Benzyl alcohol oxidation and hydrogen generation over MoS2/ZnIn2S4 composite photocatalyst

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Owing to the simultaneous utilization of photogenerated electrons and holes, coupling light-driven hydrogen (H2) evolution reaction (HER) and biomass-derived...     

Synthesis of Small‐Sized,Porous, and Low‐Toxic Magnetite Nanoparticles by Thin POSS Silica Coating

In this communication, we report the synthesis of small‐sized (<10 nm), water‐soluble, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS), which contain either polyethylene glycol (PEG) or octa(tetramethylammonium) (OctaTMA) as functional groups. The POSS‐coated MNPs exhibit superparamagnetic behavior with saturation magnetic moments (51–53 emu g^?1) comparable to silica‐coated MNPs. They also provide good colloidal stability at different pH and salt concentrations, and low cytotoxicity to MCF‐7 human breast epithelial cells. The relaxivity data and magnetic resonance (MR) phantom images demonstrate the potential application of these MNPs in bioimaging.     

A model for crack formation during active solid pyrolysis of a char-forming solid: crack patterns; surface area generation; volatile mass efflux

A model is developed for the formation and propagation of cracks in a material sample that is heated at its top surface, pyrolyses, and then thermally degrades to form char. In this work the sample is heated uniformly over its entire top surface by a hypothetical flame (a heat source). The pyrolysis mechanism is described by a one-step overall reaction that is dependent nonlinearly on the temperature (Arrhenius form). Stresses develop in response to the thermal degradation of the material by means of a shrinkage strain caused by local mass loss during pyrolysis. When the principal stress exceeds a prescribed threshold value, the material forms a local crack. Cracks are found to generally originate at the surface in response to heating, but occasionally they form in the bulk, away from ever-changing material boundaries. The resulting cracks evolve and form patterns whose characteristics are described. Quantities examined in detail are: the crack spacing in the pyrolysis zone; the crack length evolution; the formation and nature of crack loops which are defined as individual cracks that have joined to form loops that are disconnected from the remaining material; the formation of enhanced pyrolysis area; and the impact of all of the former quantities on mass flux. It is determined that the mass flux from the sample can be greatly enhanced over its nominal (non-cracking) counterpart. The mass efflux profile qualitatively resembles those observed in Cone Calorimeter tests.     

Influence of solvents on the formation of ultrathin uniform poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) nanofibers with electrospinning

Although there have been many reports on the preparation and applications of various polymer nanofibers with the electrospinning technique, the understanding of synthetic parameters in electrospinning remains limited. In this article, we investigate experimentally the influence of solvents on the morphology of the poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) micro/nanofibers prepared by electrospinning PVP solution in different solvents, including ethanol, dichloromethane (MC) and N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF). Using 4 wt % PVP solutions, the PVP fibers prepared from MC and DMF solvents had a shape like a bead‐on‐a‐string. In contrast, smooth PVP nanofibers were obtained with ethanol as a solvent although the size distribution of the fibers was somewhat broadened. In an effort to prepare PVP nanofibers with small diameters and narrow size distributions, we developed a strategy of using mixed solvents. The experimental results showed that when the ratio of DMF to ethanol was 50:50 (w/w), regular cylindrical PVP nanofibers with a diameter of 20 nm were successfully prepared. The formation of these thinnest nanofibers could be attributed to the combined effects of ethanol and DMF solvents that optimize the solution viscosity and charge density of the polymer jet. In addition, an interesting helical‐shaped fiber was obtained from 20 wt % PVP solution in a 50:50 (w/w) mixed ethanol/DMF solvent. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3721–3726, 2004     

Continuity of the Solution Map in Parametric Affine Variational Inequalities

A systematic study of the upper semicontinuity and the lower semicontinuity of the solution map in parametric affine variational inequalities is given in this paper. Several examples are constructed to analyze the results. This work was supported by Korea Research Foundation Grant (KRF 2001-015-DP0049), the APEC Postdoctoral Fellowships Program, and the KOSEF Brain Pool Program.     

Preparation and characterization of rigid poly(vinyl chloride)/MMT nanocomposites. II. XRD,morphological and mechanical characteristics

A Haake torque rheometer equipped with an internal mixer is used to study the influence of the amount of sodium montmorillonite (Na⁺‐MMT) and organically modified MMT (O‐MMT) on X‐ray diffraction (XRD), morphology, and mechanical characteristics of rigid poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC)/Na⁺‐MMT and PVC/O‐MMT nanocomposites, respectively. Results of XRD and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicate that MMT is partially encapsulated and intercalated in the rigid PVC/Na⁺‐MMT nanocomposites. However, results of XRD and TEM show MMT is partially intercalated and exfoliated in the rigid PVC/O‐MMT nanocomposites. Tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation at break of the rigid PVC/MMT nanocomposites were improved simultaneously with adding 1–3 wt % Na⁺‐MMT or O‐MMT with respect to that of pristine PVC. However, the addition of Na⁺‐MMT or O‐MMT should be kept as not more than 3 wt % to optimize the mechanical properties and the processing stability of the rigid PVC/MMT nanocomposites. SEM micrographs of the fractured surfaces of the rigid PVC/Na⁺‐MMT and PVC/O‐MMT nanocomposites both before and after tensile tests were also illustrated and compared. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2145–2154, 2006     

Ligand Exchange Between Penta-Coordinated Phosphoryl Serine and Histidine Compounds

With the assistance of HPLC-ESI-MS/MS, the self-assembly products of serine and histidine penta-coordinated phosphorus compound were separated and identified. The expectative product was seryl-histidine dipeptide, but it was found that there was almost equimolar amount of histidyl-histidine dipeptide as well as seryl-histidine dipeptide. The mechanism was speculated that there was iigand exchange between penta-coordinated phosphoryl serine and histidine in the reaction process. As a result,two types of dipeptide were produced.     

Hydrothermal Synthesis and X‐Ray Structural Characterization of Manganese,Nickel, and Cadmium Coordination Polymers Containing 2,3‐Pyridinedicarboxylate as Multidentate Ligands

Three divalent transiton‐metal complexes of 2,3‐pyridinedicarboxylate (2,3‐pda²), [Mn(2,3‐pda)‐(H₂O)3]_∞ ( 7 ), [Ni(2,3‐pda)(H₂O)3]_∞ ( 8 ), and [Cd2(2,3‐pda)₂(H₂O)]_∞ ( 9 ) have been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. X‐ray diffraction analyses reveal that compounds 7 and 8 are zigzag‐ and linear‐type one‐dimension (1D) coordination polymers, respectively, whereas compound 9 is a three‐dimension (3D) coordination polymer. A simple comparison of the coordination geometries with the available neutral analogues {M_x(2,3‐pda)_x(H₂O)_y}_∞ containing one or two divalent transition‐metal atoms and equal ligands in the presence or absence of coordinated water molecules is also presented.     

Separation and identification of the phthalic anhydride derivatives of Liqusticum Chuanxiong Hort by GC-MS, TLC, HPLC-DAD, and HPLC-MS

A simple, sensitive, and rapid method using gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS) is developed for the simultaneous separation and identification of the active ingredients of Liqusticum Chuanxiong Hort (Chuanxiong). Ten phthalic anhydride derivatives (PADs) are identified in Chuanxiong as 3-butylphthalide, 3-butylidenephthalide, 3-butylidene-4-hydroxyphthalide, senkyunolide A, neocnidilide, Z-ligustilide, E-ligustilide, senkyunolide F, senkyunolide-H, and senkyunolide-I. The existence of ferulic acid and vanillin in Chuanxiong extract is also demonstrated. Further identification of these compounds is performed by thin-layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and HPLC-MS analysis. This is the first report of the separation and determination of the PADs in Chuanxiong by GC-MS.