A research team has uncovered how ethylene, a key plant hormone, enhances peanut seed germination by modulating hormonal pathways and promoting metabolic processes.

New research helps narrow down uncertainties in near-term precipitation projections for the Asian Water Tower

Inexpensive and easily available raw materials combined with practical and efficient preparation technology is an important direction for the future development of microwave absorption materials. In this study, coal tar pitch (CTP), an advantageous resource with low cost and wide source, be used as the carbon source. Hypercrosslinked porous polymers are prepared by crosslinking aromatic compounds in CTP based on the classical Friedel-Crafts reaction. Porous carbon (PC) microwave absorption materials will be prepared by high-temperature carbonization.

The study achieves efficient electrocatalysis for the electrooxidation reaction in multi-electrolyte systems by synergistically modulating structure and electronic coupling through rational design. The research team established novel principles for controlling the morphology and performance of MOFs: formation of nano-flower structure requires co-existence of Ni site and Fc ligand, doping of Fe sites promotes 3D crystal morphology development, which marks a pioneering advance in the field. Among them, the Bimetallic Dual-Ligand MOF: NFBF (6:2) exhibits outstanding electrocatalytic performance (210 mV at 10 mA·cm^-2). Operando Raman spectroscopy and XAFS reveal the electronic restructuring feature of NFBF (6:2) during the catalytic OER process. Combined with DFT calculations, which identify Ni as the catalytic active site, these investigations uncover significant electronic migration and redistribution, substantially reducing the reaction energy barrier and accelerating the catalytic process. Comprehensive exploration demonstrates that NFBF (6:2) not only performs well under various multi-electrolyte conditions but also maintains a nearly consistent catalytic mechanism. Furthermore, when applied to overall water splitting, (+) NFBF (6:2) | | NFBF (6:2) (-) achieves significant catalytic effects in both alkaline freshwater (1.40 V at 10 mA·cm^-2) and seawater (1.44 V at 10 mA· cm^-2) electrolyzers. This work highlights the crucial role of electronic coupling in optimizing electrocatalytic performance and offers new insights for addressing mitigating environmental pollution, embodying substantial practical and research potential.