Southwest University

About: Southwest University is a education organization based out in Chongqing, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Bombyx mori. The organization has 29772 authors who have published 27755 publications receiving 409441 citations. The organization is also known as: Southwest University in Chongqing & SWU.

A one-step, cost-effective green method to in situ fabricate Ni(OH)2 hexagonal platelets on Ni foam as binder-free supercapacitor electrode materials

Abstract: Nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) is considered to be a promising alternative to the expensive and toxic RuO2 electrode material for high-performance supercapacitors; however, the fabrication method and electrochemical performance of suitable Ni(OH)2 structures are unsatisfactory. In the present work, a facile, cost-effective green method is developed to in situ fabricate Ni(OH)2 hexagonal platelets on Ni foam as a binder-free supercapacitor electrode with high performance. The Ni(OH)2 hexagonal platelets are self-grown on three-dimensional (3D) Ni foam by a one-step hydrothermal treatment of Ni foam in a 15 wt% H2O2 aqueous solution without the use of nickel salts, acids, bases, or post-treatments. The as-prepared Ni(OH)2 hexagonal platelets-Ni foam (HNF) electrode can be used directly as a supercapacitor electrode material, thereby avoiding the need for binders and conducting agents. The Ni(OH)2 hexagonal platelets demonstrate high capacitance (2534 F g−1 at a scan rate of 1 mV s−1) and excellent cycling stability (97% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles at a scan rate of 50 mV s−1). The fabrication method developed here has the significant advantage of low-cost, facile, green, and additive-free processing, and it is therefore a promising route for preparing self-supported metal (hydr)oxide electrodes for high-performance supercapacitors and other energy-storage devices.

Highly Ordered and Field-Free 3D DNA Nanostructure: The Next Generation of DNA Nanomachine for Rapid Single-Step Sensing.

Abstract: Herein, by directly using Watson–Crick base pairing, a highly ordered and field-free three-dimensional (3D) DNA nanostructure is self-assembled by azobenzene (azo)-functionalized DNA nippers in a few minutes, which was applied as a 3D DNA nanomachine with an improved movement efficiency compared to traditional Au-based 3D nanomachines due to the organized and high local concentration of nippers on homogeneous DNA nanostructure. Once microRNA (miRNA) interacts with the 3D nanomachine, the nippers “open” to hybridize with the miRNA. Impressively, photoisomerization of the azo group induces dehybridization/hybridization of the nippers and miRNA under irradiation at different wavelengths, which easily solves one main technical challenge of DNA nanotechnology and biosensing: reversible locomotion in one step within 10 min. As a proof of concept, the described 3D machine is successfully applied in the rapid single-step detection of a biomarker, which gives impetus to the design of new generations of mechanical ...