Phosphate is added to Pb-contaminated soils to induce lead immobilization through lead phosphate precipitation. Organic coatings on soils, which may affect heterogeneous lead phosphate nucleation, can impact the effectiveness of lead immobilization. Here, SiO2 surfaces were coated with silanol self-assembled thin films terminated with −COOH and −OH functional groups to act as model organic coatings on soil particles. Using grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS), heterogeneous lead phosphate nucleation on coatings was measured from mixed Pb(NO3)2 and Na2HPO4/NaH2PO4 solutions at pH 7 with varied ionic strengths (IS = 0.58, 4, and 11 mM). Raman spectroscopy identified the homogeneous precipitates in solution as hydroxylpyromorphite (Pb5(PO4)3OH). The smallest lead phosphate nuclei (4.5 ± 0.5 nm) were observed on −COOH coatings, which resulted from the highest level of lead and phosphate ion adsorption on −COOH coatings. The IS of the solution also affected the sizes of the heterogeneous precipitates on −COOH coating, with smaller nuclei (1.3 ± 0.4 nm) forming under higher IS (4 and 11 mM). This study provided new findings that can improve our understanding of lead immobilization in contaminated soil environments.
Despite the rapid progress that has been made in increasing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs) over the past decade, it is a challenge to realize efficient and environment-friendly OSCs. In this contribution, all polymer solar cells were fabricated with a blend of poly[4,8-bis(5-(2ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-co-3-fluorothieno[3,4-b]thiophene-2-carboxylate](PTB7Th) donor and vinylene-bridged perylenediimide-based polymer (PDI-V) acceptor, in which non-halogenated tetrahydrofuran (THF) was used as the host solvent. A conventional ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/PTB7-Th:PDI-V/zirconium device structure of ITO/poly(3,4acetylacetonate(ZrAcac)/Al was employed, where PEDOT:PSS functioned as the hole transporting layer (HTL) and ZrAcac functioned as the electron transporting layer (ETL). The mixed solution of PTB7-Th and PDI-V was spin cast on the top of PEDOT:PSS layer to form the active layer. After that, ZrAcac solution was spin cast on the top of PTB7-Th:PDI-V layer. Different thermal annealing temperatures were used to optimize the active layer morphology. In details, OSCs without thermal annealing showed a PCE of 7.1%, with a short-circuit current (JSC) of 14.9 mA/cm2, an open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.74 V, and a fill factor (FF) of 64%. The devices annealed at 120 °C showed a high PCE of 8.1% with a JSC of 15.5 mA/cm2, a VOC of 0.74 V, and a FF of 70%. Further increasing the annealing temperature to 150 °C led to decreased FF and thereby a relatively lower PCE (7.4%). To the best of our knowledge, the PCE of ~ 8.1% is one of the highest PCE values reported in the literature so far for all polymer solar cells. The high and balanced hole and electron mobility partially contributed to such a high performance. These results suggest that THF as good non-halogenated solvent can be used to fabricate high-performance all polymer solar cells. Higher efficiency can be achieved for OSCs with THF solvent when better polymer acceptors are employed. 以聚合物PTB7-Th为给体、聚合物PDI-V为受体和四氢呋喃为溶剂，构筑了全聚合物太阳能电池.PTB7-Th与PDI-V光谱互补，有效地拓宽了活性层在可见光区的吸收范围，这有利于提高光电流.在器件优化过程中，发现热退火的方法可以有效地提高器件的光伏性能.尽管热退火处理对器件的开路电压影响不大，但是可以一定程度上提高器件的短路电流和填充因子，从而将电池的效率从7.1%提高到8.1%.8.1%的效率也是目前采用非卤素溶剂加工的基于苝酰亚胺类聚合物受体电池效率的最高值.该实验结果表明，四氢呋喃作为一种低毒性的有机非卤素溶剂，可以用来制备高性能有机光伏器件.
AIM: To determine whether weight-loss diets varying in macronutrients modulate the genetic effect of hepatocyte nuclear factor 1alpha (HNF1A) rs7957197 on weight loss and improvement of insulin resistance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed the interaction between HNF1A rs7957197 and weight-loss diets with regard to weight loss and insulin resistance improvement among 722 overweight/obese adults from a 2-year randomized weight-loss trial, the POUNDS Lost trial. The findings were replicated in another independent 2-year weight-loss trial, the Dietary Intervention Randomized Controlled Trial (DIRECT), in 280 overweight/obese adults. RESULTS: In the POUNDS Lost trial, we found that a high-fat diet significantly modified the genetic effect of HNF1A on weight loss and reduction in waist circumference (P for interaction = .006 and .005, respectively). Borderline significant interactions for fasting insulin and insulin resistance (P for interaction = .07 and .06, respectively) were observed. We replicated the results in DIRECT. Pooled results showed similar significant interactions with weight loss, waist circumference reduction, and improvement in fasting insulin and insulin resistance (P values for interaction = .001, .005, .02 and .03, respectively). Greater decreases in weight, waist circumference, fasting insulin level and insulin resistance were observed in participants with the T allele compared to those without the T allele in the high-fat diet group (P = .04, .03 and .01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our replicable findings provide strong evidence that individuals with the HNF1A rs7957197 T allele might obtain more benefits in weight loss and improvement of insulin resistance by choosing a hypocaloric and high-fat diet.