Preparation and Characterization of Polyaniline Nanofibers by Template-free Method

In the presence of p-toluene sulfonic acid (TSA) as a dopant, polyaniline (PAni) nanofibers, (about 80^-65 nm in diameter) were successfully synthesized with a chemical template-free method. It was found that the formation probability, morphology, and diameter of the resulting PAni-TSA nanofibers were sensitive to the synthetic conditions, such as reaction temperature, the molar ratio of TSA to aniline, and the concentration of TSA in the polymerization media. The molecular structure was characterized by using the FT-IR, Raman spectra and X-ray diffraction, which shows that the main chain structure of PAni-TSA nanofibers was in agreement with that of granular PAni.

Preparation and characterization of hollow carambola-shaped silver sulfide microspheres using a microwave-assisted template-free method

A simple and convenient method, free of template, has been proposed to synthesize hollow carambolashaped Ag2 S microspheres with Ag NO3, thiourea（TU）, Na Cl and diethanolamine as reagents using a microwave-assisted method, at low temperatures of below 100 ℃. Powder X-ray diffraction（XRD）,scanning electron microscopy（FESEM） and high resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM）were employed to characterize the morphology and composition of those microspheres. The results indicated that the hollow carambola-shaped silver sulfide microspheres（with high purity and homogeneous morphology） were prepared by an Ostwald ripening process. A possible formation mechanism of hollow carambola-shaped Ag2 S microspheres was proposed.

Simplification of Template-free Method to Prepare Polyaniline Nanotubes

1 Introduction Conducting polymer nanostructures (e.g.nanotubes or nanofibers) have received considerable attention owing their unique properties and promising applications in technology and nano-devices[1]. Conducting polymer nanostructures can be generally synthesized through "hard" and "soft" template method.Usually an external hard template in a "hard-template" method is required and the post-treatment of removing template is rather tedious."Soft-template" method is advantageous of omitting external...

Template-free hydrothermal synthesis and gas-sensitivity of hollow-structured Cu_(0.3)Co_(2.7)O_(4) microspheres

Hollow-structured Cu_(0.3)Co_(2.7)O_(4) microspheres have been synthesized by a simple one-pot template-free hydrothermal method with copper sulfate,cobalt acetate and ammonia as raw materials.The products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction,energy dispersive X-ray analysis,selected area electron diffraction,high-resolution transmission electron microscopy,scanning electron microscopy and BET measurements.The research results show that the hollow Cu_(0.3)Co_(2.7)O_(4) microspheres consist of single-crystalline nanocubes with the diameter of about 20 nm.The formation mechanism of hollow Cu_(0.3)Co_(2.7)O_(4) microspheres is suggested as Ostwald ripening in a solid-solution-solid process,and Cu_(0.3)Co_(2.7)O_(4) microspheres are mesoporous containing two pore sizes of 3.3 and 5.9 nm.The as-prepared Cu_(0.3)Co_(2.7)O_(4) sensors have optimal gas responses to 50×10^(−6) mg/m^(3) C_(2)H_(5)OH at 190℃.

Organotemplate-free Hydrothermal Synthesis of SUZ-4 Zeolite: Influence of Synthesis Conditions

Various conditions were investigated in detail for the novel organic template-free static hydrothermal synthesis of SUZ-4 zeolite in the presence of seeds. The obtained samples were characterized by XRD （X-ray diffraction）, SEM （scanning electron microscope）, TG （thermal gravimetric analysis）, ICP （inductively coupling plasma） elemental analysis, nitrogen sorption isotherm and surface area. The results show that pure SUZ-4 zeolites with high crystallinity are obtained in a broad window of synthesis conditions： seed mass concentration 0.2%-2%, SIO2/A1203 molar ratio 21 25, KOH/SiO2 molar ratio 0.33 0.43, H20/SiO2 molar ratio 7.14-38.1, aging time 24 h, crystallization temperature 160℃, and crystallization time 6-10 d. Also, crystallinity and size of the rod-like SUZ-4 zeolite crystals are found to alter with the conditions.

A Review on Sources,Extractions and Analysis Methods of a Sustainable Biomaterial:Tannins

Condensed and hydrolysable tannins are non-toxic natural polyphenols that are a commercial commodity industrialized for tanning hides to obtain leather and for a growing number of other industrial applications mainly to substitute petroleum-based products.They are a definite class of sustainable materials of the forestry industry.They have been in operation for hundreds of years to manufacture leather and now for a growing number of applications in a variety of other industries,such as wood adhesives,metal coating,pharmaceutical/medical applications and several others.This review presents the main sources,either already or potentially commercial of this forestry by-materials,their industrial and laboratory extraction systems,their systems of analysis with their advantages and drawbacks,be these methods so simple to even appear primitive but nonetheless of proven effectiveness,or very modern and instrumental.It constitutes a basic but essential summary of what is necessary to know of these sustainable materials.In doing so,the review highlights some of the main challenges that remain to be addressed to deliver the quality and economics of tannin supply necessary to fulfill the industrial production requirements for some materials-based uses.

Template-free Synthesis of a Novel 3D Cage-like Nanostructured α-Fe_2O_3

Synthesis of inorganic nanostructures with specific size and well defined morphologies has attracted considerable attention due to their superior electrical, optical, magnetic, and chemical properties. Up to now, various kinds of metal oxide, sulfide, and hydrate with controlled hierarchical and complex morphologies have been successfully synthesized.

Template-Free Bipotentiostatic Deposition of Thermoelectric BixTey Nano Arrays

Monodispersed Bi-Tenano arrays are achieved via template-free bipotentiostatic deposition. The diameter and length of individual nanorod is ~80 nm and ~250 nm respectively. The electrodeposition process is demonstrated to follow a two-step mechanism: an instantaneous reductive potential is applied to form dispersive nuclei, then a reverse oxidative potential strips partial Bi atoms to prevent further cross-growth. Repeatedly, the nano arrays film is obtained eventually. The thermoelectric properties of the obtained Bi-Tenano arrays such as electrical resistance, carrier density, Seebeck coefficient and power factor are measured to be 2.438 × 10-4?Ω·m, 4.251 × 1020 cm-3, -25.892 μV·K-1, 2.750 × 10-6 W·m-1·K2, respectively.

Drilling-based measuring method for the c-φ parameter of rock and its field application

The technology of drilling tests makes it possible to obtain the strength parameter of rock accurately in situ. In this paper, a new rock cutting analysis model that considers the influence of the rock crushing zone(RCZ) is built. The formula for an ultimate cutting force is established based on the limit equilibrium principle. The relationship between digital drilling parameters(DDP) and the c-φ parameter(DDP-cφ formula, where c refers to the cohesion and φ refers to the internal friction angle) is derived, and the response of drilling parameters and cutting ratio to the strength parameters is analyzed. The drillingbased measuring method for the c-φ parameter of rock is constructed. The laboratory verification test is then completed, and the difference in results between the drilling test and the compression test is less than 6%. On this basis, in-situ rock drilling tests in a traffic tunnel and a coal mine roadway are carried out, and the strength parameters of the surrounding rock are effectively tested. The average difference ratio of the results is less than 11%, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method for obtaining the strength parameters based on digital drilling. This study provides methodological support for field testing of rock strength parameters.

A comparison study on structure-function relationship of polysaccharides obtained from sea buckthorn berries using different methods:antioxidant and bile acid-binding capacity

In this study,the structural characters,antioxidant activities and bile acid-binding ability of sea buckthorn polysaccharides(HRPs)obtained by the commonly used hot water(HRP-W),pressurized hot water(HRP-H),ultrasonic(HRP-U),acid(HRP-C)and alkali(HRP-A)assisted extraction methods were investigated.The results demonstrated that extraction methods had significant effects on extraction yield,monosaccharide composition,molecular weight,particle size,triple-helical structure,and surface morphology of HRPs except for the major linkage bands.Thermogravimetric analysis showed that HRP-U with filamentous reticular microstructure exhibited better thermal stability.The HRP-A with the lowest molecular weight and highest arabinose content possessed the best antioxidant activities.Moreover,the rheological analysis indicated that HRPs with higher galacturonic acid content and molecular weight showed higher viscosity and stronger crosslinking network(HRP-C,HRP-W and HRP-U),which exhibited stronger bile acid binding capacity.The present findings provide scientific evidence in the preparation technology of sea buckthorn polysaccharides with good antioxidant and bile acid binding capacity which are related to the structure affected by the extraction methods.

Design of Cadmium Hydroxyapatite Hierarchical Structures with Adjustable Morphology by a Template-free Hydrothermal Route

Cadmium hydroxyapatite（Cd-Hap） hierarchical structures with novel morphologies were successfully synthesized via a simple template-free and mild hydrothermal method. By properly monitoring the initial pH value of the reaction solutions, the morphology of the Cd-Hap crystals could be tuned to be bunch-like（consist of nanosized cuboids）, quasi peanut-like（consist of nanoparticles） and flower-like（consist of assembled bundles units）. On the basis of a series of contrast experiments over time, the probable growth mechanism and fabrication process of the products were proposed. The optical and photocatalytic properties of the obtained Cd-Hap hierarchical structures were firstly investigated. The results showed that pure Cd-Hap could only absorb UV light with wavelength shorter than -350 nm while hydroxyapatite supported Ag3PO4 composites showed a pronounced photocatalytic activity upon decomposition of methyl orange dye in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The support of hydroxyapatite can also greatly reduce the cost of expensive Ag3PO4 photocatalysts in practical applications.

Template-Free Hydrothermal Synthesis of β-FeOOH Nanorods and Their Catalytic Activity in the Degradation of Methyl Orange by a Photo-Fenton-Like Process

The rod-shaped form of crystalline β-FeOOH (akaganeite) was prepared by the template-free hydrothermal method with urea as the homogeneous precipitant. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectrum were used to characterize the resulting products. The degradation of methyl orange (MO) was studied using the prepared nanostructure materials in a photo-Fenton-like process. MO degradation was effectively achieved by hydroxyl radicals that were generated in the heterogeneous catalysis process. Specific surface area of the prepared β-FeOOH was an important factor affecting the efficiency of MO degradation, which depended on the synthesis conditions such as the reaction temperature, the initial concentration of urea and FeCl3.6H2O as well as the n(urea)/n(Fe3+) ratio. The photodegradation efficiencies slightly decreased with the increase of initial pH in the range of 4.5 - 9.5, which indicated the prepared β-FeOOH catalyst can well overcome the drawback of a narrow pH range of homogeneous Fenton reaction. β-FeOOH catalysts loading and H2O2 concentration also play important effect on the degradation efficiency of MO. The prepared β-FeOOH showed good ability of reuse for multiple trials.

Template-Free Synthesis of Aligned Polyaniline Nanorods/Tubes and Copper/Copper Hydroxide Nanowires for Application as Fillers in Polymer Nanocomposites

Aligned polyaniline nanorods were synthesized in the presence of salicylic acid. Nanorods and nanotubes were also formed in the presence of camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) and para-toluenesulfonic acid (pTSA). Electrical conductivity measurements showed that the aligned nanorods had better electrical conductivity than the non-aligned nanostructures. Nanospheres were also observed in some cases. The formation of elongated nanostructures or spheres depended on the aniline monomer to surfactant molar ratio. This method in which nanostructures are formed using soft templates is often referred to as the template-free approach. Our success motivated us to explore the feasibility of obtaining similar metallic nanostructures without the use of a template. We successfully synthesized copper and copper hydroxide nanowires. While the copper nanowires formed as a mesh, the copper hydroxide nanowires formed as winding bundles. Upon switching the order in which the reactants were added, copper hydroxide nanoribbons were formed instead of bundles. Characterization of these nanostructures was done using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and the Four-point probe to measure electrical conductivity. Both metallic and organic nanowires that are fabricated by template-free methods are potential candidates for use as fillers in polymer nanocomposites. Polymer nanocomposites are found to be used in many advanced modern applications such as thermal interface materials in electronic devices which continue to be miniaturized, aerospace engineering where lightweight and robustness are important, sensors, medicine and catalytic activity.

Material point method simulation of hydro-mechanical behaviour in twophase porous geomaterials: A state-of-the-art review

The material point method(MPM)has been gaining increasing popularity as an appropriate approach to the solution of coupled hydro-mechanical problems involving large deformation.In this paper,we survey the current state-of-the-art in the MPM simulation of hydro-mechanical behaviour in two-phase porous geomaterials.The review covers the recent advances and developments in the MPM and their extensions to capture the coupled hydro-mechanical problems involving large deformations.The focus of this review is aiming at providing a clear picture of what has or has not been developed or implemented for simulating two-phase coupled large deformation problems,which will provide some direct reference for both practitioners and researchers.

Deciphering gastric inflammation-induced tumorigenesis through multi-omics data and AI methods

Gastric cancer(GC), the fifth most common cancer globally, remains the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Inflammation-induced tumorigenesis is the predominant process in GC development;therefore, systematic research in this area should improve understanding of the biological mechanisms that initiate GC development and promote cancer hallmarks. Here, we summarize biological knowledge regarding gastric inflammation-induced tumorigenesis, and characterize the multi-omics data and systems biology methods for investigating GC development. Of note, we highlight pioneering studies in multi-omics data and state-of-the-art network-based algorithms used for dissecting the features of gastric inflammation-induced tumorigenesis, and we propose translational applications in early GC warning biomarkers and precise treatment strategies. This review offers integrative insights for GC research, with the goal of paving the way to novel paradigms for GC precision oncology and prevention.

Volumetric lattice Boltzmann method for pore-scale mass diffusionadvection process in geopolymer porous structures

Porous materials present significant advantages for absorbing radioactive isotopes in nuclear waste streams.To improve absorption efficiency in nuclear waste treatment,a thorough understanding of the diffusion-advection process within porous structures is essential for material design.In this study,we present advancements in the volumetric lattice Boltzmann method(VLBM)for modeling and simulating pore-scale diffusion-advection of radioactive isotopes within geopolymer porous structures.These structures are created using the phase field method(PFM)to precisely control pore architectures.In our VLBM approach,we introduce a concentration field of an isotope seamlessly coupled with the velocity field and solve it by the time evolution of its particle population function.To address the computational intensity inherent in the coupled lattice Boltzmann equations for velocity and concentration fields,we implement graphics processing unit(GPU)parallelization.Validation of the developed model involves examining the flow and diffusion fields in porous structures.Remarkably,good agreement is observed for both the velocity field from VLBM and multiphysics object-oriented simulation environment(MOOSE),and the concentration field from VLBM and the finite difference method(FDM).Furthermore,we investigate the effects of background flow,species diffusivity,and porosity on the diffusion-advection behavior by varying the background flow velocity,diffusion coefficient,and pore volume fraction,respectively.Notably,all three parameters exert an influence on the diffusion-advection process.Increased background flow and diffusivity markedly accelerate the process due to increased advection intensity and enhanced diffusion capability,respectively.Conversely,increasing the porosity has a less significant effect,causing a slight slowdown of the diffusion-advection process due to the expanded pore volume.This comprehensive parametric study provides valuable insights into the kinetics of isotope uptake in porous structures,facilitating the development of porous materials for nuclear waste treatment applications.

Uncertainties of landslide susceptibility prediction: Influences of random errors in landslide conditioning factors and errors reduction by low pass filter method

In the existing landslide susceptibility prediction(LSP)models,the influences of random errors in landslide conditioning factors on LSP are not considered,instead the original conditioning factors are directly taken as the model inputs,which brings uncertainties to LSP results.This study aims to reveal the influence rules of the different proportional random errors in conditioning factors on the LSP un-certainties,and further explore a method which can effectively reduce the random errors in conditioning factors.The original conditioning factors are firstly used to construct original factors-based LSP models,and then different random errors of 5%,10%,15% and 20%are added to these original factors for con-structing relevant errors-based LSP models.Secondly,low-pass filter-based LSP models are constructed by eliminating the random errors using low-pass filter method.Thirdly,the Ruijin County of China with 370 landslides and 16 conditioning factors are used as study case.Three typical machine learning models,i.e.multilayer perceptron(MLP),support vector machine(SVM)and random forest(RF),are selected as LSP models.Finally,the LSP uncertainties are discussed and results show that:(1)The low-pass filter can effectively reduce the random errors in conditioning factors to decrease the LSP uncertainties.(2)With the proportions of random errors increasing from 5%to 20%,the LSP uncertainty increases continuously.(3)The original factors-based models are feasible for LSP in the absence of more accurate conditioning factors.(4)The influence degrees of two uncertainty issues,machine learning models and different proportions of random errors,on the LSP modeling are large and basically the same.(5)The Shapley values effectively explain the internal mechanism of machine learning model predicting landslide sus-ceptibility.In conclusion,greater proportion of random errors in conditioning factors results in higher LSP uncertainty,and low-pass filter can effectively reduce these random errors.

Sparse Modal Decomposition Method Addressing Underdetermined Vortex-Induced Vibration Reconstruction Problem for Marine Risers

When investigating the vortex-induced vibration(VIV)of marine risers,extrapolating the dynamic response on the entire length based on limited sensor measurements is a crucial step in both laboratory experiments and fatigue monitoring of real risers.The problem is conventionally solved using the modal decomposition method,based on the principle that the response can be approximated by a weighted sum of limited vibration modes.However,the method is not valid when the problem is underdetermined,i.e.,the number of unknown mode weights is more than the number of known measurements.This study proposed a sparse modal decomposition method based on the compressed sensing theory and the Compressive Sampling Matching Pursuit(Co Sa MP)algorithm,exploiting the sparsity of VIV in the modal space.In the validation study based on high-order VIV experiment data,the proposed method successfully reconstructed the response using only seven acceleration measurements when the conventional methods failed.A primary advantage of the proposed method is that it offers a completely data-driven approach for the underdetermined VIV reconstruction problem,which is more favorable than existing model-dependent solutions for many practical applications such as riser structural health monitoring.

Numerical manifold method for thermo-mechanical coupling simulation of fractured rock mass

As a calculation method based on the Galerkin variation,the numerical manifold method(NMM)adopts a double covering system,which can easily deal with discontinuous deformation problems and has a high calculation accuracy.Aiming at the thermo-mechanical(TM)coupling problem of fractured rock masses,this study uses the NMM to simulate the processes of crack initiation and propagation in a rock mass under the influence of temperature field,deduces related system equations,and proposes a penalty function method to deal with boundary conditions.Numerical examples are employed to confirm the effectiveness and high accuracy of this method.By the thermal stress analysis of a thick-walled cylinder(TWC),the simulation of cracking in the TWC under heating and cooling conditions,and the simulation of thermal cracking of the SwedishÄspöPillar Stability Experiment(APSE)rock column,the thermal stress,and TM coupling are obtained.The numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the test data and other numerical results,thus verifying the effectiveness of the NMM in dealing with thermal stress and crack propagation problems of fractured rock masses.

A stable implicit nodal integration-based particle finite element method(N-PFEM)for modelling saturated soil dynamics

In this study,we present a novel nodal integration-based particle finite element method(N-PFEM)designed for the dynamic analysis of saturated soils.Our approach incorporates the nodal integration technique into a generalised Hellinger-Reissner(HR)variational principle,creating an implicit PFEM formulation.To mitigate the volumetric locking issue in low-order elements,we employ a node-based strain smoothing technique.By discretising field variables at the centre of smoothing cells,we achieve nodal integration over cells,eliminating the need for sophisticated mapping operations after re-meshing in the PFEM.We express the discretised governing equations as a min-max optimisation problem,which is further reformulated as a standard second-order cone programming(SOCP)problem.Stresses,pore water pressure,and displacements are simultaneously determined using the advanced primal-dual interior point method.Consequently,our numerical model offers improved accuracy for stresses and pore water pressure compared to the displacement-based PFEM formulation.Numerical experiments demonstrate that the N-PFEM efficiently captures both transient and long-term hydro-mechanical behaviour of saturated soils with high accuracy,obviating the need for stabilisation or regularisation techniques commonly employed in other nodal integration-based PFEM approaches.This work holds significant implications for the development of robust and accurate numerical tools for studying saturated soil dynamics.