Search

Myocarditis is increasingly recognized as a critical health issue, particularly among youth and middle-aged populations. This study aims to analyze the global burden and trends of myocarditis in these age groups to emphasize the need for region-specific prevention and treatment strategies. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study (1990-2019), we evaluated the age-standardized rates (ASR) of myocarditis in individuals aged 10 to 54 years. We calculated average annual percentage changes (AAPC) and estimated annual percentage changes (EAPC). Additionally, we examined the correlation between myocarditis incidence and the Human Development Index (HDI) and Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Age and sex trends in myocarditis were analyzed, and Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) models were used to forecast prevalence trends up to 2050. The High-income Asia Pacific region had the highest ASR of myocarditis, while North Africa and the Middle East had the lowest. North Africa and the Middle East also experienced the fastest average annual growth in ASR, whereas High-income North America saw the most significant decline. Correlational analysis showed that countries with a high SDI exhibited higher myocarditis ASR. The burden of myocarditis was greater among males than females, with this disparity increasing with age. Projections indicate a stable trend in the incidence of myocarditis among the youth and middle-aged population up to 2050, although the total number of cases is expected to rise. Our study reveals a significant upward trend in myocarditis among youth and middle-aged populations, highlighting the urgency for early monitoring and preventative strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monovalent cations permselective membranes (MCPMs) which can selectively transport monovalent and reject the multivalent cations are key materials for waste water treatment, mining of valuable seawater metal ions, acid recovery in hydrometallurgy etc. High flux and good selectivity are desired characteristics for practical applications of MCPMs. In this study, we have synthesized functionalized MCPMs containing zwitterionic side chain comprising two quaternary ammonium groups and one sulfonic acid group. Distinct nano-phase separation between aromatic main chain and the ionic side chains was observed by the atomic force microscopy. The resulting MCPMs showed excellent H + flux (16.92 mol h −1 m −2 ) in electrodialysis (ED) process. Because the electrostatic repulsive effect of zwitterionic structure, the synthesized MCPM exhibits excellent Na + /Mg 2+ selectivity of 7.4 and remarkably good H + /Zn 2+ selectivity of 23.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To access highly ion-conductive membrane materials which are urgently desired by the technologies like fuel cells, flow batteries, electro-dialysis etc., a novel polymer architecture featured by the densely grafting of three ionic strings onto each benzene ring was developed. Compared with the previous densely functionalized AEMs prepared by closely attaching multiple cations onto polymer main chain, this study aims to achieve the improved nano-phase separation ability through combing the advantages of high cation mobility and high cation density. As a result, distinct ion conducting channels were observed by atomic force microscopy and high Br - conductivity of 50.6 mS/cm was achieved at 80 °C, suggesting the effectiveness of this strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are employed as the gas separator and hydroxide ion conductor between the anode and the cathode of alkaline polyelectrolyte fuel cell (APEFC). Highly conductive and stable AEMs are urgently needed in order to achieve satisfactory fuel cell performance. Nevertheless, the low hydroxide conductivity remains major challenge that limits the development and application of APEFC. In order to improve the hydroxide conductivity of AEMs, highly ordered ion conducting channels must be constructed within the membrane matrix. In this study, an AEM with particular polymer structure was designed to achieve fine ion conducting channels by facilitating the hydrophilic-hydrophobic phase separation. Concretely, the side chain of this polyelectrolyte contains two quaternary ammonium groups and terminates with one long hydrophobic tail. Ascribing to the enhanced nano-phase separation ability, inter-connected ion conducting channels were observed by AFM as well as SAXS. A high hydroxide conductivity of 47 mS/cm at 25 °C and 85 mS/cm at 80 °C was achieved. In addition, when applied in an APEFC system, the synthesized AEM showed an outstanding peak power density of 369.3 mW/cm 2 . Good alkaline tolerance, lowered water uptake and swelling ratio were also observed attributing to its carefully designed polymer structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key component of various electrochemical systems, such as alkaline polyelectrolyte fuel cells (APEFCs), flow batteries and electrolyzers, anion exchange membranes (AEMs) need to be both mechanically robust and highly conductive to hydroxide ions. In this work, a polyelectrolyte with a particular polymer structure was designed by combining phase-separation architecture and a crosslinking strategy to improve both the mechanical properties and hydroxide conductivity. The side chain of this type of polyelectrolyte was incorporated by two quaternary ammonium groups and terminated with a cross-linkable unsaturated bond. After being simply heated at 80 °C for 24 h, the crosslinked AEMs exhibited enhanced tensile strength ranging from 23.1 MPa to 14.7 MPa under hydrated conditions. These values are several times higher than the values of conventional AEMs. As a result of the high flexibility and hydrophilicity of the dual-cation-functionalized side chain, an outstanding hydroxide conductivity was observed (43 mS/cm at room temperature and 88.7 mS/cm at 80 °C). Also considering its good dimensional stability and satisfying alkaline tolerance, this strategy combining phase separation architecture and crosslinking has perfectly solved the several obstacles blocking the development of AEMs and thus possesses a great potential for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) based on new ion exchanging groups were successfully prepared by functionalization of brominated poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) with 1,8-Diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU). High anion permeability was observed due to good self-dissociation ability of anion exchanging groups-anion ion pairs attributing to high basicity of DBU. When used in diffusion dialysis (DD) for acid recovery from a simulated iron polishing waste solution (HCl, 1.27 mol/L; FeCl 2 , 0.20 mol/L), the as-prepared membranes exhibit extraordinary proton diffusion coefficient ( U ) of 0.027 m/h and high separation factor of 62.6 at 30 °C, implying the synthesized AEM is a prospective candidate to be applied in the field of acid recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the efficiency of acid recovery by diffusion dialysis, novel anion exchange membranes (AEMs) have been fabricated from quaternized poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)/Silicon dioxide hybrid material (QPPO–SiO 2 ) by electrospinning and post-treatment (solvent fumigation and hot-press). While being used in a simulated iron polishing waste solution containing 1 mol/L HCl, and 0.225 mol/L FeCl 2 , the membrane exhibits both higher acid permeability ( U H , 0.053 m/h) and selectivity ( S , 68.05) in comparison with the direct casting QPPO–SiO 2 hybrid membrane, of which possess relatively lower values of U H (0.041 m/h) and S (49.45). Besides, compared with commercial DF-120 membrane ( U H =0.005–0.009 m/h, and S =18.5–23.5), hot-pressed electrospun QPPO–SiO 2 membrane shows more than approx.7 times higher U H and approx.3 times higher S values underling its advantage in DD application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acid recovery from industrial aqueous streams is an essential process, which commonly requires a cost-effective, energy-efficient, and straightforward approach, such as membrane technology. However, the limited acid/salt separation performance of the membrane materials makes the use of membrane technology very challenging. In this study, we fabricated acid-selective membranes by grafting urea groups and quaternary ammoniums (QA) containing side chains on the hydrophobic poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) backbones. As confirmed by Nano-scale microscopy and Small-angle X-ray scattering techniques, the intramolecular H-bonding interactions between urea units facilitate self-assembly of the side chains and the formation of continuous acid transport channels. The produced QA clusters also enabled fast anion transportation but reject cations transport, while the H-bonding networks provide a proton conduction pathway to endow high acid/salt selectivity. The resultant acid selective membranes showed a higher H+ dialysis coefficient (0.081 m h−1) and better selectivities for the separation of HCl from FeCl 2 aqueous solution (31.1) than the recently reported commercial membranes. Moreover, ten consecutive cycles of acid recovery tests demonstrated excellent operational stability of the representative membrane. [Display omitted] • Intra-molecular H-bonding interactions facilitate self-assembly of ionic side chains. • H-bonding networks provide a proton conduction pathway through the membrane. • The acid-selectivity membranes shows high acid flux U H (0.012–0.081 m h−1) and S (31–177), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High conductivity, solid polymer electrolytes (sPE) are an enabling technology for safe, high energy-density lithium ion batteries. Unfortunately, polymer architectures with high ion conductivity are usually associated with poor mechanical properties. In this study, a difunctional block copolymer (DFBCP) which addresses the need has been synthesized and demonstrated. The first block, P(DBEA-co-MA), has tethered double bonds and can form a dense, crosslinked network upon UV irradiation to provide mechanical strength. The second block is a pendant type polyethylene glycol (PEG) moiety with low crystallization to provide ion solvation. The PEG moiety is confined on one side of the polymer and has high segmental motion, resulting in an adequate ionic conductivity, 0.6 mS/cm. The amorphous nature of PEG second block also ensures low interfacial resistance, <80 Ω∙cm2, and mechanical adaptability to electrode volumetric changes. The combined advantages of high conductivity, low interfacial resistance and good mechanical stability enable full cell durability, >1000 cycles at 2C in a Li–LiFePO 4 battery. Image 1 • Difunctional block copolymer was synthesized as solid polymer electrolyte. • Comb-shaped second block conductivity (0.6 mS/cm). • Crosslinked first block enabled dendrite free lithium plating. • Solid state cell showed stable cycling for 1000 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ion exchange membranes (IEMs) have great potential in diverse applications and play prominent roles in addressing energy and environment related issues. Over the past decade, the development of IEMs has attracted much research attention in terms of materials, preparation and applications, due to their academic and industrial values. In this review, the advances in diverse IEM materials are summarized, providing insights into the fundamental strategies to achieve targeted properties. Apart from the intrinsic features of materials, optimized preparation methods are crucial to improve the quality of IEMs, which are discussed in detail. New IEM materials bring new applications, which are summarized in this review. Finally, the opportunities and challenges in the chemical stability of IEM materials, controllable fabrication of IEMs, and integration applications of IEMs are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (sIPN) based on anion exchange membranes (AEMs) for acid recovery process were fabricated by immobilizing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAM) and divinylbenzene (DVB) copolymer (P(DMAM-co-DVB)). Prepared membranes were fully characterized in terms of FTIR, TGA, ion exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake ( W R ), etc. Membrane structure and performance can be tuned by varying the content of PVC and dosage of cross-linking agent as well. Consequence of PVC content plus the cross-linking degree on ion permeability and selectivity was discussed in brief. Results revealed that the prepared membranes possess excellent thermal and acid stability due to the incorporation of chemically stable PVC matrix and the formation of sIPN morphology. Acid dialysis coefficients ( U H ) appeared in the range of 0.012–0.040 m/h and separation factors ( S ) ranged from 36 to 61 at 25 °C. These obtained values are much higher than that of commercial membrane DF-120 (0.009 m/h for U H , 18.5 for S ). This methodology can be effortlessly scaled up and the obtained membranes could be an encouraging candidate for the acid recovery process via diffusion dialysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structures of W- and W-Mo-containing high-entropy borides (HEBs) are systematically studied by combining atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging, electron diffraction, and chemical analysis. We reveal that W or W-Mo addition in HEBs leads to segregation of these elements to the grain boundaries (GBs). In the meantime, W- or W-Mo-rich precipitates also form along the GBs. Crystallographic analysis and atomic-scale imaging show that the GB precipitates in both W- and W-Mo-containing HEBs have a cube-on-cube orientation relationship with the matrix. With further strain analysis, the coherency of the precipitate/matrix interface is validated. Nanoindentation tests show that the simultaneous GB segregation and coherent precipitation, as a supplement to the grain hardening, provide additional hardening of the HEBs. Our work provides an in-depth understanding of the GB segregation and precipitation behaviors of HEBs. It suggests that GB engineering could be potentially used for optimizing the performance of high-entropy ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane fouling is always thought to be a disadvantage aspect for their performance during electro-membrane processes. The irreversible fouling is hard to clean and steadily adheres on the membrane surface and generally induces the degradation of membranes. Considering structural similarity between irreversible surface fouling layer and functional layer of the perm-selective membranes, we proposed here a novel technique called "fouling-deposition" for the modification of ion exchange membranes. Taking an anion exchange membrane (AEM) as an example, surface of Neosepta AMX membrane was modified by fouling deposition of sulfonated poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (SPPO) through electrodialysis process for studying monovalent selectivity for chloride ions (Cl−). The fouling compound was characterized via compositional and chemical analysis by infrared spectroscopy whereas scanning electron microscopic micrographs revealed a successful fouling of SPPO on the substrate membrane. The excellent perm-selectivity ( P S O 4 2 − C l − ) between Cl− and SO 4 2− was obtained during electrodialysis performance evaluation. Compared to the traditional membrane modification methods, the fouling deposition method has several salient features such as easy tuning of functional layer thickness and density by varying applied current, fluid velocity and operating time, superior perm-selectivity, lower area resistance and higher ions flux. It also provides an alternative procedure for the membrane surface modification which could be a great contribution in the scientific researches. Image 1 • Fouling-deposition approach was proposed for ion exchange membrane modification. • SPPO fouled anion exchange membrane was obtained using refitted electrodialysis advice. • The perm-selectivity ( P S O 4 2 − C l − ) for modified membranes is as high as 52.4. • Current density influences the perm-selectivity of the modified membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly permeable and selective membranes are desirable for mono/divalent cations separation. Here, we report the fabrication of a novel monovalent cation perm-selective membrane (MCPM) for selective cations separation via electrodialysis. The selective layer was fabricated via interfacial polymerization of ethylenediamine, tetraethylenepentamine and polyethyleneimine with 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyle trichloride on the hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile porous substrate. The negatively charged porous substrate and ultrathin polyamide selective layer could offer multidimensional channels for ions transport. In addition, the transport of large-sized Mg 2+ was greatly intercepted by the compact polyamide selective layer, thus the perm-selectivity was significantly improved. High perm-selectivity ( P Mg 2 + Na + = 3.3) which is 94% higher than that of a commercial MCPM was obtained, meanwhile it maintained good Na + flux ( J Na + = 4.27 × 10 −8 mol cm −2 s −1 ) at a current density of 14 mA cm −2 . Furthermore, such unique structure also lead to high limiting current density and excellent long-term stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid development of diffusion dialysis based on anion exchange membranes (AEMs) established its prominent significance as a leading candidate in the field of separation science and technology. AEM-based diffusion dialysis (DD) processes intended to acid recovery have generated much interest due to their exclusive selectivity. Here, we report the effects of novel Poly(DMAEM-co-γ-MPS)-based AEMs for DD applications (acid recovery). Free radical polymerization was successfully done with the initiator azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) to achieve the desired polymer Poly(DMAEM-co-γ-MPS). Finally, quaternization with EPTAC and methyl iodide was done to make the membrane matrix charged. The dosage of Poly(DMAEM-co-γ-MPS) inside membrane matrix plays a crucial role to determine the physiochemical and electrochemical properties of the prepared membranes. The influence of Poly(DMAEM-co-γ-MPS) on the acid recovery behavior of the membranes was explored in detail. The prepared membranes displayed high thermo-mechanical stability. At 25 °C, the acid dialysis coefficient (U H ) values were between 0.016–0.029 m/h, while the separation factors (S) ranged from 23.3 to 87.7. Both the acid recovery (7.25 times) and separation factors (~3.6 times) are much higher than the commercial fiber supported anion exchange membrane DF-120B (U H and S=0.004 m/h and 24.3, respectively). Prepared AEMs are the potent candidate for acid recovery via diffusion dialysis. The highlight of this work is the fabrication of new AEMs, which shows high acid dialysis performance and selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of polymeric anion exchange membranes (AEMs) for recycling acid is facing a serious difficulty, the desired acid passage and undesired salt leakage dilemma. Ionic domains are the only channels to conduct H + ions and metallic ions, and thus viable modifications on ionic domains render the permeation of two ions simultaneously enhanced or limited, leading to “trade-off” effect. Herein, we propose an origin strategy of “three-phase” AEMs to beat this “rade-off” effect. Apart from typical hydrophobic polymer backbone and hydrophilic cation phase domains, the auxiliary phase domains built by graphene oxide (GO) sheets were added. Due to the abundant oxygen containing groups distributing on GO, the auxiliary phase domains not only aid to transport H + ions, but also capture metallic ions. With only 0.5 wt% GO loadings, the “three-phase” AEM increased acid recovery efficiency and separation factor by 40% and 51% for the FeCl 2 /HCl system respectively, compared with the “two-phase” AEM. To explain these results, density functional theory (DFT) simulation was applied to study the interactions between GO and Fe 2+ ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabrication of Porous Anion Exchange Membranes for ion transport and ionic selectivity has gained tremendous attention as a prospect for broad application in separation and energy conversion. In this work, we developed a novel strategy to fabricate highly charged hierarchical porous anion exchange membranes (AEM) with high performance. The membranes were prepared by coupling quaternized poly (2-dimethylaminoethanol-N-2,3-dimethylphenyl oxide) (QDAPPO) and an organosilane ionic liquid (IL). The electrostatic ionic interactions provide the porous system. When applied in acid recovery, the obtained membranes achieved a high separation factor of 86.5 with proton dialysis coefficient of 0.027 m h −1 at 25 °C. This unique efficiency is about 4.7 times that of commercial membrane. More interestingly, the strategy presents in this work tackle the great challenge of fabricating highly charged, thinner and dimensional stable AEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphoric acid (PA)-doped proton exchange membranes (PEMs) have been prepared from tetrazole-based sulfonated poly (phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (AtSPPESK) for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HTPEMFCs). The polymer structure is characterized by fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), l H nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 HNMR) and elemental analysis (EA). Compared with other PEMs only with tretrazole groups in side chains, this membrane with a proper PA doping capacity exhibits a much higher proton conductivity of 15 mS cm −1 at 150 °C. Both of phthalazinone groups in main chains and tetrazole groups in side chains are facial for PA uniform aggregation. To give an insight into the excellent proton conducting performance, therein, a proton transport mechanism has been proposed involving proton transport within hydrogen bonded PA molecules networks as well as acid-base interactions between tetrazole and phthalazinone groups. Meanwhile, the proper oxidative, conductivity, thermal and mechanical stability suggest that the PA doped PEM can hold as a promising membrane for HTPEMFCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High performance thin film composite forward osmosis (TFC-FO) membranes were prepared by in situ modification of nascent polyamide (PA) active layer with ethane diamine (EDA) and 2-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]- ethane sulfonic acid monosodium salt (SEA) via second interfacial polymerization (SIP). The membranes were characterized with respect to membrane chemistry (by ATR–FTIR and XPS spectroscopy), surface properties comprising wettability (by static contact angle), roughness (by AFM), zeta potential, surface free energy, osmosis performance, and antifouling ability in FO process. The results indicates that SIP with aliphatic diamine is an effective strategy towards improving the FO membrane performance, such as high permeability, selectivity and antifouling tendency. EDA would shadow the valleys of pristine PA layer, and gain the highest fouling resistance; while additional hydrophilic group (−SO 3 Na) in SEA can enhance the wettability of membrane, consequently resulting in higher water flux without scarifying the selectivity. Meanwhile, we found that the initial osmotic water flux plays a more important role in the cake layer formation than the surface properties of membrane. When the initial flux was set as 19 LMH, the final normalized flux of SEA-M declined to about 0.45 at the end of fouling test with BSA as the foulant model, while that of three membranes can keep more than 0.8 at the initial flux 9 LMH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabrication of thin-film composite metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) membranes (TFCMMs) has great potential to broaden the application scale due to excellent properties of MOFs, such as adjustable pore structure, high surface area, and uniform pore size. However, there are still some limitations on the TFCMMs such as low MOFs mass ratio and poor compatibility. Here, a simplistic "spray deposition cum post-stabilization (SDS)" technique is proposed to precisely fabricate compact thin-films of different MOFs including ZIF-L, UiO-66-NH 2 , and MIL-101-NH 2 on porous substrates. The SDS strategy can fix various MOFs via crosslinking reaction between the aryl chloride groups of trimesoyl chloride and the amino groups of polyethyleneimine or MOFs in the functional layer, leading to durable TFCMMs with good compatibility and high MOFs mass ratio. The resulting membranes also show high water permeance and excellent dye rejection (99.2% for methyl blue and 97.5% for metanil yellow) as compared to the traditional polyamide membrane. [Display omitted] • Spray deposition cum post-stabilization technique was proposed to fabricate TFCMMs. • The IP-ZIF membrane showed fast water permeance and excellent dye rejection. • Larger TFCMMs (400 cm2) was fabricated successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monovalent cation permselective membranes (MCPMs) are highly desirable for the extraction of Li+ and Na+ ions from earth-abundant sources, such as salt lakes and seawater. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising functional nanomaterials with excellent potential for ion separation technologies owing to their regular structure and tunable pore sizes. However, the successful use of MOFs in ion separation membranes is still challenging owing to the numerous difficulties in preparing ultrathin and defect-free MOF membranes. Here, we proposed a facile post-synthetic method for the preparation of UiO-66(Zr/Ti)–NH 2 and subsequently immobilized UiO-66(Zr/Ti)–NH 2 in an ultrathin polyamide layer (~100 nm). The resulting thin-film nanocomposite membranes presented high monovalent cation flux and excellent selectivity for mono-/di-valent cations. The P N a + / M g 2 + and P L i + / M g 2 + permselectivities of the best-performing thin-film nanocomposite membrane were 13.44 and 11.38, respectively, which were 3.8 and 5.1 times higher, respectively, than those of the commercial state-of-art CSO membrane. Image 1 • UiO-66(Zr/Ti)–NH 2 nanoparticles were synthesized via a facile Ti-exchange method. • UiO-66(Zr/Ti)–NH 2 was immobilized in polyamide layer by interfacial polymerization. • Inherent ion transfer channels endow the membranes high permeation and selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]