Increasing the Permeability of Polyphenylene Sulfone Hollow Fiber Ultrafiltration Membranes by Switching the Polymer End Groups.

The influence of the molecular weight and chemical structure of polyphenylene sulfone (PPSU) end groups on the formation of the porous structure of ultrafiltration (UF) hollow fiber membranes was investigated. Polymers with a molecular weight ranging from 67 to 81 kg/mol and with a hydroxyl-to-chlorine end group ratio ranging from 0.43 to 17.

Tungsten Diselenide Nanoparticles Produced via Femtosecond Ablation for SERS and Theranostics Applications.

Due to their high refractive index, record optical anisotropy and a set of excitonic transitions in visible range at a room temperature, transition metal dichalcogenides have gained much attention. Here, we adapted a femtosecond laser ablation for the synthesis of WSe nanoparticles (NPs) with diameters from 5 to 150 nm, which conserve the crystalline structure of the original bulk crystal. This method was chosen due to its inherently substrate-additive-free nature and a high output level.

High-Performance Porous Supports Based on Hydroxyl-Terminated Polysulfone and CO/CO-Selective Composite Membranes.

The scope of this work was to develop a thin-film composite (TFC) membrane for the separation of CO/CO mixtures, which are relevant for many processes of gas processing and gasification of carbon-based feedstock. Special attention was given to the development of highly permeable porous polysulfone (PSF) supports (more than 26,000 GPU for CO) since both the selective and support layers contribute significantly to the overall performance of the TFC membrane. The PSF porous support is widely used in commercial and lab-scale TFC membranes, and its porous structure and other exploitation parameters are set during the non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) process.

Functional and Molecular Characterization of Plant Nitrate Transporters Belonging to NPF (NRT1/PTR) 6 Subfamily.

Plant nitrate transporters in the NPF (NRT1) family are characterized by multifunctionality and their involvement in a number of physiological processes. The proteins in this family have been identified in many monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous species: a bioinformatic analysis predicts from 20 to 139 members in the plant genomes sequenced so far, including mosses. Plant NPFs are phylogenetically related to proton-coupled oligopeptide transporters, which are evolutionally conserved in all kingdoms of life apart from Archaea.

Artificial intelligence guided search for van der Waals materials with high optical anisotropy.

The exploration of van der Waals (vdW) materials, renowned for their unique optical properties, is pivotal for advanced photonics. These materials exhibit exceptional optical anisotropy, both in-plane and out-of-plane, making them an ideal platform for novel photonic applications. However, the manual search for vdW materials with giant optical anisotropy is a labor-intensive process unsuitable for the fast screening of materials with unique properties.