Redispersible CuO nanoparticles: preparation and photocatalytic capacity for the degradation of methylene blue.

In this study, redispersible copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) with an average size of 92.18 nm were synthesized using ethylene glycol as a complexing agent and sodium poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid--maleic acid) as a stabilizer. The CuO NP dispersion remained stable for 30 days.

A High-Temperature-Resistant and Conductive Flexible Silicone Rubber with High Phenyl Content Based on Silver-Coated Glass Fibers.

To enhance the high-temperature resistance of silicone rubber and meet the application requirements of flexible conductive silicone rubber under elevated temperature conditions, this study adopts a chemical modification strategy by introducing phenyl groups into the molecular chains of silicone rubber to improve its thermal resistance. High-phenyl-content hydroxyl-terminated silicone oil (MPPS) was used as the polymer backbone, and vinylmethyldimethoxysilane (VDMS) served as the chain extender. Through a silanol condensation reaction, vinylmethylphenyl polysiloxane (VMPPS) with a crosslinkable structure was synthesized, providing reactive sites for subsequent vulcanization and molding.

Synthesis of Copper Nanowires Using Monoethanolamine and the Application in Transparent Conductive Films.

Copper nanowires (Cu NWs) are considered a promising alternative to indium tin oxide (ITO) and silver nanowires (Ag NWs) due to their excellent electrical conductivity, mechanical properties, abundant reserves, and low cost. They have been widely applied in various optoelectronic devices. In this study, Cu NWs were synthesized using copper chloride (CuCl) as the precursor, monoethanolamine (MEA) as the complexing agent, and hydrated hydrazine (NH) as the reducing agent under strongly alkaline conditions at 60 °C.

Effect of Block Polyether as an Interfacial Dispersant on the Properties of Nanosilica/Natural Rubber Composites.

To enhance the dispersion of silica within a natural rubber (NR) matrix and improve the modification efficiency of the silane coupling agent, a novel interfacial dispersant composed of block polyether with a PEO-PPO-PEO structure is employed in this study. This block polyether, consisting of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO), serves to reduce the surface energy of silica and improve its compatibility with the rubber matrix. Three types of block polyethers with different hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) values of 8, 13, and 22 are selected to regulate the surface tension of silica.

Amino-Terminated Poly(propylene oxide) as an Interfacial Dispersant for Low-Conductivity Silica/Carbon Black Hybrid-Filled Natural Rubber Composites.

Natural rubber is widely used in various engineering fields due to its excellent properties, particularly as an anti-corrosion and wear-resistant lining for metal pipelines. The defects in rubber linings are typically detected using the electrical spark test. Carbon black can enhance the strength, modulus, and wear resistance of natural rubber.

An Ionic Liquid Supramolecular Gel Electrolyte with Unique Wide Operating Temperature Range Properties for Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Zinc-ion batteries are promising candidates for large-scale energy storage. The side reactions of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and zinc dendrite growth are major challenges for developing high-performance zinc-ion batteries. In this paper, a supramolecular gel electrolyte (BLO-ILZE) was self-assembled in an ionic liquid (EMIMBF) with zinc tetrafluoroborate (Zn(BF)) on the separator in situ to obtain a gel electrolyte used in zinc-ion batteries.

Preparation of Gradient Polyurethane and Its Performance for Flexible Sensors.

Flexible sensors are prone to the problems of slow recovery rate and large residual strain in practical use. In this paper, a polyurethane functional composite with a gradient change in elastic modulus is proposed as a flexible sensor to meet the recovery rate and residual strain without affecting the motion. Different hard and soft segment ratios are used to synthesize a gradient polyurethane structure.

The Effect of Hydroxy Silicone Oil Emulsion on the Waterproof Performance of Cement.

The hydrophilic and porous structure of cement-based concrete materials makes it vulnerable to various harmful ions dissolved in water in the environment or during the freeze-thaw cycle, resulting in a significant decline in durability. Therefore, the introduction of hydrophobic hydroxyl silicone oil with good chemical stability and excellent hydrophobic properties during the process of concrete preparation to achieve the hydrophobic modification of its internal holes has very positive significance in terms of improving its durability. In order to disperse the hydrophobic hydroxyl silicone oil evenly in the internal pores of the concrete, synthetic non-ionic polyether-modified silicone oil was used as an emulsifier to make it a water-soluble emulsion.

Synthesis of Controllable Superparamagnetic Nano FeO Based on Reduction Method for Colloidal Clusters of Magnetically Responsive Photonic Crystals.

In this paper, we designed and investigated a reduction-based method to synthesize controllably monodisperse superparamagnetic nano FeO colloidal clusters for magnetically responsive photonic crystals. It was shown that the addition of ascorbic acid (VC) to the system could synthesize monodisperse superparamagnetic nano FeO and avoided the generation of γ-FeO impurities, while the particle size and saturation magnetization intensity of nano FeO gradually decreased with the increase of VC dosage. Nano FeO could be rapidly assembled into photonic crystal dot matrix structures under a magnetic field, demonstrating tunability to various diffraction wavelengths.

A Study on the Impermeability of Nanodispersible Modified Bentonite Based on Colloidal Osmotic Pressure Mechanisms and the Adsorption of Harmful Substances.

With the growing demands of human beings, sanitary landfill, along with the increase in landfill depth and leachate water pressure, has put forward new and higher requirements for the impermeable layer. In particular, it is required to have a certain adsorption capacity of harmful substances from the perspective of environmental protection. Hence, the impermeability of polymer bentonite-sand mixtures (PBTS) at different water pressure and the adsorption properties of polymer bentonite (PBT) on contaminants were investigated through the modification of PBT using betaine compounded with sodium polyacrylate (SPA).

Preparation of ecofriendly water-borne polyurethane elastomer with mechanical robustness and self-healable ability based on multi-dynamic interactions.

Self-healing materials have attracted widespread attention owing to their capacity to extend the lifetime of materials and improve resource utilization. However, achieving superior mechanical performance and high self-healable capability simultaneously under moderate conditions remains a long-standing challenge. Integrating multiple dynamic interactions in waterborne polyurethane (WPU) systems can overcome the above-mentioned issue.

Redispersible Reduced Graphene Oxide Prepared in a Gradient Solvent System.

We designed a gradient solvent strategy for the reduction of graphene oxide, matching the hydrophilic properties of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO), respectively. A third solvent was added dropwise to regulate the hydrophilic variation of the continuous gradient system which maintained the whole reduction process without aggregation, and the obtained RGO dispersions could maintain stability for a long time. The separated RGO solid powder can be directly ultrasonically redispersed in N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) with an average particle size as low as 200 nm.

Study on Green Degradation Process of Polyurethane Foam Based on Integral Utilization and Performance of Recycled Polyurethane Oil-Absorbing Foam.

Ester exchange glycolysis of flexible polyurethane foam (PU) usually results in split-phase products, and the recovered polyether polyols are obtained after separation and purification, which can easily cause secondary pollution and redundancy. In this paper, we propose a green recycling process for the degradation of waste polyurethane foam by triblock polyether, and the degradation product can be used directly as a whole. The polyurethane foam can be completely degraded at a minimum mass ratio of 1.

Study on Preparation of Polymer-Modified Bentonite and Sand Mixtures Based on Osmotic Pressure Principle.

Polymer-modified bentonite and sand mixtures (PMBS) are widely used in the engineering field due to their low cost and low permeability. In this study, different ionic types of polyacrylamides were used to modify bentonite to improve its swelling properties and impermeability. The physicochemical properties of polymer-modified bentonite were characterized by X-ray diffraction, particle size distribution, IR spectroscopy, SEM, and free swell index (FSI) to further demonstrate the successful organic modification of bentonite.

Respiratory Adsorption of Organic Pollutants in Wastewater by Superhydrophobic Phenolic Xerogels.

Organogel adsorbents are widely used for the adsorption of hard-to-degrade organic pollutants in wastewater due to their natural affinity to the organic phase in water. In this study, phenolic xerogels (PF) synthesised in the ethylene glycol inorganic acid system are used as a backbone and superhydrophobic phenolic xerogels (ASO-PF) are obtained by grafting aminosilanes onto the PF backbone via the Mannich reaction. The modified ASO-PF not only retains the pore structure of the original PF (up to 90% porosity), but also has excellent superhydrophobic properties (water contact angle up to 153°).

Ultrasensitive electrochemical sensor for mercury ion detection based on molybdenum selenide and Au nanoparticles thymine-Hg-thymine coordination.

An ultrasensitive and specific-selection electrochemical sensor was constructed for Hg detection based on Au nanoparticles and molybdenum selenide (Au NPs@MoSe) as well as the thymine-Hg-thymine (T-Hg-T) coordination. Herein, Au NPs@MoSe not only could improve the sensitivity due to the large surface area and good electrical conductivity but also offered more sites to immobilize thiol-labeled T-rich hairpin DNA probes (P-1), which has a specific recognition for Hg and methylene blue-labeled T-rich DNA probes (MB-P). When Hg and MB-P exist, P-1 and MB-P can form a stable T-Hg-T complex.

A sandwich-type photoelectrochemical aptasensor using Au/BiVO and CdS quantum dots for carcinoembryonic antigen assay.

A novel sandwich-type photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptasensor for the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) assay was fabricated using the CEA aptamer, Au/BiVO and CdS quantum dots (CdS QDs). In virtue of the localized surface plasmon resonance effect of Au nanoparticles, Au/BiVO showed an effective utilization of visible light and excellent photoactivity, and was employed as the photoanode. After CdS QDs were conjugated to Au/BiVO through the sandwich structure based on the hybridization of the CEA aptamer with two partially complementary single-stranded DNA molecules, the photocurrents were further enhanced by a resonance energy transfer between CdS QDs and Au nanoparticles.

Preparation of RGO and Anionic Polyacrylamide Composites for Removal of Pb(II) in Aqueous Solution.

Graphene oxide (GO) have been reported as adsorbent materials, because its surface contains a large number of oxygen-containing groups, which provide masses of active sites. Nevertheless, it is difficult to separate GO from aqueous solution by conventional means after the end of the adsorption process. Therefore, ethylene diamine-reduced graphene oxide/anionic polyacrylamide (E-RGO/APAM), with a large quantity of adsorption sites and strong flocculation was prepared in this study.

Porous cobalt oxides/carbon foam hybrid materials for high supercapacitive performance.

Porous cobalt oxides/carbon foam hybrid materials (CoO/C) was prepared by a solvothermal method. Owing to the heredity of the interconnected hierarchical porous structure from the carbon foam, the obtained CoO/C composites had a larger specific surface area and a wider pore size distribution than CoO, which facilitated the electron and ion transport. Benefiting from the synergistic contribution of CoO nanoparticles and the porous carbon foam, CoO/C possessed an excellent supercapacitive performance.

Aggregation prevention: reduction of graphene oxide in mixed medium of alkylphenol polyoxyethylene (7) ether and 2-methoxyethanol.

Graphene has attracted great interest due to its extensive applications in optoelectronic and electronic circuits and devices. However, reduction of graphene oxide (GO) to graphene is a process in which hydrophilic GO converts to hydrophobic graphene. Very little is known about the aggregation of graphene and the cause of performance degradation by general chemical reduction methods as the single reaction medium presents difficulty in satisfying the good dispersion of hydrophilic GO and hydrophobic graphene simultaneously.

Hydrogel Cryopreservation System: An Effective Method for Cell Storage.

At present, living cells are widely used in cell transplantation and tissue engineering. Many efforts have been made aiming towards the use of a large number of living cells with high activity and integrated functionality. Currently, cryopreservation has become well-established and is effective for the long-term storage of cells.

Self-assembly of fluorinated gradient copolymer in three-dimensional co-flow focusing microfluidic.

Hypothesis: The microfluidic technology can drive molecules to organize into aggregates with nano-structures, and gives a possibility to control aggregate morphologies by adjusting hydrodynamic parameters of microfluidics. COMSOL Multiphysics is a useful software to simulate the mixing situation of solutions in microfluidic. Here, experiments and simulation are combined to study the self-assembly of gradient copolymers in the microfluidic device.

Regulation of gammaherpesvirus lytic replication by endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced transcription factors ATF4 and CHOP.

The stress-induced unfolded protein response (UPR) in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) involves various signaling cross-talks and controls cell fate. B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling, which can trigger UPR, induces gammaherpesvirus lytic replication and serves as a physiological mechanism for gammaherpesvirus reactivation However, how the UPR regulates BCR-mediated gammaherpesvirus infection is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the ER stressors tunicamycin and thapsigargin inhibit BCR-mediated murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV68) lytic replication by inducing expression of the UPR mediator Bip and blocking activation of Akt, ERK, and JNK.

CD95 Signaling Inhibits B Cell Receptor-Mediated Gammaherpesvirus Replication in Apoptosis-Resistant B Lymphoma Cells.

Unlabelled: While CD95 is an apoptosis-inducing receptor and has emerged as a potential anticancer therapy target, mounting evidence shows that CD95 is also emerging as a tumor promoter by activating nonapoptotic signaling pathways. Gammaherpesviral infection is closely associated with lymphoproliferative diseases, including B cell lymphomas. The nonapoptotic function of CD95 in gammaherpesvirus-associated lymphomas is largely unknown.