Qida Liu

Facile synthesis of three-dimensional structured carbon fiber-NiCo2O4-Ni(OH)2 high-performance electrode for pseudocapacitors.

Two-dimensional textured carbon fiber is an excellent electrode material and/or supporting substrate for active materials in fuel cells, batteries, and pseudocapacitors owing to its large surface area, high porosity, ultra-lightness, good electric conductivity, and excellent chemical stability in various liquid electrolytes. And Nickel hydroxide is one of the most promising active materials that have been studied in practical pseudocapacitor applications. Here we report a high-capacitance, flexible and ultra-light composite electrode that combines the advantages of these two materials for pseudocapacitor applications. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the 3D hybrid nanostructured carbon fiber–NiCo2O4–Ni(OH)2 composite electrode shows high capacitance, excellent rate capability. To the best of our knowledge, the electrode developed in this work possesses the highest areal capacitance of 6.04 F cm−2 at the current density of 5 mA cm−2 among those employing carbon fiber as the conductor. It still remains 64.23% at 40 mA cm−2. As for the cycling stability, the initial specific capacitance decreases only from 4.56 F cm−2 to 3.35 F cm−2 after 1000 cycles under a current density of 30 mA cm−2.

Label-free aptamer-based electrochemical impedance biosensor for 17β-estradiol

A novel aptamer-based label-free electrochemical impedance spectroscopy biosensor for 17β-estradiol has been fabricated. The aptamers were firstly immobilized on the gold electrode through Au-S interaction; the aptamer probe was then bound with the addition of 17β-estradiol to form the estradiol/aptamer complex on the electrode surface. This leads to a significantly larger interfacial electron transfer resistance than that without the addition of 17β-estradiol. The change in the resistance had a linear relationship with 17β-estradiol concentration in the range of 1.0 × 10(-8) to 1.0 × 10(-11) mol L(-1), with a detection limit of 2.0 × 10(-12) mol L(-1). The biosensor showed high selectivity to 17β-estradiol and good stability. The designed biosensor has been applied to detect 17β-estradiol in human urine with satisfactory results.

An ultrasensitive colorimeter assay strategy for p53 mutation assisted by nicking endonuclease signal amplification

A novel catalytic colorimetric assay assisted by nicking endonuclease signal amplification (NESA) was developed. With the signal amplification, the detection limit of the p53 target gene can be as low as 1 pM, which is nearly 5 orders of magnitude lower than that of other previously reported colorimetric DNA detection strategies based on catalytic DNAzyme.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy sensor for ascorbic acid based on copper(I) catalyzed click chemistry.

Copper(I) species can be acquired from the reduction of copper(II) by ascorbic acid (AA) in situ, and which in turn quantitative catalyze the azides and alkynes cycloaddition reaction. In this study, propargyl-functionalized ferrocene (propargyl-functionalized Fc) has been modified on the electrode through reacting with azide terminal modified Au electrode via copper(I) catalyzed azides and alkynes cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement has been applied to test the electron transfer resistance of the Au electrode before and after click reaction. The changes of the fractional surface coverage (θ) with different AA concentrations are characterized. It is found that the θ value has a linear response to the logarithm of AA concentration in the range of 5.0 pmol/L to 1.0 nmol/L with the detection limits of 2.6 pmol/L. The sensor shows a good stability and selectivity. And it has been successfully applied to the AA detection in the real samples (urine) with satisfactory results.

Determination of copper(II) in the dairy product by an electrochemical sensor based on click chemistry.

Herein, a novel sensitive electrochemical sensor for copper(II) based on Cu(I) catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition reaction (CuAAC) is described. The catalyst of Cu(I) species is derived from electrochemical reduction of Cu(II) through bulk electrolysis (BE) with coulometry technique. The propargyl-functionalized ferrocene (propargyl-functionalized Fc) is covalently coupled onto the electrode surface via CuAAC reaction and forms propargyl-functionalized Fc modified gold electrode, which allows a good and stable electrochemical signal. The change of current at peak (dI), detected by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), exhibits a linear response to the logarithm of Cu(II) concentration in the range of 1.0×10(-14)-1.0×10(-9) mol L(-1). It is also found that the proposed sensor has a good selectivity for copper(II) assay even in the presence of other common metal ions. Additionally, the proposed method has been applied to determine copper(II) in the dairy product (yoghurt) with satisfactory results.

Design of a DNA electronic logic gate (INHIBIT gate) with an assaying application for Ag+ and cysteine

A DNA electronic logic gate (INHIBIT gate) with good selectivity and reversibility is developed based on using Ag(+) and Cys as inputs and current signal as output.

A novel nanocomposite particle of hydroxyapatite and silk fibroin: biomimetic synthesis and its biocompatibility

A novel bone-like biomaterial of hydroxyapatite (HAP) and silk fibroin (SF) composite was developed by biomimetic synthesis. The composite was precipitated from drops of Ca(OH)2 suspension and H3PO4 solution with SF. With this method, the HAP nanocrystals were obtained by self-assembling on a SF surface whose c-axis was aligned with the long-axis direction of SF in microstructures; this shares the same misconstrues of collagen and HAP with that in the natural bone. The HAP/SF composite then demonstrated that it could promote osteoblast proliferation in vitro and new bone formation in vivo. The novel biomaterial is a promising material for bone replacement and regeneration.

Rayleigh-like nonlinear dielectric response and its evolution during electrical fatigue in antiferroelectric (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 thin film

The Rayleigh-like nonlinear dielectric response and its evolution during electrical fatigue were systematically studied in antiferroelectric (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 thin film. It is shown that the nonlinearity of dielectric permittivity can be described by the Rayleigh law under subswitching conditions. Electrical fatigue tests demonstrate that both the saturated polarization and the reversible/irreversible Rayleigh parameters show significant degradation after 109 switching cycles. These phenomena could be explained by considering the growth of an interface degraded layer between the electrode and the film resulting from the charge injection induced by repetitive electrical switching during bipolar fatigue.

Energy Analysis for Permeable and Impermeable Cracks in Piezoelectric Materials

This letter deals with an energy analysis for both permeable and impermeable cracks in piezoelectric materials. Computed numerical results are plotted in figures, which support Park-Suns conclusion (1995a,b) that the total energy release rate (TERR) involving both mechanical and electric parts is not suitable to describe piezoelectric fracture for a plane impermeable crack because the two parts have different signs: the former is positive and the latter is always negative under any kinds of combined mechanical-electric loading. This provides the major reason as why the mechanical part (the mechanical strain energy release rate, MSERR) must be used as a fracture criterion empirically. Whereas the electric part of the TERR for a permeable crack does always vanish whatever the poling direction is oriented with respect to the remote electric loading direction. This finding supports McMeekings (1990, 1999) conclusion that the TERR could be used as a fracture criterion for permeable cracks.

Application of Smart Coating Sensor in Crack Detection for Aircraft

A novel smart coating sensor, consisted of driving layer, sensing layer and protective layer, has been successfully developed, and it was utilized to detect crack initiation and growth in fatigue tests. The results show that the smart coating sensor can detect cracks above 300μm, corresponding to the increment of the sensing layer’s resistance at the level of 0.05Ω. Subsequently, the development of SCS is of importance significance in the substitution of an existed inspection that requires substantial disassembly and surface preparation, and, thus, can find numerous applications in difficult-to-access locations on commercial and military aircrafts.