Strain-induced charge delocalization achieves ultralow exciton binding energy toward efficient photocatalysis.

The exciton effect is commonly observed in photocatalysts, where substantial exciton binding energy ( ) significantly hampers the efficient generation of photo-excited electron-hole pairs, thereby severely constraining photocatalysis. Herein, we propose a strategy to reduce through strain-induced charge delocalization. Taking TaO as a prototype, tensile strain was introduced by engineering a crystalline/amorphous interface, weakening the interaction between Ta 5d and O 2p orbitals, thus endowing a delocalized charge transport and significantly lowering .

Cyclodextrin-conjugated low-molecular-weight polyethyleneimine as a macromolecular contrast agent for tumor-targeted magnetic resonance imaging.

Macromolecular contrast agents (CAs) usually possess excellent contrast ability and tumor-targeting ability in comparison with small-molecule CAs, especially for early tumor detection. Herein, cyclodextrin-conjugated low-molecular-weight polyethyleneimine was synthesized as a macromolecular backbone. Afterward, a linear polymer with adamantane terminal and Gd chelates was synthesized, followed by conjugating with the backbone host-guest interaction.

A review on the characterization of metal active sites over Cu-based and Fe-based zeolites for NH-SCR.

Cu-based and Fe-based zeolites are promising catalysts for NH-SCR due to their high catalytic activity, wide temperature window and good hydrothermal stability, while the detailed investigation of NH-SCR mechanism should be based on the accurate determination of active metal sites. This review systematically summarizes the qualitative and quantitative determination of metal active sites in Cu-based or Fe-based zeolites for NH-SCR reactions based on advanced characterization methods such as UV-vis absorption (UV-vis), temperature-programmed reduction with H (H-TPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS), Infrared spectroscopy (IR), Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), Mössbauer spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The application and limitations of different characterization methods are also discussed to provide insights for further study of the NH-SCR reaction mechanism over metal-based zeolites.

Enhanced dielectric properties of polystyrene by using graphene incorporated styrene-butyl acrylate microspheres.

In view of the current trend of capacitor materials, the development of capacitors with high dielectric permittivity and low dielectric loss is of great interest. In this work, the dielectric permittivity of reduced graphene oxide-incorporated styrene-butyl acrylate (rGO@SBA) composite microspheres synthesized by mini-emulsion polymerization was significantly improved. rGO with 2 wt% content gave a dielectric permittivity of 11 356 (at 1 KHz), which was 1925 times higher than that of pure SBA (5.

Structure modulation on fluorescent probes for biothiols and the reversible imaging of glutathione in living cells.

The detection of small molecular biothiols (cysteine, homocysteine and glutathione) is of great importance, as they involve in a series of physiological and pathological processes and are associated with many diseases. To realize the real-time monitoring of a specific biothiol, a rapid and reversible probe is required. Therefore, three probes, namely, -MNPy, -MNPy and -MNPy, with pyridine substituted α, β-unsaturated ketone as the recognition site, were reported here, and the reactivity of the recognition site was finely tuned by the connection mode of the pyridine unit.

Preparation and properties of water-based acrylic emulsion-assisted flexible building tiles.

The heavy and rigid appearance of conventional burnt building tiles is not suitable for a global sustainable development strategy. Flexible facing tiles with lightweight and environmental materials are highly desirable for the construction industry today. In this work, water-based polymer emulsion-assisted flexible building tiles were prepared.

A N-doped porous carbon derived from deep eutectic solvent for adsorption of organic contaminants from aqueous or oil solution.

Porous N-doped carbon material (NCM) derived from deep eutectic solvent (DES) is successfully prepared. The preparation of NCM depends mainly on heating treatment and does not demand activation and filtration. The heating process contains three steps: (1) forming a DES that consists of glucose and urea at 100 °C; (2) preparing dried precursors by microwave; (3) and carbonizing the precursor.

An electrochemical study of pH influences on corrosion and passivation for a Q235 carbon steel in HNO-NaNO, HAc-NaNO and HCl-NaNO solutions.

In this study, the influences of different pH values on the corrosion and passivation behaviors of a Q235 carbon steel in HNO-NaNO, HAc-NaNO and HCl-NaNO solutions were studied by electrochemical methods. The manifestations of the electrochemical characteristics were revealed and the variations in the electrochemical parameters were clarified. Moreover, for the Q235 steel in the three solutions with different pH values, the decrease in the corrosion current density ( ) and the increase in the charge transfer resistance ( ) in each solution, indicated a decrease in the corrosion rate.

A pH-stable positively charged composite nanofiltration membrane with excellent rejection performance.

A novel kind of pH-stable positively charged composite nanofiltration (NF) membrane with excellent rejection performance was developed interfacial polymerization on the surface of a polysulfone (PSF) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane, using a mixture of polyethyleneimine (PEI) and piperazine (PIP) as the monomers of the aqueous phase, and cyanuric chloride (CC) as the monomer of the organic phase. The strong electron withdrawing and steric hindrance effects of the chloride group in the molecules of CC could protect the amido bond from the attack of hydrogen ions (H) or hydroxyl ions (OH) under acidic or alkaline conditions, thus the resultant polyamide composite membranes could be stable in acidic or alkali aqueous solution. A more compact PA active layer could be developed mixing PIP into the PEI aqueous solution, where the PIP molecules could fill the pores of the polymer networks.

The effects of BiO on the selective catalytic reduction of NO by propylene over CoO nanoplates.

BiO/CoO catalysts prepared by the impregnation method were investigated for the selective catalytic reduction of NO by CH (CH-SCR) in the presence of O. Their physicochemical properties were analyzed with SEM, XRD, H-TPR, XPS, PL and IR measurements. It was found that the deposition of BiO on CoO nanoplates enhanced the catalytic activity, especially at low reaction temperature.

The relationship between activation-passivation transition and grain boundary dissolution on four steel samples in acidic solutions containing NO.

Herein, for four steels (L80, N80, X65 and Q235) in acidic solutions (HNO, HCl, HAc and CO) containing NO , the relationship between the activation-passivation (A-P) transition and the grain boundary dissolution (GBD) was studied by potentiodynamic polarization curve (PPC) measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations. In the specific pH range of acidic solutions, where the four steels showed an electrochemical characteristic of the A-P transition, GBD was observed on the steel surface; however, at low or high pH values of the acidic solutions, the four steels respectively showed the electrochemical behavior of activation (A) or self-passivation (sP), and GBD was not observed on the steel surface. The effects of the acid type, pH value and steel type on the electrochemical characteristic of the A-P transition and the occurrence of GBD were also discussed in detail.

Elastic and hydrostatic behaviour of a zinc dietary supplement, zinc glycinate hydrate.

Coordination polymer based dietary supplement tablets are commonly consumed in our daily life and play an important role in the pharmaceutical industry. To fully understand their tableting process, their mechanical properties need to be comprehensively studied. In this work, the elastic and hydrostatic behaviour of a zinc supplement, zinc glycinate hydrate (Zn[OCCHNH]·HO), have been studied density functional theory (DFT) calculations and high-pressure synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction.

Si, Sr, Ag co-doped hydroxyapatite/TiO coating: enhancement of its antibacterial activity and osteoinductivity.

A multifaceted coating with favourable cytocompatibility, osteogenic activity and antibacterial properties would be of great significance and value due to its capability for improving osseointegration and alleviating prosthesis loosening. This study marks the first report on the coating of TiO nanotubular (TNT) arrays with Sr-and-Si-substituted hydroxyapatite (SSHA) endowed with antibacterial characteristics using silver ions. This TNT layer coated with Ag-substituted SSHA (SSAgHA) formed a composite coating with an interconnected microporous structure and a homogeneous distribution of Sr, Si and Ag; such a coating promoted cell adhesion and osteogenic potential.

Synthesis and biological activities of petrosiols B and D.

A divergent total synthesis of natural diacetylenic tetraols, petrosiol B and petrosiol D, was accomplished by taking advantage of a carbohydrate chiral template. In particular, petrosiol B, which is the first total synthesis so far, was achieved in 13 linear steps with a 10% overall yield applying Ohira-Bestmann homologation, NaH-mediated dehydrobromination, and Cu(i)-catalyzed Cadiot-Chodkiewicz coupling as the key reaction steps. The synthetic petrosiols B and D were subjected to the study on differentiation activities toward neuronal progenitor PC12 cells.

Preparation and characterization of a novel positively charged composite hollow fiber nanofiltration membrane based on chitosan lactate.

A positively charged composite hollow fiber nanofiltration (NF) membrane was prepared interfacial polymerization (IP) between chitosan lactate (CL) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on a polyether sulfone (PES) hollow fiber ultrafiltration (UF) membrane. The chemical structure and the morphologies of the resultant NF membranes were characterized with attenuated total reflectance-infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The rejection of NF membrane for different inorganic salt aqueous solutions followed the order: MgCl > ZnCl > MgSO > NaCl > NaSO.

A facile strategy for modifying boron nitride and enhancing its effect on the thermal conductivity of polypropylene/polystyrene blends.

Boron nitride (BN) possesses excellent thermal conductivity and remarkable insulating properties. However, poor compatibility between BN fillers and a polymer matrix and the weak ultimate mechanical properties of polymer composites are still big challenges to industrial applications in the thermal conductive field. In this paper, the dispersion of BN in a polystyrene (PS) matrix can be improved through the surface modification of BN by introducing dispersion of polystyrene.

Amino acid composition and nutritional value evaluation of Chinese chestnut ( Blume) and its protein subunit.

The amino acid composition, nutritional value and proteins subunit of chestnuts ( Blume) from three regions of China (Henan, Hunan, and Guangdong) were investigated. Experimental results showed that the albumin fraction dominated the chestnut protein composition, but globulin and prolamin were nondetectable. All the Chinese chestnut proteins had a nutritionally balanced amino acid composition.

Coordination of Surface-Induced Reaction and Intercalation: Toward a High-Performance Carbon Anode for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

is successfully fabricated from a porous carbon and evaluated as anode for sodium-ion battery. With the strategy of optimal combination of fast surface redox reaction and reversible intercalation, the oxygen-rich carbon anode exhibits a large reversible capacity (447 mAh g at 0.2 A g), high rate capability (172 mAh g at 20 A g), and excellent cycling stability.