Superior Large-Signal Piezoelectric Coefficient in Textured NBT-Based Piezoceramics by Template-Induced Structure and Composition Modulation.

The field-induced-phase transition in (Na1/2Bi1/2)TiO3-based lead-free piezoceramics can be facilitated in the ⟨001⟩-crystallographic orientation, and the templated grain growth is an effective method to align polycrystalline ceramics along with specific directions. However, due to the low texturing degree and undesirable composite effect of the added templates, the textured ceramics using the templated grain growth (TGG) method usually require a higher driving field to trigger the phase transition instead. Here, ⟨001⟩-textured (Na0.5Bi0.5)0.935Ba0.065Ti0.978(Fe0.5Nb0.5)0.022O3 ceramics are prepared through a liquid-phase-assisted TGG process at a low sintering temperature (1000 °C), in which the NaNbO3 (NN) templates induce a strong crystallographic anisotropic structure (a high Lotgering factor of 95%) while dissolving into oriented grains. The dissolution of templates acts as a composition doping and contributes to reducing the driving electric field as proven by the phase-field simulation analysis. Furthermore, electrical and structural characterizations reveal that an increased ionic disorder occurs in the textured ceramic, causing highly dynamic polar nanoregions and a larger reversible phase transition. Thanks to the appropriate structure/composition control, the textured ceramic achieves a large d33* value of 907 pm/V at 40 kV/cm. The high-performance lead-free ceramic under low driving electric field benefits the development of multilayer piezoelectric actuators.

Enhanced adsorptive composite foams for copper (II) removal utilising bio-renewable polyisoprene-functionalised carbon derived from coconut shell waste.

A bio -renewable polyisoprene obtained from Hevea Brasiliensis was used to produce functionalised carbon composite foam as an adsorbent for heavy metal ions. Functionalised carbon materials (C-SO3H, C-COOH, or C-NH2) derived from coconut shell waste were prepared via a hydrothermal treatment. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the functionalised carbon particles had spherical shapes with rough surfaces. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed that the functional groups were successfully functionalised over the carbon surface. The foaming process allowed for the addition of carbon (up to seven parts per hundred of rubber) to the high ammonia natural rubber latex. The composite foams had open pore structures with good dispersion of the functionalised carbon. The foam performance on copper ion adsorption has been investigated with regard to their functional group and adsorption conditions. The carbon foams achieved maximum Cu(II) adsorption at 56.5 [Formula: see text] for C-SO3H, 55.7 [Formula: see text] for C-COOH, and 41.9 [Formula: see text] for C-NH2, and the adsorption behaviour followed a pseudo-second order kinetics model.

MXene potassium titanate nanowire/sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK) hybrid composite proton exchange membrane for photocatalytic water splitting.

A cross-linked sulfonated polyether ether ketone (C-SPEEK) was incorporated with MXene/potassium titanate nanowire (MKT-NW) as a filler and applied as a proton exchange membrane for photocatalytic water splitting. The prepared hybrid composite PEM had proton conductivity of 0.0097 S cm-1 at room temperature with an ion exchange capacity of 1.88 meq g-1. The hybrid composite proton exchange membrane is a reactive membrane which was able to generate hydrogen gas under UV light irradiation. The efficiency of hydrogen gas production was 0.185066 µmol within 5 h for 12% wt of MKT-NW loading. The results indicated that the MKT-NW/C-SPEEK membrane is a promising candidate for ion exchange with hydrogen gas evolution in photocatalytic water splitting and could be applied as a renewable source of energy to use in various fields of applications.

Norbornene-Functionalized Plant Oils for Biobased Thermoset Films and Binders of Silicon-Graphite Composite Electrodes.

We herein report the functionalization of plant oil with norbornene (NB) and subsequent polymerization to prepare biobased thermoset films and biobased binders for silicon/mesocarbon microbead (MCMB) composite electrodes for use in lithium-ion batteries. A series of NB-functionalized plant oils were prepared as biobased thermoset films via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) in the presence of a second-generation Grubbs catalyst with tunable thermomechanical properties. Increasing the catalyst loading and cross-linking agent increased cross-link density, storage modulus (E'), and glass transition temperature (T g), while the numbers of unreacted or oligomeric components in the films were reduced. High number of NB rings per triglyceride in the plant oil encouraged monomer incorporation to form a polymer network, therefore accounting for the high T g and E' values. Furthermore, the NB-functionalized plant oil and 2,5-norbornadiene (NBD) were copolymerized as bioderived binders for silicone/MCMB composite electrodes of lithium-ion batteries via ROMP during electrode preparation. Cell performance investigation showed that the silicone/MCMB composite electrode bearing the NBD-cross-linked NB-functionalized plant oil binder exhibited a higher C-rate and cycle-life performance than that using a conventional poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) binder. Finally, the electrode based on the bioderived binder exhibited a high specific charge capacity of 620 mA h g-1 at 0.5 C.

Waste biomass valorization through production of xylose-based porous carbon microspheres for supercapacitor applications.

Sequential potassium hydroxide (KOH)-phosphoric acid (H3PO4) activation was applied to biomass waste to fabricate activated carbon microspheres (mCMs) with a controllable porous structure. Carbon microspheres (CMs) were first synthesized from xylose using a bottom-up approach of hydrothermal carbonization. Sequential KOH and H3PO4 activation was applied to the CMs in a KOH-carbon solid reaction. This created pores, which were further enlarged by adsorption of H3PO4. The KOH:carbon (C) and H3PO4:C molar ratios, and the H3PO4 heating rate and activation time, were varied to investigate the effect on average pore size and pore distribution. A uniform porous structure was formed without destruction of the spherical shape, and an almost 700-fold increase in surface area was obtained over the non-activated CMs. Following activation with H3PO4, phosphorous groups were found to be present at the surface of the carbon microspheres. The mCM was tested as a supercapacitor electrode and was shown to have a maximum specific capacitance of up to 277F g-1. A Ragone plot showed the maximum power density to be 173.88 W Kg-1. This increased specific capacitance was attributed to the increase in surface area and the presence of phosphorous-containing acid sites on the material surface.

Synthesis of new polyesters by acyclic diene metathesis polymerization of bio-based α,ω-dienes prepared from eugenol and castor oil (undecenoate).

Synthesis of new polyesters by acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization of α,ω-diene, 4-allyl-2-methoxyphenyl 10-undecenoate (M1), prepared from bio-renewable eugenol and castor oil (undecenoate), have been demonstrated. Ruthenium-carbene (called second generation Grubbs) catalyst afforded polymers with unimodal molecular weight distributions (M n = 12 700, M w/M n = 1.85). The polymerization in the presence of a triarm cross-linker, 5-formylbenzene-1,2,3-triyl tris(undec-10-enoate), also afforded polymers with certain uniform network structures.

Fabrication and evaluation of nanocellulose sponge for oil/water separation.

Nanocellulose sponge was fabricated by a facile method: freeze-drying of nanocellulose aqueous suspension to sponge state, following by hydrophobic treatment with stearoyl chloride at 50 °C for 1 h. The obtained nanocellulose sponge showed superhydrophobicity (160° of water contact angle) and superoleophilicity with high protection from water but selective absorption of oil. Its absorption capacities for various kinds of oil and non-polar liquids were 25-55 times higher than its dry weight and exhibited excellent selectivity for absorbing of oil which spilled on the surface of water or underwater with high separation efficiency. This superhydrophobic nanocellulose sponge can be easily recovered by simple squeezing and reused at least 10 cycles with remained high separation efficiency. It is expected that such a biodegradable nanocellulose sponge can be applied to solve the oil spill accident and treat the oily wastewater from households and industries.

Efficient Conversion of Renewable Unsaturated Fatty Acid Methyl Esters by Cross-Metathesis with Eugenol.

Cross-metathesis of unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters (methyl oleate (MO), methyl petroselinate (MP), and methyl erucate (ME), obtained from vegetable oils) with eugenol (obtained from clove oil) proceeded under green, mild conditions (in 2-propanol or ethanol at 50 °C) in the presence of a ruthenium-carbene catalyst (called a second-generation Grubbs catalyst). These metathesis reactions proceeded with both high conversion (>90% of MO, MP) and selectivity (>98%) even with low catalyst loading (0.1 mol % Ru).

Preparing hydrophobic nanocellulose-silica film by a facile one-pot method.

Hydrophobic nanocellulose-silica film was successfully prepared by a facile one-pot method using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and dodecyl triethoxylsilane (DTES). Morphological characterization of the hydrophobic nanocellulose-silica (NC-SiO2-DTES) film showed well self-assembled DTES modified silica spherical nanoparticles with the particle sizes in the range of 88-126nm over the nanocellulose film. The hydrophobicity of the NC-SiO2-DTES film was achieved owing to the improvement of roughness of the nanocellulose film by coating dodecyl- terminated silica nanoparticles. An increase in DTES loading amount and reaction time increased the hydrophobicity of the film, and the optimum condition for NC-SiO2-DTES film preparation was achieved at DTES/TEOS molar ratio of 2.0 for 8h reaction time. Besides, the NC-SiO2-DTES film performed superoleophilic property with octane and hexadecane contact angles of 0°. It also showed an excellent hydrophobic property over all pH values ranged from 1 to 14.

Green biodiesel production from waste cooking oil using an environmentally benign acid catalyst.

The application of an environmentally benign sulfonated carbon microsphere catalyst for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil was investigated. This catalyst was prepared by the sequential hydrothermal carbonization and sulfonation of xylose. The morphology, surface area, and acid properties were analyzed. The surface area and acidity of the catalyst were 86m(2)/g and 1.38mmol/g, respectively. In addition, the presence of sulfonic acid on the carbon surface was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The catalytic activity was tested for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil via a two-step reaction to overcome reaction equilibrium. The highest biodiesel yield (89.6%) was obtained at a reaction temperature of 110°C, duration time of 4h, and catalyst loading of 10wt% under elevated pressure 2.3bar and 1.4bar for first and second step, respectively. The reusability of the catalyst was investigated and showed that the biodiesel yield decreased by 9% with each cycle; however, this catalyst is still of interest because it is an example of green chemistry, is nontoxic, and makes use of xylose waste.