Preparation of nano-hydroxyapatite/poly(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-lactide) biocomposite microspheres

Nano-hydroxyapatite (HA)/poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) composite microspheres with relatively uniform size distribution were prepared by a solid-in-oil-in-water (s/o/w) emusion solvent evaporation method. The encapsulation of the HA nanopaticles in microshperes was significantly improved by grafting PLLA on the surface of the HA nanoparticles (p-HA) during emulsion process. This procedure gave a possibility to obtain p-HA/PLLA composite microspheres with uniform morphology and the encapsulated p-HA nanoparticle loading reached up to 40 wt% (33 wt% of pure HA) in the p-HA/PLLA composite microspheres. The microstructure of composite microspheres from core-shell to single phase changed with the variation of p-HA to PLLA ratios. p-HA/PLLA composite microspheres with the diameter range of 2–3 μm were obtained. The entrapment efficiency of p-HA in microspheres could high up to 90 wt% and that of HA was only 13 wt%. Surface and bulk characterizations of the composite microspheres were performed by measurements such as wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).     

Effect of long-period stacking ordered phase on thermal stability of refined grains in Mg-RE-based alloys

The refined grains in both as-cast Mg-10Y-1Zn-2Zr (WZ101?K, wt.%) and Mg-10Y-1Al (WA101, wt.%) alloys have been found to have superior thermal stability after solution treatment. Plate-shaped, but different polytypes of long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) phases distributed along grain boundaries are considered as the predominant inhibitors of grain growth. Based on the plate-shaped features of the LPSO phases, a modified Zener’s model is established and the predicted limiting grain sizes are in a good agreement with the experimental results. Therefore, this model has strong potential for designing advanced Mg-RE-based alloys with high strength and high creep resistance at high temperatures.     

Effect of Vacancy Defects on the Young's Modulus and Fracture Strength of Graphene: A Molecular Dynamics Study

The Young's modulus of graphene with various rectangular and circular vacancy defects is investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. By comparing with the results calculated from an effective spring model, it is demonstrated that the Young's modulus of graphene is largely correlated to the size of vacancy defects perpendicular to the stretching direction. And a linear reduction of Young's modulus with the increasing concentration of mono‐atomic‐vacancy defects (i.e., the slope of ?0.03) is also observed. The fracture behavior of graphene, including the fracture strength, crack initiation and propagation are then studied by the molecular dynamics simulation, the effective spring model, and the quantized fracture mechanics. The blunting effect of vacancy edges is demonstrated, and the characterized crack tip radius of 4.44 Å is observed.     

Preparation and characterization of ZrCO/C composite aerogels

Zr-containing organic aerogels were synthesized by ligand substitution reaction of polyzirconoxone and 2, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, followed by polymerization with formaldehyde, and then supercritical drying using CO₂. After carbonization and carbothermal reduction under an argon atmosphere, ZrCO/C composite aerogels with controllable zirconium content (47.8–78.6 wt%) were obtained. The carbothermal reduction was substantially completed at 1,500 °C, and the obtained ZrCO/C composite aerogels exhibit low oxygen contents (9.4–6.7 wt%) and high surface areas (589–147 m²/g). Pore morphologies of the ZrCO/C composite aerogels were investigated in detail by nitrogen sorption measurements, scanning electron microscopy and its associated energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis measurements. The results show that the aerogels are composed of carbon framework and Zr-conglomerations, and the surface area of aerogel is severely affected by its zirconium content. The presence of reductive ZrC crystals can greatly enhance the oxidation resistance ability of amorphous carbon framework and prevent collapse.     

Copolymer-grafted silica phase from a cation–anion monomer pair for enhanced separation in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

This work reports a new imidazolium and l-alanine derived copolymer-grafted silica stationary phase for ready separation of complex isomers using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). For this purpose, 1-allyl-3-octadecylimidazolium bromide ([AyImC₁₈]Br) and N-acryloyl-l-alanine sodium salt ([AAL]Na) ionic liquids (IL) monomers were synthesized. Subsequently, the bromide counteranion was exchanged with the 2-(acrylamido)propanoate organic counteranion by reacting the [AyImC₁₈]Br with excess [AAL]Na in water. The obtained IL cation–anion monomer pair was then copolymerized on mercaptopropyl-modified silica (Sil-MPS) via a surface-initiated radical chain-transfer reaction. The selective retention behaviors of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including some positional isomers, steroids, and nucleobases were investigated using the newly obtained Sil-poly(ImC₁₈-AAL), and octadecyl silylated silica (ODS) was used as the reference column. Interesting results were obtained for the separation of PAHs, steroids, and nucleobases with the new organic phase. The results showed that the Sil-poly(ImC₁₈-AAL) presented multiple noncovalent interactions, including hydrophobic, π–π, carbonyl–π, and ion–dipole interactions for the separation of PAHs and dipolar compounds. Only pure water was sufficient as the mobile phase for the separation of the nucleobases. Ten nucleosides and bases were separated, using only water as the mobile phase, within a very short time using the Sil-poly(ImC₁₈-AAL), which is otherwise difficult to achieve using conventional hydrophobic columns such as ODS. The combination of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions are important for the effective separation of such basic compounds without the use of any organic additive as the eluent on the Sil-poly(ImC₁₈-AAL) column.