Mechanism for the hydrolysis resistance of aluminum nitride powder modified by boric acid

Aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramics are becoming cutting-edge materials for electronic information and communication. However, raw AlN hydrolyzed rapidly, and the high storage costs of this material prevent widespread application. In this study, raw AlN was modified by boric acid (H₃BO₃) at 30 °C to enhance hydrolysis resistance. Transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), the magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (²⁷Al-MAS-NMR and ¹¹B-MAS-NMR), and the fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) were used to characterize the powder before and after treatment, and the mechanism of hydrolysis resistance was determined. Modification with 0.1 M boric acid did not change the crystal phase of the AlN particles. The modified powder did not hydrolyse at 90% humidity and 70° Celsius. In the presence of boric acid, a network structure of B–O–B linkages ([BO_n], n = 3 or 4) formed that was connected to the AlN core via chemical bonds of B–N–Al and B–O–Al. The protective 6 – 10 nm-thick layer that formed on the surface of the AlN crystal, prevented attack by water molecules and hindered the hydrolysis of aluminium nitride. This study provides an alternative means of preparing anti-hydrolysis AlN powders.     

Nitrogen-phosphorus co-functionalized reduced graphene oxide supported NiCoPd-CeOx nanoparticles as a highly efficient and stable catalyst for formic acid dehydrogenation

Formic acid (HCOOH, FA), a common liquid hydrogen storage material, has attracted tremendous research interest. However, the development of efficient, low-cost and high-stable heterogeneous catalyst for selective dehydrogenation of FA remains a major challenge. In this paper, a simple co-reduction method is proposed to synthesize nitrogen-phosphorus co-functionalized rGO (NPG) supported ultrafine NiCoPd-CeO_x nanoparticles (NPs) with a mean size of 1.2 nm. Remarkably, the as-prepared Ni_0.2Co_0.2Pd_0.6-CeO_x/NPG shows outstanding catalytic activity for FA dehydrogenation, affording a high TOF value of 6506.8 mol H₂ mol Pd^?1 h^?1 at 303 K and a low activation energy of 17.7 kJ mol^?1, which is better than most of the reported heterogeneous catalysts, and can be ascribed to the combined effect of well-dispersed ultrafine NiCoPd-CeO_x NPs, modified Pd electronic structure, and abundant active sites. The reaction mechanism of dehydrogenation of FA is also discussed. Furthermore, the optimized Ni_0.2Co_0.2Pd_0.6-CeO_x/NPG shows excellent stability over 10^th run with 100% conversion and 100% H₂ selectivity, which may provide more possibilities for practical application of FA system on fuel cells.     

Phytic acid-assisted fabrication of superhydrophilic Ru 3D electrode for electrocatalytic hydrogenation of p-Nitrophenol

A superhydrophilic Ru-based 3D electrode, denoted as Ru-PA/NF, was fabricated under the assistance of phytic acid (PA) for electrocatalytic hydrogenation of p-Nitrophenol. PA serves as a multifunctional modulator to facilitate the dispersion of active Ru species in porous nickel foam (NF), meanwhile enhance the surface wettability as well as adjust the micromorphology. In alkaline media, the Ru-PA/NF electrode shows the PNP conversion of 94.68% and the PAP selectivity of 99% after 9 h, accompanied by the faraday efficiency (FE) of 73.15%. Over the superhydrophilic Ru-PA/NF the rate constant of PNP conversion into PAP is 2.62-times higher than that over the hydrophobic Ru/NF prepared without the aid of PA, and FE of Ru-PA/NF is 1.28-times higher than Ru/NF. This can be ascribed to intriguing features of Ru-PA/NF involving higher Ru loading, more exposed sites, superior electrolyte wetting along with faster charge transfer rate.     

Stability,reactivity and decomposition kinetics of surface passivated α-AlH3 crystals

As a novel high energy fuel, aluminum hydride (AlH₃) has great potential in the field of solid propellants because of its high hydrogen capacity, which can significantly improve the specific impulse of solid propellants. In order to improve the stability of α-AlH₃, hydrochloric acid has been used to stabilize AlH₃ and the stabilization mechanism has been investigated. Various characterization techniques including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray electron spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis, and vacuum stability test have been employed to investigate the morphology, crystal structure, thermal stability, and decomposition kinetics of raw and passivated α-AlH₃. The results showed that the honeycomb-like structures could be formed on the surface of α-AlH₃ after passivation. First of all, the initial decomposition temperatures of the passivated samples were slightly increased. In particular, for the optimized sample with 105 min passivation time (AlH₃-105min), the initial decomposition temperature (173.4 °C) is increased by 5.6 °C. Moreover, the total decomposition time (1652 min) is improved by about 50% than that of the raw sample (1098 min). Besides, the decomposition activation energies (E_a) of passivated samples are much higher than that of the raw sample (84.8 kJ mol^?1), in which the optimized sample (AlH₃-105min) reaches 107.1 kJ. mol^?1. The decomposition kinetics model may change from 3-D nucleation and nucleus growth model to 2-D nucleation and nucleus growth model. It demonstrates the passivated samples have a lower decomposition rate and higher thermal stability. The stabilization mechanism is as follows: removing the impurities on the surface and accelerating the hydrolysis reaction of AlH₃ to generate complete and dense oxide layers.     

Adaptive response and tolerance to weak acids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii: a metabolomics approach

Weak acids inhibit the growth of probiotics, such as Saccharomyces boulardii. We explored the tolerance of S. boulardii to different weak acids. S. boulardii had better fermentation ability under lactic acid conditions compared with acetic and butyric acid conditions; however, the budding of S. boulardii was significantly stronger than that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae under acetic acid conditions. Although the surface structure of S. boulardii was destroyed, it produced more daughter cells. S. boulardii metabolites were also significantly different from S. cerevisiae under acidic stress. The growth of S. boulardii under weak acid conditions differed significantly from that of S. cerevisiae. S. boulardii-mediated fingerprints under weak acid conditions were identified as latent biomarkers, related to fructose and mannose metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and the glycolysis pathway. Identified biomarkers will aid in the genetic engineering of S. boulardii and other Saccharomyces strains for improved acid resistance and biomass yield.     

Acid–base transport model depicting the dynamic pH response of interfacial reactions

Acid–base transport is integral to many important interfacial reactions in various fields of chemistry, but its theoretical foundation is lacked. Herein, a common acid–base transport model is established owing to the success in deriving buffer transport equations. This model is applicable to most buffer systems by flexibly integrating the transport equations in terms of buffer components, and is verified through the model relationships of buffer transport limiting current by using hydrogen evolution reaction experiments. Based on model calculations, two diagram approaches are proposed to depict the dynamic pH response and aid buffer operation optimizations. The model and methods allow us to quantify the rate-limiting effect of acid–base transport on interfacial reactions and to precisely control the effect through medium regulations. Furthermore, the model has laid the foundation of dynamic pH effect on species transformation and process mechanism, which can be of wide interest in the chemistry encompassing interfacial reactions.     

MnS掺杂多孔碳复合材料的制备及电化学性能（两张发票1000+2500）

褐煤作为低级煤资源利用率不高，但褐煤中具有腐植酸成分，将褐煤中提取的腐植酸作为化肥原料，提取后剩余残渣作为碳源，与MnS纳米粒子制备了MnS@C复合材料。采用XRD、拉曼光谱、XPS、N2吸附-脱附、SEM和TEM对样品进行了表征。将该复合材料应用于锂离子电池负极材料，对其电化学性能进行了测试。结果表明，MnS@C复合材料的比表面积和孔容分别为117.19m2/g和0.044mL/g，该电极在0.1 A/g电流密度条件下循环200次后比容量高达830 mA‧h/g，且电极容量保持率为99%左右。在0.2、0.4、0.8、1.0、1.2和1.6 A/g电流密度下比容量分别为644、522、427、399、373和348mAh/g，展现出良好的倍率性能。MnS@C复合材料优异的电化学性能得益于碳基体的存在，不仅可以缓解MnS纳米粒子在嵌锂/脱锂过程中的体积膨胀，而且展示了锂离子电池高性能的巨大潜力，为褐煤的高值化利用作出巨大贡献。     

Antibacterial activity and action target of phenyllactic acid against Staphylococcus aureus and its application in skim milk and cheese

Phenyllactic acid (PLA) has been demonstrated to possess antibacterial activity and capacity to prolong food shelf life. However, studies on the performance of PLA in inhibiting Staphylococcus aureus and its effectiveness when applied to dairy products are largely lacking. Here, antibacterial activity (planktonic and biofilm states) of PLA against S. aureus CICC10145 (S. aureus_45) were investigated. The results showed that PLA inhibited growth of S. aureus_45 and formation of S. aureus_45 biofilm. Next, the antibacterial action target of PLA was uncovered from both physiological and phenotypic perspectives. The results showed that PLA decreased cell metabolic activity and cell viability, damaged cell membrane integrity, triggered leakage of intracellular contents (DNA, proteins, and ATP), and caused oxidative stress damage and morphological deformation of S. aureus_45. In practical application, the antibacterial activity of PLA against S. aureus_45 cells was further confirmed in skim milk and cheese as dairy food models, and the antibacterial effects can be adequately maintained during storage for 21 d, at least at 4°C. These findings suggested that PLA could be a potential candidate for controlling S. aureus outgrowth in dairy foods.     

Synthesis and performance evaluation of a new drag reducer based on acrylamide/12-allyloxydodecyl acid sodium

Hydraulic fracturing with slickwater is a field-proven stimulation technology used in tight reservoirs. Because of the high pumping rate associated with slickwater fracturing, drag reduction (DR) is critical in minimizing pressure drop and the success of oilfield operations. In this paper, a new type of drag reducer (SPR) was synthesized with acrylamide and 12-allyloxydodecyl acid sodium, and its drag reduction performance was evaluated. The results showed that the new drag reducer features low molecular weight, fast-dissolving rate and low interfacial tension. The algorithm of estimating the drag reduction rate of non-Newtonian fluid SPR was proposed and validated. Empirical or semianalytical models for estimating the friction ratio (σ) or friction factor (λ or f) were used to simulate the turbulence behavior of the SPR drag reducer under different Reynolds numbers (Re). The modified Virk's correlation could accurately model the turbulent behavior of the SPR drag reducer. A unified calculation formula was established in this study for different pipe diameters.     

Unipolar plasma electrolytic oxidation: Waveform optimisation for corrosion resistance of commercially pure titanium

This study deals with the anodisation of titanium grade 2 in 0.5-M sulphuric acid using a pulsed signal in a unipolar regime. The electrical parameters investigated are voltage, frequency and duty cycle. The use of duty cycles with a high percentage of anodic polarisation (90%), combined with high frequencies (1000 Hz) and the higher voltage tested (220 V), favoured the establishment of a plasma regime involving strong dielectric discharges, allowing the growth of thicker oxides but with rough architecture. The corrosion resistance of the formed film has been characterised by potentiodynamic tests in 0.5-M NaBr for localised corrosion resistance and by immersion tests in 10% v/v sulphuric acid solution for a uniform corrosion assessment. Current–time curves, visual observations and electron microscope analysis (scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) were the tools selected to provide a correlation between technological parameters and oxide growth mechanism. For localised and uniform corrosion, anodisation at 220 V with a high level of anodic polarisation (90%) and frequency (1000 Hz) was verified to be particularly advantageous.