Manipulating Zn^(2+)solvation environment in poly(propylene glycol)-based aqueous Li^(+)/Zn^(2+)electrolytes for high-voltage hybrid ion batteries

Compared with aqueous single-ion batteries,rechargeable aqueous hybrid ion batteries,especially Li^(+)/Zn^(2+)hybrid ion batteries,are receiving extensive interest owing to their low cost,high operating voltage,and energy density.However,their working voltage and lifespan are limited by the decomposition of water and the growth of Zn dendrites.Herein,detrimental side reactions induced by the water reduction and the Zn dendrite growth are successfully suppressed by a poly(propylene glycol)(PPG)-based hybrid ion electrolyte[(1 m Zn(TFSI)2+10 m LiTFSI)in PPG/H2O].The addition of PPG in the electrolyte can not only enhance the bonding strength of hydrogen-bond in water but also tailor the solvation sheath of Zn2+as revealed by synchrotron X-rays.The participated solvation of PPG with Zn^(2+)can weaken Zn-H_(2)O interactions and redistribute Zn^(2+)flux on the surface of the Zn anode,thus inducing favorably even deposition of Zn.In addition,the decomposition of TFSI-contributes a ZnF_(2)-enriched solid electrolyte interface at the Zn anode to further prevent water decomposition and restrain Zn dendrites.The PPG-based electrolyte enables 2.1 V LiMnO_(2)//Zn batteries to deliver high specific capacities(121.7 mAh g^(-1)for a coin cell and 90 mAh g^(-1)for a pouch cell),and maintain 80%of the capacity over 700 cycles at 0.5 C,suggesting a promising pathway for highly reversible aqueous hybrid ion batteries.

Stability and Thermal Property Optimization of Propylene Glycol-Based MWCNT Nanofluids

Propylene glycol-based MWCNT(multi-walled carbon nanotubes)nanofluids were prepared in the framework of a two-step method and by using a suitable PVP(polyvinyl pyrrolidone)dispersant.The BBD(Box-Behnken design)model was exploited to analyze 17 sets of experiments and examine the sensitivity of the absorbance to three parameters,namely the concentration of MWCNT,the SN ratio(mass ratio of carbon nanotubes to sur-factants)and the sonication time.The results have revealed that,while the SN ratio and concentration of MWCNT have a strong effect on the absorbance,the influence of the sonication time is less important.The sta-tistical method of analysis of variance(ANOVA)was further used to determine the F-and p-values of the model.Five experiments were run to validate this approach.Since sample 2 was found to display the greatest absorbance,it was selected for stability monitoring as well as thermal conductivity and viscosity measurements.This sample has been found to be stable;the viscosity decreased with increasing temperature;the addition of MWCNT nano-particles was more effective in improving the thermal conductivity of propylene glycol than other methods in the literature.Moreover,the MWCNT nanofluid based on propylene glycol exhibited higher thermal conductivity at low temperatures.

Preparation and shaping of solid acid SO_4^(2-)/TiO_2 and its application for esterification of propylene glycol monomethyl ether and acetic acid

The solid acid SO_4^(2-)/TiO_2 was prepared by immersion method and applied for synthesis of propylene glycol methyl ether acetate(PMA) through esterification reaction of propylene glycol monomethyl ether(PM)and acetic acid(HAc). The optimal catalyst preparation condition was determined by orthogonal analysis of parameters in a five-factor and four-level test. The obtained solid acid catalysts were characterized in detail by means of X-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetry, pyridine adsorbed IR analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and BET surface area method. Synthesis of PMA was studied in this paper through experimental investigation of reaction conditions such as temperature, molar ratio of reactants, catalyst dosage and agitation speed. Based on its possible reaction mechanism, a pseudo-homogeneous kinetic model was established and its activation energies E_a^+ and E_a^-,65.68 × 10~3J·mol^(-1) and 57.78 × 10~3J·mol^(-1), were estimated. To prepare shaped solid acid catalyst SO_4^(2-)/TiO_2, the shaping method of impregnation–shaping–impregnation was applied. The optimal molding formulation of solid acid catalyst, obtained from the orthogonal test, was found to be binder 7 wt%, reinforcing agent 20 wt%, pore forming material 2.5 wt%, and lubricant 4 wt%.The results of performance test of catalyst demonstrated that the shaped solid acid catalyst exhibited high activity and stability.

IMPROVE OPTICAL CLEARING OF SKIN IN VITRO WITH PROPYLENE GLYCOL AS A PENETRATION ENHANCER

In order to enhance the optical clearing effect of topically applied optical clearing agents(OCAs),we evaluated the effect of propylene glycol(PG)as a chemical penetration enhancer(PE)on optical clearing of skin in vitro by observation and measurement of optical-transmittance and diffuse-reflectance spectra.Three OCAs,i.e.,glycerol,D-sorbitol and PEG400,and two other penetration enhancers,Azone and Thiazone,were used in this study.The results indicated that the decrease of reduced scattering coefficient caused by OCA/PG was larger than that by pure OCA,and the change by OCA/water was the least after the same treatment time.There were significant differences for the reduced scattering coefficient at 630 nm after 120 min application of agents between OCA and OCA/PG.The efficacy of optical clearing caused by OCA/PG depended on the OCA itself.When PEG400 was mixed with three different PEs,we found the optical clearing were different.The penetration enhancing ability of PG was much better compared to Azone,and suboptimal to Thiazone.Also,this study provides evidence for the use of PG as a PE in order to improve skin optical clearing.

Simulation and design of a heat-integrated double-effect reactive distillation process for propylene glycol methyl ether production

A double-effect reactive distillation(DERD)process was proposed for the production of propylene glycol methyl ether from propylene oxide and methanol to overcome the shortcoming of low selectivity and high-energy consumption in the tubular plug-flow reactor.A single-column reactive distillation(RD)process was conducted under optimized operating conditions based on sensitivity analysis as a reference.The results demonstrated that the proposed DERD process is able to achieve more than 95%selectivity of the desired product.After that,a design approach of the DERD process with an objective of the minimum operating cost was proposed to achieve further energy savings in the RD process.The proposed DERD configuration can provide a large energy-savings by totally utilization of the overhead vapor steam in the high-pressure RD column.A comparison of the single-column RD process revealed that the proposed DERD process can reduce the operating cost and the total annual cost of 25.3%and 30.7%,respectively,even though the total capital cost of DERD process is larger than that of the RD process.

Stereocomplexation and Mechanical Properties of Polylactide-bpoly(propylene glycol)-b-polylactide Blend Films: Effects of Polylactide Block Length and Blend Ratio

In the present work, poly（propylene glycol） （PPG） was block copolymerized to form polylactide-poly（propylene glycol）-polylactide （PL-PPG-PL） triblock copolymers for preparing flexible stereocomplex PL （scPL） blend films. The scPL blend films were prepared by solution blending of poly（L-lactide）-PPG-poly（L-lactide） （PLL-PPG-PLL） and poly（D-lactide）- PPG-poly（D-lactide） （PDL-PPG-PDL） triblock copolymers before film casting. The influences of PL end-block lengths （2 ×10^4 and 4×10^4 g/tool） and blend ratios （75/25, 50/50 and 25/75 W/W） on the stereocomplexation and mechanical properties of the blend films were evaluated. From DSC and WAXD results, the 50/50 blend films had complete stereocomplexation. Phase separation between the scPL and PPG phases was not observed from their SEM images. The tensile stress and elongation at break increased with the sterecomplex crystallinities and PL end-block lengths. The PPG middle-blocks enhanced elongation at break of the scPL films. The results showed that the PL-PPG-PL triblock structures did not affect stereocomplexation of the PLL/PDL block blending. In conclusion, the phase compatibility and flexibility of the scPL films were improved by PPG block copolymerization.

Binding Reaction of Hemin with Chloroquine, Quinine and Quinidine in Water-propylene Glycol Mixture

The interaction of hemin with chloroquine, quinine and quini-dine wasinvestigated in 50% water-propylene glycol mixture at pH = 9, 8.1, 7.4 and 6.8 using aspectrophotometric method. The data could be well fitted into a model consistent with the formationof a 1:1 complex between the reacting partners. In addition, the results indicated that hemincomplexed more strongly with quinidine than with chloroquine and quinine, and the binding constantswere pH-dependent. Moreover, it was proved that the water-propylene glycol mixture is well suitableto the study of the systems containing hemin and quinoline-based drugs.

Implementation of a New Solution for the Preservation of Anatomical Specimens Made of Non-Toxic Substances

The preservation of anatomical pieces in Veterinary Anatomy is essential since it is not possible to dissect all domestic species. Most techniques use reagents with high levels of toxicity such as formaldehyde. The objective of this work was to develop a new preservation technique that uses reagents with zero toxicity and that allows obtaining preserved pieces suitable for anatomical studies. The alcohol propylene glycol technique was developed, the method of which uses a fixation step with alcohol, sodium chloride, commercial vinegar and subsequently the impregnation of the preservation solution made from propylene glycol and commercial vinegar, which are non-toxic. As a result of this work, adequately preserved sheep hearts were obtained that preserved their morphology with slight changes in size and weight, which did not affect their external and internal anatomical structure. Its coloration was not substantially affected, remaining a little lighter. The pieces obtained showed flexibility which allowed dissections to be carried out. The time to develop the technique was 20 days. A comparative study was carried out with the phenolated glycerin technique that uses toxic reagents (formaldehyde and phenol) and the pieces obtained with the alcohol propylene glycol technique were of better quality, observing that the pieces with phenolated glycerin tend to darken and are more rigid. And the time to develop the technique is 24 days. In conclusion, a preservation technique for anatomical pieces was developed that allowed the preservation of the organs under study, which allow their use for anatomical studies, and which have been preserved without changes until the time of this publication (8 months) and there are pieces preserved with this technique for 2 years.

Stabilizing MXene suspension with polyhydric alcohols

MXenes have promises in myriad applications by virtue of two-dimensional nature and adjustable functional groups.To achieve the applications,MXenes are always first prepared in the form of aqueous suspension.However,fast degradation caused by the attack of dissolved oxygen and water molecules is the main obstacle to the application of MXenes.It has come to light that the degradation preferentially takes place at defective sites and edges where defects enrich.To tackle this problem and increase the stability,herein,using Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)MXene as a model material,we report a simple yet efficient strategy for long term storage of MXene suspension by introducing glycerol,a typical polyhydric alcohol.The effectiveness of the strategy is evidenced by structural compositional and morphological investigations.Glycerol protects the defective sites of MXene flakes through restricting water and/or oxygen molecules from reactive sites.This is supported by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations that form hydrogen bonds between MXene and glycerol molecules just over defective sites.Following this mechanism,other polyhydric alcohols,such as ethylene glycol and propylene glycol,are also effective in stabilizing Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)MXene suspension.The strategy based on polyhydric alcohols has the potential to be extended to other MXenes,solving the most urgent challenge in the field of MXene engineering.