Nowadays, the development of plant extracts as corrosion inhibitors to protect metals from corrosion is a popular research direction. However, given the vast diversity of plant species in nature, it is imperative to explore effective methods to improve screening efficiency in order to quickly identify the corrosion inhibition potential of plants. In this work, a new strategy for developing plant-extracted eco-friendly corrosion inhibitors based on the family and genus of plants is proposed. Three plants of different genera in the Asteraceae family, including Artemisia argyi extract (AAE), Chrysanthemum indicum extract (CIE), and Centipeda minima extract (CME), were selected and successfully prepared as novel corrosion inhibitors for Q235 steel in a sulfuric acid solution. The corrosion inhibition behavior and corresponding mechanism were systematically investigated by using some electrochemical tests (open circuit potential, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and surface characterizations (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy). The experimental results illustrated that the main components of the three extracts were similar and that when combined with KI as mixed-type corrosion inhibitors, they could dramatically slow down the metal corrosion rate. The maximum value of the corrosion inhibition efficiency reached 96.29%, 96.50%, and 97.52%, respectively, at 200 mg/L and could increase to 98.64%, 97.65%, and 99.06%, respectively, with a prolonged immersion time. A synergistic effect exists between the three plant extracts and KI, leading to the firm adsorption of the three plant extract molecules onto a Q235 steel surface, thereby forming a robust protective film. This work demonstrated that plants of different genera in the Asteraceae family possessed similar corrosion inhibition capabilities, providing a novel way to select potential corrosion inhibitors from numerous plants based on family and genus classification.

Solid-state nanopores have been proven as a powerful platform for label-free single-molecule analysis. However, due to its relatively low resolution and selectivity, developing biosensors with good translocation signals faces two significant challenges: (1) small-sized chemical or biological targets show difficulty in producing recognizable translocation signals because of their weak interaction with the nanopore and (2) protein interferents that widely exist in biological samples or buffers would considerably deteriorate the noise level of the nanopore, submerging the translocation signal. Herein, we demonstrate an effective way to overcome both the challenges. DNA cubes were used as signal transducers that can achieve an ultra-high (>50 : 1) signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) translocation signal, which is maintained even in protein interferent-rich buffers. A sensing strategy was constructed via hepatitis B virus (HBV) target-triggered cleavage of the component elements of the DNA cube with the assistance of the CRISPR–Cas12a technology, which caused a great drop in the translocation rate. The elements to cleave were optimized, and the sensor performance was tested in different protein stabilizer-rich buffers and human serum. Coupling with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) pre-amplification technology, HBV-positive or -negative classification was achieved with the detection limit reaching 5 aM. It is worth noting that in our method, all reaction buffers were directly used without further optimization, which is of great help for the practical application of solid-state nanopores.

P–CoCO₃/CF was developed by a simple hydrothermal–annealing approach, exhibiting ultra-high electrocatalytic performances for the HER, OER and HzOR.

Non-classical acid–base neutralization reactions of ammonia borane (NH₃·BH₃, AB) with acetic acids are moderate, affected by strengths of acetic acid and its chloro derivatives, and concentrations and ratios of reactants. The experiment results indicate that only one hydridic hydrogen of B–H in AB is substituted and fortunately, four ammonia B-monoacyloxy boranes (NH₃·BH₂OOCR, R = CH_nCl_3−n, n = 0–3) are prepared. Two single crystals of 2NH₃BH₂OOCCH₂Cl·C₁₂H₂₄O₆ and 2NH₃BH₂OOCCHCl₂·C₁₂H₂₄O₆ were obtained and analyzed first. Theoretical calculations demonstrated that these reactions are two-step elimination-addition process that takes advantage of the formation of dihydrogen bonds (DHBs) and hydrogen bonds (HBs), and aminoborane (NH₂BH₂, AoB) is identified as the key intermediate.