Embedding carbon dots in Eu3+-doped metal-organic framework for label-free ratiometric fluorescence detection of Fe3+ ions

Fluorescent detection is a new spectroscopic measurement for ions sensing due to the advantages of real-time determination with high selectivity, accuracy, and low cost. However, chemosensors based on fluorescent detection are usually determined by absolute intensity from a monochromatic emission signal, which is easy to be fluctuated by the external environment, especially for Fe³⁺ detection in complex fluids. Herein, we rationally design a dual-emission Eu³⁺: CDs@ZIF-8 to construct a ratiometric fluorescent sensor with self-calibrating ability for Fe³⁺ determination. High efficient carbon dots (CDs) are embedded in europium ions (Eu³⁺)-doped MOF by simple stirring preparation at room temperature. The label-free ratiometric fluorescent probe (I_CDs@ZIF-8/I_Eu) exhibits simultaneous blue and red emission under the same excitation at 365 nm. Remarkably, Eu³⁺: CDs@ZIF-8 displays the superiority of high selectivity to Fe³⁺, which shows ratiometric fluorescence characteristics (I₀/I) in a range of 0-6 μmol\L with a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.897 μmol\L. Besides, the CDs-MOF nanocomposite holds good aqueous dispersibility and low cytotoxicity, which shows great potential applications in medical aid including biological detection and clinical diagnosis.     

A theoretical and experimental study of phosphate ester inhibitors for AISI 1018 in carbon dioxide-saturated 3.5 wt% NaCl solution

Phosphate ester was investigated as a corrosion inhibitor for AISI 1018 carbon steel in carbon dioxide-saturated chloride solutions at different temperatures and pressures. The corrosion tests were realized by electrochemical techniques, weight loss measurements, bubble tests, and a high-pressure/high-temperature autoclave system. The corrosion tests demonstrated that the investigated molecule is an excellent corrosion inhibitor. The inhibiting effect is even bigger at high pressure and temperature than at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The thermodynamic parameters were calculated and determined to obey the Langmuir isotherm. Polarization studies revealed that the evaluated inhibitor is a mixed type.     

Biocomposites of Epoxidized Natural Rubber/Poly(lactic acid) Modified with Natural Fillers (Part I)

The study aimed to prepare sustainable and degradable elastic blends of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) that were reinforced with flax fiber (FF) and montmorillonite (MMT), simultaneously filling the gap in the literature regarding the PLA-containing polymer blends filled with natural additives. The performed study reveals that FF incorporation into ENR/PLA blend may cause a significant improvement in tensile strength from (10 ± 1) MPa for the reference material to (19 ± 2) MPa for the fibers-filled blend. Additionally, it was found that MMT employment in the role of the filler might contribute to ENR/PLA plasticization and considerably promote the blend elongation up to 600%. This proves the successful creation of the unique and eco-friendly PLA-containing polymer blend exhibiting high elasticity. Moreover, thanks to the performed accelerated thermo-oxidative and ultraviolet (UV) aging, it was established that MMT incorporation may delay the degradation of ENR/PLA blends under the abovementioned conditions. Additionally, mold tests revealed that plant-derived fiber addition might highly enhance the ENR/PLA blend’s biodeterioration potential enabling faster and more efficient growth of microorganisms. Therefore, materials presented in this research may become competitive and eco-friendly alternatives to commonly utilized petro-based polymeric products.     

Mechanical Properties of Single-Layer Diamond Reinforced Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanocomposites through Atomistic Simulation

Low-dimensional carbon nanostructures are ideal nanofillers to reinforce the mechanical performance of polymer nanocomposites due to their excellent mechanical properties. Through molecular dynamics simulations, the mechanical performance of poly(vinyl alchohol) (PVA) nanocomposites reinforced with a single-layer diamond – diamane is investigated. It is found the PVA/diamane exhibits similar interfacial strengths and pull-out characteristics with the PVA/bilayer-graphene counterpart. Specifically, when the nanofiller is fully embedded in the nanocomposite, it is unable to deform simultaneously with the PVA matrix due to the weak interfacial load transfer efficiency, thus the enhancement effect is not significant. In comparison, diamane can effectively promote the tensile properties of the nanocomposite when it has a laminated structure as it deforms simultaneously with the matrix. With this configuration, the interlayer sp³ bonds endows diamane with a much higher resistance under compression and shear tests, thus the nanocomposite can reach very high compressive and shear stress. Overall, enhancement on the mechanical interlocking at the interface as triggered by surface functionalization is only effective for the fully embedded nanofiller. This work provides a fundamental understanding of the mechanical properties of PVA nanocomposites reinforced by diamane, which can shed lights on the design and preparation of next generation high-performance nanocomposites.     

Potential influence of microorganisms on the corrosion of carbon steel in the French high- and intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste disposal context

In the context of the high-level radioactive waste disposal CIGEO, the corrosion rate due to microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) has to be evaluated. In France, it is envisaged to dispose of high- and intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste at a depth of 500 m in a deep geological disposal, drilled in the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone (Cox) formation. To do so, a carbon steel casing will be inserted inside disposal cells, which are horizontal tunnels drilled in the Cox. A specific cement grout will be injected between the carbon steel casing and the claystone. A study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of MIC on carbon steel in the foreseeable high radioactive waste disposal. The corrosiveness of various environments was investigated at 50°C and 80°C with or without microorganisms enriched from samples of Andra's underground research laboratory. The monitoring of corrosion during the experiments was ensured using gravimetric method and real-time corrosion monitoring using sensors based on the measurements of the electrical resistance. The corrosion data were completed with microbiological analyses including cultural and molecular characterizations.     

Spatiotemporal Magnetocaloric Microenvironment for Guiding the Fate of Biodegradable Polymer Implants

The degradation behavior of implants is significantly important for bone repair. However, it is still unprocurable to spatiotemporally regulate the degradation of the implants to match bone ingrowth. In this paper, a magneto-controlled biodegradation model is established to explore the degradation behavior of magnetic scaffolds in a magnetothermal microenvironment generated by an alternating magnetic field (AMF). The results demonstrate that the scaffolds can be heated by magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) under AMF, which dramatically accelerated scaffold degradation. Especially, magnetic NPs modified by oleic acid with a better interface compatibility exhibit a greater heating efficiency to further facilitate the degradation. Furthermore, the molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the enhanced motion correlation between magnetic NPs and polymer matrix can accelerate the energy transfer. As a proof-of-concept, the feasibility of magneto-controlled degradation for implants is demonstrated, and an optimizing strategy for better heating efficiency of nanomaterials is provided, which may have great instructive significance for clinical medicine.     

Iron-based sulfur and nitrogen dual doped porous carbon as durable electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

The widespread use of fuel cell technology is hampered by the use of expensive and scarce platinum metal in electrodes which is required to facilitate the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this work, a viable synthetic approach was developed to prepare iron-based sulfur and nitrogen dual doped porous carbon (Fe@SNDC) for use in ORR. Benzimidazole, a commercially available monomer, was used as a precursor for N doped carbon and calcined with potassium thiocyanate at different temperatures to tune the pore size, nitrogen content and different types of nitrogen functionality such as pyridinic, pyrrolic and graphitic. The Fe@SNDC–950 with high surface area, optimum N content of about 5 at% and high amount of pyridinic and graphitic N displayed an onset potential and half-wave potential of 0.98 and 0.83 V vs RHE, respectively, in 0.1 M KOH solution. The catalyst also exhibits similar oxygen reduction reaction performance compared to Pt/C (20 wt%) in acidic media. Furthermore, when compared to commercially available Pt/C (20 wt%), Fe@SNDC–950 showed enhanced durability over 6 h and poison tolerance in case of methanol crossover with the concentration up to 3.0 M in oxygen saturated alkaline electrolyte. Our study demonstrates that the presence of N and S along with Fe-N moieties synergistically served as ORR active sites while the high surface area with accessible pores allowed for efficient mass transfer and interaction of oxygen molecules to the active sites contributing to the ORR activity of the catalyst.     

Capacitive characteristics and electrosorption of hydrogen in microporous aсtivated carbon fibers

The possibility of hydrogen electrosorption in microporous activated carbons for acidic and alkaline electrolytes is shown. The electrochemical behavior of activated carbon fiber CH-900-20 has been investigated to find out the main factors, which influence the charging processes of microporous electrodes. The following methods were used: cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, chronoamperometry, and chronopotentiometry. A comparative analysis of the influence of the electrolyte type and electrode structure on the capacitance performances of carbon has been carried out. It is assumed that there is a potential barrier at the interface between micropores and macropores. The features of the process of hydrogen electrosorption in carbon micropores have been analyzed in detail. A possible mechanism of electrosorption in micropores that decreases the capacitance of the electric double layer with a corresponding drop of the electronic conductance of activated carbons in acidic electrolytes has been suggested. The influence of temperature on the kinetics of hydrogen electrosorption has been shown and the activation energy of this process has been estimated. An assumption has been made about the influence of the semiconductor conductivity of activated carbons on the capacitive and resistive characteristics of the electrodes.     

碳中和背景下配电网差异化节能降耗潜力评估分

为了提高配电网差异化节能降耗效果，解决现有潜力评估方法存在的应用性能差的问题，提出碳中和背景下配电网差异化节能降耗潜力优化评估方法。根据配电网的空间结构，构建相应的等值电路模型。在该模型下，从设备损耗和运行附加损耗2个方面计算配电网的损耗量。根据损耗量计算结果，确定配电网差异化碳中和节能降耗方式。从静态和动态2个角度设置潜力评估指标，通过指标数据处理、指标权重求解等步骤，得出配电网差异化节能降耗潜力的综合量化评估结果。将设计潜力评估方法应用到配电网的差异化节能降耗改造工作中，能够有效降低配电网的实际线损量、降低区域损耗费用，并具有较高的应用价值。     

Gluten–starch interface characteristics and wheat dough rheology—Insights from hybrid artificial systems

Referring to the total surface existing in wheat dough, gluten–starch interfaces are a major component. However, their impact on dough rheology is largely unclear. Common viewpoints, based on starch surface modifications or reconstitution experiments, failed to show unambiguous relations of interface characteristics and dough rheology. Observing hybrid artificial dough systems with defined particle surface functionalization gives a new perspective. Since surface functionalization standardizes particle–polymer interfaces, the impact on rheology becomes clearly transferable and thus, contributes to a better understanding of gluten–starch interfaces. Based on this perspective, the effect of particle/starch surface functionality is discussed in relation to the rheological properties of natural wheat dough and modified gluten–starch systems. A competitive relation of starch and gluten for intermolecular interactions with the network-forming polymer becomes apparent during network development by adsorption phenomena. This gluten–starch adhesiveness delays the beginning of non-linearity under large deformations, thus contributing to a high deformability of dough. Consequently, starch surface functionality affects the mechanical properties, starting from network formation and ending with the thermal fixation of structure.