Adaptive fixed-time synchronization of Lorenz systems with application in chaotic finance systems

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper concerns the problem of fixed-time synchronization of master–slave Lorenz systems. The adaptive control and fixed-time control strategies are successfully...     

Amorphous High-Entropy Hydroxides of Tunable Wide Solar Absorption for Solar Water Evaporation

The high-entropy materials have raised much attention in recent years due to their extraordinary performances in mechanical, catalysis, energy storage fields. Herein, a new type of high-entropy hydroxides (e.g., NiFeCoMnAl(OH)_x) that are amorphous and capable of broad solar absorption is reported. A facile one-pot co-precipitation method is employed to synthesize these amorphous high-entropy hydroxides (a-HEHOs) under ambient conditions. The a-HEHOs thus obtained display widely tunable bandgap (e.g., from 2.6 to 1.1 eV) due to their high-entropy and amorphous characteristics, enabling efficient light absorbance and photothermal conversion in the solar regime. Further solar water evaporation measurements show that the a-HEHOs delivered a considerable energy conversion efficiency of 55%, comparable to black titanium oxides that are synthesized using more complex and expensive methods.     

Second-order Optimality Conditions for Mathematical Program with Semidefinite Cone Complementarity Constraints and Applications

Set-Valued and Variational Analysis - This paper is concerned with second-order optimality conditions for the mathematical program with semidefinite cone complementarity constraints. To achieve...     

Self-supported metal sulphide nanocrystals-assembled nanosheets on carbon paper as efficient counter electrodes for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells

Developing efficient counter electrodes (CEs) and quantum dots made of earth-abundant and non-toxic elements is essential but still challenging for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). Here, we report a facile strategy to prepare self-supported and robust CoS₂ and NiS nanocrystals-assembled nanosheets directly grown on carbon paper (MSx NS@CP) as efficient counter electrodes for QDSSCs. Such CEs integrate the merits of fast electron transfer from interconnected conductive scaffold, efficient mass transfer from hierarchically vertical nanosheet on 3D open substrate, as well as abundant highly active catalytic sites from metal sulphide nanocrystal units. As a result, QDDSCs based on such CoS₂ NS@CP and NiS NS@CP CEs achieve a PCE of 8.88% and 7.53%, respectively. The detailed analyses suggest that CoS₂ NS@CP has the highest catalytic activity and shows the lowest charger transfer resistance, leading to the highest PCE. These findings may inspire the design and exploration of other self-supported efficient CEs by integrating highly active catalysts onto 3D conductive networks for efficient QDSSCs.     

An improved LC–MS/MS method for determination of docetaxel and its application to population pharmacokinetic study in Chinese cancer patients

Because of its unpredictable side effects and efficacy, the anticancer drug docetaxel (DTX) requires improved characterisation of its pharmacokinetic profiles through population pharmacokinetic studies. A sensitive and rugged LC–MS/MS method for the detection of DTX in human plasma was developed and optimised using paclitaxel as an internal standard (IS). The plasma samples underwent rapid extraction using hybrid solid-phase extraction-protein precipitation. The analyte and IS were separated with an isocratic system on a Zorbax Eclipse Plus C₁₈ column using water containing 0.05% acetic acid along with 20 μM of sodium acetate and methanol (30/70, v/v) as the mobile phase. Quantification was performed using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer through multiple reaction monitoring in positive mode, using the m/z 830.3 → 548.8 and m/z 876.3 → 307.7 transitions for DTX and paclitaxel, respectively. The range of the calibration curve was 1–500 ng/mL for DTX, and the linear correlation coefficient was >0.99. The accuracies ranged from −4.6 to 4.2%, and the precision was no higher than 7.0% for the analytes. No significant matrix effect was observed. Both DTX and the IS showed considerable recovery. This method was finally applied to the establishment of a population pharmacokinetic model to optimise the clinical use of DTX.     

Energy band modulation of GaAs/Al0.26Ga0.74As quantum well in 3D self-assembled nanomembranes

In this study, we investigate the modulation of energy band in 3D self-assembled nanomembranes containing GaAs/Al_0.26Ga_0.74As quantum wells (QWs). Photoluminescence (PL) characterizations demonstrate that the self-assembled structures have different optical transition properties and the modulation of the energy band is thus realized. Detailed spectral analyses disclose that the small strain change in structures with different curvatures cannot cause remarkable change in energy bands in Al_0.26Ga_0.74As layer. On the other hand, the optical transitions of GaAs QW layer is influenced by the strain evolution in term of light emission intensity. We also find the first order Stark effect in rolled-up nanomembrane with diameter of 150 μm, which is closely connected with the coupling effect between the deformation potential and the piezoelectric potential. Our work may pave a way for the fabrication of high performance rolled-QW infrared photo-detectors.     

Solvent‐free ring‐opening polymerization of lactones with hydrogen‐bonding bisurea catalyst

Development of effective organocatalysts for the living ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of lactones is highly desired for the preparation of biocompatible and biodegradable polyesters with controlled microstructures and physical properties. Herein, a new class of hydrogen‐bond donating bisurea catalysts is reported for the ROP of lactones under solvent‐free conditions. ROP of lactones mediated by the bisurea/7‐methyl‐1,5,7‐triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec‐5‐ene (MTBD) catalyst exhibits a living/controlled manner, affording the polymers and copolymers with the well‐defined structure, predictable molecular weight, narrow molecular weight distribution, and high selectivity for monomer at low catalyst loadings at ambient temperature. The possible mechanism of bisurea/MTBD‐catalyzed ROP of lactones is proposed, in which the bisurea activates the carbonyl group of lactones while MTBD facilitates the nucleophilic attack of the initiating/propagating alcohol by hydrogen bonding. Moreover, the poly(ε‐caprolactone‐co‐δ‐valerolactone) [P(CL‐co‐VL)] random copolymers with various compositions were synthesized using the bisurea/MTBD catalyst. The measurements of thermal properties and crystalline structure demonstrate that the CL and VL units are cocrystallized in the crystalline phase of P(CL‐co‐VL) copolymers. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 90–100     

Multistrain edge‐based compartmental model on networks

Multistrain diseases, which are infected through individual contacts, pose severe public health threat nowadays. In this paper, we build competitive and mutative two‐strain edge‐based compartmental models using probability generation function (PGF) and pair approximation (PA). Both of them are ordinary differential equations. Their basic reproduction numbers and final size formulas are explicitly derived. We show that the formula gives a unique positive final epidemic size when the reproduction number is larger than unity. We further consider competitive and mutative multistrain diseases spreading models and compute their basic reproduction numbers. We perform numerical simulations that show some dynamical properties of the competitive and mutative two‐strain models.     

Et2Zn-mediated stoichiometric C(sp)-H silylation of 1-alkynes and chlorosilanes

A first example of an Et₂Zn mediated silylation of 1-aklynes is reported. A series of functional groups are tolerated in this reaction. Mechanistic studies support Zn alkynilides as intermediates in the reaction. This reaction protocol provides a practical method for the preparation of alkynylsilanes and expands the application of organometallic zinc in organic synthesis.