The Effects of Hydrophobicity and Textural Properties on Hexamethyldisiloxane Adsorption in Reduced Graphene Oxide Aerogels

To expand the applications of graphene-based materials to biogas purification, a series of reduced graphene oxide aerogels (rGOAs) were prepared from industrial grade graphene oxide using a simple hydrothermal method. The influences of the hydrothermal preparation temperature on the textural properties, hydrophobicity and physisorption behavior of the rGOAs were investigated using a range of physical and spectroscopic techniques. The results showed that the rGOAs had a macro-porous three-dimensional network structure. Raising the hydrothermal treatment temperature reduced the number of oxygen-containing groups, whereas the specific surface area (S_BET), micropore volume (V_micro) and water contact angle values of the rGOAs all increased. The dynamic adsorption properties of the rGOAs towards hexamethyldisiloxane (L2) increased with increasing hydrothermal treatment temperature and the breakthrough adsorption capacity showed a significant linear association with S_BET, V_micro and contact angle. There was a significant negative association between the breakthrough time and inlet concentration of L2, and the relationship could be reliably predicted with a simple empirical formula. L2 adsorption also increased with decreasing bed temperature. Saturated rGOAs were readily regenerated by a brief heat-treatment at 100 °C. This study has demonstrated the potential of novel rGOA for applications using adsorbents to remove siloxanes from biogas.     

In silico analysis of carbohydrate-binding pockets in the lectin genes from various species of Canavalia

Legumes are endowed with an opulent class of proteins called lectins that can detect tenuous variations in carbohydrate structures and bind them reversibly with high affinity and specificity. The genus Canavalia, in the family of Leguminosae, is considered to be an affluent source of lectin. An effort has been made to analyse the sequences encoded by the lectin gene and its carbohydrate binding pockets from three species of Canavalia, including C. virosa, C. rosea, and C. pubescens. Crude seed extract showed highest haemagglutination titer against buffalo RBCs and has high affinity to mannose and trehalose. Amplification of the lectin gene by gene-specific primers showed the presence of an 870 bp amplicon. Physicochemical characterization using various bioinformatic tools showed that the isoelectric point was below 7, suggesting that lectin molecules were acidic. A high aliphatic index and high instability index were observed, which indicated that lectin molecules were stable towards a wide range of temperatures. The occurrence of N-glycosylation sites at two sites was also identified in all three species. Prediction of secondary structure showed that approximately 59.05 %, 56.76 % and 54.88 % of the elements were random coils in the case of C. virosa, C. pubescens and C. rosea, respectively. Comparative modelling of the proteins and docking of hypothetical models with sugar moieties that inhibited the agglutination activity suggested that asparagine, serine, alanine, valine, tyrosine and threonine were the major residues involved in hydrogen bonding and other stacking interactions. This can further provide insights on its prospective antibiosis property.     

Surface modification of PBO fibers with 2,2-Bis (3-amino-4-hydroxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane in supercritical carbon dioxide for enhancing interfacial strength

PBO fiber is one of the most promising reinforcements in resin matrix composite because of its excellent mechanical properties. However, the inert and smooth surfaces make it the poor interface adhesion with resin matrix, which seriously limits the application in composites. In this article, we report a method to modify the surface of PBO fibers with 2,2-Bis (3-amino-4-hydroxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane（BisAPAF）in supercritical CO₂ to enhance interfacial properties. Chemical structures, surface elemental composition and functional groups, and surface morphology were characterized by FT-IR spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The mechanical properties of the samples were tested by a tensile tester. Static contact angle and microdebonding tests were used to characterize the wetting ability and interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of the fiber and epoxy resin. The results showed that the BisAPAF could be solved in scCO₂ and introduced more groups, –NH₂, –OH, and –CF₃ on the fiber surface, resulting in the mechanical properties and the wettability of PBO fiber slightly improved. Moreover, the fiber surface roughness was also increased obviously. The IFSS between the modified PBO fiber and epoxy resin increased from 8.18 MPa to 31.4 MPa when the treating pressure was 14 MPa. In general, the method to modify PBO fibers surface using BisAPAF in scCO₂ can effectively improve their interfacial properties.     

基于乙炔基-苯并噁嗪单元双重交联反应的聚酰亚胺树脂的制备与性能

为开发可低温固化的聚酰亚胺树脂, 通过分子结构设计将苯并噁嗪单元引入聚酰亚胺树脂中, 合成了含苯并噁嗪单元及乙炔基封端的双官能化新型聚酰亚胺预聚体(PIBzA). 经高温处理, 苯并噁嗪单元发生开环交联, 同时, 乙炔基端基发生三聚成环反应, 从而在固化树脂中形成双重交联网络结构. 苯并噁嗪单元的引入使聚酰亚胺树脂最快固化反应温度降低约32 ℃, 有效降低了固化温度. 同时, 苯并噁嗪单元的引入未大幅度降低树脂的耐热稳定性, 其玻璃化转变温度(T_g)介于266~290 ℃之间, 5%热失重温度(T_d,5%)接近500 ℃, 依然可以满足耐高温复合材料的应用需求. 此外, PIBzA固化树脂具有低介电特性, 其介电常数k介于2.3~3.0, 介电损耗介于0.002~0.008, 可满足透波复合材料及先进微电子封装材料的应用需求.     

Controlled synthesis of dendritic ruthenium nanostructures under microwave irradiation and their catalytic properties for p-chloronitrobenzene hydrogenation

Transition Metal Chemistry - In this study, the shape-controlled synthesis of ruthenium (Ru) nanostructures was examined using microwave irradiation. Dendritic Ru nanostructures, with an average...     

Intensified and controllable vaporization of phase-changeable nanodroplets induced by simultaneous exposure of laser and ultrasound

Phase-changeable contrast agents have been proposed as a next-generation ultrasound contrast agent over conventional microbubbles given its stability, longer circulation time and ability to extravasate. Safe vaporization of nanodroplets (NDs) plays an essential role in the practical translation of ND applications in industry and medical therapy. In particular, the exposure parameters for initializing phase change as well as the site of phase change are concerned to be controlled. Compared to the traditional optical vaporization or acoustic droplet vaporization, this study exhibited the potential of using simultaneous, single burst laser and ultrasound incidence as a means of activating phase change of NDs to generate cavitation nuclei with reduced fluence and sound pressure. A theoretical model considering the laser heating, vapor cavity nucleation and growth was established, where qualitative agreement with experiment findings were found in terms of the trend of combined exposure parameters in order to achieve the same level of vaporization outcome. The results indicate that using single burst laser pulse and 10-cycle ultrasound might be sufficient to lower the exposure levels under FDA limit for laser skin exposure and ultrasound imaging. The combination of laser and ultrasound also provides temporal and spatial control of ND vaporization and cavitation nucleation without altering the sound field, which is beneficial for further safe and effective applications of phase-changeable NDs in medical, environmental, food processing and other industrial areas.     

Sc3C2@C80与[12]CPP纳米环之间非共价相互作用的理论研究

金属富勒烯嵌套于纳米环内形成主客体系, 二者产生的主客体作用可诱导内部金属团簇的取向, 影响分子的电子结构等性质. 本文基于密度泛函理论(DFT)计算, 对碳纳米环[12]CPP(CPP=环苯撑, 主体分子)与金属富勒烯Sc₃C₂@C₈₀(客体分子)形成的主客体配合物的结构和性质进行了研究. 计算结果表明, 在最稳定构型中, [12]CPP呈现椭圆形, Sc₃C₂@C₈₀与[12]CPP的质心不再重合. Sc₃C₂@C₈₀在[12]CPP内旋转对构型总体能量影响仅为13.51 kJ/mol. [12]CPP向Sc₃C₂@C₈₀转移了0.03 e, 主客体分子之间存在弱相互作用. 对二者相互作用的分析结果表明, 色散作用在弱相互作用中占主导地位.     

Insight into the Excellent Tribological Performance of Highly Oriented Poly(phenylene sulfide)

Achieving low friction and wear of poly(phenylene sulfide)(PPS) without using fillers or blending is a challenging task, but one of considerable practical importance. Here we describe how neat PPS with high tribological performance is achieved by manipulating processing parameters(pressure, flow and temperature). The key to achieving high tribological performance is comparatively high molecular chain orientation, realized in neat PPS, at high shear rates and low pressure. The friction coefficient and wear rate are as low as ~0.3 and~10^-6 mm³·N^-1·m^-1, respectively, which break the record for neat PPS. These values are even better than those for PPS-based blends and comparable to PPS composites. Further studies show, for the first time, that wear rate decreases exponentially with increasing molecular chain orientation, prompting us to revise the classical Archard's law by including the effect of molecular chain orientation. These findings open the possibility of using neat PPS in highly demanding tribological applications.     

Damping efficiency of the coating structure

The damping efficiency of the coating system was discussed in this paper based on the Reuss model and Hashin–shtrickman equation. The theoretical results show that for a coating system, there exist an optimum thickness of the coating layer that make the coating structure obtain the best balance between the strength and the damping capacity. Enlarge the modulus difference between the coating layer and substrate will improve the damping and stiffness of the coating system simultaneously. The deviation between the theoretical predicted and experimental values on the dynamic modulus and damping capacity will be ameliorated while the stiffness difference between the coating layer and substrate increasing.