Hydrophobic Cross-Linked Poly(dimethylsiloxane)-Based Sorbents for Oil Spill Applications

With the increase of industrialization and urbanization, humankind faces massive oil-based pollution due to tanker accidents, human error, and natural disasters. For this, hydrophobic sorbents are fabricated and their applications for the removal of oil from polluted water sources are investigated. These hydrophobic sorbents are prepared by the condensation reaction of poly(dimethylsiloxane) and tris[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]isocyanurate cross-linker via bulk polymerization. The obtained sorbents exhibit high oil sorption capacity, fast absorption–desorption kinetics, and great reusability. Moreover, they can selectively absorb oil from the water surface, thus making them practical for water clean-up applications.     

Understanding δ-Bi2O3 fluorite degradation mechanism and related solutions for promising applications in distributed multigeneration

Oxygen selective membrane on the base of cermet δ-Bi₂O₃/Ag with an interpenetrating structure has the maximum potential efficiency of air separation. However, the degradation processes, including the phase degradation of fluorite δ-Bi₂O₃, do not make it possible to create a membrane with the required perfection and durability. In this work, the ordering of oxygen vacancies with the transformation of fluorite into the rhombohedral phase (S.G. R-3) was studied by powder HT XRD in situ at 600 °C on dense Bi_0.78Er_0.2Hf_0.02O_1.51 ceramics. Fast regeneration of disordered fluorite occurs at T = 640–700 °C. The phase degradation of fluorite due to the segregation of dopants at the second stage leads into stable phases - sillenite, tetragonal or rhombohedral phase (S.G. R-3m), depending on the composition of δ-Bi₂O₃. Fast regeneration of fluorite occurs when heated to 820 °C, which is unacceptable for membranes. Analysis of all available data allows us to propose approaches to optimize the composition of δ-Bi₂O₃ and technical solutions for creating durable oxygen selective membranes with promising use in distributed multigeneration. As a result of the analysis, a new solid electrolyte with better parameters was obtained.     

Upgrading of low-grade manganese ore based on reduction roasting and magnetic separation technique

The selective reduction of low-grade manganese ore followed by magnetic separation was proposed to produce rich-manganese ore. The optimized parameters include a roasting temperature of 1050°C, a roasting time of 6 h, a manganese ore size of 8–13 mm, and an FC/O ratio of 2.5. The reduction roasting products of low-grade manganese ore, mainly comprising of MnO, metallic iron, and residual gangue, could be separated effectively to obtain rich-manganese ore and magnetic product. The RMn, RFe, and TMn can reach the peak values of 71.00%, 93.60%, and 56.20wt%, respectively, at a rational magnetic field strength of 100 mT. In particular, the Mn/Fe ratio is up to 10.85, which meets the requirements of ferromanganese alloy smelting.     

Drug release kinetics of pH-responsive microgels of different glass-transition temperatures

The pH-responsive microgels (MGs) consisting of methacrylic acid-ethyl acrylate (MAA-EA), methacrylic acid-butyl methacrylate (MAA-BMA) or methacrylic acid-methyl methacrylate (MAA-MMA) crosslinked with di-allyl phthalate (DAP) were synthesized via emulsion polymerization. It was found that the energy required to extract a proton from MGs with higher glass-transition temperature (T_g) was greater than at a lower T_g. Procaine hydrochloride (PrHy) was used to study the release of a model hydrophobic drug from MGs with different T_gs. A drug selective electrode (DSE) was used to monitor the release as a function of pHs and T_gs. With increasing pH or decreasing T_g, the swelling of MGs was enhanced, leading to greater release of the drug. From the Berens and Hopfenberg model, the contributions of chain relaxation and diffusion processes during a release process were determined. The drug release from lower T_g MGs and at high pH is dominated by diffusion rather than chain relaxation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47284.     

Remarkable Antibacterial Activity of Reduced Graphene Oxide Functionalized by Copper Ions

Despite long-term efforts for exploring antibacterial agents or drugs, potentiating antibacterial activity and meanwhile minimizing toxicity to the environment remains a challenge. Here, it is experimentally shown that the functionality of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) through copper ions displays selective antibacterial activity that is significantly stronger than that of rGO itself and no toxicity to mammalian cells. Remarkably, this antibacterial activity is two-orders-of-magnitude greater than the activity of its surrounding copper ions. It is demonstrated that rGO is functionalized through the cation–π interaction to massively adsorb copper ions to form a rGO–copper composite and result in an extremely low concentration level of surrounding copper ions (less than ≈0.5 µm ). These copper ions on rGO are positively charged and strongly interact with negatively charged bacterial cells to selectively achieve antibacterial activity, while rGO exhibits the functionality to not only actuate rapid delivery of copper ions and massive assembly onto bacterial cells but also result in the valence shift in the copper ions from Cu²⁺ into Cu⁺, which greatly enhances the antibacterial activity. Notably, this rGO functionality through cation–π interaction with copper ions can similarly achieve algaecidal activity but does not exert cytotoxicity against neutrally charged mammalian cells.     

Design of switchable band‐notched frequency selective absorber

An active band‐notched frequency selective absorber (BNFSA) with switchable notch band is proposed in this article. The BNFSA is a two‐layer structure composed of a lossy layer at the top and a ground plane at the bottom, separated by an air spacer. The element of the lossy layer is a lumped‐resistor‐loaded metallic dipole with a parallel LC resonance structure, which is realized by complementary n‐shaped resonator (CnR) inserted in the center, and PIN diode is welded at two arms of CnR. The bias circuit printed on the back of the substrate of the lossy layer connects to anode and cathode of the diode by via hole and isolates by the inductor. Simulation results show that the notch bands are located at 4.50 and 6.81 GHz when the diode sets to ON and OFF, respectively. To validate the performance of switchable BNFSA, the prototypes are fabricated and measured, reasonable agreement between simulated and measured results is obtained.     

A novel miniaturized frequency selective surface

A novel single layer miniaturized frequency selective surface made of circular unit cell elements is presented in this article. The frequency selective surface (FSS) unit cell measures 0.055λ₀ × 0.055λ₀, where λ₀ corresponds to its free space wavelength. The proposed FSS offers band stop characteristics with bandwidth of 137.5 MHz centered at 1.39 GHz. The symmetrical structure of the unit cell elements provides polarization independency. The miniaturized unit cell elements help achieving angular independency for both TE and TM mode of polarization. The miniaturized design provides excellent angular independency with negligible frequency shift for varying incident angles. A prototype of the FSS is fabricated and its simulation results are validated using measurements.     

Selective Coating of SnS on the Bio‐Inspired Moth‐Eye Patterned PEDOT:PSS Polymer Films

A new strategy for the selective coating of tin sulfide (SnS) on the surface of moth‐eye patterned (MEP) conducting polymer film is studied by considering the optical properties of the antireflective moth‐eye pattern and flexibility of polymer films. The semiconductor SnS is selectively coated on the surface of MEP microdomes of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrene‐sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) film. The SnS coated MEP film is obtained by using pore selectively SnS thin layer functionalized polystyrene honeycomb‐patterned porous (HCP) film as a template. Aqueous PEDOT:PSS solution is poured on the SnS functionalized HCP films and detached for the fabrication of SnS coated MEP films. The films show a satisfactory photo‐responsive property under solar stimulated light illumination due to the antireflective MEP structure of PEDOT film and homogenous SnS coating on the surface of the conducting polymer.     

Insight into selective oxidation of dual-phase steel after annealing in pure H2 atmosphere at different heating rates and temperatures

In this paper, the oxidation behaviors of DP980 advanced high strength steel (AHSS) are studied during annealing in a hydrogen atmosphere with different temperatures and heating rates. It is revealed that with the increase in holding time, the different heating rates affecting the surface oxide precipitation on the strip surface will be weakened. Mass transfer of Mn in heating, soaking, and cooling stages has been considered to illustrate the effect of heating rate on the oxide morphology of steel. And then, the Wagner model and aluminothermic reaction kinetics were performed to discuss the transition from external to internal and maximum reduction diameter of MnO oxidation.     

基于自回归谱外推的全聚焦成像分辨力提升

针对相邻缺陷全聚焦超声成像混叠问题，结合低阶、宽有效频带自回归谱外推方法，压缩超声波时域脉冲宽度，实现亚波长级全聚焦（Total focusing method，TFM）成像分辨力。建立碳钢试块模型，设置两个中心间距1.8 mm，直径1.3 mm圆孔，选用中心频率2.25 MHz，32阵元相控阵探头采集全矩阵数据。针对全矩阵数据，选择自回归阶数为2，信号频谱最大幅值下降14 dB为有效频带，建立自回归模型并外推有效频带外的高频与低频成分，随后对全矩阵数据进行延迟叠加处理和TFM成像。仿真结果表明，低阶、宽有效频带自回归谱外推处理方法具有较高的鲁棒性和准确性，TFM成像后可有效分离中心间距0.7λ（λ为超声波长）圆孔，保留缺陷横向位置信息的同时，定位误差不超过0.73%。对碳钢试块中相同位置及尺寸的圆孔进行试验验证，定位误差不超过1.06%，有效地提高TFM成像分辨力。