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As an important industrial catalytic material, ZSM-5 zeolites are still facing durability issues. The long-time exposure among high temperature steam during the catalytic reaction becomes the main drawback for ZSM-5 zeolite application in industry. In this study, we investigate the effects of rare-earth-ions (La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, and Dy) doping on the catalytic activity and hydrothermal stability of ZSM-5 zeolites based on density functional theory. The results demonstrate that the introduced rare-earth-ions prefer to adsorb on the top of Al atom (T12 site). The Milliken charge transfer and electron density difference confirm the strong electrostatic interactions between the ZSM-5 zeolites and rare-earth-ions. The activation reaction of butene is investigated to estimate the catalytic activity of rare-earth-ion doped ZSM-5. The results demonstrate that La and Sm doped ZSM-5 zeolites exhibit superior performance on butene activation. In addition, rare-earth-ions decoration show enhanced sodium tolerance performance with decreased affinity toward Na during the catalytic process. This study demonstrated that the modification of rare-earth-ions can effectively improve the hydrothermal stability and catalytic activity of ZSM-5 zeolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel hydroxyapatite (HA)/polyurethane (PU) composite porous 3D scaffold was developed by in situ polymerization. Aliphatic hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) as a nontoxic and safe agent was adopted to produce the rigid segment in PU polymerization. HA powder was compounded in a PU polymer matrix during the polymeric process. The macrostructure and morphology as well as mechanical strength of the scaffolds were characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM. The results show that the HDI can react mildly with hydroxyl (–OH) groups of polytetramethylene ether glycol and a mild foaming action caused by the release of CO2 gas occurred simultaneously in the reactive process, thus producing a uniform porous structure of HA/PU scaffold. The HA/PU composite scaffold with a high HA content of about 30 wt% has a porosity of more than 60% and a pore size from 100 to 800 μm. After immersed in simulated body fluid, the scaffolds were investigated by weight loss experiments and FTIR. The results show that polymerized component of HA/PU scaffolds degraded gradually in vitro, while HA component presented a classic trend of dissolution then deposition procedure. Three hydrolysis processes may happen in the PU degradation. The HA/PU scaffolds should be a promising material for bone tissue regeneration in clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a new type of fluorescent carbon nanomaterials, carbon quantum dots have been widely concerned in recent years because of their good biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity and easy surface functionalization. In this paper, nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) were prepared by one-step hydrothermal method with citric acid as the carbon source and urea as a nitrogen source. The fluorescence spectrophotometer, Fourier infrared spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer, and transmission electron microscope were utilized to discover the luminescence properties, structural characteristics, morphology and size of the synthesized N-CQDs. The results showed that the best reaction conditions for preparing N-CQDs were as follows: the hydrothermal process parameters were 240 °C for 10 h, and the concentration of nitrogen doping was 0.6 wt%. Under these conditions, the prepared N-CQDs with bright blue fluorescence solution was uniform and stable. And the results showed the structural characteristics were weak crystalline graphite carbon, and the shape characteristics were nearly spherical quantum dot with about 5–10 nm diameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With sugarcane bagasse as the carrier and iron chloride hexahydrate (FeCl3·6H2O) as the iron source, Fe3O4@C materials were prepared in this study. Then the adsorption properties of the prepared adsorbents were characterized by XRD, SEM and VSM analysis. The effects of adsorption time, initial pH value and initial methylene blue concentration on methylene blue adsorption performance were studied and the adsorption mechanism was discussed. The Fe3O4@C materials synergistically exerted the good adsorption capacity and magnetic properties. The adsorption process of methylene blue on Fe3O4@C adsorbent was in accordance with Freundlich isothermal equation and quasi-second-order kinetic model. The saturated adsorption capacity in the experiment of Fe3O4@C material was 270.51 mg/g. The adsorption capacity was high in both acidic and alkaline environments, especially the alkaline environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With Miyi diatomite as the carrier and ferric nitrate as the modification agent, nano-micron vanadium adsorbent was prepared in the study. Then the adsorption properties of the prepared adsorbent were characterized by XRD, XRF, SEM, and ICP-OES analysis. The effects of adsorption time, initial pH value and initial vanadium concentration on VO3− adsorption performance were studied and the adsorption mechanism was discussed. The adsorption of VO3− on Miyi diatomite was significantly improved by the modification with ferric nitrate. The adsorption process of VO3− on nano-micron vanadium adsorbent was in accordance with Langmuir isothermal equation and quasi-second-order kinetic model. The saturated adsorption capacity was 43.38 mg/g. The adsorption capacity was higher in the weak acid environment and peaked at pH = 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nanoakaganeite (β-FeOOH) was synthesized by the hydrothermal method in the study. The structural characterization and adsorption investigation of the produced materials were performed with powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). Moreover, the influences of hydrothermal time, Fe3+ concentration, and hydrothermal temperature on the product structure and chromium adsorption were investigated. In addition, the influence of initial Cr(VI) concentration on chromium adsorption was investigated. The investigation results confirmed the optimal synthesis conditions of β-FeOOH as follows: 72 h hydrothermal reaction, 0.20 M Fe3+, and hydrothermal temperature at 70 °C. The as-synthesized β-FeOOH was spindle-shaped akaganeite. When the initial Cr(VI) concentration increased from 9.91 mg/L to 99.47 mg/L, the adsorption capacity increased and Cr(VI) removal rate decreased. Cr(VI) adsorption on β-FeOOH was a single-molecule layer chemical adsorption, conforming to the Langmuir adsorption model. The maximum saturation adsorption was 16.35 mg/g. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

316L stainless steel spherical powder for 3D printing and metal injection molding was prepared by supersonic laminar flow atomization. Then the as-prepared samples were characterized by XRF, XRD, SEM, and an oxygen/nitrogen analyzer. Characterization results indicated that the prepared 316L spherical powder had the high sphericity, high tap density, low oxygen content, small particle size and narrow size distribution and were applicable to 3D printing and MIM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]