Search

Chiroptical material is an intriguing and rapidly evolving field in nanomaterial research to alter and improve the optical interaction of hybrid composites with incident light. In this regard, new molecular design strategies and new self-assembled structures of chiral nanoparticles (NPs) or nanorods (NRs) in composition with liquid crystal (LC) matrix have been developed for technological advancement in displays, sensors, development of hybrid materials for optical applications and others. With the emphasis on the chiroptical activities of NPs or NRs in LC systems, this review provides insight into the structure-property and composition-property relationships governing NP-LC interactions, which may point to new directions for major improvements of chiral nanomaterial research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel core–shell CM-P was prepared via a facile cation-driven electrostatic self-assembly strategy. • The charge redistribution in CM-P heterostructures was observed. • The CM-P cathodes exhibited a high specific capacity of 260 mAh/g. • The CM-P//Zn ZISCs showed a high energy density of 217.1 Wh kg−1 along with power density of 22.3 kW kg−1. Rechargeable aqueous Zn-ion hybrid supercapacitors (ZISCs) with the superiorities of high theoretical capacity, low redox potential and aqueous electrolytes with superior ionic conductivity (∼1 S cm−1) are promising energy storage systems. However, a primary concern persists due to the absence of cathode materials with both high energy densities and satisfactory cycling stability for robust ZISCs. In this study, we design a spherical core–shell covalent organic frameworks@Ti 3 CN MXene (CM-P) cathode via a cation-driven electrostatic self-assembly strategy. The CM-P with the constructed heterostructures shows both well-organized pore channels and excellent intrinsic conductivity, facilitating fast accessibility to intrinsic redox-active sites (such as C = O and N), and promoting effective ion diffusion characterized by low energy barriers. Consequently, the CM-P cathodes demonstrate excellent electrochemical performance, featuring an ultrahigh specific capacity of 260 mAh/g at 0.1 A, a high-rate capability with 68 % retention at 1 A/g, and long-term cycling stability. First-principle calculations elucidate that the enhanced charge-storage mechanism relies on the heterostructures of CM-P, accelerating ion adsorption/diffusion and electron transfer. Furthermore, the assembled CM-P//Zn ZISCs devices show a high energy density of 217.1 Wh kg−1 along with power density of 22.3 kW kg−1. This work provides an innovative approach to design COFs-based heterostructures for advanced ZISCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An acid–induced dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction is developed. • Analytes are extracted by in situ formation of deep eutectic solvents with formed fatty acids. • The method is successfully used for detection of bisphenol A and alkylphenols. • The method is simple, rapid, sensitive, low cost, and environmentally friendly. • The new method expands the application pathway and scope of deep eutectic solvents. This study describes the development of an acid induced dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method based on the in situ formation of hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents for the extraction of bisphenol A and alkylphenols from environmental water and beverage samples. Hydrochloric acid altered the hydrophilic-hydrophobic state of fatty acid salts to obtain hydrophobic fatty acids, which formed hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents with analytes in situ to extract the analytes. Under optimized conditions, the limits of detection and limits of quantitation were 0.03–0.1 μg L-1 and 0.12–0.3 μg L-1, the intraday and interday relative standard deviations were less than 3.9 %, and the enrichment factor was 29–32. The recoveries of bisphenol A and alkylphenols were 95.9–104.9 % and 86.9–105.0 %, respectively. The extraction process used only hydrochloric acid and fatty acid salts, and the extraction process required less than 1 min. This method has the advantages of simplicity, speed, low cost and environmental friendliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aliphatic aldehydes are a class of organic compounds containing aldehyde groups, which are widespread, and closely related to people's daily life and health. In this work, a series of terpenes based hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents were designed and synthesized using hexafluoroisopropanol as hydrogen bond donor and menthol/thymol as hydrogen bond acceptor. Then they are used as extraction solvent in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for extracting and determining seven aliphatic aldehydes from drinking water and alcoholic beverage combined with high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet. Due to the fact that these hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents are liquid at the room temperature, a density greater than that of water, a lower viscosity (≤26.10 mPa s, 25 °C), after extraction and centrifugation, the microvolume DES-rich phase in the bottom is convenient for collection and direct analysis without further dissolution or dilution with organic solvents. Some factors affecting the extraction recovery were optimized by one-variable-at-a-time and response surface methodology. Under the optimal conditions, the enrichment factors for the seven aliphatic aldehydes were 48–56. The method had good performance: linear ranges of 1.0–200, 0.5–200, 0.2–200, 0.4–400, 1.0–400, 0.4–400 and 0.4–400 μg L−1 for seven aliphatic aldehydes (r 2 ≥ 0.9949), limits of detection of 0.1–0.5 μg L−1, intra-day and inter-day precisions <4.9%. The recoveries of seven aliphatic aldehydes ranged from 76.0 to 119.0%. The proposed dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method is simple, rapid, highly efficient, and green, which effectively reduces the amount of toxic chemical reagents used and their impact on the environment. Rapid and efficient detection of aliphatic aldehydes helps ensure a healthy diet and has great application prospects in food safety analysis. [Display omitted] • Terpenes based HDESs with low viscosity and high density were designed and prepared. • A terpenes HDESs based DLLME was established for enrichment of aliphatic aldehydes. • The DES-rich phase in the bottom is easy to be collected and directly analyzed by HPLC. • The method is simple, rapid, effective and green for detecting aliphatic aldehydes. • The green profile of the method was assessed by AES and AGREE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ti 3 AlC 2 ceramic exhibits potential in Ag-based composite electrical contact materials, but its interface characteristic with Ag matrix remains unexplored. In this work, sessile drop experiment is carried out to investigate the high-temperature wetting behavior of molten Ag with Ti 3 AlC 2. Stable Ti 3 AlC 2 is hardly wetted by molten Ag below 1000 °C(contact angle of 148.5°), but the wettability of Ag/Ti 3 AlC 2 improves with the increasing temperature(final 14° at ∼1130 °C). In contrast, the Ti 3 C 2, a MXene with Al layer removed from its parent Ti 3 AlC 2 , exhibits inferior wettability with Ag(final 56.5° at ∼1130 °C). Wetting mechanism of Ag/Ti 3 AlC 2 is proposed on the basis of the interfacial structure and chemical composition. Increasing temperature accelerates dissociation of Ti 3 AlC 2 , and outward-escaping Al reacts with Ag to form interface layer with a composition of Ag 4.86 Ti 8.66 AlC 7.59 , Ag also diffuses along Ti 3 AlC 2 grain boundaries and forms gradient reactive products(Ag–Ti–Al–C), which promotes their wettability. Finally comprehensive properties of Ag/Ti 3 AlC 2 and Ag/Ti 3 C 2 are compared. Al–Ag interdiffusion slightly decreases the electrical conductivity of Ag/Ti 3 AlC 2 bulk material, but strengthen the interface bonding of composite and promote the viscosity of the molten pool, leading to the superior mechanical and anti-arc erosion properties. Absence of Al–Ag interdiffusion does remarkably improve the electrical conductivity of Ag/Ti 3 C 2 bulk materials, but lack of Al layer damages the mechanical core and wettability with Ag, resulting in a drastic decrease of anti-arco erosion property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel, green and environmental benign TC-AALLME-SFDES technique was developed. • Solid DES was used as extraction solvent. • The method was applied for the determination of TCS and APs from water samples. • The green profile of the method was assessed by analytical Eco-Scale and ComplexGAPI. • The method opened up the application of solid DESs in LLME technique. A novel and green microextraction technique, temperature-controlled air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating deep eutectic solvents (DESs), was developed and applied for the extraction of triclosan and alkylphenols in different environmental waters. Hydrophobic DESs composed of menthol and myristic acid with melting points slightly higher than room temperature (25 ± 2 °C) were prepared and used as extraction solvent. First, the solid DES was transformed into liquid DES while the aqueous sample was heated in a water bath. Then, fine droplets were formed by withdrawing and injecting the mixture of aqueous sample and DES with a 1 mL pipette several times. After extraction, the solidified DES phase was obtained in an ice water bath. And then the analyses were performed by HPLC-UV. The microextraction parameters were investigated by the Plackett-Burman design and central composite design. The analytical parameters of this method were investigated and good linear ranges (0.5/1.0–400 μg/L, R2 ≥ 0.9950), limits of detection (0.1–0.5 μg/L) and precision (≤5.9 %) were obtained. This method was successfully applied for the determination of triclosan and alkylphenols from five water samples with satisfactory recoveries (80.0–104.3 %). Subsequently, the green profile of the method was assessed by analytical Eco-Scale and Complementary Green Analytical Procedure Index. This method has the advantages of simplicity, rapidity, low cost, high sensitivity and green, which expands the application of solid solvents in liquid–liquid microextraction and has a wide application prospect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• One-step derivatization and TC-VA-LLME-SFDES method was developed. • Hydrophobic DESs were used as both reducing agent and extraction solvent. • Only 2 min was needed for derivatization and extraction process. • The method was applied for analysis of total Fe in water and food samples. • The method opened up the application of solid DESs in LLME technique. In our work, hydrophobic thymol-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) with strong reducibility, a lower density than water, and a slightly higher melting point than room temperature were synthesized. Based on these solid DESs, one-step derivatization and temperature-controlled vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction based on the solidification of a floating DES (TC-VA-LLME-SFDES) via UV–Vis spectrophotometry for the rapid determination of total iron was developed. The derivatization and TC-VA-LLME were carried out simultaneously by the addition of DES as both the reducing agent and extraction solvent. After optimization, the calibration curve (5–250 μg L−1, R2 = 0.9982), limit of detection (1.5 μg L−1), limit of quantitation (5.0 μg L−1), precision (≤4.0%) and enrichment factor (92) was obtained. This method was applied for the determination of total iron in water and food samples with satisfactory recoveries (85.4–106.2%). One-step derivatization and TC-VA-LLME only required 2 min. Furthermore, this method opened up the application of solid DESs in liquid–liquid microextraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ti 3 AlC 2 ceramic-reinforced Ag matrix composites exhibit superior electrical contact performance. However, the arc corrosion mechanism of the Ti 3 AlC 2 reinforcing phase has not been clarified; in particular, the intrinsic relationship between the microstructure and mechanical properties needs to be further explored. In this work, by combining micro/nano-indentation, microstructural and chemical composition analysis, COMSOL simulation, and accelerated aging experiments, the relationship among phase transition, microstructural evolution, and macro/micro/nano-mechanical property changes were compared and analyzed. The cycles of arc discharge produced heat accumulation, which was transmitted from the contact surface to the interior in a gradient (divided into Areas α , β , γ). Changes in the structural dissociation, oxidation, and interfacial bonding of Ti 3 AlC 2 with the Ag matrix resulted in different micro/nano-mechanical properties in these areas in terms of micro-hardness, nano-hardness, modulus, and elastic-plasticity. These findings demonstrate the key role of the phase and microstructural evolution of Ti 3 AlC 2 on the mechanical properties of such composites while also providing a mechanical theoretical basis for future structural design and interfacial optimization of eco-friendly Ti 3 AlC 2 -reinforcing phases in Ag matrix composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a novel biomarker, the antibodies to Endophilin A2 (EA2), for early detection of breast cancer, which represents an improvement over existing serological tumor marker. Combined with the existing serum tumor markers, the positive rate of early breast cancer patients could be significantly improved. With regard to clinical application, EA2 antibody appears to be a diagnostically sensitive biomarker and can therefore serve as a more convenient and accurate auxiliary tool. [Display omitted] • We report a novel biomarker, the antibodies to Endophilin A2, for early detection of breast cancer which represents an improvement over existing serological tumor marker. • Serum Endophilin A2 antibody level has suggestive effect on a variety of cancers, including breast cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, and colon cancer. Among them, the diagnosis effect of breast cancer is the best, especially for early breast cancer patients. • We have established a mature detection method, which is convenient, reproducible and more suitable for clinical use. • The combined detection of multiple tumor markers significantly improves the detection rate of early breast cancer patients. Due to the lack of early symptoms, breast cancer is frequently overlooked, leading to distant metastases and multi-organ lesions that directly threaten patients' lives. We have identified a novel tumor marker, antibodies to endophilin A2 (EA2), to improve early diagnosis of breast cancer. Antibody levels of EA2 were analyzed in sera of patients with cancers of different origins and stages by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Diagnostic accuracy and reference range were determined by the area under the receiver operating curve and distribution curve. The levels of EA2 antigen in sera were determined by sandwich ELISA. The levels of antibodies against EA2 were higher in sera of patients with breast cancer (P < 0.0001), liver cancer (P = 0.0005), gastric cancer (P = 0.0026), and colon cancer (P = 0.0349) than those in healthy controls, but not in patients with rectal cancer (P = 0.1151), leukemia (P = 0.7508), or lung cancer (P = 0.2247). The highest diagnostic value was for breast cancer, particularly in early cases (AUC = 0.8014) and those with distant metastases (AUC = 0.7885). The titers of EA2 antibodies in sera were correlated with levels of EA2 antigen in breast cancer patients. Antibodies to EA2 are novel blood biomarkers for early diagnosis of breast cancer that warrants further study in larger-scale cohort studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addressing the challenge of ships being prone to occlusion in multi‐target situations during ship target detection, leading to missed and false detections, this paper proposes an enhanced ship detection algorithm for YOLOv7‐tiny. The proposed method incorporates several key modifications. Firstly, it introduces the Convolutional Block Attention Module in the Backbone section of the original model, emphasizing position information while attending to channel features to enhance the network's ability to extract crucial information. Secondly, it replaces standard convolution with GSConv convolution in the Neck section, preserving detailed information and reducing computational load. Subsequently, the lightweight operator Content‐Aware ReAssembly of Features is employed to replace the original nearest‐neighbour interpolation, mitigating the loss of feature information during the up‐sampling process. Finally, the localization loss function, SIOU Loss, is utilized to calculate loss, expedite training convergence, and enhance detection accuracy. The research results indicate that the precision of the improved model is 91.2%, mAP@0.5 is 94.5%, and the F1‐score is 90.7%. These values are 3.7%, 5.5%, and 4.2% higher than those of the original YOLOv7‐tiny model, respectively. The improved model effectively enhances detection accuracy. Additionally, the improved model achieves an FPS of 145.4, meeting real‐time requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • IrCo 0.13 nanoalloy is prepared by chemical reduction and electrochemical treatment. • Abundant Co vacancies and atomic heterostructure facilitate OER and HER. • Strong interaction of Ir and Co contributes to remarkable stability and activity. • IrCo 0.13 exhibits an overpotential of 238 (OER) and 18.6 mV (HER)@10 mA cm−2, respectively. • Bifunctional IrCo 0.13 as both anode and cathode displays 1.68 V@1 A cm−2 in PEMWE. Exploring the electrocatalysts with high intrinsic activity and stability for both anode and cathode to tolerate the extremely acidic condition in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) is crucial for widespread industrial application. Herein, we constructed the bifunctional IrCo x nanoalloys with abundant metal vacancies via the combination of chemical reduction and electrochemical treatment for overall water splitting. The developed IrCo 0.13 exhibits ultra-low overpotentials of 238 mV for OER and 18.6 mV for HER at 10 mA cm−2 in 0.1 M HClO 4 , and achieves the exceptional stability of 1000 h for OER and 100 h for HER at 10 mA cm−2. Further, the cell voltage is only 1.68 V to reach a high current density of 1 A cm−2 in PEMWE with IrCo 0.13 as the both cathode and anode catalytic layer, and it shows excellent corrosion resistance in acidic environment, evidenced by 415 h stable operation at 1 A cm−2. The strong electronic interactions in the Ir-Co atomic heterostructure and the in-situ generation of Co vacancies by electrochemical oxidation synergistically contribute to the enhanced activity and stability via optimizing the electronic structure of adjacent Ir active sites, enhancing the conductivity and electrochemical active surface area of the catalyst, accelerating charge transfer and kinetics. This work provides a new perspective for designing bifunctional catalysts for practical application in PEMWE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A serious problem with integrated masonry linings ladle was that the ladle wall bricks were difficult to be partially replaced. Thus, the service life of the ladle was determined by the properties of ladle wall bricks. In this study, the new generation of MgO–Al 2 O 3 –C bricks with bauxite aggregates was tested in a ladle lining of an integrated steel ladle for 103 cycles, and the corroded microstructure of the used brick was investigated. A multilayered structure of bauxite aggregates could be observed in the used brick, which inhibited the slag penetration along the boundary of the magnesia aggregates and reduced the degree of the aggregates fall off from the used bricks. Besides, during the process of slag penetration, bauxite aggregates could melt into the slag, which increased the viscosity of the slag and weakened the penetration ability of the slag. The MgO–Al 2 O 3 –C bricks with bauxite addition could improve the service life of the ladle to a certain extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The shallow and middle plough layers increased soil nutrient accumulation in 0–30 cm. • The deep plough layers increased soil nutrient accumulation in 30–50 cm soil layers. • The middle and deep plough layer promoted root development. • The shallow plough layers presented early maturity and premature senescence. • Soil plough layer 30 cm is conducive to the growth and development of cucumber. Perennial shallow tillage (PST) causes shallow plough layer thickness, deep plough sole layer thickness, and soil quality deterioration during intensive production. Cucumber is an economically important vegetable crop in the world, but it is generally sensitive to PST. Since little information is available regarding the response of soil quality and vegetable growth to PST, a greenhouse field experiment was conducted to investigate effects of plough layer (PL) thickness on soil nutrients, root characteristics, and crop productivity-related parameters in 2017 and 2018. The treatments considered were 10 (PL 10), 20 (PL 20), 30 (PL 30), 40 (PL 40), and 50 cm (PL 50) PLs. Overall, soil nutrients were mainly accumulated in 0–30 cm soil layer (55.6%–93.1%), and generally exhibited lower levels under PL 40 and PL 50 than under other PL treatments. The shallow PL treatments (PL 10 and PL 20) showed lower root volume density, root diameter and root length density, while the deep PL treatments (PL 40 and PL 50) showed higher specific root length. The medium PL treatment (PL 30) promoted root distribution in 0–30 cm soil layer as compared to other PL treatments. Moreover, the PL 30 treatment generally showed the highest values in not only crop productivity-related parameters (i.e. plant biomass and fruit yield) but also soil quality index. In summary, PL thickness played an important role in determining soil nutrient level, root growth and thereby crop yields. The optimal PL thickness for cucumber production was 30-cm, which could benefit not only crop growth but also soil quality. Solid and dotted lines indicate positive and negative correlations, respectively. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • One-pot Solvent-free Synthesis strategy is proposed to prepare polycycloalkanes. • Novel NbOPO 4 nanosheets were fabricated to integrate alkylation and HDO processes. • Accessible Brønsted acidic sites of NbOPO 4 nanosheet favors alkylation. • Cocatalysts of NbOPO 4 and Ru/C accelerate the hydrodeoxygenation rate. • A renewable fuel of perhydrofluorene and dicyclohexylmethane was selectively prepared. Upgrading lignocellulose biomass to renewable fuels is essential to achieve carbon neutrality. However, the multiple synthetic, and purification steps as well as the employment of solvents in the production of renewable fuel inhibit the overall yields and cause the waste of energy and resources. Herein, a new catalytic strategy for one-pot solvent-free sequential synthesis (OSS) of perhydrofluorene and dicyclohexylmethane was developed from lignin-derivatives. A two-dimensional layered nanosheet niobium phosphate (NbOPO 4 -IB) catalyst was fabricated to efficiently integrate the alkylation of phenol and benzyl alcohol and sequential hydrodeoxygenation with a cocatalyst of Ru/C. The high crystalline NbOPO 4 phase and the lamellar morphology contributes to the large specific surface area to expose more active sites, especially more Brønsted acid sites. The NbOPO 4 -IB catalyst with a suitable Brønsted/Lewis acid ratio of 1.49 favors the selectivity of fuel precursors benzyl phenol in the alkylation and also provides the appropriate acid strength to promote hydrodeoxygenation activity. NbOPO 4 -IB also shows good reusability. Excessive phenol plays a vital role in promoting the alkylation reaction by dissolving the intermediates, and then into cyclohexane to enhance the H 2 dissolution in the hydrodeoxygenation. A possible mechanism of OSS from lignin-derivatives into polycycloalkanes over the cocatalysts was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Eruption of the rising bubbles causes the sand particles to be elutriated. • Lateral fuel injection leads to a non-uniform distribution of fluxes and gas species. • Temperature variation at z = 0.5 m leads to the sudden changes in gas thermal properties. • The HTC of sand particles ranges from 80 to 200 W/(m2·K) in the BFBG. • Sand particles have a larger Rep in the bubble phase but a smaller Rep in the dense phase. A reactive multiphase particle-in-cell approach is developed to explore the air-blown coal gasification in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor. The model is validated by comparing the predicted bed hydrodynamics and product yields with experimental data. Subsequently, the gas thermal properties and particle-scale behaviours are comprehensively explored. The results show that: (i) the density difference between two solid species gives rise to spatial segregation, which further affects the gasification process. The presence of coal feeding port causes the non-uniform distribution of bed hydrodynamics. (ii) the combustible gases species distribute above the coal feeding port. The concentration of gas species continuously increases while the gas temperature changes little in the dense region. (iii) the slip velocity of sand particles ranges from 0 to 4 m/s; the temperature ranges from 1000 K to 1150 K, and the heat transfer coefficient ranges from 80 W/(m2·K) to 200 W/(m2·K). Compared with sand, coal particles have a larger heat transfer coefficient and particle Reynolds number (Rep). Coal particles reach the maximum temperature of about 1100 K in the period of 3 s after being injected into the bed. (iv) bubble and emulsion phases give a larger Rep and smaller Rep due to the dominant role of the interphase drag force and inter-particle collision force, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]