Stabilizing perovskite precursors with the reductive natural amino acid for printable mesoscopic perovskite solar cells

Solution processability significantly advances the development of highly-efficient perovskite solar cells.However,the precursor solution tends to undergo irreversible degradation reactions,impairing the device performance and reproducibility.Here,we utilize a reductive natural amino acid,Nacetylcysteine(NALC),to stabilize the precursor solution for printable carbon-based hole-conductorfree mesoscopic perovskite solar cells.We find that I_(2) can be generated in the aged solution containing methylammonium iodide(MI) in an inert atmosphere and speed up the MA-FA^(+)(formamidinium) reaction which produces large-size cations and hinders the formation of perovskite phase.NALC effectively stabilizes the precursor via its sulfhydryl group which reduces I_(2) back to I^(-)and provides H^(+).The NALC-stabilized precursor which is aged for 1440 h leads to devices with a power conversion efficiency equivalent to 98% of that for devices prepared with the fresh precursor.Furthermore,NALC improves the device power conversion efficiency from 16.16% to 18.41% along with enhanced stability under atmospheric conditions by modifying grain boundaries in perovskite films and reducing associated defects.

Disinfection Byproducts and Their Precursors in Drinking Water Sources:Origins,Influencing Factors,and Environmental Insights

Tracing the contamination origins in water sources and identifying the impacts of natural and human processes are essential for ecological safety and public health.However,current analysis approaches are not ideal,as they tend to be laborious,time-consuming,or technically difficult.Disinfection byproducts(DBPs)are a family of well-known secondary pollutants formed by the reactions of chemical disinfectants with DBP precursors during water disinfection treatment.Since DBP precursors have various origins(e.g.,natural,domestic,industrial,and agricultural sources),and since the formation of DBPs from different precursors in the presence of specific disinfectants is distinctive,we argue that DBPs and DBP precursors can serve as alternative indicators to assess the contamination in water sources and identify pollution origins.After providing a retrospective of the origins of DBPs and DBP precursors,as well as the specific formation patterns of DBPs from different precursors,this article presents an overview of the impacts of various natural and anthropogenic factors on DBPs and DBP precursors in drinking water sources.In practice,the DBPs(i.e.,their concentration and speciation)originally present in source water and the DBP precursors determined using DBP formation potential tests—in which water samples are dosed with a stoichiometric excess of specific disinfectants in order to maximize DBP formation under certain reaction conditions—can be considered as alternative metrics.When jointly used with other water quality parameters(e.g.,dissolved organic carbon,dissolved organic nitrogen,fluorescence,and molecular weight distribution)and specific contaminants of emerging concern(e.g.,certain pharmaceuticals and personal care products),DBPs and DBP precursors in drinking water sources can provide a more comprehensive picture of water pollution for better managing water resources and ensuring human health.

Effect of Three Precursors on Accumulation of Principal Volatile Oil Constituents in Tissue Culture Plantlets of Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC.

[Objective] This study was to explore the effect of three precursors on the accumulation of principal volatile oil constituents in tissue culture plantlets of Atractylodes lancea （Thunb.） DC. with the aim to provide references for the improvement of artificial cultivated A. lancea quality. [Method] Three precursors were added into the MS rooting medium for A. lancea tissue culture plantlets and the volatile oil was extracted by ultrasonication after cultured for several days. The content of atractylon, atractylol, β-eucalyptol and atractydin in the volatile oil were determined by using gas chromatography method. [Result] The addition of xylose, isoprene and tetrahydrofuran impacted the growth indicators, yield of volatile oil and relative percentage content of the four constituents of A. lancea tissue culture plantlets. In the 6 g/L xylose optimized medium, the atractylon and β-eucalyptol content reached up to 4.23% and 56.34%, respectively, 1.41% and 1.66% higher than the control; although the addition of isoprene into medium raised the atractylon content, the accumulation of total volatile oil was inhibited that it decreased by 23.67%, 31.06% and 7.10% to the control; for the tetrahydrofuran optimized medium, the content of atractylon, atractylol and atractydin all increased, and the total volatile oil content increased by 49.97% to the control when the concentration of tetrahydrofuran was 0.07 g/L. [Conclusion] The addition of xylose and tetrahydrofuran promoted the accumulation of principal constituents of the volatile oil, whereas the addition of isoprene inhibited the accumulation.

Effects of Atmospheres and Precursors on MnO_x/TiO_2 Catalysts for NH_3-SCR at Low Temperature

The effects of atmospheres and precursors on MnOx/TiO2 catalysts were studied, which were prepared by the impregnation method and tested for their NOx conversion activity in ammonia selective catalytic reduction （NH3-SCR） reactions. Results showed that the manganese carbonate （MC） precursor caused mainly Mn2O3, while the manganese nitrate （MN） precursor resulted primarily in MnO2 and the manganese sulfate （MS） precursor was unchanged. The manganese acetate （MA） precursor leaded obtaining a mixture of Mn2O3 and Mn304. NOn conversion decreased in the following order： MA/TiO2 〉 MC/TiO2 〉 MN/TiO2 〉 MS/TiO2 〉 P25, with a calcination temperature of 773 K in air. Catalysts that were prepared by MA and calcined in oxygen performed strong interaction between Ti and Mn, while MnTiO3 was observed. Compared to the catalysts calcined in nitrogen, those calcined in oxygen had larger diameter and smaller surface area and pore. Catalysts that were prepared by MA and calcined in nitrogen tended to gain higher denitration rates than those in air, since they could be prepared with significant specific surface areas. NO., conversion decreased with calcination atmospheres： Nitrogen〉 Air〉 Oxygen. Meanwhile, amorphous Mn2O3 turned into crystalline Mn2O3, when the temperatures increased from 673 to 873 K.

New Evaluation on the Preoxidation Extent of Different PAN Precursors

Structural changes in carbon fibers at each stage of, especially, preoxidation process are well known to play a great role in achieving the ultimate product quality. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscope (SEM), density method and optical microscope were used to characterize the preoxidation extent. A conventional approach, e.g., density aim, to evaluate the extent of preoxidation is not very exact. A DSC curve of a PAN precursor only can provide general information, major in the temperature regime of preoxidation reaction. However, the evaluation of a preoxidation extent, especially from conventional preoxidation temperature with a great span regime of 200~400癈, is put forward in this paper, in which the evolution of core/shell morphological structure is a kind of straightforward evidence.

Microstructure of nano precursors of La-Mg hydrogen storage alloy synthesized by sol-gel technology at different pH values

Sol-gel technology was employed to synthesize nanosized precursors of La-Mg hydrogen storage alloy at different pH values (0.5, 1.5, 8.0 and 9.0) of reaction solution. The effect of pH value on microstructure of the nano precursors of La-Mg hydrogen storage alloy was studied by infrared radiation (IR), thermo-gravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), X-ray diffraction analyzer (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). IR results indicate that the chelating agent, citric acid, is not fully ionized, and carboxyl groups are not entirely used to complex metal ions in acidic solutions. The efficiency of complexing metal ions is enhanced in basic solutions. TG/DTA results show that the combustion may take place with low rate of the flame propagation that causes the longer combustion time when pH<1.5. On the contrary, the dry gel synthesized in basic solution combusts at low ignition temperature and combustion reaction is violent; it is easy to form fine particles. XRD and TEM results reveal that the precursor powders are mainly two-phase mixture of La 2 O 3 and MgO. The morphology of the particles is almost flake with the size of ~30 nm when pH is 8.0.

Influence of Aging Time on the Properties of Precursors of CuO/ZnO Catalysts for Methanol Synthesis

The aging process of pure copper precursors and copper-zinc binary precursorswere studied by XRD, TG-DTG and TPR techniques. The catalytic activity and stability of CuO/ZnOwere tested using fixed-bed flow reactor, and the physical properties of the catalysts and Cuspecies were characterized with N_2 adsorption and N_2O passivation method, respectively. For theCu-Zn binary system prepared at the precipitating condition of pH=8.0 and temperature=80℃, theinitial phase was a mixture of copper nitrate hydroxide Cu_2(NO_3)(OH)_3, georgeite and hydrozinciteZn_5(CO_3)_2(OH)_6. By increasing the duration of its aging time, the phase of Cu_2(NO_3)(OH)_2first transited to georgeite, and then interdiffused into Zn_5(CO_3)_2(OH)_6 and resulted in two newphases: rosasite (Cu,Zn)_2CO_3(OH)_2 and au-richalcite (Zn,Cu)_5(CO_3)_2(OH)_6. The former phasewas much easier to be formed than the latter one, while the latter phase was more responsible forthe activity of methanol synthesis than the former one. It is found that the composition andstructure of the precursors altered obviously after the colour transition point. The experimentalresults showed that methanol synthesis is a structure-sensitive catalytic reaction.

Optimal Precursors Triggering the Kuroshio Extension State Transition Obtained by the Conditional Nonlinear Optimal Perturbation Approach

In this study, the initial perturbations that are the easiest to trigger the Kuroshio Extension （KE） transition connecting a basic weak jet state and a strong, fairly stable meandering state, are investigated using a reduced-gravity shallow water ocean model and the CNOP （Conditional Nonlinear Optimal Perturbation） approach. This kind of initial perturbation is called an optimal precursor （OPR）. The spatial structures and evolutionary processes of the OPRs are analyzed in detail. The results show that most of the OPRs are in the form of negative sea surface height （SSH） anomalies mainly located in a narrow band region south of the KE jet, in basic agreement with altimetric observations. These negative SSH anomalies reduce the merid- ional SSH gradient within the KE, thus weakening the strength of the jet. The KE jet then becomes more convoluted, with a high-frequency and large-amplitude variability corresponding to a high eddy kinetic energy level; this gradually strengthens the KE jet through an inverse energy cascade. Eventually, the KE reaches a high-energy state characterized by two well defined and fairly stable anticyclonic meanders. Moreover, sensitivity experiments indicate that the spatial structures of the OPRs are not sensitive to the model parameters and to the optimization times used in the analysis.

Hydrothermal Synthesis and Characterization of Perovskite PbTiO_(3) Powders from Different Precursors

Perovskite type of PbTiO 3 fine powders which are homogeneous in physic chemical properties has been hydrothermally synthesized from the different precursors. The borderline reaction conditions, such as temperature and time, for the formation of PbTiO 3 were established and the effect of the precursor on the particle properties was investigated. As a precursor, Pb Ti alko carbonate xerogel dispersed in 2 methoxyethanol was found to be effective for the synthesis of the PbTiO 3 powders with a lower agglomeration and a simple mode of particle size.

Effect of Post-spinning Modification on the PAN Precursors and Resulting Carbon Fibers

The impregnation of a special grade PAN precursor,fibers wus carried out in a 8 wt% KMnO4 aqueous solution to obtain modified PAN precursor fibers. The effects of modification on the chemical stncture and the mechanical properties of precursor fibers thermally stabilized and their resulting carbon fibers u＇ere characterized by the combiination use of densities, wide-angle X-ray diffraction （WAXD）, X-ray photoelectron speetroscopy （XPS）, elemental analysis （ EA ）, Fourier traasform infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR） and scanning electron microscope （SEM）, etc.KMnO4 as a strong oxidizer can swell, oxidize and corrode the skin of a precursor.fiber, and transform C≡N groups to C≡N ones, meamchile , it can decreuse the crystal .size increuse the orientation index and the costallinity index, furthermore it can increuse the densities of modified PAN precursors and resuhing thermally stabilized fibers. As a result, the carbon fibers developed from modified PAN fibers show an improvement in tensile strength of 31.25 % and an improvement in elongation of 77.78 % , but a decrease of 16. 52% in Young＇s modulus.

Effect of elicitors, precursors and metabolic inhibitors on paclitaxel production by Taxus cuspidata cell culture

In this study, using Taxus cuspidata as a raw material, we obtained stable high-yielding cell lines by subculturing and quantified paclitaxel content using ultra- sonic extraction combined with TLC-UV spectrophotom- etry. In single factor and multiple factors tests to optimize design and study the effects of elicitors, precursors, and metabolic inhibitors on paclitaxel production by Taxus cuspidata cells, paclitaxel production reached 4.32 mg/L when 100 μmol/L methyl jasmonate, 20 mg/L salicylic acid, 400 mg/L phenylalanine and 2 mg/L gibberellin （GA3） were added to the culture medium of suspension cells. When adding metabolic adjustment factors on the 7th day of culture, extra- and intracellular paclitaxel production was the highest at 4.855 mg/L, paclitaxel release rate was 10.48 %, fresh mass and paclitaxel production of cell increased, respectively, by 6.08 and 11.57 %. By controlling the anabolism of paclitaxel, paclitaxel yield was significantly improved.

Implications for rock instability precursors and principal stress direction from rock acoustic experiments

The characteristics of rock instability precursors and the principal stress direction are very crucial for the prevention of geological disasters.This study investigated the qualitative relationship between rock instability precursors and principal stress direction through wave velocity in rock acoustic emission(AE)experiments.Results show that the wave velocity variation exhibits obvious anisotropic characteristics in 0%–20%and 60%–90%of peak strength due to the differences of stress-induced microcrack types.The amplitude of wave velocity variation is related to the azimuth and position of wave propagation path,which indicates that the principal stress direction can be identified by the anisotropic characteristics of wave velocity variations.Furthermore,the experiments also demonstrate that the AE event rate and wave velocity show quiet and stable variations in the elastic stage of rock samples,while they present a trend of active and unstable variations in the plastic stage.It implies that both the AE event rate and wave velocity are effective monitoring parameters for rock instability.The anisotropic characteristics of the wave velocity variation and AE event rate are beneficial complements for identifying the rock instability precursors and determining the principal stress direction,which provides a new analysis method for stability monitoring in practical rock engineering.

Calculation of the parameters of georesistivi－ty anisotropy and case history of earthquake precursors

This paper has discussed the effective resistivity ellipse and the paradoxical phenomenon of anisotropy. Two cases have been discussed, namely: there are three measuring lines at arbitrary angles with one another and there are two mutually perpendicular measuring lines and an additional measurement of the transversal effective resistivity. For these cases, the paper has given the methods for quantitatively calculating the parameters of georesistivity anisotropy. The formulae given include those for calculating the azimuth (of the principal axis of minimum resistivity ρ 1, the average resistivity ( ρ 1ρ 3) 1/2 , (ρ 2ρ 3) 1/2 , and the anisotropy coefficient λ=(ρ 2/ρ 1 ) 1/2 . As a case history, the data observed by the Datong geoelectricity station have been processed with reference to the results of in situ resistivity measurement in media subjected to shear. The results of analysis have led to the following understandings. Before and after the Datong M S6.1 earthquake on October 19, 1989, the abnormal rise of NE trending georesistivity and abnormal fall of NW trending georesistivity observed at the Datong and Yangyuan stations were caused by the pure shear acting on the medium. The major principal compression was in NE direction, which made an acute angle with the strike of the seismic fault plane, and thus there was a greater shear stress but very small normal stress so that the fault was likely to slide but the earthquake was only of moderate magnitude. The states of stress in medium were the same before and after earthquake and therefore the georesistivity precursor was of the same sign as that of co seismic variations.

Peculiarity of Precursors of Gastric Cancer and its Relationship with Diets in Northern China Inhabitants

Types and characteristics of gastric dysplasia werestudied histopathologically. Besides the adenomatous,cryptal and globoid dysplasias, regenerative type of gas-tric dysplasia was described, especially about its histo-pathological features and histogenesis. The peculiarityof this type of gastric dysplasia just coincided with thefindings of gastric mucosal changes found in the inhabitantsliving in Liaodong Panisula-a high incidence area ofgastric cancer. According to the epidemiologic and histo-pathologic studies on the inhabitants of Zhuanghe Countyof Liaodong Panisula, it was found that high salted foodse.g. the salted pork and fish etc. showed strongmutagenecity. The authors detected that these were therisk factors and might be the leading cause of the gastricmucosal erosions and following by epithelial regenerativechanges. Malignant changes were detected in the regene-rative dysplastic lesions in pathologic sections. Therefore,gastric mucosal regeneration should not be oper looked asa precursor of gastric cancer in some cases.

Advantages of GNSS in Monitoring Crustal Deformation for Detection of Precursors to Strong Earthquakes

Earthquake predictions inChinahave had rare successes but suffered more tragic setbacks since the Xintai earthquake in 1966. They have developed with twists and turns under the influence of the viewpoint that earthquakes are unpredictable etc. Though the Wenchuan earthquake of M8.0 in2008 inChina and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake of M9.0 inJapan were failed to predict, the GPS observations before and after these 2 events have shown that there were precursors to these events and large earthquakes are predictable. Features of different observation techniques, data processing methods are compared and some recent studies on precursory crustal deformations are summarized, so various advantages of GPS technique in monitoring crustal deformation are emphasized. The facts show that anomalies or precursors detected from GPS observations before the great Wenchuan earthquake have been the most remarkable results of explorations on crustal movements and earthquake precursors in China. GPS is in deed an excellent observation technique for earthquake prediction.

Earthquake precursors detected by astronomical observations

It has been primarily confirmed that before the occurrence of a middle or major earthquake, anomalies in the residuals of universal time and latitude measurements obtained by astrometric observations may appear. We investigate the relation between the residual anomalies and the three key factors of an earthquake. To build a network of observational sites so as to obtain data of residuals of universal time and latitude from multi-instruments would be of certain significance for determining three key factors of an earthquake, especially for positioning epicenter. The data from multi-instruments would also be valuable for studies of the variation of the vertical. It is proposed to manufacture potable and high-accuracy astrometric instruments and to build observational network to obtain anomalies of universal time and latitude in the regions with high earthquake uprising possibilities.

The synergy of earthquake precursors

The system of geophysical shells （lithosphere, atmosphere, ionosphere） is considered as an open complex nonlinear system with dissipation where earthquake preparation could be regarded as a self-organizing process leading to the critical state of the system. The processes in atmosphere and ionosphere are considered from the point of view of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The intensive ionization of boundary layer of atmosphere （probably provided by radon in occasion of earthquake preparation） gives start to the synergetic sequence of coupling processes where the ionosphere and even magnetosphere are the last links in the chain of interactions. Every anomaly observed in different geophysical fields （surface temperature, latent heat flux, electromagnetic emissions, variations in ionosphere, particle precipitation, etc.） is not considered as an individual process but the part of the self-organizing process, the final goal of which is the reaching of the point of the maximum entropy. Radon anomaly before the Kobe earthquake is considered as a perfect example to satisfy the formal seismological determination of the earthquake precursor. What is genetically connected with radon through the ionization process can also be regarded as a precursor. The problem of co-seismic variations of the discussed parameters of atmosphere and ionosphere is considered as well.

Application of CO_2-TPD in the Synthesis of Composite Oxides from Metal-Organic Precursors

CO2-TPD was demonstrated an effective way to investigate the phase formation during pyrolysis for the preparation of composite oxides using metal-organic molecules as precursors.Based on the CO2-TPD results, it was found that calcination condition had deep effect on the carbonate formation and the minimum firing temperature to acquire pure phase composite oxide.An optimized calcination schedule was then developed.

Comparative Study on Preparing Carbon Fibers Based on PAN Precursors with Different Comonomers

Two different PAN precursors with various comonomers were wet-spun. The properties and structurul changes of PAN precursors and their evolution during preoxidation and carbonization process were characterized by the use of DSC , FTIR and traditional parameters, e g, tensile strength. It is demonstrated that acrylamide（ AAM ） is very effective to make the DSC peak be separated compared to methyl acrylate （ MA ）. As a result, carbon fibers developed from AAM-contained precursors have a better tenacity compared to those developed from MAcontained ones.

Study on Sulfidation Degree and Morphology of MoS_2 Catalyst Derived from Various Molybdate Precursors

The MoS_2 catalysts were prepared from various molybdate precursors including inorganic and organic molybdate compounds. The sulfidation degree and morphology of active phases of MoS_2 activated by various molybdate precursors in H_2S/H_2 stream at different temperatures were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM). The organic molybdate precursors lead to MoS_2 catalysts with higher sulfidation degree and smaller active phases to demonstrate higher catalytic activity during hydrodesulfurizaiton(HDS) of 4,6-DMDBT.