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The synthesis of bismuth based materials with porous structures for supercapacitor application has drawn much attention due to their high specific surface area and easy access of electrolytes with the electrode surface through their hierarchical pores. In this present report, we synthesized a three dimensional (3D) BiOCOOH micro flowers by a solvothermal approach and applied to supercapacitor applications. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy results confirmed that the formation of porous BiOCOOH flowers. When BiOCOOH was used as electrode material for supercapacitors it exhibits a maximum specific capacitance value of 312 F g−1 at current density of 1 Ag−1. Additionally, the BiOCOOH flowers retained 52% of its initial specific capacity after 5000 charge–discharge cycles indicating an excellent cyclic stability. This improvement in the cycle stability of the BiOCOOH is ascribed to high surface area and enhanced ion transport through the pores of the BiOCOOH flowers. This high specific capacitance and excellent cyclic stability of the porous BiOCOOH flowers prove to be a promising candidate for supercapacitor application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study investigated the effects of sarcoplasmic protein (SP) on myofibrillar protein (MP) gel properties by adding different concentrations of SP (0, 10, 20 and 30 g/100 g) into MP, with both of them isolated from pork. The interaction between MP and SP and the potential mechanism were also explored. When compared with the untreated MP, adding 20 g/100 g SP showed the maximum water-holding capacity, with an increase of 31.74%, as well as the most compact and densest MP gel network as indicated by the scanning electron microscopy. SP addition could also increase the binding water capacity of the gel due to shorter T 22 and less free water. Furthermore, adding 20 g/100 g SP increased the values of springiness, hardness and chewiness from 0.35 to 0.70, 142.86 to 581.63, and 11.88 to 92.55, while adding 10 g/100 g SP increased the cohesiveness value from 0.17 to 0.25. These results indicated that moderate SP addition can improve the gel properties of MP. Highlights • Sarcoplasmic protein (SP) notably affects myofibrillar protein (MP) gel property. • 20% SP addition largely improves MP gel texture property and water-holding capacity. • SEM showed the most compact and dense MP gel network by 20% SP addition. • Moderate SP could improve MP gel texture and WHC by padding the network and increasing the hydration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the tribological performance of tri(hydroxymethyl)propane esters containing boron and nitrogen as lubricant additives in rapeseed oil. Design/methodology/approach – Thermal degradation tests were performed to analyze their thermal stability using a thermo-gravimetric analyzer. Two four-ball testers were used to measure the tribological properties of tri(hydroxymethyl)propane esters containing boron and nitrogen as lubricant additives in rapeseed oil. The worn surfaces of steel balls were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Findings – The results show that the tri(hydroxymethyl)propane esters containing boron and nitrogen have excellent thermal stability, good antiwear performance, improve the load-carrying capacity, and possess friction-reducing behavior especially at 98 N when they are used as additives in rapeseed oil. The results of XPS show that the adsorption and tribochemical reactions have been occurred to form a complex boundary lubrication film. Originality/value – The paper illustrates two novel tri(hydroxymethyl)propane esters which contain B and N elements used as additives in rapeseed oil. The results are useful for further applications in advanced environment friendly lubricating oils and additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of ultrasonic treatment (180 W, 25 min) on the foaming and physicochemical properties of egg white from shell egg stored for seven periods (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 d) were investigated in this study. The foaming ability significantly increased after ultrasound treatment and the highest foaming ability (99.13%) was achieved at 60 d compared to untreated egg white (29.75%). This improvement was ascribed to the increased free sulfhydryl content and surface hydrophobicity, indicating that egg white protein became easier to adsorb at the air-water interface and its structure was more flexible. However, a reduction in the foaming stability of ultrasound-treated egg white resulted from the lower absolute zeta potential. Moreover, decreasing particle size and broadening protein size distribution were obtained after ultrasonic processing. Using scanning electron microscopy, small aggregates were observed on the surface of the untreated sample after storage, while the ultrasound-treated sample had large numbers of irregular and unevenly distributed pores with different sizes. These results provide important evidence of the protein properties induced by ultrasound modification during storage, and further expand the ultrasound application in the food storage industry. • The highest foaming ability (99.13%) was achieved at 60 d by ultrasound modification. • Surface hydrophobicity and sulfhydryl content increased by ultrasound treatment. • Ultrasound decreased the absolute zeta potential of cold stored egg white. • Ultrasound decreased particle size and broadened size distribution of egg white. • Scanning electron microscopy showed irregular and unevenly distributed pore structure after ultrasound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this present work, we synthesized a yolk-shell shaped CuCo2S4 by a simple anion exchange method. The morphological and structural properties of the as-synthesized sample were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-vis DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The SEM and TEM results confirmed that the uniform yolk-shell structure was formed during the solvothermal process. The band gap was about 1.41 eV, which have been confirmed by UV–vis DRS analysis. The photocatalytic property was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye as a target pollutant under the visible-light irradiation. The experimental results confirmed the potential application of yolk-shell shape CuCo2S4 in visible-light photocatalytic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]