Graphene oxide/hydrotalcite modified polyethersulfone nanohybrid membrane for the treatment of lead ion from battery industrial effluent

In the present study, polyethersulfone based nanohybrid membranes were effectively fabricated by incorporating graphene oxide(GO) and hydrotalcite(HT) nanosheets into the membrane structure. HT was prepared to overcome the irreversible agglomeration behavior of GO at a high concentration which affects the performance of the membranes. In particular, the shedding of HT in formamide provides a two-dimensional nanosheet with a higher positive charge density to prevent the restacking of GO nanosheets. Here, exfoliated GO and HT with different combinations(1:1, 1:2 and 1:3) were infused in the membrane matrix to treat lead-acid battery effluent effectively. Finally, the hybrid membranes were characterized for hydrophilicity, mechanical strength and pure water flux. In combination with the superior properties of GO and HT, the prepared hybrid membranes can be used as effectively to improve the separation and permeation performance. The phase inversion process eliminated the leaching of nanoparticles from the membrane matrix. The reusability of the hybrid membrane was achieved using0.1 mol·L^(-1)NaOH solution and reused without significant reduction in lead removal efficiency. The cost analysis of the membrane was also estimated from the lab study. Therefore, the present study suggested the selective and sustainable treatment of lead from a real-life effluent.

Self-assembled Nanohybrid from Opposite Charged Sheets:Alternate Stacking of CoAl LDH and MoS2

Hybrid materials are attracting intensive attention for their applications in electronics, photoelectronics, LEDs, field-effect transistors, etc. Engineering new hybrid materials and further exploiting their new functions will be significant for future science and technique development. In this work, alternatively stacked self-assembled CoAl LDH/MoS2 nanohybrid has been successfully synthesized by an exfoliation-flocculation method from positively charged CoAl LDH nanosheets（CoAl-NS） with negatively charged MoS2 nanosheets（MoS2-NS）. The CoAl LDH/MoS2 hybrid material exhibits an enhanced catalytic performance for oxygen evolution reaction（OER） compared with original constituents of CoAl LDH nanosheets and MoS2 nanosheets. The enhanced OER catalytic performance of CoAl LDH/MoS2 is demonstrated to be due to the improved electron transfer, more exposed catalytic active sites, and accelerated oxygen evolution reaction kinetics.

Nanohybrid membrane in algal-membrane photoreactor: Microalgae cultivation and wastewater polishing

Microalgae cultivation has gained tremendous attention in recent years due to its great potential in green biofuel production and wastewater treatment application. Membrane technology is a great solution in separating the microalgae biomass while producing high quality of permeate for recycling. The main objective of this study was to investigate the filtration performance of Ag/GO-PVDF(silver/graphene oxide-polyvinylidene fluoride) membrane in an algalmembrane photoreactor(A-MPR) by benchmarking with a commercial PVDF(com-PVDF) membrane. In this study, Chlorella vulgaris microalgae was cultivated in synthetic wastewater in an A-MPR for ammoniacal-nitrogen and phosphorus recovery and the wastewater was further filtered using Ag/GO-PVDF and com-PVDF membranes to obtain high quality water. Spectrophotometer was used to analyze the chemical oxidation demand(COD), ammoniacal nitrogen(NH3-N) and phosphate(PO43-). The concentration of proteins and carbohydrates was measured using Bradford method and phenol-sulfuric acid method, respectively. The COD of the synthetic wastewater was reduced from(180.5 ± 5.6) ppm to(82 ± 2.6) ppm due to nutrient uptake by microalgae. Then, the Ag/GO-PVDF membrane was used to further purify the microalgae cultivated wastewater, resulting in a low COD permeate of(31 ± 4.6) ppm. The high removal rate of proteins(100%) and carbohydrates(86.6%) as the major foulant in microalgae filtration, with low membrane fouling propensity of Ag/GO-PVDF membrane is advantageous for the sustainable development of the microalgae production. Hence, the integrated A-MPR system is highly recommended as a promising approach for microalgae cultivation and wastewater polishing treatment.

Synthesis and characterization of multiwall carbon nanotubes/alumina nanohybrid-supported cobalt catalyst in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

Multiwall carbon nanotubes （MWNTs） and alumina are combined to give a new type of nanohybrid for Fisher-Tropsch synthesis （FTS） catalyst support. Alumina nano-particles （10 wt%） were introduced directly on functionalized MWNTs by a modified sol-gel method. Microstructure observations show that alumina particles were homogeneously dispersed on the inside and outside of modified MWNTs surfaces. 15 wt% cobalt loading catalysts were prepared with this nanohybrid and γ-alumina as a reference, using a sol-gel technique and wet impregnation method respectively. These catalysts were characterized by TEM, XRD, N2-adsorption, H2 chemisorption and TPR. The deposition of cobalt nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel technique on the MWNTs nanohybrid shift the reduction peaks to a low temperature, indicating higher reducibility for uniform cobalt particles. Nanohybrid also aided in high dispersion of metal clusters and high stability and performance of catalyst. The proposed MWNTs nanohybrid-supported cobalt catalysts showed the improved FTS rate （gHc/（gcat.min））, CO conversion （%）, and water gas shift rate （WGS）（gcoz/（gcat.h）） of 0.012, 52, and 30E-3, respectively, as compared to those of 0.007, 25, and 18E-3, respectively, on the γ-alumina-supported cobalt catalysts with the same Co loading.

Study on Intercalative Nanohybrid of Cordycepin in Layered Double Hydroxide

A novel negatively charged biomolecule-cordycepin has been intercalated within the gallery spaces of [Mg-Al-NO3]. Results of TEM, PXRD and FT-IR spectroscopy confirmed that cordycepin could be intercalated into [Mg-Al-NO3] interlayers as the charge-compensating species. Initial studies suggest that the new bioinorganic nanocomposite may be used as a novel inorganic reservoir or carrier of pharmaceutically active compounds.

High-yield Synthesis of Nanohybrid Shish-kebab Polyethylene-carbon Nanotube Structure

We report a novel method to prepare nanohybnd shish-kebab （NHSK） structure of polyethylene （PE）and carbon nanotube （CNT）. Pristine CNTs without surface modification with high concentration was effectively dispersed in xylene solution by a simple shearing method, which induces the quick crystallization of PE in xylene to form a novel NHSK structure with more dense and smaller PE kebab on CNT axis. The flocculated NHSK productwas transferred quickly from the xylene solution to the ethanol solution, in order to shorten the preparation time. The freeze-drying method was used in vacuum instead of high-temperature drying to avoid the aggregation of NHSK product. These improvements allow the formation of NHSK with an absolute yield of 200 mg.h-1, which is 2000 folds of that reported previously. It is favorable to apply this structured material in high performance nano- composite, by improving the compatibility of CNTs in p polymer and the interfacial force between CNTs and polymer.

Synthesis and Characterization of Trithiocarbonate-Organoclays Nanohybrids and Their Interaction with MCF-7 Cancer Cells

This work presents a new approach for the fabrication of organic/inorganic nanohybrids as anticancer drugs by an intercalation method using S,S-bis（α,α′-dimethyl-α″-acetic acid） （trithiocarbonate） as a modifier and two organoclays, such as reactive octadecylamine/MMT （montmorillonite） and non-reactive dimethyldidodecyl ammonium/MMT. The chemical and physical structures and the surface morphology of these covalently and non-covalently linked nanohybrids were investigated by FT-IR （Fourier translbrm infrared） spectroscopy, ^13C and ^29Si solid state NMR （nuclear magnetic resonance） spectroscopy, XRD （X-ray powder diffraction） and SEM （scanning electron microscopy） analyses, respectively. To evaluate the anticancer activities of the novel BATC/organoclay hybrids against MCF-7 breast cancer cells, a combination of different biochemical and biophysical testing techniques were used. Cell proliferation and cytotoxicity were detected in vitro using a real-time analysis. Cell death was confirmed by using apoptotic and necrotic analyses, the effects of which were detennined by the double staining and Annexin-V-FLUOS testing method. The results demonstrate that intercalated hybrid complexes containing a combination of various anticancer sites, such as free and complexed carboxyl, trithiocarbonate, amine and ammonium cations significantly induced cell death in breast cancer via their interactions with the DNA macromolecules of cancer cells by destroying the self-assemb｜ed structure of growing cells. Fabricated hybrid complexes may represent a new generation of effective and selective anticancer drug systems with a synthetic/natural origin for cancer chemotherapy.

Graphene-supported bimetal phosphorus trisulfides as novel 0D–2D nanohybrid for high rate Li-ion storage

Herein, we report on the synthesis and Li-ion storage properties of the 0D–2D nanohybrid consisted of bimetal phosphorus trisulfides nanoneedles（Co_（0.5）Ni_（0.5）PS_3） and graphene nanosheets（denoted as Co_（0.5）Ni_（0.5）PS_3@G）. By choosing the Co_（0.5）Ni_（0.5）（OH）_2 nanoneedles as precursor, the Co_（0.5）Ni_（0.5）PS_3 derived by a simple solid-state transformation（SST） process was successfully attached onto the graphene surface.The as-prepared nanohybrids showed a superior cycling stability and rate performance for Li-ion storage.After cycling at a current density of 0.5 A g^（-1） for 500 cycles, the capacity are 456 mAh g^（-1）. Particularly,the capacity can reach 302 mAh g^（-1） at a current density of 10 A g^（-1）, which is 66.2% of the capacity at0.5 A g^（-1）. Even cycling at a current density of 50 A g^（-1）, the nanocomposite can still kept a capacity of 153 mAh g^（-1） with a capacity retention of 33.6%.

Functional Copolymer/Organo-MMT Nanoarchitectures.VIII.Synthesis,Morphology and Thermal Behavior of Poly(maleic anhydride-alt-acrylamide)-Organo-MMT Clays Nanohybrids

Functional copolymer–clay hybrids were synthesized by radical-initiated intercalative copolymerization of maleic acid (MA) and acrylamide (AAm) with 2,2’-azobis (2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride as a water-soluble ionizable radical initiator in the presence of reactive (octadecyl amine (ODA)-MMT) and non-reactive (dimethyldodecyl ammonium (DMDA)-MMT) organoclays at 50oC in aqueous medium under nitrogen atmosphere. The monomers was dissolved in aqueous medium, as well as both used clay particles were easily dissolved and dispersed with partially swollen in deionized water, respectively. Structure, thermal behavior and morphology of the synthesized nanocomposites were investigated by FTIR, XRD, DSC-TGA, SEM and TEM analysis methods, respectively. It was demonstrated that intercalative copolymerization proceed via ion exchange between organoclays and carboxylic groups of monomers/polymers which essentially improved interfacial interaction of polymer matrix and clay layers through strong H-bonding. In case of intercalative copolymerization in the presence of ODA-MMT clay, similar improvement was provided by in situ hydrogen-bonding and amidolysis of carboxylic/anhydride groups from copolymer chains with primary amine group of ODA-MMT. The nanocomposites exhibit higher intercalation/exfoliation degree of copolymer chains, improved thermal properties and fine dispersed morphology.

Heterostructured Pt-Ni_(3)Mo_(3)N formed via ammonia-containing polyoxometalates for highly efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution in acid medium

Constructing heterostructured nanohybrid is considered as a prominent route to fabricate alternative electrocatalysts to commercial Pt/C for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).In this work,(NH_(4))_(4)[NiH_(6)Mo_(6)O_(4)]·5H_(2)O polyoxometalates(NiMo_(6))are adopted as the cluster precursors for simple fabrication of heterostructured Pt-Ni_(3)Mo_(3)N nanohybrids supported by carbon black(Pt-Ni_(3)Mo_(3)N/C)without using additional N sources.The improved porosity and enhanced electronic interaction of Pt-Ni_(3)Mo_(3)N/C should be attributed to the integration of Pt with NiMo_(6),which favors the mass transport,promotes the formation of exposed catalytic sites,and benefits the regulation of intrinsic activity.Thus,the as-obtained Pt-Ni_(3)Mo_(3)N/C exhibits impressive and durable HER performance as indicated by the low overpotential of 13.7 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm^(-2) and the stable overpotential during continuous working at 100 mA cm^(-2) for 100 h.This work provides significant insights for the synthesis of new highly active heterostructured electrocatalysts for renewable energy devices.

MgO-attached graphene nanosheet(MgO@GNS)reinforced magnesium matrix nanocomposite with superior mechanical,corrosion and biological performance

Magnesium(Mg)alloys are gaining great consideration as body implant materials due to their high biodegradability and biocompatibility.However,they suffer from low corrosion resistance and antibacterial activity.In this research,semi-powder metallurgy followed by hot extrusion was utilized to produce the magnesium oxide@graphene nanosheets/magnesium(MgO@GNS/Mg)composite to improve mechanical,corrosion and cytocompatibility characteristics.Investigations have revealed that the incorporation of MgO@GNS nanohybrids into Mg-based composite enhanced microhardness and compressive strength.In vitro,osteoblast cell culture tests show that using MgO@GNS nanohybrid fillers enhances osteoblast adhesion and apatite mineralization.The presence of MgO@GNS nanoparticles in the composites decreased the opening defects,micro-cracks and micro-pores of the composites thus preventing the penetration of the corrosive solution into the matrix.Studies demonstrated that the MgO@GNS/Mg composite possesses excellent antibacterial properties because of the combination of the release of MgO and physical damage to bacterium membranes caused by the sharp edges of graphene nanosheets that can effectively damage the cell wall thereby facilitating penetration into the bacterial lipid bilayer.Therefore,the MgO@GNS/Mg composite with high mechanical strength,antibacterial activity and corrosion resistance is considered to be a promising material for load-bearing implant applications.

Facile synthesis of bimodal macroporous g-C_3N_4/SnO_2 nanohybrids with enhanced photocatalytic activity

It is of vital importance to construct highly interconnected,macroporous photocatalyst to improve its efficiency and applicability in solar energy conversion and environment remediation.Graphitic-like C_3N_4(g-C_3N_4),as an analogy to two-dimensional(2D)graphene,is highly identified as a visible-lightresponsive polymeric semiconductor.Moreover,the feasibility of g-C_3N_4 in making porous structures has been well established.However,the preparation of macroporous g-C_3N_4 with abundant porous networks and exposure surface,still constitutes a difficulty.To solve it,we report a first facile preparation of bimodal macroporous g-C_3N_4 hybrids with abundant in-plane holes,which is simply enabled by in-situ modification through thermally treating the mixture of thiourea and SnCl_4(pore modifier)after rotary evaporation.For one hand,the formed in-plane macropores endow the g-C_3N_4 system with plentiful active sites and short,cross-plane diffusion channels that can greatly speed up mass transport and transfer.For another,the heterojunctions founded between g-C_3N_4 and SnO_2 consolidate the electron transfer reaction to greatly reduce the recombination probability.As a consequence,the resulted macroporous gC_3N_4/SnO_2 nanohybrid had a high specific surface area(SSA)of 44.3 m^2/g that was quite comparable to most nano/mesoporous g-C_3N_4 reported.The interconnected porous network also rendered a highly intensified light absorption by strengthening the light penetration.Together with the improved mass transport and electron transfer,the macroporous g-C_3N_4/SnO_2 hybrid exhibited about 2.4-fold increment in the photoactivity compared with pure g-C_3N_4.Additionally,the recyclability of such hybrid could be guaranteed after eight successive uses.

Dual-emissive nanohybrid nanoclusters for sensitive ions of carbon dots and gold determination of mercuric

The present work reports a sensitive and selective fluorescent sensor for the detection of mercury ion, Hg（II）, by hybridizing carbon nanodots （C-dots） and gold nanoclusters （Au NCs） through intrinsic interactions of the two components. The C-dots serve as the reference signal and the Au NCs as the reporter. This method employs the specific high affinity metallophilic Hg2^-Au＋ interactions which can greatly quench the red fluorescence of Au NCs, while the blue fluorescence of C-dots is stable against Hg（II）, leading to distinct ratiometric fluorescence changes when exposed to Hg（II）. A limit of detection of 28 nM for Hg（II） in aqueous solution was estimated. Thus we applied the sensor for the detection of Hg（II） in real water samples including tap water, lake water and mineral water samples with good results. We further demonstrated that a visual chemical sensor could be manufactured by immobilizing the nanohybrid probe on a cellulose acetate circular filter paper. The paper-based sensor immediately showed a distinct fluorescence color evolution from pink to blue after exposure to a drop of the Hg（II） solution

POSS基两亲性嵌段共聚物的合成及自组装行为

用不同结构三乙氧基硅烷为原料,通过水解缩合和环氧化的方法合成了环氧基苯基低聚笼型倍半硅氧烷,再利用胺基和环氧开环反应与聚醚胺反应合成POSS基嵌段共聚物(PEA-POSS),最后将苯基结构羧酸化合成两亲性嵌段共聚物(PEA-POSS-COOH)。利用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)和核磁共振氢谱(1H-NMR)表征了PEA-POSS-COOH的化学结构。采用溶剂挥发诱导法促使PEA-POSS-COOH自组装,形成以疏水POSS为核、亲水PEA链为壳的球形胶束。利用扫面电子显微镜(SEM)、能量分散型X射线光谱(EDS)、动态激光光散射(DLS)、小角X射线散射仪(XRD)和差示扫描量热仪(DSC)表征了组装体的形貌与结构性能。结果表明,POSS基两亲性嵌段聚合物可组装成粒径约1.14μm的球形胶束,且POSS结构中的π-π堆叠作用使得球形胶束具有较为稳定结构,熔点提高。

Multimodal bioimaging based on gold nanorod and carbon dot nanohybrids as a novel tool for atherosclerosis detection

Advanced biocompatible and robust platforms equipped with diverse properties are highly required in biomedical imaging applications for the early detection of atherosclerotic vascular disease and cancers. Designing nanohybrids composed of noble metals and fluorescent materials is a new way to perform multimodal imaging to overcome the limitations of single-modality counterparts. Herein, we propose the novel design of a multimodal contrast agent; namely, an enhanced nanohybrid comprising gold nanorods （GNRs） and carbon dots （CDs） with silica （SiO2） as a bridge. The nanohybrid （GNR@SiO2@CD） construction is based on covalent bonding between SiO2 and the silane-functionalized CDs, which links the GNRs with the CDs to form typical core-shell units. The novel structure not only retains and even highly improves the optical properties of the GNRs and CDs, but also possesses superior imaging performance in both diffusion reflection （DR） and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy （FLIM） measurements compared with bare GNRs or fluorescence dyes and CDs. The superior bioimaging properties of the GNR@SiOa@CD nanohybrids were successfully exploited for in vitro DR and FLIM measurements of macrophages within tissue-like phantoms, paving the way toward a theranostic contrast agent for atherosclerosis and cancer.

Highly bonded T-Nb2O5/rGO nanohybrids for 4 V quasisolid state asymmetric supercapacitors with improved electrochemical performance

Orthorhombic niobium pentoxide （T-Nb2O5）/reduced graphene oxide nanohybrids were fabricated via the hydrothermal attachment of Nb2Os nanowires to dispersed graphene oxide nanosheets followed by a high-temperature phase transformation. Electrochemical measurements showed that the nanohybrid anodes possessed enhanced reversible capacity and superior cycling stability compared to those of a pristine T-Nb205 nanowire electrode. Owing to the strong bonds between graphene nanosheets and T-Nb2O5 nanowires, the nanohybrids achieved an initial capacity of 227 mAh·g^-1. Additionally, non-aqueous asymmetric supercapacitors （ASCs） were fabricated with the synthesized nanohybrids as the anode and activated carbon as the cathode. The 3 V Li-ion ASC with a LiPF6-based organic electrolyte achieved an energy density of 45.1 Wh·kg^-1 at 715.2 W·kg^-1. The working potential could be further enhanced to 4 V when a polymer ionogel separator （PVDF-HFP/LiTFSI/EMIMBF4） and formulated ionic liquid electrolyte were employed. Such a quasi-solid state ASC could operate at 60℃ and delivered a maximum energy density of 70 Wh·kg^-1 at 1 kW·kg^-1.

Ultrahigh rate capability of 1D/2D polyaniline/titanium carbide(MXene)nanohybrid for advanced asymmetric supercapacitors

High energy density and enhanced rate capability are highly sought-after for supercapacitors in today's mobile world.In this work,polyaniline/titanium carbide(MXene)(PANI/Ti3C2Tx)nanohybrid is synthesized through a facile and cost-effective self-assembly of.one-dimensional(10)PANI nanofibers and two-dimensional(20)Ti3C2Tx nanosheets.PANl!Ti3C2Tx delivers greatly improved specific capacitance,ultrahigh rate capability(67%capacitance retention from 1 to 100 A·g^(-1))as well as good cycle stability.Electrochemical kinetic analysis reveals that PANI/Ti3C2Tx is featured with surface capacitance-dominated process and has a quasi-reversible kinetics at high scan rates,giving rise to an ultrahigh rate capability.By using PANl!Ti3C2Tx as positive electrode,an 1.8 V aqueous asymmetric supercapacitor(ASC)is successfully assembled,showing a maximum energy density of 50.8 Wh·kg^(-1)·(at 0.9 kW-kg-1)and a power density of 18 kW·kg^(-1)(at 26 Wh·kg^(-1)).Moreover,an 3.0 V organic ASC is also elaborately fabricated,·by using PANI/Ti3C2Tx,achieving an ultrahigh energy density of 67.2 Wh·kg^(-1)(at 1.5 kW·kg^(-1))and a power density of 30 kW·kg^(-1)·(at 26.8 Wh·kg^(-1)).The present work not only improves fundamental understanding of the structure-property relationship towards ultrahigh rate capability electrode materials,but also provides valuable guideline for the rational design of high-performance:energy storage devices with both high energy and power densities.

Chitosan-mediated synthesis of carbon nanotube-gold nanohybrids

Metal-nanotube nanohybrids were produced by in situ synthesis and stabilization of gold nanoparticles on chitosan-functionalized carbon nanotubes.The formation of gold nanoparticles from tetrachloroauric acid was observed after only a few minutes of contact with the functionalized nanotubes,at room temperature.These results suggest that adsorption of chitosan at the surface of carbon nanotubes permits smooth reduction of the metallic salt and efficient anchoring of gold nanoparticles to the nanotubes.

Influence of Molar Ratio of Zn/Al/Tyr on the Formation of Tyr/Zn-Al-LDH Nanohybrids

The intercalation of amphoteric amino acid tyrosine （Tyr） into LDH by co-precipitation method was systematically studied. The influence of initial molar ratios （R） of LDH to Tyr has also been examined. Powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, specific surface areas and pore size distributions, and thermal analysis have been employed for the characterization of the nanocomposites. The nanohybrids were found to have an expanded layered structure except the samples prepared with low R values, indicating that the biomolecules were intercalated into the gallery as anions. The intercalation of amino acids resulted in the increase of the surface areas and pore volumes, and the value of surface areas and pore volumes increased with enhancement of biomolecules intercalated. TEM analysis revealed that with increasing biomolecules into the gallery, the nanohybrids were changed from hexagonal particles to spherical ones. Moreover, the configuration of Tyr anions was varied under different R values, changed from monolayer to bilayers with more biomolecules intercalating into the gallery.

Novel carbon nanohybrids as highly efficient magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents

Novel carbon nanohybrids based on unmodified metallofullerenes have been successfully fabricated for use as a new magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） contrast agent. The nanohybrids showed higher R1 relaxivity and better brightening effect than Gd@C82（OH）x, in Tl-weighted MR images in vivo. This is a result of the proton relaxivity from the original gadofullerenes, which retained a perfect carbon cage structure and so might completely avoid the release of Gd^3＋ ions. A ＂secondary spin-electron transfer＂ relaxation mechanism was proposed to explain how the encaged Gd^3＋ ions of carbon nanohybrids interact with the surrounding water molecules. This approach opens new opportunities for developing highly efficient and low toxicity MRI contrast agents.