Liang Ma

Floriated ZnFe2O4 with porous nanorod structures were successfully synthesized via mild hydrothermal and calcination processes by using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr) as a template-directing reagent. The resulting ZnFe2O4 was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and nitrogen adsorption measurement. It was found that the floriated ZnFe2O4 nanostructures were composed of porous nanorods with an average length of 122 nm and diameter of 29 nm. The obtained ZnFe2O4 with a bandgap of ∼1.94 eV was firstly used as a visible-light-driven photocatalyst for hydrogen production, and exhibits remarkable photostability in an aqueous suspension by using CH3OH as a sacrificial reagent. Moreover, the possible photo-reaction mechanism for the hydrogen production from CH3OH aqueous solution was proposed for better understanding the photocatalytic behavior of ZnFe2O4 without Pt-loading.

Microspheric and lamellar BiVO(4) powders were selectively prepared through a hydrothermal process by using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a template-directing reagent. The as-prepared BiVO(4) powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption experimentation, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Experimental results indicate that microspheric BiVO(4) with particle sizes in the range of 7-12 microm can be derived from a relatively low hydrothermal temperature (<or=160 degrees C) and possess a mixed crystal consisting of tetragonal and monoclinic phases, whereas lamellar BiVO(4) with a pure monoclinic phase can be obtained at a higher hydrothermal temperature (200 degrees C). Their photocatalytic activities for O(2) evolution were investigated by using Fe(NO(3))(3) as a sacrificial reagent under visible-light irradiation, and the lamellar BiVO(4) shows a better photoactivity than the microspheric product due to its pure monoclinic crystal phase. Moreover, the effects of CTAB content on the morphologies and crystal phases of the obtained products were also discussed. It was found that the addition of CTAB can adjust the morphologies of BiVO(4) and obstruct the crystal phase transformation from the mixed crystal to pure monoclinic BiVO(4) during the hydrothermal process.

Here, we present a platelet-facilitated photothermal tumor therapy (PLT-PTT) strategy, in which PLTs act as carriers for targeted delivery of photothermal agents to tumor tissues and enhance the PTT effect. Gold nanorods (AuNRs) were first loaded into PLTs by electroporation and the resulting AuNR-loaded PLTs (PLT-AuNRs) inherited long blood circulation and cancer targeting characteristics from PLTs and good photothermal property from AuNRs. Using a gene-knockout mouse model, we demonstrate that the administration of PLT-AuNRs and localizing laser irradiation could effectively inhibit the growth of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In addition, we found that the PTT treatment augmented PLT-AuNRs targeting to the tumor sites and in turn, improved the PTT effects in a feedback manner, demonstrating the unique self-reinforcing characteristic of PLT-PTT in cancer therapy.

The design of new functional materials with excellent hydrogen production activity under visible‐light irradiation has critical significance for solving the energy crisis. A well‐controlled synthesis strategy is developed to prepare an Au–Pt–CdS hetero‐nanostructure, in which each component of Au, Pt, and CdS has direct contact with the other two materials; Pt is on the tips and a CdS layer along the sides of an Au nanotriangle (NT), which exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production under light irradiation ( λ &gt; 420 nm). The sequential growth and surfactant‐dependent deposition produce the three‐component Au–Pt–CdS hybrids with the Au NT acting as core while Pt and CdS serve as a co‐shell. Due to the presence of the Au NT cores, the Au–Pt–CdS nanostructures possess highly enhanced light‐harvesting and strong local‐electric‐field enhancement. Moreover, the intimate and multi‐interface contact generates multiple electron‐transfer pathways (Au to CdS, CdS to Pt and Au to Pt) which guide photoexcited electrons to the co‐catalyst Pt for an efficient hydrogen reduction reaction. By evaluating the hydrogen production rate when aqueous Na 2 SO 3 –Na 2 S solution is used as sacrificial agent, the Au–Pt–CdS hybrid exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity that is about 2.5 and 1.4 times larger than those of CdS/Pt and Au@CdS/Pt, respectively.