Inhibition of cold-welding and adhesive wear occurring on surface of the 6061 aluminum alloy by graphene oxide/polyethylene glycol composite water-based lubricant

In this paper, graphene oxide/polyethylene glycol (GO/PEG) composite water-based lubricant was prepared by an ultrasonic dispersion method, and characterized and analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The suspension performance of GO/PEG composite water-based lubricant in water was verified by static sedimentation and centrifugation, and then, the prepared GO/PEG composite water-based lubricant was added into 304 stainless steel and 6061 aluminum alloy, and the coefficient of friction (COF) curve, average COF value, average wear rate, corresponding photomicrographs of balls and disks after wear, and energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) elemental analysis were used to illustrate the lubrication effect and lubrication mechanism. The results show that the GO/PEG composite water-based lubricant possesses excellent suspension ability in water, and the average COF value and wear rate of GO/PEG composite water-based lubricant are reduced by 78.8% and 88.8%, respectively, compared with water lubrication. The excellent lubrication effect of GO/PEG composite water-based lubricant can effectively reduce the cold-welding and adhesive wear phenomenon, mainly because GO/PEG composite water-based lubricant first fills the uneven surface of friction mating to form a high-quality lubricating film and then because of the special space structure of GO and the low shear between GO layers and the synergistic lubrication effect of GO/PEG.     

Colloidal Surface Active Maghemite Nanoparticles for Biologically Safe CrVI Remediation: from Core‐Shell Nanostructures to Pilot Plant Development

The present study is aimed at the exploration of achievable improvements for Cr^VI ex situ and in situ water remediation by using novel naked colloidal maghemite (γ‐Fe₂O₃) nanoparticles (surface active maghemite nanoparticles, SAMNs). The reliability of SAMNs for Cr^VI binding and removal was demonstrated, and SAMN@Cr^VI complex was characterized, as well as the covalent nature of the absorption was unequivocally proved. SAMNs were structurally and magnetically well conserved after Cr^VI binding. Thus, in consideration of their affinity for Cr^VI, SAMNs were exploited in a biological model system, mimicking a real in situ application. The assay evidenced a progressive reduction of revertant colonies of Salmonella typhimurium TA100 strain, as maghemite nanoparticles concentration increased, till the complete suppression of Cr^VI mutagen effect. Finally, an automatic modular pilot system for continuous magnetic removal and recovery of Cr^VI from water is proposed. SAMNs, thanks to their colloidal, binding, and catalytic properties, represent a promising tool as a reliable nanomaterial for water remediation by Cr^VI.     

Supramolecularly engineered phospholipids constructed by nucleobase molecular recognition: upgraded generation of phospholipids for drug delivery

Despite of great advances of phospholipids and liposomes in clinical therapy, very limited success has been achieved in the preparation of smart phospholipids and controlled-release liposomes for in vivo drug delivery and clinical trials. Here we report a supramolecular approach to synthesize novel supramolecularly engineered phospholipids based on complementary hydrogen bonding of nucleosides, which greatly reduces the need of tedious chemical synthesis, including reducing the strict requirements for multistep chemical reactions, and the purification of the intermediates and the amount of waste generated relative more traditional approaches. These upgraded phospholipids self-assemble into liposome-like bilayer structures in aqueous solution, exhibiting fast stimuli-responsive ability due to the hydrogen bonding connection. In vitro and in vivo evaluations show the resulted supramolecular liposomes from nucleoside phospholipids could effectively transport drug into tumor tissue, rapidly enter tumor cells, and controllably release their payload in response to an intracellular acidic environment, thus resulting in a much higher antitumor activity than conventional liposomes. The present supramolecularly engineered phospholipids represent an important evolution in comparison to conventional covalent-bonded phospholipid systems.     

Embeddings between weighted Copson and Cesàro function spaces

In this paper, characterizations of the embeddings between weighted Copson function spaces \(Co{p_{{p_1},{q_1}}}\left( {{u_1},{v_1}} \right)\) and weighted Cesàro function spaces \(Ce{s_{{p_2},{q_2}}}\left( {{u_2},{v_2}} \right)\) are given. In particular, two-sided estimates of the optimal constant c in the inequality

$${\left( {\int_0^\infty {{{\left( {\int_0^t {f{{\left( \tau \right)}^{{p_2}}}{v_2}\left( \tau \right)d\tau } } \right)}^{{q_2}/{p_2}}}{u_2}\left( t \right)dt} } \right)^{1/{q_2}}} \leqslant c{\left( {\int_0^\infty {{{\left( {\int_t^\infty {f{{\left( \tau \right)}^{{p_1}}}{v_1}\left( \tau \right)d\tau } } \right)}^{{q_1}/{p_1}}}{u_1}\left( t \right)dt} } \right)^{1/{q_1}}},$$

where p₁, p₂, q₁, q₂ ∈ (0,∞), p₂ ≤ q₂ and u₁, u₂, v₁, v₂ are weights on (0,∞), are obtained. The most innovative part consists of the fact that possibly different parameters p₁ and p₂ and possibly different inner weights v₁ and v₂ are allowed. The proof is based on the combination of duality techniques with estimates of optimal constants of the embeddings between weighted Cesàro and Copson spaces and weighted Lebesgue spaces, which reduce the problem to the solutions of iterated Hardy-type inequalities.

     

Error estimates for space–time discontinuous Galerkin formulation based on proper orthogonal decomposition

In this study, proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method is applied to diffusion–convection–reaction equation, which is discretized using space–time discontinuous Galerkin (dG) method. We provide estimates for POD truncation error in dG-energy norm, dG-elliptic projection, and space–time projection. Using these new estimates, we analyze the error between the dG and the POD solution, and the error between the exact and the POD solution. Numerical results, which are consistent with theoretical convergence rates, are presented.     

Accelerated parallel and distributed algorithm using limited internal memory for nonnegative matrix factorization

Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) is a powerful technique for dimension reduction, extracting latent factors and learning part-based representation. For large datasets, NMF performance depends on some major issues such as fast algorithms, fully parallel distributed feasibility and limited internal memory. This research designs a fast fully parallel and distributed algorithm using limited internal memory to reach high NMF performance for large datasets. Specially, we propose a flexible accelerated algorithm for NMF with all its \(L_1\) \(L_2\) regularized variants based on full decomposition, which is a combination of exact line search, greedy coordinate descent, and accelerated search. The proposed algorithm takes advantages of these algorithms to converges linearly at an over-bounded rate \((1-\frac{\mu }{L})(1 - \frac{\mu }{rL})^{2r}\) in optimizing each factor matrix when fixing the other factor one in the sub-space of passive variables, where r is the number of latent components, and \(\mu \) and L are bounded as \(\frac{1}{2} \le \mu \le L \le r\). In addition, the algorithm can exploit the data sparseness to run on large datasets with limited internal memory of machines, which is is advanced compared to fast block coordinate descent methods and accelerated methods. Our experimental results are highly competitive with seven state-of-the-art methods about three significant aspects of convergence, optimality and average of the iteration numbers.     

Stereoselective Synthesis of the O-antigen of A. baumannii ATCC 17961 Using Long-Range Levulinoyl Group Participation

Herein, we described the first synthesis of the pentasaccharide and decasaccharide of the A. baumannii ATCC 17961 O-antigen for developing a synthetic carbohydrate-based vaccine against A. baumannii infection. The efficient synthesis of the rare sugar 2,3-diacetamido-glucuronate was achieved using our recently introduced organocatalytic glycosylation method. We found, for the first time, that long-range levulinoyl group participation via a hydrogen bond can result in a significantly improved β-selectivity in glycosylations. This solves the stereoselectivity problem of highly branched galactose acceptors. The proposed mechanism was supported by control experiments and DFT computations. Benefiting from the long-range levulinoyl group participation strategy, the pentasaccharide donor and acceptor were obtained via an efficient [2+1+2] one-pot glycosylation method and were used for the target decasaccharide synthesis.     

Correlation between Interfacial Structures and Device Performance: The Double-Edged Sword Effect of Lead Iodide in Perovskite Solar Cells

The interfacial electronic structure of perovskite layers and transport layers is critical for the performance and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The device performance of PSCs can generally be improved by adding a slight excess of lead iodide (PbI₂) to the precursor solution. However, its underlying working mechanism is controversial. Here, we performed a comprehensive study of the electronic structures at the interface between CH₃NH₃PbI₃ and C₆₀ with and without the modification of PbI₂ using in situ photoemission spectroscopy measurements. The correlation between the interfacial structures and the device performance was explored based on performance and stability tests. We found that there is an interfacial dipole reversal, and the downward band bending is larger at the CH₃NH₃PbI₃/C₆₀ interface with the modification of PbI₂ as compared to that without PbI₂. Therefore, PSCs with PbI₂ modification exhibit faster charge carrier transport and slower carrier recombination. Nevertheless, the modification of PbI₂ undermines the device stability due to aggravated iodide migration. Our findings provide a fundamental understanding of the CH₃NH₃PbI₃/C₆₀ interfacial structure from the perspective of the atomic layer and insight into the double-edged sword effect of PbI₂ as an additive.     

Efficient removal of anionic dye by protonated APTES modified hydrochar: The effect of cold-activation

The study focused on determining the effect of acidic and basic cold activation on hydrochar (HC) for the removal of methyl orange (MO). HC was prepared by hawthorn seeds (HS) under hydrothermal carbonization. HC was cold-activated with HCl and NaOH, respectively, and they were grafted with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and protonated to obtain AHC-N⁺ (acid-activated and modified HC) and BHC-N⁺ (base-activated and modified HC) to determine the effect of acidic and basic activation. They were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, thermal analysis, zeta potential, N₂ adsorption–desorption measurements, and SEM–EDX analysis. The prepared adsorbents displayed MO adsorption due to abundant protonated amine groups. BHC-N⁺ showed higher MO adsorption than AHC-N⁺. The result showed that more protonated APTES groups grafted on the surface of HC via NaOH activation. The obtained data had a good fitting with the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic. The maximum adsorption capacity of BHC-N⁺ was 250.38 mg g⁻¹. The adsorption mechanism could be attributed to the electrostatic interactions between MO and protonated amine groups of APTES and hydrogen bonding.