Mechanically strong and stiff supramolecular polymers enabled by fiber reinforced long-chain alkane matrix

Fiber-reinforced-concrete (FRC) mechanism refers short discrete fibers that are uniformly distributed and randomly oriented, which offers an effective way to improve the mechanical performance of concrete. In the design of supramolecular polymers, an analogous concept of FRC appears to have been considered very rarely-although fibrous structure has been frequently observed/generated during the supramolecular polymerization. In this work, we apply the alkane thermosets, octadecane (C₁₈H₃₈) and tetracosane (C₂₄H₅₀), taking the role of “concrete”, and the low-molecular-weight monomer with long alkyl chains as the essential “fiber” component, to fabricate the “fiber reinforced supramolecular polymer”. Very much like FRC mechanism in material science, the resulting fiber reinforced supramolecular polymer thus exhibit unusually high mechanical strength and stiffness, which is unprecedented in the conventional supramolecular strategy.     

Construction of Charring-Functional Polyheptanazine towards Improvements in Flame Retardants of Polyurethane

Nitrogen-containing flame retardants have been extensively applied due to their low toxicity and smoke-suppression properties; however, their poor charring ability restricts their applications. Herein, a representative nitrogen-containing flame retardant, polyheptanazine, was investigated. Two novel, cost-effective phosphorus-doped polyheptazine (PCN) and cobalt-anchored PCN (Co@PCN) flame retardants were synthesized via a thermal condensation method. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicated effective doping of P into triazine. Then, flame-retardant particles were introduced into thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) using a melt-blending approach. The introduction of 3 wt% PCN and Co@PCN could remarkably suppress peak heat release rate (pHRR) (48.5% and 40.0%), peak smoke production rate (pSPR) (25.5% and 21.8%), and increasing residues (10.18 wt%→17.04 wt% and 14.08 wt%). Improvements in charring stability and flame retardancy were ascribed to the formation of P–N bonds and P=N bonds in triazine rings, which promoted the retention of P in the condensed phase, which produced additional high-quality residues.     

An efficient label-free immunosensor based on ce-MoS2/AgNR composites and screen-printed electrodes for PSA detection

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Label-free electrochemical immunosensors (EIs) are simple and sensitive in cancer diagnosis. Electrode materials which can offer a large specific area and...     

Hydrogen oxidation near the second explosion limit in a flow reactor

This work investigates the oxidation of hydrogen near its second explosion limit in a turbulent flow reactor at pressures of 1 to 8 bar, temperatures of 950 K and an equivalence ratio of 0.035. The concentrations of H₂, O₂ and H₂O are measured along the reactor and simulated using several kinetic models from the literature. These experiments demonstrate evident negative pressure dependence from roughly 1 to 4 bar, with further increases in pressure resuming its positive impact on reaction rates. The simulated and measured species concentrations along the reactor generally agree within a factor of 2.Further investigation is then conducted to measure the rate coefficient of reaction H + O₂ (+ M) = HO₂ (+M) (R2), which is one of the most sensitive reactions in hydrogen's oxidation chemistry at these conditions. This investigation is conducted by using nitric oxide (NO) as a dopant and measuring the resulting, quasi-steady-state concentrations of NO₂. The rate coefficients are obtained at 950 – 1010 K. Combined with literature results, an Arrhenius expression is proposed, $k_{2,0}^{N_2}$ = 4.50 × 10²⁰ (T/K)^?1.73 [cm⁶ mole^?2 s^?1], for the reaction rate at the low-pressure limit over 500 K – 2000 K with N₂ as the bath gas. Simulations using the models from the literature with the proposed Arrhenius expression for this reaction then demonstrate improved agreement with the experiments.     

Biomass-derived dibasic acids to diesters with inorganic ligand-supported catalyst: synthesis,optimization, characterization

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Several attempts have been made to obtain aliphatic dicarboxylic diesters from esterification reaction to develop the biomass-derived platform molecules and...     

Synthesis,Characterization and Evaluation of the Antibacterial and Antitumor Activity of HalogenatedSalen Copper (II) Complexes derived from Camphoric Acid

Platinum metal complexes are the most common chemotherapeutics currently used in cancer treatment. However, the frequent adverse effects, as well as acquired resistance by tumor cells, urge the development of effective alternatives. In the recent past, copper complexes with Schiff base ligands have emerged as good alternatives, showing interesting results. Accordingly, and in continuation of previous studies in this area, three new camphoric acid-derived halogenated salen ligands and their corresponding Cu (II) complexes were synthesized and their antitumor activity was evaluated in order to determine the influence of the type and number of halogens present (Br, Cl). The in vitro cytotoxic activity was screened against colorectal WiDr and LS1034 and against breast MCF-7 and HCC1806 cancer cell lines. The results proved the halogenated complexes to be very efficient, the tetrachlorinated Cu (II) complex being the most promising, presenting IC₅₀ of 0.63–1.09 μM for the cell lines studied. The complex also shows selectivity to colorectal cancer cells compared to non-tumor colon cells. It is worth highlighting that the tetrachlorinated Cu (II) complex, our most efficient complex, shows a significantly more powerful antitumor effect than the reference drugs currently used in conventional chemotherapy. The halogenated salen and corresponding complexes were also screened for their antimicrobial activity against four bacterial species-Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa-and four fungal species-Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Aspergillus fumigatus and Alternaria alternata. The compounds were found to exhibit moderate to strong antibacterial activity against the bacterial strains studied. NMR studies and theoretical calculations provided some insight into the structure of the ligands and copper complexes. Considering the results presented herein, our work validates the potential use of copper-based chemotherapeutics as alternatives for cancer treatment.     

Synthesis of a highly active amino‐functionalized Fe3O4@SiO2/APTS/Ru magnetic nanocomposite catalyst for hydrogenation reactions

An amino‐functionalized silica‐coated Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂/APTS) was synthesized. The Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ microspheres possessed a well‐defined core–shell structure, uniform sizes and high magnetization. An immobilized ruthenium nanoparticle catalyst (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂/APTS/Ru) was obtained after coordination and reduction of Ru³⁺ on the Fe₃O₄@SiO₂/APTS nanocomposite. The Ru nanoparticles were not only ultra‐small with nearly monodisperse sizes but also had strong affinity with the surface of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂/APTS. The obtained catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance for the hydrogenation of a variety of aromatic nitro compounds, even at room temperature. Moreover, Fe₃O₄@SiO₂/APTS/Ru was easily recovered using a magnetic field and directly reused for at least five cycles without significant loss of its activity.     

Synergistic effect of thermoplastic phenolic resin and multiwalled carbon nanotubes on the crystallization of polyoxymethylene

To reduce the crystallization rate of polyoxymethylene (POM) to meet the requirement of thick-walled and large-sized articles production, and maintain high crystallinity as well as obtain refined crystalline grains to ensure the strength and stiffness simultaneously, thermoplastic phenolic resin (PF) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used as crystal growth inhibitor and nucleating agent, respectively, and their effects on the crystallization of POM were studied in details. The results showed that PF is an effective inhibitor and MWCNTs exhibits excellent nucleation effect on POM. Based on the obtained results, their synergistic influences on the crystallization process of POM were investigated. It is found that the objective of decreasing the crystallization rate while maintaining high crystallinity and forming fine crystalline grains can be realized. The 97/3/1 wt% POM/PF/MWCNTs, compared with those of neat POM, The T _c shifts by 3.3°C to a lower temperature, the crystallization enthalpy increases by 16.1 J/g and the full width at half-maximum widens by 48.5%. The modulation effect of PF and MWCNTs on the crystallization is closely related to the PF content and dispersion, the distribution and dispersion of MWCNTs in the PF and POM phases.     

Family of curves with large unitary summand in the Hodge bundle

Mathematische Zeitschrift - In this note, we construct non-isotrivial families of curves of genus $$g\ge 2$$ , where the rank of the unitary summand contained in the Hodge bundle can be as large as...