Search

Cleanup of oil spills has become one of the most challenging tasks in recent years, as marine oil spills have had a great negative impact on human health and the ecological environment. This also urgently requires the development of new materials and methods with superhydrophobic properties for oil-water separation. As new porous materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted much attention due to their unique structures and fascinating properties. However, powdered MOF materials are difficult to recycle, and therefore, suitable substrates need to be selected to construct superhydrophobic composites. The surface hydroxyl groups of cellulose fibers offer great possibilities for their superhydrophobic preparation. In this paper, HDTMS-UiO-66@CFs composites with superhydrophobicity were strategically synthesized by in-situ growth of Zr(IV)-based MOFs linked to hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) on cellulosic fibers (cotton fabric) by using a hydrothermal synthesis method. The HDTMS-UiO-66@CFs composites have a water contact angle of 172[degrees] and the absorption capacity of light oil and heavy oil is more than 1100%, and the oilwater separation efficiency is as high as 96%. Due to the in-situ growth of the HDTMS-UiO-66 material on cotton fibers, which makes the material more resistant and stable, the material can still maintain its superhydrophobic properties in various harsh environments and after repeated use. Therefore, the newly developed HDTMS-UiO-66@CFs composites have a high potential as novel adsorbent materials for cleaning up offshore oil spills and other applications. Highlights * In-situ growth of superhydrophobic metal-organic frameworks (MOF) particles on cellulose fibers. * The porous structure of hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS)-Ui066 plays a key role in hydrophobicity. * HDTMS-Ui066@CFs are chemically stable and have long-term durability. KEYWORDS cotton fabrics, hydrophobicity, oil-water separation, zirconium-based metal-organic framework, 1 | INTRODUCTION Marine oil pollution is immensely harmful. Its damage to biodiversity, aquatic ecosystems, coastal and marine ecosystems is serious and ongoing. (1) At the same time, oil pollution [...]

Superhydrophobic materials have found extensive applications in everyday life and various industries due to their outstanding attributes such as waterproofing, exceptional anti-corrosion and self-cleaning capabilities. Nonetheless, their limited mechanical stability hinders their widespread use on ceramic surfaces. This study aims to address these limitations by employing industrial waste porcelain powder as a raw material and co-firing technology to create a micro-rough structure on ceramic surfaces. Furthermore, the impact of this rough structure on the wear resistance and hydrophobicity of the hydrophobic coating is investigated using the finite element method. The results indicate that the mechanical stability of the hydrophobic coating experiences a more pronounced enhancement with increasing distribution density of the micron rough structure of waste porcelain powder (WPPMRS). A dense rough structure does not only reduce its concentrated stress and improve its anti-wear ability, but also reduce the concentrated stress of hydrophobic coating to improve the protection of the coating. As a result, it substantially enhances the mechanical properties and stability of the hydrophobic coating. This work will provide valuable insights into the utilization of waste porcelain powder in sustainable superhydrophobic ceramics.

Long chain branched polypropylene/clay-supported calcium pimelate (LCBPP/ CaHA-OMMT) composites and their foams were prepared using self-made CaHA-OMMTs. The CaHA-OMMT showed high [beta]-nucleation efficiency, especially that with larger initial interlayer distance could induce 89% of [beta] crystal in LCBPP with a dosage of 0.5%. Clay layers were mostly exfoliated in the composites with low CaHA-OMMT content, while intercalated structure was dominant and agglomeration occurred when the content of CaHA-OMMT was higher than 2%. The composite foams were prepared with improved compression molding. The cell structure of the composite foams is improved, that is, the density, cell size, and cell size distribution decreased, and the cell density increased compared with that of LCBPP foam. The minimum average cell size of LCBPP/CaHA-OMMT foams was 77 [micro]m and the maximum cell density was 2.8 * [10.sup.6]] cells/[cm.sup.3] with the CaHA-OMMT content of 2%. It is concluded that there are two requirements for high nucleation efficiency: the CaHA was supported on OMMT layers, and the OMMT platelets were dispersed well and exfoliated. The compression properties of the composite foams, including compression modulus, energy absorption density and failure strength increased first and then decreased with the increase of CaHA-OMMT content. KEYWORDS composites, crystallization, foams, poly(propylene), 1 | INTRODUCTION Polypropylene (PP) foams have got more and more attention due to its better heat resistance, environmental friendly and recyclability. However, the foaming of PP has encountered challenges: [...]

Atherosclerosis is the main pathological basis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Fufang Danshen Tablet (FDT) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been clinically used to treat CVDs for more than 40 years. Nevertheless, owing to the complexity of the ingredients, the pharmacological mechanism of FDT in the treatment of CVDs has not been fully elucidated. In this study, an integrated strategy of UFLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, network pharmacology, molecular biology, and transcriptomics was used to elucidate the mechanisms of action of FDT in the treatment of atherosclerosis. In total, 22 absorbed constituents were identified in rat serum after oral administration of FDT. In silico, network pharmacology studies have shown that FDT regulates four key biological functional modules for the treatment of atherosclerosis: oxidative stress, cell apoptosis, energy metabolism, and immune/inflammation. In animal experiments, FDT exerted protective effects against atherosclerosis by reducing the plaque area and lipid levels in ApoE−/− mice. Furthermore, we found that FDT inhibited inflammatory macrophage accumulation by regulating the expression of Selp and Ccl2, which are both involved in monocyte adhesion and migration. The inhibition of monocyte recruitment by FDT is a new perspective to elucidate the anti-atherosclerotic mechanism of FDT, which has not been adopted in previous studies on FDT. Our results may help to elucidate the therapeutic mechanism of FDT against CVDs and provide potential therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Co-based materials have been widely used as a type of supercapacitor. However, Co-based materials are highly restricted due to their low conductivity, poor cyclic performance, and large structural changes during the charge/discharge process. Carbon materials have been found to improve the electrochemistry performance of Co(OH)2. In this work, sulfur doping was used to enhance the electrochemistry performance of Co(OH)2@nitrogen-doped carbon dots (Co(OH)2@NC) via hydrothermal approach. Here, as-prepared S-Co(OH)2@NC shows an excellent specific capacitance of 730 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 (much higher than that of pristine Co(OH)2@NC (592 F g−1 at 1 A g−1)). An asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) is assembled by S-Co(OH)2@NC (as a positive electrode) and graphene aerogels@NC (as a negative electrode), which presents a specific energy density as high as 39.59 Wh kg−1 with a power density of 639 W kg−1. Moreover, the ACS manifests extraordinary cycle stability (75% capacitance retention after 8500 cycles). In summary, sulfur doping in electrode material has been proven as an efficient approach for improving the electrochemical performance in supercapacitor devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers replace their smartphones more frequently, with their increasing requirements for better functions, superior performance, and fancier appearance. The pursuit of replacement may also identify market opportunities and incur business risks. In line with the research streams in product replacement, this study focuses on the effect of recency on consumers' purchase timing in the context of replacing smartphones. The framework of this research accordingly stems from the rationale of consumer psychology, with concentration on the moderation of consumers' need for uniqueness, anticipated regret, and education level, besides the focal recency-purchase timing link. The corresponding hypotheses are therefore proposed. To test the hypotheses, we employed convenience sampling to collect data from a sample of smartphone users in China, and finally the valid sample size was 470. We analyzed the data collected in China for hypothesis testing. Based on the analysis of the data, our findings highlight the main contribution of this research, demonstrating that recency has a significant effect on the timing of consumers' purchasing smartphones and this effect is moderated by consumers' need for uniqueness and anticipated regret. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]