Preparation and Characterization of Chitosan-Blended Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Composites comprised of chitosan (CS) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were fabricated by milling and ultrasonication dispersion methods. Scanning electron microscopy images showed homogeneous dispersion of MWCNTs throughout the CS matrix for samples prepared by either ultrasonication or milling methods. Further, the crystallinity of the CS component was found to decrease with the addition of MWCNTs, although the decomposition temperature and the storage modulus (E′) of the samples were improved. The decomposition temperature for the composite prepared by milling was 7°C higher than that by the ultrasonication. Meanwhile, the E′ decreased relatively slowly with temperature in the dynamic mechanical analysis measurements. In addition, IR analysis implied an interaction between CS and MWCNTs, which likely originated from hydrogen bonds between the amino, hydroxyl, and carboxyl groups of the two components. Compared with the ultrasonication, milling was more effective to promote the formation of the hydrogen bonds between CS and the MWCNTs and thus enhance the thermal stability of CS.     

Enzymatic Synthesis of Acylphloroglucinol 3‐C‐Glucosides from 2‐O‐Glucosides using a C‐Glycosyltransferase from Mangifera indica

A green and cost‐effective process for the convenient synthesis of acylphloroglucinol 3‐C‐glucosides from 2‐O‐glucosides was exploited using a novel C‐glycosyltransferase (MiCGTb) from Mangifera indica. Compared with previously characterized CGTs, MiCGTb exhibited unique de‐O‐glucosylation promiscuity and high regioselectivity toward structurally diverse 2‐O‐glucosides of acylphloroglucinol and achieved high yields of C‐glucosides even with a catalytic amount of uridine 5′‐diphosphate (UDP). These findings demonstrate for the first time the significant potential of a single‐enzyme approach to the synthesis of bioactive C‐glucosides from both natural and unnatural acylphloroglucinol 2‐O‐glucosides.     

What are the Factors that Determine the Number of People Coming to China?

This paper studies the factors that affect people coming to China. We select the spending of United States and South Korea, GDP, railway transportation capacity of China as observations. Based on the data from 1988 to 2015, we use the ordinary least squares analysis regression model and present a most reasonable regression equation. It is found that South Korea’s spending is negative to the number of visitors, whereas the spending of US is positive. On comparing the effect of other variables, the growth of railway transportation capacity and the overseas travel expenses of South Korea or United States, have almost no significant impact on the number of people coming to China. However, as China economic growth increasing rapidly, more and more people are willing to come.     

CuFeS2 as an anode material with an enhanced electrochemical performance for lithium-ion batteries fabricated from natural ore chalcopyrite

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Considering serious pollution from the traditional chemical synthesis process, the resource-rich, clean electrode materials are greatly desired....     

Quantum transport in topological semimetals under magnetic fields (II)

Research about two-dimensional (2D) materials is growing exponentially across various scientific and engineering disciplines due to the wealth of unusual physical phenomena that occur when charge transport is confined to a plane. The applications of 2D materials are highly affected by the electrical properties of these materials, including current distribution, surface potential, dielectric response, conductivity, permittivity, and piezoelectric response. Hence, it is very crucial to characterize these properties at the nanoscale. The Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)-based techniques are powerful tools that can simultaneously characterize morphology and electrical properties of 2D materials with high spatial resolution, thus being more and more extensively used in this research field. Here, the principles of these AFM techniques are reviewed in detail. After that, their representative applications are further demonstrated in the local characterization of various 2D materials’ electrical properties.