Extension of corrosion inhibitors from traditional molecular-scale to nanoscale will not only be significant to develop green and efficient inhibitors, but also supplement the discipline system of corrosion inhibitors. However, many research on the interfacial behavior of nano-inhibitors have ignored the special colloidal properties of nanoparticles and show no obvious differences with traditional inhibitors. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized with polydopamine (PDA) via covalent modifications and self-polymerization, and GO-PDA was studied as a corrosion inhibitor of carbon steel in HCl solution. Diversified measurements confirmed that GO-PDA can effectively protect carbon steel from corrosion, and the inhibition efficiency almost reached 90% at 100 mg/L. Interfering factors including immersion time and concentration were investigated. The lamellar nanoparticles adsorbed on the surface of carbon steel have formed a hydrophobic film in micro-nano structures. The transition from a negative charge on the GO surface to a positively charged GO-PDA contributed to adsorption at the interface. An initial model of nano-inhibitor was established to explicate the inhibition mechanism.
Graphical abstractNovel thermal nanoparticles [hollow mesoporous silica nanospheres (HMSNs)–poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide-acrylic acid) PNIPAM-AA] were developed with Ag nanoparticles (AgNps) as the core, mesoporous silica nanoparticles as the layer, and thermally responsive polymers PNIPAM-AA as the shell. The AgNps had good photothermal effects, PNIPAM-AA was responsive to temperature, the combination of AgNps and PNIPAM-AA could be used as a photothermal-responsive switch for drug release, and HMSNs greatly increased the drug loading of the carrier. The samples were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N2 adsorption–desorption, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV–Vis absorption spectra. The results showed that Ag@HMSN nanoparticles possessed a uniform diameter (330 nm), high specific surface area (822.45 m2/g), and mesoporous pore size (2.75 nm). Using ibuprofen (IBU) as a model drug, the release process was monitored under in vitro conditions to investigate its release characteristics at different temperatures. The results showed that the nanoparticles had a significant regulatory effect on IBU release.
Graphical abstractHybrid organic–inorganic nanocomposites are great candidates for display and illumination systems due to improved optoelectronic properties and photostability. This work endeavours towards the scientific study of the influence of defect-induced zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) on the optical characteristics of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV). ZnO nanoparticles consist of many vacancies which facilitate light emission across the visible region. The green defective emission occurring due to the presence of oxygen vacancies in ZnO was used to re-excite MEH-PPV and hence, improve the luminescence quantum efficiency. The photostability of the nanocomposite was enhanced through charge transfer (prevents the formation of superoxides) and energy transfer (reduces the non-radiative decay) mechanisms.
Graphical abstractTuning of porosity and surface properties of nanoparticles especially on carbon-based nanomaterials, adopting a ‘greener’ or self-activation synthesis technique for electrical charge storage, is progressing. Herein, we report the self-activation of Teak wood sawdust in a nitrogen atmosphere at different activation temperatures to synthesize carbon nanoparticles. The activated carbon nanoparticles synthesized at 900 °C exhibits a maximum?~?360 m2 g?1 surface area with?~?2 nm average pore size diameter. Five electrolytes viz. KOH, KCl, Na2SO4, NaCl, and H3PO4 are used for studying the supercapacitance nature of the activated carbon nanoparticles in a 3-electrode configuration. A maximum specific capacitance of?~?208 F g?1 @ 0.25 A g?1 is obtained in 1 M KOH as the electrolyte. Two symmetric supercapacitors, aqueous (1 M KOH) and solid-state (PVA/KOH), are fabricated, and their performance difference is compiled. The solid-state symmetric supercapacitor performs in a wider voltage window (1.7 V) with a superior energy density of 27.1 Wh kg?1 at a power density of 178 W kg?1.
Graphical abstractThe development of hydrogen production via environment-friendly and efficient electrochemical water splitting technology leans heavily on the exploitation of highly active and durable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts. Herein, nanocoral-like cerium-activated cobalt selenide (Ce-CoSe2) nanocomposites to enhance the OER catalytic activity have been successfully prepared by one-pot hydrothermal route via simply altering the cerium content. Owing to the ingenious introduction of cerium, as-prepared Ce-CoSe2 electrode displays remarkable OER performance in comparison with CoSe2. The nanocoral-like Ce-CoSe2 catalyst prepared under optimal condition just needs low overpotential of 276 and 398 mV at 10 and 50 mA cm?2, respectively. Additionally, it attains the current density of 255 mA cm?2 at the potential of 2.0 V vs. RHE, and shows long-term stability during OER. This work offers a simple and feasible pathway for the design and construct of metal dichalcogenides for green and renewable hydrogen production by electrocatalytic water splitting.
Graphical abstractQuenching from sintering temperature enhances the depolarization temperature (Td) in Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-based ceramics without significant deterioration of piezoelectric properties (d33). In this work, quenching effects in an ergodic relaxor 0.97(0.94Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3–0.06BaTiO3)–0.03AgNbO3 (NBT–6BT–3AN) were investigated based on structure, ferroelectric, and dielectric properties. The ergodicity to nonergodicity transition was obtained by quenching NBT–6BT–3AN above 1000 °C. The temperature stability of the quenching-induced nonergodicity was examined by annealing the quenched sample at 300 °C and 600 °C. The effect of oxygen vacancy on ergodicity to nonergodicity transition was investigated by comparing ferroelectric and electrostrain responses of the quenched and nitrogen-atmosphere-annealed samples. The influence of quenching on the structure including the average crystal structure, phase fraction and lattice distortion and the local structure including bond lengths and ordering of ions was analyzed. The ergodicity to nonergodicity transition upon quenching is ascribed to the contribution of the off-centered Bi3+ ions and ordered local structure.
Graphical abstractHere, we report a multiferroic relaxor material 0.41Bi(Ni1/2Zr1/2)O3–0.59PbTiO3, which exhibits a large piezoelectric coefficient (d33, 391 pC/N), high remnant polarization (Pr, 52.3 μC/cm2) and a high electrical freezing temperature (Tf, 498 K). The electric-field-induced transition from a cubic-like phase to a tetragonal phase was confirmed by the XRD patterns and first-cycle bipolar electrostrain loop. The magnetization and magnetic field relationship changes from nonlinear to linear when cooled from 300 to 2 K. The unusual trend in magnetic behavior could be interpreted as the transitions between the super short-range orderings. Furthermore, the maximum value of magnetization shows a 14% decrease at 300 K after electrical poling.
Graphical abstractOxygen evolution reaction (OER) for water splitting has a sluggish kinetics, thus significantly hindering the reaction efficiency. So far, it is still challenging to develop a cost-efficient and highly active catalyst for OER processes. To address such issues, we design and synthesize NiP2/FeP heterostructural nanoflowers interwoven by carbon nanotubes (NiP2/FeP@CNT) by a hydrothermal reaction followed by phosphating. The NiP2/FeP@CNT catalyst delivers excellent OER performance: it displays an ultralow Tafel slope of 44.0 mV dec?1 and a relatively low overpotential of 261 mV at 10 mA cm?2, better than RuO2 commercial catalyst; it also shows excellent stability without observable decay after 20-h cycling. The outstanding OER property is mainly attributed to its special 3D stereochemical structure of CNT-interwoven NiP2/FeP heterostructural nanoflowers, which is highly conductive and guarantees considerable active sites. Such nanostructure greatly facilitates the charge transfer, which significantly improves its electrocatalytic activity. This work offers a simple method to synthesize non-precious transition metal-based phosphide electrocatalysts with a unique hierarchical nanostructure for water splitting.
Graphical abstractFumed silica nanoparticles (FSN) are one of the most common synthetic forms of silica, but prolonged exposure leads to cell toxicity and apoptosis due to reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and cell membrane perturbation resulting from hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. Increasing attention is being put on synthesizing FSN material that is safer both for workers involved in large-scale industrial production, and consumers coming in contact with FSN additives. In the present work, we explore the molecular structural differences and efficacy of Al- and Ti-metal-doped FSN which has previously been shown to reduce toxicity effects of FSN. We use a combination of 29Si and 27Al solid-state magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to probe the surface and bulk structure and quantify the adsorption capacity and reactivity of the metal-doped FSN with respect to amino acid thermal condensation. Alanine was selected as the amino acid of choice for its simplicity and ubiquity in biochemical reactions. The results indicate that metal doping has a modest impact on the fumed silica molecular structure with a small decrease in amino acid adsorption capacity and thermal condensation reactivity as a function of increased metal doping.
Graphical AbstractWO3, a visible light reaction catalyst, absorbs light at a wavelength of 470 nm and has many advantages, such as strong stability, long life, non-toxicity, low cost, and suitable band edges. In this review, the photocatalytic mechanism of WO3 in water pollution treatment is introduced, as well as a systematic summary, and some main strategies for improving the photocatalytic activity of WO3 in water pollution treatment are introduced, for example surface and morphology control, synthetic heterojunctions, and doping element. Finally, the main conclusions and prospects of WO3-based photocatalysts are pointed out. It can be expected that this review can provide guidance for designing low-cost, high-efficiency new WO3-based photocatalysts in the process of water pollution treatment and can meet the application prospects of efficient utilization of solar degradation in the field of environmental purification.
Graphical abstractIn this work, we systematically investigated the effects of single-step and two-step sintering methods on the structural, dielectric and energy storage properties of pure AgNbO3 lead-free antiferroelectric ceramics. Compared with the single-step sintered ceramic, the ceramic prepared by two-step sintering method has smaller grain size, dense and homogeneous microstructure. In addition, the results of dielectric temperature spectra reveal that the two-step sintering method hardly changes the phase transition temperature of AgNbO3 ceramics but greatly decreases the dielectric loss value. Most importantly, the ceramic prepared by the two-step sintering method displays high breakdown electric field strength (22 kV/mm), larger recoverable energy storage density-Wrec (2.59 J/cm3) and higher energy storage efficiency-η (45%) as well as excellent temperature stability than those of the ceramic by single-step sintering method. Furthermore, it also exhibited high power density (PD?=?25.7 MW/cm3) and extremely fast charge–discharge speed (25 ns). Our results provide a simple and novel way to design high-performance AgNbO3-based energy storage lead-free ceramics.
Graphical abstractWe review the literature describing the use of interleaves to increase interlaminar fracture toughness in fibre-reinforced polymer composites and hence to improve damage tolerance. From an analysis of data provided in the literature from the use of microfibre and nanofibre interleaves, we show that the performance of these widely researched systems is clearly differentiated when plotted against the mean coverage of the interleaf. Using a simple analysis, we suggest that this can be attributed to the influence of their porous architectures on the infusion of resin. We show also that the superior toughening performance of microfibre interleaves is only weakly influenced by the choice of fibre. We find also that the inclusion of carbon nanotubes within interleaves to deliver multifunctional composites can be optimised by using a hybrid system with microfibres.
Graphical abstractOrganic/inorganic thermoelectric composites have played an important role in the development of new, green, and renewable energy sources with potential applications in efficient thermal management, flexible electronics, and bioelectronics. Electrochemical syntheses, including electropolymerization, electrochemical deposition, electrochemical doping, electrochemical post-processing, etc., require no addition of surfactants or oxidants, the products of which are easy to separate and purify, providing clean, efficient, and facile routes for the preparation of organic thermoelectric materials and their composites. In this review, the preparation, properties, and applications of organic/inorganic thermoelectric composites from electrochemical synthesis were reviewed in detail, offering a perspective on the recent advances in the field.
Graphical abstractThe kinetics of electrochemical corrosion of aluminum alloy (AlMg6) surfaces with different wettability was analyzed. The surfaces were processed by three different methods, in particular, polishing, laser texturing, the combination of laser texturing and low-temperature heating. After laser processing, the dimple-like texture was formed on the surface, and the wettability significantly enhanced. Low-temperature heating of laser-textured AlMg6 alloy surfaces led to the wettability inversion from strongly hydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity. Microscopic and profilometric methods were used to estimate the surface degradation due to corrosion when aggressive solution droplets (a mixture of NaCl and hydrogen peroxide aqueous solutions) evaporated. The potentiodynamic polarization measurements of AlMg6 alloy surfaces were conducted. The typical modes of corrosion and evaporation of aggressive solution droplets were detected. The kinetics of corrosion was estimated by the behavior of the corrosion area evolution. In addition, when immersing laser-textured sample with strongly hydrophilic properties into aggressive solution, the higher corrosion rate was found in the liquid meniscus region (aggressive mixture / alloy / air interface) compared to the textured site immersed in the mixture. This was explained by convection increasing the rate of reaction products removal and promoting a stronger deviation from the equilibrium state in the aggressive mixture. Experimental results of the potentiodynamic polarization measurements revealed that laser-textured samples exhibit enhanced corrosion protective properties compared to polished samples.
Graphical abstractIn this work, a desired Cu2O catalyst supported on graphitic carbon nitride and reduced graphene oxide hybrid (Cu2O/g-C3N4–rGO) with excellent catalytic performance in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) by NaBH4 has been fabricated. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), N2 adsorption/desorption and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) techniques as well as catalytic test using the reduction of 4-NP by NaBH4 as probe reaction have been used to investigate the structure–properties relationship of the as-prepared Cu2O/g-C3N4–rGO composites. The results demonstrate that ultrafine Cu2O nanoparticles can be stably anchored on g-C3N4–rGO hybrid by tuning the initial ratio of rGO (reduced graphene oxide) to g-C3N4, where homogeneous dispersion of g-C3N4 on sheet-like rGO plays a very important role in confining the ultrafine Cu2O nanoparticles and excellent catalytic performance is noticed on Cu2O/g-C3N4–rGO composite for the reduction of 4-NP by NaBH4 with an activity parameter up to 6330 s-1g-1.
Graphical abstractThe properties of nanoparticle–polymer composites strongly depend on the network structure of the polymer matrix. By introducing nanoparticles into a monomer (solution) and subsequently polymerizing it, the formation of the polymer phase influences the mechanical and physicochemical properties of the composite. In this study, semi-conducting indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles were prepared to form a rigid nanoparticle scaffold in which 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA), together with an initiator for photo-polymerization, was infiltrated and subsequently polymerized by UV light. During this process, the polymerization reaction was characterized using rapid scan Kubelka–Munk FT-IR spectroscopy and compared to bulk HDDA. The conductivity change of the ITO nanoparticles was monitored and correlated with the polymerization process. It was revealed that the reaction rates of the radical initiation and chain propagation are reduced when cured inside the voids of the nanoparticle scaffold. The degree of conversion is lower for HDDA infiltrated into the mesoporous ITO nanoparticle scaffold compared to purely bulk-polymerized HDDA.
Graphical abstractSilver nanowires find use in a myriad of applications, including communication systems, sensors, medical devices and electrical equipment. Temperature-dependent electrical and thermal properties of chemically derived silver nanowires are rarely explored. In the present work, seed-mediated synthesis of silver nanowires has been carried out, and their electrical and thermal conductivity at 300 K is found to be 1.848?×?107 S/m and 64.8 W/mK, respectively. A screen-printable ink of silver nanowires is formulated and printed on low-cost and widely used substrates like paper and cotton fabrics. Flexible printed electrodes could be made possible with uniform printed structures obtained in cotton fabric and paper substrate. The printed pattern exhibited sheet resistance of 0.7 Ω/sq. Screen-printed silver nanowires on paper show shielding efficiency of 99.9% in X band, which promotes them as excellent candidates in fabricating lightweight electronic devices by a one-step printing process.
Graphical abstractWe synthesize a group of three-phase ferroelectric ceramics 0.35(Sr0.7Bi0.2) TiO3–0.65(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3–xSr(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (BST–BNT–xSMN) using conventional solid-phase sintering method. When tunning the volume of SMN to 0.01, the ceramic sheet shows homogeneous microcrystal grains and highly dense crystal morphology, which favors a reductive dielectric permittivity (εr) of 2250 and loss of 0.05. Under a high electric field of 100 kV cm?1, the BST–BNT-0.01SMN sample achieves a slender polarization versus electrical field (P–E) loop with saturation and residual polarization of 37.1 µC cm?2 and 3.0 µC cm?2, respectively, corresponding to a high energy density of 1.32 J cm?3 and a large η of 81%. Strikingly, the BST–BNT–xSMN ceramics show the excellent temperature stability below 100 °C, which facilitates energy storage in relaxed ferroelectric ceramics and provides an efficient method for obtaining pulsed power capacitors with excellent energy-recoverable characteristics and high efficiency in BNT-based ceramics.
Graphical abstractThe three-phase ferroelectric ceramics 0.35(Sr0.7Bi0.2)TiO3- 0.65(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-xSr(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (BST- BNT- xSMN) possesses a slender polarization versus electrical field loop with saturation and residual polarization of 37.1 µC cm-2 and 3.0 µC cm-2 respectively at 100 kV cm-1, which corresponds to a high energy density of 1.32 J cm-3 and a large η of 81%.
In view of the disadvantages of concentration polarization and trade-off effects in the application of membrane in desalination field, oxide-nano graphene oxide/polyamide (O-NGO/PA) loose intermediate layer and PA ultra-thin dense layer were introduced to fabricate PA/O-NGO/polyphenylene sulfide composite membrane with sandwich structure via multi-step interfacial polymerization (MS-IP) method. The selective permeation mechanism of ultrathin layer produced by different aqueous monomers (PIP and MPD) was studied, the effect of its physicochemical structure on the relief of concentration polarization phenomenon and the breakthrough of trade-off effect was analyzed. The ultra-thin and dense PA layer mainly played the role of interception and shortened the water molecular penetration path. In the retention test of metal salt solution, compared with the rough surface, it was found that the smooth surface was more conducive to the diffusion of intercepted metal ions into the feed solution, thus alleviating the concentration polarization phenomenon.
Graphical abstractIn this study, poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA)/low molar mass alkali lignin (aL) (1%, 5% and 10% w/w) composites were prepared primarily for a comprehensive understanding of the effect of aL on their antimicrobial properties, biocompatibility and cytotoxic behavior. The properties were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry and X-ray diffraction. The mechanical, water vapor barrier properties and photodegradability were analyzed as well. The results showed a significant inhibiting effect of aL on the crystallization behavior of PLA, increased water barrier properties (up to 73%) and photodegradability. PLA/aL composites showed a tenfold reduction in Gram-positive bacteria viability, very good cellular response and very low cytotoxicity levels, thus validating these materials as non-cytotoxic and with high potential to be used as food packaging.
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