Hydronium Ions Are Less Excluded from Hydrophobic Polymer-Water Interfaces than Hydroxide Ions.

The cloud point temperatures of aqueous poly(-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and poly(ethylene) oxide (PEO) solutions were measured from pH 1.0 to pH 13.0 at a constant ionic strength of 100 mM.

Modulating Ni-S coordination in NiS to promote electrocatalytic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural at ampere-level current density.

Electricity-driven oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is a highly attractive strategy for biomass transformation. However, achieving industrial-grade current densities remains a great challenge. Herein, by modulating the water content in a solvothermal system, NiS/NF with stabilized and shorter Ni-S bonds as well as a tunable coordination environment of Ni sites was fabricated.

Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent-Assisted Construction of Silk Nanofibrils/Boron Nitride Nanosheets Membranes with Enhanced Heat-Dissipating Efficiency.

Natural polymer-derived nanofibrils have gained significant interest in diverse fields. However, production of bio-nanofibrils with the hierarchical structures such as fibrillar structures and crystalline features remains a great challenge. Herein, an all-natural strategy for simple, green, and scalable top-down exfoliation silk nanofibrils (SNFs) in novel renewable deep eutectic solvent (DES) composed by amino acids and D-sorbitol is innovatively developed.

CO Capture by Diamines in Dry and Humid Conditions: A Theoretical Approach.

This work is a mechanistic study of the CO reaction with diamines under both dry and wet conditions. All protic α,ω-diamines R1H1N1-(CH)-N2H2R2, with = 1-5 and R1 and R2 = H and/or CH, were investigated. Depending on the nature of the diamine, the reaction was found to follow one of two concerted asynchronous reaction mechanisms with a zwitterion hidden intermediate.

Operando Forming of Lattice Vacancy Defect in Ultrathin Crumpled NiVW-Layered Metal Hydroxides Nanosheets for Valorization of Biomass.

The 2D layered metal hydroxides (LMHs) have been developed for electrooxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). In this work, an effective strategy is proposed to tailor the electronic structure of active sites at the atomic level, which is by introducing defects into the lattice structure. As an example, a series of ultrathin crumpled ternary NiVW-LMH electrocatalysts with abundant lattice vacancies (denoted as NiVW -LMH) are prepared in this way.

Original Basic Activation for Enhancing Silica Particle Reactivity: Characterization by Liquid Phase Silanization and Silica-Rubber Nanocomposite Properties.

Silica fillers are used in various nanocomposites in combination with silanes as a reinforcing filler. In tire technology, silica is generally functionalized before (pre-treated) or during mixing (in-situ silanization or post-treated). In both cases, a soft base catalyst (e.

Weakly hydrated anions bind to polymers but not monomers in aqueous solutions.

Weakly hydrated anions help to solubilize hydrophobic macromolecules in aqueous solutions, but small molecules comprising the same chemical constituents precipitate out when exposed to these ions. Here, this apparent contradiction is resolved by systematically investigating the interactions of NaSCN with polyethylene oxide oligomers and polymers of varying molecular weight. A combination of spectroscopic and computational results reveals that SCN accumulates near the surface of polymers, but is excluded from monomers.

Semiquantitative Solid-State NMR Study of the Adsorption of Soybean Oils on Silica and Its Significance for Rubber Processing.

Soybean oil (SBO) is a renewable material used as an alternative to conventional petroleum-derived oils in the processing of rubber composites. Upon chemical modifications, such as epoxidation, its performance in the processing of rubber can be significantly improved, as indicated by a considerable reduction of the mixing energy. Although it has been hypothesized that hydrogen bonding between functional groups (e.

An Investigation on the Thermally Induced Compatibilization of SBR and α-Methylstyrene/Styrene Resin.

The miscibility between two polymers such as rubbers and performance resins is crucial to achieve given targeted properties in terms of tire performances. To this aim, α-methylstyrene/styrene resin (poly(αMSt--St)) are used to modify the viscoelastic behavior of rubbers and to fulfill the requirements of the final applications. The initial aim of this work was to understand the influence of poly(αMSt--St) resins blended at different concentrations in a commercial styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR).

Sensitivity enhancement multiple contacts in the {H-Si}-H cross polarization experiment: a case study of modified silica nanoparticle surfaces.

{H-Si}-H double cross polarization inverse detection (DCPi) solid-state NMR, has recently been shown to be a powerful tool for studying molecules adsorbed on the silica surface. In this contribution, we develop an improved version (MCPi) which incorporates a block of multiple contact pulses, and quantitatively compare the sensitivities of MCPi and DCPi over a typical range of experimental parameters. The MCPi pulse sequence aims at higher sensitivity and robustness for studying samples with various relaxation characteristics.

An ambient temperature, CO-assisted solution processing of amorphous cobalt sulfide in a thiol/amine based quasi-ionic liquid for oxygen evolution catalysis.

We report the synthesis of CoS nanosheets from a 1,2-ethanedithiol/n-butylamine quasi-ionic liquid with the assistance of compressed CO at ambient temperature. The CoS achieves a current density of 10 mA cm at an overpotential of 271 mV for the oxygen evolution reaction. Furthermore, our method is applicable to the fabrication of other transition metal chalcogenides.

Fine regulation of cellulose dissolution and regeneration by low pressure CO in DMSO/organic base: dissolution behavior and mechanism.

In this study, the fine regulation of the dissolution and regeneration of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) using very low pressure (0-0.2 MPa) CO in a mixed solvent of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and 1,8-diazabicyclo-[5.4.

Surprising Hofmeister Effects on the Bending Vibration of Water.

The Hofmeister series, which originally described the specific ion effects on the solubility of macromolecules in aqueous solutions, has been a long-standing unsolved and exceptionally challenging mystery in chemistry. The complexity of specific ion effects has prevented a unified theory from emerging. Accumulating research has suggested that the interactions among ions, water and various solutes play roles.

The dynamic process of atmospheric water sorption in [EMIM][Ac] and mixtures of [EMIM][Ac] with biopolymers and CO2 capture in these systems.

There are mainly three findings related to the dynamic process of atmospheric water sorption in the ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methlyl-imidazolium acetate ([EMIM][Ac]) and its mixtures with biopolymers (i.e., cellulose, chitin, and chitosan), and CO2 capture in these systems above.

The dynamic process of atmospheric water sorption in [BMIM][Ac]: quantifying bulk versus surface sorption and utilizing atmospheric water as a structure probe.

The dynamic process of the atmospheric water absorbed in acetate-based ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate ([BMIM][Ac]) within 360 min could be described with three steps by using two-dimensional correlation infrared (IR) spectroscopy technique. In Step 1 (0-120 min), only bulk sorption via hydrogen bonding interaction occurs. In Step 2 (120-320 min), bulk and surface sorption takes place simultaneously via both hydrogen bonding interaction and van der Waals force.

Investigation of ionic liquids for efficient removal and reliable storage of radioactive iodine: a halogen-bonding case.

A series of ionic liquids (ILs) were investigated for removal and storage of radioactive iodine (I2) waste released by nuclear power plants. The I2 removal efficiency of ILs was dependent upon the anion species while cation species seemed to have little influence. Particularly, the I2 removal efficiency of [Bmim][Br] was higher than 96% in 5 hours.