Effects of hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose ether on the hydration and compressive strength of calcium aluminate cement

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Aluminate containing phases such as tricalcium aluminate (C3A) and dodecacalcium heptaaluminate (C12A7) play a key role in the reaction between...     

Micro/Nanoengineered α-Fe2O3 Nanoaggregate Conformably Enclosed by Ultrathin N-Doped Carbon Shell for Ultrastable Lithium Storage and Insight into Phase Evolution Mechanism

The Fe-based transition metal oxides are promising anode candidates for lithium storage considering their high specific capacity, low cost, and environmental compatibility. However, the poor electron/ion conductivity and significant volume stress limit their cycle and rate performances. Furthermore, the phenomena of capacity rise and sudden decay for α-Fe₂O₃ have appeared in most reports. Here, a uniform micro/nano α-Fe₂O₃ nanoaggregate conformably enclosed in an ultrathin N-doped carbon network (denoted as M/N-α-Fe₂O₃@NC) is designed. The M/N porous balls combine the merits of secondary nanoparticles to shorten the Li⁺ transportation pathways as well as alleviating volume expansion, and primary microballs to stabilize the electrode/electrolyte interface. Furthermore, the ultrathin carbon shell favors fast electron transfer and protects the electrode from electrolyte corrosion. Therefore, the M/N-α-Fe₂O₃@NC electrode delivers an excellent reversible capacity of 901 mA h g⁻¹ with capacity retention up to 94.0 % after 200 cycles at 0.2 A g⁻¹. Notably, the capacity rise does not happen during cycling. Moreover, the lithium storage mechanism is elucidated by ex situ XRD and HRTEM experiments. It is verified that the reversible phase transformation of α↔γ occurs during the first cycle, whereas only the α-Fe₂O₃ phase is reversibly transformed during subsequent cycles. This study offers a simple and scalable strategy for the practical application of high-performance Fe₂O₃ electrodes.     

Identification of metabolites of Ginkgolide B in vivo and in vitro using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Ginkgolide B is a dietary diterpene with multiple pharmacological activities. However, current research on ginkgolide B is not comprehensive. The current study analyzed the metabolic profile of ginkgolide B in vivo and in vitro using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. To detect and identify the different metabolites in ginkgolide B, a novel data processing method was used as an assistant tool. A total of 53 different metabolites of ginkgolide B (38 phase I metabolites and 15 phase II metabolites) were detected relative to blank samples. The biotransformation route of ginkgolide B was identified as oxidation, dehydroxylation, hydrogenation, decarbonylation, demethylation, sulfate conjugation, glucose conjugation, methylation, and acetylation. The current study demonstrated a method for rapidly detecting and identifying metabolites and provided useful information to further characterize the pharmacology and mechanism of ginkgolide B. A method for the analysis of other diterpene metabolic components in vivo and in vitro was also established.     

Magnetic Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion with Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction for the Determination of Ultra Trace Bisphenol A in Water Samples

Magnetic nanoparticle-assisted solid-phase dispersion (MMSPD) combined with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) prior to high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector (HPLC–FLU) is presented for determination of ultra trace Bisphenol A (BPA) in water. Magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MMWCNTs) were synthesized for the adsorption of BPA in water. Ultra trace BPA in water was transferred into the elute solvent by the MMSPD and further concentrated into trace volume extraction solvent by the DLLME. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.003 and 0.01 µg L^?1, respectively. Good linearity of BPA was found, ranging from 0.01 to 10 µg L^?1, with good squared regression coefficient (R ²) of 0.9999. Additionally, relative recoveries were 83.1 and 95.9% for two environmental water samples spiked with 0.20 µg L^?1 BPA, respectively. All results showed that the MMWCNTs nanoparticle-assisted MMSPD–DLLME–HPLC–FLU method was simple and reliable for the determination of ultra trace BPA in environmental water.     

Visible light induced decomposition of sulfonyl hydrazides using Pd/ZrO2 nanocomposite photocatalyst

A new approach to synthesis of thiosulfonates has been developed under mild conditions without any oxidants and promoting reagents through a Pd/ZrO₂ nanocomposite photocatalyst catalyzed decomposition of sulfonyl hydrazides. This protocol gave the products in moderate yields, comparable to the best results reported so far. Finally, a plausible reaction mechanism was proposed.     

Mixing of Racemic Poly(L-lactide)/Poly(D-lactide) Blend with Miscible Poly(D,L-lactide):Toward All Stereocomplex-type Polylactide with Strikingly Enhanced SC Crystallizability

Stereocomplex-type polylactide (SC-PLA) consisting of alternatively arranged poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and poly(D-lactide) (PDLA) chains has gained a good reputation as a sustainable engineering plastic with outstanding heat resistance and durability,however its practical applications have been considerably hindered by the weak SC crystallizability.Current methods used to enhance the SC crystallizability are generally achieved at the expense of the precious bio-renewability and/or bio-degradability of PLAs.Herein,we demonstrate a feasible method to address these challenges by incorporating small amounts of poly(D,L-lactide) (PDLLA) into linear high-molecular-weight PLLA/PDLA blends.The results show that the incorporation of the atactic PDLLA leads to a significant enhancement in the SC crystallizability because its good miscibility with the isotactic PLAs makes it possible to greatly improve the chain mixing between PLLA and PDLA as an effective compatibilizer.Meanwhile,the melt stability (i.e.,the stability of PLLA/PDLA chain assemblies upon melting) could also be improved substantially.Very intriguingly,SC crystallites are predominantly formed with increasing content and molecular weight of PDLLA.More notably,exclusive SC crystallization can be obtained in the racemic blends with 20 wt％ PDLLA having weight-average molecular weight of above 1 ×10s g/mol,where the chain mixing level and intermolecular interactions between the PLA enantiomers could be strikingly enhanced.Overall,our work could not only open a promising horizon for the development of all SC-PLA-based engineering plastic with exceptional SC crystallizability but also give a fundamental insight into the crucial role of PDLLA in improving the SC crystallizability of PLLA/PDLA blends.     

聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯和聚碳酸酯各向异性光学性质理论研究

作为重要的光学薄膜材料,聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)和聚碳酸酯(PC)在诸多工业领域已得到广泛应用.本文利用密度泛函理论结合分子动力学方法深入系统地研究了这两种聚合物的各向异性光学性质,并对比分析了不同分子链长度和微观结构对其各向异性光学性质的影响.计算结果表明PMMA和PC都具有较高的本征双折射率,且分子链长度对本征折射率的影响显著.在可见光范围内,单体单元PMMA本征双折射率在10%以上,而三单元结构本征折射率则不到4%.对于体相结构多聚体,从立方结构拉伸到厚度仅有6?的过程中,PC不同方向折射率最大差异高达6%,而同样情况下PMMA不同方向折射率差异仅有1.3%.此项研究有助于理解PMMA和PC聚合物各向异性光学特征产生的原因和影响因素,从而进一步指导和促进其在更多领域的发展与应用.     

槲皮素-3-O-丙基衍生物的合成及生物活性研究

槲皮素是具有丰富生物活性的黄酮类化合物,药理活性显著。本文以槲皮素为先导物,选择性对C环3位羟基进行修饰,以廉价的芦丁为原料,经苄基保护、Williamson成醚反应,再经Pd/C催化加氢脱苄基得到28个未见文献报道的槲皮素-3-O-丙基衍生物,其结构经¹H NMR、¹³C NMR、ESI-MS进行确证。采用MTT法考察了所合成化合物对人食管鳞癌（EC109）、人胃癌（HGC27）、人乳腺癌（MCF-7）、小鼠黑色素瘤（B16-F10）的增殖抑制作用。结果显示,通过化学方法对槲皮素结构进行修饰后,其体外抗肿瘤活性增强。其中,化合物F3(IC₅₀=5.23±0.37μmol/L)、F5(IC₅₀=2.63±0.09μmol/L)对小鼠黑色素瘤（B16-F10）抑制作用比5-氟尿嘧啶(IC₅₀=14.38±0.27μmol/L)好,值得进一步研究。