Bouala, G. I. Nkou; Clavier, N.; Podor, R.; Cambedouzou, J.; Mesbah, A.; Brau, H. P.; Léchelle, J.; Dacheux, N.
Preparation and characterisation of uranium oxides with spherical shapes and hierarchical structures
An easy way of preparation, based on the precipitation of U4+ or UO22+ cations by urea in the presence of PEG at T = 90–120 °C, was set up to prepare shape-controlled spherical uranium oxides. The parametric study of heating time and temperature allowed us to tailor the size of…
Probing the Interactions of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Using Nanoparticle Tags
Pregent, Stive; Lichtenstein, Amir; Avinery, Ram; Laser-Azogui, Adi; Patolsky, Fernando; Beck, Roy
The structural plasticity of intrinsically disordered proteins serves as a rich area for scientific inquiry. Such proteins lack a fix three-dimensional structure but can interact with multiple partners through numerous weak bonds. Nevertheless, this intrinsic plasticity possesses a challenging hurdle in their characterization. We underpin the intermolecular interactions between intrinsically…
Pressure-controlled formation of crystalline, Janus, and core–shell supraparticles
Kister, Thomas; Mravlak, Marko; Schilling, Tanja; Kraus, Tobias
Binary mixtures of nanoparticles self-assemble in the confinement of evaporating oil droplets and form regular supraparticles. We demonstrate that moderate pressure differences on the order of 100 kPa change the particles’ self-assembly behavior. Crystalline superlattices, Janus particles, and core–shell particle arrangements form in the same dispersions when changing the working…
Preparation of Poly(butylene succinate) Crystals with Exceptionally High Melting Point and Crystallinity from Its Inclusion Complex
Ye, Hai-Mu; Chen, Xiao-Tong; Liu, Ping; Wu, Shu-Yi; Jiang, Zhiyong; Xiong, Bijin; Xu, Jun
We successfully developed an effective strategy for preparing poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) material with exceptionally high crystallinity (94.4% from density data) and melting point (∼136 °C) from its urea inclusion complex under normal air pressure for the first time. The strategy consists of three steps: co-electrospinning PBS with urea, thermal treatment,…
Preparation and Properties of Halloysite Nanotubes/Poly(ethylene methyl acrylate)-Based Nanocomposites by Variation of Mixing Methods
Ganguly, Sayan; Bhawal, Poushali; Choudhury, Anirvan; Mondal, Subhadip; Das, Poushali; Das, Narayan Ch
Halloysite nanotube-based inorganic–organic polymer nanocomposite has been developed with improved mechanical strength in one direction by solution mixing followed by melt mixing. Melt mixing, solution mixing, and melt-cum-solution mixing were performed to optimize the mechanical strength of the nanocomposites. The field emission scanning electron microscopic images and small-angle X-ray…
Metastability in lipid based particles exhibits temporally deterministic and controllable behavior
Jacoby, Guy; Cohen, Keren; Barkan, Kobi; Talmon, Yeshayahu; Peer, Dan; Beck, Roy
The metastable-to-stable phase-transition is commonly observed in many fields of science, as an uncontrolled independent process, highly sensitive to microscopic fluctuations. In particular, self-assembled lipid suspensions exhibit phase-transitions, where the underlying driving mechanisms and dynamics are not well understood. Here we describe a study of the phase-transition dynamics of…
PPh4Cl in aqueous solution – the aggregation behavior of an antagonistic salt
Winkler, Robert; Buchecker, Thomas; Hastreiter, Florian; Touraud, Didier; Kunz, Werner
The initial definition of hydrotropy by Neuberg in 1916 describes a hydrotrope as a molecule which enhances the solubilization of hydrophobic substances in water. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sodium xylene sulfonate (SXS) are typical representatives fulfilling this old definition. They are either surfactants with a critical micellar concentration (CMC)…
Porous SiO2 Hollow Spheres as a Solar Reflective Pigment for Coatings
Xing, Zheng; Tay, Siok-Wei; Ng, Yeap Hung; Hong, Liang
This study starts with the synthesis of silica hollow spheres (HSs) by utilizing in situ synthesized polystyrene (PS) microspheres as the template for the deposition of a silica (SiO2) shell, followed by a slow gasification step in air to remove the PS core. The size of HS and the thickness…
Poly(pentacyclic lactam-alt-diketopyrrolopyrrole) for field-effect transistors and polymer solar cells processed from non-chlorinated solvents
Feng, Guitao; Xu, Yunhua; Xiao, Chengyi; Zhang, Jianqi; Zhang, Xiaotao; Li, Cheng; Wei, Zhixiang; Hu, Wenping; Wang, Zhaohui; Li, Weiwei
A semi-crystalline conjugated polymer based on two electron-deficient units, pentacyclic lactam (PCL) and diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP), was designed and synthesized for application in field-effect transistors (FETs) and polymer solar cells (PSCs). The polymer has a high molecular weight, near-infrared absorption up to 900 nm and good solubility in toluene. When the…
Polypropylene/Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH) Nanocomposites: Influence of LDH Particle Size on the Crystallization Behavior of Polypropylene
Nagendra, Baku; Mohan, Kiran; Gowd, E. Bhoje
Highly dispersed isotactic polypropylene (iPP) nanocomposites were prepared by incorporating two different sized Mg–Al LDH nanoparticles with different loadings from 1 to 10 wt % using a modified solvent mixing method. Larger sized LDH nanoparticles (∼3–4 μm) were prepared from the gel form of Mg–Al LDH, and the smaller sized…