Effect of counterions on comb-like polycarboxylate conformation in aqueous solutions

Laser light scattering (LLS) and conductivity experiments were performed to investigate the effect of counterions on the conformation of polycarboxylate comb-like copolymers (PCEs) in aqueous solutions. The addition of monovalent ions (i.e., Na⁺ and K⁺) to dilute polycarboxylate comb-like copolymer solutions induced a slight shrinking of the molecular chains because of the screening of electrostatic intramolecular repulsion. Varying complexation phenomena, such as the formation of intramolecular complexation at certain Ca²⁺ concentrations and a transition between intermolecular and intramolecular complexations at different Ca²⁺ concentrations, were closely associated with Ca²⁺ concentration. Therefore, Ca²⁺ exerted a more complex influence on the conformation of PCEs with side chains containing polyethylene oxide (PEO) with different grafting densities. In addition, various combination types of Ca²⁺ with carboxylic groups were confirmed by theoretical simulation.     

Multilinear Commutators of θ-Type Calderón-Zygmund Operators on Non-Homogeneous Metric Measure Spaces

In this paper, the boundedness in Lebesgue spaces of commutators and multilinear commutators generated by θ-type Calderón-Zygmund operators with RB MO(μ) functions on non-homogeneous metric measure spaces is obtained.     

Effects of some nucleating agents on the supercooling of erythritol to be applied as phase change material

Nine nucleating agents, calcium pimelate (CaPi), bicyclic [1, 2, 2]heptane di-carboxylate (HPN-68), a commercially obtained aryl amide nucleating agent (TMB-5), calcium salt of hexahydrophthalic acid (HPN-20E), 1,3:2,4-di-p-methylbenzylidene sorbitol (MDBS) and sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium salt of benzene-1, 3, 5-tricarboxylic acid (Na₃BTC, K₃BTC, Mg₃BTC₂ and Ca₃BTC₂, respectively), were applied to reduce the supercooling of erythritol, and their effects were investigated by cyclic differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results revealed that Na₃BTC and K₃BTC could not induce erythritol to crystallize under the experiment condition. MDBS could only make erythritol to crystallize at a temperature slightly higher than that of pure erythritol, and the effect was unstable. Mg₃BTC₂, Ca₃BTC₂ and HPN-68 could induce erythritol to crystallize at relatively high temperature, but the peak temperature of crystallizing (T _{p, cr}) and the phase change enthalpy of crystallizing (Δ_cr H) decreased greatly as the melting–crystallizing cycles increased. HPN-20E-doped erythritol crystallized at a high temperature with the T _{p, cr} of 69.3 °C at the first cycle, but the T _{p, cr} and Δ_cr H varied greatly during the melting–crystallizing cycles. CaPi and TMB-5 could induce erythritol to crystallize at a stable temperature with the T _{p, cr} of about 69 °C and 64 °C, respectively, and with a stable Δ_cr H of about 204 and 185 J g^?1, respectively, in all melting–crystallizing cycles. Hence, CaPi- and TMB-5-doped erythritol could be used as PCMs and applied in thermal energy storage in which the energy was absorbed at a high temperature and released at a lower but stable temperature.     

Synthesis and supercapacitive performance of CuO/Cu2O nanosheet arrays modified by hydrothermal deposited NiOOH

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Binder-free, high-performance electrode materials play a critical role for supercapacitors. In this paper, through the electrochemical anodization process,...     

Norm equalities and inequalities for three circulant operator matrices

In this paper, three new circulant operator matrices, scaled circulant operator matrices, diag-circulant operator matrices and retrocirculant operator matrices, are given respectively. Several norm equalities and inequalities for these operator matrices are proved. We show the special cases for norm equalities and inequalities, such as the usual operator norm and the Schatten p-norm. Pinching type inequality is also given for weakly unitarily invariant norms. These results are closely related to the nice structure of these special operator matrices. Furthermore, some special cases and specific examples are also considered.     

Scale-Up Preparation of Crocins I and II from Gardenia jasminoides by a Two-Step Chromatographic Approach and Their Inhibitory Activity Against ATP Citrate Lyase

Crocins are highly valuable natural compounds for treating human disorders, and they are also high-end spices and colorants in the food industry. Due to the limitation of obtaining this type of highly polar compound, the commercial prices of crocins I and II are expensive. In this study, macroporous resin column chromatography combined with high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was used to purify crocins I and II from natural sources. With only two chromatographic steps, both compounds were simultaneously isolated from the dry fruit of Gardenia jasminoides, which is a cheap herbal medicine distributed in a number of countries. In an effort to shorten the isolation time and reduce solvent usage, forward and reverse rotations were successively utilized in the HSCCC isolation procedure. Crocins I and II were simultaneously obtained from a herbal resource with high recoveries of 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively, and high purities of 98.7% and 99.1%, respectively, by HPLC analysis. The optimized preparation method was proven to be highly efficient, convenient, and cost-effective. Crocins I and II exhibited inhibitory activity against ATP citrate lyase, and their IC₅₀ values were determined to be 36.3 ± 6.24 and 29.7 ± 7.41 μM, respectively.     

Direct immobilization of iodine-loaded silver-coated silica gel with silicate glass powders at low temperature

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - To long-term immobilization of secondary iodine-waste, iodine loaded silver-coated silica-gel (AgIs), glass-powder was used to directly solidify...     

A novel 3D Tesla valve micromixer for efficient mixing and chitosan nanoparticle production

Current three-dimensional micromixers for continuous flow reactions and nanoparticle synthesis are complex in structure and difficult to fabricate. This paper investigates the design, fabrication, and characterization of a novel micromixer that uses a simple spatial Tesla valve design to achieve efficient mixing of multiple solutions. The flow characteristics and mixing efficiencies of our Tesla valve micromixer are investigated using a combination of numerical simulations and experiments. The results show that in a wide range of flow rates, viscoelastic solutions with different concentrations can be well mixed in our micromixer. Finally, experiments on the synthesis of chitosan nanoparticles are conducted to verify the practicability of our micromixer. Compared with nanoparticles prepared by conventional magnetic stirring, the size of nanoparticles prepared by micromixing is smaller and the distribution is more uniform. Therefore, our Tesla valve micromixer has significant advantages and implications for mixing chemical and biological reactions.     

CdS基纳米管光催化氧化5-羟甲基糠醛选择性生成2,5-呋喃二甲醛

将生物质转化为高附加值化学品以替代传统化石能源衍生的碳资源不可再生能源已经引起了人们的广泛关注. 本工作制备了内部中空的ZnS@CdS/Ni纳米管催化剂用于光催化氧化5-羟甲基糠醛(HMF). 通过X射线光电子能谱表征了催化剂内部存在ZnS缺陷态使得ZnS能带带隙降低. 光照条件下, 光生空穴能够从CdS迁移至ZnS缺陷态, 抑制了ZnS@CdS内部的载流子复合, 提高了光催化性能. 中空的纳米管表面负载Ni催化剂可以参与质子还原产氢的反应, 而ZnS@CdS内部产生的空穴可以催化氧化HMF选择性生成2,5-呋喃二甲醛(DFF). 光反应1 h后, HMF的转化率达到36%, 产物DFF选择性为99%, 并且催化剂可以重复利用三次而不降低催化效果.     

Highly porous CuO/MnO2 catalyst prepared by gas release-assisted technology and its enhancement of formaldehyde removal efficiency

Research on Chemical Intermediates - A porous CuO/MnO2 catalyst was synthesized by a gas release-assisted method. Due to the participation of gases (H2O, NH3, CO2) released from ammonia and...