Natural Polysaccharides as Multifunctional Components for One-Step 3D Printing Tough Hydrogels

Natural polysaccharides (NPS) are regarded as biomolecular and structural components for preparing high-performance tough hydrogels. But the one-step fabrication of NPS-containing hydrogels in seconds and the template-free design of complicated high-resolution structures are still significant challenges in this field. To meet these requirements, various NPS-containing tough hydrogels are fabricated and processed into 2D/3D structures via the combination of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺-mediated photochemistry and extrusion 3D printing technique. The whole fabrication process is one-step, completed in tens of seconds under visible light irradiation. It is found that the used NPS plays a key role in achieving the fabrication of high-performance structured tough hydrogels. The high reactivity of functional groups in the used NPS can shorten their gelation times. Long rigid chains of the used NPS, their hierarchical assemblies, and contrasting multinetworks benefit from the efficient dissipation of mechanical energy and enhancement of its operational stability. Strong supramolecular interactions enable hydrogel precursors to have high viscosities, therefore providing good controllability to design high-resolution and complicated tough hydrogel structures via extrusion 3D printing. It is anticipated that this straightforward fabrication strategy and findings will open new horizons for NPS-containing materials.     

PPV Nanotube Sensor Arrays for Explosives Identification by Excitation Wavelength Regulation

The development of sensitive materials for standard and improvised explosives is greatly significant to homeland security. In this paper, the phosphotungstate (NaPT) doped polyphenylene vinylene (PPV) nanotube arrays (NTAs), with excellent optical response, chemical stability, and larger specific surface area, are successfully fabricated by means of the “precursor film” infiltration method. The efficient charge carriers' separation of PPV NTAs can be achieved by doping NaPT to realize the photoelectric detection of explosive vapors. In addition, the identification of six explosives, including ammonium nitrate (AN), dinitrotoluence (DNT), picric acid (PA), p-nitrotoluene (PNT), triacetone triperoxide (TATP), and trinitrotoluene (TNT), can also be realized through the fingerprint atlas. Moreover, the adsorption energy and excited oscillator intensity has also been employed to explain the interaction between NaPT doped PPV nanotube arrays and various explosive molecules. Obviously, the NaPT doped PPV developed has the potential to be used as an explosive sensor.     

Synthesized K2O·11Al2O3 as sagger matrix for the preparation of Li-ion battery cathode materials at high temperatures

Refractory materials such as mullite, andalusite, forsterite, and cordierite are generally used to prepare saggers for the calcination of Li-ion battery Li(Ni_xCo_yMn_z)O₂ (LNCM) cathode material. However, these compounds are prone to be attacked by the LNCM materials, thereby leading to short life spans and contamination of the Li-ion battery cathode materials. To improve the corrosion resistance of refractory sagger materials, the most clear cut-way is enhancing the corrosion resistance of matrix using a new refractory component. Potassium aluminate (K₂O·11Al₂O₃, KA₁₁) with an excellent corrosion resistance against alkaline oxide was synthesized via solid-state method using potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) and industrial alumina powder (Al₂O₃). Interactions between KA₁₁ and LNCM cathode materials at 800°C–1100°C were characterized by refractory-LNCM precursor laboratory-scale tests to understand the corrosion behavior of KA₁₁. The microstructure and phase composition of synthesized KA₁₁ and the calcined KA₁₁-LNCM mixture cylinders were analyzed with SEM and XRD. The observations reveal that KA₁₁ shows a better corrosion resistance to LNCM materials compared with mullite, cordierite, and forsterite. The addition of synthesized KA₁₁ also favors the thermal shock resistances of mullite-based sagger materials.     

The effect of heat treatment on tensile properties of 2D C/SiC composites

Two-dimensional (2D) carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) composites with different initial strength were prepared by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). After tensile property testing, results exhibited that as the heat-treatment temperature (HTT) increases to 1900°C, the tensile strength and toughness of the low strength specimen (LSS) increased by 110% and 530%, while the high strength specimen (HSS) increased by 5.4% and 550%, respectively. As observed from morphologies, the heat treatment increases the graphitization of the amorphous PyC interphase, which leads to the weakening of interfacial bonding strength (IBS). Meanwhile, the defects arising from heat treatment cause thermal residual stress relaxation. Therefore, the tensile strength and toughness of LSS with relatively high initial IBS increase significantly as HTT increases. For HSS with moderate initial IBS, the heat treatment slightly improves the tensile strength, but significantly improves the toughness. Consequently, the post-heat-treatment tensile properties of 2D C/SiC composites can be regulated by varying HTTs and different initial strength.     

Crude Wax Extracted from Rice Bran Oil Improves Oleogel Properties and Oxidative Stability

Crude wax extracted from rice bran oil (RBO) is used to improve the oleogel properties and oxidative stability of RBO. The effect of crude rice bran wax (CrBW) on the formation characteristics and oxidative stability of oleogels is discussed. The results show that oleogels can be formed with 7.0 wt% CrBW at 20 °C. As the concentration of CrBW increases from 7.0 to 11.0 wt%, the hardness and solid fat content (SFC) of the oleogels increase significantly, and the oleogels are primarily β' crystals. Moreover, oleogel crystals formed with 5 and 7 wt% CrBW are flocculent; when the amount included is 9%, the oleogel crystals are transformed into long dendrites, and the density rises. After 90 days of storage at 20 °C, the peroxide value of oleogels formed with 9.0 wt% CrBW slowly rises from 3.21 to 6.52 mmol kg⁻¹. Practical Applications: Oleogels prepared here by CrBW and RBO are an innovative structural lipid without trans fats. Useful information on the rich fats and nutrients in CrBW is provided, which reduces the production cost and improves the industrial production capacity.     

N3-Kethoxal-Based Bioorthogonal Intracellular RNA Labeling

There is growing interest in developing intracellular RNA tools. Herein, we describe a strategy for N₃-kethoxal (N₃K)-based bioorthogonal intracellular RNA functionalization. With N₃K labeling followed by an in vivo click reaction with DBCO derivatives, RNA can be modified with fluorescent or phenol groups. This strategy provides a new way of labeling RNA inside cells.     

Preparation and mechanical characteristics of fine-woven cloth and punctured felt preform Cf/C-SiC-ZrC composite

A 3D architecture carbon fiber preform, specifically fine-woven cloth and punctured felt preform, is used to manufacture a novel advanced C_f/C-SiC-ZrC composite. The composite matrix is produced by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) plus precursor infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP) process and finalized by using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of SiC coating to make the final density of the material reach 1.95 g/cm³. The organic precursors of SiC and ZrC have a weight ratio of 4:1 in a xylene solute. The composite mechanical properties, such as tensile, compression, bending, shear, and Z-direction load bearing, are introduced under analysis to find possible applications for the composite. What is more, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images are employed to illustrate the failure behavior of the ceramic composite. The results showed that the punctured filament tows will be beneficial, not only for the composite to withstand compression force up to 308.6 MPa and shear strength to 18.14 MPa but also for the alternatively stacked weave piles and short fiber layers to support the punctured bundles, as well as to hold the composite structure under mechanical forces from different orientations, which is believed to reinforce the ceramic matrix for some high pressure and severe ablation applications.     

Correction to: Bismuth Yttrium Oxide (Bi3YO6), A New Electrode Material For Asymmetric Aqueous Supercapacitors

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - The original version of this article unfortunately contained mistakes. In line 9 of the abstract, 5% should read as 2%. The...     

纳米MOFs及其衍生物在超级电容器中的研究进展

金属有机框架（MOFs）材料因其大的比表面积、可调控的孔道结构和丰富的活性位点引起了国内外学者们的广泛关注。近年来MOFs基材料广泛应用于能量储存与转化领域,但大多数MOFs基材料的低稳定性和低导电性等缺陷限制了其实际应用。通过对MOFs基材料进行改性,如采用共轭度高的有机配体以增加MOFs材料的稳定性,或MOFs衍生物以提高其氧化还原活性位点和导电性,从而达到提高MOFs基电极材料的电化学性能。主要介绍了原始MOFs及其衍生材料如碳材料、金属氧化物、金属硫化物、金属氢氧化物和金属磷化物等在超级电容器电极材料中的最新研究进展。研究表明,多金属MOFs材料或多金属MOFs衍生物有利于提高电极材料的电化学性能,而导电MOFs材料或MOFs衍生物中的碳材料有利于提高电极材料的导电性。最后对MOFs基电极材料在电化学储能领域中的研究做出了展望,指出MOFs基材料的形貌、组分和导电性是未来研究的发展方向。