The selective oxidation of organic small molecules not only promotes cathodic hydrogen production, but also acts as an alternative reaction to the anodic oxygen evolution reaction of electrolytic water, producing value-added products at the anode. In this context, a bimetallic Ni–Co based oxide with a controllable ratio is prepared, acting as a high-performance electrocatalyst for the coupling reaction between the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The optimal Ni_0.67Co_0.33O_x nanoparticle (NP) anodic electrode, with Pt wire as the cathode, achieved a current density of 126 mA cm⁻² at a fixed potential of 1.6 V (versus RHE) and an ethanol-to-acetate Faraday efficiency of 85.74%. Additionally, the anodic EOR can be coupled with the hydrogen evolution reaction on the Co₃O₄-based cathode, only requiring a cell voltage of 1.6 V to generate a current density up to 145 mA cm⁻². Further density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that moderate doping of Co atoms helps to reduce the total energy barrier of the dehydrogenation reaction and the energy of the rate-limiting step. Our study provides insightful findings for enhanced hydrogen production with electrochemical conversion into acetate from ethanol in alkaline media.

Hydrogel wound dressing for irregular shape and deep wound repair is a research hotspot. Herein, a multifunctional and self-adaptive double-layer hydrogel was constructed, which was comprised of chitosan-based inner layer hydrogel and gellan gum-based outer layer hydrogel. Various properties of inner layer hydrogel were systematically investigated, including injectability, shape-adaptability, solid-liquid phase transition, biocompatibility, hemostasis, antibacterial performance and anti-inflammatory. Thanks to the phase-transition from solid to liquid at body temperature, inner layer hydrogel exhibited stronger adaptability to fill irregular and deep wounds, in which chitosan was liquefied and its therapeutic effect was maximized. Outer layer hydrogel was fabricated by calcium ions and gellan gum, whose certain mechanical strength could provide protection and a moister environment for wounds. Because of these characteristics, double-layer hydrogel markedly promoted skin tissue regeneration and wound closure and thereby possessed potential clinical application prospect as wound dressing for deep wounds.

In this contribution, the three Mn-Zr catalysts with Mn_xZr_1−xO₂ hybrid phase were synthesized by two-step precipitation route (TP), conventional coprecipitation method (CP) and ball milling process (MP). The components, textural and redox properties of the Mn-Zr hybrid catalysts were studied via XRD, BET, XPS, HR-TEM, H₂-TPR. Regarding the variation of synthesis routes, the TP and CP routes offer a more obvious advantage in the adjustment of the concentration of Mn_xZr_1−xO₂ solid solution compared to the MP process, which directly commands the content of Mn⁴⁺ and oxygen vacancy and lattice oxygen, and thereby leads to the enhanced mobility of reactive oxygen species and catalytic activity for toluene combustion. Moreover, the TP-Mn2Zr3 catalyst with the enriched exposure content of 51.4% for the defective (111) lattice plane of Mn_xZr_1−xO₂ exhibited higher catalytic activity and thermal stability for toluene oxidation than that of the CP-Mn2Zr3 sample with a value of 49.3%. This new observation will provide a new perspective on the design of bimetal catalysts with a higher VOCs combustion abatement.

To prevent local tumor recurrence caused by possible residual cancer cells after surgery, avoid toxicity of systemic chemotherapy and protect the fragile immune system of postsurgical patients, an increasing amount of attention has been paid to local anti–cancer drug delivery systems. In this paper, golden buckwheat was first applied to prevent post–operative tumor recurrence, which is a Chinese herb and possesses anti–tumor activity. Golden buckwheat extract–loaded gellan gum injectable hydrogels were fabricated via Ca²⁺ crosslinking for localized chemotherapy. Blank and/or drug–loaded hydrogels were characterized via FT–IR, TG, SEM, density functional theory, drug release and rheology studies to explore the interaction among gellan gum, Ca²⁺ and golden buckwheat extract (GBE). Blank hydrogels were non–toxic to NIH3T3 cells. Of significance, GBE and GBE–loaded hydrogel inhibited the proliferation of tumor cells (up to 90% inhibition rate in HepG2 cells). In vitro hemolysis assay showed that blank hydrogel and GBE–loaded hydrogel had good blood compatibility. When GBE–loaded hydrogel was applied to the incompletely resected tumor of mice bearing B16 tumor xenografts, it showed inhibition of tumor growth in vivo and induced the apoptosis of tumor cells. Taken together, gellan gum injectable hydrogel containing GBE is a potential local anticancer drug delivery system for the prevention of postsurgical tumor recurrence.