High Crystalline Quality Conductive Polypyrrole Film Prepared by Interface Chemical Oxidation Polymerization Method

The authors report that polypyrrole (PPy) films with large area and high crystalline quality have been achieved using an interfacial chemical oxidation method. By dissolving different reactants in two immiscible solvents, the PPy is synthetized at the interface region of the two solutions. The PPy films have sharp XRD diffraction peaks, indicating that the molecular chains in the film are arranged in a high degree of order and that they reflect high crystalline quality. High crystal quality is also conducive to improving electrical conductivity. The conductivity of the as prepared PPy film is about 0.3 S/cm, and the carrier mobility is about 5 cm2/(Vs). In addition, the biggest advantage of this method is that the prepared PPy film has a large area and is easy to transfer to other substrates. This will confidently broaden the application of PPy in the future.

Representing Geographic Space as a Hierarchy of Recursively Defined Subspaces for Computing the Degree of Order

As Christopher Alexander discovered, all space or matter – either organic or inorganic – has some degree of order in it according to its structure and arrangement. The order refers to a kind of structural character, called living structure, which is defined as a mathematical structure that consists of numerous substructures with an inherent hierarchy. Across the hierarchy, there are far more small substructures than large ones, while on each level of the hierarchy the substructures are more or less similar in size. In this paper we develop a new approach to representing geographic space as a hierarchy of recursively defined subspaces for computing the degree of order. A geographic space is first represented as a hierarchy of recursively defined subspaces, and all the subspaces are then topologically represented as a network for computing the degree of order of the geographic space, as well as that of its subspaces. Unlike conventional geographic representations, which are mechanical in nature, this new geographic representation is organic, conceived, and developed under the third view of space; that is, space is neither lifeless nor neutral, but a living structure capable of being more living or less living. Thus, the order can also be referred to as life, beauty, coherence, or harmony. We applied the new representation to three urban environments, 253 patterns, and 35 black-white strips to verify it and to demonstrate advantages of the new approach and the new kind of order. We further discuss the implications of the approach and the order on geographic information science and sustainable urban planning.

Effect of Ultra-Fine Grinding on the Structure of Plant Raw Materials and the Kinetics of Melanin Extraction

Enhancing the extraction rate is one of the key objectives in optimization of extraction of substances from biogenic raw materials. Ultra-fine grinding of plant raw materials (to achieve particle size less than 300 µm) is a very appealing method for increasing the extraction rate using relatively simple equipment. However, this approach often fails to yield the desired result. This study focuses on the kinetics of melanin extraction from two types of raw materials: fungus Ganoderma applanatum and buckwheat husk. Particle size is shown to be just one of the key factors. The degree of order of plant-based feedstock strongly affects the intraparticle diffusion constants and can be a parameter controlling the diffusion rate. It has been shown that there exist optimal degrees of disorder of the crystal structure of plant raw materials, which have a dome-shaped dependence pattern and allow one to increase the diffusion coefficient by several dozen times. The kinetics of melanin extraction was described by some kinetic models that include the first order equation, the Baker and Lonsdale model, the Axelrud equation, and the Ritger–Peppas model.

Quantifying Order during Field-driven Alignment of Colloidal Semiconductor Nanorods

Aligning large populations of colloidal nanorods (NRs) into ordered assemblies provides a strategy for engineering macroscopic functional materials with strong optical anisotropy. The bulk optical properties of such systems depend not only on the individual NR building blocks, but also on their meso- and macroscale ordering, in addition to more complex inter-particle coupling effects. Here, we investigate the dynamic alignment of colloidal CdSe/CdS NRs in the presence of AC electric fields by measuring concurrent changes in optical transmission. Our work identifies two distinct scales of interaction that give rise to the field-driven optical response: (1) the spontaneous mesoscale self-assembly of colloidal NRs into structures with increased optical anisotropy, and (2) the macroscopic ordering of NR assemblies along the direction of the applied AC field. By modeling the alignment of NR ensembles using directional statistics, we experimentally quantify the maximum degree of order in terms of the average deviation angle relative to the field axis. Results show a consistent improvement in alignment as a function of NR concentration—with a minimum average deviation of 18.7°—indicating that mesoscale assembly helps facilitate field-driven alignment of colloidal NRs.

Bamboo Charcoal/Poly(L-lactide) Fiber Webs Prepared Using Laser-Heated Melt Electrospinning

Although several studies have reported that the addition of bamboo charcoal (BC) to polylactide (PLA) enhances the properties of PLA, to date, no study has been reported on the fabrication of ultrafine BC/poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) webs via electrospinning. Therefore, ultrafine fiber webs of PLLA and BC/PLLA were prepared using PLLA and BC/PLLA raw fibers via a novel laser electrospinning method. Ultrafine PLLA and BC/PLLA fibers with average diameters of approximately 1 μm and coefficients of variation of 13–23 and 20–46% were obtained. Via wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis, highly oriented crystals were detected in the raw fibers; however, WAXD patterns of both PLLA and BC/PLLA webs implied an amorphous structure of PLLA. Polarizing microscopy images revealed that the webs comprised ultrafine fibers with uniform diameters and wide variations in birefringence. Temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry measurements indicated that the degree of order of the crystals in the fibers was lower and the molecules in the fibers had higher mobilities than those in the raw fibers. Transmittance of BC/PLLA webs with an area density of 2.6 mg/cm2 suggested that the addition of BC improved UV-shielding efficiencies.

More than a mob: Parler as preparatory media for the U.S. Capitol storming

On 6 January 2021, a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol. Yet while mob suggests a chaotic and fragmented crowd, networked media had already been working to provide it with “just enough” cohesion, transforming it into a more dangerous political body. This article conceptualizes this preparatory media by examining the “free speech” social media network Parler, drawing on a corpus of ∼350,000 posts from the days leading up to and including the attack. This material empirically demonstrates how media worked to forge connections between disparate camps, to incite participants toward violent activity, and to legitimize this attack as moral or even spiritual. Preparatory media frames events, establishes targets, and sets agendas, providing a degree of order and working against disaggregation online. This temporary stabilization contributes to a more mobilized and organized public body. Rather than prosocial or emancipatory, the Capitol storming demonstrates the far darker potential of this work. Understanding this role of media and intervening within these logics provides one component for preventing future attacks.

Ridge energy for thin nematic polymer networks

Minimizing the elastic free energy of a thin sheet of nematic polymer network among smooth isometric immersions is the strategy purported by the mainstream theory. In this paper, we broaden the class of admissible spontaneous deformations: we consider ridged isometric immersions, which can cause a sharp ridge in the immersed surfaces. We propose a model to compute the extra energy distributed along such ridges. This energy comes from bending; it is shown under what circumstances it scales quadratically with the sheet’s thickness, falling just in between stretching and bending energies. We put our theory to the test by studying the spontaneous deformation of a disk on which a radial hedgehog was imprinted at the time of crosslinking. We predict the number of folds that develop in terms of the degree of order induced in the material by external agents (such as heat and illumination). Graphic Abstract

Comparison of Ordering Characteristics of Anodicformed Nanostructured Aluminum and Titanium Oxides Coatings

This article is concerned with the analysis of ordering the arrays of TiO2 and Al2O3 nanotubes using the correlation-spectral methods. As the tools, the spatial Fourier spectrum and one-dimensional autocorrelation function of SEM-image have served. It was shown that the arrays of the aluminum oxide nanotubes can have a nearly ideal ordering on a small scale at the expense of two-stage anodizing. It this case, the degree of order depends also on the purity of initial aluminum and sample preparation method. The introduced characteristics can serve as the measures of the structure order-disorder sensitive to both type and degree of order as a whole and to configuration of structural elements themselves.