu2S. The entire hollowing process via the Kirkendall effect is recorded using in‐situ transmission X‐ray microscopy. After shell formation, continuous ionic diffusion removes the interior Cu2O. Intermediate structures with remaining central Cu2O portions and bridging arms to the surrounding cages are observed. The nanocages are also shown to allow molecular transport: anthracene and pyrene penetration into the cages leads to enhanced fluorescence quenching immediately upon adsorption onto the surfaces of the encapsulated gold nanocrystals.

This experiment investigated the effects of wheat bran fermented with Trichoderma pseudokoningii (FWB) on growth performance, intestinal morphology and the incidence of non-specific pathological lesions in broilers. In vitro experimental results showed that cellulase and xylananse activity of fermented wheat bran reached its peak at day 4 and solid-state fermentation (SSF) enhanced the reducing sugar content. In addition, the possibility of Trichoderma adhering to the broiler's crop epitheliums was also discovered. A total of 180 day-old Ross 308 male broilers were randomly distributed into one of the three dietary groups until 35 d of age: basal diet (control), 10% of basal diet replaced with wheat bran (10% WB) or 10% of diet replaced with fermented wheat bran (10% FWB). Results showed that 10% FWB group had lower feed consumption than the others, but improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) for starter phase (1 to 21 d) when compared to the control group. Furthermore, 10% FWB group had significantly increased villus height and villus height/crypt depth ratio in the ileum compared to the control group. Coliform bacteria count in the ileum was lower in the 10% WB group than the control, however, there were no differences between the 10% WB and 10% FWB treatment groups in the C. perfringens count. There were no morphological changes or incidences of non-specific pathological lesions in the 10% FWB group. These results suggested that replacing 10% of a basal diet with fermented wheat bran could not only improve growth performance but also provide optimal intestinal morphology in broilers.

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