ALBERT

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 31 October 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Vladimir A. Osinov, Stylianos Chrisopoulos, Theodoros Triantafyllidis〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The paper presents a numerical analysis of the dynamic deformation of the tunnel lining and the soil caused by a blast-induced pressure pulse of a moderate amplitude (several megapascals) inside the tunnel. The tunnel lining is circular and consists of individual concrete linearly elastic tubbings. The tunnel is located at a depth of 15 m in fully saturated granular soil. Effective-stress changes are described by a hypoplasticity model. The possibility of pore water cavitation at zero absolute pore pressure is taken into account. The problem is solved in a two-dimensional plane-strain formulation with the finite-element program Abaqus/Standard. Emphasis is placed on fine spatial discretization in order to obtain accurate solutions. Stresses and deformations in the lining and in the soil are analysed in detail. The solutions reveal an important role of the strong nonlinearity in the soil behaviour due to the pore water cavitation.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 536〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Gang Yuan, Xiao Zhao, Yeru Liang, Lin Peng, Hanwu Dong, Yong Xiao, Chaofan Hu, Hang Hu, Yingliang Liu, Mingtao Zheng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉As a new class of zero-dimensional carbon nanomaterials, carbon dots have triggered intensive research interest in various fields. However, the low surface area, hydrophilicity, and agglomeration characteristics limit their applications in energy storage fields. Herein, we demonstrate that nitrogen-doped carbon dots can be employed as efficient nanoenhancer to boost the electrochemical performance of three-dimensional graphene. The as-prepared materials exhibit an interconnected framework with abundant oxygen- and nitrogen-containing functional groups, which enable fast penetration and transport of electrolyte ions and provide more active sites and electric conductivity. Employed as binder-free electrode for supercapacitors, the resultant materials present high specific capacitance (338 F g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) and areal capacitance (604 μF cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉) at a current density of 0.5 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, which is much higher than that of pristine three-dimensional graphene (190 F g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, and 114 μF cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉), with an enhancement of 78% and 430%, respectively. Moreover, superior long-term cycling stability (94% of capacitance retention after 20 000 charging/discharging cycles at 10 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) as well as improved electric conductivity can also be achieved. These results certify that nitrogen-doped carbon dots can be applied as nanobooster to comprehensively improve the performance of graphene for high-performance electrochemical energy storage.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Small nitrogen-doped carbon dots (〈em〉N〈/em〉-CDs) are employed as efficient nanoenhancer to significantly boost the electrochemical performances of three-dimensional graphene (3DG) for supercapacitors.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312931-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 536〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yuanyuan Zhang, Lili Wang, Fengying Dong, Qiao Chen, Haiyan Jiang, Mei Xu, Jinsheng Shi〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉CO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉-based ternary composite materials are generally synthesized by two- or multi-step method and special precursor of CO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉2−〈/sup〉 is usually utilized in synthesis of Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉CO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, which are time-consuming, laborious and relatively costly. In this paper, for the first time, a facile one-step solvothermal method is used to fabricate Z-scheme Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉CO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/Bi/Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉WO〈sub〉6〈/sub〉 ternary composites. Interestingly, ethylene glycol not only acts as solvent for the reaction system, but also reduced Bi〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 into metallic Bi and itself is oxidized to CO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉2−〈/sup〉, which could construct Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉CO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉. On this occasion, Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉CO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/Bi/Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉WO〈sub〉6〈/sub〉 ternary composites are obtained after one-step method. High resolution transmission electron microscopy clearly reveals each component in composites. The as-prepared samples could be applied in various photocatalytic activities. Under solar light irradiation, Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉CO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/Bi/Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉WO〈sub〉6〈/sub〉 composites exhibited prominent photodegradation performances for both ciprofloxacin and bisphenol A. Meanwhile, these composites could also be used in efficient photoreduction of CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. The efficient photocatalytic activity could be mainly ascribed to Z-scheme electron transfer mechanism in ternary composites, which is determined by surface redox reactions, active species trapping experiment, electron spin resonance spectrum.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312918-ga1.jpg" width="425" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 536〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hua Guo, Ya Su, Yanling Shen, Yumei Long, Weifeng Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Optimizing heterostructure of nanocomposites holds great potential for making full use of their ability. Herein, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were in situ synthesized over the surface of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉) via one-step pyrolyzation route using a single source precursor. The precursor of melamine chloroauric (C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉H〈sub〉6〈/sub〉N〈sub〉6〈/sub〉H〈sup〉+〈/sup〉⋅AuCl〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉) was obtained through chemical precipitation reaction between melamine and chloroauric acid. The morphological analysis confirmed the compact contact between Au nanoparticles and g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉. Then, the Au-g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanocomposites were employed to fabricate electrochemical sensor by modifying glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Electrochemical experiments showed that the Au-g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 exhibited enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards tetracycline oxidation as compared with either pure g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 or Au nanoparticles. Based on cyclic voltammetry (CV) method, the sensor was applied in the detection of tetracycline with a low detection limit of 0.03 μM (S/N = 3) and the linear range of concentration were 0.1–20 μM and 20–200 μM, respectively. Moreover, such an electrochemical sensor demonstrated high stability and good selectivity. Finally, the electrochemical sensor was applied to drug assays and exhibited sufficient precision and accuracy. Therefore, this work paves a new way of preparing g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉–based heterostructures and provides an efficient method for the detection of tetracycline in clinical analysis and quality control.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718313018-ga1.jpg" width="419" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 536〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mingmei Zhang, Hong Liu, Ying Wang, Tianjiao Ma〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Three-dimensional (3D) flower center/petal nanostructure exhibits excellent electrochemical performance because of their unique unfold ultra-thin multi-layer structure benefit to the rapid transmission of electrons and the full infiltration of the electrolyte. A three-phase Fe〈sub〉5〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉4〈/sub〉S〈sub〉8〈/sub〉 nanosflower is constructed by one step alcohothermal technique using a mixture solvent of glycerol, diethylene glycol and ethylenediamine. Ethylenediamine successfully functions as the complexing agent of metal ions to slowly release the metal ions in the process of reaction, which encourage the flower petal nanostructure formation. Interestingly, when the proportion of iron increased, a novel Fe〈sub〉7〈/sub〉S〈sub〉8〈/sub〉@Fe〈sub〉5〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉4〈/sub〉S〈sub〉8〈/sub〉 flower center/petal nanostructure come into being. Benefiting from the interconnected structure of the multi-layer shell, the Fe〈sub〉7〈/sub〉S〈sub〉8〈/sub〉@ Fe〈sub〉5〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉4〈/sub〉S〈sub〉8〈/sub〉 nanosflower displays high specific capacitance of 670.4C g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 1 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, excellent rate capability of 79.2% (531.0C g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 20 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉), and longer cycling stability of 92.1% retained capacitance after 5000 cycles. Furthermore, the assembled hybrid supercapacitor demonstrates high energy density of 49.9 Wh kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at power density of 770.0 W kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. Our results provide a new strategy to design metal sulfides with special structure for application to asymmetrical supercapacitor cathode material.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉A three-phase core/shell flower-like Fe〈sub〉7〈/sub〉S〈sub〉8〈/sub〉@Fe〈sub〉5〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉4〈/sub〉S〈sub〉8〈/sub〉 is successfully constructed by one step alcohothermal technique using a mixture solvent of glycerol, diethylene glycol and ethylenediamine. The as-obtained composites become a promising electrode material for the next generation energy storage devices with high specific capacitance (670.4C g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 1 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉), excellent energy density (49.9 Wh kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at power density of 770.0 W kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉), as well as good long-term cycling stability (almost 88.9% retention after 10,000 cycles).〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312906-ga1.jpg" width="496" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 536〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ngoc-Hanh Cao-Luu, Quoc-Thai Pham, Zong-Han Yao, Fu-Ming Wang, Chorng-Shyan Chern〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Hypothesis〈/h6〉 〈p〉How to encapsulate poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) mesoglobule cores by silica shells greatly affects the resultant nanoparticle structures. Incorporation of acrylamide (AM) unit into PNIPAM in combination with 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GLYMO, as a coupling agent) effectively induces nucleation and growth of silica on PNIPAM core surfaces, where the –NH〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 of acrylamide reacts with the epoxide of GLYMO while GLYMO further participates in subsequent sol-gel reaction of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), thereby leading to desirable particle morphology.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Experiments〈/h6〉 〈p〉PNIPAM-based core–silica shell nanoparticles were prepared by sol〈em〉-〈/em〉gel reaction of TEOS and GLYMO in the presence of polymeric core particles. The major parameters investigated in a systematic fashion include acrylamide concentration and weight ratio of polymer:GLYMO:TEOS. GPC, DLS, DSC, FE-SEM, TEM, FTIR and TGA were then used to characterize polymeric cores and hybrid nanoparticles.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Findings〈/h6〉 〈p〉The particle morphology was governed primarily by the acrylamide content and the weight ratio of PNIPAM/AM:GLYMO:TEOS, and desirable hybrid nanoparticles with narrow particle size distribution were achieved. The LCST of PNIPAM-based mesoglobules increases with increasing acrylamide content. Encapsulation of PNIPAM-based mesoglobules with silica also reduces their thermo-sensitivity. This is the first report of developing a novel approach to prepare PNIPAM-based mesoglobule core–silica shell nanoparticles with controllable particle morphologies.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312888-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 209〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Magdalena Broda, Carmen-Mihaela Popescu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Wood has been extensively used as a material for different applications over the years, therefore the understanding of different degradation processes in various environments is of great importance. In this study, the infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and chemometric methods were used to evaluate and compare the structure of archaeological and artificially degraded oak wood. The results clearly show that modifications in the structure of archaeological wood are related to the position of the material in the log (sapwood and heartwood), thus the extent of wood degradation. To identify the possible factors influencing these effects, the control wood samples were exposed to artificial white rot biodegradation with 〈em〉Coriolus〈/em〉 (〈em〉Trametes〈/em〉) 〈em〉versicolor〈/em〉 and to alkali treatment (with NaOH solution). Due to the structural similarities between biodegraded wood and control or archaeological samples, this type of decay is likely to occur during natural ageing along with degradation produced by other environmental factors. Further, no real similarity was identified between the alkali treated wood and archaeological samples, indicating that such degradation does not affect wood under natural conditions.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518309909-ga1.jpg" width="295" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 536〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Patryk Wąsik, Annela M. Seddon, Hua Wu, Wuge H. Briscoe〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We present a box counting fractal dimension (FD) analysis of the dendritic patterns obtained under conditions far from equilibrium 〈em〉via〈/em〉 rapid evaporation of a sessile drop containing 〈em〉reactive〈/em〉 ZnO nanoparticles. These dendrites were manifestations of solidified Bénard-Marangoni (BM) instability convection cells, and we previously noted that their complex hierarchical morphologies were superficially analogous to the foliage of red algae, Spanish dagger, or spider plant. The fractal dimension of the Bénard-Marangoni dendrites was found to vary in the range of 1.77–1.89 and also depend on the size of the Bénard-Marangoni cells. These fractal dimension results were correlated with the morphological details of the Bénard-Marangoni cells and ZnO particle characteristics, providing a quantitative description of such complex surface patterns emerging from the dynamic process of the Bénard-Marangoni instability.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312773-ga1.jpg" width="498" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 536〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Bin Fang, Xingchang Lu, Junyi Hu, Geng Zhang, Xinsheng Zheng, Limin He, Jianbo Cao, Jiangjiang Gu, Feifei Cao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Emerging carbon dots (CDs) are widely used as fluorescent probes in biological and environmental fields, nevertheless, the control of CDs based on different detection mechanisms is rarely reported. In this paper, green luminescent CDs (G-CDs) were prepared by a facile hydrothermal treatment of benzoxazine monomers (BZM). The obtained G-CDs showed pH dependent photoluminescence, which could be designed as fluorescence turn-on and turn-off sensors. The G-CDs exhibited weak photoluminescence at pH = 7.0 and could be turned on by Zn(II) selectively with the limitation of 0.32 μM in the concentration range from 1 to 100 μM. When pH = 10.0, Cr(VI) could quench the strong fluorescence of G-CDs efficiently, and the limit of detection was 0.99 μM with a linear range of 1–50 μM. Furthermore, the fluorescence turn-on and turn-off performance of G-CDs was attributed to the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) of Zn(II) and the inner filter effect (IFE) of Cr(VI), respectively. The excellent probes were successfully applied for the detection of Zn(II) in biological system and Cr(VI) in environment.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312839-ga1.jpg" width="463" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 209〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Prathap Reddy Patlolla, Nakshi Desai, Sharad Gupta, Bhaskar Datta〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The interaction of fluorescent dyes with serum proteins has garnered significant interest owing to potential for non-covalent labeling and imaging applications. In this work, dimeric benzothiazole-based trimethine cyanine dyes are synthesized and their interaction with bovine serum albumin studied. The dimeric cyanine dyes mainly exist as H-dimers and H-aggregates in aqueous solution. A combination of absorbance, fluorescence, circular dichroism spectroscopy and atomic force and fluorescence microscopy indicate the formation of dye-BSA complexes. Binding of one of the dimeric dyes on BSA with a K〈sub〉a〈/sub〉 of 1.49 × 10〈sup〉5〈/sup〉 M〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 results in disruption of dye self-aggregates and unfolding of the dyes into the monomeric or open conformation. Fluorescence enhancement experienced by the dimeric dyes upon interaction with BSA is superior to that registered by Thioflavin T. Surfactant SDS has been used to further tune the self-aggregation of the dimeric dye resulting in a 200-fold fluorescence enhancement in presence of BSA. Interaction of a dimeric dye with BSA under conditions favoring protein aggregation is found to result in faster dye binding and the resulting fluorescence enhancement is easily visualized by fluorescence microscopy. The interaction of a dimeric cyanine dye aggregate with BSA is promising for non-covalent labeling applications in sharp contrast to the monomeric dye counterpart.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518309818-ga1.jpg" width="322" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 209〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Huan Zong, Xijiao Mu, Jiangcai Wang, Huifang Zhao, Ying Shi, Mengtao Sun〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this paper, we report time resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) using femtosecond ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. The lifetimes of FRET are strongly dependent on the molecular concentration and ratio of donor and acceptor. Also, in the FRET, photoinduced intermolecular charge transfer (PICT) is also investigated theoretically. The driving force for PICT in FRET system equals the reorganization energy, which gives barrier-less charge transfer according to Marcus theory. The rates of PICT in the FRET system can be estimated with our simplified Marcus equation. Our results of PICT in FRET system provide a new efficient way for the charge transfer in donor-acceptor system.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518309855-ga1.jpg" width="296" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 209〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kai Zhang, Lei Cai, Jianzhong Fan, Yuchen Zhang, Lili Lin, Chuan-Kui Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Recently, thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) molecules have attracted great attention since nearly 100% exciton usage efficiency was obtained in TADF molecules. Most TADF molecules used in organic light-emitting diodes are in aggregation state, so it is necessary to make out the intermolecular interaction on their photophysical properties. In this work, the excited-state properties of the molecule AI-Cz in solid phase are theoretically studied by the combined quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) method. Our results show that geometry changes between the ground state (S〈sub〉0〈/sub〉) and the first singlet excited state (S〈sub〉1〈/sub〉) are limited due to the intermolecular π-π and CH-π interactions. The energy gap between S〈sub〉1〈/sub〉 and the first triplet excited state is broadened and the transition properties of excited states are changed. Moreover, the Huang-Rhys factors and the reorganization energy between S〈sub〉0〈/sub〉 and S〈sub〉1〈/sub〉 are decreased in solid phase, because the vibration modes and rotations are hindered by intermolecular interaction. The non-radiative rate has a large decrease in solid phase which improves the light-emitting performance of the molecule. Our calculation provides a reasonable explanation for experimental measurements and highlights the effect of intermolecular interaction on excited-states properties of TADF molecules.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518309867-ga1.jpg" width="499" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 209〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tinggui Chen, Xueying Pei, Yongkang Yue, Fangjun Huo, Caixia Yin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Cysteine (Cys) is not only the central matter of sulfur metabolism in cells but also the only amino acid with reduced thiol group in 20 kinds of natural amino acids. In animal cells, Cys is taking part in many important and essential biological functions including protein synthesis, detoxification and metabolism. The development and application of fluorescent probes for the detection of Cys have attracted more and more attention and interest. Herein, we report a new fluorescent probe 〈strong〉NFA〈/strong〉 that utilized naphthyl carboxy fluorescein as fluorophore and acryloyl group as reaction site for Cys specific detection. The probe essentially has weak fluorescence. Cys addition to 〈strong〉NFA〈/strong〉 containing system induced distinct enhanced fluorescence emission which was attributed to the nucleophilic reaction of cysteine and acryloyl to release the fluorophore. The signal fluorescent response detection system allows 〈strong〉NFA〈/strong〉 to be a reliable tool for Cys detection with low detection limit (0.58 μM). And 〈strong〉NFA〈/strong〉 has been successfully applied for Cys imaging specifically in live Hela cells, which promotes the probe as a potential tool to understand the pathology of Cys related diseases.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S138614251830982X-ga1.jpg" width="339" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 31 October 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): J. Machaček, Th. Triantafyllidis, P. Staubach〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Earthquake stability assessment of large opencast mine slopes are complex and non-linear problems, often addressed using pseudo-static approaches neglecting material-induced failures and the role of pore-fluids. In this study, a numerical approach is used to understand the dynamic response of saturated and partially saturated soils. For this purpose user-defined elements have been implemented in 〈em〉Abaqus/Standard〈/em〉 including user-defined material models. The governing equations involving coupled fluid flow and finite deformation processes in partially saturated soils are derived within the framework of the 〈em〉Theory of Porous Media〈/em〉. The stress-strain behavior of granular soils is represented by a 〈em〉hypoplastic〈/em〉 constitutive model and for clayey soils the 〈em〉ISA-Clay〈/em〉 model is used. The saturation-suction behavior is modeled using the 〈em〉van Genuchten〈/em〉 model. To account for the large scale of the finite element model, a scaling procedure of the system of equations is proposed to purge the influence of initial stress. The performance of the user-defined elements is tested by back analysis of a centrifuge test available in the literature. Finally, large-scale fully coupled finite element simulations are performed to study the response of a flooded opencast mine under earthquake loading. The paper illustrates the importance of accounting the pore-fluids as independent phases in the context of seismic analysis of slopes and the influence of simplifications on which the calculation is based are highlighted. The simulations show strong wave diffraction effects for inhomogeneous dump structures, resulting in smaller displacements in near-surface areas of the slope. Further it was found that large areas of the dump show a temporary decrease of effective stress. The initial strong differences in stiffness between the different materials may decrease with time after several seismic events due stress redistributions caused by earthquakes.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 536〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Huihui Sun, Katarzyna Zielinska, Marina Resmini, Ali Zarbakhsh〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In dermal drug delivery, the influence of the chemical structure of the carriers on their penetration mechanisms is not yet fully understood. This is a key requirement in order to design highly efficient delivery systems. In this study, neutron reflectivity is used to provide insights into the interactions between thermoresponsive 〈em〉N〈/em〉-isopropylacrylamide based nanogels, cross-linked with 10%, 20% and 30% 〈em〉N,N'〈/em〉-methylenebisacrylamide, and skin lipid multi-bilayers models. Ceramide lipid multi-bilayers and ceramide/cholesterol/behenic acid mixed lipid multi-bilayers were used for this work. The results indicated that in both multi-bilayers the lipids were depleted by the nanogels mainly through hydrophobic interactions. The ability of nanogels to associate with skin lipids to form water-dispersible complexes was found to be a function of the percentage cross-linker. An enhanced depletion of lipids was further observed in the presence of benzyl alcohol, a well-known skin penetration enhancer.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312840-ga1.jpg" width="294" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 536〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zexing Wu, Min Song, Zijin Zhang, Jie Wang, Xien Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Investigation of non-precious, highly-active and durable catalysts is an essential criteria for the development of electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this work, reduced graphene oxide coupled with molybdenum phosphide (MoP-RGO) is prepared through a facile and scalable one-step strategy. Three strategies are developed to tune the electrocatalytic performance of MoP-RGO including optimize the pyrolysis temperature, add NaCl template and introduction of sulfur atoms. After the optimization, the overpotentials at 10 mA cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 reduced from 238 to 152 mV (alkaline electrolyte) and 232 to 144 mV (acid medium), respectively. This work mainly focus on exploiting various strategies to tune the electrocatalytic performance of non-precious catalysts for HER which can provide multiple avenues to develop efficient electrocatalysts.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Pyrolysis temperature, NaCl template and sulfur atom are used to tune the electrocatalytic performance of MoP-RGO. After the optimized process, the overpotentials needed to deliver 10 mA cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 reduced from 238 to 152 mV (alkaline electrolyte) and 232 to 144 mV (acid medium), respectively.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312657-ga1.jpg" width="353" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 536〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Prakhar Sengar, Karelid Garcia-Tapia, Kanchan Chauhan, Akhil Jain, Karla Juarez-Moreno, Hugo A. Borbón-Nuñez, Hugo Tiznado, Oscar E. Contreras, Gustavo A. Hirata〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The current photodynamic therapy (PDT) is majorly hindered by the shallow penetration depth and oxygen dependency, limiting its application to deep-seated solid hypoxic tumors. Thus, it is meaningful to develop efficient X-ray mediated PDT system capable of generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) under both the normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of nanocomposite, YAG:Pr@ZnO@PpIX with an amalgamation of UV-emitting Y〈sub〉2.99〈/sub〉Pr〈sub〉0.01〈/sub〉Al〈sub〉5〈/sub〉O〈sub〉12〈/sub〉 (YAG:Pr) nanoscintillator, and zinc oxide (ZnO) and protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) as photosensitizers. YAG:Pr surface was coated with a ZnO layer (∼10 nm) by atomic layer deposition, and then PpIX was covalently conjugated via a linker to give YAG:Pr@ZnO@PpIX. The photo- and cathodoluminescence analyses gave the evidences of efficient energy transfer from YAG:Pr to ZnO at ∼320 nm, and YAG:Pr@ZnO to PpIX at Soret region (350–450 nm). The nanohybrid was able to produce both, Type I and Type II ROS upon direct and indirect photoactivation with UV〈sub〉365nm〈/sub〉 and UV〈sub〉290nm〈/sub〉, respectively. In vitro cytotoxicity of non-activated YAG:Pr@ZnO@PpIX in mouse melanoma cells revealed low toxicity, which significantly enhanced upon photoactivation with UV〈sub〉365nm〈/sub〉 indicating the photokilling property of the nanohybrid. Overall, our preliminary studies successfully demonstrate the potential of YAG:Pr@ZnO@PpIX to overcome the limited penetration and oxygen-dependency of traditional PDT.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312876-ga1.jpg" width="287" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 5 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 210〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chinduluri Sravani, Mohsin Y. Lone, Prakash C. Jha, K.I. Sathiyanarayanan, Akella Sivaramakrishna〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A new series of 2‑styryl phenanthro[9,10‑〈em〉d〈/em〉]oxazoles was readily accessible from the condensation reaction of 9,10‑phenanthroquinone with cinnamaldehydes in the presence of lactic acid. All these styryl dyes were isolated in good yields and characterized by various analytical and spectroscopic techniques. One of the dyes containing 〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 group (〈strong〉3d〈/strong〉) was structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray analysis. These dyes displayed emission in blue to green region with larger Stokes shift values characteristic to the nature of substituents. In addition, positive solvatochromic trend was observed by increasing the solvent polarity suggestive of a more stabilized polar excited state. Moreover, the addition of trifluoroacetic acid leads to a prominent blue-shift in visible and emission color changes owing to the protonation of the nitrogen atom of oxazole moiety. Among the all, the oxazole derivative having 〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉NMe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 group (〈strong〉3b〈/strong〉) exhibits good response to acidic pH in the range of 3.0 to 5.6 with a good linearity upon decreasing the pH from 8.0 to 2.16. The absorption studies were further supported by density functional theory calculations.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518309880-ga1.jpg" width="430" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 209〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Anxin Jiao, Xuejian Dong, Hua Zhang, Linlin Xu, Yue Tian, Xiangdong Liu, Ming Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Ultrasensitive detection of pesticide residues on agricultural products using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is of significant interest in food security. Herein, worm-like AuAg nanochains with highly interconnected ultrafine (~6.2 nm) bimetallic particles were developed as an excellent SERS nanosensor via laser-assisted strategy. The SERS detection limit of thiram molecules on apple surfaces is about 10〈sup〉−7〈/sup〉 M (0.03 ppm), which is about 200 times lower than the maximal residue limit (MRL, 7 ppm) in fruit prescribed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Importantly, the established excellent linear relationships between the SERS intensities and thiram concentrations can sensitively monitor the slight variation of pesticide residues in agriculture.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518309843-ga1.jpg" width="331" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 5 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 208〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): 〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 209〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Manjushree M., Revanasiddappa H.D.〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Bupropion hydrochloride (BPH) an antidepressant and widely used to treat addiction of nicotine. The actual protein existing in blood plasma for the vehicle of exogenous and endogenous substances is human serum albumin 〈em〉i〈/em〉.〈em〉e〈/em〉. HSA. The interaction of BPH with HSA was examined by molecular docking, multiple spectroscopy's such as fluorescence (emission, synchronous and three-dimensional), UV–vis (ultraviolet–visible), FT–IR (Fourier transform infrared) and CD (circular dichroism) at physiological pH 7.40 at 286, 296 and 306 K. BPH was particularly bind to HSA through forces called hydrogen bonds and vander Waals at site I (IIA) which was confirmed from negative values of thermodynamics calculated by van't Hoff equation and docking studies in addition to site marker analysis. This interaction was spontaneous and exothermic process. Secondary structure including conformation of HSA changes after interaction with BPH was revealed from CD and FT–IR (Fourier self-deconvolution to curve fitting), UV–vis, 3D and synchronous florescence techniques. Forster's theory (non–radiation energy transfer) was applied to calculate the distance from tryptophan of HSA to BPH. This interaction involves static quenching (Stern–Volmer and Modified Stern–Volmer equations) with larger binding constant values were in the range 10〈sup〉5〈/sup〉 confirming that strong interaction was exists between BPH and HSA. The interference of bio-active Mg〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, Zn〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, Ca〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 and Fe〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 metal ions on this interaction was also analysed.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518309806-ga1.jpg" width="410" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 114〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yuanzheng Lin, Zhouhong Zong, Shizhu Tian, Jin Lin〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Most current baseline correction methods for near-fault ground motion records focus on eliminating and minimizing baseline errors and obtaining true ground motion records that are in accordance with GPS-measured coseismic displacements. Though these methods can recover true ground motions, the single value of ground permanent displacement cannot meet the requirement of seismic response analysis of fault-crossing bridge with the consideration of various levels of relative static displacements. Besides, the corrected final displacements are often too large which will cause an extremely large pseudo-static response and a relatively small dynamic response in bridge structures. To provide across-fault seismic excitations with a reasonable series of final displacements, a new baseline correction scheme based on the target final displacement is proposed in this study, in which an additional offset displacement is introduced based on the Iwan correction scheme. The new baseline correction scheme aims at modifying the pseudo-static displacement of ground motion records to facilitate the agreement between the achieved final displacement and the target final displacement. The correction scheme is then examined in three aspects including time histories, response spectra and bridge responses. The analysis results indicate that sets of the corrected time history records with a large range of final displacements can be well achieved with a minor influence on spectral characteristics. The seismic response analysis of a cable-stayed bridge crossing a dip-slip fault-rupture zone shows that the pseudo-static response can be controlled, meanwhile, the dynamic response remains almost intact by using the new baseline correction scheme. This work can be used as a reference for input excitations of bridge crossing fault-rupture zones.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 114〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xinzheng Lu, Lei Zhang, Yao Cui, Yi Li, Lieping Ye〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Recently, seismic resilience has become a research frontier in civil engineering. The self-centering steel frame can effectively control structural damage and reduce structural residual deformation, which ensures rapid repair after an earthquake. Therefore, such a structural system has attracted extensive attention from researchers. One of the important research directions on self-centering steel frames is the development of high-performance energy-dissipating components. A new type of dual-functional replaceable stiffening angle steel (SAS) component is proposed here. It can effectively improve the stiffness and strength of beam-column connections and has sufficient energy-dissipating performance and ductility. Seven different energy-dissipating components were tested, including one angle steel component and six SAS components. The strength and deformation capacity of the components were compared based on monotonic loading tests. The SAS component with the highest out-of-plane stability and sufficient strength and initial stiffness was selected and subsequently tested under hysteretic loading to investigate its energy-dissipating performance. The theoretical analysis methods of the initial stiffness and the yield moment provided by the SAS components were proposed and validated by the finite-element (FE) models calibrated using experimental data.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 114〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Christos Giarlelis, Jared Keen, Evlalia Lamprinou, Victoria Martin, Gerasimos Poulios〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The recently constructed Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), houses the National Opera and the National Library of Greece. In order for the structural design to meet the demanding architectural requirements as well as the high-performance seismic specifications that were set, a seismic isolation system was incorporated. SSI effects due to poor silty sands were an additional challenge. After presenting the design parameters and the choice of seismic isolation type, the paper focuses on the methodology for the seismic design. This, performed in three consecutive stages, includes simple analyses using single-degree of freedom model for initial scheming, dynamic response spectrum analyses for detailed design and non-linear time history analyses using two sets of selected earthquake records, semi-artificial and real ones, for verification of the response. The results demonstrate a good correlation between different analysis techniques and provide a valuable insight into the behaviour of two complex, seismically isolated structures under seismic loads. The problems and solutions resulting from the implementation of the seismic isolation are also briefly presented.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 115〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Joonsang Park, Amir M. Kaynia〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, we introduce and discuss features and improvements of the well-established stiffness matrix method that is used in simulation of wave propagation in layered media. More specifically, we present stiffness matrices for an acoustic layer and a vertically transverse isotropic (VTI) viscoelastic soil layer. Combining these stiffness matrices enables a straightforward technique for modeling of acousto-elastic wave propagation in layered infinite media. In addition, we propose a technique to simulate discontinuity seismic sources, which was not used earlier in the context of the stiffness matrix method. Finally, we propose a framework to derive a key parameter of the absorbing boundary domain technique Perfectly Matched Layer (PML). Numerical examples are presented in order to help understanding the features and improvements discussed in the study from the fields of geophysics and soil dynamics. It is believed that the features and improvements discussed herein will make the application of the stiffness matrix method even wider and more flexible.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 115〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Amin Rahmani, Mahdi Taiebat, W.D. Liam Finn, Carlos E. Ventura〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In the current state of practice, static/seismic soil-pile interaction is included in design calculations by a set of one-dimensional (1D) uncoupled springs. The guidelines of American Petroleum Institute (API) are often adopted to develop backbone curves for the lateral springs. The purpose of the paper is to assess the reliability of this practice. Twenty-seven static field and laboratory tests, and two dynamic centrifuge tests are simulated to evaluate the performance of the springs. More detailed elaboration on the performance of the springs is provided by simulation of one of the static tests and both of the dynamic tests using also three-dimensional (3D) continuum approach. The evaluation results indicate that API springs do not capture the major mechanisms involved in soil-pile interaction, and this results in erroneous estimation of pile deflections and bending moments. It is shown that the observed errors stem not only from the insufficient characterization of the spring properties (API backbone curves), but also from the inadequate simulation method in which three-dimensional continuum configuration of the supporting soil is represented by a 1D uncoupled spring.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: December 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 115〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sajad Veismoradi, Amirhossein Cheraghi, Ehsan Darvishan〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Buckling-Restrained Braced Frames (BRBFs) are among the common seismic resistant systems with many beneficial characteristics such as stable cyclic behavior and high energy dissipation. However, recent studies have shown that BRBFs are susceptible to residual deformations during earthquakes which makes them vulnerable to aftershock events. The aim of the current study is to investigate the aftershock collapse capacity of BRBFs. In the first part of the paper, simplified procedures including IDA and collapse fragility analyses are carried out to gain more insight regarding the residual drift and collapse capacity of the intact frames. Then, aftershock fragility assessment is conducted for several damage states, to highlight the influence of post-mainshock residual drifts on the collapse of the structures. As for the second part, a detailed probabilistic framework is introduced and utilized to include the effects of upcoming aftershocks on the annual collapse probability of the structures. Results show that aftershock can highly intensify the structural response especially when the structure tolerates large residual drifts during the mainshock.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 31 October 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Montaser Bakroon, Reza Daryaei, Daniel Aubram, Frank Rackwitz〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The buckling of steel pipe piles during installation is numerically studied. Generally, numerical simulation of installation processes is challenging due to large soil deformations. However, by using advanced numerical approaches like Multi-Material Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (MMALE), such difficulties are mitigated. The Mohr-Coulomb and an elastic-perfectly plastic material model is used for the soil and pile respectively. The pile buckling behavior is verified using analytical solutions. Furthermore, the model is validated by an experiment where a pipe pile is driven into sand using vibratory loading. Several case scenarios, including the effects of heterogeneity in the soil and three imperfection modes (ovality, out-of-straightness, flatness) on the pile buckling are investigated. The numerical model agrees well with the experimental measurements. As a conclusion, when buckling starts, the penetration rate of the pile decreases compared to the non-buckled pile since less energy is dedicated to pile penetration given that it is spent mainly on buckling.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 536〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xueyi Guo, Weijia Wang, Xiuhong Yuan, Ying Yang, Qinghua Tian, Yang Xiang, Yan Sun, Zhiming Bai〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Magnetic nano capture agent (MNCA)-based magnetic separation is considered as a promising approach to rapidly isolate heavy metals from blood. Limited removal efficiency and potential biosafety risks are the major challenges for the clinical use of MNCA-based magnetic separation. Here, we report a highly-efficient MNCA-based magnetic separation of heavy metals from blood in continuous multi-stage adsorption mode. The interactions between MNCA and blood components (〈em〉e.g.〈/em〉 blood cells and plasma proteins) and the MNCA-induced cellular immune responses are studied in detail. The distribution and redistribution of heavy metals in blood are quantitatively analyzed. It demonstrates that concentration dependent redistribution can increase the contact between heavy metals and MNCA, leading to improvement on heavy metal removal efficiency. The removal performance is tested in batch mode and in continuous mode. Results show that 97.97% of Pb and 96.53% of Cd are removed from blood in 120 min using continuous multi-stage adsorption mode, and the residual concentrations of Pb and Cd in blood decrease from 400 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 to 8.11 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 and 13.84 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, respectively. This study paves an effective way for heavy metal intoxication therapy by MNCA-based magnetic separation.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S002197971831292X-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 116〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Payam Sotoudeh, Mohsen Ghaemian, Hamid Mohammadnezhad〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Seismic analysis of complex structures such as concrete dams has been the subject of numerous studies. One of the challenges in seismic analysis of such systems is proper modelling of massed foundation. Since concrete dams’ foundations are usually layered, this makes the homogenous half-space assumption relatively unrealistic. In this paper, the effects of massed layered foundation on seismic response of concrete gravity dams in dam-reservoir-foundation systems are investigated. Seismic finite element analysis of the system carried out using domain reduction method. This approach is compared with another available method named, free-field column. First set of analysis considers the effect of modular ratio between layers on seismic response of the gravity dam. Second set of analyses investigate the effects of layers’ geometry, location and orientation on obtained responses. Results highlight the considerable effects of massed layer foundation assumption against its homogenous counterpart. Besides, results show that layer properties dictate how severely they can affect the dynamic responses of the dam.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 5 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 208〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xing Peng, Xian Wei, Tieyu Chen〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 5 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 208〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): 〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hélène Labie, Adeline Perro, Véronique Lapeyre, Bertrand Goudeau, Bogdan Catargi, Rachel Auzély, Valérie Ravaine〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A simple route to deliver on demand hydrosoluble molecules such as peptides, packaged in biocompatible and biodegradable microgels, is presented. Hyaluronic acid hydrogel particles with a controlled structure are prepared using a microfluidic approach. Their porosity and their rigidity can be tuned by changing the crosslinking density. These negatively-charged polyelectrolytes interact strongly with positively-charged linear peptides such as poly-〈span〉l〈/span〉-lysine (PLL). Their interactions induce microgel deswelling and inhibit microgel enzymatic degradability by hyaluronidase. While small PLL penetrate the whole volume of the microgel, PLL larger than the mesh size of the network remain confined at its periphery. They make a complexed layer with reduced pore size, which insulates the microgel inner core from the outer medium. Consequently, enzymatic degradation of the matrix is fully inhibited and non-affinity hydrophilic species can be trapped in the core. Indeed, negatively-charged or small neutral peptides, without interactions with the network, usually diffuse freely across the network. By simple addition of large PLL, they are packaged in the core and can be released on demand, upon introduction of an enzyme that degrades selectively the capping agent. Single polyelectrolyte layer appears as a simple generic method to coat hydrogel-based materials of various scales for encapsulation and controlled delivery of hydrosoluble molecules.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311238-ga1.jpg" width="395" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 534〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Pengfei Chen, Pingxing Xing, Zhiqiang Chen, Xin Hu, Hongjun Lin, Leihong Zhao, Yiming He〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper is designed for elevating the photocatalytic H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-evoultion performance of g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 through the modification of AgNbO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 nanocubes. Via the microwave heating method, g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 was in-situ formed on AgNbO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 surface to fabricate a close contact between the two semiconductors in forty minutes. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) experiments were performed to confirm the binary structure of the synthesized AgNbO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 composite. N〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-adsorption and visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS) analyses indicated that the addition of AgNbO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 to g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 showed nearly negligible influence on the specific surface area and the optical property. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy experiment suggested that the AgNbO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 displayed reduced PL emission and longer lifetime of photoexcited charge carriers than g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉, which could be ascribed to the suitable band potential and the intimate contact of g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 and AgNbO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉. This result was also confirmed by the transient photocurrent response experiment. The influence of the enhanced charge separation was displayed in their photocatalytic reaction. AgNbO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 sample showed enhanced performance in photocatalytic H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-generation under visible light illumination. The H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-evolution rate is determined to be 88 μmol·g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉·h〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, which reaches 2.0 times of g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉. This study provides a feasible and rapid approach to fabricate g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 based composite.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311007-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 534〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jie Yang, Liujie Wang, Zhihua Ma, Mingdeng Wei〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A newly self-supported electrode composed of Mn〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 on Ni foam/graphene (NF/graphene/Mn〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉) was synthesized in situ by electrodeposition, and was used as a supercapacitor electrode for the first time. An ultrahigh specific capacitance of 630 Fg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 can be achieved at a current density of 0.5 Ag〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. The maximum energy density of 94.4 Wh kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 can be achieved, and the capacitance retention can be maintained about 97% after 20,000 cycles at 10 Ag〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. The electrochemical properties, including specific capacitance, energy density and cycling performance, were better than those in previous reports on Mn〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉-graphene electrodes. Such an outstanding property may be attributed to its unique characteristics, such as self-supported structure, favorable electric conductivity and cellular-like porous morphology.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉A self-supported electrode composed of Mn〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 on Ni foam/graphene was firstly synthesized and exhibited an ultra-high specific capacitance of 630 Fg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 0.5 Ag〈sup〉−1.〈/sup〉〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311536-ga1.jpg" width="337" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jianhui Li, Haiting Yan, Dongfeng Dang, Wei Wei, Lingjie Meng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Graphene has attracted enormous attention due to its unique physical properties and attractive applications in many fields. However, it is an ongoing challenge to develop a facile and low-cost method for the large scale preparation of high-quality graphene (HQGr). In this work, we have developed an improved liquid-phase exfoliation method to mass produce HQGr. This method is quite simple but efficient by exfoliation of graphite in organic solvent with the co-assistance of sodium citrate and water. Remarkably, the concentration of as-exfoliated HQGr was as high as 0.71 mg/mL under optimal conditions, while the oxygen content in HQGr was only 2.39%. After annealing at 500 °C for 2 h in argon atmosphere, the mean conductivity of annealed HQGr was as high as 1.4 × 10〈sup〉4〈/sup〉 S m〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. Therefore, this facile method for liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite has excellent potential in the industrial-scale production of HQGr for numerous applications in energy storage, optical and electronic fields.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉High-quality graphene (HQGr) was efficiently prepared by exfoliation of graphite in organic solvent with the co-assistance of sodium citrate and water. The effects of alkali metal species, solvent type and the volume ratio of NMP/water in co-solvent on the exfoliation efficiency of graphite were studied systematically. HQGr have great potential for numerous applications in optical and electronic fields, such as anode material of lithium ion batteries.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311755-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jingwen Wang, Min Zheng, Zhigang Xie〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Carrier-free nanodrugs named BCNPs were prepared by the coassembly of 2,5-bis(4-(diethylamino)benzylidene)cyclopentanone (BDBC) and curcumin (CCM) in the absence of surfactants. The as-synthesized BCNPs possess high dispersity and stability in aqueous media, along with favorable photostability and good biocompatibility. Comparing with their counterparts BDBC and CCM, BCNPs exhibit higher singlet oxygen yield and better two-photon photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy. Moreover, BCNPs display dramatically enhanced ability for inhibiting the growth of HeLa cells, which benefits from the synergistic treatment of BDBC and CCM under the irradiation of 450/808 nm. This work highlights the potential of using simple coassembly strategy to codelivery of multiple drugs in one single formulation for cancer therapy.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311767-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rui Zhang, Xiupeng Liu, Tingting Zhou, Tong Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Hollow metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) materials with controllable shells have attracted increasing attention because of their interesting properties and potential applications in sensors, catalysis, biology, etc. Cuprous oxide (Cu〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O), which is a typical p-type semiconductor material, has four kinds of nanostructures (i.e., single-, double-, triple-, and quadruple-shelled spheres) and was successfully synthesized by the simple regulation of hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) concentration. All as-obtained samples were at the nanometer level, and the hollow layers were also located between the two shells of the Cu〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O nanostructures. The structural evolution and formation mechanism of the core-in-hollow multishelled nanostructure were also studied in this work. Moreover, the gas sensing performance of four kinds of materials was measured. The performance of the quadruple-shelled Cu〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O-based formaldehyde (HCHO) sensor was greater than that of other sensors. The results indicated that the well-defined multishelled structure may significantly enhance HCHO detection by facilitating the gas adsorption quantity and transport rate.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉A controllable multishelled Cu〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O nanoparticles-based sensing platform exhibits an excellent response/recovery formaldehyde behavior at a working temperature of 120 °C.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311573-ga1.jpg" width="329" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Liang Wang, Ji He, Lingli Zhu, Yilei Wang, Xuequan Feng, Binge Chang, H. Enis Karahan, Yuan Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Graphene hydrogels hold great potential for the disinfection of bacteria-contaminated water. However, the intrinsic antibacterial activity of graphene hydrogels is not satisfactory, and the incorporation of other antibacterial agents often results in their unwanted releases. Here, we present a new strategy to improve the antibacterial activities of graphene hydrogels. We first synthesized a new pi-conjugated molecule containing five aromatic rings and two side-linked quaternary ammonium (QA) groups, denoted as piQA. Next, we fabricated composite gravity filters by assembling piQA with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hydrogel. The rGO hydrogel helps to form a sponge-like physical sieve, contributes to the overall antibacterial activity, and provides abundant pi-rich surfaces. The large aromatic cores of piQA allow the formation of collectively strong pi-pi interactions with rGO, resulting in a high piQA mass loading of ∼31 wt%. Due to the sieving effect of rGO hydrogel and the synergistic antibacterial activity of rGO and piQA, the filters prepared based on piQA-rGO assemblies can remove over 99.5% of Gram-negative 〈em〉Escherichia coli〈/em〉 (〈em〉E. coli〈/em〉) and Gram-positive 〈em〉Staphylococcus aureus〈/em〉 (〈em〉S. aureus〈/em〉) cells with a high-water treatment capacity of 10 L g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. Furthermore, the piQA-rGO assemblies show low toxicity towards two different mammalian cell lines (L929 and macrophages), and the release of piQA is also negligible. Overall, the new piQA-rGO assembly demonstrates high potential for water disinfection applications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311597-ga1.jpg" width="380" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yuxi Zhang, Hao Fang, Yanqiao Zhang, Ming Wen, Dandan Wu, Qingsheng Wu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Tremendous attention has been focused on exploring highly efficient and economical catalysts to the reduction of 〈em〉p〈/em〉-nitrophenol for the purpose of green chemistry. However, it is still a challenge to elevate the catalysts with high activity and desirable recyclability. Herein, Cobalt-Cobalt Ferrite (Co-CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉) nanobrushes have been synthesized by controlled growth-reduction process in one step, which is applied to catalyze the reduction of 〈em〉p〈/em〉-nitrophenol. 〈em〉In situ〈/em〉 generated active Co(0) can induce Co-CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanobrushes to achieve higher catalytic activity with a reaction rate of 0.0457 s〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 for the reduction of 〈em〉p〈/em〉-nitrophenol due to the synergetic effect between 〈em〉in situ〈/em〉 generated Co(0) and its induced defects on the CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 support. Compared with other catalysts calculated and gathered in Table S1 in Supporting Information, as-designed Co-CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanobrushes can be employed as a good candidate for the nitro-reduction reaction.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Induced by active Co(0), as-designed Co-CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 complex structures show excellent catalytic performance on the reduction of 〈em〉p〈/em〉-nitrophenol to 〈em〉p〈/em〉-aminophenol, suggesting as a good catalyst candidate for the nitro-reduction reaction in line with the purpose of Green Chemistry.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312104-ga1.jpg" width="312" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yanxiao Li, Congjie Wei, Chenglin Wu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Silver nanowire graphene (AgNW-GN) composite, as an alternative transparent conductive film (TCF) to conventional indium tin oxide (ITO), has much improved mechanical and electrical properties. These advantages make AgNW-GN an ideal TCF for planar devices. The adhesion of AgNW-GN composite film plays a critical role in these applications. However, the effect of silver nanowire on the adhesion between AgNW-GN and copper substrate remains unexplored. In the present work, AgNW-GN composite films with different AgNW concentrations were prepared and their adhesion with copper substrates was characterized using the double cantilever beam (DCB) experiment and the digital image correlation (DIC). The interfacial failures were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results showed the brittle to ductile interfacial fracture transition with increased amount of AgNW. The interfacial traction separation relations (TSR) were subsequently extracted. The competing interfacial failure mechanism was discovered and modeled between the interfaces of epoxy/composite and composite/copper. The associated transfer criterion was subsequently established combining both experimental and modeling results.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312025-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xuejie Yue, Tao Zhang, Dongya Yang, Fengxian Qiu, Zhangdi Li, Gengyao Wei, Yu Qiao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉To maintain personal thermal comfort in cold weather, indoor heating consumes large amount of energy and is a primary source of greenhouse gas emission. Traditional clothes are too thick for thermal comfort in cold outdoor environment, resulting the lower wearing comfort. In this work, a multifunctional Ag nanoparticles/cellulose fibers thermal insulation membrane starting from waste paper cellulose fibers was prepared via simple silver mirror reaction and subsequent vacuum filtration process to improve the infrared reflection properties of membranes for human thermal insulation. The sphere-like Ag nanoparticles were tightly anchored on surface of waste paper cellulose fibers, forming an Ag nanoparticles infrared radiation reflection coating with high infrared reflectance, resulting in high thermal insulation capacity of the thermal insulation membrane. In addition, Ag nanoparticles endow the thermo insulation membrane with excellent antibacterial activity, and the thermo insulation membranes can effectively inhibit the growth of both 〈em〉Staphylococcus aureus〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Escherichia coli〈/em〉. In this thermal insulation system, the thermo insulation membranes show superhydrophilicity and porosity, which allow the membranes to be breathable for comfortable wearing feeling. These promising results including high infrared reflection for high thermal insolating, high breathability for wearing comfort, and excellent antibacterial activity make the Ag/cellulose thermo insulation membranes promising candidates for applications in human thermal management, energy regulation and other facilities.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311974-ga1.jpg" width="280" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Faisal Rehman, Khalid Mahmood, Arshi Khalid, Muhammad Shahzad Zafar, Madsar Hameed〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉ZnO as an electron transporting material (ETM) in perovskite solar cells has many benefits, including low temperature processability and high mobility. We explore here for the first time, hysteresis-less mesostructured perovskite solar cells with an incredible steady-state efficiency of 20.62% particularly enhancement of the device stability. We anticipated a device structure consisting of a novel fully-solution-processed and low-temperature barium hydroxide hybridized boron-doped ZnO (B:ZnO) bilayer film as electron transport material (ETM). We modify the design of ETMs with reduced trap states density is very crucial to obtain highly stabilized power conversion efficiency (PCE) and adjustable architectures in perovskite solar cells which should produce an impact on emerging highly efficient devices and their future commercialization.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉A uniquely structured bilayer ETM is studied for the first time, as an electron transporting material in detail for hybrid perovskite solar cells leading to power conversion efficiency above 20.5%.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311998-ga1.jpg" width="251" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 534〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hui Sun, Tianshu Yao, Xi Xie, Yuxi Lu, Yan Wang, Zirou Xu, Jie Han, Xiaobing Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Bi〈sub〉5−〈/sub〉〈em〉〈sub〉y〈/sub〉〈/em〉Eu〈em〉〈sub〉y〈/sub〉〈/em〉Fe〈sub〉1−〈/sub〉〈em〉〈sub〉x〈/sub〉〈/em〉Ni〈em〉〈sub〉x〈/sub〉〈/em〉Ti〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉15〈/sub〉 (〈em〉x〈/em〉 = 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20; 〈em〉y〈/em〉 = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) nanosheet-based nanoflowers as magnetic recyclable visible-light photocatalysts toward Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method. As started from Bi〈sub〉5〈/sub〉FeTi〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉15〈/sub〉 (BFTO), Ni was firstly employed to substitute for Fe at B-site to improve the magnetism for magnetic recyclability. After Ni doping (Bi〈sub〉5〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉1−〈/sub〉〈em〉〈sub〉x〈/sub〉〈/em〉Ni〈em〉〈sub〉x〈/sub〉〈/em〉Ti〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉15〈/sub〉: BFNTO-〈em〉x〈/em〉, 〈em〉x〈/em〉 = 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20), both the ferromagnetism and photocatalytic activity were obviously improved, where BFNTO-0.1 (Bi〈sub〉5〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉0.9〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉0.1〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉15〈/sub〉) exhibited the maximum remnant and statured magnetization of 0.14 and 0.82 emu/g respectively. To further improve the magnetism and photocatalytic activity, Eu was chosen to substitute for Bi at A-site. Both ferromagnetism and photocatalytic properties of Bi〈sub〉5−〈/sub〉〈em〉〈sub〉y〈/sub〉〈/em〉Eu〈em〉〈sub〉y〈/sub〉〈/em〉Fe〈sub〉0.9〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉0.1〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉15〈/sub〉 (BEFNTO-〈em〉y〈/em〉, 〈em〉y〈/em〉 = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) were further improved by optimizing the doped europium content. The BEFNTO-0.1 (Bi〈sub〉4.9〈/sub〉Eu〈sub〉0.1〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉0.9〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉0.1〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉15〈/sub〉) showed enhanced photocatalytic activity and could be recycled simply by applying a magnet bar. This work may provide a basis for further developing new visible-light photocatalysts because the layer-structured Aurivillius phase has significant potential in elemental doping and further structural engineering applications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311305-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kairuo Zhu, Changlun Chen, Haiyan Wang, Yi Xie, Muhammad Wakeel, Abdul Wahid, Xiaodong Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Layered double oxides (LDO) and γ-Fe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 have been demonstrated to be promising adsorbents to remove radioactive elements from aqueous media. Herein, magnetic γ-Fe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 nanoparticles decoration onto porous layered double oxides belts (γ-Fe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/LDO) were fabricated by in situ solid-state thermolysis technique combined with Fe(III)-loaded layered double hydroxides as a precursor. The microstructure, chemical composition, and magnetic properties of γ-Fe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/LDO were characterized in detail. The as-obtained γ-Fe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/LDO was employed as an adsorbent for the elimination of U(VI) from water. The adsorption process followed the Langmuir model with the maximal adsorption capacity of U(VI) onto γ-Fe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/LDO being 526.32 mg·g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 303 K and pH 5, which surpassed pristine LDO and many other materials. The Fourier transformed infrared spectra and the X-ray photoelectron spectra analysis suggested that the interaction mechanism was mainly controlled by the surface complexation and electrostatic interactions. All in all, the γ-Fe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/LDO with remarkable adsorption capacity, excellent regeneration, and easy magnetic separation opens a new expectation as a suitable material for the cleanup of U(VI) from contaminated water.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311949-ga1.jpg" width="286" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Luping Sha, Qinfu Zhao, Da Wang, Xian Li, Xiudan Wang, Xinyao Guan, Siling Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉“Gate” engineered mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) have been extensively applied in cancer theranostics. Due to the complexity of tumor development and progression, with chemotherapy alone, it has often been difficult to achieve a good therapeutic effect. Currently, it has been shown that the combination with photothermal therapy overcomes the shortcoming of chemotherapy. In most studies, the photothermal effect has proven to accelerate drug release from nanocarriers and ablate malignant cells directly, but the influence on the intracellular fate of nanocarriers remains unknown. Herein, a lipophilic cyanine dye Cypate acting as a photothermal converting agent was conjugated on the external surface of MSN through a disulfide bond (MSN-Cy) and 〈em〉〈span〉d〈/span〉〈/em〉-〈em〉α〈/em〉-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) was coated on the outside of the MSN-Cy via a hydrophobic interaction (TCMSN) to cover the pores, preventing drug preleakage in the circulation. The TCMSN underwent exocytosis through the lysosome-mediated pathway. Moderate heat induced by near-infrared light promoted lysosome disruption, which thus partly inhibited lysosome-mediated particle exocytosis. In the meantime, TPGS, as a P-glycoprotein inhibitor, blocked the drug efflux. This research elaborated the photothermal effect from a new perspective—inhibiting particle exocytosis. The as-designed “gate” engineered MSN realized a double inhibition of drug efflux and particle exocytosis from cancer cells, thus sustaining the drug action time and enhancing the antitumor activity.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311640-ga1.jpg" width="482" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 534〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zanru Guo, Hongjian Gu, Qiang Chen, Zhanfeng He, Wenyuan Xu, Jiali Zhang, Yongxin Liu, Leyan Xiong, Longzhen Zheng, Yujun Feng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Hypothesis〈/h6〉 〈p〉The effective separation and recovery of oils from water is important for the protections of ecosystems and the environment. Polymeric porous monoliths have been demonstrated as attractive absorbents for oil/water separation. However, the recyclability was mainly realized by squeezing, combustion, or centrifugation, which may restrict in elastic materials, destroy the adsorbates or need special apparatus. Thus it is desirable to developing monoliths with controllable oil absorption and desorption.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Experiments〈/h6〉 〈p〉A series of “smart” monoliths with pH-induced switchable wettability were fabricated by high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) polymerization and epoxide ring-opening for the incorporation of amine groups. The resultant monoliths and their wettabilities were examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nitrogen adsorption/desorption and contact angle analysis, respectively. The oil separation efficiency and recyclability were evaluated.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Findings〈/h6〉 〈p〉The monoliths with macroporous structure can undergo switchable wettability under reversible pH stimulation. As an absorbent, the monoliths not only separated and recovered organic solvents and oils (including crude oil) from aqueous mixtures through a reversible and recyclable absorption and desorption process upon alternating the pH between 7.0 and 1.0, but also continuously expulsed oils from water surfaces in a continuous manner with the aid of external driving pressures. Moreover, the monoliths also allowed the effective separation of surfactant-free and surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions with high separation efficiency.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Smart macroporous monoliths with pH-induced switchable wettability and reversible oil absorption-desorption ability were developed.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718310968-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ling-Li Min, Li-Ming Yang, Ren-Xiang Wu, Lu-Bin Zhong, Zhi-Hua Yuan, Yu-Ming Zheng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A novel iron-doped chitosan electrospun nanofiber mat (Fe@CTS ENM) was synthesized, which was proven to be effective for the removal of arsenite (As(III)) from water at neutral pH condition. The physiochemical properties and adsorption mechanism were explored by SEM-EDS and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to evaluate the As(III) adsorption performance of the Fe@CTS ENM with various process parameters, such as adsorbent dose, solution pH, initial As(III) concentration, contact time, ionic strength, coexisting anions, and natural organic matter. The experimental results indicated that the maximum adsorption capacity was up to 36.1 mg g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. Especially, when the adsorbent dosage was higher than 0.3 g L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, the As(III) concentration was reduced from 100 µg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 to less than 10 µg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, which indicated the Fe@CTS ENM could effectively remove trace As(III) from water over a wide pH range (from 3.3 to 7.5). Kinetics study demonstrated that the adsorption equilibrium was achieved within 2.0 h, corresponding to a fast uptake of As(III). The presence of common co-ions and humic acid had little effect on the As(III) adsorption. XPS analysis suggested that the Fe〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉O, C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉OH, C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉O〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉C and C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉N groups on the adsorbent surface play dominant roles in the adsorption of As(III). Adsorption-desorption regeneration test further demonstrated that no appreciable loss in the adsorption capacities was observed, which confirmed that the Fe@CTS ENM maintained a desirable life cycle that was free of complex synthesis processes, expensive and toxic materials, qualifying it as an efficient and low-cost As(III) adsorbent.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311512-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Wenbo Dong, Dongbo Wang, Hou Wang, Mengke Li, Fei Chen, Feiyue Jia, Qi Yang, Xiaoming Li, Xingzhong Yuan, Jilai Gong, Hailong Li, Jun Ye〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, a series of In〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/UiO-66 composites were fabricated through a one-step solvothermal method for the first time. The diffraction peaks, composition, morphology, and chemical states of the composites were first characterized through X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, or transmission electron microscope. Then, the performances of as-obtained In〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/UiO-66 composites were assessed by the removal of tetracycline under 1 h dark condition and 1 h visible-light irradiation. Experimental results showed that all the In〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/UiO-66 composites exhibited greater tetracycline removal, as compared with the two parent materials (i.e., UiO-66 and In〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉). The highest tetracycline removal was obtained by the developed In〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/UiO-66 composite with Zr: In molar ratio of (0.37:1), labelled as ISUO-0.37, with the maximal tetracycline removal capacity of 106.3 mg/g being achieved, which was greater than that of UiO-66, In〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, or other photocatalysts documented in the literature. The mechanism investigations revealed that compared with UiO-66 and In〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, ISUO-0.37 had higher adsorption capability and photocatalytic performance. Although the specific surface area of ISUO-0.37 (74.57 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉/g) was lower than that of either UiO-66 (388.6 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉/g) or In〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 (76.36 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉/g), the former possessed greater pore diameter and adsorption sites such as 〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉OH, C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/dbnd"〉O, O〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉O, C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/dbnd"〉C, and C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉H, which might be the reason for ISUO-0.37 showing the enhanced adsorption capability. The trapping experiment and electron spin resonance measurements demonstrated that 〈sup〉〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"〉〈/sup〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 and h〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 were the major contributors to the photo-degradation of tetracycline in this work, and more 〈sup〉〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"〉〈/sup〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 and h〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 were produced by ISUO-0.37, as compared with In〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉. Further investigation with the diffused spectra of reflectance showed that ISUO-0.37 had better visible light absorption than either In〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 or UiO-66, which may be the reason for ISUO-0.37 producing more 〈sup〉〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"〉〈/sup〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉. In addition, photoluminescence emission spectra confirmed that the recombination rate of photoexcited electron-hole pairs of ISUO-0.37 composite is much lower than that of In〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, which may increase h〈sup〉+〈/sup〉. It was also found that ISUO-0.37 showed excellent structural stability and recyclability.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311962-ga1.jpg" width="453" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Guangle Li, Jinbo Fei, Youqian Xu, Jong-Dal Hong, Junbai Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉At present, photophosphorylation in natural or artificial systems is accomplished by the production of protons or their pumping across the biomembranes. Herein, different from this strategy above, we demonstrate a designed system which can effectively enhance photophosphorylation by photo-induced proton-scavenging through molecular assembly. Upon the introduction of photobase generators, a (photo-) chemical reaction occurs to produce hydroxyl ions. Accompanying the further extramembranous acid-base neutralization reaction, an outbound flow of protons is generated to drive the reconstituted adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase to produce ATP. That is, contrary to biochemistry, the proton gradient to drive photophosphorylation derives from the scavenging of protons present in the external medium by hydroxyl ions, produced by the partially photo-induced splitting of photobase generator. Such assembled system holds great potential in ATP-consuming bioapplications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Contrary to biochemistry, a designed system effectively enhances photophosphorylation by photo-induced proton-scavenging through molecular assembly.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311561-ga1.jpg" width="294" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 534〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Junyan Zhang, Yongxin Song, Dongqing Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Hypothesis〈/h6〉 〈p〉The shape of the liquid film (SLF) between a glass slide and an oil droplet immersed in an aqueous solution is influenced by the direct current (DC) electric field. The liquid film, consisting of the central film region and the meniscus film region, is formed between a floating oil droplet and a glass slide overhead.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Experiments〈/h6〉 〈p〉The SLF was experimentally studied in aqueous solutions of different ionic concentrations and pH values. After the DC electric fields were applied along the glass slide in horizontal direction, the diameter of central film and the thickness of meniscus film were measured by the interference method with an optical microscope.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Findings〈/h6〉 〈p〉The diameter of the central film decreases with the increase in the applied electric fields and declines at higher pH values while increases when the ionic concentration increases. The meniscus film becomes thicker with the increase in applied electric fields and is thicker in pH = 11 solution and thinner in pH = 3 and 1 mM NaCl solution. This is the first study of dynamic thin liquid film under DC electric field, which may be attributed to the balance of dielectrophoretic (DEP) force, colloidal force and the deformable characteristic of the oil droplet.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311056-ga1.jpg" width="255" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shinya Higashimoto, Takuto Nakase, Shun Mukai, Masanari Takahashi〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The copper-indium-sulfide (CIS) ternary colloids were synthesized in “green” water solvent at room temperature employing mercapto-alkyl carboxylic linker molecules such as thioglycolic acid (TGA), thioacetic acid (TAA), 2-mercaptopropionic acid (2-MPA) and 〈span〉l〈/span〉-cysteine (Cys). The stability of the CIS colloids is strongly influenced by the structures of linker molecules, and short linker molecules induce strong adsorption of the CIS colloids on the TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, exhibiting strong visible-light absorption and high photo-conductivities. Effects of linker molecules capping CIS colloids on the solar cell performances were demonstrated. The solar cell performances for the CIS-TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 improve as an increase of photo-conductivity of the CIS-TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 electrodes. In particular, the CIS(TAA)-TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 photoelectrode employing the shortest linker molecules (TAA) exhibited the highest PCE yielding with 6.33% (short-circuit current: 14.0 mA/cm〈sup〉2〈/sup〉, open-circuit voltage: 0.91 V and fill factor: 48.0%).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311731-ga1.jpg" width="478" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 534〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Muhammad Ali, Sarmad Al-Anssari, Muhammad Arif, Ahmed Barifcani, Mohammad Sarmadivaleh, Linda Stalker, Maxim Lebedev, Stefan Iglauer〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Hypothesis〈/h6〉 〈p〉CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 geological storage (CGS) involves different mechanisms which can store millions of tonnes of CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 per year in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and deep saline aquifers. But their storage capacity is influenced by the presence of different carboxylic compounds in the reservoir. These molecules strongly affect the water wetness of the rock, which has a dramatic impact on storage capacities and containment security. However, precise understanding of how these carboxylic acids influence the rock’s CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-wettability is lacking.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Experiments〈/h6〉 〈p〉We thus systematically analysed these relationships as a function of pressure, temperature, storage depth and organic acid concentrations. A particular focus was on identifying organic acid concentration thresholds above which storage efficiency may get influenced significantly.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Findings〈/h6〉 〈p〉These thresholds (defined for structural trapping as a water contact angle θ 〉 90°; and for capillary trapping when primary drainage is unaffected, i.e. θ 〉 50°) were very low for structural trapping (∼10〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉–10〈sup〉−7〈/sup〉 M organic acid concentration C〈sub〉organic〈/sub〉) and extremely low for capillary trapping (10〈sup〉−7〈/sup〉 M to below 10〈sup〉−10〈/sup〉 M C〈sub〉organic〈/sub〉). Since minute organic acid concentrations are always present in deep saline aquifers and certainly in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs, significantly lower storage capacities and containment security than previously thought can be predicted in carbonate reservoirs, and reservoir-scale models and evaluation schemes need to account for these effects to de-risk CGS projects.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718310257-ga1.jpg" width="451" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jing Du, Lixin Wang, Lei Bai, Shijia Dang, Li Su, Xiujuan Qin, Guangjie Shao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Development of highly-active and noble-metal-free electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions is a challenge, and optimizing the structure and the composition of the relative materials is critical to obtain the high-quality catalysts. Ni-based compounds are being explored as noble-metal-free electrocatalysts in hydrogen evolution reactions but the Ni-based needs to be modified effectively. In this work, we co-electrodeposited Ni nanoparticles, hydrophilic graphene and graphene oxide layers on Ni foam to synthesize Ni-HG-rGO/NF catalysts. It was presented a Datura-like shape allowing for high performance with current densities of −10 and −100 mA cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 for HER at overpotentials of −50 and −132 mV, a low Tafel slope of −48 mV dec〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 and excellent long-term stability in 1.0 M NaOH solution. These results demonstrate that the Ni-HG-rGO/NF electrode can be a competitive electrode materials for HER in alkaline conditions.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S002197971831138X-ga1.jpg" width="301" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xiaowei Cheng, Le Huang, Xuanyu Yang, Ahmed A. Elzatahry, Abdulaziz Alghamdi, Yonghui Deng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Owing to the high costs and instability of natural enzymes, the development of enzyme mimics based on inorganic nanomaterials has attracted a wide concern in recent years. In this work, a stable nanocomposite composed of highly dispersed CeO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticles decorated on zeolite Y as support (CeO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉/Y) was synthesized by a facile wet impregnation method, and the CeO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉/Y nanocomposite was firstly proposed as an efficient peroxidase-mimicking nanozyme for accurate detection of H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and glucose. The best catalyst was the nanocomposite with CeO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 to zeolite Y mass ratio of 0.20 (denoted as 20CeO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉/Y), showing a better affinity and higher catalytic constant to the substrate of H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) than horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzymes by the steady-state kinetic analysis. The enzyme-mimicking catalyst could be used over a wider range of pH and temperature for a long-time reuse in TMB oxidation. A facile colorimetric assay was set up for the accurate detection of H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and glucose, with the detection limits of 0.323 μM and 35.4 μM, respectively. The CeO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉/Y-based peroxidase mimic was used to precisely detect the glucose concentration in real blood serum samples, exhibiting a great potential to be constructed as a reliable biosensor for glucose detection in some complex systems. The superior peroxidase-mimicking performance of CeO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉/Y nanocomposite is attributed to the synergistic effects of outstanding activity of highly dispersed CeO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticles (5–10 nm) and adsorption properties of zeolite Y with large surface area (517 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉·g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) and pore volume (0.329 cm〈sup〉3〈/sup〉·g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉A facile colorimetric assay was developed for the accurate detection of H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and glucose with the CeO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉/Y hybrid nanocomposite as a highly efficient peroxidase-mimicking nanozyme, which shows the synergistic effects of outstanding activity of highly dispersed CeO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticles and high surface area and pore volume of zeolite Y as support.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311858-ga1.jpg" width="253" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Michaela Sochorová, Pavla Audrlická, Martina Červená, Andrej Kováčik, Monika Kopečná, Lukáš Opálka, Petra Pullmannová, Kateřina Vávrová〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Cholesterol (Chol) is one of the major skin barrier lipids. The physiological level of Chol in the stratum corneum (SC) appears to exceed its miscibility with other barrier lipids, as some Chol is phase separated. Chol synthesis is essential for epidermal homeostasis, yet the role of these Chol domains in SC permeability is unknown. We investigated the impact of Chol depletion on the permeability properties and microstructure of model membranes and human SC. X-ray powder diffraction of membranes constructed from isolated human skin ceramides or synthetic ceramides confirmed that only approximately half of the normal Chol amount can be incorporated in either long or short periodicity lamellar phases. The long periodicity lipid arrangement persisted even in the absence of Chol. Infrared spectroscopy suggested that Chol had negligible effects on the lipid chain order and packing at physiological skin temperature. Chol depletion of the model membranes or isolated human SC did not compromise the barrier function to water and two model permeants. On the contrary, the membrane with the Chol content reduced to 40% of the normal value, where no separated Chol was observed, was significantly less permeable than the control. Thus, a 0.4:1:1 M ratio of Chol/ceramides/fatty acids appears sufficient for skin lipids to limit water loss and prevent the entry of environmental substances. We speculate that the SC Chol domains may have roles in the skin other than barrier function.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311883-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 534〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Nan Lu, Xi Zhang, Ruiqi Na, Wendi Ma, Chongyang Zhang, Yuchao Luo, Yongfeng Mu, Shuling Zhang, Guibin Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The synthesis of a nanocomposite gel polymer electrolytes (NGPEs) using Li〈sup〉+〈/sup〉-functionalized SPEEK (SPEEK(Li)) nanofiber membrane as a matrix, cross-linked PVA as a gelled agent and LiClO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 as an electrolytic salt for electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs) were reported in this work. Compared with conventional PVA based gel electrolyte, the “SO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉Li〈sup〉+〈/sup〉” functional groups and the pores structure of the SPEEK(Li) nanofiber membrane improves the ionic conductivity as well as mechanical stability, which made the prepared NGPEs exhibited a high ionic conductivity of 8.9 × 10〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉 S cm〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at ambient temperature and a large voltage stability window range from 0 to 2.0 V. The fabricated symmetric EDLCs showed a specific capacitance of 146.96 F g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at a current density of 0.5 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, with a maximum energy density of 18.26 W h kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. Meanwhile, the EDLCs showed outstanding cyclical stability of 98% specific capacitance retention after 3000 cycles GCD testing, all of these results indicated that the NGPEs should be appropriate to EDLCs and next-generation energy storage systems.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311020-ga1.jpg" width="383" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Elisangela P. Da Silva, Manuel E.G. Winkler, Willyan M. Giufrida, Lucio Cardozo-Filho, Christian G. Alonso, Jardel B.O. Lopes, Adley F. Rubira, Rafael Silva〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Photocatalytic activity of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticles is highly dependent on their phase composition. The coexistence of anatase and rutile phases in a single nanoparticle eases the electron transfer process between the phases, and favors the separation of photogenerated pairs. In this work, highly photoactive mixed-phase TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanostructures were prepared by supercritical antisolvent precipitation (SAS), an environmentally friendly technology. It is shown here that this methodology has the remarkable ability to produce highly porous (515 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉/g) and crystalline TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticles. The phase composition of as-prepared TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 samples can be tailored through annealing process. Several mixed-phase TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 samples were tested to assess the correlation between photocatalytic activity and phase composition. The photocatalytic performance is strongly affected by the anatase-rutile ratio, since the synergism between phases enhances the charge separation, reducing the recombination effect of the photogenerated pairs (e〈sup〉−〈/sup〉/h〈sup〉+〈/sup〉). It was found that the nanocatalyst composed by 7.0 wt% of rutile phase and 93.0 wt% of anatase phase, named as TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉_650, presented the highest photodegradation for both methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) dyes. Interestingly, TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 samples prepared by SAS have superior photoactivity than the benchmark photocatalyst names as P25, which is a widely used TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 material composed of anatase and rutile phases.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311792-ga1.jpg" width="309" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 534〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Na Zhang, Ying Huang, Mingyue Wang, Xudong Liu, Meng Zong〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A novel hierarchical composites for coupling thistle-like CoNi with dielectric Ag decorated graphene in paraffin wax as high performance microwave absorber has been synthesized by a facile two-step strategy. The components, particle size, microstructure and morphology of the resulting composites are characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectra, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, etc. Due to the unique flower structure and good synergistic effect of dielectric loss and magnetic loss, thistle-like CoNi@dielectric Ag decorated graphene composites have showed glorious microwave absorption intensity and frequency width. The maximum reflection loss of −61.9 dB can be gained at 6.96 GHz, which has rarely been reported yet. In addition, the corresponding effective bandwidth with reflection loss less than −10 dB is 5.6 GHz ranging from 12.4 to 18 GHz at only 1.67 mm thickness. This highly efficient and broad band features endow thistle-like CoNi@dielectric Ag decorated graphene composites with promising applications in microwave absorption, electromagnetic shielding, information safety, direct broadcast satellite and military radar fields.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Synthesis and microwave absorption properties schematic diagram.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718310877-ga1.jpg" width="273" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jianqiang Wang, Hao Guo, Xiaonan Shi, Zhikan Yao, Weihua Qing, Fu Liu, Chuyang Y. Tang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We report a novel membrane surface modification method using a fast polydopamine coating (fPDAc) strategy. Specifically, NaIO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 was introduced in the coating process to accelerate the polydopamine deposition rate. Surface properties and separation performances of fPDAc-coated reverse osmosis membranes were characterized and compared to those obtained using the conventional slow polydopamine coating (sPDAc) strategy. Quartz crystal microbalance measurements showed greatly increased polydopamine deposition rate using the fPDAc method, resulting in a reduction of 97% coating time to reach an areal mass of 2000 ng/cm〈sup〉2〈/sup〉. Both fPDAc and sPDAc enhanced the surface hydrophilicity and reduced the membrane surface charge. At relatively low areal mass deposition (〈1000 ng/cm〈sup〉2〈/sup〉), fPDAc-coated membranes showed improved NaCl rejection together with only mild loss of pure water flux. Nevertheless, this rejection enhancement effect was not noticeable when extensive polydopamine coating was applied due to the undesirable cake-enhanced concentration polarization effect. The extensive polydopamine coating was further accompanied with severe loss of membrane permeability, suggesting that shorter coating time (e.g., 4 min) is preferred using the fPDAc method. Our study provides a more rapid and effective membrane surface coating method compared to the conventional sPDAc method.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312049-ga1.jpg" width="312" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 534〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xiaoyan Lu, Wei Jia, Hui Chai, Jindou Hu, Shiqiang Wang, Yali Cao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Simple solid-state chemical reaction was adopted to synthesize NiMoO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanomaterials with different crystal phase without the use of organic solvent or templating agent. The as-prepared NiMoO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉·xH〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O, α-NiMoO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 and β-NiMoO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanostructures were investigated as the electrode materials for supercapacitors. The β-NiMoO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanorods were composed of the nanoparticles, which exhibited relatively high specific capacitances about 1415 F g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at a charge density of 1 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, 80.2% of the initial reversible capacity was maintained after 1000 cycles. The β-NiMoO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉//rGO asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) system was assembled in serials, which displayed high specific energy density of 29.3 Wh kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at a high power density of 187 W kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. This ASC system can drive the light-emitting diode (LED) effectively and give out light about 40 min, even easily light two LEDs in serials for 20 min. The remarkable electrochemical performances make the as-prepared NiMoO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanostructures an excellent candidate as electrode materials for advanced supercapacitors.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉The β-NiMoO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanomrods were successfully fabricated by a green solid-state chemical approach and exhibit high electrochemical performance for supercapacitors.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311172-ga1.jpg" width="272" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 535〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Harkirat Kaur, Girivyankatesh Hippargi, Girish R. Pophali, Amit Bansiwal〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Triclosan, an antimicrobial micro-pollutant with a high bio-accumulation potential represented by its high octanol-water partition coefficient (log K〈sub〉ow〈/sub〉) of 4.76 is commonly encountered in water and wastewater worldwide. The present study focuses on biomimetic surface modification of commercial activated carbon (PAC) with long chain fatty acid namely docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) resulting in enhanced affinity for the hydrophobic micro-pollutant; triclosan (TCS). The sorption process of the resulting modified lipophilic carbon (PAC〈sub〉M〈/sub〉) was investigated for the effect of various experimental conditions. The Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models had a better fit. PAC〈sub〉M〈/sub〉 exhibited the maximum adsorption capacity of 395.2 mg g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 in contrast to 71.5 mg g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 obtained for PAC. The surface morphology in terms of surface area, surface acidity, pore size, contact angle, etc. and were also evaluated. The contact angle of 134.3° obtained for PAC〈sub〉M〈/sub〉 confirmed its highly hydrophobic nature. The efficacy of PAC〈sub〉M〈/sub〉 was also evaluated using real-world secondary treated effluent containing triclosan confirming its applicability for tertiary treatment of wastewater. The study established that the biomimetic approach of creating lipid-like sites on the carbon surface results in the enhanced removal of lipophilic micro-pollutants. It can also be utilized for the removal and recovery of a wide variety of other organic micro-pollutants.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718311743-ga1.jpg" width="235" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 534〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ahmad Tayyebi, Tayyebeh Soltani, Byeong-Kyu Lee〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Monoclinic bismuth vanadate (c-BVO) was prepared via simple calcination of solvothermally processed tetrahedral BiVO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉. The physicochemical and morphological properties of c-BVO demonstrated the successful synthesis of the photoactive monoclinic phase from the tetrahedral phase, which has low photoactivity properties. The photoactivities of c-BVO were investigated using the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) and photoelectrochemical (PEC) measurements in acidic (pH = 2.5), neutral (pH = 6.5) and basic (pH = 9.5) media. The photocatalytic activity of c-BVO was increased with increasing pH, achieved 99% MB degradation in the basic condition, compared with 70 and 45% in the neutral and acidic media, respectively. Although the tetrahedral BiVO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 showed mainly adsorption with negligible photodegradation, c-BVO demonstrated both good adsorption and photodegradation activities. The PEC results indicated that the photocurrent density was affected by both pH and applied voltage. Impedance measurements showed faster charge transfer in the neutral condition than in the acidic and basic electrolytes. The incident photon conversion efficiency (IPCE) showed very low activity for tetrahedral BiVO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉, but in comparison it was enhanced by 20- and 10-fold for c-BVO in the visible and simulated solar light, respectively.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718310208-ga1.jpg" width="309" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 534〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ying Yang, Dehong Zeng, Senjie Yang, Lin Gu, Baijun Liu, Shijie Hao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Core-shell structured carbon nanofiber@metal oxide is one of the most promising hybrid electrodes as supercapacitors, in which the pseudocapacitive metal oxides can be fully exerted and stabilized on the carbonaceous scaffolds. However, facile fabrication of mesoporous carbon nanofibers and integration of them with metal oxides are challenging. Herein, we report a new type of mesoporous carbon nanofibers (MCNs), derived from zinc-trimesic acid fibers, acting as the scaffolds to anchor nickel cobaltite (NiCo〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉) nanosheets after surface O-functionalization. The resultant core-shell OMCN@NiCo〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanostructure is demonstrated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), elemental mapping, bright-field/high-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) studies. The anchored NiCo〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanosheets are dense (97.4%), and have a strong interaction with OMCN, as revealed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-temperature programmed reduction (H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-TPR) techniques. As expected, the OMCN@NiCo〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 is highly efficient, showing a high specific capacitance of 1631 F g〈sup〉–1〈/sup〉 at the current density of 1 A g〈sup〉–1〈/sup〉, excellent rate capability and superior cycling stability up to 5000 cycles within a high capacitance retention ratio of 94.5%. This research opens the avenue to fabricate high-efficiency carbon-metal oxide electrodes using metal-organic framework fiber-derived mesoporous carbon nanofibers and integration of them with NiCo〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanosheets by increasing the interfacial interaction.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉NiCo〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanosheets coated on zinic-trimesic acid fiber-derived mesoporous carbon nanofibers within surface O-functionalities as high-performance electrode for supercapacitors.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S002197971831110X-ga1.jpg" width="276" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 5 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 210〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Peng Qu, Xiaohua Ma, Wansong Chen, Dandan Zhu, Huifei Bai, Xiuhua Wei, Shu Chen, Maotian Xu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A new ratiometric fluorescent probe (〈strong〉1〈/strong〉) was developed for the detection of hydrazine. The probe was obtained by incorporating the recognition moiety of acetyl group onto a coumarin fluorophore. Probe 〈strong〉1〈/strong〉 displayed a distinct cyan emission in a 100% aqueous phosphate buffer solution. In the presence of hydrazine, probe 〈strong〉1〈/strong〉 undergoes a hydrazinolysis process to release the coumarin fluorophore, which exhibited significant hypsochromic shifts in both absorption and emission spectra, and thus achieving a ratiometric response. This ratiometric probe is highly selective and sensitive towards hydrazine detection. The limit of detection (LOD) was calculated to be 34 nM. Moreover, cellular toxicity and imaging experiments suggested that probe 〈strong〉1〈/strong〉 is can be used to monitor hydrazine in live cells.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518309983-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 116〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Prajakta R. Jadhav, Amit Prashant〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A double wedge model has been proposed to compute seismic sliding displacements of cantilever retaining walls. Experimental observations indicate formation of rupture planes in the form of an inverted triangular wedge in the backfill of retaining walls. Computation of critical yield acceleration at each time instant considering the v-shaped weakest rupture planes which evolve during the ground motion is the preliminary aim of the double wedge model. The model computes translational displacements considering the relative movement of soil wedge along these rupture planes. It considers velocity compatibility along with the acceleration compatibility between the wall and soil wedge. It also computes approximate depth of subsidence of the backfill soil during ground motion. A simplified double wedge model has been also considered wherein the yield acceleration at all time instants is computed with respect to a fixed wedge. The double wedge model and its simplified version have been compared with different cases studies, which show the seismic sliding displacements matching well with the real measurements.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 116〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Wang Hai-tao, Shen Jiayu, Wu Feng, An Zhiqiang, Liu Tianyun〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Combined with the plasticity - damage constitutive model of hydraulic concrete obtained from the test by considering the strain rate effect, the elastic-plastic numerical simulation of Koyna concrete gravity dam under different seismic waves is carried out with ABAQUS software. The effect of strain rate on the dynamic performance of concrete gravity dam under earthquake is discussed by comparing the results of high strain rate and quasi-static loading. The results show: when the peak acceleration is small, the acceleration and displacement of the feature point calculated by considering the strain rate effect are smaller than those without considering the strain rate effect, and the difference is not obvious. With the increase of the seismic peak acceleration, the difference gradually increases. Considering the effect of concrete strain rate, the principal tensile stress in the dam is higher than without considering the strain rate, and more in accordance with the actual damage form. It is suggested that the strain rate effect of concrete should be considered in the seismic response analysis of concrete gravity dam.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 537〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): P.V. Ostroverkhov, A.S. Semkina, V.A. Naumenko, E.A. Plotnikova, P.A. Melnikov, T.O. Abakumova, R.I. Yakubovskaya, A.F. Mironov, S.S. Vodopyanov, A.M. Abakumov, A.G. Majouga, M.A. Grin, V.P. Chekhonin, M.A. Abakumov〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Hypothesis〈/h6〉 〈p〉Hydrophobic bacteriochlorin based photosensitizer (PS) can be effectively immobilized on MNP covered by human serum albumin (HSA). PS loading into MNP protein shell allows solubilizing PS in water solution without altering its photodynamic activity. MNP@PS can serve as diagnostic tool for tracking PS delivery to tumor tissues by MRI.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Experiments〈/h6〉 〈p〉Immobilization on MNP-HSA-PEG was performed by adding PS solution in organic solvents with further purification. MNP@PS were characterized by DLS, HAADF STEM and AFM. Absorbance and fluorescence measurements were used to assess PS photophysical properties before and after immobilization. MNP@PS internalization into CT26 cells was investigated by confocal microscopy in vitro and MRI/IVIS were used for tracking MNP@PS delivery to tumors in vivo.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Findings〈/h6〉 〈p〉MNP@PS complexes were stable in water solution and retained PS photophysical activity. The length of side chain affected MNP@PS size, loading capacity and cell internalization. In vitro testing demonstrated MNP@PS delivery to cancer cells followed by photoinduced toxicity. In vivo studies confirmed that as-synthetized complexes can be used for MRI tracking over drug accumulation in tumors.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312852-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 537〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Önder Tekinalp, Sacide Alsoy Altinkaya〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aim of this study is to prepare high flux, stable, antifouling nanofiltration membranes through single bilayer polyelectrolyte deposition. To this end, a tight ultrafiltration support membrane was prepared from a polysulfone/sulfonated polyethersulfone blend. Deposition of a polyethyleneimine and alginate pair on this support has reduced the molecular weight cut off from 6 kDa to below 1 kDa. The pure water permeability and polyethylene glycol 1000 rejection of the coated membrane were found to be 15.5 ± 0.3 L/m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉·h·bar and 90 ± 0.6%, respectively, by setting the deposition pH for each layer to 8 and the ionic strengths to 0.5 M and 0 M. This membrane has exhibited significantly higher permeability than commercial membranes with the same molecular weight cut off, retaining 98% of the initial flux during 15 h filtration of bovine serum albumine. In addition, the membrane has been able to completely remove anionic dyes from aqueous solution by showing 99.9% retentions to Reactive red 141, Brilliant blue G and Congo red with a 2 bar transmembrane pressure. High flux and membrane stability in acidic and salty environments have been achieved when deposition conditions favor high adsorption levels for the first layer and strong ionic cross-linking between the carboxyl group on the alginate and the amine groups on the polyethyleneimine.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718312864-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 5 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 210〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Na-Na Li, Yu-Qing Ma, Xue-Jiao Sun, Ming-Qiang Li, Shuang Zeng, Zhi-Yong Xing, Jin-Long Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A simple naphthalene derivative, 6-hydroxy-2-naphthohydrazide (〈strong〉NAH〈/strong〉), was designed and synthesized through two facile steps reactions with the 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (NCA) as the starting material. In neat H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O (10% 0.01 M HEPES buffer, v/v, pH = 7.4), probe 〈strong〉NAH〈/strong〉 showed a highly selective and sensitive response towards Fe〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 via perceptible color change and displayed “turn-on” dual-emission fluorescence response for Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉. The binding stoichiometry ratio of 〈strong〉NAH〈/strong〉/Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 and 〈strong〉NAH〈/strong〉/Fe〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 were all confirmed as 1:1 by the method of fluorescence job's plot and UV–Vis job's plot, respectively. Probe 〈strong〉NAH〈/strong〉 can be used over a wide pH range for the determination of Fe〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 (2.0–10.0) and Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 (6.0–10.0) without interference from other co-existing metal ions. A possible detection mechanism was the hydrolysis of 〈strong〉NAH〈/strong〉 upon the addition of Fe〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 or Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, thereby leading to the formation of 6-hydroxy-naphthalene-2-carboxylic acid (〈strong〉NCA〈/strong〉) which was further confirmed by the various spectroscopic techniques including FT-IR, 〈sup〉1〈/sup〉H NMR titration and HRMS. Moreover, 〈strong〉NAH〈/strong〉 was successfully applied to the detection of Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 and Fe〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 in tap water, ultrapure water and BSA.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S138614251831028X-ga1.jpg" width="333" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 539〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): V.I. Kovalchuk, E.V. Aksenenko, A.V. Makievski, V.B. Fainerman, R. Miller〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The dilational visco-elasticity of surfactant adsorption layers was measured at low frequencies by the drop profile analysis tensiometry using oscillating drops. As the studied non-ionic surfactant C〈sub〉13〈/sub〉DMPO (tridecyl dimethyl phosphine oxide) is soluble in water and in hexane, the partitioning of the surfactant between the two solvents had to be taken into consideration. The diffusion controlled exchange of matter theory was generalized in order to take into consideration the curvature of the interface, the diffusional transport in both adjacent bulk phases as well as the transfer across the liquid interface. Using two configurations, i.e. water drop in hexane and hexane drop in water, it is shown that the frequency dependence of the visco-elasticity modulus and the phase angle can be well described when the correct partition coefficient is applied. The surface activity of the selected surfactant C〈sub〉13〈/sub〉DMPO is optimum to demonstrate the impact of matter transfer across the interface on the dilational visco-elasticity of interfacial adsorption layers of non-ionic surfactants.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S002197971831453X-ga1.jpg" width="254" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 7 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 538〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ke Chen, Qiaohui Fan, Changlun Chen, Zhongshan Chen, Ahmed Alsaedi, Tasawar Hayat〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Identification of the role of the specific surface area and surface structure as a key factor for photocatalytic performance remains a controversial topic. In this work, three types of N-doped anatase TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 with different morphologies are newly synthesized by changing the addition order for the reagents. Methyl orange, Rhodamine B and Congo red are selected to showcase the photoactivity of the synthesized N-doped TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. The photocatalytic experimental results show that Congo red can be selectively and rapidly degraded by three different N-doped TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 samples. Interestingly, although a microspiny sphere structure possesses a larger specific surface area compared to a microflower structure, a microflower structure dominated by {1 0 0} and {1 0 1} facets exhibits a higher photocatalytic efficiency compared to a microspiny structure dominated by {1 0 1} facets, as demonstrated by a quicker photodegradation rate for Congo red, higher photocurrent density, smaller semicircle in the electrochemical impedance spectrum, and lower photoluminescence intensity. Thus, the result suggests that the surface structure plays a more important role compared to the surface area. In addition, a hollow microsphere structure with the largest specific surface area exhibits the best performance in terms of photodegradation, charge separation ability and electron-hole recombination efficiency, indicating that the proper surface morphology combined with a large specific surface area is greatly promising for enhancement of photoactivity.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718314747-ga1.jpg" width="250" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 539〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tejaswi Soori, Thomas Ward〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Hypothesis〈/h6〉 〈p〉In this manuscript we examine the stability of an evaporating-unbounded axisymmetric liquid bridge confined between parallel-planar similar or chemically different substrates using both theory and experiments. With a quasistatic assumption we use hydrostatics to estimate the minimum stable volume 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si23.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈msub〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉V〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi mathvariant="italic"〉min〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msub〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 via the Young-Laplace equation for Bond numbers 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si84.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉0〈/mn〉〈mo〉⩽〈/mo〉〈mi mathvariant="italic"〉Bo〈/mi〉〈mo〉⩽〈/mo〉〈mn〉1〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉, and top/bottom wall contact angles 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si85.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉5〈/mn〉〈mi〉°〈/mi〉〈mo〉〈〈/mo〉〈mi〉θ〈/mi〉〈mo〉〈〈/mo〉〈mn〉175〈/mn〉〈mi〉°〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 although the primary focus is on wetting and partial wetting fluids. Solving the Young-Laplace equation requires knowledge of appropriate capillary pressure values, which appear as a constant, and may not provide unique solution. To examine uniqueness of numerical solutions and volume minima determined from the Young-Laplace equation for unbounded-axisymmetric liquid bridges we analyzed capillary pressure for large and small liquid volume-asymptotic limits at zero Bond number.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Experiments〈/h6〉 〈p〉Experiments were performed to compare with the volume minima calculations for Bond numbers 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si86.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉0.04〈/mn〉〈mo〉⩽〈/mo〉〈mi mathvariant="italic"〉Bo〈/mi〉〈mo〉⩽〈/mo〉〈mn〉0.65〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉. Three substrates of varying surface energy were used, with purified water as the primary liquid. Volume estimates and contact angle data were extracted via image analysis and evaporation rates measured from this data are reported.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Findings〈/h6〉 〈p〉Volume minima were in the range 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si87.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉0.1〈/mn〉〈mo〉〈〈/mo〉〈msub〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉V〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi mathvariant="italic"〉min〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msub〉〈mo〉〈〈/mo〉〈mn〉20〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si39.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈mi mathvariant="normal"〉μ〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉l depending on Bond number. There was good agreement when comparing predicted volume minima and those determined from experiments for the range of parameters studied.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718314590-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 5 April 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 212〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chuang Liu, Keyin Liu, Minggang Tian, Weiying Lin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Hydrazine and its derivatives are one of the most important raw chemical materials that have extensive utilization in many areas. It is also widely applied as pharmaceutical derivatives, such as the antipsychotic drug, anti-infective drug, and antitumor drug. However, hydrazine is a highly toxic reagent which can bring severe damage to human and animals. Herein, we have reported a new benzothiazole substituted naphthalene based probe for hydrazine with huge fluorescence change ratio. The fluorescence change ratio at F〈sub〉390〈/sub〉/F〈sub〉509〈/sub〉 is up to 200-fold in the presence of hydrazine in 60 min. The probe exhibited negligible cytotoxicity toward HeLa cells and was applied for hydrazine detection successfully in HeLa cells.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518310886-ga1.jpg" width="447" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 539〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Cameron S. Giglio, Osayuki Osazuwa, Marianna Kontopoulou, Aristides Docoslis〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The role of surfactant (Pluronic® F 127) concentration on the yield and morphological characteristics of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) produced from the sonication of aqueous graphene suspensions is investigated in this work. By employing a wide surfactant concentration range (0.1−15 wt%) and sonication power densities up to 420 W L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 we identify two graphene exfoliation regimes: the first occurs at low sonication power densities (〈340 W L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) and produces GNPs with sizes 200–300 nm, aspect ratios between 70 and 100, and concentrations up 1 mg mL〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. In that regime, the surfactant concentration has no effect on the exfoliation results. In the second exfoliation regime (〉340 W L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉), surfactant concentrations greater than 10 wt% produce dramatic increases in GNP yields, namely up to 3.0 mg mL〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, and overall larger GNPs (350–500 nm) with smaller aspect ratios (5–60). We attribute these changes to the onset of a more energy intensive mechanism, termed cleavage. Cleavage involves the separation of graphite clusters in sub-bulk multi-layered graphene entities, as opposed to exfoliation, which involves the separation of individual or few-layer GNPs. Choosing an exfoliation regime by tuning simple process parameters enables control over the yield, size and morphology of the produced GNPs.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S002197971831467X-ga1.jpg" width="252" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 539〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shaojun Peng, Yongzhi Men, Ruihong Xie, Yefei Tian, Wuli Yang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Zwitterionic polymer nanocarriers have attracted much attention in recent years due to their desirable biocompatibility and anti-fouling properties. However, the super-hydrophilic and neutral charge of zwitterionic polymer results in weak interactions with negatively charged cell membranes, which leads to suboptimal uptake by tumor cells. Herein, a series of biodegradable poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine-〈em〉s-s〈/em〉-vinylimidazole) (PMV) nanogels with uniform spherical shape was fabricated by one-step reflux precipitation polymerization, which was clean and efficient. The PMV nanogels remained in zwitterionic state at physiological pH (pH 7.4) and were converted rapidly to positive charged state at tumor extracellular pH (pH 6.5). Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and acid-base titration experiment proved that the charge-conversion ability of PMV nanogels was attributed to protonation of the imidazole ring in an acidic environment. Protein stability experiment showed that PMV nanogels exhibited a protein-adsorption resistance at pH 7.4 for as long as 7 days while adsorbed protein rapidly at pH 6.5. Moreover, PMV nanogels showed a reducing-labile property, which was able to degrade into short linear polymer chains in the presence of reduction agents. Therefore, the doxorubicin (DOX) release profile was controlled finely with a low DOX leakage under physiological conditions (7.8% in 48 h) and a rapid DOX release in 10 mM glutathione at pH 7.4 (78.9% in 48 h). Confocal laser scanning microscope and flow cytometry showed that the PMV nanogels exhibit an enhanced cellular uptake by tumor cells at pH 6.5 compared with pH 7.4, which allows for a severe cytotoxic effect of DOX-loaded PMV nanogels against tumor cells.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Biodegradable phosphorylcholine-based zwitterionic polymer nanogels with charge-conversion ability at tumor extracellular pH were fabricated by one-step reflux precipitation polymerization, leading to the enhanced tumor cellular uptake and controlled drug release.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718314693-ga1.jpg" width="352" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 7 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 538〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Elka S. Basheva, Krassimir D. Danov, Gergana M. Radulova, Peter A. Kralchevsky, Hui Xu, Yee Wei Ung, Jordan T. Petkov〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Hypotheses〈/h6〉 〈p〉The micellar solutions of sulfonated methyl esters (SME) are expected to form stratifying foam films that exhibit stepwise thinning. From the height of the steps, which are engendered by micellar layers confined in the films, we could determine the micelle aggregation number, surface electric potential, and ionization degree. Moreover, addition of the zwitterionic surfactant cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) is expected to transform the small spherical micelles of SME into giant wormlike aggregates.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Experiments〈/h6〉 〈p〉Stratifying films from SME solutions are formed and the heights of the steps are recorded. The viscosity of mixed SME + CAPB solutions is measured at various concentrations and weight ratios of the two surfactants.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Findings〈/h6〉 〈p〉By theoretical analysis of the foam film data, we established that at 30–100 mM SME spherical micelles are formed and their aggregation number was determined. The addition of calcium ions, as in hard water, does not produce significant effect. However, SME and CAPB exhibit a strong synergism with respect to micelle growth as indicated by the high solution’s viscosity. For this reason, the SME + CAPB mixtures represent a promising system for formulations in personal-care and house-hold detergency, having in mind also other useful properties of SME, such as high hard water tolerance, biodegradability and skin compatibility.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718314681-ga1.jpg" width="459" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 211〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Qingming Wang, Lei Jin, Wenling Wang, Lihui Dai, Xiaoxue Tan, Cong Zhao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This work, two turn-on fluorescent probes (3-acetyl-2H-chromen-2-one (〈strong〉ACO〈/strong〉) & (1E)-1-(1-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)ethylidene)thiosemicarbazide (〈strong〉CETC〈/strong〉)) based on coumarin have been designed and synthesized, which could selectively and sensitively recognize ClO〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 with fast response time. 〈strong〉ACO〈/strong〉 & 〈strong〉CETC〈/strong〉 were almost non fluorescent possibly due to both the lacton form of coumarin and unbridged C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/dbnd"〉N bonds which can undergo a nonradiative decay process in the excited state. Upon the addition of ClO〈sup〉−〈/sup〉, 〈strong〉ACO〈/strong〉 & 〈strong〉CETC〈/strong〉 were oxidized to ring - opened by cleavage the C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉O and C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/dbnd"〉N and the fluorescence intensity were increased considerably. Fluorescence titration experiments showed that the detection limit 〈strong〉ACO〈/strong〉 & 〈strong〉CETC〈/strong〉 is as low as 22 nm and 51 nm respectively. In particular, some relevant reactive species, including 〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"〉OH, 〈sup〉1〈/sup〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, KO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, some anions and cations cannot be interference with the test. In live cell experiments, 〈strong〉ACO〈/strong〉 & 〈strong〉CETC〈/strong〉 were successfully applied to image exogenous ClO〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 in HepG2 cells. Therefore, 〈strong〉ACO〈/strong〉 & 〈strong〉CETC〈/strong〉 not only could image ClO〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 in living cells but also proved that C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉O and C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/dbnd"〉N can be cleavage by ClO〈sup〉−〈/sup〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Two new coumarin-based fluorescent probes were synthesized and successfully achieved for the efficient detection of ClO〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 as turn - on fluorescence chemosensors in Tris - HCl buffer/DMSO (〈em〉v〈/em〉:〈em〉v〈/em〉 = 9:1, 20 mM, 〈em〉pH〈/em〉 = 7.0) with the detection of limit (LOD) as low as 22 nM and 51 nM, respectively.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518310825-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 211〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Anees A. Ansari, Naushad Ahmad, Joselito P. Labis, Ahmed Mohamed El-Toni, Aslam Khan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Tb-doped Y〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 microspheres (MSs) were prepared via a homogeneous thermal degradation process at a low temperature and then coated with a nanosilica shell (Y〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉:Tb@SiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) using a sol-gel process. The core MSs were highly crystalline and spherical with a porous surface, single cubic phase, and particle size of 100–250 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images clearly showed the spherical shape of the as-prepared core MSs, which were fully covered with a thick and mesoporous nanosilica shell. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra displayed the well-resolved infrared absorption peaks of silica (Si〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉O, Si〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉O〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉Si, etc.), confirming the presence of the silica surface coating. The core MSs retained their spherical shape even after heat treatment and subsequent silica surface coating. It was observed that the core/shell MSs are easily dispersible in aqueous media and form a semi-transparent colloidal solution. Ultraviolet/visible and zeta potential studies were tested to prove the changes in the surface chemistry of the as-designed core/shell MSs and compare with their core counterpart. The growth of the amorphous silica shell not only increased the particle size but also enhanced remarkably the solubility and colloidal stability of the MSs in aqueous media. The strongest emission lines originating from the characteristic intra-shell 4f-4f electronic transitions of Tb ions were quenched after silica layer deposition, but the MSs still showed strong green (〈sup〉5〈/sup〉D〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 → 〈sup〉7〈/sup〉F〈sub〉5〈/sub〉 at 530–560 nm as most dominant) emission efficiency, which indicates great potential in fluorescent bio-probes. The emission intensity is discussed in relation to the quenching mechanism induced by surface silanol (Si-OH) groups, particle size, and surface charge.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518310771-ga1.jpg" width="267" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 539〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Houjuan Qi, Min Teng, Miao Liu, Shouxin Liu, Jian Li, Haipeng Yu, Chunbo Teng, Zhanhua Huang, Hu Liu, Qian Shao, Ahmad Umar, Tao Ding, Qiang Gao, Zhanhu Guo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N〈em〉-CQD〈/em〉s) were successfully synthesized using rice residue and glycine as carbon and nitrogen sources by one-step hydrothermal method. High quantum yield (23.48%) originated from the effective combination of nitrogen with various functional groups (C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/dbnd"〉O, N〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉H, C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉N, COOH and C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉O〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉C). The N-CQDs showed a fluorescence with the wavelength varied from 420 to 500 nm and the maximum emission wavelength being at 440 nm. N-CQDs have been importantly applied as probe to detect Fe〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 and tetracycline (TCs) antibiotics with remarkable performance. Using the linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and Fe〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 concentration, the N-CQDs could be employed as a simple, efficient sensor for ultrasensitive Fe〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 detection ranging from 3.32 to 32.26 µM, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.7462 µM. The N-CQDs showed the applicability to detect TCs. The detection limits of tetracycline, terramycin and chlortetracycline were 0.2367, 0.3739 and 0.2791 µM, respectively. The results of TC by fluorescence method in real water samples were in good agreement with standard Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) method. The N-CQDs have various potential applications including sensitive and selective detection of Fe〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 and TCs, and cellular imaging with low cytotoxicity, good biocompatibility and high permeability.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphic abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718314875-ga1.jpg" width="486" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 7 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 538〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jianhao Qiu, Xingguang Zhang, Kailuo Xie, Xiong-Fei Zhang, Yi Feng, Mingmin Jia, Jianfeng Yao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) functionalized MOFs are attractive materials for photocatalytic reactions, and outstanding catalytic performances can be expected, especially when they have intrinsically matched crystal faces between metals and MOFs. This study discovered that the photocatalytic oxidation of aromatic alcohols to aldehydes was enhanced over Au/UiO-66-NH〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 or Au/UiO-66 but suppressed over Pt loaded counterparts, whereas the reduction of Cr(VI) was boosted over both two catalysts. In reactions, the conversion of benzyl alcohol was 17.1% over UiO-66-NH〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and 7.6% over UiO-66, and an enhanced conversion was obtained over Au/UiO-66-NH〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (30.5%) and Au/UiO-66 (24.1%). However, the conversion was decreased over Pt/UiO-66-NH〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (9.3%) and Pt/UiO-66 (〈1%). Experimental results revealed strong correlations between Zr-MOFs and loaded metal NPs, as Zr centers promoted the formation of Pt(200) planes that suppressed the production of ·O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 intermediates to oxidize aromatic alcohols, whereas Pt(200) exhibited no effect on the Cr(VI) reduction triggered by photo-induced electrons. The findings in this study on constructing noble metal NPs functionalized Zr-MOFs catalysts with specially-matched crystal structures and on distinguishing photocatalytic mechanisms on oxidation of alcohols and reduction of Cr(VI) would provide valuable information for designer (photo)catalysts based on MOFs and their applications in such as catalysis and environmental remediation.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718314577-ga1.jpg" width="247" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 7 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 538〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mengru Wang, Wanhua Liu, Yanqiu Zhang, Meng Dang, Yunlei Zhang, Jun Tao, Kun Chen, Xin Peng, Zhaogang Teng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The development of effective targeted therapies for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains a challenge. This targeted drug delivery system used a near-infrared fluorescence dye cyanine 5.5 (Cy5.5) and an ICAM-1 antibody on thioether-bridged periodic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (PMOs). The ICAM-1 antibody and cyanine 5.5-engineered PMOs (PMO-Cy5.5-ICAM) offer excellent 〈em〉in vivo and in vitro〈/em〉 biocompatibility. The PMO-Cy5.5-ICAM shows a loading capacity up to 400 mg/g of doxorubicin (DOX). The drug release profile of the DOX-loaded targeted delivery system (DOX@PMO-Cy5.5-ICAM) is pH-sensitive. Confocal microscopy showed that the PMO-Cy5.5-ICAM efficiently targets and enters TNBC cells. In 〈em〉in vivo〈/em〉 experiments, the DOX@PMO-Cy5.5-ICAM accumulates more in TNBCs than in the control groups and exhibits better therapeutic effects on TNBC; thus, it is a promising treatment strategy for TNBC.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Target therapy for TNBC with ICAM-1 antibody mediated mesoporous drug delivery system DOX@PMO-Cy5.5-ICAM.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718314668-ga1.jpg" width="274" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 117〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Elisabetta Cattoni, Diana Salciarini, Claudio Tamagnini〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In recent years, much attention has been paid to performance–based design of flexible retaining structures, focusing on the evaluation of the permanent deformations of the soil–structure system caused by given seismic loads, rather than on the assessment of conventional safety factors determined by comparing seismic actions and system resistance (typically based on limit equilibrium methods). While only a few examples of fully coupled, dynamic numerical simulations of flexible retaining structures adopting advanced cyclic/dynamic models for soils can be found in literature, a number of recent works have proposed simple modifications of the classical Newmark method to assess the permanent displacements of the structure at the end of the seismic excitation. Most of the aforementioned works refer to cantilevered diaphragm walls, for which the failure mechanisms at limit equilibrium are relatively simple to describe. However, this is not the case for anchored or propped flexible structures, where the velocity field at failure under a pseudo–static seismic load is quite complex and can be affected by the plastic yielding of the wall upon bending. In this work, upper– and lower–bound limit analysis FE solutions are used as a basis for the development of a Generalized Newmark Method, based on the accurate evaluation of the critical accelerations for the retaining structure and the corresponding failure mechanisms. It can be shown that, under two reasonable simplifying assumptions, a Newmark–like scalar dynamic equation of motion can be derived which, upon double integration in time, provides the magnitude of the permanent displacements associated to each failure mechanism, as provided by limit analysis. This procedure allows the reconstruction of the full permanent displacement field around the excavation, not just the evaluation of horizontal soil movements at selected points. The application of the method to a number of selected prototype excavations demonstrates the potentiality of the proposed approach, which can be extended easily to other complex geotechnical structures.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 117〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Marco Furinghetti, Alberto Pavese, Virginio Quaglini, Paolo Dubini〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉In the present work the experimental response of the Curved Surface Slider (CSS) is investigated through an experimental campaign, carried out on a full-scale prototype subjected to both unidirectional and bidirectional tests. The aim of the study is to assess the effect of vertical load, speed and sustained motion on the frictional response of the device and to compare results returned by different displacement trajectories. In order to perform a quantitative evaluation, a mathematical expression to model the decay of the coefficient of friction as a function of energy dissipation is proposed and calibrated upon experimental data.〈/p〉 〈p〉Though at low vertical load non-negligible discrepancies between unidirectional and bidirectional orbits were noticed, the CSS device shows consistent behaviour as the applied load, and consequently the dissipated energy, are increased. The results allow to draw some guidance for the estimation of the design variation range of the friction coefficient of Curved Surface Slider devices used to perform bound analyses.〈/p〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 117〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yuan Yao, Jie Chen, Tao Li, Bo Fu, Haoran Wang, Yuehua Li, Hailiang Jia〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Soil liquefaction is a type of coseismic hydrological change triggered by earthquakes, and its occurrence results in major property damage and casualties. The dynamics of coseismic hydrological changes are not fully understood. In order to address this, we studied coseismic deformations such as liquefaction and ground fissures that occurred as a result of strong seismic activity during the 2016 Mw6.6 Akto earthquake, which took place in the interior of the Pamir Plateau in northwestern China. This paper presents a systematic survey of the frozen soil liquefaction and ground fissures caused by this earthquake. The majority of liquefaction sites near the Karaat River are located on the T1 terrace, in Bulake village, and are adjacent to the alluvial fan of the Kungai Mountain. We find that the liquefaction was caused by the original spring and coseismic ground fissure during the earthquake. Approximately 80% of the liquefaction sites are formed along the original spring in the epicenter. The maximum height of sand boils is 15 cm. The remaining 20% of the liquefaction sites are formed along the coseismic ground fissure. Our results suggest that the frozen soil layer impedes liquefied material in the lower unfrozen soil layer from reaching the surface, and the material formed from liquefaction is consequentially channeled through the primary fault and coseismic ground fissures. Liquefaction associated with the Akto earthquake demonstrates the importance of accounting for the possibility of a series of coseismic geological disasters, such as soil liquefaction and ground fissures, in areas with similar geology, altitude, and temperature.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 117〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Li Zhang, Mingzhou Su, Chao Zhang, Hua Shen, Md Mofakkharul Islam, Ruifu Zhang〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The traditional design method of the elastic response reduction curve (ERRC) was used to design the parameters of the viscoelastic damper (VED), where the plastic behavior of the primary structure is neglected. Considering the structural plastic behavior, in this study, a direct design method is proposed to obtain the parameters of VEDs based on the elastic-plastic response reduction curve (EPRRC), which can illustrate the relationship between damper parameters and the response reduction effect in the elastic-plastic stage. First, the ERRC is developed to the EPRRC, and the differences between them are compared using the displacement and acceleration response difference ratios, which demonstrate an overestimated response reduction effect of VEDs in the elastic-plastic stage using the ERRC. Then, the corresponding design procedures are given based on the EPRRC by referring to the direct displacement-based design theory. Finally, a benchmark model is used to illustrate the effectiveness of this proposed design method by conducting a time history analysis. The analysis results indicate that the target story drift of the structure can be satisfied under different earthquake intensities using VEDs. Thus, based on this study, the development of the EPRRC can be considered worthwhile, and the proposed design method of VED parameters is easy to implement and is effective.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 7 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 538〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Bochuan Tan, Shengtao Zhang, Hongyan Liu, Yuwan Guo, Yujie Qiang, Wenpo Li, Lei Guo, Chunliu Xu, Shijin Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Food flavors of 2-isobutylthiazole (ITT) and 1-(1,3-Thiazol-2-yl)ethanone (TEO) for the corrosion inhibition of X65 steel in H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 were studied by electrochemical methods, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and theoretical calculations. Electrochemical experiments show that ITT and TEO can effectively inhibit the corrosion of cathode and anode of X65 steel, and they are mixed-type corrosion inhibitors. Surface topography analysis (SEM and AFM) also visually demonstrate that ITT and TEO form an effective barrier film on the X65 steel surface to isolate the corrosive medium. Theoretical calculations profoundly explain the inhibition mechanism of ITT and TEO at the molecular level. In addition, the adsorption behavior of ITT and TEO on the surface of X65 steel is consistent with Langmuir isotherm adsorption. The results of experimental and theoretical studies have shown that the inhibition effect of TEO is better than ITT for X65 in 0.5 M H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718314553-ga1.jpg" width="265" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 211〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hongwei Ren, Xue Wang, Shaohan Lian, You Zhang, Erhong Duan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are generally composed of two or three cheap and safe components that are associated with each other via hydrogen bonds. The formation Caprolactam (CPL)-tetraalkyl ammonium halide (TAAX) DES and its hydrate were investigated using React IR. TAAX was introduced to CPL in the molten state at 353.15 K, the intermolecular H-N-C=O⋯H-N-C=O hydrogen bonds (CPL dimer) transfer to X〈sup〉−〈/sup〉⋯H-N-C=O (CPL-TAAX DES). When water was added to CPL-TAAX DES, intermolecular X〈sup〉−〈/sup〉⋯H-N-C=O⋯H-O-H hydrogen bonds appeared, and CPL-TAAX DES hydrate was formed. However, if the ratio of water exceeded the moral fraction of 0.61, CPL-TAAX DES hydrate turned into a CPL-TAAX aqueous solution. The C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/dbnd"〉O (1660 cm〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) bonds were linearly correlated with hydrogen bonds number and TBAB amount in CPL-TBAB DES. When the molar fraction of CPL-TBAB DES was 0.39 to 0.78, the C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/dbnd"〉O peak redshift has a better linear correlation with water. Halide anions and the alkyl chain length of TAAX have little influence on the redshifts and peak intensity of the C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/dbnd"〉O peak.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518310679-ga1.jpg" width="344" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 211〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Abdel Majid A. Adam, Hala H. Eldaroti, Mohamed S. Hegab, Moamen S. Refat, Jehan Y. Al-Humaidi, Hosam A. Saad〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In our previous work, we highlighted the thermodynamic and spectroscopic characteristics of the 1:1 charge transfer (CT) complexation of TCNE acceptor with various medically important drugs. Continuing that work, we further examine drugs that react with the TCNE acceptor via a 1:2 interaction. The examined drugs are atenolol, quinidine, cimetidine, reserpine, and levofloxacin. We aimed through this study to: 〈em〉i〈/em〉) make the spectrophotometric and thermodynamic data of the examined drugs, both initially and when reacted via a 1:2 M ratio with the TCNE acceptor, available to use in the determination or detection of these drugs in pharmaceuticals and other environments; and 〈em〉ii〈/em〉) compare the mode of interactions and the spectrophotometric and thermodynamic properties between drugs that react via a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio with the TCNE acceptor. To achieve these aims, the five examined drugs were reacted with TCNE in acetonitrile (MeCN) solvent at room temperature. Several thermodynamic and spectroscopic data were experimentally estimated using the van't Hoff and the Benesi–Hildebrand equations and discussed.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Electronic absorption spectrum of the CT product that formed form the reaction of drug Qui with TCNE acceptor in MeCN solvent.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518310709-ga1.jpg" width="455" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 117〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): G. Kampas, J.A. Knappett, M.J. Brown, I. Anastasopoulos, N. Nikitas, R. Fuentes〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Major seismic events have shown that tunnels in cohesionless soils may suffer extensive seismic damage. Proper modelling can be of great importance for predicting and assessing their seismic performance. This paper investigates the effect of lining structural modelling on the seismic behaviour of horseshoe-shaped tunnels in sand, inspired from an actual Metro tunnel in Santiago, Chile. Three different approaches are comparatively assessed: elastic models consider sections that account for: (a) linear elastic lining assuming the geometric stiffness; (b) linear elastic lining matching the uncracked stiffness of reinforced concrete (RC); and (c) nonlinear RC section, accounting for stiffness degradation and ultimate capacity, based on moment-curvature relations. It is shown that lining structural modelling can have major implications on the predicted tunnel response, ranging from different values and distributions of the lining sectional forces, to differences in the predicted post-earthquake settlements, which can have implications on the seismic resilience of aboveground structures.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 7 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 538〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Julia Elistratova, Alsu Mukhametshina, Kirill Kholin, Irek Nizameev, Maksim Mikhailov, Maxim Sokolov, Rafil Khairullin, Regina Miftakhova, Ghazal Shammas, Marsil Kadirov, Konstantin Petrov, Albert Rizvanov, Asiya Mustafina〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The present work introduces a facile synthetic route to embed phosphorescent K〈sub〉2〈/sub〉[{Mo〈sub〉6〈/sub〉I〈sub〉8〈/sub〉}I〈sub〉6〈/sub〉] and (nBu〈sub〉4〈/sub〉N)〈sub〉2〈/sub〉[{Mo〈sub〉6〈/sub〉I〈sub〉8〈/sub〉}(CH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉COO)〈sub〉6〈/sub〉] clusters (C) onto silica-water interface of amino-decorated silica nanoparticles (SNs, 60 ± 6 nm). The assembled C-SNs gain in the luminescence intensity, which remains stable within three months after their assembly. High uptake capacity of the clusters (8700 of K〈sub〉2〈/sub〉[{Mo〈sub〉6〈/sub〉I〈sub〉8〈/sub〉}I〈sub〉6〈/sub〉] and 6500 of (nBu〈sub〉4〈/sub〉N)〈sub〉2〈/sub〉[{Mo〈sub〉6〈/sub〉I〈sub〉8〈/sub〉}(CH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉COO)〈sub〉6〈/sub〉] per the each nanoparticle) derives from ionic self-assembly and coordination bonds between the cluster complexes and ionic (amino- and siloxy-) groups at the silica surface. The coordination 〈em〉via〈/em〉 amino- or siloxy-groups restricts aquation and hydrolysis of the embedded clusters, in comparison with the parent K〈sub〉2〈/sub〉[{Mo〈sub〉6〈/sub〉I〈sub〉8〈/sub〉}I〈sub〉6〈/sub〉] and (nBu〈sub〉4〈/sub〉N)〈sub〉2〈/sub〉[{Mo〈sub〉6〈/sub〉I〈sub〉8〈/sub〉}(CH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉COO)〈sub〉6〈/sub〉. High potential of the assembled nanoparticles in the ROS generation was revealed by EPR measurements facilitated by spin trapping. The high positive charge and convenient colloid stability of the assembled C-SNs hybrids are the prerequisite for their efficient cellular uptake, which is exemplified in the work by MCF-7 cell line. The measured dark and photoinduced cytotoxicity of the C-SNs hybrids reveals significant photodynamic therapy effect on the MCF-7 cancer cell line versus the normal cells. This effect is entirely due to the embedded clusters and is dependent on the chemical composition of the cluster.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718314474-ga1.jpg" width="250" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 7 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 538〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Bijan K. Paul, Narayani Ghosh, Saptarshi Mukherjee〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The binding interaction of a prospective anti-cancer photosensitizer, norharmane (NHM, 9〈em〉H〈/em〉-pyrido[3,4-〈em〉b〈/em〉]indole) with double stranded RNA reveals a primarily intercalative mode of binding. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopic results demonstrate the occurrence of drug-RNA binding interaction as manifested through environment-sensitive prototropic equilibrium of NHM. However, the key finding of the present study lies in unraveling the complexities in the NHM-RNA binding thermodynamics. Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) results reveal the presence of two thermodynamically different binding modes for NHM. An extensive temperature-dependence investigation shows that the formation of Complex I is enthalpically (ΔH〈sub〉I〈/sub〉 〈 0) as well as entropically (TΔS〈sub〉I〈/sub〉 〉 0) favored with the enthalpic (entropic) contribution being increasingly predominant in the higher (lower) temperature regime. On the contrary, the formation of Complex II reveals a predominantly enthalpy-driven signature (ΔH〈sub〉I〈/sub〉 〈 0) along with unfavorable entropy change (TΔS〈sub〉I〈/sub〉 〈 0) with gradually decreasing enthalpic contribution with temperature. Such differential dependences of ΔH〈sub〉I〈/sub〉 and ΔH〈sub〉II〈/sub〉 on temperature subsequently lead to opposing heat capacity changes underlying the formation of Complex I and II (〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si3.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈msubsup〉〈mrow〉〈mi mathvariant="normal"〉Δ〈/mi〉〈mi〉C〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉p〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈mi〉I〈/mi〉〈/msubsup〉〈mo〉〈〈/mo〉〈mn〉0〈/mn〉〈mspace width="5.0pt"〉〈/mspace〉〈mi〉a〈/mi〉〈mi〉n〈/mi〉〈mi〉d〈/mi〉〈mspace width="5.0pt"〉〈/mspace〉〈msubsup〉〈mrow〉〈mi mathvariant="normal"〉Δ〈/mi〉〈mi〉C〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉p〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi mathvariant="italic"〉II〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msubsup〉〈mo〉〉〈/mo〉〈mn〉0〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉). A negative ΔC〈sub〉p〈/sub〉 underpins the pivotal role of ‘hydrophobic effect’ (release of ordered water molecules) for the formation of Complex I, while a positive ΔC〈sub〉p〈/sub〉 marks the thermodynamic hallmark for ‘hydrophobic hydration’ (solvation of hydrophobic (or nonpolar) molecular surfaces in aqueous medium) for formation of Complex II. A detailed investigation of the effect of ionic strength enables a component analysis of the total free energy change (ΔG).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718314450-ga1.jpg" width="262" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 211〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yingping Li, Yong Jia, Qi Zeng, Xiaohui Jiang, Zhengjun Cheng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We used thiamine nitrate (TN) as single material to fabricate nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon quantum dots (N,S-CQDs) with a quantum yield of 10.4% through one-pot hydrothermal method, and its properties were characterized by TEM, XPS, FTIR, fluorescence (FL) and UV–vis spectrophotometer, respectively. The fluorescence of N,S-CQDs was effectively quenched in the presence of vitamin B12 (VB12)/tartrazine due to Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Moreover, the rate (〈em〉K〈/em〉〈sub〉T〈/sub〉) and efficiency (〈em〉E〈/em〉%) of energy transfer from N,S-CQDs (as a donor) to VB12/tartrazine (as an acceptor) enhanced with increasing the concentrations of acceptor, and the 〈em〉K〈/em〉〈sub〉T〈/sub〉 and 〈em〉E〈/em〉% were also varied with the change of excitation wavelengths (from 338 to 408 nm). Based on this principle, a multifunctional fluorescence probe was designed for selective and sensitive detection of VB12/tartrazine with a detection limit (3σ/slope) of 15.6/18.0 nmol/L. Meanwhile, the proposed method was successfully employed to detect VB12/tartrazine in milk and several beverages with a recovery range of 97.5–104.2%/91.0–110.6%.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉N,S-CQDs as a multifunctional sensor has remarkable selectivity and high sensitivity for monitoring VB12/tartrazine, and the FL quenching of N,S-CQDs by VB12/tartrazine was further analyzed by FRET theory. The 〈em〉r〈/em〉 values decrease with increasing the concentration of acceptor (VB12/tartrazine) (A/B), and corresponding 〈em〉E〈/em〉% and 〈em〉K〈/em〉〈sub〉T〈/sub〉 values (C/D) show an opposite change tendency.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518310643-ga1.jpg" width="301" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 211〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xiao Wang, Yanmei Zhou, Chenggong Xu, Haohan Song, Xiaobin Pang, Xiaoqiang Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Hydrazine (N〈sub〉2〈/sub〉H〈sub〉4〈/sub〉) and fluoride ion (F〈sup〉−〈/sup〉) are regarded as environmental pollutants and potential carcinogens. A dual-functional fluorescent probe (probe 〈strong〉1〈/strong〉) was developed for both F〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 and N〈sub〉2〈/sub〉H〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 with high selectivity and sensitivity. 〈strong〉1〈/strong〉 was based on nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction for N〈sub〉2〈/sub〉H〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 detection and selective cleavage of 4-nitrobenzenesulphonyl group for the determination of F〈sup〉−〈/sup〉. The limits of detection of probe for F〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 and N〈sub〉2〈/sub〉H〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 were 77.82 nM and 29.34 nM, respectively, which are far below the threshold limit value (TLV) of United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The home-made test strips of 〈strong〉1〈/strong〉 provided the positive tool for F〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 and gaseous N〈sub〉2〈/sub〉H〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 in different system. And the confocal fluorescence images indicated that 〈strong〉1〈/strong〉 can quantitatively detect N〈sub〉2〈/sub〉H〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 in living PC12 cells. Promisingly, 〈strong〉1〈/strong〉 has great prospects for N〈sub〉2〈/sub〉H〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 imaging and determining in living system.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A 4-nitrobenzenesulphonyl group-cleavage based fluorescent probe was prepared for highly selective and sensitive dual-detection of fluoride ion and gaseous hydrazine on home-made test strips. This probe was successfully applied to quantitatively detect hydrazine in living cells.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518310667-ga1.jpg" width="317" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 211〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jian Zhu, Xiao-Hong Chen, Jian-Jun Li, Jun-Wu Zhao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this work, the novel tetrapod gold nanostars with four specific numbers of sharp tips were synthesized with good uniformity, high yield and chemical stability. The size of tetrapod gold nanostars has been increased effectively by increasing the amount of HAuCl〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 or DEA added to the reaction solution, and the corresponding in-plane localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) band can shift from 700 to 1100 nm. In order to combine the advantages of different metals, the Ag-coated tetrapod gold nanostars were prepared with different Ag coating thicknesses by increasing the volume of AgNO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉. With the increase of Ag coating thickness, the morphology of the nanoparticles has changed from gold nanostars with four sharp tips to bimetallic cuboids with four sharp tips and finally to crore-shell cuboids completely. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity of Ag-coated tetrapod gold nanostars has also been improved with the different Ag coating thicknesses. Combined the tip effect and the enhancement effect of Ag, the SERS activity has the strongest enhancement when the four sharp tips of tetrapod gold nanostars are not completely coated by the Ag layer but still exposed to the outsides. For tetrapod gold nanostars with larger size to grow Ag-coated tetrapod gold nanostars, the bimetallic cuboids with four sharp tips nanostructure have the biggest SERS enhancement factor (EF) of 1.73 × 10〈sup〉6〈/sup〉 for Rhodamine 6G (R6G), making it an ideal candidate in SERS-based sensing application.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The SERS activity has been strongly improved when the four sharp tips of tetrapod gold nanostars (In-plane LSPR at 916 nm) are not completely coated by the Ag layer but still exposed to the outsides.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518310631-ga1.jpg" width="284" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 211〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rupa Pegu, Gopal Pandit, Ankur Kanti Guha, Sajal Kumar Das, Sanjay Pratihar〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this report, 6〈em〉H〈/em〉-indolo[2,3-〈em〉b〈/em〉]quinoline (hereafter 〈strong〉2a〈/strong〉) was synthesized and employed as an optical chemosensor for fluoride. The sensitivity of 〈strong〉2a〈/strong〉 towards fluoride was established from the change in both the absorption and emission signals. The various 〈em〉in-situ〈/em〉〈sup〉1〈/sup〉H NMR, UV–Vis, and density functional studies indicate that the 1:2 binding interaction between 〈strong〉2a〈/strong〉 and fluoride followed by deprotonation to its corresponding di-anion (〈strong〉2a〈/strong〉〈sup〉〈strong〉2−〈/strong〉〈/sup〉), which in turn boosted the donor-acceptor interaction between indole and quinoline moiety in 〈strong〉2a〈/strong〉〈sup〉〈strong〉2−〈/strong〉〈/sup〉〈em〉via〈/em〉 expansion of torsion angle by 10.2° as compared to 〈strong〉2a〈/strong〉. Consequently the significant changes in both the absorption and emission signal of 〈strong〉2a〈/strong〉 allow us to detect and estimate the concentration of fluoride up to 0.2 μM from the mixture of different anions.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518310618-ga1.jpg" width="431" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 211〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hui Chen, Chao Tan, Zan Lin, Hongjin Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The authentication of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is critically important for public-health and economic terms. Notoginseng, a classical TCM of high economic and medical value, could be easily adulterated with 〈em〉Sophora flavescens〈/em〉 powder (SFP), corn flour (CF) or other analogues of low-grade (ALG) because of their similar tastes, appearances and much lower cost. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of applying of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and multivariate calibration for identifying and quantifying several common adulterants in notoginseng powder. Two datasets were prepared for experiment. The competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) was used to select informative variables. Two different schemes were used for sample set partition. Model population analysis (MPA) was made. The results showed that, the constructed partial least squares (PLS) model using a reduced set of variables from CARS can provide superior performance to the full-spectrum PLS model. Also, the sample set partition is very of great importance. It seems that the combination of NIR spectroscopy, CARS and PLS is feasible to quantify common adulterants in notoginseng powder.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1386142518310655-ga1.jpg" width="267" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 7 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 538〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Orlando Marin, Maria Alesker, Shani Guttman, Gregory Gershinsky, Eitan Edri, Hagay Shpaisman, Rodrigo E. Guerra, David Zitoun, Moshe Deutsch, Eli Sloutskin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Hypothesis〈/h6〉 〈p〉Temperature-controlled self-faceting of liquid droplets has been recently discovered in surfactant-stabilized alkane-in-water emulsions. We hypothesize that similar self-faceting may occur in emulsion droplets of UV-polymerizable linear hydrocarbons. We further hypothesize that the faceted droplet shapes can be fixed by UV-initiated polymerization, thus providing a new route towards the production of solid polyhedra.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Experiments〈/h6〉 〈p〉Temperature-induced shape variations were studied by optical microscopy in micron-size emulsion droplets of UV-polymerizable alkyl acrylate. When polymerized, the resultant solid particles’ 3D shape and internal structure were determined by combined scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) slicing. The SEM and FIB nanoscale resolution provided a far greater detail imaging than that achievable for the liquid droplets, which could only be studied by optical microscopy, severely limiting their 3D shape determination.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Findings〈/h6〉 〈p〉We demonstrate the formation of solid icosahedra, polyhedral platelets, and rods of hitherto-unreported sizes, well below the 3D-printing resolution (〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si13.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈mo〉∼〈/mo〉〈mn〉20〈/mn〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈mi mathvariant="normal"〉μ〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉m). The presence of icosahedral shapes and the absence of any resolvable internal structure at sub-〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si14.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈mi mathvariant="normal"〉μ〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉m length scales, are in line with the surface-freezing-driven mechanism proposed for the faceting phenomenon. Further development of the method presented here may allow large-quantity production of shaped micron- to nano- sized colloidal building blocks for 3D metamaterials and other applications.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0021979718314322-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 117〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ruifeng Liu, Zheming Zhu, Meng Li, Bang Liu, Duanying Wan〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Dynamic fracture behavior under impacting loads has been well studied, but for that under blasting loads, less attention has been paid. In order to investigate mode I crack propagation behavior of brittle materials under blasting, a new configuration specimen, i.e. single internal crack circular disc (SICCD) specimen was proposed in this paper, and it was applied in the blasting experiments. Crack propagation gauges (CPGs) were stuck along crack propagation paths to measure crack initiation and propagation time and crack propagation speeds. Green sandstone and PMMA were selected to make the SICCD specimens. Finite difference models were established by using AUTODYN code according to the SICCD specimen dimension and the loading curve measured near the borehole. Generally, the simulation results of crack propagation paths agree with the test results. Finite element code ABAQUS was applied in the calculation of dynamic stress intensity factors (SIFs), and the curves of dynamic SIFs versus time were obtained. By using these curves and the breaking time of the CPG wires, the mode I critical dynamic SIFs in initiation and in propagation were obtained. The results show that the measuring method of the critical dynamic SIFs of brittle materials under blasting presented in this paper is feasible and applicable. During crack propagations, the crack speed is not a constant, and the critical dynamic SIFs in propagation decreases with the increase of crack propagation speeds.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Volume 211〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Graham Hungerford, M. Adília Lemos, Boon-Seang Chu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The binding of an extract from the flowers of 〈em〉Clitoria ternatea〈/em〉 L. to the digestive enzyme α-amylase was investigated. This extract is a mixture of flavonoids, including anthocyanins, and has been previously shown to inhibit the activity this enzyme. This has implications for modulating starch digestion. In order to investigate the kinetics, we made use of time-resolved fluorescence to simultaneously monitor two different emission bands emanating from the extract. This measurement was enabled by the use of a “photon streaming” approach and changes in fluorescence lifetime and intensity were used to follow the interaction. A longer wavelength band (655 nm) was ascribed to anthocyanins in the mixture and these were observed to bind at a rate an order of magnitude slower than other flavonoids present in the extract, monitored at a shorter wavelength (485 nm). Changes in the fluorescence emission of the extract upon binding were further assessed by the use of decay associated spectra.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Binding of 〈em〉C. ternatea〈/em〉 extract to α-amylase followed using time-resolved fluorescence monitoring 2 wavelengths simultaneously using a photon streaming approach.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S138614251831059X-ga1.jpg" width="480" alt="Unlabelled Image" title="Unlabelled Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉