RSC Advances

Liu, Dongdong; Jia, Boyin; Liu, Xiujuan; Zhao, Bojun; Gao, Jihui; Cao, Qingxi; Wu, Shaohua; Qin, Yukun

doi: 10.1039/c7ra12928apmid: 35539844

It is crucial to increase the values of SBET/burn-off ratio to achieve activated carbon (AC) with a higher SO2 adsorption capacity at a low cost from flue gas. In this study, at first, Jixi bituminous coal was used as a raw material to prepare a series of pre-treated samples by oxidation treatment and adding different amounts of the FeCl3 catalyst. Then, the AC samples were prepared by pyrolysis under a N2 atmosphere and physical activation with CO2. Finally, the change in the physico-chemical structure of different samples was determined to study the effects of oxygen functional groups and FeCl3. The results show that the rapid growth of mesopores is mainly influenced by the evolution of oxygen functional groups, whereas the micropores are mainly influenced by the FeCl3 catalyst during pyrolysis. These effects can also further improve the size and the carbon type of the aromatic structure from a different perspective to promote the disordered microstructure of treated chars (1FeJXO15-800H, 3FeJXO15-800H and 6FeJXO15-800H) as compared to the ordered microstructure and less pores of the un-pretreated char (JX-800). Then, the active sites can no longer be consumed preferentially in the presence of the catalyst; this results in the continuous disordered conversion of the microstructure as compared to the ordered conversion of JX-800 char during activation. On the one hand, the developed initial pores of 1FeJXO15-800H, 3FeJXO15-800H, and 6FeJXO15-800H chars promote the favorable diffusion of activated gas, following the non-hierarchical development. On the other hand, the presence of Fe-based catalysts facilitates the etching of carbon structure and the rapid and continuous development of the micropores, hindering the severe carbon losses on the particle surface. Finally, the 3FeJXO15-800H char with a high value of SBET (1274.64 m2 g−1) at a low burn-off value (22.5%) has the highest SBET/burn-off ratio value of 56.65 m2 g−1/%, whereas the JX-800 char with a low value of SBET (564.19 m2 g−1) at a burn-off value of 58.2% has the lowest SBET/burn-off ratio value of 9.69 m2 g−1/%. Therefore, the presence of oxygen functional groups and FeCl3 has obviously changed the evolution of the physico-chemical structure in activated carbon to effectively enhance the values of SBET/burn-off.

Hu, Guang; Kitney, Stuart P.; Kelly, Stephen M.; Harrison, William; Lambert, Brian; O'Neill, Mary

doi: 10.1039/c8ra00830bpmid: 35539859

Novel phtotpolymerisable hole-transport layers based on novel triazatruxenes incorporating six non-conjugated dienes as photo cross-linkable end-groups attached to flexible, aliphatic spacers have been synthesised using simple one-step substitution reactions. Hole-only test devices, fabricated using a combination of solution-deposition, spin-coating and initiator-free photochemical cross-linking of these photopolymerisable triazatruxenes, exhibit almost identical current density vs. voltage profiles before and after cross-linking, and as such, represent a promising new class of hole-transport layer for plastic electronic devices.

Zhao, Wenwen; Liu, Zongyang; Guo, Weiwei; Luo, Kui; Yang, Jie; Gao, Wei; Wu, Xia; Chen, Xiaoqing

doi: 10.1039/c8ra00739jpmid: 35539862

Ilexhainanoside D (IhD) and Ilexsaponin A1 (IsA) are a pair of oleanene- and ursane-type triterpenoid saponins, which are also the main bioactive pharmaceutical ingredients of Ilex hainanensis Merr. with great potential to treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The pharmacokinetics of four representative triterpenoids in mice were investigated in this study, which were IhD, IsA and their major metabolites 3β, 19α-dihydroxyolean-12-ene-24, 28-dioic acid (ID) and Ilexgenin A (IA). A sensitive and accurate UPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitative determination of IhD, IsA, ID and IA in control and NAFLD mice plasma after oral administration of the total saponins of I. hainanensis (the contents of IhD and IsA were 41.6% and 54.4%, respectively). The results revealed that the pharmacokinetic behaviors could be changed in NAFLD mice compared with control mice. The area under the plasma drug concentration–time curve and maximum plasma concentrations of IhD and IsA were greatly decreased in the NAFLD mice. However, the main residence time of ID and IA were greatly increased in the NAFLD mice. The results revealed that this method could be used to analyze two pairs of triterpenoid isomers in biological samples.

Narayanan, Remya; Dewan, Anweshi; Chakraborty, Debanjan

doi: 10.1039/c7ra13357jpmid: 35539861

Herein, carbon nanosphere-decorated vanadium pentoxide (C@V2O5) hybrid nanobelts were grown via a single step hydrothermal route with improved electronic conductivity as compared to that of pristine oxide. This hybrid nanomaterial exhibits different complimentary ranges of optimum post-growth annealing temperatures, which are suitable for dual applications either in electro-chromic smart windows or in supercapacitors. C@V2O5 nanobelts annealed at 350 °C appear to favor electro-chromic applications. They exhibit maximum dynamic optical transmission modulation as they switch from yellow to dark green, fast switching response, and high visible transmittance. In contrast, C@V2O5nanobelts annealed at 250 °C have been found to be most suitable for supercapacitor applications. They display a high specific capacity and an enhanced diffusion coefficient. Moreover, they exhibit long lifetimes with a capacity retention of ∼94% even after 5000 cycles of operation. Therefore, the obtained results clearly indicate that optimization of the post-growth annealing temperatures is very important and rather complementary in nature in terms of determining the most favorable device functionalities. It enables us to optimally tune these hybrid nanomaterials for targeted, device-specific, energy applications in either electrochromic or supercapacitor technologies simply based on the annealing temperature alone.

Zheng, Lingxia; Guan, Lingtong; Yang, Guang; Chen, Sanming; Zheng, Huajun

doi: 10.1039/c8ra00285apmid: 35539837

CoFe2O4/reduced graphene oxide (CoFe2O4/rGO) hydrogel was synthesized in situ via a facile one-pot solvothermal approach. The three-dimensional (3D) network structure consists of well-dispersed CoFe2O4 nanoparticles on the surfaces of graphene sheets. As a binder-free electrode material for supercapacitors, the electrochemical properties of the CoFe2O4/rGO hybrid hydrogel can be easily adjusted by changing the concentration of the graphene oxide (GO) precursor solution. The results indicate that the hybrid material made using 3.5 mg mL−1 GO solution exhibits an outstanding specific capacitance of 356 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, 68% higher than the pure CoFe2O4 counterpart (111 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1), owing to the large specific surface area and good electric conductivity. Additionally, an electrochemical energy storage device based on CoFe2O4/rGO and rGO was assembled, which exhibits a high energy density of 17.84 W h kg−1 at a power density of 650 W kg−1 and an excellent cycling stability with 87% capacitance retention at 5 A g−1 after 4000 cycles. This work takes one step further towards the development of 3D hybrid hydrogel supercapacitors and highlights their potential application in energy storage devices.

Li, Xiaoyun; Ke, Jiexi; Wang, Junwei; Kang, Maoqing; Wang, Feng; Zhao, Yuhua; Li, Qifeng

doi: 10.1039/c7ra12180fpmid: 35539854

A five-membered cyclo-carbonate, prepared by cycloaddition reaction from CO2 and 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether, was reacted with excessive diamine and formed a urethane group-containing new product. Structural characterization was performed for the new alcohol amine, which can be applied to the manufacture of polyurethane coatings as a chain extender. The new chain extender-based polyurethane coatings exhibited excellent water, salt, and solvent resistance and promising mechanical strength. Importantly, the unique performance of the prepared polyurethane coatings should be ascribed to the introduction of a hydroxyl group in the polyurethane molecule. The strengthened hydrogen bonding enlarged the cohesion of the polyurethane coatings and prohibited the solvents from permeating.

Xu, Renjie; Qi, Jia; Zhan, Ruan-Juan; Zhou, Gui-Sheng; Hao, Bin; Ma, Jing; Wei, Xin; Xu, AJing; Zhang, Jian

doi: 10.1039/c8ra90016gpmid: 35543977

Correction for ‘Comparative pharmacokinetics of four active components on normal and diabetic rats after oral administration of Gandi capsules’ by Renjie Xu et al., RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 6620–6628.

Sun, Zhiwei; Duan, Xinhui; Srinivasakannan, C.; Liang, Jinsheng

doi: 10.1039/c8ra90019apmid: 35543962

Correction for ‘Preparation of magnesium silicate/carbon composite for adsorption of rhodamine B’ by Zhiwei Sun et al., RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 7873–7882.

Zhou, Siyuan; Yang, Boyu; Chen, Yang; Zhang, Qingrong; Cai, Mingjun; Xu, Haijiao; Yang, Guocheng; Wang, Hongda; Shan, Yuping

doi: 10.1039/c8ra00134kpmid: 35539864

Considerable technological success has been achieved in the drug delivery of nano-drugs for chemotherapy, but the main obstacles in understanding the drug delivery dynamic mechanisms for nano-drug applications stem from technical limitations. In this paper, we explored the trans-membrane dynamic processes of polyamidoamine nano-drugs via a “force tracing” technique.

Sharaf, Maha; Yoshida, Wataru; Kubota, Fukiko; Kolev, Spas D.; Goto, Masahiro

doi: 10.1039/c7ra12697bpmid: 35539843

This study reports on the selective separation of scandium (Sc) from other rare earth metals (REMs) using a polymer inclusion membrane (PIM). The PIM prepared with PC-88A (2-ethylhexyl hydrogen-2-ethylhexylphosphonate) alone as the carrier showed high extractability but the poor back-extraction of the extracted Sc3+ ions did not allow the transport of these ions to the receiving solution of a membrane transport system. To overcome this problem, a novel approach was introduced using a mixture of carriers that allowed Sc3+ transport into the receiving solution. A cellulose triacetate (CTA) based PIM containing both PC-88A and Versatic 10 (decanoic acid) as carriers and dioctyl phthalate (DOP) as a plasticizer was prepared for the selective separation of Sc3+ from other REM ions in nitrate media. The membrane composition was optimized and the effect of operational parameters such as pH of the feed solution and composition of the receiving solution was explored. The flux at the membrane/feed solution interface was found to depend significantly on the carrier concentration in the PIM, pH of the feed solution and the receiving solution acidity. The newly developed PIM allowed quantitative and selective transport of Sc3+ thus demonstrating its suitability for the selective recovery of this metal.