As a fascinating conjugated polymer, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has become a new research hotspot and drawn broad interdisciplinary attention as a metal-free and visible-light-responsive photocatalyst in the arena of solar energy conversion and environmental remediation. This is due to its appealing electronic band structure, high physicochemical stability, and “earth-abundant” nature. This critical review summarizes a panorama of the latest progress related to the design and construction of pristine g-C3N4 and g-C3N4-based nanocomposites, including (1) nanoarchitecture design of bare g-C3N4, such as hard and soft templating approaches, supramolecular preorganization assembly, exfoliation, and template-free synthesis routes, (2) functionalization of g-C3N4 at an atomic level (elemental doping) and molecular level (copolymerization), and (3) modification of g-C3N4 with well-matched energy levels of another semiconductor or a metal as a cocatalyst to form heterojunction nanostructures. The constructi...

Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-C3N4)-Based Photocatalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis and Environmental Remediation: Are We a Step Closer To Achieving Sustainability?

Energy production and storage technologies have attracted a great deal of attention for day-to-day applications. In recent decades, advances in lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology have improved living conditions around the globe. LIBs are used in most mobile electronic devices as well as in zero-emission electronic vehicles. However, there are increasing concerns regarding load leveling of renewable energy sources and the smart grid as well as the sustainability of lithium sources due to their limited availability and consequent expected price increase. Therefore, whether LIBs alone can satisfy the rising demand for small- and/or mid-to-large-format energy storage applications remains unclear. To mitigate these issues, recent research has focused on alternative energy storage systems. Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are considered as the best candidate power sources because sodium is widely available and exhibits similar chemistry to that of LIBs; therefore, SIBs are promising next-generation alternatives. Recently, sodiated layer transition metal oxides, phosphates and organic compounds have been introduced as cathode materials for SIBs. Simultaneously, recent developments have been facilitated by the use of select carbonaceous materials, transition metal oxides (or sulfides), and intermetallic and organic compounds as anodes for SIBs. Apart from electrode materials, suitable electrolytes, additives, and binders are equally important for the development of practical SIBs. Despite developments in electrode materials and other components, there remain several challenges, including cell design and electrode balancing, in the application of sodium ion cells. In this article, we summarize and discuss current research on materials and propose future directions for SIBs. This will provide important insights into scientific and practical issues in the development of SIBs.

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Sodium-ion batteries: present and future

Upconversion luminescent materials: advances and applications.

BODIPY dyes tend to be highly fluorescent, but their emissions can be attenuated by adding substituents with appropriate oxidation potentials. Substituents like these have electrons to feed into photoexcited BODIPYs, quenching their fluorescence, thereby generating relatively long-lived triplet states. Singlet oxygen is formed when these triplet states interact with 3O2. In tissues, this causes cell damage in regions that are illuminated, and this is the basis of photodynamic therapy (PDT). The PDT agents that are currently approved for clinical use do not feature BODIPYs, but there are many reasons to believe that this situation will change. This review summarizes the attributes of BODIPY dyes for PDT, and in some related areas.

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BODIPY dyes in photodynamic therapy.

Design strategies for water-soluble small molecular chromogenic and fluorogenic probes.

High- Tc superconductors: Fabricating technologies and future perspectives

Continuous flow closed gas phase high-voltage pulse discharge water treatment device

Net primary production (NPP) is the difference between total photosynthesis (gross primary production, GPP) and total plant respiration in an ecosystem. NPP is a key component of the terrestrial carbon cycle and is important in global climate research. Tropical forests, distributed mainly in Central Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia, are among the most important ecosystems on earth. They are very important to analyses of the global carbon budget and to the projection of future climatic changes. In this study, we analyzed and compared the temporal and spatial changes of NPP within the three dominant areas of tropical forest from 2001 to 2013 by using data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). We found that Central and South America has the highest annual mean NPP, statistically, while the average NPP shows an increasing trend both in Central and South America and Central Africa but a decreasing trend in Southeast Asia.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/57/1/012009/pdf

Comparative analysis of NPP changes in global tropical forests from 2001 to 2013

Wenting Wu, Jianzhang Zhao and co‐workers present a summary of various controllable photodynamic therapy strategies based on switching the singlet oxygen on‐off process in article number 1700113. At the same time, the action mechanisms of different controllable PDT strategies, such as photoinduced electron transfer, fluorescence resonance energy transfer, intramolecular charge transfer and some physical/chemical means, are described carefully.

Wenting Wu

Papers

High- Tc superconductors: Fabricating technologies and future perspectives

Continuous flow closed gas phase high-voltage pulse discharge water treatment device

Comparative analysis of NPP changes in global tropical forests from 2001 to 2013

Photodynamic Therapy: Controllable Photodynamic Therapy Implemented by Regulating Singlet Oxygen Efficiency (Adv. Sci. 7/2017)

Non-bonding Interaction of Dual Atom Catalysts for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction