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Hierarchically cellular, stiff, and lightweight niobium carbide (NbC)-pyrolytic carbon (PyC) monolithic foam composites possessing excellent electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) were developed via a natural wood template-based method. Pyrolytic carbon derived from the decomposed cellulose in the wood worked as the carbon source for the growth of NbC phase, and the NbC-PyC heterogeneous nano-interface formed between the residual PyC and the freshly formed NbC. Multi-loss mechanisms (e.g. conductive loss, dipole polarization loss, and especially interface polarization loss) were established by controlling the NbC content and residual PyC phase in the NbC-PyC foams, which significantly improved the absorption capability. Compared to 28.0 dB of PyC monolith, the EMI SE of NbC-PyC foam can reach 54.8 dB when the thickness is 0.5 mm, which outperforms the other porous-based shielding materials. Due to the highly porous structure of pristine wood, the resulting NbC-PyC foam exhibited a low density of 0.48 g/cm3, which is ~ 1/16 of dense NbC (7.78 g/cm3). Generally, this work introduces innovative ideas for designing novel and advanced transition metal carbide–carbon composite materials.

In this work, SiC nanowires and graphitic carbon (GC) including 2D reduced graphene oxide and graphene-liked ribbons modified polymer derived SiCN (SiC/GC-SiCN) porous ceramic monoliths were prepared via catalyst assisted single-source-precursor derived ceramic route. The inclusion of absorbents (e.g. graphitic carbon and SiC nanowires) significantly improved the electrical conductivity of the materials from 1.77 × 10−8 S/cm (pristine SiCN) to 0.56 S/cm. In turn, the electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of the ceramic increased significantly from 4.0 dB to 19.2 dB. At the highest absorbent content, the SiC/GC-SiCN ceramics exhibit a high absorption power of 0.3 nW and an SE of 48.5 dB at thickness of 2 mm, which means more than 99.998 % of the EM wave is blocked. This work finds new avenue for the design of advanced electromagnetic shielding materials possessing strong absorption capability.

In this work, a robust and flexible bilayered MXene/cellulose paper sheet with superhigh electrical conductivity was prepared via vacuum-assisted filtration and a subsequent hot-pressing process for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding applications. By tightly assembling few-layered MXene (f-Ti3C2Tx) on the cellulose substrate via hydrogen bonds, an effective and interconnected conductive network was constructed in the paper sheet, resulting in a high electrical conductivity of 774.6–5935.4 S m−1 at various f-Ti3C2Tx loadings. The highly conductive MXene layer can promptly reflect a great amount of incident EM waves, a process which preceded the transmission of EM waves in the cellulose matrix. Owing to the highly efficient reflection-dominated EMI shielding mechanism, the resultant bilayered MXene/cellulose paper sheets exhibit excellent EMI shielding effectiveness of 34.9–60.1 dB and specific EMI shielding efficiency of 290.6–600.7 dB mm−1. Moreover, the MXene/cellulose paper sheets demonstrated improved mechanical strength (up to 25.7 MPa) and flexibility due to the mechanical frame effect acted by the cellulose substrate. Consequently, the robust and flexible bilayered MXene/cellulose paper sheet is a promising candidate for application in next-generation electric devices.

A recyclable and magnetic nanocomposite catalyst (IL/Fe3O4@HKUST-1) was synthesized via grafting ionic liquid (IL) [AEMIm]BF4 into magnetically functionalized metal-organic framework Fe3O4@HKUST-1 in a water-ethanol media. The properties of IL/Fe3O4@HKUST-1 were fully characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, density-functional theory, and a magnetic property measurement system. IL/Fe3O4@HKUST-1 showed high activity in the solvent-free cycloaddition of CO2 with epoxides under mild conditions. Furthermore, the catalyst can be easily separated from the reaction mixture, and the recycled catalyst maintained high performance for several cycles. The synergistic effect of the Lewis acid and base sites in IL/Fe3O4@HKUST-1 contributes to its greater reactivity than individual IL or HKUST-1.

A straightforward synthesis of alkynylthioethers via an amino-assisted and visible-light-promoted coupling reaction of bromoalkynes with 2,2′-diaminodiaryldisulfides has been developed. The reaction can be accomplished in the absence of transition metals, photocatalysts and additives, providing a wide variety of alkynylthioethers in good yields. While switching bromoalkynes to aliphatic ketones, a visible-light-induced cascade cyclization is established to afford dihydrobenzothiazoles using pyrylium salt as an effective photocatalyst.

Molybdenum carbide (β-Mo2C) possesses excellent electrical conductivity, good thermal and chemical stability, and is, therefore, a promising candidate material for electromagnetic (EM) shielding in diverse harsh environments. Herein, for the first time, β-Mo2C based ultra-thin films were prepared through in-situ growth of the carbide on a self-assembled graphene oxide (GO) film. The remaining reduced GO (RGO) layers located in between two adjacent Mo2C nanoparticles not only can work as flexible binder to impart the resultant films excellent flexibility but also enable the formation of heterogeneous nano-interface which is beneficial for the improvement of shielding by absorption. The amounts of β-Mo2C in the resultant films were adjusted through varying the Mo precursor contents. With the introduction of β-Mo2C phase in the resultant film, the shielding effectiveness (SE) increased significantly. At the thickness of ∼25 μm, the highest SE reaches 46.8 dB compared to 21.6 dB of the pristine RGO film. With the increase of the Mo2C content in the resultant materials, the density increased from 0.32 to 1.23 g/cm3. The resultant Mo2C film exhibit an SSE/t (specific SE by thickness) value of as high as 15,971 dB cm2 g−1.

RGO-supported core-shell SiO2@SiO2/carbon microsphere hybrid was synthesized by combining solution blending and annealing treatment. The SEM and TEM characterization indicate that the core-shell SiO2@SiO2/carbon microspheres adhere entirely to reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets, forming porous and bridged structure, which decreases the density of the hybrid effectively. The dielectric properties and microwave absorption performance can be tuned by adjusting the reduction temperature and the weight ratio of the hybrid. The minimum reflection coefficient (RCmin) reaches -24.1 dB at 9.7 GHz with a thickness of 2.8 mm (S-900, 30 wt.%), and the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) reaches 2.8 GHz with a thickness of 2.0 mm (S-500, 50 wt.%) and 2.7 GHz with 2.7 mm (S-900, 30 wt.%). Importantly, the various interface of the hybrid existed at the interface between RGO and core-shell SiO2@SiO2/carbon microsphere contributed to the enhanced interfacial polarization loss. Besides, the entirely wrapped structure between the core-shell SiO2@SiO2/carbon microsphere and the graphene sheets increase the number of reflections and transmission path to enhance the loss of microwave energy. This work supplies a reliable design method to tune the dielectric properties and microwave absorption performance of RGO based materials.

In this paper, a reduced graphene oxide/bi-MOF-derived carbon (RGO/bi-MDPC) composite is studied as high-performance microwave absorber with tunable dielectric properties. The dielectric parameter of the RGO/bi-MDPC could be optimized by changing annealing temperature. The optimal sample presents the excellent microwave absorbing performance with the effective absorption bandwidth covering the whole X band with a thickness of 3.4 mm while the minimum reflection coefficient reaches − 33.8 dB at 8.8 GHz with the thickness of 3.7 mm. The specific porous structure, residual oxygen functional groups, and abundant interface contribute to enhanced microwave absorption performance. This work indicates that the bi-MOF-derived porous carbon could be used as nanostructured phase to improve the microwave absorptive capacity of RGO composites.

A bifunctional heterogeneous catalyst was designed and synthesized, denoted DMEDA/IL–NH2-MIL-101. The structure and physical-chemical characterization of DMEDA/IL–NH2-MIL-101 and its precursors were characterized by SEM, N2 adsorption-desorption, XPS, FT-IR, PXRD, elemental analysis, and TGA techniques. The date showed that the two catalytic components of N, N-dimethylethylenediamine (DMEDA) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (BmimBr) were chemically immobilized in NH2-MIL-101 nanocages. The amine of DMEDA was grafted onto carrier NH2-MIL-101 by N–Cr coordinate covalent bonds and the ionic liquid of BmimBr (IL (Br−)) was anchored in the NH2-MIL-101 nanocages by ‘ship-in-a-bottle’ method, in which the amidogen of NH2-MIL-101 condensed with N, N-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) firstly, and then alkylated with 1-bromo butane. This novel heterogeneous catalyst with two different active sites can efficiently catalyze the synthesis of N-aryl oxazolidin-2-ones from carbon dioxide (CO2), epoxides, and anilines in one-pot under mild solvent-free conditions. It not only showed good stability and recoverability after five cycles but also exhibited shape selectivity for the substrate due to the synergic catalysis of amine, ionic liquid, and NH2-MIL-101. This novel bifunctional material is a promising solid catalyst for the green synthesis of N-aryl oxazolidin-2-ones.

Nonbattery behavior related phase transition of electrodes is usually not favorable for any batteries because it results in performance degradation at all times. Here, we demonstrate a zinc hybrid-...

Malus hupehensis (Pamp.) Rehd (MH) is a dual-purpose plant used as medicine and food, which possesses various biological activities including hepatoprotective effect. In this study, the hepatoprotective activity of extracts of MH (MHE) against RFP + INH-induced liver injury was investigated. Animals in model group were given saline and INH + RFP. Animals in MHE groups were given MHE and INH + RFP. Animals in normal control group were given equal volume of saline. Subsequently, blood and liver samples were collected and assessed. MHE significantly alleviated the liver injury, as evidenced by decreased activities of the ALT, AST, TBIL, MDA and GSH-ST, and increased levels of SOD and GSH. MHE also effectively reduced the pathological tissue damage. Moreover, the CYP450 levels, and expression of CYP3A4, CYP2C9 and NADPH4 protein were inhibited by MHE. MHE exerts a protective effect against RFP + INH-induced liver injury in mice, and could be developed as a liver protectant for treatment of DILI.

Removal of antibiotics detected in wastewater or natural aquatic systems by regular municipal treatment is challenging. Photocatalysis is considered to be the most well-known and green strategy for such removal. However, the catalytic efficiency is restricted by UV radiation dependence, fast electron-hole recombination, and low porosity/surface area of the photocatalyst. In this study, we have developed a highly porous anatase TiO2-polymethylsilsesquioxane (PMSQ) aerogel with nonmetal carbon dopant, which can simultaneously enhance the adsorption ability and visible light photo-activity. And tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) was selected as a model antibiotic. A high surface area (747 g cm−3) C-TiO2-PMSQ aerogel can remove 91% TCH within 180 min under visible light. But the removal needs to be in an isopropyl alcohol/water co-solvent, due to the intrinsic hydrophobicity of PMSQ. After a heat treatment under 400°C, the surface area of C-TiO2-PMSQ aerogel decreases to 618 g cm−3, and the sample loses its hydrophobicity, the removal of TCH can be in aqueous condition and the efficiency increases to 98%. Moreover, both catalysts can be recycled 7 times and still maintain high removal efficiency (85 and 64% remained for hydrophobic and hydrophilic gels, respectively).

Background The asynchronous filling between superior spikelets (SS) and inferior spikelets (IS) in rice has become a research hotspot. The stagnant development and poor grain filling of IS limit yields and the formation of good quality rice. A large number of studies on this phenomenon have been carried out from the genome, transcriptome and proteome level, indicating that asynchronous filling of SS and IS filling is a complex, but orderly physiological and biochemical process involving changes of a large number of genes, protein expression and modification. However, the analysis of metabolomics differences between SS and IS is rarely reported currently. Results This study utilized untargeted metabolomics and identified 162 metabolites in rice spikelets. Among them, 17 differential metabolites associated with unsynchronized grain filling between SS and IS, 27 metabolites were related to the stagnant development of IS and 35 metabolites related to the lower maximum grain-filling rate of IS compared with the SS. We found that soluble sugars were an important metabolite during grain filling for SS and IS. Absolute quantification was used to further analyze the dynamic changes of 4 types of soluble sugars (sucrose, fructose, glucose, and trehalose) between SS and IS. The results showed that sucrose and trehalose were closely associated with the dynamic characteristics of grain filling between SS and IS. The application of exogenous sugar showed that trehalose functioned as a key sugar signal during grain filling of IS. Trehalose regulated the expression of genes related to sucrose conversion and starch synthesis, thereby promoting the conversion of sucrose to starch. The difference in the spatiotemporal expression of TPS-2 and TPP-1 between SS and IS was an important reason that led to the asynchronous change in the trehalose content between SS and IS. Conclusions The results from this study are helpful for understanding the difference in grain filling between SS and IS at the metabolite level. In addition, the present results can also provide a theoretical basis for the next step of using metabolites to regulate the filling of IS.

Microwave absorption materials (MAMs) with lightweight density and ultrabroad-band microwave absorption performance are urgently needed in advanced MAMs, which are still a big challenge and have been rarely achieved. Here, a new wide bandwidth absorption model was designed, which fuses the electromagnetic resonance loss ability of a periodic porous structure in the low-frequency range and the dielectric loss ability of dielectric materials in the high-frequency range. Based on this model, a lightweight porous cellulose nanofiber (CNF)/carbon nanotube (CNT) foam consisting of a cellular vertical porous architecture with the macropore diameters between 30 and 90 μm and a nanoporous architecture at a scale of 1.7-50 nm was obtained by an ice-template method using CNTs and CNFs as "building blocks". Benefiting from the unique architecture, the effective absorption bandwidth reaches 29.7 GHz, and its specific microwave absorption performance exceeds 80,000 dB·cm-2·g-1, which far surpasses those of the MAMs previously reported, including all CNT-based composites. Moreover, the CNF/CNT foam possesses ultralow density (9.2 mg/cm3) and strong fatigue resistance, all coming from the well-interconnected porous structure and the strong hydrogen bonds among CNF-CNF and CNF-CNT molecular chains.

Combination of lightweight and superior electrical conductive performance is charming for the application of macroscopic graphene foam composite. A porous carbon nanotubes/reduced graphene oxide (CNTs/RGO) foam composite are prepared by freeze-drying and in-situ catalytic grown methods. The CNTs/RGO foam composite consists of interconnected RGO nanosheets as the 3D frame and in-situ growth CNTs as the electromagnetic wave (EM) absorbing reinforcement, which grow on graphene substrate. The in-situ grown CNTs on graphene nanosheets lead to the enhancement of conductive and polarization loss, which results in the enhancement of absorption shielding performance. The CNTs/RGO foam composites with different CNT loading are prepared to investigate their EM shielding properties in X-band. The EM shielding effectiveness (SE) of CNTs/RGO foam composite reaches 31.2 dB with 2 mm thickness, especially the specific EMI shielding effectiveness reaches 547 dB cm3/g with an ultralight density of 57 mg cm−3, the absorption is the primary shielding mechanism. Furthermore, SE value reaches 49 dB with thickness of 3.1 mm. Owing to the unique 3D foam hierarchical architecture, light density and outstanding SE performance, our work shows a promising designable approach of preparing CNTs/RGO foam composite to lightweight and absorption type EMI shielding materials.

Porous CuO/Cu2O heterostructure was successfully synthesized through a metal organic frameworks (MOFs)-assisted template method. Tunable production of pure phase CuO and Cu2O could be achieved by regulating the coordination environment of copper. The copper oxides inherited the polyhedral morphology from the Cu MOFs and possessed higher surface area and larger pore volume. Compared with pure CuO and Cu2O, heterostructured CuO/Cu2O displayed remarkably enhanced NH3-SCR de-NOx activity and N2 selectivity in a low temperature range of 170–220 °C. Systematical in situ DRIFT characterization revealed that the NH3-SCR of NOx over CuO/Cu2O heterostructure followed Eley-Rideal (E-R) mechanism, which was greatly improved by the abundant Lewis acid sites, improved O2 adsorption and the synergistic effect between Cu+ and Cu2+. In addition, CuO/Cu2O heterostructure exhibited excellent H2O, SO2, alkali metals, and hydrocarbon durability, indicating its potential use in industrial NH3-SCR of NOx.

Six new transition metal phosphonates, [Cd(H2L)(H2O)]n (1), [Cd2(H2L)2(H2O)]n (2), [Cd4(H2bmt)2(H2O)]n (3), {[Cd2(H4bmt)2(2, 2′-bipy)2]·4H2O} (4), [Zn(H4bmt)(2, 2′-bipy)]n (5) and [Zn3(bmt)(4, 4′-bipy)2]n (6), H4L = (benzylazanediyl)bis(methylene)-diphosphonicacid,H6bmt = (benzene-1,3,5-triyltris(methylene))triphosphonic acid, have been synthesized by H4L or H6bmt as well as auxiliary ligands under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, XRD and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Structural analysis indicates that complexes 1–6 feature 0D-3D structures. The introduction of auxiliary ligands including 4, 4′-Vinylenedipyridine, 4-Cyanopyridine, 4, 4′-bipy, 2, 2′-bipy and H6TTHA (1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine hexaacetic acid) increases the crystallinity and controls the dimensionality of the final complexes. The fluorescence emission properties of 1–6 and the free ligands were investigated in the solid state at room temperature. Moreover, the fluorescence lifetime (τ) and quantum yield (Φf) were measured to further characterize the fluorescence properties. The results are compared to illustrate the influence of the auxiliary ligands and structure difference on the fluorescence properties.

Lightweight absorption-dominated electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials are more attractive than conventional reflection-dominated counterparts because they minimize the twice pollution of the reflected electromagnetic (EM) wave. Here, porous Ti2CT x MXene/poly(vinyl alcohol) composite foams constructed by few-layered Ti2CT x (f-Ti2CT x) MXene and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) are fabricated via a facile freeze-drying method. As superior EMI shielding materials, their calculated specific shielding effectiveness reaches up to 5136 dB cm2 g-1 with an ultralow filler content of only 0.15 vol % and reflection effectiveness (SER) of less than 2 dB, representing the excellent absorption-dominated shielding performance. Contrast experiment reveals that the good impedance matching derived from the multiple porous structures, internal reflection, and polarization effect (dipole and interfacial polarization) plays a synergistic role in the improved absorption efficiency and superior EMI shielding performance. Consequently, this work provides a promising MXene-based EMI shielding candidate with lightweight and high strength features.

A new metal phosphonate, [Cd(H2L)H2O]n (1), (H4L = 4-F-C6H4CH2N(CH2PO3H2)2) has been synthesized by hydrothermal method and structurally characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis and powder X-ray diffraction. 1 exhibits a 1D chain structure formed by the coordination interactions between PO3 groups and metal ions. The adjacent chains are further interlinked by hydrogen bond interactions, leading to a supramolecular network. Moreover, 1 not only shows excellent stability in boiling water, DMF solution and 140 °C hydrothermal condition for three days, but also can survive in aqueous solution over a wide pH range. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of diphosphonic acid complex with 1D chain exhibiting high stability in various solutions. The thermal stability was also investigated. Additionally, the luminescence property of 1 was investigated in the solid state at room temperature.

A new nickel(II) phosphonate, [Ni3(HL)2(H2O)10]·4H2O (1), (H4L = 4-F-C6H4CH2N(CH2PO3H2)2) has been synthesized by a hydrothermal method and structurally characterized via X-ray single-crystal diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis and powder X-ray diffraction. 1 exhibits a 1D chain structure formed by the coordination interactions between PO3 groups and metal ions; the chains are further interlinked by [Ni(H2O)6]2+, leading to a supramolecular network. Interestingly, there are helix water channels located in the stacking diagram of 1. To the best of our knowledge, this kind of water channel has not been reported before. The presence of extended hydrogen bonding stabilizes the 3D network and favours proton transfer. 1 shows high proton conductivity with σ = 1.43 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 297 K and 98% RH and a lower activation energy of 0.08 eV. The conductivity is comparable to that of MOF-based materials with efficient proton conducting property. Additionally, the water vapor adsorption of 1 was also investigated.

A coupling of bromoalkynes with secondary phosphine oxides was developed for the synthesis of alkynylphosphine oxides. This transformation was accomplished under additive-free conditions in acetic anhydride (Ac2O). The reaction could be carried out under mild conditions, and a wide range of secondary phosphine oxides were obtained in good yields.

Hydrothermal reactions of (benzylazanediyl)bis(methylene)-diphosphonic acid (H4L1) or (benzene-1,3,5-triyltris(methylene))triphosphonic acid (H6L2) with Fe(III)/Cu(II) nitrate and 4, 4′-bipy or 2, 2′-bipy result in five new phosphonates, namely, [FeHL1(H2O)]n (1), {[Cu2L1(4, 4′-bipy)0.5(H2O)]·0.25H2O}n (2), [Cu2H2L2(4, 4′-bipy)(H2O)2]n (3), [CuH4L2(2, 2′-bipy)]n (4) and [Cu2(H4L2)2(2, 2′-bipy)2(H2O)4] (5), respectively. X-ray structural analysis indicates that 2 and 3 feature 3D framework structures with 3, 3, 3, 4-connected and 4, 5-connected topology; 1 and 4 display 1D chain structures, while 5 has a dimer structure. The di- or trisphosphonate ligands (H4L1 and H6L2) in the five complexes adopt different coordination modes and auxiliary ligands (4, 4′-bipy and 2, 2′-bipy) control the dimensionality of the final complexes. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities of 2–5 were assessed by modified nitrobluetetrazolium (NBT) assay. The IC50 values required to yield 50% inhibition of the reduction of NBT are 1.84, 2.02, 6.95 and 1.70 μM for 2–5, respectively, demonstrating better SOD-like activity than most of the Cu-SOD mimic enzymes reported in literatures. Among them, 2 and 3 have good stability and reusability under the simulative physiological conditions. The dismutation of 4 and 5 toward superoxide anion radicals can be attributed to the synergistic effect of the decomposition products of 4 and 5 containing Cu(II) and [H4L2]2- with or without 2, 2′-bipy or Cu(II) and 2, 2′-bipy, which were identified by liquid mass spectrometry (LC/MS). The magnetic properties of complexes 1–4 were also investigated, indicating the presence of magnetic exchange between metal ions. The results show that 1 and 3 exhibit antiferromagnetic interactions, while 2 and 4 show ferromagnetic interactions between metal centres.

Herein, Ti2CTx MXene and its derivatives with various heterogeneous structures were constructed via etching and a facile oxidation treatment. The effect of different oxidation conditions on their structural evolution and phase composition was studied in detail. Compared with that of pristine Ti2CTx MXene, the improvement in the electromagnetic wave absorption capability of the as-prepared Ti2CTx/TiO2 and C/TiO2 nanocomposites was attributed to their enhanced polarization loss and stronger conductivity loss. The enhanced polarization loss is caused by the generated heterogeneous interfaces and higher specific surface area, and the stronger conductivity loss is due to the completely exfoliated carbon layers. Additionally, the remaining multilayered structure after exfoliation of the carbon layers favors energy dissipation. The C/TiO2 nanocomposites attain a minimum reflection coefficient of −50.3 dB at 7.1 and 14.2 GHz, and an effective absorption bandwidth of 4.7 GHz (covering the whole X-band) with a matching thickness of 2.1 mm; this indicates their excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties. We believe that these nanocomposites with a heterogeneous structure also hold great promise for application in the fields of photocatalysis, lithium batteries, water purification, etc.

The fabrication of a sandwich-like composite that consists of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and Si3N4 ceramic (RGO/Si3N4) was achieved through the combination of modified freeze-drying approach and ...

Two novel metal-organic framework (MOF) photocatalysts with different structures [(Cu(H2L)(4,4'-bipy)0.5(H2O)] (1) and [Co(C14H14O6.5P2)(4,4'-bipy)0.5(H2O)2]·H2O (2) were synthesized using a hydrothermal method using a phosphonate ligand [H4L = 1,1'-biphenylene-4,4'-bis(methylene)-bis(phosphonic acid)] and 4,4'-bipyridine ligand. All the samples were characterized by elemental analysis, thermal analysis, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. As novel porous materials, the two complexes showed active performance for the reduction of Cr(vi) to Cr(iii) and the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) dye in aqueous solution under UV light. Control experiments showed that the pH value was vital for Cr(vi) reduction, meanwhile, the use of a hole scavenger of methanol promoted the photocatalytic reduction significantly. It was also demonstrated that complexes 1 and 2 were efficient for the degradation of MB. Moreover, the possible reaction mechanism of the reaction was also investigated in detail. Finally, the cyclic experiments indicated the two photocatalysts were stable and reusable, enabling them to be potential candidates for use in environment governance.

The crystal structure, magnetic and electronic properties of SmFeO3 under hydrostatic pressure have been studied by first-principles calculations within the generalized gradient approximation plus Hubbard U (GGA + U). The iso-structural phase transition with spin, volume and band gap collapses can be induced by a large enough hydrostatic pressure. The high-spin (HS) state of Fe3+, with the magnetic moment of ~4 μB, is retained at low pressure. The spin crossover occurs at a transition pressure (~68 GPa) with the magnetic moment of Fe3+ decreasing to ~1 μB in low-spin (LS) state. Meanwhile, the reductions of cell volume (by ~−5.43%) and band gap (from >2 eV to ~1.6 eV) of SmFeO3 are obtained when the HS–LS transition happens. Finally, the critical pressure of HS–LS transition, magnetic and electronic properties are found to be Hubbard U dependent.

For the first time, tantalum carbide (TaC) nanoparticles modified pyrolytic carbon fiber (TaC/PyC)f fabrics were elaborately designed and fabricated through in-situ formation of TaC nanophase on the surface of PyCf fabrics derived from pyrolysis of cotton fiber clothes. The introduction of highly electrically conductive TaC nanophase significantly improved the electrical conductivity and interaction capability of (TaC/PyC)f fabrics with electromagnetic waves in terms of reflection and absorption, which leads to a significant increase in the total shielding effectiveness (SET). With a thickness of ~260 μm, the best SET of the resultant (TaC/PyC)f fabrics can reach 75.0 dB compared to 24.4 dB of the PyCf fabrics with otherwise identical conditions. Through employing both the advantages of TaC and Cf, flexible, thin and light-weight (TaC/PyC)f fabrics possessing excellent SE were obtained.

Novel inner asymmetric composite microspheres were prepared by encapsulating surface-modified magnetic particles via mini-emulsion polymerization. Most of the surface-modified magnetic particles encapsulated into the polymer matrix aggregate in one side of each microsphere, while only a few particles randomly disperse in the remaining part. The magnetic content of these novel asymmetric composite microspheres is 46.7% and the saturation magnetization is 23.8 emu g−1. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry

A magnetically separable Fe 3 O 4 –NH 2 –Pd (0) catalyst was easily synthesized by immobilizing Pd nanoparticles on the surface of magnetic Fe 3 O 4 –NH 2 microspheres. It was found that the combination of Fe 3 O 4 and triethylene tetramine (TETA) could give rise to structurally stable catalytic sites. Furthermore, the high-magnetization Fe 3 O 4 –NH 2 –Pd(0) catalyst can be recovered by magnet and reused for six runs for Heck reaction without significant loss in catalytic activity.

This study investigated the effects of dietary Ganoderma lucidum Polysaccharides (GLP) on cellular immune responses and disease resistance in yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco). For 8 weeks, 540 yellow catfish were fed different levels of GLP. The treatments were: 0-control group, 300-T1, 600-T2, 900-T3, 1200-T4, 1500-T5 mg/kg, respectively. After the 8 week feeding trial, the respiratory burst activity of head kidney macrophages, proliferation of peripheral blood leukocytes, and phagocytic activity were assayed. Both the control and treated groups of fish were then challenged with an intraperitoneal injection of Aeromonas hydrophila, and cumulative mortality was recorded for 6 days post-infection. Results showed that there was a significant increase in oxygen respiratory burst activity of head kidney macrophages (p

Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) was initially used to simulate the polystyrene/nanoparticle composite microspheres (PNCM) in this paper. The coarse graining model of PNCM was established. And the DPD parameterization of the model was represented in detail. The DPD repulsion parameters were calculated from the cohesive energy density which could be calculated by amorphous modules in Materials Studio. The equilibrium configuration of the simulated PNCM shows that the nanoparticles were actually "modified" with oleic acid and the modified nanoparticles were embedded in the bulk of polystyrene. As sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was located in the interface between water and polystyrene, the hydrophilic head of SDS stretched into water while the hydrophobic tailed into polystyrene. All simulated phenomena were consistent with the experimental results in preparation of polystyrene/nanoparticles composite microspheres. The effect of surface modification of nanoparticles on its dispersion in polystyrene matrix was also studied by adjusting the interaction parameters between the OA and NP beads. The final results indicated that the nanoparticles removed from the core of composite microsphere to the surface with increase of a OA-NP . All the simulated results demonstrated that our coarse–grained model was reasonable.