Magnetic Nanospheres Research Articles

Highly sensitive and simultaneous detection of microRNAs in serum using stir-bar assisted magnetic DNA nanospheres-encoded probes

There are critical interests in the detection of microRNA (miRNA) because it can be a blood-borne biomarker, but analytical strategies are still limited by its small size, high sequence homology among family members and low abundance. In this work, three-dimensional magnetic DNA nanospheres were synthesized and immobilized on a gold stir-bar as encoded probes for miRNA capture and signal amplification. Electrochemical tags-labeled DNAs were immobilized on gold coated magnetic nanospheres via a hyperbranched hybridization chain reaction (HHCR). Subsequently, the magnetic DNA nanospheres were immobilized on the gold stir-bar as encoded probes. Target miRNAs were captured on the surface of the stir-bar by replacing the magnetic DNA nanospheres-encoded probes, and the probes were magnetically enriched for highly sensitive and selective electrochemical detection. The gold stir-bar assisted magnetic DNA nanospheres-encoded probes possess dual functions: They are as a nanocarrier to increase the loading amounts of HHCR products, and they are also a platform for efficient electrochemical signal amplification via magnetic enrichment. The method was successfully applied for the detection of miRNA21 and miRNA155 in a wide linear range of 5 fM to 2 nM, and with detection limits of 1.5 fM and 1.8 fM, respectively. The preliminary application of the method suggests that it has great potential in the detection of miRNAs in serum samples.

Controllable Synthesis of Mesoporous Multipods for Enhanced Nano-bio Interactions

Precise manipulation of surface topology has been being a great challenge for the fabrication of functional nanomaterials. Very recently Zhao and coworkers developed a surface-kinetic mediated multi-site nucleation strategy to precisely control the nucleation number of periodic mesoporous organosilicas(PMOs) on the surface of magnetic nanospheres. The as-prepared mesoporous multipods(especially the Tribulus-like tetra-pods mesoporous nanoparticles) present high bacteria adhesion efficiency through multivalent interactions, which are expected to be the promising candidates for future antibacterial applications. This work has been published online in the Nature Communications in September 26, 2019.

Core-shell structured magnetic mesoporous carbon nanospheres derived from metal-polyphenol coordination polymer-coated Fe3 O4 and its application in the enrichment of phthalates from water samples.

In this work, core-shell structured magnetic mesoporous carbon nanospheres were fabricated from the carbonization of metal-polyphenol coordination polymer-coated Fe3 O4 nanoparticles. The preparation method is simple, fast, versatile, and easy to scale up. Magnetic mesoporous carbon nanospheres exhibit a high specific surface area, high superparamagnetism, and high adsorption efficiencies for phthalates. Four phthalates were extracted from aqueous solutions by using magnetic mesoporous carbon nanospheres via magnetic solid phase extraction. Subsequent analysis was performed by using high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. The analytical method has good linearity in the concentration range of 1-200ng/mL for diethyl phthalate, diisobutyl phthalate, and dicyclohexyl phthalate, and 3-200ng/mL for dipropyl phthalate. The limits of detection were in the range of 0.10-0.62ng/mL. Compared with previous methods, this method has a lower detection limit, wider linearity range, and faster adsorption and desorption rates. The results indicate that magnetic mesoporous carbon nanospheres are suitable for the enrichment of hydrophobic substances from aqueous solutions.

Synthesis of magnetic CuFe2O4 self-assembled hollow nanospheres and its application for degrading methylene blue

Using ethylene glycol as solvent and PVP as structure-directing agent, CuFe2O4 nanospheres were successfully prepared by solvothermal method. The crystal structure, morphology, magnetic properties, and pore-size distribution of samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, VSM, and BET, respectively. The effects of various preparation factors on the crystal form and morphology of the obtained samples were systematically discussed. The result exhibited that the self-assembled hollow nanospheres with good crystal form and morphology are obtained under the conditions of 0.50 g PVP, 9 mmol NaAc, reaction temperature of 180 °C, and reaction time of 24 h. The catalytic activity of CuFe2O4 hollow nanospheres was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and the possible degradation mechanism and pathway of MB in the CuFe2O4/H2O2 photo-Fenton-like system were proposed. In addition, the properties of CuFe2O4 particles prepared by different methods were compared and analyzed. The sample synthesized by solvothermal method has a large specific surface area and excellent magnetic properties. Furthermore, the increase in the photoelectric response and the conductivity are beneficial to the improvement of catalytic performance.

Amino bearing core-shell structured magnetic covalent organic framework nanospheres: Preparation, postsynthetic modification with phenylboronic acid and enrichment of monoamine neurotransmitters in human urine

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been increasingly employed in separation science, including sample preparation. Herein we fabricated the amino bearing core-shell structured COFs nanospheres [Fe3O4@TpBD(NH2)2], and a novel magnetic boronate affinity adsorbent was synthesized by postsynthetic modification of the Fe3O4@TpBD(NH2)2 with 2-formylphenylboronic acid. The magnetic boronate affinity adsorbent possesses fast magnetic response and high binding capacity up to 1037 μmol g−1 for dopamine. Besides, it was used as an adsorbent for extraction of urinary monoamine neurotransmitters at neutral pH. A method for detection of the monoamine neurotransmitters was developed by coupling the magnetic solid phase extraction with high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection. Under the optimized conditions, a good analytical method was obtained in the linear dynamic range of 2–200 ng mL−1 with R2 between 0.9917 and 0.9966, with low limit of detection (0.31–0.54 ng mL−1) and limit of quantification (1.04–1.80 ng mL−1). The recoveries of the monoamine neurotransmitters were in the range of 86.3–115%, with relative standard deviations of 2.34–10.5% (intra-day) and 2.84–14.4% (inter-day). The method was successfully applied to the determination of the monoamine neurotransmitters in human urine samples. This work is of great importance for preparing functionalized core-shell structured magnetic covalent organic framework nanospheres, it also demonstrates the feasibility of the functionalized magnetic COFs as adsorbents in sample pretreatment.

Magnetic Manganese Oxide Sweetgum-Ball Nanospheres with Large Mesopores Regulate Tumor Microenvironments for Enhanced Tumor Nanotheranostics.

An important objective of cancer nanomedicine is to improve the delivery efficacy of functional agents to solid tumors for effective cancer imaging and therapy. Stimulus-responsive nanoplatforms can target and regulate the tumor microenvironment (TME) for the optimization of cancer theranostics. Here, we developed magnetic manganese oxide sweetgum-ball nanospheres (MMOSs) with large mesopores as tools for improved cancer theranostics. MMOSs contain magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and mesoporous manganese oxide (MnO2) nanosheets, which are assembled into gumball-like structures on magnetic iron oxides. The large mesopores of MMOSs are suited for cargo loading with chlorin e6 (Ce6) and doxorubicin (DOX), thus producing so-called CD@MMOSs. The core of magnetic iron oxides could achieve magnetic targeting of tumors under a magnetic field (0.25 mT), and the targeted CD@MMOSs may decompose under TME conditions, thereby releasing loaded cargo molecules and reacting with endogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to generate oxygen (O2) and manganese (II) ions (Mn2+). Investigation in vivo in tumor-bearing mice models showed that the CD@MMOS nanoplatforms achieved TME-responsive cargo release, which might be applied in chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy. A remarkable in vivo synergy of diagnostic and therapeutic functionalities was achieved by the decomposition of CD@MMOSs and coadministration with chemo-photodynamic therapy of tumors using the magnetic targeting mechanism. Thus, the result of this study demonstrates the feasibility of smart nanotheranostics to achieve tumor-specific enhanced combination therapy.

<g class="gr_ gr_3 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="3" data-gr-id="3">Magnetogel Nanospheres Composed of Cisplatin-Loaded Alginate/BCyclodextrinas Controlled Release Drug Delivery

Purpose: The main aim of the present study was to design, fabrication and physicochemical characteristics of the magnetogel nanospheres as carriers for Cisplatin in the in vitro environment. Methods: Magnetic nanospheres were synthesized by using a chemical co-precipitation method and coated by sodium alginate through double emulsion method. Then cisplatin was encapsulated into β-cyclodextrin -sodium alginate grafted magnetic nanospheres. The physicochemical properties of the sodium alginate grafted magnetic nanospheres were characterized by using FTIR, particle size analyzing, vibrating sample magnetometry, thermogravimetric and SEM analysis. Also the drug entrapment efficiency, content and in vitro release profile were investigated. Results: Size distribution results revealed that the particles size was distributed in the range of 50± nm. Also morphological properties showed that particles are separated and spherical with the grafted layers of the polymer. The release profile data were in the acceptable range compared to the blank (cisplatin solution). Conclusion: It could be concluded that the sodium alginate grafted magnetic nanospheres could act as a slow and controlled release system to deliver cisplatin.

1428P - Circulating tumour cell detection in epithelial ovarian cancer using dual-component antibodies targeting EpCAM and FRα

BackgroundCirculating tumor cell (CTC) detection methods based on epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) have low detection rates in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Meanwhile, folate receptor alpha (FRα) has high expression in EOC cells. We explored the feasibility of combining FRα and EpCAM as CTC capture targets in EOC. MethodsEpCAM and FRα antibodies were linked to magnetic nanospheres (MNs) using the principle of carbodiimide chemistry. Blood samples from healthy donor spiked with A2780 ovarian cancer cells were used for detecting the capture rate. Ninety-five blood samples from 30 patients with EOC were used for comparing the positive rate of detection when using anti-EpCAM-MNs alone with that when using combination of anti-EpCAM-MNs and anti-FRα-MNs. Samples from 28 patients initially diagnosed with EOC and who did not undergo any treatment and 20 patients with ovarian benign disease were used for evaluating the sensitivity and specificity of combination of anti-EpCAM-MNs and anti-FRα-MNs. ResultsRegression analysis between the number of recovered and that of spiked A2780 cells revealed yEpCAM = 0.535x (R2 = 0.99), yFRα = 0.901x (R2 = 0.99) and yEpCAM+FRα = 0.928x (R2 = 0.99). In mixtures of A2780 and MCF7 cells, the capture rate was 92% using the combination of anti-EpCAM-MNs and anti-FRα-MNs, exceeding the rate when using anti-EpCAM-MNs or anti-FRα-MNs alone by approximately 20% (P<0.01). The combination of anti-EpCAM-MNs and anti-FRα-MNs showed significantly increased positive rate compared with anti-EpCAM-MNs alone (χ2 = 14.45, P<0.001). Sensitivity values were 0.536 and 0.75 when using anti-EpCAM-MNs alone and when using the combination of anti-EpCAM-MNs and anti-FRα-MNs, respectively. Specificity values were 0.9 and 0.85, respectively. The combination of anti-EpCAM-MNs and anti-FRα-MNs improved the sensitivity of CTC detection in patients with newly diagnosed EOC (χ2 = 4.17; P=0.041). ConclusionsThe combination of FRα and EpCAM is feasible as a CTC capture target of CTC detection in patients with EOC. Legal entity responsible for the studyThe authors. FundingThe NNSFC (National Natural Science Foundation of China) (81802980, 81770169, 81670144) and the Health Committee Research Project Fund of Hubei Province (WJ2019M179). DisclosureAll authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Magnetic carbon nanospheres: Synthesis, characterization, and adsorbability towards quinoline from coking wastewater

Magnetic carbon nanospheres (MCNSs) dotting with Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple solvothermal method. Furtherly, KOH activation and HNO3 acidification of MCNSs were carried out to tune surface structure and property of MCNSs for the sake of adsorption improvement. The results show that both MCNSs and modified MCNSs (MCNSs-KH) have magnetic properties, and can be used as adsorbents for rapid separation and reutilization towards quinoline in coking wastewater. After KOH activation and HNO3 acidification, the saturated adsorption capacity of MCNSs-KH is improved to 297.21 mg g−1, much better than that of MCNSs (99.43 mg g−1). According to BET and NH3-TPD characterizations, KOH activation introduced a large number of pore structures, which significantly increased the specific surface area of MCNSs; HNO3 acidification further increased the surface acidity of MCNSs, especially CO functional group, which promoted the acid–base interaction with weakly basic quinoline. From the results of adsorption kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamics, the spontaneous and exothermic adsorption process conformed to pseudo-second-order and Langmuir–Freundlich models better.

Synthesis of Platinum Nanoparticles with High Catalytic Activity Supported on Magnetic Carbon Nanospheres

In this work, the Pt NPs/Fe3O4-DIB-DETA-CNSs nanohybrids have been synthesized through in situ deposition of uniform Pt and Fe3O4 NPs on the surface of carbon nanospheres. The resulting nanohybrids exhibit good catalytic performance and stability in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol in aqueous solution. Meanwhile, they can be easily separated through an external magnet, and their catalytic properties were also viable even after ten cycles. The unusual catalytic activity should be ascribed to the effects of the Pt NPs anchored on carbon nanospheres.

Electrochemical Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells Based on DNA Generated Electrochemical Current and Rolling Circle Amplification

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are important indicators for tumor diagnosis and tumor metastasis. However, the extremely low levels of CTCs in peripheral blood challenges the precise detection of CTCs. Herein, we report DNA generated electrochemical current combined with rolling circle amplification (RCA) as well as magnetic nanospheres for highly efficient magnetic capture and ultrasensitive detection of CTCs. The antiepithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) antibody-modified magnetic nanospheres were used to capture and enrich CTCs. The following binding of an aptamer onto the CTC surface and the subsequent RCA assembled a significant amount of DNA molecules onto the electrode. The reaction of the DNA molecules with molybdate can then form redox molybdophosphate and produce an electrochemical current. Using the breast cancer cell MCF-7 as a model, the sensor displays good performances toward detection of MCF-7 that was spiked into peripheral blood. The signal amplification strategy integrated with a magnetic nanosphere platform exhibits good performance in the efficient capture and detection of CTCs, which may find wide potential in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.

Synthesis, characterization, and luminescence properties of BiVO4:Eu3+ embedded Fe3O4@mSiO2 nanoparticles

Magnetic Fe3O4 nanospheres with high dispersion, high saturation magnetization and narrow particle size distribution were synthesized by a CaF2 mediated solvothermal method. Next, a nonporous silica layer and a mesoporous silica (mSiO2) layer were uniformly coated on the surface of the magnetic nanospheres sequentially to form Fe3O4@mSiO2 nanoparticles. It was shown that the pore size and thickness of the mSiO2 shell could be fine-tuned by adjusting the composition of the double-template micelle system consisting of a partially fluorinated short-chain anionic fluorocarbon surfactant and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. Finally, Eu3+ in the BiVO4 host was embedded on the surface of Fe3O4@mSiO2 nanoparticles with the Pechini sol-gel process, thus to form magnetic fluorescent nanoparticles. It was found that the fluorescence of the inorganic nanoparticles can be further enhanced by the complexation of 2-thenoyltrifluoroaceate (TTA) to the Eu3+ on the surface of the nanoparticles. The as-prepared nanoparticles were well characterized and the preparation process was optimized in order to establish a robust preparation method for the multiple functionalized luminescent nanoparticles.

Pd embedded N, S co‐doped graphene wrapped core‐shell magnetic nanospheres: Engineered stable nanocatalyst for Suzuki couplings

Designed nitrogen and sulfur co‐doped graphene wrapped magnetic core‐shell supported Pd nanoparticles were synthesized through the following steps. Firstly, Fe3O4 was prepared, coated with silica and then functionalized with amine groups to create a positive charge on the structure for enhancing the interaction of the Fe3O4@SiO2 with graphene oxide. Secondary, the pre‐catalyst wrapped with graphene to enhance adsorption of aromatic substrates through π–π stacking. Thirdly, graphene was doped with nitrogen and sulfur to increase the grafting of Pd in hybrid. Finally, Pd NPs were attached on the surface of pre‐engineered structure to produce Fe3O4@SiO2@N,S‐wG@Pd which exhibited high performance in Suzuki reactions. This superior activity can be indexed to the incorporation of N and S atoms into graphene led to high anchoring and well‐dispersion of Pd NPs on the nanocomposite surface offering large amounts of active centers, that strongly increased the interaction between Pd and substrates to decreases Pd leaching.

Core-shell magnetic bimetallic MOF material for synergistic enrichment of phosphopeptides

In proteomics, phosphorylation is an important process for protein post-translational modification (PTM), which greatly improves the diversity of proteomes. The PTM regulates almost all physiological and pathological processes such as signal transduction, cell division, proliferation, differentiation and metabolism. The abnormal expression of protein phosphorylation is also associated with cellular metabolic disorders and a range of diseases. However, in mass spectrometry-based phosphorylated peptideomics studies, phosphorylated peptide signals were inhibited by a high abundance of non-phosphorylated peptides; thus, highly selective enrichment was required. In this study, a newly designed material named Fe3O4@MIL(Fe/Ti) was synthesized using a layer-by-layer self-assembly technique that coats the surface of magnetic oxide nanospheres with bimetallic MOF of iron and titanium. The synergistic synthetic coating of the bimetallic MOF gives the material a large surface area and excellent hydrophilicity, which endow the nanoparticles with excellent phosphopeptide enrichment ability, high selectivity (β-casein/BSA molar ratio 1:500), a low detection limit (3 fmol), high recovery rate (85%), strong binding capacity, size exclusion ability, and ideal batch-to-batch repeatability. For comparison, we used Fe3O4@MIL(Fe/Ti) and two single-metal MOF materials Fe3O4@MIL-100(Fe) and Fe3O4@MIL-125(Ti), to enrich α-casein in the middle. Thus, the iron-titanium bimetallic MOF can not only enrich all the phosphorylated peptides enriched by Fe3O4@MIL-100(Fe) and Fe3O4@MIL-125(Ti), but can also specifically enrich four phosphorylated peptides. Encouraged by the excellent results of characterization and standard protein enrichment, we used this material to analyze human serum and found that bimetallic materials can effectively enrich all four phosphorylated peptides and exclude high molecular proteins. These experimental results indicate that the novel bimetallic MOF is a good candidate to analyze protein phosphorylation in complex samples.

A high-loading drug delivery system based on magnetic nanomaterials modified by hyperbranched phenylboronic acid for tumor-targeting treatment with pH response

To overcome the limited drug loading capacity of magnetic nanopharmaceuticals arising from the relatively large mass of the metal core, a high-loading drug delivery system based on amino-functionalized Fe3O4 magnetic nanospheres modified by hyperbranched phenylboronic acid (HPBA-Fe3O4) were prepared for the first time. The obtained nanomaterials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, zeta potential, elemental analysis, vibrating sample magnetometry and X-ray diffraction analysis, and the results showed that hyperbranched phenylboronic acid (HPBA) were successfully grafted onto the surface of the magnetic nanospheres. The polymerization conditions, adsorption and desorption performance, and tumor-targeting ability of HPBA-Fe3O4 was investigated in detail through chemical and biological experiments. The drug loading amount and capacity of HPBA-Fe3O4 are 271.3 mg/g and 27.13%, respectively, which are 2.26 and 3.27 times greater than those of PBA-Fe3O4 and PEI-Fe3O4, and the thermodynamic fitting results further demonstrate the high drug loading ability of HPBA-Fe3O4. In vitro studies performed in U-87 MG malignant glioma cells and astrocytes via light and fluorescence microscopy analyses, cell counting kit-8 assays, and HPLC tests confirm the pH-sensitive release and tumor-targeted drug delivery capabilities of HPBA-Fe3O4. The facile fabrication of hyperbranched magnetic nanomaterials could be an alternative solution for designing high-loading, tumor cell-targeting and pH-responsive DDSs with high-mass cores.

Functionalized magnetic mesoporous silica/poly(m-aminothiophenol) nanocomposite for Hg(II) rapid uptake and high catalytic activity of spent Hg(II) adsorbent.

Currently, magnetic mesoporous silica nanospheres have been employed widely as adsorbents due to their large surface area and easy recovery. Herein, the functionalized magnetic mesoporous silica/organic polymers nanocomposite (MMSP) was fabricated by the grafted poly(m-aminothiophenol) embedded the aminated magnetic mesoporous silica nanocomposite based on Fe3O4 magnetic core, which was shelled by mesoporous silica and further modified by (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane. The adsorption properties of as-developed MMSP were systematically explored by altering the experimental parameters. The results indicated that the adsorption capacity and removal percentage of the MMSP could reach 243.83 mg/g and 97.53% within only 10 min at pH 4.0, and the coexisting ions had no significant effect on the selective Hg(II) ions removal from aqueous solutions, meanwhile, the adsorbent recovered by a magnet still exhibited good adsorption performance after recycled 5 times. In addition, by analyzing experimental data, the adsorption process of Hg(II) ions belonged to spontaneous exothermic adsorption, and the possible adsorption mechanisms were proposed based on the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir model. After adsorption study, the waste material adsorbed Hg(II) was developed as an efficient catalyst for transformation of phenylacetylene to acetophenone with yield of 97.06%. In this study, we designed an efficient and selective material for Hg(II) ions remove and provided a treatment of the post-adsorbed mercury adsorbent by converting the waste into an excellent catalyst, which reduced the economic and environmental impact from conventional adsorption techniques.

Ultrafine palladium nanoparticles confined in core–shell magnetic porous organic polymer nanospheres as highly efficient hydrogenation catalyst

The development of porous organic polymer (POP)-based materials with controllable structures is highly desirable for catalysis, drug delivery, and chemical adsorption. In this work, we prepared unique porous magnetic core–shell POP nanospheres (Fe3O4@PDA@POP) through a facile strategy. These nanospheres contained a core of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs), a hydrophilic intermediate layer of dopamine and a POP outer layer. The Fe3O4@PDA@POP showed high porosity, making it an ideal supporting material for fabricating ultrafine and highly dispersed noble-metal NPs (NMNPs). Thus, highly dispersed ultrafine Pd NPs (1.5–2.1 nm) were confined and stabilized within the pores of Fe3O4@PDA@POP via a reverse double-solvent approach (RDSA) to obtain Fe3O4@PDA@POP@Pd catalyst. The Fe3O4@PDA@POP@Pd-2.5% catalyst showed excellent catalytic performance and recyclability towards the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene, alkenes, and alkynes. Hence, this work can pave the way for the development and application of functionalized POP materials to construct efficient catalytic systems.

Synthesis of poly(acrylic acid) coated magnetic nanospheres via a multiple polymerization route.

Magnetic nanospheres are versatile candidates for both fundamental and practical applications. Before they are applied in more complicated fields, their surface must be modified by several functionalities. However, the surface modification can be affected by the magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) embedded in the polymer matrix. Herein, the synthesis of poly(acrylic acid) coated magnetic nanospheres via a multiple polymerization route is described. During the synthesis process, seed emulsion polymerization was applied to redistribute the MNP in the polymer matrix, and the relationship between the structure of magnetic nanospheres and the thickness of the grafted poly(acrylic acid) layer was investigated. The development of size, morphology and magnetic properties of the nanospheres were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometry. This work would pave the way to design and preparation of new structure of functional magnetic nanospheres with precise surface modification.

Detection protein biomarker with gold nanoparticles functionalized hollow mesoporous Prussian blue nanoparticles as electrochemical probes

Gold nanoparticles functionalized hollow mesoporous Prussian blue nanoparticles (Au@HMPB NPs) were synthesized and its peroxidase-like activity was explored for electrochemical probe. The Au@HMPB NPs can reduce H2O2 at low detection potential of −0.1 V with high sensitivity. After physically adsorption of antibodies onto the gold nanoparticle surface, the functionalized nanoparticles were turned into immuno-probe. The soluble α-chain of interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor (sCD25) was chosen as a model protein biomarker to test the performance of the probe. sCD25 in the samples were captured and enriched by capture anti-CD25 antibody functionalized magnetic nanospheres. Detection antibody functionalized Au@HMPB can then be linked onto the nanospheres and generate electrochemical current towards H2O2 reduction. The electrochemical responses to 1 mmol/L H2O2 was increased with the increasing concentration of CD25.

Magnetic ZnFe2O4@ZnSe hollow nanospheres for photocatalytic hydrogen production application

Magnetic ZnFe2O4@ZnSe hollow nanospheres were fabricated by a two-step method and applied for visible light photocatalytic water splitting. Magnetic ZnFe2O4 hollow nanosphere was prepared by using the carbonaceous microsphere as a template, and ZnSe nanoparticles were in site grown on the ZnFe2O4 surface. Through optimizing the reaction time, ZnFe2O4@ZnSe hollow nanospheres exhibited efficient light absorption and improved photocatalytic performance, and ZnFe2O4@ZnSe-20 with suitable ZnSe shell thickness possessed highest hydrogen production amount in 6 h (16897.3 μmol/g). The experimental results revealed that the formation of heterojunction between ZnSe and ZnFe2O4 effectively separated and transferred the photo-induced electrons and holes, and inhibited the electron-hole pairs recombination. In addition, the magnetic recyclability of ZnFe2O4@ZnSe hollow nanospheres was beneficial to further photocatalytic hydrogen production application.