Polymer on Top: Current Limits and Future Perspectives of Quantitatively Evaluating Surface Grafting

Well‐defined polymer strands covalently tethered onto solid substrates determine the properties of the resulting functional interface. Herein, the current approaches to determine quantitative grafting densities are assessed. Based on a brief introduction into the key theories describing polymer brush regimes, a user's guide is provided to estimating maximum chain coverage and—importantly—examine the most frequently employed approaches for determining grafting densities, i.e., dry thickness measurements, gravimetric assessment, and swelling experiments. An estimation of the reliability of these determination methods is provided via carefully evaluating their assumptions and assessing the stability of the underpinning equations. A practical access guide for comparatively and quantitatively evaluating the reliability of a given approach is thus provided, enabling the field to critically judge experimentally determined grafting densities and to avoid the reporting of grafting densities that fall outside the physically realistic parameter space. The assessment is concluded with a perspective on the development of advanced approaches for determination of grafting density, in particular, on single‐chain methodologies.     

煤化工废水零排放技术探析

煤化工企业作为污染物排放产业,尤其是废水的排放,会对水体造成严重的污染。所以,如何才能够使煤化工企业废水的零排放,就成为当前重点研究的课题。在阐述煤化工废水零排放技术的基础上,通过实例分析,希望可以找出可行的方案。     

Influence of carbonation on the low-temperature consolidation by Spark Plasma Sintering of carbonated calcium phosphate bioceramics

Calcium phosphates (CaP) such as biomimetic nanocrystalline apatite or amorphous calcium phosphate are hydrated bioactive compounds particularly suitable for bone repair applications due to their similarity with bone mineral. However, their consolidation in ceramic parts deserves special attention as they are thermodynamically metastable and can decompose into less bioactive phases upon heating. Adapted strategies are needed to obtain bulk bioceramics. Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) has been shown to allow cold sintering of such compounds at temperatures like 150 °C while preserving the hydrated character and nanosized dimensions of the precursor powders. To this date, however, the role of the degree of carbonation of these precursors on the densification of CO₃-bearing CaP compounds via SPS has not been explored despite the natural carbonation of bone. In this work, several carbonated CaP hydrated compounds were prepared and consolidated by SPS and the characteristics of the obtained ceramics was scrutinized with respect to the starting powders. Two carbonation routes were carried out: via volume carbonation during powder synthesis or via subsequent surface ion exchange. All samples tested led to apatitic compounds after SPS, including amorphous CaP. We show that the degree of carbonation negatively affects the densification rate and propose possible hypotheses explaining this behavior. Evolution in the nature of the carbonate sites (apatitic A-, B-types and labile surface carbonates) before and after SPS is also noticed and commented. The consolidation of such compounds is however proven possible, and gives rise to bone-like apatitic compounds with great potential as bioactive resorbable ceramics for bone regeneration.     

~(18)F标记正电子药物研究现状与进展

<正>电子发射断层显像在肿瘤受体研究中,用18F标记精氨酰-甘氨酰-天冬氨酸(arg-gly-asp,RGD)肽靶向肿瘤组织内新生血管内膜细胞和肿瘤细胞膜上高表达的αvβ3整合素以揭示血管生成、肿瘤生长和转移,已成为近些年研究的热点和难点,而其研究进展在一定程度上也反映了18 F标记多肽的发展历程。本文就目前国内外18F标记正电子药物的研究现状与进展进行综述。     

晶须对碳碳复合材料组织和力学性能的影响

添加硅灰石(CaO·SiO₂)晶须制备碳纤维预制体, 并在980 ℃下进行化学气相沉积, 高温石墨化处理后制备得到CaO·SiO₂晶须改性的C/C复合材料。利用SEM、金相显微偏光分析以及力学实验等方法研究了预制体结构对基体微观结构、物理性能和力学性能的影响。实验结果表明: 添加CaO·SiO₂晶须会诱导热解炭呈锥形生长, 同时在石墨化过程中会诱导热解炭的组织结构发生有序性转变, 与基体反应生成SiC二次纤维。添加CaO·SiO₂晶须使得复合材料的石墨化度由31.6%提升至41.1%, 导热和导电性能相比于未添加晶须时分别增加了71.7%和14.3%, 复合材料的弯曲强度相比于未添加晶须时提升了5%。     

Particulate matter emitted from ultrasonic humidifiers—Chemical composition and implication to indoor air

Household humidification is widely practiced to combat dry indoor air. While the benefits of household humidification are widely perceived, its implications to the indoor air have not been critically appraised. In particular, ultrasonic humidifiers are known to generate fine particulate matter (PM). In this study, we first conducted laboratory experiments to investigate the size, quantity, and chemical composition of PM generated by an ultrasonic humidifier. The mass of PM generated showed a correlation with the total alkalinity of charge water, suggesting that CaCO₃ is likely making a major contribution to PM. Ion chromatography analysis revealed a large amount of SO₄²⁻ in PM, representing a previously unrecognized indoor source. Preliminary results of organic compounds being present in humidifier PM are also presented. A whole-house experiment was further conducted at an actual residential house, with five low-cost sensors (AirBeam) monitoring PM in real time. Operation of a single ultrasonic humidifier resulted in PM_2.5 concentrations up to hundreds of μg m⁻³, and its influence extended across the entire household. The transport and loss of PM_2.5 depended on the rate of air circulation and ventilation. This study emphasizes the need to further investigate the impact of humidifier operation, both on human health and on the indoor atmospheric chemistry, for example, partitioning of acidic and basic compounds.     

Magnetic separation studies on ferruginous chromite fine to enhance Cr:Fe ratio

The Cr:Fe ratio (chromium-to-iron mass ratio) of chromite affects the production of chrome-based ferroalloys. Although the lit-erature contains numerous reports related to the magnetic separation of di...     

Facile size-controlled synthesis of well-dispersed spherical amorphous alumina nanoparticles via homogeneous precipitation

Well-dispersed spherical amorphous alumina nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution were obtained by facile homogeneous precipitation and subsequent calcination. In the synthesis, formamide was used as the precipitant, and mixtures of aluminum sulfate and aluminum nitrate with different molar ratios were used as the aluminum sources. The average size of the amorphous alumina nanoparticles was successfully controlled by adjusting the amount of formamide and the sulfate/nitrate molar ratio. The particle size decreased with increasing amount of formamide and decreasing sulfate/nitrate molar ratio. Dispersed spherical amorphous alumina nanoparticles with average sizes of 23, 34, 45, and 57 nm were prepared using 100 mL formamide at sulfate/nitrate molar ratios of 1:9, 2:8, 3:7, and 4:6, respectively.     

Effect of magnesium on dispersoid strengthening of Al—Mn—Mg—Si (3xxx) alloys

The effects of magnesium addition on the dispersoid precipitation as well as mechanical properties of 3xxx alloys were investigated. The microstructures in as-cast and heat-treated conditions were evaluated by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results reveal that Mg has a strong influence on the distribution and volume fraction of dispersoids during precipitation heat treatment. The microhardness and yield strength at ambient temperature increase with increasing Mg content. The solid solution and dispersoid strengthening mechanisms of materials after heat treatment are quantitatively analyzed. Dispersoid strengthening for the alloys is the predominant strengthening mechanism after precipitation heat treatment. An analytical model is introduced to predict the evolution of ambient-temperature yield strength.     

Comparison of steam-alkali-chemical and microwave-alkali pretreatment for enhancing the enzymatic saccharification of oil palm trunk

This paper demonstrates two different pretreatment protocols for oil palm trunks (OPT); steam-alkali-chemical (SAC) and microwave-alkali (Mw-A) method. The composition, morphology, structure and crystallinity of OPT before and after pretreatment were analyzed. The effectiveness of the pretreated methods was investigated by performing enzymatic saccharification on the OPT. The physiochemical factors namely: enzyme ratio (cellulase to β-glucosidase), pH, temperature and substrate loading (w/v) on enzymatic saccharification were also investigated. The pre-determined optimal conditions were then used for further enzymatic hydrolysis of raw and pretreated OPT substrates. The results revealed a huge degree of reduction in lignin, up to 89% for SAC treated OPT and at least 15% for Mw-A treated OPT sample as compared to untreated ones. High glucose accumulation (79.4%) was obtained after 72 h saccharification for both pretreated OPT samples.