Polymer 4D printing: Advanced shape-change and beyond

4D printing is an exciting branch of additive manufacturing. It relies on established 3D printing techniques to fabricate objects in much the same way. However, structures which fall into the 4D printed category have the ability to change with time, hence the “extra dimension.” The common perception of 4D printed objects is that of macroscopic single-material structures limited to point-to-point shape change only, in response to either heat or water. However, in the area of polymer 4D printing, recent advancements challenge this understanding. A host of new polymeric materials have been designed which display a variety of wonderful effects brought about by unconventional stimuli, and advanced additive manufacturing techniques have been developed to accommodate them. As a result, the horizons of polymer 4D printing have been broadened beyond what was initially thought possible. In this review, we showcase the many studies which evolve the very definition of polymer 4D printing, and reveal emerging areas of research integral to its advancement.     

The Coordination Chemistry of f-Block Elements in Molten Salts

The coordination chemistry of f-block elements (lanthanide and actinide) in molten salts has become a resounding topic in view of its great importance to the research and development (R&D) of molten salt reactors and pyroprocessing. In this Review article, a general overview of the coordination chemistry of f-block elements in molten salts is provided including past achievements and recent advances. Particular emphases are placed on the oxidation state, speciation, and solution structure of f-block metal ions in molten salts, as well as their relationships with the salt composition. Furthermore, this review briefly discusses the spectroscopic and theoretical methods that complement each other in revealing the coordination properties.     

Developing the Low-Temperature Oxidation Mechanism of Cyclopentane: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

At present, the reactivity of cyclic alkanes is estimated by comparison with acyclic hydrocarbons. Due to the difference in the structure of cycloalkanes and acycloalkanes, the thermodynamic data obtained by analogy are not applicable. In this study, a molecular beam sampling vacuum ultraviolet photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MB-VUV-PI-TOFMS) was applied to study the low-temperature oxidation of cyclopentane (CPT) at a total pressure range from 1–3 atm and low-temperature range between 500 and 800 K. Low-temperature reaction products including cyclic olefins, cyclic ethers, and highly oxygenated intermediates (e. g., ketohydroperoxide KHP, keto-dihydroperoxide KDHP, olefinic hydroperoxides OHP and ketone structure products) were observed. Further investigation of the oxidation of CPT – electronic structure calculations – were carried out at the UCCSD(T)-F12a/aug-cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/6-31+ G(d,p) level to explore the reactivity of O₂ molecules adding sequentially to cyclopentyl radicals. Experimental and theoretical observations showed that the dominant product channel in the reaction of CPT radicals with O₂ is HO₂ elimination yielding cyclopentene. The pathways of second and third O₂ addition – the dissociation of hydroperoxide – were further confirmed. The results of this study will develop the low-temperature oxidation mechanism of CPT, which can be used for future research on accurately simulating the combustion process of CPT.     

A Novel Ternary Composite of Polyurethane/Polyaniline/Nanosilica with Antistatic Property and Excellent Mechanical Strength: Preparation and Mechanism

Chinese Journal of Polymer Science - Antistatic and strength properties are of vital importance for polyurethane rubber used in moving parts of many industrial instruments. Herein, polyurethane was...     

Improved production of levoglucosan and levoglucosenone from acid-impregnated cellulose via fast pyrolysis

Cellulose - In this research, the production of levoglucosan (LG) and levoglucosenone (LGO) was improved from acid-impregnated cellulose via fast pyrolysis. Thermogravimetric and kinetic analysis...     

Revealing the Effect of Surface Composition on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Supported Pt-Fe Alloy Electrocatalysts for Methanol Oxidation Performance

The designs of efficient and inexpensive Pt-based catalysts for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) are essential to boost the commercialization of direct methanol fuel cells. Here, the highly catalytic performance PtFe alloys supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) decorating nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) have been successfully prepared via co-engineering of the surface composition and electronic structure. The Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst with moderate Fe³⁺ feeding content (0.86 mA/mg_Pt) exhibits 2.26-fold enhancement in MOR mass activity compared to pristine Pt/C catalyst (0.38 mA/mg_Pt). Furthermore, the CO oxidation initial potential of Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst is lower relative to Pt/C catalyst (0.71 V and 0.80 V). Benefited from the optimal surface compositions, the anti-corrosion ability of MWCNT, strong electron interaction between PtFe alloys and MWCNTs and the N-doped carbon (NC) layer, the Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst presents an improved MOR performance and anti-CO poisoning ability. This study would open up new perspective for designing efficient electrocatalysts for the DMFCs field.     

突出矿井瓦斯抽放限制影响因素的AHP-熵权法评价模型

为提高煤与瓦斯突出矿井瓦斯抽放效果,建立了3个一级指标、14个二级指标的突出矿井瓦斯抽放限制影响因素评价指标体系,利用AHP和熵权法分别确定指标因子主、客观权重.通过实地调研分析和反馈验证了AHP-熵权法的可行性和正确性,利用加权平均法确定评价模型的综合权重.研究表明:封孔方式、钻孔半径、抽放时间、煤体裂隙发育程度和抽放负压是目前影响煤矿瓦斯抽放效果的主控因素.     

Special John-Nirenberg-Campanato spaces via congruent cubes

Let p ∈ [1, ∞), q ∈ [1, ∞), α∈ R, and s be a non-negative integer. Inspired by the space JNp introduced by John and Nirenberg(1961) and the space B introduced by Bourgain et al.(2015), we introduce a special John-Nirenberg-Campanato space JN^con_(p,q,s) over Rⁿ or a given cube of R;with finite side length via congruent subcubes, which are of some amalgam features. The limit space of such spaces as p →∞ is just the Campanato space which coincides with the space BMO(the space of functions with bounded mean oscillations)when α = 0. Moreover, a vanishing subspace of this new space is introduced, and its equivalent characterization is established as well, which is a counterpart of the known characterization for the classical space VMO(the space of functions with vanishing mean oscillations) over Rⁿ or a given cube of Rⁿ with finite side length.Furthermore, some VMO-H¹-BMO-type results for this new space are also obtained, which are based on the aforementioned vanishing subspaces and the Hardy-type space defined via congruent cubes in this article. The geometrical properties of both the Euclidean space via its dyadic system and congruent cubes play a key role in the proofs of all these results.     

Klingen $${\mathfrak {p}}^2$$ p 2 vectors for $$\mathrm{GSp}(4)$$ GSp ( 4 )

The Ramanujan Journal - We calculate the dimensions of the spaces of invariant vectors under the Klingen congruence subgroup of level $${\mathfrak {p}}^2$$ for all irreducible, admissible...