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Based on the panel data of 30 Chinese provinces in 2000–2018, this paper measures the green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) of China with the super-slack-based measure (Super-SBM) model. Then, the spatial correlation of provincial GTFEEs was analyzed, a spatial econometric model was established based on the panel data, and was used to empirically verify the effect of financial agglomeration, technological innovation, and financial agglomeration and technological innovation interaction on GTFEE. The results show that: in the sample period, most Chinese provinces had a low GTFEE, and the low-GTFEE provinces mainly belong to inland area; only a few eastern coastal provinces achieved a satisfactory GTFEE. China and its three regions exhibited similar trends of GTFEE. By mean GTFEE, eastern region ranked the highest, followed by central region; the western region came at the bottom. The Global Moran’s I values show strong spatial correlations between provincial GTFEEs, that is, adjacent provinces often have similar GTFEEs, and the provinces tend to cluster in terms of GTFEE. According to the spatial econometric model, GTFEE is significantly inhibited by financial agglomeration, but significantly promoted by technological innovation. GTFEE is not clearly affected by financial agglomeration and technological innovation interaction. Opening up has a significant positive impact on GTFEE, while industrial structure, energy structure and environmental regulation have a significant negative impact on GTFEE.

Flixweed [Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb ex Prantl] is a notorious broadleaf weed that is widely distributed in winter wheat–growing areas of China and has evolved resistance to tribenuron-methyl mainly due to target-site resistance (TSR) mutations in acetolactate synthase (ALS). In the current research, two ALS genes were identified in tribenuron-methyl–susceptible (TS) or tribenuron-methyl–resistant (TR) D. sophia. Resistance mutations of Asp-376-Glu and Pro-197-Ala were identified on ALS1 and ALS2 isozymes in TR D. sophia, respectively. The TR D. sophia evolved 10,836.3-fold resistance to tribenuron-methyl and displayed cross-resistance to multiple ALS-inhibiting herbicides with different chemical structures. Dose response experiments and ALS activity assay indicated that two mutated ALS isozymes contributed differentially in resistance to tribenuron-methyl, flucetosulfuron, and pyribenzoxim. In addition, the relative expression level of the ALS1 gene was 2.2- and 1.6-fold higher than ALS2 genes in TR D. sophia at 1 and 7 d after tribenuron-methyl treatment, respectively. In contrast, the relative expression level of ALS1 and ALS2 in TS D. sophia is similar. This is the first research that explored different roles of ALS isozymes in resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides, which might provide a new perspective for the weed resistance management.

Inhibiting the recombination of photo-generated charge carriers remains one of the important challenges for photocatalytic materials nowadays. For this, we reported a series of novel bismuth layered structure ferroelectrics: M0.5Bi2.5Nb2O9 (M = Li, Na, K) nanosheets prepared by one-step hydrothermal method. The fabricated nanosheets with average thickness size of about 32 nm (Li0.5Bi2.5Nb2O9), 45 nm (Na0.5Bi2.5Nb2O9), 108 nm (K0.5Bi2.5Nb2O9) possess excellent photodegradation performance to various organic dye pollutants with high concentration of 20 mg/L [Rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO) etc.]. Interestingly, the degradation rate constants of RhB and MO can be further improved by polarization-induced charge separation under ultrasonic-assisted illumination condition, compared with those of light illumination alone, and increased by about 2.5 times for Na0.5Bi2.5Nb2O9 nanosheets. These findings make bismuth layered ferroelectric materials have a potential application in wastewater treatment as a kind of important photocatalysis.

Herein, we report a method of fabricating strong and thermosensitive double network (T-DN) poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM)-based hydrogels, i.e. rigid and brittle poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid sodium salt) (PNaAMPS) as the first and soft and ductile poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-acrylamide) (P(NIPAM-co-AAm)) as the second interpenetrating each other. In particular, NIPAM was deliberately integrated into the double network as an adjustor of elastic modulus and hydrophilicity, besides thermosensitivity. Such double network construction strategy resulted in PNaAMPS/P(NIPAM-co-AAm) T-DN hydrogels of excellent mechanical properties (0.83-1.37 MPa) and desirable temperature-dependent swellabilities. Besides, T-DN hydrogels with various NIPAM contents exhibited good biocompatibility with high cell survival rates around normal body temperatures. Furthermore, crystal violet (CV) could be readily loaded to impart antibacterial functionality to the T-DN hydrogels against E. coli. The double network construction strategy could be adapted to fabricating high-strength antibacterial hydrogels for a broad range of biomedical applications.

Optimised drug delivery systems with low toxicity and high efficacy for suppressing cancer cells are urgently needed. In this study, a quinolone derivative-based organoplatinum(II) supramolecular coordination complex (SCC) was synthesised by [2 + 2] coordination-driven self-assembly. Using this molecular design, synergistic chemotherapeutic effects were achieved by combining the anticancer agent platinum acceptor and quinolone derivative at a fixed ratio. Importantly, the well-defined rhomboidal shape and size of the SCC metallacycle self-assembled into nanoparticles with an average diameter of 38 nm in aqueous solution, conferring improved passive targeting and internalisation abilities towards tumour cells via the enhanced permeability and retention effect. In vitro evaluation with HepG2 cells showed that integration of the quinolone derivative and organoplatinum(II) acceptor improved antitumor activity compared with each independent component. These properties reveal the potential of Pt(II)-based SCCs for use in antitumor applications as a supramolecular chemotherapy self-delivery platform. A Pt(II) metallacycle-based supramolecular self-delivery nanocarrier platform through coordination-driven self-assembly of a dipyridine-functionalised quinolone derivative donor (QD) and 60° Pt (II) acceptor (PhenPt) was successfully constructed. This nanocarrier considerably enhanced the internalisation and anticancer efficacy, as shown by in vitro studies.

Poly(vinyldiaminotriazine) nanoparticles adsorbed 5-fluorouracil, thymine, theobromine, and xanthine in aqueous phase. Each drug molecule formed triple hydrogen bonds with a diaminotriazine moiety at the nanoparticle surface. Adsorption isotherm studies suggested monolayer adsorption while the adsorption capacity was strongly dependent on the drug compositions/structures (0.053 mmol/g 5-fluorouracil, 0.094 mmol/g thymine, 0.0078 mmol/g theobromine, and 0.0065 mmol/g xanthine). The drug compositional/structural effects were also reflected in the adsorption kinetics. In addition to neutral pH adsorption, studies were performed at pH below the polymer’s pKa and above the drugs’ pKa, separately. Reducing hydrophobicity of the hydrogen bonding sites by protonating the diaminotriazine moieties at pH 4.5 resulted in more than 3 times decrease in adsorption capacities whereas deprotonating the drug molecules at pH 9 increased the adsorption capacity due to electrostatic attraction between the negatively charged drugs and the positively charged nanoparticles, which was supported by strong dependency of the adsorption capacity on ionic strength. The adsorption was reversible for all the four drugs. While increasing temperature caused faster desorption, reducing hydrophobicity of the diaminotriazine moieties by protonation at pH 4.5 had a stronger effect on both cumulative desorption and burst release. The results of this study demonstrated an important role of synergistic interaction between hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic affinity in poly(vinyldiaminotriazine) nanoparticle adsorption of the drugs in the aqueous phase.

After tethering sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate (MTS) to the bromomethylated poly(arylene ether ketone) precursor, a novel clustered sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketone) containing flexible sulfoalkyl groups (MTSPAEK) was prepared and used as polymer electrolyte membrane for application in DMFCs. The chemical structure and the degree of grafting of MTSPAEK copolymers were identified by 1H NMR spectra. The resulted MTSPAEK copolymers exhibited excellent thermal stability (Td5% > 259 °C) and good mechanical properties (tensile strength at break > 52 MPa). Compared to conventional sulfonated aromatic hydrocarbon polymers, MTSPAEK membranes displayed enhanced oxidative stability in Fenton's reagent owing to the elimination of free radicals by the sulfide groups located on the polymer side chains. Especially, MTSPAEK-2.10 with the highest content of flexible sulfoalkyl groups exhibited a highest proton conductivity of 0.181 S cm−1 at 80 °C. It could be attributed to the obvious hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase-separated structure within the membrane, which was confirmed by AFM images. Moreover, MTSPAEK-2.10 membrane performed a peak power density of 70 mW cm−2 in DMFC when feeding with 2 M methanol at 80 °C, which was comparable to the performance of recast Nafion as reported. Therefore, the combination of good thermal stability and mechanical properties, good oxidative stability, and good methanol barrier performance of MTSPAEK membranes indicated that they have potential to be alternative materials for PEMs in DMFCs.

Acrylic acid-modified polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (AC-POSS) was synthesized by the reaction between the amine groups in polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) and acrylic acid, which could dissolve in water and can be easily purified. Free-radical copolymerization was applied to synthesize azobenzene liquid crystalline polymer silsesquioxane (LCP-POSS) with different proportions of AC-POSS and liquid crystalline monomers. The trans-isomers of azobenzene moieties in LCP-POSS were gradually transformed to cis-isomers with increasing ultraviolet irradiation time. The photoisomerization reaction of liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) and LCP-POSS showed the first-order dynamic reaction. Compared with the LCP, the photoisomerization rate constant of LCP-POSS was decreased due to the space steric hindrance of the POSS as a rigid segment. The phase transition temperature of liquid crystalline in LCP-POSS increased with increasing POSS content, and the liquid crystalline texture in LCP-POSS became smaller under the polarized light. With further increasing the POSS content (>50 wt%) in LCP-POSS, the ordered structure of the liquid crystalline phase was gradually affected, resulting in one-way liquid crystal (LC) phase behavior. The synthesized LCP-POSS has LC properties, light-responsive properties, and thermal stability. When the POSS is introduced into the LC material, the phase state of the LC material will become more abundant and the LC phase will become more stable. The significance of this study is to develop and extend its applications as stimuli-responsive materials and devices.

Aiming at the difficulty of extracting rolling bearing fault features under strong background noise conditions, a method based on the Fourier decomposition method (FDM), robust independent component analysis (RobustICA), and multipoint optimal minimum entropy deconvolution adjusted (MOMEDA) is proposed. Firstly, the FDM method is introduced to decompose the single-channel bearing fault signal into several Fourier intrinsic band functions (FIBF). Secondly, by setting the cross-correlation coefficient and kurtosis as a new selection criterion, it can effectively construct the virtual noise channel and the observation signal channel, which makes RobustICA complete the separation of the useful signal and noise well. Finally, MOMEDA is introduced to enhance the periodic impact components in the denoised signal, and then the filtered signal is analyzed by the Hilbert envelope spectrum to extract the fault characteristic frequency. Through the experimental analysis of the simulated signals and the actual bearing fault signals, the results show that the proposed method not only has the ability to suppress noise and accurately extract fault feature information but also has better performance than the traditional method of local mean decomposition (LMD) and intrinsic time-scale decomposition (ITD), highlighting its practicality in the fault diagnosis of rotating machinery.

To investigate the impacts of the widely used chiral herbicide fenoxaprop-ethyl (FE) on aquatic organisms, the enrichment, metabolism, acute toxicity, and oxidative stress of fenoxaprop-ethyl and its main metabolites fenoxaprop (FA), ethyl-2-(4-hydroxyphenoxy)propanoate (EHPP), 2-(4-hydroxyphenoxy)propanoic acid (HPPA), and 6-chloro-2,3-dihydrobenzoxazol-2-one (CDHB) in zebrafish were studied. The enantioselectivity of fenoxaprop-ethyl and its chiral metabolites was also determined. Fenoxaprop-ethyl quickly degraded in zebrafish by aquatic exposure. FA, HPPA, and CDHB were the main metabolites that were enriched in the zebrafish. In the metabolism experiment, the half-lives of the metabolites were 0.92-1.72 days in zebrafish. The R-enantiomers of FA and HPPA were preferentially enriched and metabolized with enantiomeric fractions (EFs) of 0.65-0.85. According to the 96-h acute toxicity, FA, HPPA, EHPP, and CDHB were less toxic to zebrafish than FE, following the order of FE > CDHB > EHPP > FA > HPPA. The S-enantiomers of FE, FA, CDHB, and EHPP were more toxic than the R-enantiomers. FE and its metabolites could significantly increase catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and the malondialdehyde (MDA) content in gill and liver tissues, indicating their oxidative stress, and these effects were also enantioselective. This work could supply more information for evaluating the risks of fenoxaprop-ethyl on aquatic organisms concerning their metabolites and enantiomers.

In this work, a series of oil soluble diblock copolymers poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PMMAm-b-PDEAEMAn; where m is fixed at 49 and n is varied from 3 to 12) are synthesized using a reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer RAFT method. The copolymers exhibit pH-dependant interfacial activities and behave as macromolecular surfactants under strong acidic conditions. The coassembly behavior and kinetics of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and the copolymer at the water/toluene interface is probed by tracking the dynamic interfacial tension using pendant drop tensiometry. At low pH such as 2 and 3, the film that CNCs coassemble with the copolymer at the oil/water interface can stabilize the pendant drop from dripping down. At a higher pH value, CNCs enhance the interfacial activity of the copolymer through interfacial tension measured and emulsions test. When investigating the coassembly kinetics, it is found that the interfacial protonation reaction of the copolymer and absorbing at the oil/water interface is the rate-determining step and electrostatic binding with CNCs is a much faster process. Besides, the interfacial activity of PMMAm-b-PDEAEMAn is enhanced as n increases and the interfacial coassembly with CNCs is accelerated. A nanoparticle film can be formed because of the coassembly behavior of CNCs and diblock copolymers at the oil/water interface and can stabilize the liquid/liquid interface and endow the interface elastic property. Based on this property, liquid tubule can be generated through injecting CNC aqueous dispersion to copolymer toluene solution. This formation of liquid tubule opens a new platform for the additive manufacturing technique of three-dimensional printing of liquid constructs.

Hypothesis Novel Pickering emulsions stabilized by self-assembled nano-objects of amphiphilic copolymers are attractive in many applications. However, it is not clear to what extent those nano-objects could stay at the oil/water interface. Owing to the twisted intramolecular charge transfer state (TICT) property of Nile red, the distinguishable fluorescent characteristics of Nile red dissolved in n-dodecane and solubilized in copolymer micelles benefit the investigation of the oil/water interfacial nature of Pickering emulsions in situ. Experiments Two amphiphilic diblock copolymers PNMP53-b-PFMA5 and PNMP53-b-PFMA10 named poly(N-(2-methacryloylxyethyl) pyrrolidone)-block-poly(2-(perfluorooctyl) ethyl methacrylate) were synthesized, they can form spherical and wormlike micelles in water spontaneously, respectively. Oil in water (O/W) emulsions were generally produced at different conditions by employing these copolymer micelles as emulsifiers. The size and morphology of prepared emulsions were studied by light scattering and microscope techniques in detail. Moreover, the effect of emulsification conditions on the interfacial morphology evolution of prepared emulsions were characterized systematically in situ by the proposed method based on the confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) measurements. Findings We clarified the progressive transition from Pickering emulsions to classic emulsions through the sustained changes of emulsification conditions by the developed CLSM method, in which block copolymer monomers and their assemblies were played as emulsifiers to stabilize emulsion droplets synergistically. Generally speaking, Pickering emulsions were produced in the presence of sufficient micelles at low emulsification shear rates. Otherwise, common emulsions stabilized by block copolymer monomers would be formed.

A question that routinely arises in medical device clinical studies is the homogeneity across demographic subgroups, geographical regions, or investigational sites of the enrolled patients in terms of treatment effects or outcome variables. The main objective of this paper is to discuss statistical concepts and methods for the assessment of such homogeneity and to provide the practitioner a statistical framework and points to consider in conducting homogeneity assessment. Demographic subgroups, geographical regions, and investigational sites are discussed separately as each has its unique issues. Specific considerations are also given to randomized controlled trials, non-randomized comparative studies, and single-arm studies. We point out that judicious use of statistical methods, in conjunction with sound clinical judgment, is essential in handling the issue of homogeneity of treatment effect in medical device clinical studies.

A family of amphiphilic diblock copolymers poly(lauryl methacrylate)-poly(N-(2-methacryloylxyethyl)pyrrolidone) (PLMA-PNMP) were developed by the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) solution polymerization method. The self-assembly behaviors of developed copolymers in the selective solvent, n-dodecane, were studied in detail by employing static light scattering, dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy and rheology measurements, and the structure-property relationship of them was also established accordingly. It was noticed that the morphologies of formed aggregates were affected by temperature apparently because of the glass transition temperature (Tg) of PNMP segments. Generally speaking, spherical micelles, cylindrical micelles and vesicles were gradually formed upon increasing the degree of polymerization (DP) of PNMP segment at the constant DP of PLMA above Tg. However, nanoparticles with particular morphologies would be formed below Tg because of the Tg-induced solidification of PNMP core, resulting in apparent temperature-induced sol-gel transitions. For example, spherical micelles were formed spontaneously in 15 wt% PLMA19-PNMP39 solution at 85 °C, whereas nanoparticles with wormlike morphology were formed at 25 °C instead. The present work not only established the structure-property relationship of PLMA-PNMP copolymers, but also contributes to understand the nature of polymerization-induced self-assembly as well.

A thiol-functionalized HMS mesoporous silica was synthesized with thiolsilane. FTIR characterization suggests that thiol group has been anchored on the surface of HMS. SH-HMS performs better than HMS in adsorption of lead ion from water. The adsorption ratio on SH-HMS monotonously increases with adsorption time, which is beyond 95.5% after 5 min of adsorption time and be close to the equilibrium state. It decreases with pH value while increases with adsorbent dosage. Furthermore, the increment of lead initial concentration leads to decrease the adsorption ratio while increase the adsorption quantity. Adsorption ratioof 100 % can be obtained under following conditions: pH 6, 30 min of adsorption time, 8 g L–1 of adsorbent dosage, and 40 mg L–1 of initial lead concentration. The relationship between the adsorptive quantity and equilibrium adsorption concentration is in good accordance with both of the Langmuir isotherm model and the Freundlich model.

Recently, conductive M-Nb-O composites have gained much attention as a novel lithium ion storage anode material. However, the conductivity and rate performance of M-Nb-O composites still need to be further enhanced. Herein, we have designed a facile strategy to prepare ZnNb2O6/N-doped carbon (ZnNb2O6/NC) which is derived from Nb2O5@zeolitic imidazole frameworks precursor. The ZnNb2O6/NC exhibits advanced energy storage properties including high initial capacity (673 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1), superior reversible specific capacity (412.6 mA h g−1 until 100 cycles at 100 mA g−1), long-term cyclic stability and excellent rate capability (470.5 mA h g−1 after 800 cycles at a relatively high current density of 2 A g−1).

Spirocyclic tetramic acids are widely used in controlling phytophagous mite species throughout the world. the data set is incomplete and provides insufficient evidence for drawing the same conclusion for fish. To fill the gap whether these acaricides alter lipid metabolism on vertebrates, zebrafish embryos exposed to a series concentration of pesticides, the developmental effects, enzyme activities and levels of gene expression were assessed, battery of biomarker utilized by the integrated biomarker response (IBRv2) model. The 96 h-LC50 of spirodiclofen, spiromesifen and spirotetramat were 0.14, 0.12 and 5.94 mg/L, respectively. Yolk sac deformity, pericardial edema, spinal curvature and tail malformation were observed. Three spirocyclic acids were unfavouring the lipid accumulation of by inhibited the acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), fatty acid synthesis (FAS), fatty acid binding proteins (FABP2) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity. The total cholesterol (TCHO) level significantly decreased in the 0.072 mg/L spirodiclofen group and 0.015 and 0.030 mg/L in the spiromesifen groups. No expected change in spirotetramat group on the TCHO and triglycerides (TGs) levels for any of the treatments. The mRNA levels of the genes related to lipid metabolism also significantly altered. In both spirodiclofen and spiromesifen, ACC achieved the highest scores among a battery of biomarkers using integrated biomarker response (IBRv2). The results suggest that spiromesifen was the most toxic for embryos development and spirodiclofen was the most toxic for lipid metabolism in embryos. The 0.07 mg/L of spirodiclofen, 0.05 mg/L of spiromesifen and 2.00 mg/L would cause malformation on zebrafish embryos. This study will provide new insight that fatty acid metabolism may be a suitable biomarker for the spirocyclic tetramic acids in fish species.

A highly enantioselective (49–99% ee) Michael addition/lactonization cascade process has been developed to construct 3,4-dihydropyran-2-one in the presence of a bifunctional squaramide. Various α,β-unsaturated N-acyl heterocycles were well tolerated and afforded 3,4-dihydropyran-2-ones in moderate to excellent isolated yields (50–99%). Both cyclic and acyclic β-diketones functioned as appropriate donors. The resulting 3,4-dihydropyran-2-ones could be readily converted into oxadecalinones.

A highly enantioselective (84–97% ee) cascade Michael/acyl transfer reaction of α-nitroketones to a wide range of 2-hydroxychalcones was established in the presence of a bifunctional squaramide. Although aliphatic α-nitroketones were revealed to be a class of challenging substrates with unsatisfactory reactivity or enantioselectivity by previous reports, good isolated yields and excellent enantiopurities have been achieved via our catalytic protocol. γ-Nitroketones created by this new methodology were versatile building blocks possessing profound further synthetic utility.

Diazotrophic activity and primary production (PP) were investigated along two transects (Belgica BG2014/14 and GEOVIDE cruises) off the western Iberian Margin and the Bay of Biscay in May 2014. Substantial N2 fixation activity was observed at 8 of the 10 stations sampled, ranging overall from 81 to 384 µ mol N m −2 d −1 (0.7 to 8.2 nmol N L −1 d −1) , with two sites close to the Iberian Margin situated between 38.8 and 40.7 ∘ N yielding rates reaching up to 1355 and 1533 µ mol N m −2 d −1 . Primary production was relatively lower along the Iberian Margin, with rates ranging from 33 to 59 mmol C m −2 d −1 , while it increased towards the northwest away from the peninsula, reaching as high as 135 mmol C m −2 d −1 . In agreement with the area-averaged Chl a satellite data contemporaneous with our study period, our results revealed that post-bloom conditions prevailed at most sites, while at the northwesternmost station the bloom was still ongoing. When converted to carbon uptake using Redfield stoichiometry, N2 fixation could support 1 % to 3 % of daily PP in the euphotic layer at most sites, except at the two most active sites where this contribution to daily PP could reach up to 25 %. At the two sites where N2 fixation activity was the highest, the prymnesiophyte–symbiont Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa (UCYN-A) dominated the nifH sequence pool, while the remaining recovered sequences belonged to non-cyanobacterial phylotypes. At all the other sites, however, the recovered nifH sequences were exclusively assigned phylogenetically to non-cyanobacterial phylotypes. The intense N2 fixation activities recorded at the time of our study were likely promoted by the availability of phytoplankton-derived organic matter produced during the spring bloom, as evidenced by the significant surface particulate organic carbon concentrations. Also, the presence of excess phosphorus signature in surface waters seemed to contribute to sustaining N2 fixation, particularly at the sites with extreme activities. These results provide a mechanistic understanding of the unexpectedly high N2 fixation in productive waters of the temperate North Atlantic and highlight the importance of N2 fixation for future assessment of the global N inventory.

Recently, Cu3P has been targeted as an alternative anode material for alkali-metal-ion batteries because of their safety potential and high volumetric capacity. However, designing a high-rate Cu3P electrode with long durability is still faced with huge challenges. Here, we report a self-supporting three-dimensional (3D) composite of Cu3P and Co2P interconnected by N-doped C fibers (Cu3P–Co2P/N–C). The advanced 3D structure not only provides fast reaction kinetics but also improves the structural stability, leading to excellent rate capability and long-term cycling stability, and pseudocapacitance behavior is also beneficial to the high rate performance. Additionally, the synergistic effects between Cu3P, Co2P, and N-doped carbon can increase the electrical conductivity and active sites, ensuring more ion storage. The Cu3P–Co2P/N–C anode for lithium-ion batteries delivers high discharge capacity, superior rate performance, and ultralong lifespan over 2000 cycles accompanied by a stable capacity of around 3...

Borosilicate glasses containing Ag nanoclusters (Ag NCs), Eu3+ and Yb3+ were prepared with the melt-quenching method, in which an efficient energy transfer from Ag NCs to Yb3+ can be realized. Unlike the previous reports in which Eu3+ act as either sensitizer or luminescence center, the role of Eu3+ in this system is to promote the formation of Ag NCs and thus effectively increased the number of sensitizer at low AgNO3 doping. With optimized AgNO3 and YbF3 concentrations of 0.5 and 1.0 mol% respectively, 6.3 times further enhanced Yb3+ infrared emission can be obtained through the introduction of trace amount of EuF3. Additionally, the origin of Ag NCs visible emission, the mechanism that is responsible for the energy transfer from Ag NCs to Yb3+, and the effect of YbF3 and EuF3 doping on the formation of Ag NCs were discussed.

Various non-noble metal-based electrocatalysts have been studied to replace platinum for hydrogen production. The formation of a composite through adding a conductive polymer could be an efficient way to further enhance the performance of those catalysts further but applying conductive polymers in electrochemical catalysis has been hardly ever reported. In this research, we synthesized an extraordinary WO3@NPRGO composite using phosphotungstic acid-polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide (PW12-PPy/RGO) as a precursor. The oxidation polymerization of pyrrole (Py) monomers prevents the PW12 and RGO from aggregating and WO3 nanoparticles were homogeneously imbedded in the N, P-codoped RGO nanosheets, which not only exposed massive active sites, but also resulted in faster charge transfer. Electrochemical characterizations reveal that the composite exhibits greatly enhanced electrocatalytic activity and has impressive long-term stability for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Our works opens a new path for the design and synthesis of novel nanostructure electrocatalysts.

For luminescent photochromic materials, the optical properties of lanthanide (Ln) ions, including emission color, excitation mode and lifetime, are extremely important in optical information storage and recording. Conventional dopants of single Ln ions generally display unicolor and unimodal emission, leading to low-level luminescence modulation and information readout. Therefore, it is urgent to develop multicolor and multimodal luminescence modulation in a single photochromic material, thus well modulating luminescent readout capability. In this study, superior multicolor emissions (red-green), multimodal properties (downshifting/upconversion) and tunable luminescent switching contrast were successfully obtained in Bi2.5Na0.5Nb2O9-based ferroelectric materials by dual-lanthanide ion doping (Pr/Er). Red/green emission ratios can be continuously tuned from red, orange and yellow to green range via controlling the excitation wavelengths and doped concentrations. Correspondingly, the luminescent switching contrast (ΔRt) gradually increases from 29% to 93% with increasing excitation wavelength upon visible irradiation (407 nm), while the ΔRt values decrease with emission wavelengths, which can be well explained by the Dexter energy transfer model. These findings offer a guide to designing tailored luminescence modulation behavior of luminescent photochromic materials for wide application in optical storage and switching devices.

Energy consumption predictions for residential buildings play an important role in the energy management and control system, as the supply and demand of energy experience dynamic and seasonal changes. In this paper, monthly electricity consumption ratings are precisely classified based on open data in an entire region, which includes over 16 000 residential buildings. First, data mining techniques are used to discover and summarize the electricity usage patterns hidden in the data. Second, the particle swarm optimization-K-means algorithm is applied to the clustering analysis, and the level of electricity usage is divided by the cluster centers. Finally, an efficient classification model using a support vector machine as the basic optimization framework is proposed, and its feasibility is verified. The results illustrate that the accuracy and F-measure of the new model reach 96.8% and 97.4%, respectively, which vastly exceed those of conventional methods. To the best of our knowledge, the research on predicting the electricity consumption ratings of residential buildings in an entire region has not been publicly released. The method proposed in this paper would assist the power sector in grasping the dynamic behavior of residential electricity for supply and demand management strategies and provide a decision-making reference for the rational allocation of the power supply, which will be valuable in improving the overall power grid quality.

In this study, a facile bottom-up method using garlic and ginger as precursors has been developed to prepare biomass-based quantum dots co-doped with sulfur and nitrogen (S,N-BQDs). The obtained S,N-BQDs with a maximum emission wavelength at 524 nm were then coupled with hortpolypeptide S-2238 to fabricate a fluorescence probe for the detection of thrombin and its inhibitor based on the inner filter effect (IFE). In this sensing system, hortpolypeptide S-2238 was used as the chromogenic substrate of thrombin, which cleaves S-2238 and releases p-nitroaniline (PNA). Since the absorption spectrum of PNA overlaps largely with the excitation spectrum of S,N-BQDs, to the fluorescence of S,N-BQDs is remarkably quenched. Therefore, the structured IFE-based fluorescence nanoprobe was used for the label-free detection of thrombin in a wide concentration range of 0.1–65 nM with a detection limit of 30 pM (S/N = 3). This IFE-based fluorescence nanoprobe was also used for thrombin inhibitor detection as well as thrombin imaging in living cells. This method has many positive features, including flexibility, simplicity, sensitivity and selectivity, which gives new insights into enzyme activity assays that employ biomass co-doped carbon nanomaterials.

Dental caries, starting from demineralization of enamel and dentine, is closely related with acid-producing bacteria in oral cavity, for example, Streptococcus mutans. Remineralization is an efficient way to prevent the disease progression and facilitate the therapy of incipient caries. Therefore, for the purpose of effective dentine repair, remineralization and antibacterial should be combined simultaneously. However, most of the literatures only focus on one single aspect, while combing remineralization and antibacteria for dentine repair in one system is rarely reported. Here in this work, phosphoryl-terminated poly(amide-amine) dendrimers were loaded with apigenin, a water-nonsoluble drug antibacterial agains Streptococcus mutans. The apigenin-loaded dendrimers bind strongly with dentine, which further induce dentine tubules occlusion through mineralization in artificial saliva, and the release of apigenin can prevent further erosion of dentine by bacteria. Meanwhile, the phosphorylated dendrimers are easily prepared by one-step modification of poly(amide-amine) and exhibit good cytocompatibility. This strategy developed here can provide reference for the design of effective anti-caries materials.

In this study, an optical fiber temperature sensor based on up-conversion luminescence (UCL) is proposed. The core part is a new plan of the sensing unit, which is constructed with UCL materials of N a Y F 4 : Y b 3 + , E r 3 + nanocrystals by fiber fusion technology to achieve a wide range of temperature measurements. Experimental results show that the proposed optical fiber temperature sensor shows significant spectrum-temperature characteristics in 80–373 K temperature range. Its relative sensitivities at low temperature and normal temperature are 2.2 × 10 − 3 / K with a determination coefficient of 0.957 and 9.1 × 10 − 3 / K with a determination coefficient of 0.994, respectively. This type of sensor also has good mechanical strength and system stability and shows great potential for development, particularly in the aerospace field with large temperature differences.

A sulfa-Michael/aldol/lactonization cascade reaction has been established to construct isotetronic acid-fused thiochromanes in a highly stereoselective fashion (≥11:1 dr, 35-98% ee). The tricyclic products were obtained in 35-99% isolated yields in the presence of a bifunctional squaramide. Three reactive sites of β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoester, including the less-explored ester carbonyl group, were sequentially utilized to construct two fused heterocycles in a one-pot operation.

Near infrared to ultraviolet (NIR-to-UV) up-conversion nanocomposites, composed of an upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP) core and a transformable polyspiropyran shell, were prepared by distillation precipitation polymerization and the template method. The polyspiropyran shell can undergo reversible hydrophoblic-hydrophilic transformations through the switching of UV and visible light and by variation of pH. About 10 wt% of the anticancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX), can be loaded into the drug carrying layer under pH 7.4 by electrostatic force. The NIR and pH responsive features of the polyspiropyran shell were shown by the dynamic light scattering (DLS) results, in which the size of nanocomposites (UCNPs@SP-MA/MAA) became larger under NIR irradiation and pH 4.5. The hydrophobic to hydrophilic surface transformation alters the permittivity of the polyspiropyran shell and the release behavior. The cumulative release rate of the DOX-loaded UCNPs@SP-MA/MAA reached 53.8% under pH 4.5 and NIR irradiation. The cytotoxicity of the bare UCNPs@SP-MA/MAA and the DOX-loaded UCNPs@SP-MA/MAA were evaluated against breast cancer cells and the results confirmed that the toxicity of UCNPs@SP-MA/MAA nanocomposites was minimal, even at high dosage (100 μg/mL), while the toxicity of DOX can be triggered by NIR light.

Hydrogels that possess adequate toughness in bulk and at soft interface are highly desirable. We report a fully physically crosslinked dual Amylopectin (Amy, the first network)/poly(N-hydroxyethyl acrylamide) (PHEAA, the second network) hydrogel, where both networks were hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) crosslinked, with super toughness in bulk and tunable adhesion at hydrogel-soft tissue interface. Through adjustment of hydrogen bond density, strong and tough hydrogels were prepared that exhibited different levels of adhesion strength and three adhesive failure mechanisms. We replaced Amy with oxidized starch (OSA) to synthesize dual and hybrid chemically/physically crosslinked OSA/PHEAA double network (DN) hydrogels that were capable of forming Schiff's bases at hydrogel-hydrogel or hydrogel-tissue interfaces, aside from interfacial H-bonding, incurring sustained, high interfacial toughness (1850 J m−2 hydrogel-hydrogel and 610 J m−2 hydrogel-tissue) in wet environments. Such tough and adhesive DN hydrogels have great potential in various applications such as engineering of artificial soft tissues or implantable devices that are intended to adhere to internal organs or tissues.

Rewritable information record materials usually demand not only reversibly stimuli-responsive ability, but also strong mechanical properties. To achieve one photochromic hydrogel with super-strong mechanical strength, hydrophobic molecule spiropyran (SP) has been introduced into a copolymer based on ion-hybrid crosslink. The hydrogels exhibit both photoinduced reversible color changes and excellent mechanical properties, i.e., the tensile stress of 3.22 MPa, work of tension of 12.8 MJ m-3 , and modulus of elasticity of 8.6 MPa. Moreover, the SP-based Ca2+ crosslinked hydrogels can be enhanced further when exposed to UV-light via ionic interaction coordination between Ca2+ , merocyanine (MC) with polar copolymer chain. In particular, hydrogels have excellent reversible conversion behavior, which can be used to realize repeatable writing of optical information. Thus, the novel design is demonstrated to support future applications in writing repeatable optical information, optical displays, information storage, artificial intelligence systems, and flexible wearable devices.

Wetlands store large carbon (C) stocks and play important roles in biogeochemical C cycling. However, the effects of environmental and anthropogenic pressures on C dynamics in lower coastal plain forested wetlands in the southern U.S. are not well understood. We established four eddy flux stations in two post-harvest and newly-planted loblolly pine plantations (YP2–6, 2–6 yrs old; YP2–8, 2–8 yrs old), a rotation-aged loblolly pine plantations (MP, 15–27 yrs old), and a mixed bottomland hardwood forest (BHF, >100 yrs old) in the lower coastal plain of North Carolina, USA. We analyzed the gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (RE) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) for age-related trends, interannual variability in response to climate forcing, and management-related disturbances from 2005 – 2017. For the first few years after being harvested, pine plantations were net C sources (NEE = 1133 and 897 g C m–2 yr–1 in YP2–6 and YP2–8, respectively). The MP was a strong C sink (–369 to –1131 g C m–2 yr–1) over the entire study period. In contrast, BHF was a C source (NEE = 87 g C m–2 yr–1 to 759 g C m–2 yr–1) in most years, although in the first year it did show a net C uptake (NEE = –368 g C m–2 yr–1). The source activity of BHF may have been related to increasing overstory tree mortality and diameter growth suppression. Decreases in relative extractable water in pine plantations enhanced GPP and RE. Pine plantations regained status as C sinks 5–8 years after harvest and recovered C equivalent to post-harvest losses at 8–14 years. Thus, coastal pine plantations have a net C uptake for only about half the 25-year rotation period, suggesting that they have decreased climate mitigation potential in comparison to protecting primary forests. However, primary forests in this area may be vulnerable to ecosystem transition, and subsequent C loss, due to the changing environmental conditions at the land-ocean interface.

In this study, a new processing design of an optical fiber cryogenic temperature sensor (OFCTS) is presented. The sensing unit is constituted by NaYF4:Yb3+, Er3+@NaYF4 core-shell upconversion nanocrystals-polymethyl methacrylate (UCNCs-PMMA) nanocomposites. The coupling is achieved by fiber fusion in the embodiment. The relative sensitivity of the OFCTS can reach the maximal value 13.241×10−3 K−1 at 80 K in a cryogenic environment, and stability is good with a standard deviation of 0.012. Research results show that the proposed OFCTS has good temperature responses at the cryogenic environment, and has a great potential of the superconducting application for generator, transmission line, maglev train and quantum interferometer.

A versatile ionic crosslink lithography (ICL) approach is reported to achieve geometry transitions of strong polyvinyl alcohol/sodium alginate (PVA/SA) hydrogels in a controllable and programmable manner. Specifically, localized PVA/SA and PVA/SA/Fe3+ hydrogel domains of significantly different swellabilities (i.e., in-plane gradient) are created by patterning and selective ionic crosslinking of one single type of PVA/SA hydrogel. A simple two-step sequential pre- and free-swelling, or each alone, directs the patterned, inhomogeneous hydrogel to transform in various programmable and quasi-quantitative ways through local bulging and/or global buckling. All types of shape changing are reversible and repeatable due to the reversible nature of ionic coordination in the hydrogel networks. The flexibility and versatility of 3D printing is also demonstrated in creating through-thickness gradient in PVA and PVA/SA hydrogel assemblies with similar morphing capability. The ICL approach developed in this work may help shed some light on developing strong and shape morphing hydrogels as soft sensors and actuators and for potentially biomimetic transformations. The ICL approach may also be transferable to fabrication of many other types of hydrogel materials for similar applications.

Developing multicomponent transition-metal phosphides has become an efficient way to improve the capacitive performance of single-component transition-metal phosphides. However, reports on quaternary phosphides for supercapacitor applications are still scarce. Here, we report high capacity and energy density of Zn-Ni-Co-P quaternary phosphide nanowire arrays on nickel foam (ZNCP-NF) composed of highly conductive metal-rich phosphides as an advanced binder-free electrode in aqueous asymmetric supercapacitors. In a three-electrode system using the new electrode, a high specific capacity of 1111 C g

Stimuli-responsive hydrogel strain sensors that synergize the advantages of both soft-wet hydrogels and smart functional materials have attracted rapidly increasing interest for exploring the opportunities from material design principles to emerging applications in electronic skins, health monitors, and human–machine interfaces. Stimuli-responsive hydrogel strain sensors possess smart and on-demand ability to specifically recognize various external stimuli and convert them into strain-induced mechanical, thermal, optical, and electrical signals. This review presents an up-to-date summary over the past five years on hydrogel strain sensors from different aspects, including material designs, gelation/fabrication methods, stimuli-responsive principles, and sensing performance. Hydrogel strain sensors are classified into five major categories based on the nature of the stimuli, and representative examples from each category are carefully selected and discussed in terms of structures, response mechanisms, and potential medical applications. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives of hydrogel strain sensors are tentatively proposed to stimulate more and better research in this emerging field.

To better control the strength and deformation of the roadbed, a constitutive model of rockfill was established based on property-dependent plastic potential theory for geomaterials. The effect of the particle gradation on the anisotropy was described in the model. According to the effect of the particle grading and crushing on the fractal dimension, the fractal theory and fabric tensor were introduced to establish the yield and failure criteria of the rockfill. By combining the property-dependent concepts of the materials and the results of the rockfill strength test, a critical state line considering the microstructure, fractal dimension, particle breakage, and stress state of the rockfill was established. The dilatancy equation was derived based on the novel potential theory and the hardening criterion affected by the critical state was established. A constitutive model of the rockfill in the general stress space was established under the framework of the novel potential theory. The 3D strength and its intensity change in the π plane were simulated through the drainage strength test results, which verified the description of the critical state under various stress paths. By simulating the stress-strain relationship, the validity and rationality of the model were verified.

International audience; Forested wetlands are an important carbon (C) sink. Fine roots (diameter

Hummock-hollow microtopography is a unique feature of wetland ecosystems, but our understanding of its effects on soil carbon and nutrient cycling is limited. We investigated effects of microtopography on hydrology, phenol oxidase activity (POX) and nutrient availability in a freshwater forested wetland of coastal North Carolina. Water table depth (WTD) was measured from September 2012 to August 2013. Ion exchange probes were used to measure nutrient concentrations prior to soil sample collection in August 2013. WTD fluctuated seasonally with maximum and minimum WTD resulting in 92% (September 2012) to 8% (June 2013) of the site in flooded and non-flooded conditions, respectively. Hummocks had greater POX activity (12 ± 2.8 μmol g−1 h−1) compared to hollows (4 ± 0.7 μmol g−1 h−1) and greater concentrations of potassium and sulfur, but lower concentrations of calcium, iron, zinc, boron, and lead. POX was negatively correlated with soil water content. Higher enzyme activity in hummocks likely drives greater rates of carbon and nutrient cycling compared to hollows, consistent with observations that hummocks are hotspots for CO2 fluxes. Microtopography altered site-level hydrologic conditions, phenol oxidase activity and nutrient availability with important implications for understanding carbon and nutrient cycling in forested wetlands and response to changes in hydrology.

To investigate the biological pathways involved in phthalate-induced developmental effects, zebrafish embryos were exposed to different concentrations of di-(2-ethylhexyl) (DEHP) and di-butyl phthalate (DBP) for 96 h. Embryonic exposure to DEHP and DBP induced body length decrease, yolk sac abnormities, and immune responses (up-regulation of immune proteins and genes). The lipidomic results showed that at a concentration of 50 μg/L, DEHP and DBP significantly reduced the levels of fatty acids, triglycerides, diacylglycerol, and cholesterol. These effects are partly explained by biological pathway enrichment based on data from the transcriptional and proteomic profiles. Co-exposure to DBP and ER antagonist did not significantly relieve the toxic symptoms compared with exposure to DBP alone. This indicates that phthalate-induced developmental abnormities in zebrafish might not be mediated by the ER pathway. In conclusion, we identified the possible biological pathways that mediate phthalate-induced developmental effects and found that these effects may not be driven by estrogenic activation.

Biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation by diazotrophic cyanobacteria has great biogeochemical implications in nitrogen (N) cycling in the ocean as this process represents the major source of new N input to the oceans, thereby controlling the marine primary productivity. Numerous factors can affect the extent of N2 fixation. A better understanding of the major environmental and nutrient factors governing this process is highly required. Iron (Fe) and/or phosphorus (P) are thought to be limiting factors in most oceanic regions. Special attention has been given in the present study to evaluate the effects of mineral dust deposition which is believed to stimulate N2 fixation as it increases the availability of both Fe and P. Through three laboratory bioassays (+Fe, +P, +Dust) via incubation experiments performed on Trichodesmium IMS101, we found that each addition of Fe, P or desert dust could stimulate the growth and N2 fixation of Trichodesmium IMS101. Several adaptive nutrient utilization strategies were observed, such as a Fe luxury uptake mechanism, a P-sparing effect and colony formation. In addition, during a field study using natural phytoplankton assemblages from the temperate Northeast Atlantic Ocean the critical role of dissolved Fe (DFe) was again highlighted by the remarkably enhanced N2 fixation rate observed after the addition of DFe under low temperature and P-depleted conditions. At the time of our study no Trichodesmium filaments were found in the studied region, the diazotrophic community was dominated by unicellular cyanobacteria symbiont (prymnesiophyte-UCYN-A1) and heterotrophic diazotrophs, therefore demonstrating that DFe could as well be the ultimate factor limiting N2 fixation of these smaller diazotrophs. Recently, the effects of ongoing climate change (ocean warming and acidification) on N2 fixation drew much attention, but various studies led to controversial conclusions. Semi-continuous dilution growth experiments were conducted on Trichodesmium IMS101 under present-day and future high pCO2 (400 and 800 µatm, respectively) and warming seawater (24 and 28 °C) conditions. The results indicate that higher pCO2 and therefore ocean acidification may be beneficial for Trichodesmium growth and N2 fixation. However, our observations suggest that Fe or P limitation in oligotrophic seawaters may offset the stimulation induced on Trichodesmium IMS101 resulting from ocean acidification. In contrast, ocean warming may not play an important role in Trichodesmium growth and N2 fixation with a 4 °C increase from 24 °C to 28 °C. Nevertheless, ocean warming is predicted to cause a shift in the geographical distribution of Trichodesmium species toward higher latitudes, extending its niche to subtropical ocean regions and potentially reducing its coverage in tropical ocean basins.

Quantitative prediction of concealed mineralization is always confronted with difficulties in comprehensive analysis between 2D and 3D data and between qualitative and quantitative data. A weighted shortest-distance field method is proposed here to track, in 3D heterogeneous space, the shortest migration paths of ore-forming elements from an orebody to the ground surface, assuming that ore-forming elements migrate at less costs into fault rupture zones than in other surrounding rocks. This method was used to generate the weighted shortest-distance field of the 3D orebody model in the Hongtoushan copper mine, NE China. In addition, the field value and the geochemical soil survey data on the Earth’s surface were subjected to statistical analysis. Results showed that some geochemical anomalies are characterized by the shortest-distance field of the known orebodies, while other formerly unrecognized anomalies may possibly be related to undiscovered orebodies. This method can also be applied to comprehensive statistical analysis between a 3D geological model and 2D data on the Earth’s surface, e.g., geophysical exploration or remote sensing data.

As promising structural materials, various tough hydrogels have been developed recently by incorporating various kinds of bonds. An important challenge is to use dual physical cross-linking to develop both toughness and self-recovery in a single material. Here we report smart, strain-responsive hydrogels composed of a fully physically linked agarose/poly(acrylic acid)-ferric ion (agar/PAAc-Fe3+) double network (DN) with high toughness and pH-sensitivity. These hydrogels were fabricated in a one-pot reaction to generate dual physical cross-linking through, first, a hydrogen-bonded cross-linked agarose network, and, second, a physically linked PAAc-Fe3+ network via Fe3+ coordination interactions. The DN hydrogels possessed high toughness, with breaking strain of 1130%, fast self-recovery properties in ambient conditions (100% recovery in 30 min) and self-healing properties (the healed hydrogels can be manually stretched up to 700% of their original length after self-healing for 60 h from the cut-off state). In addition, the hydrogels exhibited pH-sensitivity due to the dissociation of ionic coordinate bonds between –COO− ions of the PAAc chains and Fe3+ ions. Double-layer hydrogel strips with two different concentrations of PAAc formed a “C”-shaped material when initially immersed in pH 7 solution and then soaked in a pH 3 solution. These characteristics make the hydrogels attractive candidates for tissue engineering, soft actuators and flexible electronics.

In this paper, we introduce a new mixed condition to obtain a new compact embedding theorem. Under this theorem, we study the existence and multiplicity of nontrivial homoclinic solutions for a class of second-order Hamiltonian systems with variable separated type nonlinear terms.

We report a dual ionic cross-linking approach for the preparation of double-network hydrogels with robustness, high strength, and toughness, sodium alginate/poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid)/Fe3+ (SA/P(AAm-co-AAc)/Fe3+), in a facile “one-step” dual ionic cross-linking method. We take advantage of the abundant carboxyl groups on alginate molecules and the copolymer chains and their high coordination capacity with multivalent metal ions to obtain hydrogels with high strength and toughness. The optimal SA/P(AAm-co-AAc)/Fe3+ (SA 2 wt % and AAc 5 mol %) hydrogels showed a remarkable mechanical performance with 3.24 MPa tensile strength and 1228% strain, both of which remained stable with 76% water content and were highly swelling resistant in an aqueous environment. The hydrogels possessed high fatigue resistance, self-recovery, pH-triggered healing capability, shape memory, and reversible gel–sol transition facilitated by pH regulation. Moreover, they show three-dimensional (3D) printing processability by prop...

A novel organocatalytic cascade process initiated by 1,6-conjugated addition has been successfully developed. A range of pharmaceutically active 2-amino-4-aryl-4H-chromenes were readily obtained in high yields (88%-99%) and excellent enantiopurities (86%-99% ee). The functionalized para-Quinone methides (p-OMs) could be facilely obtained.

In this study, metallocene linear low density polyethylene (abbreviated as mPE) was grafted with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and acrylic acid (AAc) forming long-chain branched polymers, which act as an interfacial modifier of recycled high-density polyethylene (abbreviated as rPE)/low-density polyethylene (LDPE) blends. AAc was shown to increase GMA grafting efficiency onto mPE producing mPE-g-GMA/AAc. The mechanical properties, crystalline structure, rheological properties, and phase structure of rPE/LDPE/mPE-g-(GMA-co-AAc) (abbreviated as rPE/LDPE/mPE-g-G/A) blends were investigated using uniaxial tensile, differential scanning calorimeter, rheometer, and X-ray diffraction experiments. The tensile strength of rPE/LDPE/mPE-g-G/A was 34.51 MPa and the multiphase polymer displayed co-crystallization characteristics indicating good compatibility between the two components. The changes in the interface layer thickness and dispersed phase size further indicate the existence of partial compatibility among the multiphase polymer.

The realization of asymmetric hollow carbonaceous nanostructures remains a great challenge, especially when biomass is chosen as the carbon resource through hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). Herein, a simple and straightforward solvent-induced buckling strategy is demonstrated for the synthesis of asymmetric spherical and bowl-like carbonaceous nanomaterials. The formation of the bowl-like morphology was attributed to the buckling of the spherical shells induced by the dissolution of the oligomers. The bowl-like particles prepared through this solvent-driven approach demonstrated a well-controlled morphology and a uniform particle size of approximately 360 nm. The obtained nanospheres and nanobowls were loaded with CoS2 nanoparticles to act as heterogeneous catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds. As expected, the CoS2 /nanobowls catalyst showed good tolerance to a wide scope of reducible groups and afforded both high activity and selectivity in almost all the tested substrates.