Au-Pt-Ni nanochains as dopamine catalysts: role of elements and their spatial distribution.

Multi-element materials can improve biosensing ability as each element can catalyze different steps in a reaction pathway. By combining Pt and Ni on self-assembled 1D gold nanochains and controlling their spatial distribution, a detailed understanding of each element's role in dopamine oxidation is developed. In addition, the developed synthesis process provides a simple way to fabricate multi-element composites for electrocatalytic applications based on electrical double-layer formation on the surface of charged nanoparticles.

System design of large-area vertical photothermoelectric detectors based on carbon nanotube forests with MXene electrodes.

Photothermoelectric (PTE) detectors that combine photothermal and thermoelectric conversion have emerged in recent years. They can overcome bandgap limitations and achieve effective infrared detection. However, the development of PTE detectors and the related system design are in the early phases.

Preparation and characterization of attapulgite-supported phase change energy storage materials.

Phase change materials (PCMs) for the charge and discharge of thermal energy at a nearly constant temperature are of interest for thermal energy storage and management, and porous materials are usually used to support PCMs for preventing the liquid leakage and shape instability during the phase change process. Compared with commonly used polymer matrices and porous carbons, mineral materials with naturally occurring porous structures have obvious advantages such as cost-saving and abundant resources. Attapulgite (ATP) is a clay mineral with natural porous structures, which can be used to contain PCMs for thermal energy storage.

Tuning the band gap and carrier concentration of titania films grown by spatial atomic layer deposition: a precursor comparison.

Spatial atomic layer deposition retains the advantages of conventional atomic layer deposition: conformal, pinhole-free films and excellent control over thickness. Additionally, it allows higher deposition rates and is well-adapted to depositing metal oxide nanofilms for photovoltaic cells and other devices. This study compares the morphological, electrical and optical properties of titania thin films deposited by spatial atomic layer deposition from titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) and titanium tetrachloride (TiCl) over the temperature range 100-300 °C, using the oxidant HO.

Faradaic Electrodes Open a New Era for Capacitive Deionization.

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an emerging desalination technology for effective removal of ionic species from aqueous solutions. Compared to conventional CDI, which is based on carbon electrodes and struggles with high salinity streams due to a limited salt removal capacity by ion electrosorption and excessive co-ion expulsion, the emerging Faradaic electrodes provide unique opportunities to upgrade the CDI performance, i.e.

[2,2'-Bithiophene]-4,4'-dicarboxamide: a novel building block for semiconducting polymers.

A novel electron deficient building block [2,2'-bithiophene]-4,4'-dicarboxamide (BTDCA) was designed to lower the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level of polythiophenes in order to achieve a higher open circuit voltage ( ) and thus a higher power conversion efficiency in polymer solar cells (PSCs). BTDCA dibromo monomers were conveniently synthesized in four steps, and were used to prepare three thiophene-based D-A polymers, P(BTDCA66-BT) (66BT), P(BTDCA44-BT) (44BT) and P(BTDCA44-TT) (44TT). All the polymers exhibited unipolar hole transport properties, exhibiting mobilities in the range of ∼10 to 10 cm V s with the highest hole mobility of up to 1.

Design and synthesis of stable indigo polymer semiconductors for organic field-effect transistors with high fluoride sensitivity and selectivity.

We report the design and synthesis of two novel indigo donor-acceptor (D-A) polymers, PIDG-T-C20 and PIDG-BT-C20, comprising an indigo moiety that has intramolecular hydrogen-bonds as the acceptor building block and thiophene (T) and bithiophene (BT) as the donor building block, respectively. PIDG-T-C20 and PIDG-BT-C20 exhibited characteristic p-type semiconductor performance, achieving hole mobilities of up to 0.016 and 0.

Men's perceptions of women's reproductive health in South Sudan.

This paper draws on a qualitative study (n = 52) and applies a political ecology of health framework to examine men's perceptions of women's reproductive health in South Sudan. The findings suggest that political practices of place making configure men's views of women's reproductive roles in this new nation state. In particular, masculinity intertwines with fears of losing traditional culture, and with lingering concerns about sovereignty to underpin men's deep aversion to modern family planning methods.

On the importance of retaining stresses and strains in repositioning computational biomechanical models of the cervical spine.

Human body models are created in a specific posture and often repositioned and analyzed without retaining stresses that result from repositioning. For example, repositioning a human neck model within the physiological range of motion to a head-turned posture prior to an impact results in initial stresses within the tissues distracted from their neutral position. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of repositioning on the subsequent kinetics, kinematics, and failure modes, of a lower cervical spine motion segment, to support future research at the full neck level.

Assessment of the removal of estrogenicity in biological nutrient removal wastewater treatment processes.

The removal of estrogenicity in a University of Cape Town-biological nutrient removal (UCT-BNR) wastewater treatment process was investigated using pilot and bench scale systems, batch experiments and mathematical modeling. In the pilot BNR process, 96 ± 5% of the estrogenicity exerted by the influent wastewater was removed by the treatment process. The degradation efficiencies in the anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic zones of the pilot BNR bioreactor were 11 ± 9%, 18 ± 2% and 93 ± 10%, respectively.

Effect of ozone on biopolymers in biofiltration and ultrafiltration processes.

The focus of this full-scale study was to determine the effect of ozone on biopolymer concentrations in biofiltration and ultrafiltration (UF) processes treating surface water from Lake Ontario. Ozonation was out of service for maintenance for 9 months, hence, it was possible to investigate ozone's action on biologically active carbon contactors (BACCs) and UF, in terms of biopolymer removal. Given the importance of biopolymers for fouling, this fraction was quantified using a chromatographic technique.