Thin Petals Research Articles

Functional prediction of tomato PLATZ family members and functional verification of SlPLATZ17

PLATZ is a novel zinc finger DNA-binding protein that plays an important role in regulating plant growth and development and resisting abiotic stress. However, there has been very little research on the function of this family gene in tomatoes, which limits its application in germplasm resource improvement. Therefore, the PLATZ gene family was identified and analyzed in tomato, and its roles were predicted and verified to provide a basis for in-depth research on SlPLATZ gene function. In this study, the PLATZ family members of tomato were identified in the whole genome, and 19 SlPLATZ genes were obtained. Functional prediction was conducted based on gene and promoter structure analysis and RNA-seq-based expression pattern analysis. SlPLATZ genes that responded significantly under different abiotic stresses or were significantly differentially expressed among multiple tissues were screened as functional gene resources. SlPLATZ17 was selected for functional verification by experiment-based analysis. The results showed that the downregulation of SlPLATZ17 gene expression reduced the drought and salt tolerance of tomato plants. Tomato plants overexpressing SlPLATZ17 had larger flower sizes and long, thin petals, adjacent petals were not connected at the base, and the stamen circumference was smaller. This study contributes to understanding the functions of the SlPLATZ family in tomato and provides a reference for functional gene screening.

Novel epoxy adhesives based on conductive micron‐sized silver flowers

AbstractLow silver contents are desirable for electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) due to the high cost of silver. In the present work, micro‐sized flower‐like silver particles (MFSPs) with long and thin petals are prepared by a novel, green, and facile chemical reduction method in an aqueous solution. The effects of reactant mass ratio and reactant concentration are investigated to control the morphology and size of MFSPs. Three kinds of MFSPs with different sizes are filled into an epoxy resin to prepare novel ECA. Due to the easily formed conductive paths by such morphological silver particles, the as‐prepared MFSP/epoxy composite adhesive has a low percolation threshold, a high conductivity, and high adhesion strength at a very low silver content. When considering the optimal combination of low electrical resistance and high adhesion strength, the MFSP obtained at the 1.5:1 ratio of ascorbic acid to silver nitrate is promising for preparing the ECA with a low Ag content of 30 wt% which is the lowest content for ECAs compared with the literature. The synthesis process of MFSPs has the advantages of mild condition, simple process, and environmental friendship. This study provides a new way to prepare highly conductive Ag/epoxy adhesives with low silver contents.

Boosted photoinduced cathodic protection performance of ZnIn2S4/TiO2 nanoflowerbush with efficient photoelectric conversion in NaCl solution

Boosting the photoinduced cathodic protection (CP) for metals in NaCl solution is crucial for achieving the application of photoelectrochemical conversion in marine corrosion protection. An environmentally friendly three-dimensional ZnIn2S4/TiO2 nanoflowerbush (NFB) photoelectrode was constructed with sufficient interfacial incorporation based on the ultrafine branched TiO2 nanobush substrate via a facile in situ hydrothermal method. This ZnIn2S4/TiO2 NFB nanoheterojunction composite behaves excellent photoinduced CP performance for metallic materials. This is owing to the optimized construction of photoelectrode with relatively negative band potential, wide solar spectrum response, effective generation and collection of photoinduced electrons. The morphology, distribution and performance of ZnIn2S4 vary with different substrates. The pure ZnIn2S4 powder is nanoflower sphere composed of a lot of thin petals; when ZnIn2S4 grow onto the FTO glass, the ZnIn2S4 petals are distributed vertically on the two-dimensional structure; when ZnIn2S4 grow on the three-dimensional ultrafine branched TiO2 nanobush substrate, a ZnIn2S4/TiO2 NFB architecture with ultrafine TiO2 branchlet cores are formed. This ZnIn2S4/TiO2 NFB photoelectrode can achieve efficient photoinduced CP performance for pure copper and low alloy steels with different negative self-corrosion potentials, such as Cu (−0.18 V), E40 (−0.45 V), Q345 (−0.55 V) and Q235 carbon steel (−0.65 V) under simulated sunlight irradiation in NaCl solution without additional hole scavengers, and the photoinduced CP current densities reach as high as 170, 72, 63 and 44μAcm−2, respectively. The high-efficiency photoinduced CP performance is closely related to the band structure gradient matching between the TiO2 and ZnIn2S4, prompting both the widened absorption of solar spectrum and high-efficiency transfer of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Importantly, the negative band potential of ZnIn2S4 endues a lower surface work function which benefits the electron transport to the under-protected metallic materials to achieve photoinduced CP. This photoelectrode exhibits huge photoinduced CP application potential in marine environments.

Shape-Controlled Hierarchical Flowerlike Au Nanostructure Microarrays by Electrochemical Growth for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Application.

How to fabricate Au nanostructures conveniently on microstructured/nanostructured arrays surface with low cost has become a crucial and urgent challenge. In this study, we demonstrate hierarchical flowerlike Au nanostructures with rich nanothorns (HF-AuNTs) through one-step electrochemical deposition. The morphology of the HF-AuNTs is easily manipulated by controlling the applied potential or precursor solution concentration of electrodeposition. The as-prepared HF-AuNTs possessing unique local morphology of thin petals and dense thorns are further applied in the Si micropit arrays to acquire HF-AuNTs microarrays. As an initial detection, these HF-AuNTs microarrays exhibit a fascinating surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy consistency (relative standard deviation is 7.17%) and sensitivity with the limitation of crystal violet reaching to 10-10 M, and Rhodamine 6G reaching to 10-11 M. The HF-AuNTs microarrays with well-defined shape and elaborate structure may be applicated in SERS substrates, superhydrophobic materials, and so on.

Template-free growth of spherical vanadium disulfide nanoflowers as efficient anodes for sodium/potassium ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) and potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) are greatly potential candidates for large-scale renewable energy storage. However, developing highly efficient anode materials for the relatively larger radius of Na+ and K+ ions is still a hot issue. Herein, we report spherical nanoflowers of vanadium disulfide (VS2) with thin petals of 15 nm and high purity of crystallinity, synthesized by one-pot solvothermal method using propylene glycol as solvent without any growth-directing surfactants. Results demonstrate that this spherical nanoflower structure provides a stable framework for Na+/K+ insertion/extraction, wherein, SNF-VS2 not only shows a reversible charge capacity of 329 mAh/g at 0.2 A/g with an initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 88.52% for sodium ion storage, but also delivers a reversible charge capacity of 383 mAh/g at 25 mA/g, owning an ICE of 74.09% for potassium ion storage. The high capacity and outstanding ICE make the spherical VS2 nanoflowers ranking among the most effective transition metal dichalcogenide based anode materials and strongly indicate their promising usability for practical SIB and KIB applications. And the outperforming Na+/K+ storage performance is largely due to the abundant interface area with electrolyte and the short ion diffusion paths formed by their ordered flower-like structure.

Assembly of 2D nanosheets into flower-like MoO3: New insight into the petal thickness affect on gas-sensing properties

In our work, three hierarchical molybdenum oxide flower-like architectures were favourably synthesized using a simple hydrothermal method. By comprehensive characterization of their morphologie and structures, possible growth mechanisms for the three nanomaterials are proposed. Afterwards, we built gas sensors based on the three kinds of MoO3 nanoflowers and indicated that petal thickness influences their gas-sensing capability. The rose-like flower materials with relatively thin petals had better gas-sensing properties towards ethanol than the other nanoflowers. The enhanced sensing ability may be due to lower amount of agglomerated structures between the thin nanosheets, leading to an adequate sensory response on the surface as well as substantials gas pervasion.

Vividly coloured poppy flowers due to dense pigmentation and strong scattering in thin petals

The flowers of poppies (Papaveraceae) exhibit bright colours, despite their thin and floppy petals. We investigated the optical properties of flowers of Papaver rhoeas, P. dubium, Meconopsis cambrica and Argemone polyanthemos using a combined approach of anatomy, spectrophotometry and optical modelling. The petals of Papaver flowers are composed of only three cell layers, an upper and lower epidermal layer, which are densely filled with pigment, and an unpigmented mesophyll layer. Dense pigmentation together with strong scattering structures, composed of serpentine cell walls and air cavities, cause the striking poppy colours. We discuss how various aspects of the optical signal contribute to the flower’s visibility to pollinators.

Silver Nanoflower Decorated Graphene Oxide Sponges for Highly Sensitive Variable Stiffness Stress Sensors.

Soft conductive materials should enable large deformation while keeping high electrical conductivity and elasticity. The graphene oxide (GO)-based sponge is a potential candidate to endow large deformation. However, it typically exhibits low conductivity and elasticity. Here, the highly conductive and elastic sponge composed of GO, flower-shaped silver nanoparticles (AgNFs), and polyimide (GO-AgNF-PI sponge) are demonstrated. The average pore size and porosity are 114 µm and 94.7%, respectively. Ag NFs have thin petals (8-20 nm) protruding out of the surface of a spherical bud (300-350 nm) significantly enhancing the specific surface area (2.83 m2 g-1 ). The electrical conductivity (0.306 S m-1 at 0% strain) of the GO-AgNF-PI sponge is increased by more than an order of magnitude with the addition of Ag NFs. A nearly perfect elasticity is obtained over a wide compressive strain range (0-90%). The strain-dependent, nonlinear variation of Young's modulus of the sponge provides a unique opportunity as a variable stiffness stress sensor that operates over a wide stress range (0-10 kPa) with a high maximum sensitivity (0.572 kPa-1 ). It allows grasping of a soft rose and a hard bottle, with the minimal object deformation, when attached on the finger of a robot gripper.

Facile fabrication of flower like self-assembled mesoporous hierarchical microarchitectures of In(OH)3 and In2O3: In(OH)3 micro flowers with electron beam sensitive thin petals

A template and capping-reagent free facile fabrication method for mesoporous hierarchical microarchitectures of flower-like In(OH)3 particles under benign hydrothermal conditions is reported. Calcination of In(OH)3 to In2O3 with the retention of morphology is also described. Both In(OH)3 and In2O3 microstructures were analyzed with SEM, EDX, TEM and powder X-ray diffraction. The crystal sizes for In(OH)3 and In2O3 were calculated using the Scherrer equation. In In(OH)3 the thin flakes at the periphery of micro flowers were electron beam sensitive. The mechanism of self-assembly process was analyzed as well.

Growing Tiny Flowers of Organometallic Polymers along Carbon Nanotubes

We developed a facile but efficient method to grow tiny flowers of organometallic polymers along carbon nanotubes (CNTs), allowing the combination of synthesis and threading flowers onto CNTs in one step simultaneously. This afforded a catalog of redox-active tiny flower bundles of organometallic polymers with ultrathin petals. Crystallization of polyethylene end-functionalized with cyanoferrate complex (PE-Fe) along CNTs resulted in tiny flowers threaded onto CNTs. Subsequent coordination polymerization of surface-enriched cyanoferrate complex with Fe3+ afforded the formation of polyethylene/Prussian blue/carbon nanotube (PE-PB/CNT) hybrid flower bundles. The flowers were composed of thin petals of 7 nm in thickness, which consisted of a single PE lamellae sandwiched between two PB nanolayers. The hybrid flower bundles fabricated exhibited enhanced thermal stability and electrochemical activity. The intriguing microstructures along with morphology-related properties of hybrid flower bundles made them use...

Facile synthesis of flowerlike CuO by double-hydroxides treatment and their electrochemical properties

We report a new method to prepare flowerlike CuO architectures based on double-hydroxides treatment using cupric nitrate as raw materials at 200°C and atmospheric pressure. The CuO products look like blooms composed of many thin petals which have acuate tips and wide bases with a width of 300–600nm and a length of 1–2μm. The petal surfaces are coarse with many particulates and grooves. The hierarchical CuO flowers exhibit admirable sensitivity in detecting nonenzymatic glucose. An initial discharge capacity of 926.3mAhg−1 is delivered for the flowerlike CuO, fading to 494.8mAhg−1 in the second cycle due to irreversible reductive reactions. A Coulombic efficiency of ∼98% is retained in the subsequent cycles.

Synthesis of poly(o-phenylenediamine)/ferric oxide composites with rose-like hierarchical microstructures

Poly(o-phenylenediamine)/ferric oxide (PoPD/Fe 2O 3) composites with rose-like hierarchical microstructures were synthesized through a facile and controlled chemical oxidation process, during which oPD was oxidated by ferric sulfate [Fe 2(SO 4) 3]. The morphologies were formed by self-assembly of several tens of thin petals with a thickness of tens of nanometers. Products were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), indicating that Fe 2O 3 existed in the composites. The influence of molar ratios of reactants on the formation of these microstructures was investigated and it was found that they have strong influence on the formation of the microstructures. The formation mechanism for the hierarchical nanostructures was also given.

Ilmenite FeTiO3 Nanoflowers and Their Pseudocapacitance

Pronounced and stable pseudocapacitance has been found in flowerlike FeTiO3 nanostructures that were synthesized from ball-milled ilmenite (natural mineral) under mild hydrothermal conditions. Each nanoflower is composed of many thin petals with a thickness of 5–20 nm and a width of 100–200 nm. The formation of these flowerlike nanostructures is attributed to a dissolution–precipitation mechanism involving an intermediate sodium-containing phase. Electrochemical properties of the obtained FeTiO3 nanostructures are evaluated in aqueous electrolytes. The capacitance of 122 ± 14.5 F/g is measured in 1 M KOH aqueous electrolyte at the current rate of 500 mA/g, and 50 ± 6 F/g is retained at 5 A/g. The material has good long-term cycling stability. According to our data, FeTiO3 nanostructures show functionality as an electrode material for supercapacitors.

Sonochemically assisted synthesis and application of hollow spheres, hollow prism, and coralline-like ZnO nanophotocatalyst

Nanosheet-based microspheres of ZnO with hierarchical structures, hollow prism, and coralline-like ZnO nanostructures were successfully prepared by ultrasonic irradiation in acidic ionic liquids (AILs). The hollow spherical is made up of many thin petals, the thickness of which is only about 90 nm. In the presence of AIL2, the one prepared at a frequency of 40 kHz is a mixture of nanofibers with diameters ranging from less than 30 nm to about 100 nm. ZnO nanostructure (with AIL1) reveals lozenge-shape hollow prism structures. The products were hollow prism structure covered with some nanometric-size nanoparticles. The average size of the nanoparticles is in the range of 40–80 nm. It is found that the ultrasonic irradiation time, ultrasonic frequency, and the AILs influence the growth mechanism and optical properties of ZnO nanostructures. Producing Zno nanostructures by different traditional methods (e.g., hydrothermal method) requires basic media. These methods are not economical and environmentally friendly in many industrial processes. In so doing, a critical problem has been the point that, normally, a high concentration of base causes reactor metal corrosion. This is a simple and low-cost method, which can be expected to be applied in industry in the future. Also, importantly, the structures synthesized in this experiment can indicate a new way to construct nanodevices by self-organization in one step.

Large Scale Synthesis and Gas-Sensing Properties of Anatase TiO2 Three-Dimensional Hierarchical Nanostructures

Three-dimensional (3D) crystalline anatase titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) hierarchical nanostructures were synthesized through a facile and controlled hydrothermal and after-annealing process. The formation mechanism for the anatase TiO(2) 3D hierarchical nanostructures was investigated in detail. The 3D hierarchical nanostructures morphologies are formed by self-organization of several tens of radially distributed thin petals with a thickness of several nanometers with a larger surface area. The surface area of TiO(2) hierarchical nanostructures determined by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) adsorption isotherms was measured to be 64.8 m(2) g(-1). Gas sensing properties based on the hierarchical nanostructures were investigated. A systematic study on sensitivity as a function of temperatures and gas concentrations was carried out. It reveals an improved ethanol gas sensing response property with a sensitivity of about 6.4 at 350 degrees C upon exposure to 100 ppm ethanol vapor for the TiO(2) hierarchical nanostructures. A gas sensing mechanism based on the adsorption-desorption of oxygen on the surface of TiO(2) is discussed and analyzed. This novel gas sensor can be multifunctional and promising for practical applications. Furthermore, the hierarchical nanostructures with high surface area can find variety of potential applications such as solar cells, biosensors, catalysts, etc.

Taphonomy and ontogeny of a multibranched Ediacaran fossil: Bradgatia from the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland

Rangeomorphs, an extinct group of Ediacaran organisms with a fractal architecture and modular construction, occur abundantly in the Mistaken Point assemblage (575–560 Ma) of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland. Bradgatia is represented by hundreds of specimens, collectively permitting analysis of its morphology, growth mode, and life habits. Bradgatia is a petalage that consists of a radial array of up to eight petals, each exhibiting up to four visible orders of rangeomorph branching. The taphonomy and ontogeny of Bradgatia are tightly linked by a change in preserved morphology, from juvenile I- to V-shaped specimens to larger U-shaped specimens, to the largest and ontogenetically oldest O-shaped specimens. Bradgatia probably maintained a constant number of petals that gradually spread out with age. The number of frondlets per petal does not correlate with length, suggesting either fractal or inflationary growth. Presence of a structure from which petals branch, abundance of contour-parallel specimens, differential preservation within specimens, and specimens overlying spindles and discs all imply that Bradgatia had an attached, epifaunal, suspension-feeding lifestyle. Bradgatia's multiple thin petals would have helped to filter water more efficiently, while its lack of a stem would have allowed for suspension feeding along the entire length of each petal.

Susceptibility of CAM Dendrobium leaves and flowers to high light and high temperature under natural tropical conditions

Responses of CAM Dendrobium Sonia leaves and flowers to high light and high temperature were studied in shade-grown plants after exposure to intermediate and full sunlight under natural conditions. Photosynthetic O 2 evolution decreased in leaves after exposure to full sunlight for 2 weeks while leaves exposed to intermediate sunlight showed an increase in photosynthesis as compared to those leaves maintained in the shade. On the first day of treatment, the changes of F v/ F m in both leaves and petals grown in the shade were negligible during the day. However, there was a steep decrease in F v/ F m in both leaves and petals with an increase in incident light during midday after exposure to full sunlight. When exposed to intermediate sunlight, there were no significant changes in F v/ F m in leaves. The F v/ F m values of petals, however, decreased during midday. Temperature of thin petals was higher than that of thick leaves during midday under full and intermediate sunlight while that of petals and leaves were similar when grown in the shade. Over the 2-week treatment period, lowered chlorophyll and sustained decreases in F v/ F m were observed in both leaves and flowers (sepals and petals) when exposed to full sunlight, indicative of `chronic photoinhibition'. Photoinhibition was prevented in leaves but occurred in flowers when exposed to intermediate sunlight. It was assumed that photodamage to both leaves and flowers were partially due to the higher temperature. The higher susceptibility of flowers to high light as compared to that of leaves was due to its higher temperature during midday. This was further supported by the findings that more severe damage occurred in flowers at higher temperature of 38°C than 28°C under a higher PFD of 1500 μmol m −2 s −1.