Molybdenum Dioxide in Carbon Nanoreactors as a Catalytic Nanosponge for the Efficient Desulfurization of Liquid Fuels

The principle of a “catalytic nanosponge” that combines the catalysis of organosulfur oxidation and sequestration of the products from reaction mixtures is demonstrated. Group VI metal oxide nanoparticles (CrO_x, MoO_x, WO_x) are embedded within hollow graphitized carbon nanofibers (GNFs), which act as nanoscale reaction vessels for oxidation reactions used in the decontamination of fuel. When immersed in a model liquid alkane fuel contaminated with organosulfur compounds (benzothiophene, dibenzothiophene, dimethyldibenzothiophene), it is found that MoO₂@GNF nanoreactors, comprising 30 nm molybdenum dioxide nanoparticles grown within the channel of GNFs, show superior abilities toward oxidative desulfurization (ODS), affording over 98% sulfur removal at only 5.9 mol% catalyst loading. The role of the carbon nanoreactor in MoO₂@GNF is to enhance the activity and stability of catalytic centers over at least 5 cycles. Surprisingly, the nanotube cavity can selectively absorb and remove the ODS products (sulfoxides and sulfones) from several model fuel systems. This effect is related to an adsorptive desulfurization (ADS) mechanism, which in combination with ODS within the same material, yields a “catalytic nanosponge” MoO₂@GNF. This innovative ODS and ADS synergistic functionality negates the need for a solvent extraction step in fuel desulfurization and produces ultralow sulfur fuel.     

Pressure transient analysis for asymmetrically fractured wells in dual-permeability organic compound reservoir of hydrogen and carbon

In this paper, a comprehensive semi-analytical model was presented to investigate pressure transient behavior for asymmetrically fractured wells in organic compound reservoir of hydrogen and carbon with dual-permeability behavior. Stehfest inversion algorithm can be used to transform it back into time domain to obtain pressure solution. The presented solution was validated well with numerical solutions. Flow characteristics for asymmetrically fractured wells in dual-permeability organic compound reservoir of hydrogen and carbon were divided into five regime. The effects of some important parameters on dimensionless pressure and its derivative curves were analyzed in details, including inter-porosity flow coefficient from matrix to natural fractures λ, storage coefficient ω, fracture asymmetry factor θ and permeability ratio κ. The presented model can be used to predict production performance and do well test analysis in the development of dual-permeability organic compound reservoir of hydrogen and carbon.     

Conductive and flexible multi-walled carbon nanotube/polydimethylsiloxane composites made with naphthalene/toluene mixture

Conventional conductive materials face challenges when utilizing them for flexible and wearable electronics and soft robotics. Carbon nanotube/polydimethylsiloxane (CNT/PDMS) composites are a promising alternative to the conventional hard conductors because they are light and can realize large deformation. To date, well dispersion of CNTs into PDMS to increase conductivity while maintaining flexibility remains challenging. We aimed at developing highly electrically conductive and flexible multi-walled carbon nanotube/PDMS (MWCNT/PDMS) composites. To this end, we proposed a method to enhance the dispersion of MWCNTs into PDMS using naphthalene and toluene. Our results showed that the addition of naphthalene and toluene into the composites improved dispersion of the MWCNTs and increased the direct current (DC) electrical conductivity. We also found that the morphology of primary aggregates of the MWCNTs influenced the DC electrical conductivity of the composites. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 48167.     

FexCo1−x-doped titanium oxide nanotubes as effective photocatalysts for hydrogen extraction from ammonium phosphate

Theoretically, tri-ammonium phosphate (NH₄)₃PO₄ embeds considerable amount of hydrogen. Typically, the expected hydrogen release from this cheap and stable material is 73.83 mmol/g_salt if a proper catalyst is exploited in the hydrolysis reaction. In this study Fe_xCo_1?x-doped titanium oxide nanotubes are introduced as an efficient photocatalyst under solar radiation. The introduced modified titanium oxide nanotubes have been prepared in two successive steps. First, Na-doped TiO₂ nanotubes were synthesized by hydrothermal treatment in presence of 10 N NaOH solution at 160 °C for 16 h. Then, doping by the proposed metals was carried out by ion exchange process in a microwave oven. X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the success of the doping process and the nanotubular morphology, respectively. Study the photo characteristics indicated that the proposed metal doping shifted the band gap from UV to the visible light region as the estimated band gap energies for the as-prepared and doped nanotubes were 3.4 and 2.1 eV, respectively. Moreover, distinct enhancement for the visible light absorption capacity was observed. Accordingly, a distinguished improvement in the photocatalytic activity toward tri-ammonium phosphate hydrolysis was observed. However, the two metals content has a strong influence on the amount of the obtained hydrogen per gram of tri-ammonium phosphate salt. Numerically, the maximum obtained hydrogen was 4.0, 11.2, 11.2, 11.6, 13.4, 16.5, 17.4, 13.4 and 9.8 mmol/g_salt for the pristine TiO₂, and Fe_xCo_1?x-doped TiO₂ with x = 1, 0.8, 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, and 0.0, respectively.     

Association of size‐fractionated indoor particulate matter and black carbon with heart rate variability in healthy elderly women in Beijing

Associations between size‐fractionated indoor particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) and heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate (HR) in elderly women remain unclear. Twenty‐nine healthy elderly women were measured for 24‐hour HRV/HR indices. Real‐time size‐fractionated indoor PM and BC were monitored on the same day and on the preceding day. Mixed‐effects models were applied to investigate the associations between pollutants and HRV/HR indices. Increases in size‐fractionated indoor PM were significantly associated with declines in power in the high‐frequency band (HF), power in the low‐frequency band (LF), and standard deviation of all NN intervals (SDNN). The largest decline in HF was 19% at 5‐minute moving average for an interquartile range (IQR) increase (24 μg/m³) in PM_0.5. The results showed that smaller particles could lead to greater reductions in HRV indices. The reported associations were modified by body mass index (BMI): Declines in HF at 5‐minute average for an IQR increase in PM_0.5 were 34.5% and 1.0% for overweight (BMI ≥25 kg/m²) and normal‐weight (BMI <25 kg/m²) participants, respectively. Moreover, negative associations between BC and HRV indices were found to be significant in overweight participants. Increases in size‐fractionated indoor PM and BC were associated with compromised cardiac autonomic function in healthy elderly women, especially overweight ones.     

不同掺杂设计对类金刚石涂层海水环境摩擦学性能的影响

采用UDP650型闭合场非平衡磁控溅射系统在硅片及316不锈钢基底表面制备了不同掺杂设计的类金刚石涂层(DLC、Cr/DLC和WC/DLC),通过SEM、Raman、硬度仪和划痕仪研究了涂层的结构及力学性能,利用多功能摩擦试验机考察了涂层在大气及海水环境下的摩擦学性能。结果表明,Cr或WC掺杂能显著促进DLC涂层的石墨化,同时提高涂层的结合力及韧性。在摩擦磨损试验中,由于海水的润滑作用,3种涂层在海水环境下的摩擦因数及磨损率均低于大气环境。同时,WC/DLC在3种涂层中表现出最佳的摩擦学性能,这取决于其高的石墨化程度,良好的结合力及优异的韧性。     

高碳硅锰钢的动态力学性能

通过扫描电镜、霍普金森压杆和拉伸试验机等仪器研究了不同温度淬火高碳硅锰钢的组织、变形程度和动态力学性能。研究表明,随淬火温度提高,试验钢中残留碳化物数量减少,在880 ℃时,试验钢的残留碳化物全部溶解。动态力学试验后,880 ℃淬火试样因残留碳化物固溶,动态强度增幅较小,对应变速率不敏感,由均匀变形转为破碎。绝热剪切带内和远离绝热剪切带的区域均存在孔洞,远离剪切带区域的孔洞无序分布,且伴随有均匀分布的碳化物。靠近绝热剪切带区域的碳化物存在分布不均匀的情况,且绝热剪切带内部的孔洞沿着热量传播方向扩展,形成沿剪切带分布的裂纹。