Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials最新文献

An efficient isomerization catalyst is essential for the preparation of fructose from glucose, which is also an effective way to valorize cellulose to value-added chemicals. In this work, the interaction between catalytically active substances and biochar and the chemical properties of active sites are regulated by improving the oxygen content in biochar to enhance the efficiency of glucose isomerization catalyst. The biochar-based magnesium (Mg-BC) catalysts have been prepared by impregnation-pyrolysis complex with MgCl₂ and biochar. Results indicate that the catalytic efficiency and active site stability of Mg-BC catalysts can be effectively improved by adjusting the oxygen content of biochar. The amounts of strongly basic active sites (48.69 mmol·g⁻¹) in the Mg-BC-3 catalyst prepared by BC-3 with high oxygen content are obviously higher than that of the Mg-BC-1 catalyst (19.32 mmol·g⁻¹) prepared by BC-1 with low oxygen content. And the large number of strongly basic active sites in Mg-BC-3 are more favorable for increasing glucose conversion and fructose selectivity, which can obtain efficiencies comparable to those of isomerase catalysts such as 48.15% glucose conversion, 85.38% fructose selectivity, and 41.11% fructose yield at 110 °C for 20 min. Meanwhile, a confinement effect of the mesoporous size of the catalyst on the active substance MgO and a relatively stable Mg-O-C group formed by the BC-3 and Mg²⁺ combine to improve the stability of the catalyst. Based on the density functional theory analysis, compared with the catalytic process without active sites, the loaded active substance MgO can effectively reduce the energy barrier from 67.1 to 21.3 kcal·mol^-1 to form the enediol intermediates, further demonstrating the high catalytic efficiency of Mg-BC-3. In this work, we develop a highly efficient Mg-BC-3 catalyst for glucose isomerization and provide an efficient method for cellulose valorization.

Polymer foams are extensively employed in automotive, flame retardant, and food packaging owing to their lightweight, excellent insulation, high strength, thermal stability, and impact resistance. Polypropylene (PP) is regarded as an alternative to other thermoplastic polymers because of its low-cost, excellent heat resistance, and corrosion resistance. However, the inherent limitation stemming from the weak melt strength of linear PP, coupled with its low melt elasticity, presents significant challenges in the production of PP foams characterized by microsized and uniform cell distribution. To enhance the performance of PP foam, various modification methods such as long-chain branching, cross-linking, blending, and adding fillers are employed. This paper first provides an overview of the foaming process of supercritical carbon dioxide and analyzes the influence of chemical structure and crystal structure on PP foaming. Subsequently, methods to enhance PP foaming properties, such as branching, cross-linking, blending, and filler incorporation, are discussed. Various foaming technologies for PP, including batch foaming, extrusion foaming, and injection foaming, are delineated. Furthermore, the diverse applications of PP foams, encompassing automotive components, thermal insulation, flame retardancy, electromagnetic shielding, oil–water separation, and food packaging were outlined. Finally, the current research status of PP foams is summarized, and the prospects for high-performance PP are addressed.

The sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the degradation of cathodes caused by Cr and CO₂ poisoning are major obstacles to the commercial application of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). It is still challenging to achieve composite cathodes with both high ORR activity and excellent Cr, CO₂ tolerance, and design composite cathodes suitable for both oxygen ion and proton SOFCs. Taking advantage of high-entropy materials, here, we report our findings in harnessing high-throughput computational methods to expedite the design of novel composite cathodes based on Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3-δ (BSCF) as the matrix. We methodically compute the lattice substitution energy (E_ls), O projected density of states (O p-Dos), and the work function for a set of 13-element candidates. Our research underscores BNSCNZF (Ba_0.4Nd_0.1Sr_0.5Co_0.6Ni_0.1Zr_0.1Fe_0.2O_3-δ), the combination of BSCF and Nd, Ni, Zr ternary doping, as a promising and revolutionary candidate, exhibiting superior performance in terms of electronic conductivity, oxygen adsorption, and transport activity compared to the established BSCF series. BNSCNZF incorporating Sm_0.2Ce_0.8O_2-δ (SDC) and BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3-δ (BZCY) as the electrolyte achieves very low polarization resistances (R_p) in the symmetric cell mode (0.02 Ω cm⁻² and 0.56 Ω cm⁻² at 700 °C, respectively). BNSCNZF also exhibits excellent tolerance to Cr and CO₂ poisoning due to its higher energy barriers for impurity generation and higher absorption energy of produced impurities from the matrix. The oxide ion and proton single cells with BNSCNZF exhibit excellent power densities of 1.21 W cm⁻² and 0.63 W cm⁻² at 700 °C, respectively, which are higher than that with BSCF cathode (1.03 W cm⁻² and 0.53 W cm⁻² at 700 °C).

Biosensors are powerful tools for fast and highly sensitive monitoring of biological fluids, especially chemotropic drug monitoring. In this regard, a bio-electrochemical nanostructure sensor was designed and engineered for the monitoring of pemetrexed, a breast and lung anticancer drug, in pharmaceutical and environmental fluids. In this design, Bi₂WO₆/Nb₄C₃Tx nanocomposite was synthesized as a conductive catalyst by hydrothermal method and characterized with XRD, SEM, FT-IR, XPS, and EDS methods. On the other hand, a screen-printed electrode (SPE) was adapted by layer-by-layer strategy and used as an analytical tool. Bi₂WO₆/Nb₄C₃Tx nanocomposite was used as the first layer and conductive substrate and salmon ds-DNA was engineered as the second layer and biological recognition element. The oxidation signal of guanine was selected as the best strategy to follow the intercalation behavior of pemetrexed with ds-DNA structure. The reduction in guanine signal was used to diagnose and sense pemetrexed as a fast strategy. Using this strategy and the bio-nano-engineered method, pemetrexed was detected in a concentration range of 0.01–100 µM with a detection limit of 2.8 nM. To investigate the strength of the engineered sensor in complex samples, a recovery range of 98.7–103.6% was obtained using Bi₂WO₆/Nb₄C₃Tx/ds-DNA/SPE. In the final step, the molecular docking study approves pemetrexed drug interacting with DNA receptors in an intercalation mode, which is well in accordance with the experimental investigations, and also, some kinetic parameters were calculated for this interaction process.

A rosin derivative, dehydroabietic alcohol (DHAA), was synthetized and employed to graft onto polyacrylic acid (PAA) via the Steglich esterification reaction, forming a block copolymer consisting of the acrylic acid units and monomer units containing ester groups. The resulted dehydroabietic alcohol grafted polyacrylic acid (DHAA-graft-PAA) demonstrated enhanced pH and temperature sensitivities. The number ratio of the acrylic acid monomer units reacted with the DHAA and the unreacted acrylic acid monomer units was estimated by the NMR results. The number-average molecular weight of DHAA-graft-PAA was determined to be 9290 by an acid-base titration method. The optimal decomposition temperature of DHAA-graft-PAA measured using a thermogravimetric analyzer was approximately 289 °C. The structural characteristics of the DHAA-graft-PAA were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹HNMR). The conformational transition of the DHAA-graft-PAA under different pH and temperature values was investigated. The scattering intensity experiments showed that 7.96 was a critical pH value and 5 °C was a critical temperature. When the pH value was below 7.96, the degree of carboxyl group ionization in the polymer was decreased, leading to a repulsion between the carboxyl groups in the polymer chains and causing the chain contraction. When the temperature dropped to 5 °C, the conformation transitioned from an extended state to a contracted state. This study demonstrates the intelligent applications for a novel pH and temperature-sensitive polymer.

Bladder cancer (BLCA), particularly due to the high recurrence and progression rates of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), is a significant global health challenge. Current treatments, such as Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy and intravesical chemotherapy, often cause substantial side effects and exhibit limited efficacy, highlighting the urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. Single-cell spatial transcriptomic advancements have identified cuproptosis as a critical pathway in BLCA, presenting a promising target for treatment. In this study, these insights were leveraged to design Cu-VT nanoparticles (NPs), an innovative composite material that combines the unique properties of copper ions and the natural flavonoid vitexin, to induce cuproptosis. Cu-VT NPs could effectively induce apoptosis and oxidative stress in BLCA cells concurrently modulating the immune response within the tumor microenvironment. Comprehensive in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that Cu-VT NPs significantly inhibited tumor growth and reduced lung metastasis through cuproptosis induction. This dual-function composite material enhances therapeutic efficacy and minimizes side effects, showcasing its potential as a revolutionary treatment for BLCA. Our findings highlight the transformative potential of Cu-VT NPs in the context of BLCA treatment, establishing a new paradigm in the use of composite materials for the treatment of advanced cancer.

In this study, a continuous heat transfer network was constructed through interface engineering by performing surface functionalization on the surface of liquid metal (LM), on which alkoxy and carboxyl groups were introduced to facilitate strong interactions with the hydroxyl groups on cellulose aerogel (CA). This allowed LM to anchor onto the CA tube walls, which promoted the formation of a thermally conductive network. The thermal conductivity of CA filled with LM modified by thiomalic acid reached 7.421 W/(m·K) with a thermal conductivity anisotropy ratio of 23, which is 1.35 times higher than the unmodified LM-filled CA composite. The high heat transfer efficiency achieved in the composites in heat transfer experiments was further validated through finite element simulations, which showed that the construction of the LM thermal networks provided effective pathways for phonon transfer. Additionally, the prepared composites exhibited outstanding electromagnetic interference shielding performance with a shielding effectiveness of 32.11 dB corresponding to the blockage of 99.937% of the incoming radiation and a high conductivity of 25.64 S/m.

Negative permittivity materials hold immense potential in the field of sensing due to their high sensitivity. As the next generation of sensors moves toward flexible and wearable designs, conventional negative permittivity materials, which are predominantly based on rigid metal conductive networks, struggle to achieve the necessary flexibility. In this study, we synthesized Ni_x/C/SiO₂ flexible composite films by electrospinning and high-temperature pyrolysis. Using polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as the precursor, along with nickel acetate tetrahydrate and tetraethyl orthosilicate, the material underwent carbonization to form a dual-phase carbon-nickel network, establishing a flexible conductive framework. A relatively low carbonization temperature was employed to maintain the flexibility of the carbon network, avoiding excessive graphitization that could compromise flexibility. To ensure sufficient carrier concentration within the system, Ni was introduced, while the addition of SiO₂ not only enhanced the flexibility of the composite fiber membrane but also strengthened the positive permittivity effect, allowing for precise tuning of the negative permittivity. The composite films exhibit excellent negative dielectric properties of about − 2000 and conductivity up to 0.018 (Ω·cm)⁻¹. Our research offers a viable approach for introducing flexibility into negative permittivity materials, thereby advancing their potential applications in the sensing field.

The integration of laser technologies and machine learning has marked a transformative era in functional materials manufacturing. This review highlights how AI-driven methods optimize laser-assisted processes, enabling real-time error correction and parameter adjustment. By comparing different laser machining techniques and emphasizing their synergy with machine learning, this paper provides insights into the future of smart manufacturing and new research avenues for improving material performance. Laser-assisted processes, such as laser cutting and laser-induced oxidation, improve precision, reduce thermal damage, and enable the fabrication of complex geometries. Additionally, laser cladding and coating technologies enhance interfacial properties. The incorporation of machine learning algorithms in laser manufacturing processes further optimizes parameters, enhances real-time error correction, and improves quality control. This review uniquely emphasizes the synergistic effects of combining laser technologies with artificial intelligence, presenting a comprehensive comparison of different laser machining techniques and their practical applications. By addressing current limitations and exploring new research avenues, this review highlights the significant advancements and future potential in laser-based manufacturing technologies.

Graphic Abstract

5-Aminotetrazole (ATZ) has a high nitrogen content (82.3%) and low sensibility, which effectively reduces the gas molecular weight of the propellant and is expected to increase the specific impulse of the propellant. Herein, Al/ATZ-Cu metastable intermolecular composites (MICs) were prepared by self-assembly reaction between ATZ and copper ions. The micromorphology and the surface composition of Al/ATZ-Cu were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show that the ATZ-Cu layer can be uniformly encapsulated on the surface of the aluminum powder. The thermal reactivity of Al/ATZ-Cu has also been investigated in detail. The thermal decomposition of ATZ-Cu can effectively promote the oxidation reaction of Al powder so that the Al can undergo a pre-ignition reaction below the melting point of Al. In addition, possible reaction mechanisms of Al/ATZ-Cu are discussed in detail.