Crystals of RETe1.875±δ (RE = Ce, Pr, Sm, Gd; 0.004 ≤ δ ≤ 0.025) were grown using alkali halide flux and chemical transport reactions. The crystal structures are described in space group Amm2 (no. 38), with lattice parameters of a = 13.3729(5) Å, b = 17.7918(5) Å, c = 18.1561(4) Å for CeTe1.87(1) (T = 100 K), a = 13.271(2) Å, b = 17.747(3) Å, c = 18.160(3) Å for PrTe1.85(1) (T = 100 K), a = 13.1251(6) Å, b = 17.4269(8) Å, c = 17.8808(8) Å for SmTe1.87(1) (T = 100 K), and a = 13.1762(4) Å, b = 17.4995(5) Å, c = 17.9591(5) Å for GdTe1.88(1) (T = 296 K). The structures contain alternating stacks of puckered [RETe] slabs and planar [Te] layers. The latter are composed of small anionic entities, such as Te2- and Te22-, along with a large anionic eight-membered Te ring, as supported by electron localizability indicator-based bond analysis for an ordered model of GdTe1.875. Slightly different patterns for individual compounds indicate a considerable structural flexibility. Temperature-dependent resistance measurements confirm semiconducting behavior for PrTe1.875±δ and GdTe1.875±δ (magnetic data evidence RE3+ and an antiferromagnetic transition at TN = 4 K for CeTe1.875±δ and TN = 11 K for GdTe1.875±δ), whereas PrTe1.875±δ and SmTe1.875±δ show no long-range order down to 2 K.Misuse of agrochemicals has a long-lasting negative impact on aquatic systems. Mismanagement of herbicides in agri-food sectors is often linked to a simultaneous decline in the health of downstream waterways. However, monitoring the herbicide levels in these areas is a laborious task, and modern analytical approaches, such as solid-phase extraction-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPE-LC-MS) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, are low-throughput and require significant sample preparation. We report here the use of microchip technology in combination with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) for the assessment of the ecotoxicological effect of agrochemicals on aquatic species at the single-cell level. This approach quantifies the fluctuations in lipid content in sentinel organisms and targets the microalga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii), as the model system. https://www.selleckchem.com/Proteasome.html Specifically, we investigated the cytotoxicity of three herbicides (atrazine, clomazone, and norflurazon) on C. reinhardtii by analyzing the lipid component variation upon assorted herbicide exposure. Lipidomic profiling reveals a significantly altered lipid content at >EC50 in atrazine-exposed cells. The response for norflurazon showed similar trends but diminished in magnitude, while the result for clomazone was near muted. At lower herbicide concentrations, digalactosyldiacylglycerols showed a rapid decrease in abundance, while several other lipids displayed a moderate increase. The microchip-based MALDI technique demonstrates the ability to achieve lipidomic profiling of aquatic species exposed to different stressors, proving effective for high-throughput screening and single-cell analysis in ecotoxicity studies.Hydroxyl radicals (•OH) are important reactive species that are photochemically generated through solar irradiation of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in surface waters. However, the spatial distribution within the complex three-dimensional structure of CDOM has not been examined. In this study, we used a series of hydrophobic chlorinated paraffins as chemical probes to elucidate the microheterogeneous distribution of •OH in illuminated CDOM solutions. The steady-state concentration of •OH inside the CDOM microphase is 210 ± 31-fold higher than the concentration in the aqueous phase. Our results suggest that the most photochemically generated •OH are confined into the CDOM microphase. Thus, illuminated CDOM behaves as a natural microreactor for •OH-based oxidations. By including intra-CDOM •OH, the quantum yield of •OH for CDOM solutions was estimated to be 2.2 ± 0.5 × 10-3, which is 2 orders of magnitude greater than previously thought. The elevated concentrations of photogenerated •OH within the CDOM microphase may improve the understanding of hydrophobic pollutant degradation in aqueous environments. Moreover, our results also suggest that •OH oxidation may play more important roles in the phototransformation of CDOM than previously expected.Severe capacity loss during cycling of lithium-metal batteries is one of the most concerning obstacles hindering their practical application. As this capacity loss is related to the variety of side reactions occurring to lithium metal, identification and quantification of these lithium-loss processes are extremely important. In this work, we systematically distinguish and quantify the different rates of lithium loss associated with galvanic corrosion, the formation of a solid-electrolyte interphase, and the formation of electrically isolated lithium metal (i.e., "dead" lithium). We show that the formation of "dead" Li is accelerated upon cycling, dominating the total lithium loss, with much slower rates of lithium loss associated with galvanic corrosion and formation of the solid-electrolyte interphase. Furthermore, photoacoustic imaging reveals that the three-dimensional spatial distribution of "dead" Li is distinctly different from that of freshly deposited lithium. This quantification is further extended to a solid-state Li/Cu cell based on a Li10GeP2S12 solid-state electrolyte. The lithium loss in the solid-state cell is much severer than that of a conventional lithium-metal battery based on a liquid electrolyte. Our work highlights the importance of quantitative studies on conventional and solid-state lithium-metal batteries and provides a strong basis for the optimization of lithium-metal electrochemistry.Artificial graphene (AG) based on a honeycomb lattice of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) has been of great interest for exploration and applications of massless Dirac Fermions in semiconductors thanks to the tunable interplay between the carrier interactions and the honeycomb topology. Here, an innovative strategy to realize AG on Si substrates is developed by fabricating a honeycomb lattice of Au nanodisks on a Si/GeSi quantum well. The lateral potential modulation induced by the nanoscale Au/Si Schottky junction results in the formation of quantum dots arranged in a honeycomb lattice to form AG. Nonlinear current-voltage curves of the AG reveal conductance phase transitions with switch on/off voltages, a large electric hysteresis loop, and a strong sharp current peak accompanied by a group of differential-conductance peaks and negative differential conductance around the switch-on voltage, which can be modulated by temperature and light. These features are interpreted by a model based on the Coulomb blockade effect, the collective resonant tunneling, and the coupling of holes in the AG.