Template‐free anion‐controlled synthesis of Pd (II) nano‐aggregates for the antifouling polymerization of CO and ethylene

The reaction of [(domppp) Pd (OAc)₂] [domppp = 1,3‐bis (di‐o‐methoxyphenylphosphino)propane] and imidazolium‐functionalized carboxylic acids containing various anions (Br^?, PF₆^?, SbF₆^? and BF₄^?) resulted in the formation of nano‐sized Pd (II) aggregates under template‐free conditions. The rate of formation of aggregates can be modulated by changing the anion, affecting the rate of polymerization of CO and olefins without fouling. Herein, we describe the analysis of Pd (II) catalysts by dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X‐ray crystallography, and co‐ and terpolymerization results including the catalytic activity, and bulk density and molecular weight of polymers.     

Evaluation of aerodynamic performance enhancement of Risø_B1 airfoil with an optimized cavity by PIV measurement

Journal of Visualization - Airfoils are mostly inefficient in their off-design conditions. In order to improve the aerodynamic performance of airfoils in these conditions, using an optimized cavity...     

Novel regulation of aflatoxin B1 biosynthesis in Aspergillus flavus by piperonal

The present study investigated its inhibitory role in aflatoxin (AF) biosynthesis. Treating only AFB1- and B2-producing Aspergillus flavus with piperonal completely inhibited AFB1 production with high sclerotial formation, resulting in 20-fold higher AFG2 production. On the other hand, benzodioxole and eugenol suppressed AFB1 production without AFG formation, while methyleugenol showed potent inhibition of AFB1 production with slight production of AFG1. These results indicate that natural products may change aflatoxin biosynthesis, and highlight a novel regulation of AFG2 production by piperonal. It is the first report for chemical regulation on AFG2 production in non-AFG producing-aspergilli.     

Relationship between liquid crystalline phase stability and ingredient composition in liquid crystal oil–water emulsion

In this study, we postulated that the optical retardation magnitude could be used to evaluate the stability of the LC phase through the Mueller matrix polarimeter method in LC emulsion. In addition, we found that the increase of cetearyl alcohol concentration induced the more periodic dense lattice structure in crystalline phase of LC lamellae and the sorbitan olivate was relatively more responsible for higher ordering in LC phase compared to C12–20 alkyl glucoside in terms of molecular parallel packing on the basis of the optical retardation magnitude. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the LC emulsion had higher skin barrier function owing to lower TEWL and higher reflectance than ordinary emulsion on human skin and maintained a uniform phase without phase separation for 8 weeks.     

Electroreduction of oxygen on Pd catalysts supported on Ti-modified carbon

Carbon supports modified with well dispersed anatase TiO₂ (C–Ti-X; X (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0) represents mass ratio of Ti precursor to carbon) were synthesized with various Ti loadings and used to support Pd catalysts for oxygen reduction. The anatase nanoparticles increased in size with increasing Ti loading. Pd dispersion improved with increasing Ti loading up to the C–Ti-0.75, which resulted in the best catalytic activity. Although the Pd dispersion was lowest on the C–Ti-1.0, it showed better catalytic performance than the catalysts supported on C–Ti-0.25 and C–Ti-0.5. At 0.8 V (vs. RHE), the best catalytic activity achieved was respectively 2.7 and 2.7 times the mass and specific activities of Pd supported on un-modified carbon. The interaction between Pd and highly dispersed TiO₂ is believed to improve the catalytic activity of Pd supported on TiO₂-modified carbons.