Morphological modifications of C60 crystal rods under hydrothermal conditions

We observed morphological modification of rod-shaped C60 solvate crystals using a facile hydrothermal method.The initial C60 rods were changed from smooth rods to rough rods,porous rods or pieces under different hydrothermal conditions.During the hydrothermal treatment,the initial samples underwent a decomposition-recrystallization process,which can be tuned by the content of alcohol in the hydrothermal solution,thereby leading to modification of the morphological properties of the initial C60 rods.In addition,the rough and porous C60 rods prepared in our work exhibit excellent photoluminescence intensities that are approximately 7 and 3 times higher than those of pure C60 powders,respectively.Our results suggest that the hydrothermal method is a potential route for fabricating fullerene materials with controllable morphologies and novel functions.

Acid/Base Treatment of Monolithic Activated Carbon for Coating Silver with Tunable Morphology

Silver coatings on the exterior surface of monolithic activated carbon（MAC） with different morphology were prepared by directly immersing MAC into [Ag（NH3）2]NO3 solution. Acid and base treatments were employed to modify the surface oxygenic groups of MAC, respectively. The MACs＇ Brunauer-EmmettTeller（BET） surface area, surface groups, and silver coating morphology were characterized by N2 adsorption, elemental analysis（EA）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）, and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, respectively. The coating morphology was found to be closely related to the surface area and surface functional groups of MAC. For a raw MAC which contained a variety of oxygenic groups, HNO3 treatment enhanced the relative amount of highly oxidized groups such as carboxyl and carbonates, which disfavored the deposition of silver particles. By contrast, Na OH treatment significantly improved the amount of carbonyl groups, which in turn improved the deposition amount of silver. Importantly, lamella silver was produced on raw MAC while Na OH treatment resulted in granular particles because of the capping effect of carbonyl groups. At appropriate [Ag（NH3）2]NO3 concentrations, silver nanoparticles smaller than 100 nm were homogeneously dispersed on Na OH-treated MAC. The successful tuning of the size and morphology of silver coatings on MAC is promising for novel applications in air purification and for antibacterial or aesthetic purposes.

Improving the Interfacial Mechanical Property of Fiber Reinforced Cement with Dielectric Barrier Discharge 2: Morphological and Compositional Changes of the Fiber Surface

The morphological and compositional changes of the PP fibers pretreated with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)are investigated with SEM, XPS and IR. The result shows that the etching effect is the main reason for the improvement of the result of pull-out test of the fibercement composite reported in a previous paper and the oxidation of the fiber surface also favors the adhesion between the fiber and the matrix.

Evolutionary changes of Hox genes and relevant regulatory factors provide novel insights into mammalian morphological modifications

The diversity of body plans of mammals accelerates the innovation of lifestyles and the extensive adaptation to different habitats,including terrestrial,aerial and aquatic habitats.However,the genetic basis of those phenotypic modifications,which have occurred during mammalian evolution,remains poorly explored.In the present study,we synthetically surveyed the evolutionary pattern of Hox clusters that played a powerful role in the morphogenesis along the head-tail axis of animal embryos and the main regulatory factors(Mll,Bmi1 and E2f6)that control the expression of Hox genes.A deflected density of repetitive elements and lineage-specific radical mutations of Mll have been determined in marine mammals with morphological changes,suggesting that evolutionary changes may alter Hox gene expression in these lineages,leading to the morphological modification of these lineages.Although no positive selection was detected at certain ancestor nodes of lineages,the increasedωvalues of Hox genes implied the relaxation of functional constraints of these genes during the mammalian evolutionary process.More importantly,49 positively-selected sites were identified in mammalian lineages with phenotypic modifications,indicating adaptive evolution acting on Hox genes and regulatory factors.In addition,3 parallel amino acid substitutions in some Hox genes were examined in marine mammals,which might be responsible for their streamlined body.

A novel approach for Apocynum venetum/cotton blended fabrics modification by cationic polymer nanoparticles

Apocynum venetum/cotton blended fabrics have been subjected to treat with cationic polymer nanoparticles followed by dyeing with Acid Red B,and then studied for their dyeing performance and morphology.The investigation on the effect of modification factors on the blended fabrics indicated that the 0.5 g/L nanoparticles concentration,60 min treating time,60 ℃ treating temperature and pH 6-8 are the optimum modification process to improve the dyeability of acid dye.In addition,the SEM images show that nanoparticles can be adsorbed on the surface of modified A.venetum or cotton fibers,and the two different fibers could have the same adsorption ability to Acid Red B.