A microfluidics-dispensing-printing strategy for Janus photonic crystal microspheres towards smart patterned displays

From the implementation point of view, the printable magnetic Janus colloidal photonic crystals (CPCs) microspheres are highly desirable. Herein, we developed a dispensing-printing strategy for magnetic Janus CPCs display via a microfluidics-automatic printing system. Monodisperse core/shell colloidal particles and magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles precursor serve as inks. Based on the equilibrium of three-phase interfacial tensions, Janus structure is successfully formed, followed by UV irradiation and self-assembly of colloid particle to generate magnetic Janus CPCs microspheres. Notably, this method shows distinct superiority with highly uniform Janus CPCs structure, where the TMPTA/Fe₃O₄ hemisphere is in the bottom side while CPCs hemisphere is in the top side. Thus, by using Janus CPCs microspheres with two different structural colors as pixel points, a pattern with red flower and green leaf is achieved. Moreover, 1D linear Janus CPCs pattern encapsulated by hydrogel is also fabricated. Both the color and the shape can be changed under the traction of magnets, showing great potentials in flexible smart displays. We believe this work not only offers a new feasible pathway to construct magnetic Janus CPCs patterns by a dispensing-printable fashion, but also provides new opportunities for flexible and smart displays.     

High-performance nonfused ring electron acceptor with a steric hindrance induced planar molecular backbone

Three nonfused ring electron acceptors (NFREAs) TTC6,TT-C8T and TT-TC8 were purposefully designed and synthesized.The molecular geometry can be adjusted by the steric hindrance of lateral substituents.According to the DFT calculations,from TTC6 to TT-C8T and TT-TC8,planarity of the molecular backbone is gradually improved,accompanying with the enhancing of intramolecular charge transfer effect.As for TT-TC8,the two phenyl substituents are almost perpendicular to the molecular backbone,which endues the acceptor with good solubility and suppresses it to form over-aggregation.Multidirectional regular molecular orientation and closer molecular stacking are formed in TT-TC8 film.As a result,TT-TC8 based devices afford the highest PCE of 13.13%,which is much higher than that of TTC6 (4.41%) and TT-C8T (10.42%) and among the highest PCE values based on NFREAs.     

Anti-fibrosis attributes: UHPLC-MS/MS-based pharmacokinetics profiling of a novel autotaxin inhibitor with excellent in vivo efficacy in rat

3,4-Difluorobenzyl(1-ethyl-5-(4-((4-hydroxypiperidin-1-yl)-methyl)thiazol-2-yl)-1H-indol-3-yl)carbamate (NAI59), a small molecule with outstanding therapeutic effectiveness to anti-pulmonary fibrosis, was developed as an autotaxin inhibitor candidate compound. To evaluate the pharmacokinetics and plasma protein binding of NAI59, a UPLC–MS/MS method was developed to quantify NAI59 in plasma and phosphate-buffered saline. The calibration curve linearity ranged from 9.95 to 1990.00 ng/mL in plasma. The accuracy was −6.8 to 5.9%, and the intra- and inter-day precision was within 15%. The matrix effect and recovery, as well as dilution integrity, were within the criteria. The chromatographic and mass spectrometric conditions were also feasible to determine phosphate-buffered saline samples, and it has been proved that this method exhibits good precision and accuracy in the range of 9.95–497.50 ng/mL in phosphate-buffered saline. This study is the first to determine the pharmacokinetics, absolute bioavailability, and plasma protein binding of NAI59 in rats using this established method. Therefore, the pharmacokinetic profiles of NAI59 showed a dose-dependent relationship after oral administration, and the absolute bioavailability in rats was 6.3%. In addition, the results of protein binding showed that the combining capacity of NAI59 with plasma protein attained 90% and increased with the increase in drug concentration.     

From differential equation solvers to accelerated first-order methods for convex optimization

Mathematical Programming - Convergence analysis of accelerated first-order methods for convex optimization problems are developed from the point of view of ordinary differential equation solvers. A...     

Space-Confined Atomic Clusters Catalyze Superassembly of Silicon Nanodots within Carbon Frameworks for Use in Lithium-Ion Batteries

Incorporating nanoscale Si into a carbon matrix with high dispersity is desirable for the preparation of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) but remains challenging. A space-confined catalytic strategy is proposed for direct superassembly of Si nanodots within a carbon (Si NDs⊂C) framework by copyrolysis of triphenyltin hydride (TPT) and diphenylsilane (DPS), where Sn atomic clusters created from TPT pyrolysis serve as the catalyst for DPS pyrolysis and Si catalytic growth. The use of Sn atomic cluster catalysts alters the reaction pathway to avoid SiC generation and enable formation of Si NDs with reduced dimensions. A typical Si NDs⊂C framework demonstrates a remarkable comprehensive performance comparable to other Si-based high-performance half LIBs, and higher energy densities compared to commercial full LIBs, as a consequence of the high dispersity of Si NDs with low lithiation stress. Supported by mechanic simulations, this study paves the way for construction of Si/C composites suitable for applications in future energy technologies.     

Cu2O/TiO2-Bi2WO6三元复合催化剂的制备及光催化性能研究

采用水热法制备花状Bi2 WO6,并利用超声分散法制备了Cu2 O/TiO2-Bi2 WO6复合光催化剂,通过FESEM、XRD、XPS、FI-IR、UV-vis DRS和PL对光催化剂进行了分析和表征.表征结果证明:花状Bi2 WO6表面负载着碎片状的TiO2和立方体Cu2 O形成Cu2 O/TiO2-Bi2 WO6复合光催化剂;以短链脂肪酸(SCFAs)为牺牲剂,考察复合光催化剂的光催化产生氢气和烷烃的性能.实验结果表明:Cu2 O/TiO2-Bi2 WO6复合光催化剂以乙酸为牺牲剂,主要产氢气和甲烷,降解率高达91.82;;以丙酸为牺牲剂,产物主要是乙烷和丁烷,降解率高达90.70;;以丁酸为牺牲剂,除了氢气,甲烷,乙烷,丙烷,丁烷外,气体产物还含有一定量的戊烷,其降解率高达91.50;.结合反应液中间产物的成分进行检测,由此推断出光催化反应的可能机理.