scholarly journals Populus alba L., an Autochthonous Species of Spain: A Source for Cellulose Nanofibers by Chemical Pretreatment

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
David Ibarra ◽  
Raquel Martín-Sampedro ◽  
Bernd Wicklein ◽  
Antonio M. Borrero-López ◽  
Concepción Valencia ◽  
...  

In order to identify new sustainable sources for producing cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), fast-growing poplar (Populus alba L.) wood was evaluated herein. For that purpose, bleached poplar kraft pulp was produced and submitted to TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical) mediated oxidation (TEMPO-ox) chemical pretreatment followed by microfluidization. The resulting CNFs were thoroughly characterized, including a rheological study at different pH values. Poplar CNFs showed properties comparable to eucalypt CNFs (reference material for CNFs production), showing high carboxylate content (1048 ± 128 µmol g−1), fibrillation yield (87.3% ± 8.1%), optical transmittance (83% at 700 nm) and thermal stability (up to more than 200 °C). Regarding the rheological study, whereas pH from 4 to 10 did not produce significant changes in rheological behavior, a reduction of pH down to 1 led to an order-of-magnitude increase on the viscoelastic functions. Therefore, poplar CNF shows potential in the pH-sensitive hydrogels application field. Finally, the possible ecotoxicity of poplar CNF was assessed. The decrease in cell viability was very low so that only concentrations causing a 10% cytotoxicity could be calculated for the assay detecting alterations in cell metabolism (10 µg mL−1) and plasma membrane integrity (60 µg mL−1).

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-Yao Lai ◽  
Laura A. Stevens ◽  
Danielle L. Chase ◽  
Timothy T. Creyts ◽  
Mark D. Behn ◽  
...  

AbstractSurface meltwater reaching the base of the Greenland Ice Sheet transits through drainage networks, modulating the flow of the ice sheet. Dye and gas-tracing studies conducted in the western margin sector of the ice sheet have directly observed drainage efficiency to evolve seasonally along the drainage pathway. However, the local evolution of drainage systems further inland, where ice thicknesses exceed 1000 m, remains largely unknown. Here, we infer drainage system transmissivity based on surface uplift relaxation following rapid lake drainage events. Combining field observations of five lake drainage events with a mathematical model and laboratory experiments, we show that the surface uplift decreases exponentially with time, as the water in the blister formed beneath the drained lake permeates through the subglacial drainage system. This deflation obeys a universal relaxation law with a timescale that reveals hydraulic transmissivity and indicates a two-order-of-magnitude increase in subglacial transmissivity (from 0.8 ± 0.3 $${\rm{m}}{{\rm{m}}}^{3}$$ m m 3 to 215 ± 90.2 $${\rm{m}}{{\rm{m}}}^{3}$$ m m 3 ) as the melt season progresses, suggesting significant changes in basal hydrology beneath the lakes driven by seasonal meltwater input.


1991 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 493-499
Author(s):  
D. Naccache ◽  
J-L. Bourgade ◽  
P. Combis ◽  
C. J. Keane ◽  
J-P. Le Breton ◽  
...  

We present some significant results of collisional excitation X-ray laser experiments in plasmas produced by a laser. We studied the amplification in Ne- and Ni-like ions by varying both the nature and the thickness of targets, the irradiation, and the wavelength of the driving laser. Some potentially interesting scalings as a function of the atomic number of the lasing element are demonstrated in the Ne-like system. An order-of-magnitude increase in gain in the Ni-like experiments was determined.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 3363-3369 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.V. Varanasi ◽  
J. Burke ◽  
L. Brunke ◽  
H. Wang ◽  
J.H. Lee ◽  
...  

Previous work on YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) + BaSnO3 (BSO) films with a single composition showed significant critical current density (Jc) improvements at higher fields but lowered Jc in low fields. A detailed study on BSO concentrations provided here demonstrates that significant Jc enhancement can occur even up to 20 mol% BSO inclusion, where typical particulate inclusions in these concentrations degrade the YBCO performance. YBCO + BSO films were processed on (100) LaAlO3 substrates using premixed targets of YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) with additions of 2, 4, 10, and 20 mol% BSO. The critical transition temperature Tc of the films remained high (>87 K), even with large amounts (20 mol%) of BSO. YBCO + BSO films showed a gradual increase in Jc at high fields as the amount of BSO was increased. More than an order of magnitude increase in Jc was measured in YBCO + BSO samples as compared to regular YBCO at 4 T. YBCO + 10 mol% BSO films showed overall improvement at all the field ranges while YBCO + 20 mol% BSO was better only at high fields. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of ∼7–8-nm-diameter BSO nanocolumns, the density of which increased with increasing BSO content correlating well with the observed improvements in Jc.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Tian ◽  
Yaqing Wei ◽  
Minghui Pei ◽  
Rongrong Cao ◽  
Zhenao Gu ◽  
...  

Abstract Surface electronic structures of the photoelectrodes determine the activity and efficiency of the photoelectrochemical water splitting, but the controls of their surface structures and interfacial chemical reactions remain challenging. Here, we use ferroelectric BiFeO3 as a model system to demonstrate an efficient and controllable water splitting reaction by large-area constructing the hydroxyls-bonded surface. The up-shift of band edge positions at this surface enables and enhances the interfacial holes and electrons transfer through the hydroxyl-active-sites, leading to simultaneously enhanced oxygen and hydrogen evolutions. Furthermore, printing of ferroelectric super-domains with microscale checkboard up/down electric fields separates the distribution of reduction/oxidation catalytic sites, enhancing the charge separation and giving rise to an order of magnitude increase of the photocurrent. This large-area printable ferroelectric surface and super-domains offer an alternative platform for controllable and high-efficient photocatalysis.


Author(s):  
Monika Radlik ◽  
Wojciech Juszczyk ◽  
Wioletta Raróg-Pilecka ◽  
Magdalena Zybert ◽  
Zbigniew Karpiński

Pd-Pt catalysts supported on carbon preheated to 1600°C have been reinvestigated in CHFCl2 hydrodechlorination. An additionally adopted catalyst oxidation at 350-400°C produced an order of magnitude increase in the catalytic activity of Pd/C. This increase is not caused by changes in metal dispersion or possible decontamination of the Pd surface from superficial carbon, but rather by unlocking the active surface, originally inaccessible in metal particles tightly packed in the pores of carbon. Burning carbon from the pore walls attached to the metal changes the pore structure, providing easier access for the reactants to the entire palladium surface. As upon calcination the performance of the rest of the Pd-Pt/C catalysts changes less than for Pd/C, the relation between the turnover frequency and alloy composition does not confirm the Pd-Pt synergy invoked in our previous work. The use of even higher-preheated carbon (1800°C), completely free of micropores, results in a Pd/C catalyst that does not need to be oxidized to achieve high activity and excellent selectivity up to CH2F2 (>90%).


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ata Aditya Wardana ◽  
Arisa Koga ◽  
Fumina Tanaka ◽  
Fumihiko Tanaka

AbstractA novel composite edible coating film was developed from 0.8% chitosan (CS) and 0.5% sandalwood oil (SEO). Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) were used as a stabilizer agent of oil-in-water Pickering emulsion. We found four typical groups of CNF level-dependent emulsion stabilization, including (1) unstable emulsion in the absence of CNFs; (2) unstable emulsion (0.006–0.21% CNFs); (3) stable emulsion (0.24–0.31% CNFs); and (4) regular emulsion with the addition of surfactant. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was performed to reveal the characteristics of droplet diameter and morphology. Antifungal tests against Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium digitatum, between emulsion coating stabilized with CNFs (CS-SEOpick) and CS or CS-SEO was tested. The effective concentration of CNFs (0.24%) may improve the performance of CS coating and maintain CS-SEO antifungal activity synergistically confirmed with a series of assays (in vitro, in vivo, and membrane integrity changes). The incorporation of CNFs contributed to improve the functional properties of CS and SEO-loaded CS including light transmission at UV and visible light wavelengths and tensile strength. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were employed to characterize the biocompatibility of each coating film formulation. Emulsion-CNF stabilized coating may have potential applications for active coating for fresh fruit commodities.


Author(s):  
Robert D. McMichael ◽  
Sean M. Blakley ◽  
Sergey Dushenko

Optbayesexpt is a public domain, open-source python package that provides adaptive algorithms for efficient estimation/measurement of parameters in a model function. Parameter estimation is the type of measurement one would conventionally tackle with a sequence of data acquisition steps followed by fitting. The software is designed to provide data-based control of experiments, effectively learning from incoming measurement results and using that information to select future measurement settings live and online as measurements progress. The settings are chosen to have the best chances of improving the measurement results. With these methods optbayesexpt is designed to increase the efficiency of a sequence of measurements, yielding better results and/or lower cost. In a recent experiment, optbayesexpt yielded an order of magnitude increase in speed for measurement of a few narrow peaks in a broad spectral range.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Kahrobaiyan ◽  
E. Thalmann ◽  
L. Rubbert ◽  
I. Vardi ◽  
S. Henein

Classical mechanical watch plain bearing pivots have frictional losses limiting the quality factor of the hairspring-balance wheel oscillator. Replacement by flexure pivots leads to a drastic reduction in friction and an order of magnitude increase in quality factor. However, flexure pivots have drawbacks including gravity sensitivity, nonlinearity, and limited stroke. This paper analyzes these issues in the case of the cross-spring flexure pivot (CSFP) and presents an improved version addressing them. We first show that the cross-spring pivot cannot be simultaneously linear, insensitive to gravity, and have a long stroke: the 10 ppm accuracy required for mechanical watches holds independently of orientation with respect to gravity only when the leaf springs cross at 12.7% of their length. But in this case, the pivot is nonlinear and the stroke is only 30% of the symmetrical (50% crossing) cross-spring pivot's stroke. The symmetrical pivot is also unsatisfactory as its gravity sensitivity is of order 104 ppm. This paper introduces the codifferential concept which we show is gravity-insensitive. It is used to construct a gravity-insensitive flexure pivot (GIFP) consisting of a main rigid body, two codifferentials, and a torsional beam. We show that this novel pivot achieves linearity or the maximum stroke of symmetrical pivots while retaining gravity insensitivity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (42) ◽  
pp. 13253-13260
Author(s):  
Pengfei Wang ◽  
Jun Yin ◽  
Qianqian Hu ◽  
Bocheng Lv ◽  
Jia-Lin Zhu ◽  
...  

A phototransistor based on a composite of single-layer graphene and superconductor RbAg4I5 realizes linear modulation of the binding energy between electrons and silver ions, resulting in a two order of magnitude increase of photo-response.


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