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In this present study, an efficient method has been proposed to develop a high hydrophobic zincated coating on the eva-core aluminium (Al) alloy surface. The double zincating method (Z2) was utilized to develop the required roughness on the Al surface. To control the surface energy, lauric acid (LA) was coated on the surface using the liquid self-assembled monolayers (L-SAMs) method. Surface morphology, the chemical composition of the treated and untreated Al alloy has been studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The hydrophobicity of the substrates has also been analysed using a contact angle measurement (CA). AFM micrographs show the surface roughness of the Al alloy has been drastically increased with chemical treatments from 0.071 to 0.32 μm. XRD shows the percentage crystallinity of the Al alloy is decreased with double zincating and LA coating from 56.8 to 22.7%. As a result, a high hydrophobicity of Al alloy was induced with a contact angle of 150° upon the double zincating method and L-SAMs coating. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic with and without feed restriction on broilers performance, blood parameters, carcass characteristics, and feed cost of production from 1 to 56 days of age. Methods: Two hundred and forty unsexed one day-old chicks of Arbor Acres breed were used. Two trials, I and II, were conducted, with 120 birds in both. Each trial was divided into 4 equal groups. The birds in trial I were fed ad libitum throughout the experiment, while the chicks in trial II were fed ad libitum during the first week of age, then subjected to 5 hours/d of feed restriction from the beginning of the second week up to the end of the experiment. In both trials, the birds in group 1 were fed on a control diet while the other groups were given the same control diet supplemented either with a probiotic in group 2, prebiotic in group 3, or synbiotic in group 4. Results: It was found that chicks fed diets supplemented with probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic (with and without feed restriction) exhibited higher body weight and feed efficiency than chicks fed the control diets. The feed additives in both trials did not affect hemoglobin, serum total protein, albumin, globulin, glucose, and total cholesterol, except the packed cell volume which was increased in the additive treatments with restriction at the end of the experiment. Moreover, the dietary treatments did not influence the carcass yield. However, the relative weights of liver, gizzard and proventriculus, small intestine and bursa of fabricius were found to be increased. The additives decreased the visible fat in the carcass, with more decreasing effect in the additive groups with restriction. The lowest feed cost per kg of weight gain was observed in the birds fed diets supplemented with synbiotic, probiotic and prebiotic. Feed restriction improved the feed conversion ratio, economic return, but decreased the feed intake, serum total cholesterol and visible fat in comparison with non-restricted groups. Conclusion: The biological feed additives could be routinely added to broiler diets, especially when a feed restriction program is followed. Finally, it can be recommended to restrict feed, and add probiotic or synbiotic to increase weight, improve feed conversion rate and reduce feed cost of production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original version of the Supplementary Information associated with this Article contained an error in page 6 Supplementary Fig. The original version of this Article contained an error in page 6 line 13 which incorrectly read 'However, the heat conductance (along the direction normal to the substrate) is dependent on the relative substrate thickness, which for thin NOA63 and the thick glass substrate are 543.38 and 37.5 [W K SP -1 sp ]'. [Extracted from the article]

Since the seminal report by Adachi and co-workers in 2012, there has been a veritable explosion of interest in the design of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) compounds, particularly as emitters for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). With rapid advancements and innovation in materials design, the efficiencies of TADF OLEDs for each of the primary color points as well as for white devices now rival those of state-of-the-art phosphorescent emitters. Beyond electroluminescent devices, TADF compounds have also found increasing utility and applications in numerous related fields, from photocatalysis, to sensing, to imaging and beyond. Following from our previous review in 2017 ( Adv. Mater. 2017, 1605444), we here comprehensively document subsequent advances made in TADF materials design and their uses from 2017-2022. Correlations highlighted between structure and properties as well as detailed comparisons and analyses should assist future TADF materials development. The necessarily broadened breadth and scope of this review attests to the bustling activity in this field. We note that the rapidly expanding and accelerating research activity in TADF material development is indicative of a field that has reached adolescence, with an exciting maturity still yet to come.

Herein, we have synthesized 4,5-diphenyl-1 H -imidazole and 2-(1 H -indol-3-yl)acetonitrile based donor-π-acceptor fluorophores and studied their optical, thermal, electroluminescence properties. Both the fluorophores exhibit high fluorescence quantum yield ( Φ f = <0.6) and good thermal stability ( T d10 = <300 °C), and could be excellent candidates for OLED applications. Moreover, the ground and excited state properties of the compounds were analysed in various solvents with different polarities. The geometric and electronic structures of the fluorophores in the ground and excited states have been studied using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) methods. The absorption of BIPIAN and BITIAN in various solvents corresponds to S 0 → S 1 transitions and the most intense bands with respect to the higher oscillator strengths are mainly contributed by HOMO → LUMO transition. Significantly, the vacuum deposited non-doped OLED device was fabricated using BITIAN as an emitter, and the device shows electroluminescence (EL) at 564 nm, maximum current efficiency (CE) 0.687 cd A -1 and a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 0.24%., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)