Yonghong Deng

Highly regenerable mussel-inspired Fe3O4@Polydopamine-ag core-shell microspheres as catalyst and adsorbent for methylene blue removal

We report a facile method to synthesize Fe3O4@polydopamine (PDA)-Ag core-shell microspheres. Ag nanoparticles (NPs) are deposited on PDA surfaces via in situ reduction by mussel-inspired PDA layers. High catalytic activity and fast adsorption of a model dye methylene blue (MB) at different pH values are achieved mainly due to the presence of monodisperse Ag NPs and electrostatic interactions between PDA and MB. The as-prepared Fe3O4@PDA-Ag microspheres also show high cyclic stability (>27 cycles), good acid stability, and fast regeneration ability, which can be achieved efficiently within several minutes by using NaBH4 as the desorption agent, showing great potentials in a wide range of applications.

Effects of Various Conductive Additive and Polymeric Binder Contents on the Performance of a Lithium-Ion Composite Cathode

Fundamental electrochemical methods, cell performance tests, and physical characterization tests such as electron microscopy were used to study the effects of levels of the inert materials (acetylene black (AB), a nano-conductive additive, and polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), a polymer binder) on the power performance of lithium-ion composite cathodes. The electronic conductivity of the AB/PVDF composites at different compositions was measured with a four-point probe direct current method. The electronic conductivity was found to increase rapidly and plateau at a AB:PVDF ratio 0.2:1 (by weight), with 0.8:1 being the highest conductivity composition. AB:PVDF compositions along the plateau of 0.2:1, 0.4:1, 0.6:1 and 0.8:1 were investigated. Electrodes of each of those compositions were fabricated with different fractions of AB/PVDF to active material. It was found that at the 0.8:1 AB:PVDF, the rate performance improved with increases in the AB/PVDF loading, whereas at the 0.2:1 AB:PVDF, the rate performance improved with decreases in the AB/PVDF loading. The impedance of electrodes made with 0.6:1 AB:PVDF was low and relatively invariant.

Multifunctional foams derived from poly(melamine formaldehyde) as recyclable oil absorbents

Owing to the severe environmental and ecological issues arising from oil spills and toxic chemical leakage, the separation of oil from water presents a worldwide challenge to save the endangered environment. A versatile absorbent which can deal with different types of oil contaminants is in high demanded for this issue. In this work, we obtain an ultralight, fire-resistant, and compressible foam (UFC foam) by pyrolysis and post hydrophobic-modified treatment using commercially available poly(melamine formaldehyde) foams as precursors. The present UFC foam not only effectively separates oils from water as expected, but also possesses a very high absorption capacity for the removal of oils from water up to 158 times its own weight. More importantly, due to its fire resistance and compressibility, distillation, combustion and squeezing, or a combination of these can be applied for recycling the foams depending on the type of pollutants, making them versatile and comprehensive absorbents to satisfy various practical separation requirements.

Formation of uniform colloidal spheres from lignin, a renewable resource recovered from pulping spent liquor

Alkali lignin, recovered from the pulping black liquor, was chemically modified by acetylating, and then used as a biomass resource to prepare uniform colloidal spheres via self-assembly. The self-assembled structure and colloid formation mechanism of the acetylated lignin (ACL) were investigated by DLS, SLS, TEM, AFM, XPS, FTIR, elemental analysis and contact angle measurements. Results show that ACL colloidal spheres are obtained from gradual hydrophobic aggregation of ACL molecules, induced by continuously adding water into the ACL–THF solution. ACL molecules start to form colloidal spheres at a critical water content of 44 vol% when the initial concentration of ACL in THF is 1.0 mg mL−1, and the colloidization process is completed at a water content of 67 vol%. An excessive amount of water is added into the dispersions to “quench” the structures formed and then the ACL dispersion is treated by rotary evaporation for recycling THF and acquiring colloidal spheres. The ACL colloidal spheres have an of 110 nm with a polydispersity (μ2/Γ2) of 0.022. The average aggregated number ( ) in each colloidal sphere and the average density ( ) are estimated to be 1.0 × 105 and 0.187 g cm−3. Preparation of water-dispersive lignin nanoparticles opens up a green and valuable pathway for value-added utilization of lignin biomass recovered from pulping spent liquor, which is of great significance for both the utilization of renewable resources and environmental protection.

Investigation of Aggregation and Assembly of Alkali Lignin Using Iodine as a Probe

Molecular iodine has been introduced into the alkali lignin (AL) solutions to adjust the π-π aggregation, and the effect of lignin-iodine complexes on the aggregation and assembly characteristics of AL have been investigated by using fluorescence, UV-vis spectroscopy, light scattering, and viscometric techniques. Results show that AL form π-π aggregates (i.e., J-aggregates) in THF driven by the π-π interaction of the aromatic groups in AL, and the π-π aggregates undergo disaggregation in THF-I(2) media because of the formation of lignin-iodine charge-transfer complexes. By using iodine as a probe to investigate the aggregation behaviors and assembly characteristics, it is estimated that about 18 mol % aromatic groups of AL form π-π aggregates in AL molecular aggregates. When molecular iodine is introduced into the AL solutions, lignin-iodine complexes occur with charge-transfer transition from HOMO of the aromatic groups of AL to the LUMO of iodine. The formation of lignin-iodine complexes reduces the affinity of the aromatic groups approaching each other due to the electrostatic repulsion and then eliminates the π-π interaction of the aromatic groups. The disaggregation of the π-π aggregates brings a dissociation behavior of AL chains and a pronounced molecular expansion. This dissociation behavior and molecular expansion of AL in the dipping solutions induce a decrease in the adsorbed amount and an increase in the adsorption rate, when AL is transferred from the dipping solution to the self-assembled adsorbed films. Consequently, the adsorption behavior of AL can be controlled by adjusting the π-π aggregation. Above observations give insight into the occurrence of J-aggregation of the aromatic groups in the AL molecular aggregates and the disaggregation mechanism of AL aggregates induced by the lignin-iodine complexes for the first time. The understanding can provide an academic instruction in the efficient utilization of the alkali lignin from the waste liquor and also leads to further development in expanding functionalities of the aromatic compounds through manipulation of the π-π aggregation.

Novel Method for the Determination of the Methoxyl Content in Lignin by Headspace Gas Chromatography

The paper reports on a headspace gas chromatographic (HS-GC) method for the determination of methoxyl in lignin. The method involves the quantitive cleavage of methoxyl with hydroiodic acid (HI) to form methyl iodide in a closed headspace sample vial at 130 °C for 30 min. After HI has been added, the sample is neutralized by injecting a sodium hydroxide solution; the methyl iodide in the vial was determined by HS-GC using a flame ionization detector. The results showed that the method has an excellent measurement precision (RSD < 0.69%) and accuracy (RSD < 3.5%) for the quantification of methoxyl content in lignin. The present method is simple and accurate and can be used for the efficient determination of methoxy1 content in lignin and related materials.

Thermoresponsive Melamine Sponges with Switchable Wettability by Interface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization for Oil/Water Separation

Here we have obtained a temperature responsive melamine sponge with a controllable wettability between superhydrophilicity and superhydrophobicity by grafting the octadecyltrichlorosilane and thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) onto the surface of melamine sponge skeletons. The whole process included the silanization in which step the rough surface with low surface energy and the NH2 were provided, and the atom transfer radical polymerization which ensured the successful grafting of PNIPAAm onto the skeletons surface. The product exhibits a good reversible switch between superhydrophilicity and superhydrophobicity by changing the temperature below or above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST, about 32 °C) of PNIPAAm, and the modified sponge still retains a good responsiveness after undergoing two temperature switches for 20 cycles. Simultaneously, the functionalized sponges could be used to absorb the oil under water at 37 °C, and they released the absorbed oil in various ways under water at 20 °C, showing wide potential applications including oil/water separation.

Effect of Side Chains and Sulfonic Groups on the Performance of Polycarboxylate-Type Superplasticizers in Concentrated Cement Suspensions

Polycarboxylate-type superplasticizers (PCs) containing different side chains and sulfonic groups have been synthesized, and the effect of side chains and sulfonic groups on their performance in cementitious systems has been intensively investigated by measuring zeta potential, thickness of absorption layer, paste fluidity, rheological properties as well as the setting time in this paper. Results show that the PC containing both short poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) side chains and long PEO side chains with the molar ratio of 1:1 has a better dispersibility than the PC containing only short PEO side chains or only long PEO side chains in cement suspensions. The shorter the side chain of the PC, the longer the setting time of cement paste incorporating it. An appropriate increase of sulfonic group content is beneficial for the improvement of dispersibility for the PC and leads to no obvious change for the setting time. It also suggests that there is a geometrical balance between the PEO side chains and sulfonic groups for the performance of PC. This work is not only helpful for understanding the relationship of molecular structure of PCs and their performance, but also further designing optimum molecular structure of PC to meet the requirement in different concrete system.

Macroporous antibacterial hydrogels with tunable pore structures fabricated by using Pickering high internal phase emulsions as templates

Artemisia argyi oil (AAO)-loaded macroporous antibacterial hydrogels were prepared by polymerization of oil-in-water Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). The HIPEs were stabilized by the synergy of hydrophilic silica nanoparticles (N20) and surfactant Tween 80. The void interconnectivity and pore size of the hydrogels could be tailored readily by varying the concentrations of N20 nanoparticles and Tween 80. The mechanical properties of the porous hydrogels were related to the pore structure of the materials. There was an optimal condition for the N20 particle and Tween 80 contents where the hydrogel exhibited high compressive stress and strain. The in vitro release of the AAO-loaded hydrogels with different inner morphologies was evaluated and showed controlled release activity. The antibacterial activity of the AAO-loaded hydrogel was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. This kind of hydrogel exhibited excellent and long-term antibacterial activity indicating its potential use in biomedical and infection prevention applications.

Adsorption characteristics of lignosulfonates in salt-free and salt-added aqueous solutions.

Five sodium lignosulfonate (SL) fractions with narrow molecular weight distribution and known salt content were used as the polyanion to build up layer-by-layer self-assembly multilayers with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDAC) as polycation. It is interesting to find that the salt-free SL is hardly adsorbed on the PDAC surface, but the SL in salt-added solutions can be self-assembled well with PDAC to form SL/PDAC multilayers. When the five SL fractions dissolved in saline solutions are adsorbed on the PDAC surface by a self-assembly technique, SL with higher M(w) shows a higher adsorption amount than does SL with lower M(w). The driving forces of self-assembly of SL and PDAC are discussed based on the solution behaviors and adsorption characteristics of SL in salt-free and salt-added aqueous solutions. A possible self-assembled mechanism of SL and PDAC is electrostatic or cation-π interactions, but the SL cannot be adsorbed onto the PDAC surface without a hydrophobic interaction. With the addition of enough salt, the Coulomb interaction of SL becomes negligible, but the adsorption amount increases, indicating that the electrostatic interaction is not the main driving force of SL/PDAC self-assembly. For adsorption of SL in saline solution onto the PDAC surface, the cation-π interaction is the main driving force, and the hydrophobic interaction plays an important role in the adsorbed amount.