Analysis of volatile organic compounds in indoor environments using thermal desorption with comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography and high‐resolution time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Building‐related health effects are frequently observed. Several factors have been listed as possible causes including temperature, humidity, light conditions, presence of particulate matter, and microorganisms or volatile organic compounds. To be able to link exposure to specific volatile organic compounds to building‐related health effects, powerful and comprehensive analytical methods are required. For this purpose, we developed an active air sampling method that utilizes dual‐bed tubes loaded with TENAX‐TA and Carboxen‐1000 adsorbents to sample two parallel air samples of 4 L each. For the comprehensive volatile organic compounds analysis, an automated thermal desorption comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography high‐resolution time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry method was developed and used. It allowed targeted analysis of approximately 90 known volatile organic compounds with relative standard deviations below 25% for the vast majority of target volatile organic compounds. It also allowed semiquantification (no matching standards) of numerous nontarget air contaminants using the same data set. The nontarget analysis workflow included peak finding, background elimination, feature alignment, detection frequency filtering, and tentative identification. Application of the workflow to air samples from 68 indoor environments at a large hospital complex resulted in a comprehensive volatile organic compound characterization, including 178 single compounds and 13 hydrocarbon groups.     

Preparation and performance of (Co,Mn)3O4 spinel coating on Crofer alloy by composite electrodeposition and step-heating thermal conversion

The preparation and performance improvement of the spinel coating on the surface of ferritic alloy is of wide interest for its application in the metallic interconnects of the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The Co Mn₂O₃ composite coating is prepared on the surface of the Crofer alloy by the composite electrodeposition method. A step-heating thermal conversion process is subsequently used to convert the composite coating into a spinel coating, while a direct-heating process is implemented as the control experiment. Isothermal oxidation tests are then carried out for the prepared samples in order to present the high temperature performance. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and area-specific resistance (ASR) are used to analyze the properties of the matrix and coatings. The experimental results reveal that the coatings by step-heating thermal conversion exhibit better performance of electrical conductivity and oxidation resistance than the coatings by direct-heating process. Furthermore, with the increase of oxidation time, the atomic proportion of Cr element diffusing to the surface of the matrix is maintained at about 3%–4% for the samples with spinel coatings by step heating, which effectively prevent the Cr volatilization in the matrix. The preparation of spinel coatings on the ferritic alloy by composite electrodeposition and step-heating thermal conversion is helpful to stimulate new ideas for the development of reliable and cost-effective metallic interconnect.     

One-pot two step synthesis of unsymmetrically substituted indenes from 3,4-diarylbutadiene sulfones

A new one-pot two step synthesis of unsymmetrically substituted indenes from available 3,4-diarylbutadiene sulfones involves SO₂ thermal extrusion followed by acid- catalyzed cyclization of the diene formed, the cyclization proceeding selectively at the more electron-rich aryl rings. The procedure is efficient for substrates bearing donor, acceptor, as well as bulky substituents.     

A Direct NMR Method To Measure Self-Diffusion Coefficients in Liquids by Monitoring Diffusing Molecules through One-Dimensional Imaging

Diffusion processes can be followed directly by recording one-dimensional images of a selected slice at variable intervals after selective inversion of the magnetization. The resulting diffusion coefficients of H₂O and DMSO are consistent with earlier studies at different temperatures, obtained by monitoring the attenuation of NMR signals as a function of the gradient amplitude in gradient echo sequences.     

Advances of phononics in 2012—2022

Due to its great potential applications in thermal management, heat control, and quantum information, phononics has gained increasing attentions since the first publication in Rev. Mod. Phys. 84 1045 (2012). Many theoretical and experimental progresses have been achieved in the past decade. In this paper, we first give a critical review of the progress in thermal diodes and transistors, especially in classical regime. Then, we give a brief introduction to the new developing research directions such as topological phononics and quantum phononics. In the third part, we discuss the potential applications. Last but not least, we point out the outlook and challenges ahead.     

Central Sets Theorem along filters and some combinatorial consequences

The Central Sets Theorem was introduced by H. Furstenberg and then afterwards several mathematicians have provided various versions and extensions of this theorem. All of these theorems deal with central sets, and its origin from the algebra of Stone–?ech compactification of arbitrary semigroup, say $\beta S$. It can be proved that every closed subsemigroup of $\beta S$ is generated by a filter. We will show that, under some restrictions, one can derive the Central Sets Theorem for any closed subsemigroup of $\beta S$. We will derive this theorem using the corresponding filter and its algebra. Later we will also deal with how the notions of largeness along filters are preserved under some well behaved homomorphisms and give some consequences.     

Construction of Charring-Functional Polyheptanazine towards Improvements in Flame Retardants of Polyurethane

Nitrogen-containing flame retardants have been extensively applied due to their low toxicity and smoke-suppression properties; however, their poor charring ability restricts their applications. Herein, a representative nitrogen-containing flame retardant, polyheptanazine, was investigated. Two novel, cost-effective phosphorus-doped polyheptazine (PCN) and cobalt-anchored PCN (Co@PCN) flame retardants were synthesized via a thermal condensation method. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicated effective doping of P into triazine. Then, flame-retardant particles were introduced into thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) using a melt-blending approach. The introduction of 3 wt% PCN and Co@PCN could remarkably suppress peak heat release rate (pHRR) (48.5% and 40.0%), peak smoke production rate (pSPR) (25.5% and 21.8%), and increasing residues (10.18 wt%→17.04 wt% and 14.08 wt%). Improvements in charring stability and flame retardancy were ascribed to the formation of P–N bonds and P=N bonds in triazine rings, which promoted the retention of P in the condensed phase, which produced additional high-quality residues.     

Nido-carborane encapsulated by BODIPY zwitterionic polymers: Synthesis,photophysical properties and cell imaging

Carborane encapsulation was visualized by using fluoroboropyrrole (BODIPY) zwitterionic polymer as fluorescence marker. Firstly, a water-soluble fluorescent probe carrier was prepared by combining the BODIPY derivatives with poly (carboxybetaine methacrylate) (p-CBMA). Two oil-in-water carborane polymers were self-assembled in organic solvents by means of dual ion hydrogen bonding. The ultraviolet and fluorescence spectra were measured with different organic solvents, and the spectra ranged from 531 to 555 nm. The dynamic self-assembly effect was tested by TEM, and the internal microscopic phenomena of the water-soluble polymer were further observed. It was confirmed that two kinds of BODIPY zwitterionic polymers were firmly encase the fat-soluble carborane, forming an oval shape. Carboranes are water-soluble, can achieve biocompatible expression, and can visualize the degree of aggregation in the targeted cells through its own fluorescence effect. Subsequent imaging of the cells showed that both polymers entered the targeted cells.     

Hydrogenation of poly(myrcene) and poly(farnesene) using diimide reduction at ambient pressure

Ambient pressure chemical hydrogenation using p-toluene sulfonyl hydrazide (TSH) via thermal diimide formation (N₂H₂) permitted reduction of double bonds of poly(myrcene) (poly[Myr]) and poly(farnesene) (poly[Far]). Both pendent and backbone double bonds in poly(Myr) (M_n = 56 kg/mol) and poly(Far) (M_n = 62 kg/mol) synthesized by conventional free radical polymerization were hydrogenated to almost completion. Furthermore, TSH semi-batch addition efficiently hydrogenated double bonds, while avoiding undesired autohydrogenation of diimides that occurred in batch mode. Thermal stability improved for hydrogenated poly(Myr) and poly(Far), where temperature at 10% weight loss (T_10%) increased from 188 to 404°C for poly(Myr) and from 310 to 379°C for poly(Far). T_gs of poly(Myr) and poly(Far) also increased by about 10–25°C, indicating increased stiffness after hydrogenation. Finally, viscosities of poly(Myr) and poly(Far) were also increased after hydrogenation, and a greater increase was observed for poly(Myr) (by two orders of magnitude from 10² to 10⁴ Pa s) due to its M_n being much higher than its entanglement molecular weight. Poly(Far) viscosity only increased by 1.5 times after hydrogenation (~10⁴ Pa s), comparable to the poly(Myr) after hydrogenation, suggesting unsaturated poly(Far) was more entangled than unsaturated poly(Myr) because of its longer side chains.     

6英寸低位错锗单晶生长热场设计

锗片作为衬底材料已在空间太阳电池领域得到广泛的应用,新型锗基空间太阳能电池对锗片的需求由4英寸(1英寸=2.54 cm)提高到6英寸后,低位错锗单晶的生长难度增大。本文设计开发了一种适用于直拉法生长大尺寸、低位错锗单晶的双加热器热场系统,模拟研究了不同形状主加热器的热场分布,从而得到最优的热场环境。研究发现:渐变长度为L/h=1/2、渐变率α为65°的渐变型主加热器热场结构能够获得最佳的热场分布,有利于低位错单晶的生长。经验证,生长的锗单晶热应力较低,位错密度在310～450 cm^-2范围内。