Zhaohui Chen

Introduction of the Cl(-) anion in the borate systems generates a new perovskite-like phase, K(3)B(6)O(10)Cl, which exhibits a large second harmonic response, about four times that of KH(2)PO(4) (KDP), and is transparent from the deep UV (180 nm) to middle-IR region. K(3)B(6)O(10)Cl crystallizes in the noncentrosymmetric and rhombohedral space group R3m. The structure consists of the A-site hexaborate [B(6)O(10)] groups and the BX(3) Cl-centered octahedral [ClK(6)] groups linked together through vertices to form the perovskite framework represented by ABX(3).

Chitosan stabilized silver nanoparticles (Ch-Ag NPs) were successfully synthesized by a one-step method and were found to possess intrinsic peroxidase-like activity, could catalytically oxidize substrates, such as TMB, and OPD, by H(2)O(2) to produce a typical colour reaction such as from colorless to blue for TMB and from colorless to red for OPD. Our results demonstrate that the Ch-Ag NPs exhibit higher thermal and pH durance than HRP, thus could be suitable in a wider range of harsh conditions. Results of electron paramagnetic resonance (ESR) suggest that the catalyse-mimic activity of the Ch-Ag nanostructures effectively catalyzed the decomposition of H(2)O(2) into ˙OH radicals. Based on this finding, a simple, sensitive and selective visual and colorimetric method with TMB as substrate has been designed for glucose detection when combined with glucose oxidase (GOx). This colorimetric method can be used for detection of glucose in biological samples with a detection limit as low as 100 nM and a dynamic range from 5.0 × 10(-6) to 2.0 × 10(-4) M.

Abstract Two new pyrophosphates nonlinear optical (NLO) materials, Rb 3 PbBi(P 2 O 7 ) 2 ( I ) and Cs 3 PbBi(P 2 O 7 ) 2 ( II ), were successfully designed and synthesized. Both compounds exhibit large NLO effects and birefringences. Material I presents the scarce case of possessing the coexistence of large birefringence (0.031 at 1064 nm and 0.037 at 532 nm) and second harmonic generation (SHG) response (2.8× potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP)) in ultraviolet NLO phosphates and its SHG is the largest in the phase‐matching (PM) pyrophosphates. Both I and II have three‐dimensional (3D) crystal structures composed of corner‐shared RbO 12 (CsO 11 ), RbO 10 (CsO 10 ), BiO 6 , PbO 7 (PbO 6 ) and P 2 O 7 groups, in which P 2 O 7 and PbO 7 (PbO 6 ) units form an alveolate [PbPO] ∞ skeleton frame. Theoretical calculations reveal that the P−O, Bi−O and Pb−O units are mainly responsible for the moderate birefringence and large SHG efficiency of I .

Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) have been studied extensively in the petroleum industry due to their role in corrosion, but very little is known about sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB), which drive the oxidization of sulfur-compounds produced by the activity of SRB in petroleum reservoirs. Here, we surveyed the community structure, diversity and abundance of SRB and SOB simultaneously based on 16S rRNA, dsrB and soxB gene sequencing, and quantitative PCR analyses, respectively in petroleum reservoirs with different physicochemical properties. Similar to SRB, SOB were found widely inhabiting the analyzed reservoirs with high diversity and different structures. The dominant SRB belonged to the classes Deltaproteobacteria and Clostridia, and included the Desulfotignum, Desulfotomaculum, Desulfovibrio, Desulfobulbus and Desulfomicrobium genera. The most frequently detected potential SOB were Sulfurimonas, Thiobacillus, Thioclava, Thiohalomonas and Dechloromonas, and belonged to Betaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Epsilonproteobacteria. Among them, Desulfovibrio, Desulfomicrobium, Thioclava, and Sulfurimonas were highly abundant in the low-temperature reservoirs, while Desulfotomaculum, Desulfotignum, Thiobacillus, and Dechloromonas were more often present in high-temperature reservoirs. The relative abundances of SRB and SOB varied and were present at higher proportions in the relatively high-temperature reservoirs. Canonical correspondence analysis also revealed that the SRB and SOB communities in reservoirs displayed high niche specificity and were closely related to reservoir temperature, pH of the formation brine, and sulfate concentration. In conclusion, this study extends our knowledge about the distribution of SRB and SOB communities in petroleum reservoirs.