MWCNTs/hydroxypropyl cellulose/polyethylene glycol-based shape-stabilized phase change materials

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is widely used as phase change materials (PCMs). However, the leakage and low thermal conductivity issues restrict its...     

Weak Galerkin finite element methods with or without stabilizers

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the connections between the weak Galerkin (WG) methods with and without stabilizers. The choices of stabilizers directly affect the convergence rates of the corresponding WG methods in general. However, we observed that the convergence rates are independent of the choices of stabilizers for these WG elements with stabilizers being optional. In this paper, we will verify such phenomena theoretically as well as numerically.

     

Investigation of mononuclear,dinuclear, and trinuclear transition metal (II) complexes derived from an asymmetric Salamo‐based ligand possessing three different coordination modes

A new asymmetric Salamo‐based ligand H₂L was synthesized using 3‐tert‐butyl‐salicylaldehyde and 6‐methoxy‐2‐[O‐(1‐ethyloxyamide)]‐oxime‐1‐phenol. By adjusting the ratio of the ligand H₂L and Cu (II), Co (II), and Ni (II) ions, mononuclear, dinuclear, and trinuclear transition metal (II) complexes, [Cu(L)], [{Co(L)}₂], and [{Ni(L)(CH₃COO)(CH₃CH₂OH)}₂Ni] with the ligand H₂L possessing completely different coordination modes were obtained, respectively. The optical spectra of ligand H₂L and its Cu (II), Co (II) and Ni (II) complexes were investigated. The Cu (II) complex is a mononuclear structure, and the Cu (II) atom is tetracoordinated to form a planar quadrilateral structure. The Co (II) complex is dinuclear, and the two Co (II) atoms are pentacoordinated and have coordination geometries of distorted triangular bipyramid. The Ni (II) complex is a trinuclear structure, and the terminal and central Ni (II) atoms are all hexacoordinated, forming distorted octahedral geometries. Furthermore, optical properties including UV–Vis, IR, and fluorescence of the Cu (II), Co (II), and Ni (II) complexes were investigated. Finally, the antibacterial activities of the Cu (II), Co (II), and Ni (II) complexes were explored. According to the experimental results, the inhibitory effect was found to be enhanced with increasing concentrations of the Cu (II), Co (II), and Ni (II) complexes.     

Effect of quality control on the proliferation of the extract from Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.‐Mazz. in Lactobacillus plantarum

In recent years, the fingerprint of high‐performance liquid chromatography has been extensively applied in the identification and quality control of traditional Chinese medicine. It can be a potential protocol for assessing the authenticity, stability and consistency of traditional Chinese medicine and guaranteeing the expected biological activity. In this paper, a method using high‐performance liquid chromatography to identify and control the quality of the extract of Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.‐Mazz. (TME) was established. With this method, the correlation coefficients of the similarity of 10 batches were ≥0.994. The TME displayed a steady proliferative effect in Lactobacillus plantarum. In brief, this study successfully built a reliable, simple and efficient method to control and confirm the quality and the stability of biological activity of the TME.     

Loading of a Coordination Polymer Nanobelt on a Functional Carbon Fiber: A Feasible Strategy for Visible‐Light‐Active and Highly Efficient Coordination‐Polymer‐Based Photocatalysts

To improve the photocatalytic properties of coordination polymers under irradiation in the visible‐light region, coordination polymer nanobelts (CPNB) were loaded on functional carbon fiber (FCF) through the use of a simple colloidal blending process. The resulting coordination polymer nanobelt loaded functional carbon fiber composite material (CPNB/FCF) exhibited dramatically improved photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible‐light irradiation. Optical and electrochemical methods illustrated the enhanced photocatalytic activity of CPNB/FCF originated from high separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes on the interface of CPNB and FCF, which was produced by the synergy effect between them. In the composite material, the role of FCF could be described as photosensitizer and good electron transporter. For FCF, the number of functional groups on its surface has a significant influence on the photocatalytic performance of the resulting CPNB/FCF composite material, and an ideal FCF carrier was obtained as a highly efficient CPNB/FCF photocatalyst. CPNB/FCF showed outstanding stability during the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB); thus, the material is suitable for use as a photocatalyst in the treatment of organic dyes in water.     

Enhanced Catalytic Activity in Liquid‐Exfoliated FeOCl Nanosheets as a Fenton‐Like Catalyst

A facile liquid‐phase exfoliation method to prepare few‐layer FeOCl nanosheets in acetonitrile by ultrasonication is reported. The detailed exfoliation mechanism and generated products were investigated by combining first‐principle calculations and experimental approaches. The similar cleavage energies of FeOCl (340 mJ m^?2) and graphite (320 mJ m^?2) confirm the experimental exfoliation feasibility. As a Fenton reagent, FeOCl nanosheets showed outstanding properties in the catalytic degradation of phenol in water at room temperature, under neutral pH conditions, and with sunlight irradiation. Apart from the increased surface area of the nanosheets, the surface state change of the nanosheets also plays a key role in improving the catalytic performance. The changes of charge density, density of states (DOS), and valence state of Fe atoms in the exfoliated FeOCl nanosheets versus plates illustrated that surface atomistic relationships made the few‐layer nanosheets higher activity, indicating the exfoliation process of the FeOCl nanosheets also brought about surface state changes.     

A Convenient Synthesis of N‐Aryl Benzamides by Rhodium‐Catalyzed ortho‐Amidation and Decarboxylation of Benzoic Acids

The rhodium‐catalyzed amidation of substituted benzoic acids with isocyanates by directed C?H functionalization followed by decarboxylation to afford the corresponding N‐aryl benzamides is demonstrated, in which the carboxylate serves as a unique, removable directing group. Notably, less common meta‐substituted N‐aryl benzamides are generated readily from more accessible para‐ or ortho‐substituted groups by employing this strategy.     

Zn or O? An Atomic Level Comparison on Antibacterial Activities of Zinc Oxides

For the first time, the influence of different types of atoms (Zn and O) on the antibacterial activities of nanosized ZnO was quantitatively evaluated with the aid of a 3D‐printing‐manufactured evaluation system. Two different outermost atomic layers were manufactured separately by using an ALD (atomic layer deposition) method. Interestingly, we found that each outermost atomic layer exhibited certain differences against gram‐positive or gram‐negative bacterial species. Zinc atoms as outermost layer (ZnO?Zn) showed a more pronounced antibacterial effect towards gram‐negative E. coli (Escherichia coli), whereas oxygen atoms (ZnO?O) showed a stronger antibacterial activity against gram‐positive S. aureus (Staphylococcus aureus). A possible antibacterial mechanism has been comprehensively discussed from different perspectives, including Zn²⁺ concentrations, oxygen vacancies, photocatalytic activities and the DNA structural characteristics of different bacterial species.     

Copper‐Catalyzed Difunctionalization of Activated Alkynes by Radical Oxidation–Tandem Cyclization/Dearomatization to Synthesize 3‐Trifluoromethyl Spiro[4.5]trienones

A copper‐catalyzed difunctionalizing trifluoromethylation of activated alkynes with the cheap reagent sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (NaSO₂CF₃ or Langlois’ reagent) has been developed incorporating a tandem cyclization/dearomatization process. This strategy affords a straightforward route to synthesis of 3‐(trifluoromethyl)‐spiro[4.5]trienones, and presents an example of difunctionalization of alkynes for simultaneous formation of two carbon–carbon single bonds and one carbon–oxygen double bond.     

Investigation of unstable motion characteristics of vacuum arc cathode spots between transverse magnetic field contacts

With the improvement of the current level of power grids, the requirements of the opening level of the vacuum switches are also increasing. Vacuum arc cathode spots provide steam and electrons and, to a certain extent, determine the opening capacity of the vacuum switch. In this paper, a vacuum arc cathode spot research platform based on the de-mountable vacuum chamber is constructed. The characteristics of the vacuum arc cathode spots under the transverse magnetic field (TMF) contacts are assessed by a high-speed charge coupled device. The experimental results show that the cathode spot diffusion process can be divided into three processes through cathode spot distribution, arc voltage and current: initial diffusion stage of cathode spots, unstable motion stage of cathode spots, and extinguishing stage. The motion mode of cathode spots during unstable motion stage can be divided into cathode spots group stagnation (CSGS) to multi-cathode jet (MCJ) switch mode, cathode spots group motion (CSGM) to MCJ switch mode, CSGM mode, and MCJ mode. The effects of peak current and contact diameter on unstable motion mode were analysed.