Energy and mass transfer in photocatalytic systems plays a significant role in photocatalytic water splitting, but relevant research has long been ignored. Here, an interfacial photocatalytic mode for photocatalytic hydrogen production is exploited to optimize the energy and mass flows and mainly includes a heat-insulating layer, a water-channel layer, and a photothermal photocatalytic layer. In this mode, the energy flow is optimized for efficient spreading, conversion, and utilization. A low-loss path (ultrathin water film) and an efficient heat localized zone are constructed, where light energy, especially infrared-light energy, can transfer to the target functional membrane surface with low loss and the thermal energy converted from light can be localized for further use. Meanwhile, the optimization of the mass flow is achieved by improving the desorption capacity of the products. The generated hydrogen bubbles can rapidly leave from the surface of the photocatalyst, along with the active sites being released timely. Consequently, the photocatalytic hydrogen production rate can be increased up to about 6.6 times that in a conventional photocatalytic mode. From the system design aspect, this work provides an efficient strategy to improve the performance of photocatalytic water splitting by optimizing the energy and mass flows.
Phomopsis sp. XP-8, an endophytic fungus from the bark of Tu-Chung ( Eucommia ulmoides Oliv) showed capability to biosynthesize pinoresinol (Pin) and pinoresinol diglucoside (PDG) from glucose (glu) and phenylalanine (Phe). To verify the mass flow in the biosynthesis pathway, [ 13 C 6 ]-labeled glu and [ 13 C 6 ]-labeled Phe were separately fed to the strain as sole substrates and [ 13 C 6 ]-labeled products were detected by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry. As results, [ 13 C 6 ]-labeled Phe was incorporated into [ 13 C 6 ]-cinnamylic acid (Ca) and p -coumaric acid ( p -Co), and [ 13 C 12 ]-labeled Pin, which revealed that the Pin benzene ring came from Phe via the phenylpropane pathway. [ 13 C 6 ]-Labeled Ca and p -Co, [ 13 C 12 ]-labeled Pin, [ 13 C 18 ]-labeled pinoresinol monoglucoside (PMG), and [ 13 C 18 ]-labeled PDG products were found when [ 13 C 6 ]-labeled glu was used, demonstrating that the benzene ring and glucoside of PDG originated from glu. It was also determined that PMG was not the direct precursor of PDG in the biosynthetic pathway. The study identified the occurrence of phenylalanine- lignan biosynthesis pathway in fungi at the level of mass flow.