Synthesis and electrochemical performance of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 as a concentration-gradient cathode material for lithium batteries

A well-ordered and spherical LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode material was successfully synthesized from Ni and Mn concentration-gradient precursors via co-precipitation. The crystal structure, morphology and electrochemical properties of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and charge-discharge tests. The material delivered an initial discharge capacity of 174.3 mAh/g at 180 mA/g （1 C rate） between 2.8 and 4.3 V and more than 93.1% of that was retained after 100 cycles. In addition, it also exhibited excellent rate capability, high cut-off voltage and temperature performance.     

Interconnected sandwich structure carbon/Si-SiO2/carbon nanospheres composite as high performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries

In the present work,an interconnected sandwich carbon/Si-SiO2/carbon nanospheres composite was prepared by template method and carbon thermal vapor deposition（TVD）.The carbon conductive layer can not only efficiently improve the electronic conductivity of Si-based anode,but also play a key role in alleviating the negative effect from huge volume expansion over discharge/charge of Si-based anode.The resulting material delivered a reversible capacity of 1094 mAh/g,and exhibited excellent cycling stability.It kept a reversible capacity of 1050 mAh/g over 200 cycles with a capacity retention of 96%.     

一种新型双亲性有机小分子催化剂在水相体系中催化环己酮与硝基烯烃直接不对称Michael加成反应

设计合成了一系列基于脯氨酸巯基咪唑衍生物的新型双亲性有机小分子催化剂,在水相中加入酸作为助催化剂,可以高效高选择性的催化环己酮与硝基烯烃的不对称Michael加成反应,非对映选择性和对映选择性分别高达99：1和96%.     

表面活性剂辅助共沉淀法制备Ni-Mg-Al固体碱催化剂用于CH_4-CO_2重整反应

采用表面活性剂辅助共沉淀法制备了Ni-Mg-Al固体碱催化剂并用于CH4-CO2重整反应,探讨了表面活性剂对Ni(111),Ni(200)晶面的择优取向作用,在800℃下比较了不同表面活性剂制备的催化剂的催化性能,详细考察了CTAB制备的催化剂CB-LDO在不同反应温度下的催化活性和稳定性.采用红外光谱、X射线衍射、程序升温还原、X射线光电子能谱、高分辨透射电镜和程序升温氧化等表征手段分析了催化剂的活性、稳定性和失活原因.结果表明,四丙基氢氧化铵(TPAOH)促进Ni(200)的生长,而聚氧乙烯-聚氧丙烯-聚氧乙烯(P123)、聚乙烯吡咯烷酮(PVP)和十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(CTAB)抑制Ni(200)晶面的生长;Ni(200)的结晶程度对CH4的活化起到关键的作用,催化剂CB-LDO在高温下反应会发生晶型的转化,Ni(200)晶面由于反应过程中生成NiAl2O4尖晶石而得到缓慢释放,使催化剂的活性得以维持较高的水平.     

Influence of different inorganic salts on crystallization-driven morphological transformation of PCL-b-PEO micelles in aqueous solutions

Different inorganic salts, including NaSCN, NaCl, MgCl2 and Na2SO4, were added into the aqueous solution containing poly(ε-caprolactone)-b-poly(ethylene oxide)(PCL-b-PEO) semicrystalline micelles. The effects of inorganic salt on the micellar size and morphology were investigated with TEM and DLS. It is found that addition of NaSCN leads to increase of the micellar size, but the micelles remain to be spherical. By contrast, the other three inorganic salts can induce sphere-to-cylinder or sphere-to-lamella transformations of the PCL-b-PEO semicrystalline micelles. The alteration rate of the micellar size with the time after addition of the inorganic salts decreases in the following order: Na2SO4 NaCl ≈ MgCl2 NaSCN. These results were interpreted in terms of the "salting-out" ability of the cations and anions. The anions SO42- and Cl- have a stronger "salting-out" ability, driving the morphological transformations of the micelles and leading to a rapid change in micellar size. By contrast, SCN- has a weaker salting-out" ability. The cations Na+ and Mg2+ may associate with the PEO blocks, leading to a "salting-out" effect as well. However, the "salting-out" ability of cations is weaker than that of SO42- and Cl- anions, and the "salting-out" abilities of Na+ and Mg2+ are similar.     

Investigation of Hydrolysis in Poly（ethylene terephthalate） by FTIR-ATR

The hydrothermal aging of poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET) was investigated at 70 95 °C. A new method to investigate the hydrolysis degree of PET by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) was proposed. The spectra during the hydrothermal aging were measured using attenuated total reflection accessory(ATR). Peak resolving of carbonyl regions was performed, and the ratio of two groups of bands representing carboxylic acids and esters respectively were calculated to show the hydrolysis degree of ester groups in PET. The acid/ester ratio shows exactly the same trend as the average chain scission number per unit mass at various temperatures and thus can be used as a parameter to characterize the hydrolysis and random chain scission of PET. This method related to the hydrolysis mechanism directly, is simple, fast and convenient compared to the traditional methods such as viscometry, end-group titration and size exclusion chromatography(SEC). It may also be useful in hydrolysis characterization of other polyesters.     

Improvements of Tolerance to Stress Conditions by Genetic Engineering in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae during Ethanol Production

Saccharomyces cerevisiae, industrial yeast isolate, has been of great interest in recent years for fuel ethanol production. The ethanol yield and productivity depend on many inhibitory factors during the fermentation process such as temperature, ethanol, compounds released as the result of pretreatment procedures, and osmotic stress. An ideal strain should be able to grow under different stress conditions occurred at different fermentation steps. Development of tolerant yeast strains can be achieved by reprogramming pathways supporting the ethanol metabolism by regulating the energy balance and detoxicification processes. Complex gene interactions should be solved for an in-depth comprehension of the yeast stress tolerance mechanism. Genetic engineering as a powerful biotechnological tool is required to design new strategies for increasing the ethanol fermentation performance. Upregulation of stress tolerance genes by recombinant DNA technology can be a useful approach to overcome inhibitory situations. This review presents the application of several genetic engineering strategies to increase ethanol yield under different stress conditions including inhibitor tolerance, ethanol tolerance, thermotolerance, and osmotolerance.     

Synthesis of binuclear palladium complexes with a rigid phenylene bridge linker

The complexes [PdX₂Py]₂(di-NHC) (X = Br or Cl) in which di-NHC represents a di-N-heterocyclic carbene, featuring a rigid phenylene spacer between the carbene units, have been prepared from reactions of the corresponding diimidazolium halide salts with PdCl₂ in pyridine. The molecular structures of three of the complexes were determined by X-ray diffraction studies. The influences of different substitutions and of the halide ligand (Br or Cl) on the structure and reactivity of the complexes have been studied. The catalytic activity of the binuclear palladium complexes was tested in the Mizoroki–Heck reaction of styrene with bromobenzene.     

5-Bromo- and 3,5-dibromo-2-hydroxy-N-phenylbenzamides — inhibitors of photosynthesis

5-Bromo-(Br-PBA) and 3,5-dibromo-2-hydroxy-N-phenylbenzamides (Br₂-PBA) inhibited photosynthetic electron transport (PET) and their inhibitory efficiency depended on the compound lipophilicity as well as on the electronic properties of the R substituent in the N-phenyl moiety. Br-PBA showed higher PET inhibiting activity than Br₂-PBA with the same R substituent. The most effective inhibitors in the tested series were the derivatives with R = 3-F (Br-PBA; IC₅₀ = 4.3 μmol dm^?3) and R = 3-Cl (Br₂-PBA; IC₅₀ = 8.6 μmol dm^?3). Bilinear dependence of the PET inhibiting activity on the lipophilicity of the compounds as well as on the Hammett constant, σ, of the R substituent was observed for both investigated series. Using EPR spectroscopy it was found that the site of action of the tested compounds in the photosynthetic apparatus is situated on the donor side of PS 2, in D^· or in the Z^·/D^· intermediates. Interaction of the studied compounds with chlorophyll a and aromatic amino acids present in the pigment-protein complexes mainly in photosystem 2 was documented by fluorescence spectroscopy.     

Intensive 2-phenylethanol production in a hybrid system combined of a stirred tank reactor and an immersed extraction membrane module

Bioconversion of l-phenylalanine to 2-phenylethanol using Saccharomyces cerevisiae is connected with the growth of biomass strongly limited by product inhibition. Therefore, fermentation can proceed only at low conversions of l-phenylalanine with very low yield of the desired product, which allows reaching the maximum concentration of 2-phenylethanol, 4 g L^?1, in an ordinary batch, fed-batch, or chemostat bioreactor. To minimize capital and operating costs in the bioproduction of chemical specialties where the product inhibits the bioreaction, using a hybrid system based on the application of membrane extraction integrated in the bioreactor to remove the product is a suitable solution. Integration can be done by an external module for membrane extraction or, as a more efficient solution, by an extraction membrane module immersed directly in the bioreactor. Such a hybrid system can be used to remove 2-phenylethanol from the fermentation media and thus to overcome the product inhibition of the biotransformation process. In this paper, a hybrid system consisting of a stirred tank bioreactor (3.5 L) and an immersed extraction hollow fiber membrane module was studied. In the proposed system, the kinetics of 2-phenylethanol extraction from a water solution with and without biomass in the bioreactor to alkanes at different operational conditions was measured. Extraction kinetics was compared with the predictions obtained by a mathematical model. In the hybrid system, two extractive biotransformation experiments were performed and compared with that without product removal. Experimental data were also mathematically predicted with good accuracy between the simulation and the experiment.