Carbonaceous microsphere-based superabsorbent polymer as filler for coating of NPK fertilizer: Fabrication,properties, swelling,and nitrogen release characteristics

Recently, the use of controlled release fertilizers in agriculture has resulted in huge benefits in plant growth and cultivation. Superabsorbent polymer (SAP)-coated fertilizers have the added advantage in retaining water in soil after irrigation and also reduce the nutrient release rate from soil in a controlled manner. This study aimed to produce a nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium (NPK) fertilizer coated with superabsorbent carbonaceous microspheres polymer (SPC) by inverse suspension polymerization method with water-retention and controlled release properties. Two sets of experiments were conducted: (1) three different weight percentages and (2) different materials. NPK coated with SPC showed increasing water-retention ability with respect to carbon microsphere percentages and retains >80% water at the 30th day of experiment compared with pure NPK and NPK coated with SAP. The slow release behavior of all samples was investigated by induced coupled plasma mass spectrometry spectrometry and results showed that NPK coated with SAP and SPC has a low release rate with <50% nutrient release compared with uncoated NPK at the 30th day. The release mechanism kinetics of NPK coated with SAP and SPC were studied based on the Kosmeyer–Peppas model. The mechanisms approached Fickian diffusion-controlled release as the n value for both samples was less than 0.5. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48396.     

Conversion of aqueous extracts from thermochemical treatment of bagasse into functional emulsifiers

Synthetic emulsifiers in food industries are being replaced with a customer-friendly food ingredient that is derived from biomass using sustainable green technologies. After hydrothermal liquefaction treatment, raw bagasse (21%), pith (26%), and rind portions (25%) were obtained with reduced ash contents. As aqueous extracts, with oligosaccharides and lignin residues, it was used in the preparation of oil-in-water emulsions with 5% soybean oil. Results showed that the emulsions stabilised the oil droplets with particle size between 11 and 17 µm by steric repulsion with raw bagasse-stabilised emulsion showing a better stability at 25 °C (31 days). It was demonstrated that raw bagasse extracts, without alteration, maybe a potential unconventional source for food-grade emulsifiers by integrating a versatile thermochemical conversion of waste without the use of chemicals.     

Design of best performing hexagonal shaped Ag@CoS/rGO nanocomposite electrode material for electrochemical supercapacitor application

The mixed metal/metal sulphide (Ag@CoS) with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposite (Ag@CoS/rGO) was synthesized for the possible electrode in supercapacitors. Ag@CoS was successfully deposited on the rGO nanosheets by hydrothermal method, implying the growth of 2D Ag and CoS-based hexagonal-like structure on the rGO framework. The synthesized nanocomposite was subjected to structural, morphological and electrochemical studies. The XRD results show that the prepared nanocomposite material exhibits a combination of hexagonal and cubic phase due to the presence of CoS and Ag phases together. The band appearing at nearly 470.33 cm⁻¹ in FTIR spectra can be ascribed to the absorption of S–S bond in the Ag@CoS/rGO nanocomposite. The clear hexagonal structure was analysed by SEM and TEM with the grain sizes ranging from nanometer to micrometer. The electrode material exhibits excellent cyclic stability with a specific capacitance of 1580 F/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g without any loss of capacitive retention even after 1000 cycles. Based on the electrochemical performance, it can be inferred that the prepared novel nanocomposite material is very suitable for using as an electrode for electrochemical supercapacitor applications.     

Enhanced photocatalytic performance and stability of multi-layer core-shell nanocomposite C@Pt/MoS2@CdS with full-spectrum response

The nanocomposite material C@Pt/MoS₂@CdS was prepared by a simple microwave-assisted hydrothermal method combined with photoreduction method. The crystal structure, microstructure, and surface physical chemistry properties of the material were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance absorption spectroscopy (UV–vis/DRS), X-ray photoelectron energy spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurement, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and electrochemical tests. As a result, this material has full-spectrum light absorption property and the composited CdS presents a good hexagonal phase. Moreover, the composite material presents a nanorod-like multi-layer core-shell structure, wherein the rod-like MoS₂@CdS surface is covered with Pt and C. The formation of the multi-layer core-shell structure increases the specific surface area of as-composite material and strengthens its light absorption performance. The electrochemical impedance and transient photocurrent test results show that C@Pt/MoS₂@CdS has the highest charge separation efficiency and enhanced photocurrent density compared with other systems. Photogenerated charge carriers have higher separation efficiency, and photogenerated electrons and holes exhibit longer life. During the photocatalysis experiments, the nanocomposite C@Pt/MoS₂@CdS shows enhanced photodegradation activity under multi-modal photocatalytic experiments and excellent stability under visible light irradiation. In addition, C@Pt/MoS₂@CdS has a strong photocatalytic water splitting ability. Under the same experimental conditions, its hydrogen production is 60 times that of commercially available P25. Through capture experiments, the reactive species in the photocatalytic reaction process were determined, and the possible photocatalytic reaction mechanism of this multi-layer core-shell C@Pt/MoS₂@CdS nanocomposite was inferred.     

简捷水热法制备氟化石墨烯及其表征

氟化石墨烯是一种石墨烯衍生物,在润滑材料、电子器件等领域具有广阔的应用前景。采用回流搅拌并水热还原的方法制备氟化石墨烯,并在不加HF的情况下以同样的方式制备了水热还原的还原氧化石墨烯(rGO)。采用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、X射线衍射(XRD)、拉曼光谱(Raman)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、透射电镜(TEM)等对样品进行形貌观测和表征。FTIR的结果表明氟化产物中含有C-F键和部分未完全还原的含氧基团;由XRD谱可以看出,产物晶型较差,其层间距和原料的性质有关;Raman谱证实了石墨烯的基本结构依然存在,但也存在大量缺陷,并且rGO比FGS的规整度略高;XPS谱表明样品表面有氟元素的存在,意味着FGS制备成功;TEM结果显示该样品为单层和少层。该方法操作简单、原料廉价易得、工艺要求不高,适用于批量生产氟化石墨烯。     

钽表面铜掺杂Ta2O5纳米棒的制备及抗菌性能研究

本实验采用两步水热法在钽基体表面制备出掺杂Cu_²⁺的Ta₂O₅纳米棒薄膜。采用XRD、SEM、XPS等方法分析了材料的物相和表面微观结构。用ICP检测了样品在生理盐水中离子析出浓度,最后通过平板计数法检验了不同含量铜掺杂Ta₂O₅薄膜的抗菌能力。结果表明,通过两步水热处理,在钽表面生成了简单斜方晶体结构的Ta₂O₅纳米棒阵列,Cu_²⁺的掺杂不会对纳米棒薄膜的微观形貌和物相造成显著影响。随时间的增加,掺铜薄膜的铜离子析出速率逐渐趋于平缓。平板计数法表明,Cu_²⁺ 的掺杂量达到2.68At%时,铜掺杂Ta₂O₅纳米棒薄膜的抗菌性能最好,抗菌率达99.2%。     

High-performance molecular-separation ceramic membranes derived from oxidative cross-linked polytitanocarbosilane

Polytitanocarbosilane (TiPCS)-derived ceramic membranes were fabricated using a pre-ceramic polymer. Special attention was focused on a process of thermal-oxidative curing that was used to induce cross-linking and the effect of this process on the ceramic yield, thermal stability, oxidation resistance, and microstructure of TiPCS. The cross-linked TiPCS powders showed a ceramic yield and thermal stability that were higher than that from the non-cross-linked version. In addition, the cross-linked TiPCS with uniform micropores showed higher levels of N₂ and CO₂ adsorption capacity, BET surface area, and micropore volume than the non-cross-linked versions, and the cross-linking process enhanced the stability of the pore structure at high temperature. The cross-linked TiPCS membranes showed high H₂ permeance (1.49 × 10⁻⁶ mol/(m² s Pa)) with sub-nanopores (H₂/SF₆ selectivity: 12 000, H₂/N₂: 10), and in addition higher oxidation resistance than their non-cross-linked counterparts. Furthermore, the influence of the concentration of the TiPCS precursor coating solution was optimized and the hydrothermal stability of the membranes at high temperatures was also evaluated. The optimized membrane demonstrated great performance for the pervaporation removal of methanol in binary azeotropic systems of either MeOH/butyl acetate or MeOH/toluene, and it also showed high hydrothermal stability with excellent dehumidification performance under high temperatures.     

Tunable Ni/Fe-Mo carbide catalyst with high activity toward hydrogen evolution reaction

Cost-effective catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are attractive for sustainable production of H₂ fuel. Herein, a series of tunable Ni/Fe-Mo carbide catalysts have been synthesized via a sol-gel method coupling with a subsequent high temperature carbonization process. The amount of nickel and iron was tuned in the Mo₇/C precursors, accomplishing a favourable performance of noble-metal-free electrocatalysts for HER. As expected, the designed Ni₁₀Fe₄Mo₇/C catalyst displays an enhanced catalytic activity toward hydrogen production with an ultralow overpotential (η₁₀ = 110 mV) and striking kinetics (η_onset = 58 mV, k = 54 mV · dec⁻¹) in the alkaline electrolyte (1 M KOH), which are comparable to those of the commercial 20% Pt/C catalyst. Such excellent performance of Ni₁₀Fe₄Mo₇/C could be attributed to the high intrinsic activities of Ni-based alloys (NiMo₄) and Mo₂C, as well as to the lattice contraction in the Mo₂C unit cell, in accordance with its high electrochemical surface area (~133 m² · g⁻¹) and low charge-transfer resistance (~31.5 Ω) for the associated electrode.     

基于地球化学的水热还原矿化稳定砷的技术思路

砷作为有色金属矿物的共伴生元素,在有色金属冶炼过程中以含砷“三废”形式大量产出。由于砷具有强致癌性及毒性,导致砷的安全处置问题严重困扰着有色金属冶炼企业。本文通过阐述含砷废水中砷的两种稳定化工艺的研究进展,对比了现有稳定化工艺的优缺点,结合药剂稳定化和矿物稳定化的优点,借鉴砷元素在地球化学中的成矿规律,提出了硫化沉砷?水热还原矿化稳定砷的技术思路。首先采用硫化法脱除含砷废水中的砷,砷的沉淀率高达99.65%,硫化沉淀物在TCLP毒性检测中砷的浓度达到212.9 mg/L。然后采用As-S系一元水热还原矿化法和As-Fe-S系二元水热还原矿化方法稳定砷,稳定化产物分别为雌黄和雌黄?铁硫系(黄铁矿、硫化亚铁)混合物,在TCLP毒性检测中砷的浸出浓度分别为3.86 mg/L和2.65 mg/L。水热还原矿化工艺实现了含砷废水中砷的脱除及稳定化的目的,为水溶液中砷的脱除和稳定化提供了新的思路。