Analysis of F-53B,Gen-X,ADONA, and emerging fluoroalkylether substances in environmental and biomonitoring samples: A review

The persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic properties of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) raise concerns for environmental and human health. This has led to the gradual phase-out from production and commerce of some legacy PFAS. Fluoroalkylether compounds (ether-PFAS) are among the fluorinated alternative chemicals that are beginning to be reported in impacted and background environments. Extensive monitoring activities were conducted since 2015–2019 to bridge knowledge gaps on the environmental fate and effects of ether-PFAS including F-53B (6:2 chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonate [6:2 Cl-PFAES] and 8:2 Cl-PFAES), Gen-X (hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid [HFPO-DA]), and ADONA (dodecafluoro-3H-4,8-dioxanonanoate). In recent years, advances in nontarget screening using high-resolution mass spectrometry have revealed the identities of other infrequently monitored ether-PFAS. In this critical review, we provide an up-to-date inventory of the structures of ether-PFAS discovered in the recent literature. Their environmental occurrence, fate, and effects are discussed on a comparative perspective with some legacy PFAS such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). Information on the methods employed for the quantitative and semi-quantitative analysis of ether-PFAS is also provided, including sample preparation and mass spectrometry analysis, analytical performance, and limitations. In particular, the compiled database of MS/MS fragment ions (n = 111) can be useful in spectrum interpretation of novel ether-PFAS. The concluding remarks open on possible research avenues and the challenges that remain to be addressed.     

Multiple bifurcation trees of period-1 motions to chaos in a periodically forced,time-delayed,hardening Duffing oscillator

In this paper, bifurcation trees of periodic motions in a periodically forced, time-delayed, hardening Duffing oscillator are analytically predicted by a semi-analytical method. Such a semi-analytical method is based on the differential equation discretization of the time-delayed, nonlinear dynamical system. Bifurcation trees for the stable and unstable solutions of periodic motions to chaos in such a time-delayed, Duffing oscillator are achieved analytically. From the finite discrete Fourier series, harmonic frequency-amplitude curves for stable and unstable solutions of period-1 to period-4 motions are developed for a better understanding of quantity levels, singularity and catastrophes of harmonic amplitudes in the frequency domain. From the analytical prediction, numerical results of periodic motions in the time-delayed, hardening Duffing oscillator are completed. Through the numerical illustrations, the complexity and asymmetry of period-1 motions to chaos in nonlinear dynamical systems are strongly dependent on the distributions and quantity levels of harmonic amplitudes. With the quantity level increases of specific harmonic amplitudes, effects of the corresponding harmonics on the periodic motions become strong, and the certain complexity and asymmetry of periodic motion and chaos can be identified through harmonic amplitudes with higher quantity levels.     

First principle electronic structure calculations of ternary alloys Hg1−xMnxTe in zinc-blende structure

We have investigated the structural, electronic, magnetic and optical properties of Hg_1?xMn_xTe in the zinc-blende phase for 0≤x≤1. The calculations were performed by using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave plus local orbitals method within the framework of the density functional theory. The lattice constants of Hg_1?xMn_xTe at different Mn concentrations exhibit Vegard's law perfectly. For spin-up channel the Mn 3d bands are occupied and mixed with the Te 5p bands whereas for spin-down channel the Mn 3d bands are unoccupied. The values of the p–d exchange splitting energy, ?_x(pd) as produced by the Mn 3d states are given. The contribution of the valence band and the conduction band in the process of exchange and splitting is described by the exchange coupling constants N₀α and N₀β. Due to p–d hybridization the magnetic moment of the Mn atom reduces, which results in small local magnetic moments on the non-magnetic Hg and Te sites. The potential applications of Hg_1?xMn_xTe in infrared device have been discussed on the basis of its optical properties.     

Morphological evolution and visible light-induced degradation of Rhodamine 6G by nanocrystalline bismuth tungstate prepared using a template-based approach

The cleaning of water contaminated with organic dyes is a crucial problem nowadays. The search for good catalysts is intense, and bismuth tungstates have attracted a lot of attention because of their catalytic properties which are related to their crystal structure and morphology. In this study, we show that Bi₂WO₆ (BWO) crystals synthesized by the surfactant-assisted hydrothermal method create a different morphology than non-assisted crystals. With the assistance of the PVP surfactant, even the BWO crystalline structure could change, crystallizing into a high-symmetry metastable phase. These changes in morphology imply a decrease in BWO catalytic activity, which shows that insightful control of BWO synthesis is necessary to improve the BWO properties.     

Nonlinear FCS-MPC strategy of NPC/H-5 L inverter based on satisfactory optimization algorithm

In the design of the cost function in the nonlinear finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) system, the traditional method based on weighting factors demonstrates some limitations, such as the weighting factors adjusting and heavy predictive calculation due to the increased number of voltage vectors applied in controlling multilevel converters. This paper proposes a simplified FCS-MPC method based on common mode voltage satisfactory optimization, which could considerably reduce the predictive calculation by the optimized switch combination and simplify the cost function design. Moreover, satisfactory optimization is adopted to achieve the accuracy control of common-mode voltage amplitude without adjusting process of weighting factors. The simulation and experimental results verify the feasibility of this control strategy.     

Phosphorylation of graphehe oxide to improve adsorption of U(VI) from aquaeous solutions

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized with phosphate groups and applied as an effective adsorbent for the removal of uranium from aqueous...     

Effects of additives and post‐treatment on the thermoelectric performance of vapor‐phase polymerized PEDOT films

Vapor‐phase polymerization (VPP) is an important method for the fabrication of high‐quality conducting polymers, especially poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). In this work, the effects of additives and post‐treatment solvents on the thermoelectric (TE) performance of VPP‐PEDOT films were systematically investigated. The use of 1‐butyl‐3‐menthylinidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIm][BF₄], an ionic liquid) was shown to significantly enhance the electrical conductivity of VPP‐PEDOT films compared with other additives. The VPP‐PEDOT film post‐treated with mixed ethylene glycol (EG)/[BMIm][BF₄] solvent displayed the high power factor of 45.3 μW m^?1 K^?2 which is 122% higher than that prepared without any additive or post‐treatment solvent, along with enhanced electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient. This work highlighted the superior effect of the [BMIm][BF₄] additive and the EG/[BMIm][BF₄] solvent post‐treatment on the TE performance of the VPP‐PEDOT film. These results should help with developing the VPP method to fabricate high‐performance PEDOT films. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55 , 1738–1744     

Two 2D uranyl coordination complexes showing effective photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B and mechanism study

Two new hydrostable two-dimensional(2 D) uranyl coordination complexes [(UO_2)_5(μ_3-O)_2(nbca)_2].7 H_2O(1) and [(UO_2)_3(nbca)_2(H_2O)_3]·2 H_2O(2)(H_3 nbca=5-nitro-1,2,3-benzenetricarboxylic acid) were hydrothermal synthesized.Single-crystal structural refinements reveal that both of the two complexes were formed by the packing of 2D uranyl coordination sheets via the hydrogen bonds.The nbca ligand coordinating to the uranyl polyhedron centers constructed the 2D sheets.There are UO_8 hexagonal bipyramids and UO_7 pentagonal bipyramids in 1 while only U07 pentagonal bipyramids in 2.Photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B(RhB) in aqueous solution was studied.Complex 2 possesses better performance than 1 with 96.2 % of the RhB was degraded in only 60 min.Mechanism studies reveal that the dissolved oxygens are essential to the RhB degradation.The photocurrent density of 2 is more stable than that of 1,which indicating the stronger ability to separate photoexcited electrons and hole pairs of 2.     

Thermally driven self-healing PEDOT conductive films relying on reversible and multiple Diels–Alder interaction

Thermally healing capability of cracks and defects is important and urgent for the safe operation and life extending of electric materials and devices. Here, by the combination of thermally driven reversible Diels–Alder (DA) interaction and in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT), a series of intrinsically conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)/DA composites possess intrinsically self-healing property under low-temperature (reverse DA reaction at 100°C; DA crosslinking at 60°C) stimulus were achieved. The crosslinking DA bonding reactions are multiple from the co-existence of pre-synthesized macromolecular polyurethane attached DA units (PU-DA) and 2,4-hexadiyne-1,6-diol (DADOL) in the films. PU-DA involved in the polymerization process of EDOT to endow PEDOT with outstanding solution-processability, uniform film making, and structural self-healing capability, while DADOL was added to enhance the cross bonding between polymer chains. This work will accelerate the research and application development of intrinsically self-healing conducting polymers for commercial capacitors, antistatic coatings, implantable, printable electronics, and so on.     

Euler-Bernoulli梁的高阶二次摄动解及收敛性讨论

首次用解析的方式给出了Euler-Bernoulli梁后屈曲与非线性弯曲问题的高阶二次摄动解答.假定梁的中线不可伸长，用精确曲率公式与能量变分原理导出了非线性Euler-Bernoulli梁的模型.通过与精确解或高阶摄动解的比较，讨论了二次摄动解答的收敛性及适用域.得到主要结论如下:低阶摄动解适用于描述梁的初始后屈曲阶段及初始非线性弯曲阶段；更高阶次的摄动解适用于描述梁的深度后屈曲以及深度非线性弯曲.从这个意义上去说，该文不仅仅指出某些文献上的部分结果不精确是由于摄动解答超出了其特定的适用域，并且还进一步发展与完善了二次摄动法.