Artificial photosynthesis harnesses clean and sustainable solar power to catalyze the conversion of CO2 and H2O molecules into valuable chemicals and O2. This sustainable approach combines energy conversion with environmental pollution control. Non-oxide photocatalysts with broad visible-light absorption and suitable band structures, hold immense potential for CO2 conversion. Nevertheless, they still face numerous challenges in practical applications, particularly in CO2 conversion with H2O. Surface modification and functionalization play the significant role in improving the activity of non-oxide photocatalysts. Multifarious strategies, such as cocatalyst loading, surface regulation, doping engineering, and heterostructure construction, have been explored to optimize light harvesting, bandgap driving force, electron–hole pairs separation/transfer, CO2 adsorption, activation, and catalysis processes. This review summarizes recent progress in surface modification strategies for non-oxide photocatalysts and discusses their enhancement mechanisms for efficient CO2 conversion. These insights are expected to guide the design of high-performance non-oxide photocatalyst systems.

Exploring highly efficient, and low-cost oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts is extremely vital for the commercial application of advanced energy storage and conversion devices. Herein, a series of graphene-like C2N supported TMx@C2N, (TM = Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, x = 1, 2) single- and dual-atom catalysts are designed. Their catalytic performance is systematically evaluated by means of spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) computations coupled with hydrogen electrode model. Regulating metal atom and pairs can widely tune the catalytic performance. The most promising ORR/OER bifunctional activity can be realized on Cu2@ C2N with lowest overpotential of 0.46 and 0.38 V for ORR and OER, respectively. Ni2@ C2N and Ni@C2N can also exhibit good bifunctional activity through effectively balancing the adsorption strength of intermediates. The correlation of reaction overpotential with adsorption free energy is well established to track the activity and reveal the activity origin, indicating that catalytic activity is intrinsically governed by the adsorption strength of reaction intermediates. The key to achieve high catalytic activity is to effectively balance the adsorption of multiple reactive intermediates by means of the synergetic effect of suitably screened bimetal atoms. Our results also demonstrate that lattice strain can effectively regulate the adsorption free energies of reaction intermediates, regarding it as an efficient strategy to tune ORR/OER activity. This study could provide a significant guidance for the discovery and design of highly active noble-metal-free carbon-based ORR/OER catalysts.

This paper presents the construction and characterization of an amperometric immunosensor based on the graphene/gold nanoparticles (AuNPs/GO) nanocomposite for the detection of the bladder cancer biomarker, apolipoprotein A1 (Apo-A1). The morphological analysis of the AuNPs/GO nanocomposite demonstrated an almost spherical shape of AuNPs and the successful coverage of their surface by graphene oxide. An increased G peak and decreased D peak after the association of AuNPs with GO, implied a reduction in graphene defects. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated a significant decrease in the quantity of oxygen-containing functional groups in the AuNPs/GO nanocomposite, as compared to the original GO. Furthermore, the developed sensor demonstrated commendable sensitivity and selectivity, with a wide linear range for Apo-A1 detection. Importantly, the immunosensor exhibited remarkable stability over a period of 14 days, signifying its potential for practical applications.

In recent years, supercapacitors have attracted extensive attention due to their advantages such as fast charge and discharge rate, high power density and long cycle life. Because of its unique porous structure and excellent electrochemical properties, heteroatom-doped porous carbon (HPC) is deemed as a promising electrode material for supercapacitors. However, it is a great challenge to synthesize electrode materials with large surface area, ultra-high porosity and good electrochemical performance. In this work, two-dimensional conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) containing ketones were synthesized by a simple one-step coupling reaction and used as carbon precursors. A series of samples (CMP-Ts) were prepared with the procedures of coupling reaction and carbonization. The optimized carbon material has high specific surface area (up to 2229.85 m2 g− 1), porous structure, high specific capacitance (375 F g− 1 at 0.5 A g− 1), and good cycling stability (capacitance retention of 98.8% after 1000 cycles at 5 A g− 1). Further, the supercapacitor has an energy density of 28.8 Wh kg− 1 at a power density of 5000 W kg− 1. This work lays a foundation for the preparation of carbon materials using microporous polymer as a precursor system, provides a new way of thinking, and demonstrates a great potential of high-performance supercapacitors.

An all-perovskite oxide heterostructure composed of SrSnO3/Nb-doped SrTiO3 was fabricated using the pulsed laser deposition method. In-plane and out-of-plane structural characterization of the fabricated films were analyzed by x-ray diffraction with θ-2θ scans and φ scans. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement was performed to check the film’s composition. The electrical transport characteristic of the heterostructure was determined by applying a pulsed dc bias across the interface. Unusual transport properties of the interface between the SrSnO3 and Nb-doped SrTiO3 were investigated at temperatures from 100 to 300 K. A diodelike rectifying behavior was observed in the temperature-dependent current-voltage (IV) measurements. The forward current showed the typical IV characteristics of p-n junctions or Schottky diodes, and were perfectly fitted using the thermionic emission model. Two regions with different transport mechanism were detected, and the boundary curve was expressed by ln I = -1.28V - 13. Under reverse bias, however, the temperature- dependent IV curves revealed an unusual increase in the reverse-bias current with decreasing temperature, indicating tunneling effects at the interface. The Poole-Frenkel emission was used to explain this electrical transport mechanism under the reverse voltages.

In this study, phase-pure titanium dioxide TiO2 ceramics are sintered using standard high-temperature solid-state reaction technique at different temperatures (1,000, 1,100, 1,200, 1,300, 1,400 oC). The effect of sintering temperature on the densification and impedance properties of TiO2 ceramics is investigated. The bulk density and average grain size increase with the increase of sintering temperature. Impedance spectroscopy analysis (complex impedance Z * and complex modulus M *), performed in a broad frequency range from 100 Hz to 10 MHz, indicates that the TiO2 ceramics are dielectrically heterogeneous, consisting of grains and grain boundaries. The complex impedance Z *-plane indicates the resistance of grains of the TiO2 ceramics increases with increasing sintering temperature, while that of grain boundaries develops in the opposing direction. The complex modulus M *-plane shows a grain capacitance that seems to be independent of the sintering temperature, while that of the grain boundaries decreases with increasing sintering temperature. These results suggest that different sintering temperatures have effects on the microstructure, leading to changes in the impedance properties of TiO2 ceramics.

To improve the pyrolytic carbon (PyC) deposition rate of Carbon/Carbon (C/C) composites prepared by the traditional chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) method, the 3D Ni/wood-carbon (3D Ni/C) catalyst was introduced into the CVI process. The effects of catalyst on the density of C/C composites were studied, and the deposition rate and morphologies of PyC were investigated after catalytic CVI. The morphologies of catalyst and PyC were characterized by scanning electron microscope and polarized light microscopy. The catalytic deposition mechanism of PyC was studied by density functional theory. The experimental results show that the initial carbon deposition efficiency of the catalytic pyrolysis process was 3–4 times that of the noncatalytic process. The catalyst reduced the energy barrier in the first step of deposition reaction from 382.55 to 171.67 kJ/mol according to simulation results. The pyrolysis reaction energy with Ni catalyst is reduced by 54% than that without the catalyst.

Well-crystallized vanadium pentoxide V2O5 thin films are fabricated on MgO single crystal substrates by using pulsed-laser deposition technique. The linear optical transmission spectra are measured and found to be in a wavelength range from 300 to 800 nm; the data are used to determine the linear refractive index of the V2O5 films. The value of linear refractive index decreases with increasing wavelength, and the relationship can be well explained by Wemple’s theory. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of the films are determined by a single beam z-scan method at a wavelength of 532 nm. The results show that the prepared V2O5 films exhibit a fast third-order nonlinear optical response with nonlinear absorption coefficient and nonlinear refractive index of 2.13 × 10−10 m/W and 2.07 × 10−15 cm2/kW, respectively. The real and imaginary parts of the nonlinear susceptibility are determined to be 3.03 × 10−11 esu and 1.12 × 10−11 esu, respectively. The enhancement of the nonlinear optical properties is discussed.

Bi2MoO6 (BMO) via the structure-directing role of CO(NH2)2 is successfully prepared via a facile solvothermal route. The structure, morphology, and photocatalytic performance of the nanoflake BMO are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fluorescence spectrum analysis (PL), UV-vis spectroscopy (UVvis) and electrochemical test. SEM images show that the size of nanoflake BMO is about 50 ~ 200 nm. PL and electrochemical analysis show that the nanoflake BMO has a lower recombination rate of photogenerated carriers than particle BMO. The photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) by nanoflake BMO under visible light is investigated. The results show that the nanoflake BMO-3 has the highest degradation efficiency under visible light, and the degradation efficiency reached 75 % within 120 min, attributed to the unique hierarchical structure, efficient carrier separation and sufficient free radicals to generate active center synergies. The photocatalytic reaction mechanism of TC degradation on the nanoflake BMO is proposed.

Biomass porous carbons derived from Laminaria japonica were prepared by KOH and H3PO4 activation methods, respectively. The results indicated that the chemical activation had an apparent effect on the molecular framework and space of materials. To enhance the selective adsorption for organic acids, biomass carbons were modified by dopamine combined with N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane. The SEM and BET results illustrated the effect of the chemical activation approach on the morphology and porous texture. The biomass porous carbon using KOH activation method had the highest surface area (up to 1558 m2/ g). Compared with unmodified materials, the modified materials showed higher adsorption capacity for organic acids (27.90 μg/mL for chlorogenic acid and 25.47 μg/mL for caffeic acid). It was suggested that modification of porous carbons might be a viable pathway to increase the specific adsorption affinity and efficiency for organic acids in dried jujube samples.

Counterfeit luxury is big business in China (Chen et al. 2018). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates China to be the source of 86% of the world’s counterfeit luxury goods worth about $397bn (USCC 2016). Counterfeit luxury encompasses not only low quality replicas (Lai and Zaichkowsky 1999), but also high quality products that are appear almost identical to original brands. However, the price of high quality counterfeits amounts in many cases to only 10% of that of the originals (Geiger-Oneto et al. 2013). This makes high quality counterfeit luxury brands a major threat to established luxury brands. Luxury brand marketers, therefore, require a better understanding of what motivates target consumers to purchase either original or counterfeit luxury brands.

Inspired by the success of the Dove real beauty campaign, companies such as Amazon Fashion, Nike and Walmart have started to adopt authentic branding strategies, i.e., strategies based on the use of ordinary looking models to reflect real consumers in brand communications (e.g., Zombeck, 2015). Authentic branding is an alternative to the strategy of aspirational branding, where companies use “attractive” models to communicate that consuming their brands will bring consumers closer to an idealized view of themselves (e.g., being an attractive person like the models in the ads; D'Alessandro and Chitty, 2011). However, the body of evidence on their superiority over aspirational strategies is inconclusive. We expand knowledge on aspirational vs. authentic branding strategies by focusing on a new context of major economic importance for brand marketers, China, as well as by testing the moderating effect of a to date not considered contingency: local vs. foreign brand origin perceptions (i.e., low vs. high perceived brand foreignness). Data was gathered through an online survey of non-student consumers based in China recruited through Qualtrics online survey panels (n=623). Tests of reliability, convergent and discriminant validity of the measurement models deliver overall satisfactory results. R2 and Q2 values demonstrate that the tested models show good explanatory power and predictive relevance of emotional brand attachment (R2 = 0.699 to 0.759; Q2 = 0.527 to 0.696). Results support H1, as authentic branding has a positive effect on emotional brand attachment (β = 0. 293, p < 0.001), thus adding support to the efficacy of authentic branding strategies across West and East. Results also support H2, as aspirational branding has a positive effect on emotional brand attachment (β =0.598, p < 0.001). These findings support recent evidence from the UK and USA (e.g., Japutra et al., 2017) yet are out of line with recent studies in Switzerland and India, which fail to support this link (e.g., Malär et al., 2011). Results support H3, as aspirational branding has as stronger effect on EBA than authentic branding (t = 4.603, p < 0.001). Our findings question recent evidence suggesting a generic superiority of authentic over aspirational branding (e.g., Japutra et al., 2017). Results support H4, as for brands perceived as local, the effect of aspirational branding on EBA is significantly stronger than that of authentic branding (t= 4.125, p < 0.001). Thus, results support the notion that brands low on social signalling value, i.e., those perceived as local, can develop stronger attachment with consumers when they employ aspirational strategies. Finally, results do not support H5, as the data shows that for brands perceived as foreign, aspirational branding (β = 0.536, p < 0.001) still has a significantly stronger effect (t= 2.123, p < 0.05) on EBA than authentic branding (β =0.339, p < 0.001). In other words, brands perceived as foreign can still benefit from conveying aspiration over authenticity.

The judicial protection of IP is the most important and fundamental guarantee for the protection of IP in China. The judicial protection system of IP in China has experienced the development procedure of setting up a special pilot tribunal, "three-hearing-in-one" and a special court. The establishment and operation of IP courts in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou marks the establishment of the new hearing system for IP dispute in China. The founding and operation of IP courts have an in-depth background. With the rapid development of the economy in China, especially since the entrance of the WTO, there have been more IP cases and they constitute huge challenges for adjudication of IP disputes in China. In this regard, the IP courts is a good way to cope with. The establishment of IP courts will undoubtedly has deeper influence and significance in the judicial

중국의 버섯 총생산액은 2,356억 위안(2014년)으 로서 2000년(227억 위안)에 비하여 10배 증가하였 으며, 년 평균 18.2%의 속도로 발전하였다. 품목 은 표고, 느타리, 풀버섯, 털목이 등과 같은 대중 품목과 은이, 맛버섯, 노루궁댕이, 먹물버섯, 백령 고, 큰느타리, 차신고, 죽순, 신령버섯, 산느타리, 독청버섯아재비, 장근고, 느티만가닥버섯 등과 같 은 희귀버섯이 있으며 영지, 천마, 동충하초, 복령 을 대표로 하는 약용버섯과 송이, 그물버섯, 송로, 곰보버섯을 대표로 하는 야생버섯 산업도 발전시 켰다. 중국의 버섯 총 생산량은 1978년에 6만톤 (전세계의 5.66%)에 불과하였으나 1990년에 100만 톤을 돌파하였다. 2004년도에는 2,828만톤으로 세 계 총 생산량의 70% 이상을 차지하였으며, 2014 년에 3,532만톤에 달하는 등 생산량은 년평균 성 장속도는 12.7%이다. 중국에서 버섯 생산량이 제 일 많은 성은 하남성이며, 복건성은 중국에서 제 일 먼저 버섯을 재배했으며 품목이 제일 많고 생 산방법과 기술수준이 제일 높은 지역이다. 이 외 에도 산둥성, 하북성, 강소성, 사천성, 흑룡강성 등도 생산량이 100만톤을 넘기고 있으며 이들 지 역에서 생산는 버섯은 중국 전체 생산량의 63% 를 차지한다. 중국에서의 육종분야에서 유량균주 선발은 버섯 연구에서 매우 중요한 사업으로서 육종가들의 부단한 노력으로 흑목이, 느티만가닥, 복령 등 새로운 품목들을 개발하였다. 또한 식용 균 재배용 종균 배지의 배합과 이용, 재배방법의 개진, 전간관리, 병충해방제 등 분야에서 새로운 연구성과들을 취득하였다. 버섯에 함유한 활성 물 질에 대한 연구는 국내외 적으로 많은 관심을 불 러일으키며 생물활성 물질에 대한 연구는 수백가 지에 달하고 이미 몇천가지 활성물질이 내포되어 있다고 알려져 있다.

There may be not direct path from the psychological selection by the customers to the green behavior owing to the complexity of the green consumption. The specific mode of action still needs being further researched. This paper will research the specific path and mechanism of customer’s green consumption based on VBN theory. Based on a survey of Chinese respondents, environment values bring indirect influence to green customer behavior through individual belief or subjective norm intermediately. However, there are different paths from value to behavior. One path is that egoistic value-subjective norm-green customer behavior while another path is that altruistic value-environment beliefs-subjective norm-green customer behavior which really fits into previous research of VBN theory.

Three kinds of porous polymer were synthesized using a solvothermal of tri-4,4’- diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI-trimer) and different diamino monomers. The effects of the synthesis conditions and the monomer selection on the synthesis of porous polymer properties were studied. The results show that the synthesis of NH2-containing monomer molecules smaller the microporous polymers was easy to implement; the specific surface areas of the polymers are related to the monomer ratio and the reaction time. The results show that the synthesized porous polymer had good hydrogen storage performance; the hydrogen storage ability improved with the addition of heterocyclic nitrogen.

The 47th Session of the UNCITRAL finalized the draft Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration. It aims to provide a mechanism to allow the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency to be applied to investment dispute arbitrations mandated by investment treaties concluded before April 1, 2014. This paper intends to examine these UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency and the draft Convention on Transparency. It is particularly in contrast with the relevant rules in the NAFTA, the U.S. Model BIT 2012 and the ICSID Rules 2006, to see if transparency can be enhanced in treaty-based investor-State arbitrations and to extrapolate the implications of the Rules on Transparency and the draft Convention for China’s strategy in BIT or FTA negotiations amid the trendy advancement of transparency standards.