A molecular dynamics examination of the relationship between self-diffusion and viscosity in liquid metals

The self-diffusion coefficients D and the viscosities η of elemental Ni, Cu, and Ni-Si alloys have been calculated over a wide temperature range by molecular dynamics simulations. For elemental Ni and Cu, Arrhenius-law variations of D and η with temperature dominate. The temperature dependence of Dη can be approximated by a linear relation, whereas the Stokes-Einstein relation is violated. The calculations of D and η are extended to the regions close to the crystallization of Ni(95)Si(5), Ni(90)Si(10), and the glass transitions of Ni(80)Si(20) and Ni(75)Si(25). The results show that both D and η strongly deviate from the Arrhenius law in the vicinity of phase transitions, exhibiting a power-law divergence. We find a decoupling of diffusion and viscous flow just above the crystallization of Ni(95)Si(5) and Ni(90)Si(10). For the two glass-forming alloys, Ni(80)Si(20) and Ni(75)Si(25), the relation Dη = const is obeyed as the glass transition is approached, indicating a dynamic coupling as predicted by the mode-coupling theory. This coupling is enhanced with increasing Si composition and at 25%, Si spans a wide temperature range through the melting point. The decoupling is found to be related to the distribution of local ordered structure in the melts. The power-law governing the growth of solid-like clusters prior to crystallization creates a dynamic heterogeneity responsible for decoupling.     

Microfluidic electronics

Microfluidics, a field that has been well-established for several decades, has seen extensive applications in the areas of biology, chemistry, and medicine. However, it might be very hard to imagine how such soft microfluidic devices would be used in other areas, such as electronics, in which stiff, solid metals, insulators, and semiconductors have previously dominated. Very recently, things have radically changed. Taking advantage of native properties of microfluidics, advances in microfluidics-based electronics have shown great potential in numerous new appealing applications, e.g. bio-inspired devices, body-worn healthcare and medical sensing systems, and ergonomic units, in which conventional rigid, bulky electronics are facing insurmountable obstacles to fulfil the demand on comfortable user experience. Not only would the birth of microfluidic electronics contribute to both the microfluidics and electronics fields, but it may also shape the future of our daily life. Nevertheless, microfluidic electronics are still at a very early stage, and significant efforts in research and development are needed to advance this emerging field. The intention of this article is to review recent research outcomes in the field of microfluidic electronics, and address current technical challenges and issues. The outlook of future development in microfluidic electronic devices and systems, as well as new fabrication techniques, is also discussed. Moreover, the authors would like to inspire both the microfluidics and electronics communities to further exploit this newly-established field.     

Can curcumin food and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis> drug be taken simultaneously?

Curcumin (CUR), a frequently-used food additive and flavorings, has been reported to be safe at a wide dose range. Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) is commonly found in soil and decomposing organic matter, and it was reported beneficial for humans when ingested. Up to now, there have been no contraindication of B. subtilis except for the avoidance of the drug combination with antibiotics, and the interaction of food and B. subtilis drug is blank. In this study, the interaction of CUR and B. subtilis was investigated. Microcalorimetry was applied to evaluate the effect of CUR on B. subtilis growth. By analyzing the main parameters extracted from the heat-flow power–time curves, it was concluded that CUR could inhibit the growth of B. subtilis, and the 50% inhibiting concentration (IC₅₀) valued 109.9 μg mL⁻¹. The results revealed that it is unreasonable to take CUR and B. subtilis at the same time, and it also provided a new way for the investigation of the interaction between food and drug. Meanwhile, this study indicated that the safety of CUR should be re-evaluated.     

Electrocatalytic dechlorination of chloroacetic acids by silver nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode

A simple potentiostatic method was employed to prepare silver nanoparticles deposited on glassy carbon electrode. The silver nanoparticles exhibit extraordinary electrocatalytic activities toward the reduction process of chloroacetic acids. The electrochemical behavior of trichloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, and monochloroacetic acid has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry at the silver nanoparticles-modified glassy carbon electrode in 0.1 M LiClO₄ solution; each compound exhibits a series of reduction peaks which represent sequential dechlorination steps up to acetic acid. The electrocatalytic dechlorination mechanism for chloroacetic acids was also discussed in this work.     

A Tensile Strain Hardening Test Indicator of Environmental Stress Cracking Resistance

Environmental stress cracking resistance (ESCR) is an important indicator of performance for high density polyethylene (HDPE) in structural and polymer pipe applications. The commonly used test for determining ESCR of HDPE can be time consuming and rather imprecise. A tensile strain hardening test was recently proposed to offer a faster way to characterize ESCR of polyethylene. In this paper, a practical approach is adopted whereby the test is extended to room temperature and shown to relate reliably to the ESCR of HDPE. Several HDPE resins (including pipe‐grade resins) are analyzed at strain rates of 0.5 mm/min and 7 mm/min to compare the effect of strain rate. Comparisons between the conventional ESCR test method and the strain hardening test show that strain hardening can be used to rank ESCR of HDPE in a reliable fashion. In our study the more direct measure of “hardening stiffness” is used to compare resins instead of strain hardening modulus. Because no true stress‐strain measurement is needed, this is a much simpler test method than other methods previously suggested. In addition, the use of the natural drawing ratio (NDR) as ESCR ranking indicator is examined. Results show that NDR can also be employed as a strain rate‐independent indicator of ESCR of HDPE. The test proposed herein is practical, simple and precise, and hence a more reliable indicator of ESCR performance of HDPE.     

Preparation and Characterization of Linear and Miktoarm Star Side-Chain Liquid Crystalline block Copolymers with p-Methoxyazobenzene Moieties via a Combination of ATRP and ROP

One linear and two miktoarm star side-chain liquid crystalline (LC) block copolymers with p-methoxyazobenzene moieties were prepared by a combination of ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) techniques. First, ROPs of ε -caprolactone (ε -CL) were carried out catalyzed by Sn(Oct)₂ using three multifunctional initiators, hydroxyethyl 2-bromoisobutyrate (AB type), 3-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methylpropyl 2-bromo-2-methylpropanoate (A₂B type) and 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diyl bis(2-bromo-2-methylpropanoate) (A₂B₂ type), at 110°C in toluene, respectively. Second, the previously obtained poly(ε -caprolactone)s (PCLs) with bromines functionalities were used as the macroinitiators to conduct ATRP of 6-(4-methoxy-4-oxy-azobenzene) hexyl methacrylate (MMAZO) with CuBr/PMDETA as the catalyst systems at 85°C in anisole to prepare the linear and miktoarm side-chain LC block copolymers (PCL-b-PMMAZO, (PCL)₂-(PMMAZO) and (PCL)₂-(PMMAZO)₂). The produced polymers were well-controlled with the controlled molecular weights and the relatively narrow molecular weight distributions (M _w/M _n ≤ 1.35). The structures of the obtained polymers were all characterized by NMR, FT-IR and GPC analysis. Furthermore, the LC properties of the linear and miktoarm star block copolymers were also investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal polarized optical microscopy (POM).     

Enantioselective Recognition for Carboxylic Acids by Novel Chiral Macrocyclic Polyamides Derived from L-/D-tartaric Acid

The enantioselectivity of chiral macrocyclic polyamides 1–3 derived from L-/D-tartaric acid was investigated by using ¹H NMR. All the macrocycles exhibited certain chiral recognition towards the enantiomers of the racemic carboxylic acids we had chosen. As a chiral solvating agent, the compound 3 has the excellent enantiomeric discriminating ability for mandelic acids and its derivatives, containing an α-OH at the chiral carbon, while the compound 2 has the best enantioselectivity towards dibenzoyltartaric acid. The molar ratio and the association constants of the compound 3 with each of the enantiomers of some guest molecules were determined by using the Job's plots and a nonlinear leastsquares fitting method, respectively. The effect of the structure of the hosts or guests on the enantioselectivity of the compound 1–3 has been explored.     

SUBSTITUTED 4,5-DIOXO-1,3-DIAZA-2λ3,4λ4-DIPHOSPHOLANE AND RELATED COMPOUNDS

Abstract

Cyclization of 1 with 2 yielded the title compound 3, which was transformed into the corresponding 1,3,2,4-diazadiphospholanes 4 and 5 by using DMSO or sulfur respectively. The addition reaction of 3 with butanedione gave 3,4-di-oxo-1-phenyl-2,5-diaza-6,9-dioxa-1λ⁵,3λ⁴-diphosphaspiro[4,4]nonane 6. The structures of 3, 4 and 5 were confirmed by elemental analysis, IR, NMR and GC-MS. Although 6 could not be isolated in pure form because of its rapid decomposition, the ₃₁P NMR data indicated its existence. It was found that there were cis- and trans-isomers in 3, 4, 5 and 6.     

ZnHZSM-5上丙烷芳构化的研究-丙烷的活化

研究了HZSM－5、ZnHZSM－5和ZnNaZSM－5上的羟基振动光谱和一氧化碳吸附的红外光谱，以及丙烷的芳构化反应．红外光谱中发现表征强B酸的3610cm－1羟基振动峰相对强度由于锌离子的引入和浸渍氢氧化钠而减小，说明了锌离子和钠离子均进入了分子筛的阳离子位；一氧化碳在锌离子上的吸附峰位在2232cm－1，说明进入阳离子位的锌离子是一种强L酸．反应结果表明，锌离子的引入大大地促进了丙烷的转化和芳烃选择性的提高；在一定范围内，随浸渍氢氧化钠量的增加，丙烷转化率下降，而丙烯的选择性和产率增加，说明了锌组份直接参与了丙烷的脱氢过程．Zn－L酸是丙烷活化脱氢的中心，丙烷在该中心上异裂活化直接脱氢．