A New Method for Ground-Based Optical Polarization Observation of the Moon.

As a natural satellite of the Earth, the moon is a prime target for planetary remote sensing exploration. However, lunar polarization studies are not popular in the planetary science community. Polarimetry of the lunar surface had not been carried out from a spacecraft until the Korean lunar exploration program was initiated. In previous polarization observations of the moon, images of different polarization states were obtained by a rotating linear polarizer. This method is not well suited for future polarization observations from space-based spacecraft. To this end, we present a new kind of polarized observation of the moon using a division of a focal-plane polarization camera and propose a pipeline on the processing method of the polarization observation of the moon. We obtain a map of the degree of white-light polarization on the nearside of the moon through polarization observation, data processing, and correction. The observation and data processing methods presented in this study have the potential to serve as a reference for analyzing polarization observation data from future orbiting spacecraft. These are expected to lead to new discoveries in the fields of astronomy and planetary science.

Sulfonated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-cyclodextrin hybrid polymers for efficient removal of micropollutants from water.

Herein, ß-cyclodextrin-containing hybrid polymers (P1, P2 and P3) were prepared through crosslinking partially benzylated ß-cyclodextrin (PBCD) by octavinylsilsesquioxane (OVS). P1 stood out in screening studies and the residual hydroxyl groups of PBCD was sulfonate-functionalized. The obtained P1-SO3Na showed greatly enhanced adsorption towards cationic MPs and maintained the excellent adsorption performance towards neutral MPs. The rate constants (k2) of cationic MPs upon P1-SO3Na were 9.8-34.8 times larger than those upon P1. The equilibrium uptakes of the neutral and cationic MPs upon P1-SO3Na were above 94.5 %. Meanwhile, P1-SO3Na demonstrated appreciable adsorption capacities, excellent selectivity, effective adsorption of mixed MPs at environmental levels and good reusability. These results confirmed the great potential of P1-SO3Na as effective adsorbent to remove MPs from water.

Synthesis of porous dimethoxypillar[5]arene knitted ß-cyclodextrin copolymers for efficient adsorption of organic micropollutants.

Herein, through knitting benzylated ß-cyclodextrin (BnCD) by dimethoxypillar[5]arene (P[5]), porous copolymers (P[5]-BnCDs) containing two kinds of macrocycles were synthesized with yields not <97 %. The molar ratio of P[5]/BnCD greatly influenced the P[5]-BnCDs' porosity and adsorption performance. When the molar ratio of P[5]/BnCD was 4/1, the P[5]-BnCD (4-1), demonstrated a surface area up to 515.95 m2/g and showed fast adsorption kinetic, high adsorption capacity and good reusability towards the model organic micropollutants (OMPs). The adsorption fitted well with the pseudo-second-order and the Langmuir models, while the thermodynamic studies revealed spontaneous physisorption process. The adsorption mechanism was dominant by host-guest and hydrophobic interactions and the adsorption at environmentally relevant concentrations experiments showed the practicality and superiority in extraction of the OMPs at µg/L level. This study paves a way for the development of versatile porous organic polymers with multiple macrocycles for efficient removal of OMPs from water.

Carboxyl-functionalized porous aromatic framework for rapid, selective and efficient removal of cationic pollutants from water.

The functionalization of porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) is essential for task-specific application of these materials as advanced adsorbents in water treatment. In this study, a carboxyl-functionalized PAF was prepared by the post-synthesis modification of a HOCH2-tagged PAF, which was synthesized from a precursor-designed method. The synthesized PAFs were comprehensively characterized. The targeted PAF-COOH showed hierarchical porosity with the coexistence of micropores and mesopores. The carboxyl groups were distributed homogeneously across the whole material, and its content was as high as 4.18 meq g-1. An equilibrium adsorption isotherms study demonstrated that the adsorption of cationic dyes fitted well to the Langmuir model and the maximum adsorption capacities of methylene blue (b-MB) and phenosafranine obtained at pH 10 were 775.19 and 588.24 mg g-1, respectively. The adsorption kinetics of cationic dyes followed the pseudo-second order kinetic model. Quick kinetics was demonstrated with the k2 for a 100 mg L-1 b-MB solution as high as 2.83 g mg-1 min-1 and the equilibrium time was just 0.5 min. In addition, the dye-loaded PAF-COOH could be regenerated easily and showed excellent reusability. These significant characters indicated a promising prospect of the PAF-COOH for water treatment.

Time Transfer by Laser Link (T2L2) in Noncommon View Between Europe and China.

The Time Transfer by Laser Link (T2L2) project allows for the synchronization of remote ultrastable clocks over intercontinental distances. The principle is derived from the satellite laser ranging technology with a dedicated space equipment designed to record arrival times of laser pulses at the satellite. The space segment was launched in 2008 as a passenger instrument on the ocean altimetry satellite Jason 2. For the first time, we have conducted by the end of 2016 a dedicated time transfer comparison campaign between Global Positioning System and T2L2 over intercontinental distances. The campaign was carried out between two laboratories in Europe and two in China. The campaign has demonstrated a consistency of the time transfer techniques at the 1-ns level, together with the confirmation of a subnanosecond level for continental distances.