Publications by authors named "Defa Hou"

Phenylacetylene derivatives serve as typical monomers for polyaddition reactions. In this study, we present a straightforward one-step protocol for synthesizing polyacetylene P0 (undoped), P0.09 (doped with 0.

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Article Synopsis
  • Water-soluble poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) has potential as an eco-friendly adhesive but struggles with water and mildew resistance in the wood industry.
  • Researchers synthesized a polyester-type PVA adhesive (CPVA) using PVA and citric acid, which improved its bonding performance, water resistance, and anti-mildew properties.
  • The CPVA adhesive met performance standards and showed good bonding with plywood and metals, making it a viable alternative for creating formaldehyde-free wood composites.
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Due to the innate recalcitrancy caused by robust hydrogen bonding interaction, cellulose cannot be easily processed into high-valued materials or chemicals. Herein, a solvent-free ball milling treatment was conducted to activate microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The research results demonstrated that ball milling treatment rapidly reduced the average particle size (Ð) and crystalline index (CrI) of MCC.

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Herein, we developed red solid-state fluorescent carbon dots (SSF-CDs) through a one-step solvothermal method, utilizing acetone as the carbonization solvent. Optical and structural characterization revealed that the sp domains in the core of the R-CDs were consistently interrupted and that the oxygen-containing groups on the surface were replaced by alkyl groups. This substitution mitigates excessive π-π interactions, thereby preventing quenching of fluorescence in the solid state.

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Boron doping can effectively induce solid-state fluorescence (SSF) in carbon dots (CDs); however, research on the intrinsic mechanism underlying this phenomenon is lacking. Herein, a design strategy for boron-doped furan-based CDs is proposed, CDs with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties are synthesized, and the mechanism by which boron atom dopants induces SSF and room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) is elucidated. The morphology and structural characterization of the CDs indicate that boron doping leads to structural twisting of the CDs.

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Tannic acid is widely regarded as one of the most promising natural polyphenolic compounds. However, current research predominantly focuses on the utilization of its phenolic hydroxyl groups, with limited exploration of the functional potential of its aromatic structure. Herein, one-dimensional nanofibers based on supramolecular self-assembly were successfully prepared through the simple alkylation reaction of tannic acid and the π-π stacking of aromatic structures.

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Rich biological information in sweat provides great potential for health monitoring and management. However, due to the complexity of sweat, the development of environmentally friendly green electronic products is of great significance to the construction of ecological civilization. This study utilized a simple combination of polystyrene sulfonate sodium (PSS) and filter paper (FP) to prepare cellulose materials coated with conductive polymers, developing an electrochemical sensor based on the modified materials.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on the preparation of carbon dots (CDs) using furan (FU) and its derivatives as precursors, highlighting their unique structures and fluorescence properties.
  • Researchers adopted a solvothermal method to create FU-derivative-based CDs and examined how the structure of the precursor affects their fluorescence characteristics.
  • Significant findings include the observation that CDs derived from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) display a red-shift in fluorescence due to supramolecular cross-linking and hydrogen bonding effects, paving the way for full-color phosphor-based light-emitting diodes.
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Herein, F-doped CDs with bright red SSF were synthesized by a solvothermal method using trifluoroethanol as the solvent and -hydroxybenzaldehyde as the carbon source. Strong F-F interactions are vital for inducing crystallization, and solid luminescence is achieved by blocking the nonradiative energy dissipation pathways of crystalline organizations.

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Fatty acid cellulose esters (FACE) are common cellulose-based thermoplastics, and their thermoplasticity is determined by both the contents and the lengths of the side chains. Herein, various FACE were synthesized by the ball-milling esterification of cellulose and fatty acyl chlorides containing 10-18 carbons, and their structures and thermoplasticity were thoroughly studied. The results showed that FACE with high degrees of substitution (DS) and low melting flow temperatures () were achieved as the chain lengths of the fatty acyl chlorides were reduced.

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Carbon dots (CDs) are new carbon nanomaterials, among which those prepared from biomass are popular due to their excellent optical properties and environmental friendliness. As representative natural phenolic compounds, tea polyphenols are ideal precursors with fluorescent aromatic rings and phenolic hydroxyl structures. Usually, polyphenolic precursors can only be used to produce blue or green fluorescent CDs, and fluorescence in long wavelength domains, such as orange or red, cannot be achieved.

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Wood-based panels find widespread application in the furniture and construction industries. However, over 90 % of adhesives used are synthesized with formaldehyde, leading to formaldehyde emission and associated health risks. In this study, an entirely bio-based adhesive (OSL) was innovatively proposed through the condensation of multi-aldehyde derived from the oxidization of sucrose (OS) with sodium lignosulfonate (L).

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Despite the widespread application prospect of soybean meal flour (SF) as a non-toxic and renewable wood adhesive, the practical application is limited by its poor mechanical properties and water resistance. In this work, a novel SF-based wood adhesive (CSP) was developed using citric acid (CA) as a modifier, which was further designated to produce plywood on a laboratory scale. Moreover, the effects of the mass ratio of CA/SF, hot-pressing temperature, and hot-pressing time on the bonding properties and water resistance of the resulting plywood were investigated in detail.

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In this study, impregnation combined with KOH activation with different mixing methods was used to prepare magnetic biochar. The effects of synthetic method on biochar physicochemical properties and adsorption performance were explored. The results showed that treatment of a Fe-Zn oxide with KOH activation provided excellent adsorption properties with adsorption capacity of 458.

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As the foremost category of carbon materials, carbon dots (CDs) have been extensively applied in many domains because of their special fluorescence features and outstanding biocompatibility. However, in early studies of fluorescent CDs, as the fluorescence wavelength of most CDs was restricted to the blue or green region and was excitation dependent, the application of CDs was limited. In this study, three representative CDs, fluorescing yellow, green, and blue, were synthesized under alkaline, neutral, and acidic circumstances, respectively, while using a hydrothermal method in which catechol and phthalaldehyde acted as carbon sources and methanol functioned as the reaction solvent.

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Starch adhesive, as a sustainable biomass-based adhesive, could be used to solve environmental problems from petroleum-derived adhesive. But its application is hindered by poor water resistance, mildew resistance, and storage stability. Here, a fully bio-based citric acid-starch adhesive (CASt) with high properties was successfully introduced by a simple method.

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In this study, a novel nitrogen-doped magnetic Fe-Ca codoped biochar for phenol removal was successfully fabricated via a hydrothermal and coactivation pyrolysis method. A series of adsorption process parameters (KFeO to CaCO ratio, initial phenol concentration, pH value, adsorption time, adsorbent dosage and ion strength) and adsorption models (kinetic models, isotherms and thermodynamic models) were determined using batch experiments and various analysis techniques (XRD, BET, SEM-EDX, Raman spectroscopy, VSM, FTIR and XPS) to investigate the adsorption mechanism and metal-nitrogen-carbon interaction. The biochar with a ratio of Biochar: KFeO: CaCO = 3:1:1 exhibited superior properties for adsorption of phenol and had a maximum adsorption capacity of 211.

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Reported in 2004, carbon dots (CDs) have been widely used in various fields due to their excellent optical properties. However, the mechanism of their fluorescence modulation is still a controversial issue, which also seriously affects the further development of carbon dots. In this paper, m-hydroxybenzaldehyde is used as a raw material to obtain multicolor luminescent CDs by pyrolysis under different reaction conditions, thereby revealing the forbidden band tuning and formation mechanism of CDs.

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Lignin has many potential applications and is a biopolymer with a three-dimensional network structure. It is composed of three phenylpropane units, p-hydroxyphenyl, guaiacyl, and syringyl, connected by ether bonds and carbon-carbon bonds, and it contains a large number of phenol or aldehyde structural units, resulting in complex lignin structures. This limits the application of lignin.

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The integrity of the packaging of a liquid foodstuff makes it difficult to detect spoilage. Therefore, it is important to develop a sensitive, fast and real-time material for liquid food detection. CMC, as lignocellulose derivatives and starch are widely used in the food industry.

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Juice, as a liquid foodstuff, is subject to spoilage and damage due to complications during transport and storage. The appearance of intact outer packaging often makes spoilage and damage difficult to detect. Therefore, it of particular importance to develop a fast, real-time material to evaluate liquid foodstuffs.

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Bio-based biodegradable resin was prepared by condensation of gelatinized starch and furfuryl alcohol, in presence of glyoxal as crosslinker. The resin was blown with different foaming agents and/or flame retardants such as phosphoric or boric acids, to produce environmentally friendly foam structures, given the bio-based nature of the main components, which are both derived from corn. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging of the samples revealed closed cell structure with a smooth surface.

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Primary hepatic stromal tumours are very rare and there are only sporadic reports in the literature. Due to the lack of specificity in their clinical manifestations and imaging features, these tumours are easily misdiagnosed. This current report presents a case of primary liver stromal tumour that was misdiagnosed as a liver cyst.

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Cellulose is an abundant feedstock with renewability and biodegradability. However, it is still challenging to manufacture natural cellulose products by environmentally friendly thermoplastic processing methods. Herein, we proposed a green approach for the heterogeneous preparation of thermoplastic cellulose grafted polyurethane (RCP-g-PU) from amorphous regenerated cellulose paste (RCP) via hydroxyl/isocyanate chemistry.

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