Lyotropic "Salty" Tuning for Straightforward Diversification and Anisotropy in Hydrogel Actuators.

The specific ion effect (SIE), the control of polymer solubility in aqueous solutions by the added ions, has been a phenomenon known for more than a century. The seemingly simple nature of the ion-polymer-water interactions can lead to complex behaviors, which have also been exploited in many applications in biochemistry, electrochemistry, and energy harvesting. Here, we show an emerging diversification of actuation behaviors in "salty" hydrogel and hydrogel-paper actuators.

Intercalation of water molecules from the air into perovskite and layered structures formed in the system of NaNbO-CaNbO.

The study results of the perovskite solid solution and layered compounds formed in the system of (1-)NaNbO-CaNbO, = 0.10, 0.25, 0.

Iron-/Nitrogen-Doped Electrocatalytically Active Carbons for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction with Low Amounts of Cobalt.

Transition-metal-doped carbon catalysts are promising Pt-free alternatives for low-temperature fuel cells. They are frequently obtained from sacrificial N-rich zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) doped with Co and Fe. The optimal low loading of metals has to be achieved to guarantee the competitive efficiency and facilitate an inquiry into the mechanism of their catalytic activity.

DFT Study of the CNS Ligand Effect on the Geometry, Spin-State, and Absorption Spectrum in Ruthenium, Iron, and Cobalt Quaterpyridine Complexes.

Geometry parameters, total energy of the system in different spin states, harmonic vibrational frequencies, and absorption spectra were computed for a range of mononuclear quaterpyridine Ru(II), Fe(III/II), and Co(III/II) complexes with two axial ambidentate CNS ligands by using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations. Both structural and electronic properties were found to be correlating with the type of the binding atom in the CNS ligand (isomerization differs by 4-13 kcal·mol). The N-bonding of CNS ligands is energetically favored.

The role of defects in the physical properties of mechanically activated PbTiO ferroelectrics.

In this work a multi-technique characterization was performed for the first time to trace the influence of structural defects on the physical properties of PbTiO ferroelectrics. The structural defects were generated by the mechanical activation in the pressure range of 40-320 MPa, by combining a uniaxial strain with a shear deformation in the Bridgman anvils. The induced defectivity of PbTiO was assessed via calculation of unit cell parameters, estimation of the regions of coherent scattering and analysis of micro-deformations.

Partial and Complete Substitution of the 1,4-Benzenedicarboxylate Linker in UiO-66 with 1,4-Naphthalenedicarboxylate: Synthesis, Characterization, and H-Adsorption Properties.

We describe the synthesis and corresponding full characterization of the set of UiO-66 metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate (CH(COOH), hereafter HBDC) and 1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylate (CH(COOH), hereafter HNDC) mixed linkers with NDC contents of 0, 25, 50, and 100%. Their structural (powder X-ray diffraction, PXRD), adsorptive (N, H, and CO), vibrational (IR/Raman), and thermal stability (thermogravimetric analysis, TGA) properties quantitatively correlate with the NDC content in the material. The UiO-66 phase topology is conserved at all relative fractions of BDC/NDC.

Water as a structure-driving agent between the UiO-66 and MIL-140A metal-organic frameworks.

We report a careful investigation of a selective phase formation in the zirconium-terephthalic acid system during solvothermal synthesis, which could result in the UiO-66 (Zr6O6(OH)4(BDC)6) or MIL-140A (ZrO(BDC)) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The introduction of water varies the phase from MIL-140A to UiO-66 by producing at the nucleation stage tetragonal ZrO2 nanoparticles, where the local arrangement of Zr and O atoms is similar to that in the UiO-66 SBU.

Solvothermal synthesis of Sm-doped FeO nanoparticles.

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles doped with samarium were prepared by solvothermal polyol method. An introduction of 2,2'-bipyridine during the synthesis reduces the particle diameter to about 9nm in average. The difference in physical and magnetic properties of the samples prepared with and without capping agent was outlined on the basis of complex characterization by a number of experimental techniques.