A review article, entitled Morphology-dependent nanocatalysts: Rod-shaped oxides, has been recently published in Chemical Society Reviews (Chem. Soc. Rev. 43 (2014) 1543-1574) by the group of Prof. Wenjie Shen from the State Key Laboratory of Catalysis.    
Nanocatalysts are characterized by the unique nanoscale properties that originate from their highly reduced dimensions. Extensive studies over the past few decades have demonstrated that the size and shape of a catalyst particle at the nanometer scale profoundly affect its reaction performance. In particular, controlling the catalyst particle morphology allows a selective exposure of a larger fraction of the reactive facets on which the active sites can be enriched and tuned. This desirable surface coordination of catalytically active atoms or domains substantially improves catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability. This phenomenon is called morphology-dependent nanocatalysts: catalyst particles with anisotropic morphologies on the nanometer scale greatly affect the reaction performance by selectively exposing the desired facets.   
This review highlights important progress in morphology-dependent nanocatalysts based on the use of rod-shaped metal oxides with characteristic redox and acid–base features. The correlation between the catalytic properties and the exposed facets verifies the chemical nature of the morphology effect. Moreover, an overview of the interactions between the rod-shaped oxides and the metal nanoparticles in metal-oxide catalyst systems, involving crystal-facet-selective deposition of metal particles onto different crystal facets in the oxide supports, we provided. A fundamental understanding of active sites in morphologically tuneable oxides enclosed by the desired reactive facets is expected to direct the development of highly efficient nanocatalysts.（by Ning Wang） 

 
 

Recently, Prof. LI Haiyanget al. from DICP have developed a new quasi-trapping chemical ionization (QT-CI) source based on a commercial VUV Kr lamp and a radiofrequency electric field. The accomplishment was published in the Analytical Chemistry. 
(http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ac403132k) 
Ion source which could be used to ionize neutral molecule, is one of core component in mass spectrometry and ion mobility spectrometry. In recent years, soft ionization is becoming an attractive soft ionization method due to its high molecular ions yield and simple spectrum interpretation. Single photon ionization based on a VUV lamp a classic soft ionization is compact and low cost. However, there are still two apparent disadvantages of the VUV lampleading to low sensitivity and limited range of ionizable molecules, such as relatively low photon flux (1011 photons/s) and fixed photon energy (10.6 eV),. 
The mechanisms of QT-CI source include: accelerating the photoelectrons originated from the photoelectric effect with VUV light to trigger the chemical ionization through ion-molecule reaction and increasing the collisions between reactant ion O2+ and analyte molecules to enhance the efficiency of chemical ionization. Compared to single SPI based on VUV krypton lamp, the QT-CI source can not only apparently improve the sensitivity (e.g., 12-118 fold enhancement were achieved for 13 molecules, including aromatic hydrocarbon, chlorinated hydrocarbon, hydrogen sulfide, etc.) but also extend the range of ionizable molecules with ionization potential higher than 10.6 eV, such as propane, dichloroethane and trichloromethane. 
The development of QT-CI source is a breakthrough based on the previous works of new ion source. (Anal. Chem. 2011, 83, 8892, Anal. Chem. 2011, 83:5309-16) and SPI-CI composite ion source.（Text by HOU Keyong/ Photo by CHEN Ping） 
 

On January 18th of 2014, the First Members' Meeting of the Second Academic Committee for Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences was held in Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics. The meeting was chaired by Academician ZHANG Yukui, and there were more than 140 people attending the meeting, including eleven Academic Committee members (Academician WANG Erkang, Academician CHEN Hongyuan, Academician CHEN Zhifang, Academician JIANG Guibin, Academician ZHANG Tao, Prof. ZHANG Xian'en, Prof. ZHUANG Qiankun, Prof. LIU Huwei, Prof. ZHAO Yuliang, Prof. XU Guowang et al.), Prof. GUAN Yafeng, Prof. LIANG Xinmiao, Prof. ZHANG Lihua and the research staff and postgraduate students of key laboratory .  
The key laboratory appointed thirteen famous scientists as the members of the second Academic Committee. Academician ZHANG Yukui and Prof. ZHANG Xian'en were appointed as the director and vice director of the Academic Committee, respectively. At the opening ceremony, Academician ZHANG Yukui and Institute Director ZHANG Tao issued the certificates to the members of the second Academic Committee. 
As the director of DICP, ZHANG Tao made a speech. He pointed out that during the last year, Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences has obtained great achievements in the aspects of scientific research, laboratory construction and talent culture. After that, Prof. ZHANG Lihua reported the general development, major scientific achievements, research progress and existing problems of key laboratory in 2013 as well as the future taskThe young academic backbone Prof. YE Mingliang, Prof. WU Ren'an and Prof. FENG Liang introduced the newest scientific achievements of key laboratory about three different research directions, respectively. 
The academic committee members have given full recognition to the innovative research of the laboratory during the past year. Besides, they generously offered pertinent recommendations on the positioning and expansion of research directions, communication and exchange among research facilities and introduction of talents. Finally, they all supported strongly for our laboratory to apply for the National Key Laboratory. In the end, Prof. ZHANG Yukui, who is the chief of the academic committee, expressed his sincere gratitude to the committee members for their valuable suggestions and the great atmosphere our institute offered. He also proposed specific requirements for the development of our Key Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences. (Text by LI Xiao/ Photo by LIU Wansheng) 

Prof. QIN Jianhua’s research team in DICP has made great progress in the investigation of new anti-aging role of polydatin in model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) on a chip. The results were published on the recent issue of Integrative Biology as cover image (Integr. Biol., 2014, 6, 35-43). 
Polydatin is a natural anti-oxidant isolated from nature and it is the glycoside form of resveratrol. Several works have reported the beneficial and biological effects of polydatin in mice models, including the neuroprotective effect on ischemia/reperfusion induced cerebral injury, promotion of weight loss, and protection against lipid peroxidation. However, the anti-aging effect of polydatin is still not clear. The nematode C. elegans is the excellent model organism in aging study due to its unique features. In this work, they set out to investigate the anti-aging role of polydatin in C. elegans by using a flexible microfluidic device. The established microfluidic platform is capable of flexible operation with multiple functions, which not only supports the individual worm’s long-term culture with sufficient nutrient exchange, but also facilitates mobility monitoring of the worm, immobilizing and imaging in a controllable and parallel manner. Based on the platform, polydatin was found to significantly extend the mean lifespan of worms under normal culture and oxidative stress conditions. Further studies showed that the longevity extending effect of polydatin is mainly attributed to its anti-oxidative activity, which is mediated by the associated genes and proteins via up-regulating expression of daf-16 and SOD-3 in the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway. These interesting findings highlight the significance of the natural compound polydatin in the study of aging-related diseases, and the utility of the microfluidic platform for applications in aging studies. 
The journal of Integrative Biology focuses on the interdisciplinary approaches for molecular and cellular life sciences, and publishes the papers involved in the interface between biology and the fields of physics, chemistry, engineering, imaging and informatics. (By WEN Hui) 
 

The DICP Research Group led by Prof. YANG Xueming has carried out a systematic study on “Molecular Hydrogen Formation from Photocatalysis of Methanol on Anatase-TiO2(101).” The results were published in the recent issue of the recent issue of the Journal of American Chemical Society(J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2014, 136 (2), 602–605) . 
Rutile and anatase TiO2 materials have been often used in the study of hydrogen (H2) production from photocatalytic water splitting, and previous study found that adding methanol (CH3OH) to pure water solution can dramatically enhance H2 production, implying that CH3OH played a crucial role in H2 production. Despite lots of work focusing on rutile (R)-TiO2, the anatase form is the most active polymorph in commercial applications for catalysis actually. Even though a lot of photocatslysis studies have been carried out on anatase (A)-TiO2 particles, very little was done on well-defined surfaces.  
In a recent study, we have shown that photocatalytic dissociation of CH3OH on TiO2(110) occurs in a stepwise manner.( J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2012, 134 (32), 13366–13373). And D2 can be formed via thermal recombination of dissociated D-atoms on the bridge bonded oxygen (BBO) sites from photocatalysis of fully deuterated CH3OH, suggesting that the last molecular D2 formation step on the R-TiO2(110) surface is a thermally driven process. Since only about 7% of D-atoms on the BBO sites contribute to D2 formation with most D-atoms recombining with BBO atoms to form D2O, it implies that H2 formation is not the most efficient process on R-TiO2(110). (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2013, 135 (28), 10206–10209). In this work, we have investigated molecular H2 formation on A-TiO2(101) from photocatalysis of CH3OH. Our results show that H2 is formed via thermal recombination of dissociated H-atoms on the BBO sites from photocatalysis of CH3OH on A-TiO2(101). The H atoms at the OBBO sites mostly come off as H2 on the A-TiO2(101) surface, not taking an OBBO to form H2O (the OBBO atoms on A-TiO2(101) are much more stable than on R-TiO2(110)). About 40% of the H atoms at the OBBO sites come off as H2 on A-TiO2(101), While only 7% of D-atoms on the BBO sites on R-TiO2(110) contribute to D2 formation, suggesting that the H2 formation process is more efficient on A-TiO2(101). The present investigation of the mechanism of H2 formation from UV CH3OH photocatalysis on A-TiO2(101) could help us to understand the nature of H2 production on TiO2 photocatalysts. (By XU Chenbiao and GUO Qing)  

Fig. Schematic diagram of the mechanism of molecular H2 production from H-OBBO on anatasse-TiO2(101) surface. 
Contact: GUO Qing
Email:guoqing@dicp.ac.cn
 

Doctors prepare herbal remedies during a mass treatment at a traditional Chinese medicine hospital in Fuzhou in southeast China's Fujian province. (Associated Press)  
When it comes to treating pain, a new study suggests traditional Chinese medicine has been getting it right for thousands of years.
A chemical compound found in the underground tubers of the Corydalis plant can effectively alleviate three different types of pain in mice, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Current Biology.
The study also shows that mice do not build up a resistance to the naturally occurring compound, which means it could one day be used for managing chronic pain in humans.
The pain-relieving compound is known as dehydrocorybulbine (DHCB). It was isolated by Chinese researchers as part of the herbalome project -- an ambitious endeavor launched in 2008 to catalog all the active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicines.
The Corydalis plant is a member of the poppy family. It grows mainly in central eastern China, and has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries. Its tubers are dug up, ground, and then boiled in hot vinegar. The resulting medicine is often prescribed to treat headaches and back pain.
"This medicine goes back thousands of years, and it is still around because it works," said Olivier Civelli, a pharmacologist at UC Irvine and one of the authors of the study. "The question is, what makes it work. There are many compounds inside this plant."
For this study, Civelli collaborated with the lead researcher on the herbalome project--Xinmiao Liang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian in northeast China. Liang's group extracted chemicals from the plant and then sent more than 80 of them to Civelli's lab in Irvine to see which ones had pain relieving properties.
Civelli and his team determined that at least one of those chemicals -- DHCB -- was an effective pain reliever in mice, but they were surprised to find that it used D2 dopamine receptors, rather than morphine receptors.
"Dopamine receptors are generally associated with the pleasure center of the brain, so it was not expected that dopamine was important for pain," Civelli said.
Still, the findings were clear. Mice in which the D2 dopamine receptors had been removed did not experience any pain relief from DHCB in tests.
Civelli and his team synthesized DHCB so they would have enough to work with. Then they ran a series of tests on mice that had received DHCB. They found that the compound alleviated temporary acute pain like what you might experience if you got a broken ankle or a burn, as well as the inflammatory pain you might feel if your joints were swollen, and chronic pain that comes from nerve damage.
Civelli said there are likely more compounds in the Corydalis tuber that work in conjunction with DHCB to combat pain, and he would like to find those as well.
"There are likely many compounds inside those plants that have some effect on a particular disease or disorder. Our goal is to find the most powerful of those compounds," he said. (Los Angeles Times)