The design and fabrication of inexpensive highly efficient electrocatalysts for the production of hydrogen via the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) underpin a plethora of emerging clean energy technologies. Herein, we report the fabrication of highly efficient electrocatalysts for the HER based on magnetron-sputtered MoS2 onto a nanocarbon support, termed MoS2/C. Magnetron sputtering time is explored as a function of its physiochemical composition and HER performance; increased sputtering times give rise to materials with differing compositions, i.e., Mo4+ to Mo6+ and associated S anions (sulfide, elemental, and sulfate), and improved HER outputs. An optimized sputtering time of 45 min was used to fabricate the MoS2/C material. This gave rise to an optimal HER performance with regard to its HER onset potential, achievable current, and Tafel value, which were −0.44 (vs saturated calomel electrode (SCE)), −1.45 mV s−1, and 43 mV dec−1, respectively, which has the highest composition of Mo4+ and sulfide (MoS2). Electrochemical testing toward the HER via drop casting MoS2/C upon screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) to electrically wire the nanomaterial is found to be mass coverage dependent, where the current density increases up to a critical mass (ca. 50 μg cm−2), after which a plateau is observed. To allow for a translation of the bespoke fabricated MoS2/C from laboratory to new industrial applications, MoS2/C was incorporated into the bulk ink utilized in the fabrication of SPEs (denoted as MoS2/C-SPE), thus allowing for improved electrical wiring to the MoS2/C and resulting in the production of scalable and reproducible electrocatalytic platforms. The MoS2/C-SPEs displayed far greater HER catalysis with a 450 mV reduction in the HER onset potential and a 1.70 mA cm−2 increase in the achievable current density (recorded at −0.75 V (vs SCE)), compared to a bare/unmodified graphitic SPE. The approach of using magnetron sputtering to modify carbon with MoS2 facilitates the production of mass-producible, stable, and effective electrode materials for possible use in electrolyzers, which are cost competitive to Pt and mitigate the need to use time-consuming and low-yield exfoliation techniques typically used to fabricate pristine MoS2.

Complexes of the type [MCl2(7-nitro-1,3,5-triaza-adamantane)2] (M = Zn(II), Pd(II), Pt(II)) and [MCl2(H2O)2(7-nitro-1,3,5-triazaadamantane) 2] (M = Mn (II), Co(II), Ni(II)) have been prepared and their structures have been analysed by X-ray crystallography, elemental analysis, IR and solid state 13C and 15N NMR spectroscopy, supported by density functional theory/ gauge independent atomic orbital (DFT/GIAO) calculations. In each case, 7-nitro-1,3,5-triazaadamantane acts as a mono-dentate ligand and binds to one metal centre only, in spite of the presence of three equivalent amino nitrogens. In the Co(II) and Ni(II) complexes, a two-dimensional intermolecular hydrogen bonding network between the aqua- and the chloro ligands is established. The uncoordinated amines of the 7-nitro-1,3,5-triaza- adamantane are not involved in any H-bonding, as a result of the exceptionally low basicity of this compound.

Laser peening is a well-known process applicable to surface treat metals and alloys in various industrial sectors. Research in the area of laser peening of ceramics is still scarce and a complete laser-ceramic interaction is still unreported. This paper focuses on laser peening of SiC ceramics employed for cutting tools, armor plating, dental and biomedical implants, with a view to elucidate the unreported work. A detailed investigation was conducted with 1064nm Nd:YAG ns pulse laser to first understand the surface effects, namely: the topography, hardness, KIc and the microstructure of SiC advanced ceramics. The results showed changes in surface roughness and microstructural modification after laser peening. An increase in surface hardness was found by almost 2 folds, as the diamond footprints and its flaws sizes were considerably reduced, thus, enhancing the resistance of SiC to better withstand mechanical impact. This inherently led to an enhancement in the KIc by about 42%. This is attributed to an induction of compressive residual stress and phase transformation. This work is a first-step towards the development of a 3-dimensional laser peening technique to surface treat many advanced ceramic components. This work has shown that upon tailoring the laser peening parameters may directly control ceramic topography, microstructure, hardness and the KIc. This is useful for increasing the performance of ceramics used for demanding applications particularly where it matters such as in military. Upon successful peening of bullet proof vests could result to higher ballistic strength and resistance against higher sonic velocity, which would not only prevent serious injuries, but could also help to save lives of soldiers on the battle fields.

Driven by the potential applications of ionic liquids (ILs) in many emerging electrochemical technologies, recent research efforts have been directed at understanding the complex ion ordering in these systems, to uncover novel energy storage mechanisms at IL–electrode interfaces. Here, we discover that surface-active ILs (SAILs), which contain amphiphilic structures inducing self-assembly, exhibit enhanced charge storage performance at electrified surfaces. Unlike conventional non amphiphilic ILs, for which ion distribution is dominated by Coulombic interactions, SAILs exhibit significant and competing van der Waals interactions owing to the non-polar surfactant tails, leading to unusual interfacial ion distributions. We reveal that, at an intermediate degree of electrode polarization, SAILs display optimum performance, because the low-charge-density alkyl tails are effectively excluded from the electrode surfaces, whereas the formation of non-polar domains along the surface suppresses undesired overscreening effects. This work represents a crucial step towards understanding the unique interfacial behaviour and electrochemical properties of amphiphilic liquid systems showing long-range ordering, and offers insights into the design principles for high-energy-density electrolytes based on spontaneous self-assembly behaviour.

The behavior of polar metal organic molecules, chloroaluminum phthalocyanine (ClAlPc), upon ultraviolet (UV) irradiation was investigated to evaluate the stability of the adsorption process on the Ag(111) thin film and bulk crystal. Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) was mainly employed to measure the molecular energy states (MES) and vacuum level (VL) shift for 1-ML ClAlPc in the Cl-down configuration. A consistent trend was observed showing that ClAlPc in the Cl-down configuration is energetically more stable on the Ag thin-film surface than on the corresponding surface of the Ag bulk crystal. The intermediate adsorption state in tilted configuration during the irradiation impinging is identified by large positive VL shifts and broad spectra line shapes to infer a flipping mechanism from Cl-down to Cl-up configuration. Strain on the Ag thin films from the underlying mismatched Ge(111) substrate is considered to cause enlarged hollow sites on the Ag(111) thin-films, that anchor the Cl-down configuration more tightly on the thin-film surfaces, as confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

The Bcl-2 protein has been studied as an anticancer drug target in recent years, due to its gatekeeper role in resisting programmed cancer cell death (apoptosis), and the design of BH3 domain mimetics has led to the clinical approval of Venetoclax (ABT-199) for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. In this work we extend our previous studies on the discovery of indole-based heterocycles as Bcl-2 inhibitors, to the identification of quinolin-4-yl based oxadiazole and triazole analogues. Target compounds were readily synthesized via a common aryl-substituted quinolin-4-carbonyl-N-arylhydrazine-1-carbothioamide (5a⁻b) intermediate, through simple variation of the basic cyclisation conditions. Some of the quinoline-based oxadiazole analogues (e.g. compound 6i) were found to exhibit sub-micromolar anti-proliferative activity in Bcl-2-expressing cancer cell lines, and sub-micromolar IC50 activity within a Bcl2-Bim peptide ELISA assay. The Bcl-2 targeted anticancer activity of 6i was further rationalised via computational molecular modelling, offering possibilities to extend this work into the design of further potent and selective Bcl-2 inhibitory heteroaromatics with therapeutic potential.

Book review of NanoCharacterisation, second edition, Editors Angus I. Kirkland and Sarah J. Haigh. Published by Royal Society of Chemistry ISBN: 978-1-84973-805-7

Herein, we report the fabrication and application of Li-ion anodes for utilisation within Li-ion batteries, which are fabricated via additive manufacturing/3D printing (fused depo- sition modelling) using a bespoke graphene/polylactic acid (PLA) filament, where the graphene content can be readily tailored and controlled over the range 1–40 wt. %. We demon- strate that a graphene content of 20 wt. % exhibits sufficient conductivity and critically, effective 3D printability for the rapid manufacturing of 3D printed freestanding anodes (3DAs); simplifying the components of the Li-ion battery negating the need for a copper current collector. The 3DAs are physicochemcally and electrochemically characterised and possess sufficient conductivity for electrochemical studies. Critically, it is found that if the 3DAs are used in Li-ion batteries the specific capacity is very poor but can be significantly improved through the use of a chemical pre-treatment. Such treatment induces an increased porosity, which results in a 200-fold increase (after anode stabilisation) of the specific capacity (ca. 500 mAhg-1 at a current density of 40 mAg-1). This work significantly enhances the field of additive manufacturing/3D printed graphene based energy storage devices demonstrating that useful 3D printable batteries can be realised

Styrene-alt-maleic Acid lipid particles (SMALPs) are self-assembled discoidal structures composed of a polymer belt and a segment of lipid bilayer, which are capable of encapsulating membrane proteins directly from the cell membrane. Here we present evidence of the exchange of lipids between such “nanodiscs” and lipid monolayers adsorbed at either solid-liquid or air-liquid interfaces. This behavior has important implications for the potential uses of nanodiscs, including the potential to control lipid composition within nanodiscs containing membrane proteins