Nonisothermal kinetics study with advanced isoconversional procedure and DAEM

The precursor of LiNiPO₄ was synthesized by solid-state reaction at low-heating temperature using LiOH·H₂O and NH₄NiPO₄·H₂O as raw materials. LiNiPO₄ was obtained by calcining the precursor. Based on the advanced isoconversional procedure and the distributed activation energy model (DAEM), the activation energies calculated indicated that the thermal process involved two stages which stage II was a kinetically complex process, but stage I was single-step process. The most probable mechanism for the stage I is random nucleation and subsequent growth. DAEM and nonlinear model-fitting method were applied to study the stage II of decomposition process of the precursor. The distributions of activation energy, f(E _a) and values of preexponential factor A of the stage II of the thermal decomposition of precursor were obtained on the basis of DAEM. The results of nonlinear model-fitting method showed the most probable mechanisms of the parallel reactions for stage II are chemical reaction and nucleation.     

空心结构NaYF4∶Yb,Er上转换材料的制备

以稀土三氟乙酸盐、氟化钠和三氟乙酸钠为原料通过溶剂热法成功制备出了空心结构的Na YF4∶Yb,Er上转换材料,探索了反应温度、钠离子浓度对产物形貌、晶相及发光性能的影响。利用扫描电镜,透射电镜,X射线衍射和发光光谱对产物的形貌、物相结构及荧光性能进行表征。结果表明,当Na F和Y3+的摩尔比为2.5,220℃溶剂热反应12 h时,可得到空心结构的上转换材料,该结构兼具上转换荧光、载药双重功能。     

Anti-bacterial effect of four extracts from leaves of Dracontomelon dao on Escherichia coli growth using microcalorimetry coupled with principal component analysis

The anti-Escherichia coli activities of four extracts in leaves of Dracontomelon dao, a traditional folk herb in China were investigated and compared by microcalorimetry. The four extracts are PE fraction, CHCl₃ fraction, EtOAc fraction, and n-BuOH fraction. The heat flow power–time (HFP–time) curves of E. coli growth in the presence of the four extracts were measured using an ampoule method. Then the nine thermal kinetic parameters were obtained from the curves. From the result of principal component analysis, it can be seen that parameters k ₁, k ₂, P ₁, and Q _p2 might be the main parameters in evaluating the anti-E. coli effects. In the presence of CHCl₃ fraction, EtOAc fraction, and n-BuOH fraction, k ₂, Q _p2 of E. coli decreased with increasing concentrations of the extracts. The EtOAc fraction was observed to have the strongest anti-bacterial activity with half-inhibitory concentration IC50 of 98.5 μg mL^?1. So, it can be concluded that EtOAc fraction can be further developed as anti-bacterial bioactive fraction of leaves of Dracontomelon dao.     

A rapid polyol combustion strategy towards scalable synthesis of nanostructured LiFePO4/C cathodes for Li-ion batteries

In the present study, carbon-coated lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄/C) is prepared directly by a polyol-assisted pyro-synthesis performed under reaction times of a few seconds in open-air conditions. The polyol solvent, tetraethylene glycol (TTEG), acts as a low-cost fuel to facilitate combustion and the released exothermic energy promotes the nucleation and growth processes of the olivine nanoparticles. In addition, phosphoric acid (used as the phosphorous source) acts as a catalyst to accelerate polyol carbonization. The structure analysis of the as-prepared LiFePO₄/C using X-ray, neutron diffraction and ⁷Li NMR studies suggested the efficacy of the rapid technique to produce highly crystalline phase-pure olivine nanocrystals. The electron microscopy and particle-size distribution studies revealed that the average particle diameters lie below 100 nm and confirmed the presence of a surface carbon layer of 2–3 nm thickness. The thermal and elemental studies indicated that the carbon content in the sample was approximately 5 %. The prepared LiFePO₄/C cathode delivered capacities of 162 mA h g^-1 at 0.1 °C rates with impressive capacity retention for extended cycling. The polyol-assisted pyro-synthesis, which evades the use of external energy sources, is not only a straightforward, simple and timely approach but also offers opportunities for large-scale LiFePO₄/C production.     

Fiber‐Based Flexible All‐Solid‐State Asymmetric Supercapacitors for Integrated Photodetecting System

Integrated nanodevices with the capability of storing energy are widely applicable and have thus been studied extensively. To meet the demand for flexible integrated devices, all‐solid‐state asymmetric supercapacitors that simultaneously realize energy storage and optoelectronic detection were fabricated by growing Co₃O₄ nanowires on nickel fibers, thus giving the positive electrode, and employing graphene as both the negative electrode and light‐sensitive material. The as‐assembled integrated systems were characterized by an improved energy storage, enhanced power density (at least by 1860 % enhanced) by improving the potential window from 0–0.6 V to 0—1.5 V, excellent photoresponse to white light, and superior flexibility of both the fiber‐based asymmetric supercapacitor and the photodetector. Such flexible integrated devices might be used in smart and self‐powered sensory, wearable, and portable electronics.     

Pumping through Porous Hydrophobic/Oleophilic Materials: An Alternative Technology for Oil Spill Remediation

Recently, porous hydrophobic/oleophilic materials (PHOMs) have been shown to be the most promising candidates for cleaning up oil spills; however, due to their limited absorption capacity, a large quantity of PHOMs would be consumed in oil spill remediation, causing serious economic problems. In addition, the complicated and time‐consuming process of oil recovery from these sorbents is also an obstacle to their practical application. To solve the above problems, we apply external pumping on PHOMs to realize the continuous collection of oil spills in situ from the water surface with high speed and efficiency. Based on this novel design, oil/water separation and oil collection can be simultaneously achieved in the remediation of oil spills, and the oil sorption capacity is no longer limited to the volume and weight of the sorption material. This novel external pumping technique may bring PHOMs a step closer to practical application in oil spill remediation.     

Balancing the Rate of Cluster Growth and Etching for Gram‐Scale Synthesis of Thiolate‐Protected Au25 Nanoclusters with Atomic Precision

We report a NaOH‐mediated NaBH₄ reduction method for the synthesis of mono‐, bi‐, and tri‐thiolate‐protected Au₂₅ nanoclusters (NCs) with precise control of both the Au core and thiolate ligand surface. The key strategy is to use NaOH to tune the formation kinetics of Au NCs, i.e., reduce the reduction ability of NaBH₄ and accelerate the etching ability of free thiolate ligands, leading to a well‐balanced reversible reaction for rapid formation of thermodynamically favorable Au₂₅ NCs. This protocol is facile, rapid (≤3 h), versatile (applicable for various thiolate ligands), and highly scalable (>1 g Au NCs). In addition, bi‐ and tri‐thiolate‐protected Au₂₅ NCs with adjustable ratios of hetero‐thiolate ligands were easily obtained. Such ligand precision in molecular ratios, spatial distribution and uniformity resulted in richly diverse surface landscapes on the Au NCs consisting of multiple functional groups such as carboxyl, amine, and hydroxy. Analysis based on NMR spectroscopy revealed that the hetero‐ligands on the NCs are well distributed with no ligand segregation. The unprecedented synthesis of multi‐thiolate‐protected Au₂₅ NCs may further promote the practical applications of functional metal NCs.     

Investigation of the Impact of Water on the Enantioselectivity Displayed by CALB in the Kinetic Resolution of δ‐Functionalized Alkan‐2‐ol Derivatives

It is shown that the low enantioselectivity of Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB)‐catalyzed transesterification of a δ‐functionalized alkan‐2‐ol to its acetate does not correlate at all with the high enantioselectivity of the CALB‐catalyzed hydrolysis of the corresponding acetate in water. This lack of correlation is unusual and for unfunctionalized alkan‐2‐ol derivatives there is a very good correlation between the enantioselectivity of transesterification of the alcohol and hydrolysis of the corresponding acetate (E>200 in both cases). The results confirm previous predictions from molecular modeling. The water effect was mimicked by CALB variant Ala281Ser, which showed an enhanced enantioselectivity in transesterification of δ‐functionalized alkan‐2‐ols compared to wild‐type CALB.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Ag8(Ge1−x,Snx)(S6−y,Sey) Colloidal Nanocrystals

A facile colloidal approach to synthesize Ag₈(Ge_1?x,Sn_x)(S_6?y,Se_y) nanocrystals (NCs) in a highly controlled way across the entire compositional ranges (0≤x≤1, 0≤y≤6) has been developed. The NCs exhibit a uniform size distribution, highly crystalline structure, over 1 g scalable synthesis, and tunable band gaps in the range of 0.88–1.45 eV by varying their chemical compositions. The Ag₈GeS₆ NCs with a band gap of approximately 1.45 eV were employed as a model light harvester to assess their applicability in solar cells by a full solution‐processing device, yielding an efficiency of 0.28 % under AM1.5 illumination, demonstrating their application potential in solar energy utilization.