Role of iron oxide in retarding the graphitization of de-oiled asphaltenes for amorphous carbon.

The solvent deasphalting (SDA) process is widely recognized as a significant technology in processing inferior oil. However, de-oiled asphaltene (DOA), which accounts for about 30% of feedstocks, is not well utilized in conventional processing methods to date. Considering its complicated structure and high heteroatom and metal contents, DOA is suitable for preparing amorphous carbon. Herein, we obtained amorphous carbon from inferior de-oiled asphaltene through direct carbonization of a mixture of DOA and Fe2O3 and revealed the mechanism of iron oxide in retarding graphitization to increase the disordered structure content. After the addition of Fe2O3, XRD results showed that the content of amorphous carbon increased from 25.57% to 59.48%, and a higher defect degree could also be observed in Raman spectra, thus resulting in better electrochemical performance in Na-ion half-cells. As a coke core, Fe2O3 could accelerate the polycondensation of asphaltene molecules; meanwhile, oxygen species derived from Fe2O3 could capture excess H free radicals in the initial pyrolysis stage, which inhibited the formation of planar polycyclic aromatic molecules and weakened π-π interactions. Moreover, O atoms could embed into the carbon skeleton by reacting with DOA at higher temperatures, which could further twist and break the intact carbon layer. Both of the factors enhanced the proportion of amorphous carbon. This work not only provides a new understanding of controlling the carbonization process, but it also promotes the development of the SDA process.

A Case of Cutaneous Rosai-Dorfman Disease Treated by Intralesional Injections of Glucocorticoid.

A 45-year-old male presented with painless reddish-brown plaques and nodules that had infiltrated his shoulder and back for 3 months. From the clinical manifestations and histopathological findings, the patient was diagnosed with cutaneous Rosai-Dorfman disease. Intralesional injections of betamethasone (trade name: diprospan) were recommended and the lesions improved significantly after three treatments.

Rational Tuning of a Li4SiO4-Based Hybrid Interface with Unique Stepwise Prelithiation for Dendrite-Proof and High-Rate Lithium Anodes.

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) are among the most promising candidates for high energy-density batteries. However, dendrite growth constitutes the biggest stumbling block to its development. Herein, Li4SiO4-dominating organic-inorganic hybrid layers are rationally designed by SiO2 surface modification and the stepwise prelithiation process. SiO2 nanoparticles construct a zigzagged porous structure, where a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) has grown and penetrated to form a conformal and compact hybrid surface. Such a first-of-this-kind structure enables enhanced Li dendrite prohibition and surface stability. The interfacial chemistry reveals a two-step prelithiation process that transfers SiO2 into well-defined Li4SiO4, the components of which exhibits the lowest diffusion barrier (0.12 eV atom-1) among other highlighted SEI species, such as LiF (0.175 eV atom-1) for the current artificial layer. Therefore, the decorated Li allows for an improved high-rate full-cell performance (LiFePO4/modified Li) with a much higher capacity of 65.7 mAh g-1 at 5C (1C = 170 mAh g-1) than its counterpart with bare Li (∼3 mAh g-1). Such a protocol provides insights into the surface architecture and SEI component optimization through prelithiation in the target of stable, dendrite-proof, homogenized Li+ solid-state migration and high electrochemical performance for LMBs.

Electrochemically activated spinel manganese oxide for rechargeable aqueous aluminum battery.

Aluminum is a naturally abundant, trivalent charge carrier with high theoretical specific capacity and volumetric energy density, rendering aluminum-ion batteries a technology of choice for future large-scale energy storage. However, the frequent collapse of the host structure of the cathode materials and sluggish kinetics of aluminum ion diffusion have thus far hampered the realization of practical battery devices. Here, we synthesize AlxMnO2·nH2O by an in-situ electrochemical transformation reaction to be used as a cathode material for an aluminum-ion battery with a configuration of Al/Al(OTF)3-H2O/AlxMnO2·nH2O. This cell is not only based on aqueous electrolyte chemistry but also delivers a high specific capacity of 467 mAh g-1 and a record high energy density of 481 Wh kg-1. The high safety of aqueous electrolyte, facile cell assembly and the low cost of materials suggest that this aqueous aluminum-ion battery holds promise for large-scale energy applications.

A Pyrene@Micelle Sensor for Fluorescent Oxygen Sensing.

For most fluorescent oxygen sensors developed today, their fabrication process is either time-consuming or needs specialized knowledge. In this work, a robust fluorescent oxygen sensor is facilely constructed by dissolving pyrene molecules into CTAB aqueous solution. The as-prepared pyrene@micelle sensors have submicron-sized diameter, and the concentration of utilized pyrene can be reduced as low as 0.8 mM but still can exhibit dominant excimer emission. The excimer fluorescence is sensitive to dissolved oxygen in both intensity and lifetime, and the respective Stern-Volmer plot follows a nonlinear behavior justified by a two-site model. Because of the merits of large Stokes shift (~140 nm), easy fabrication, and robustness, the pyrene@micelle sensors are very attractive for practical determination of oxygen.

Molecularly imprinted photonic crystals for the direct label-free distinguishing of L-proline and D-proline.

Novel molecularly imprinted photonic crystals (IPCs) for the highly sensitive label-free detection of L-proline and for the chiral recognition of L/D-proline were reported. A series of L-proline imprinted polyacrylamide photonic crystals (PAM-LPIPCs) and poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) photonic crystals (PAM-co-AA-LPIPCs) were fabricated via the in situ polymerization of polystyrene opal. The PAM-LPIPCs exhibit good molecular response in L-proline solutions and can be visualized by the naked eye much like a pH test paper. The concentration of imprinted molecules (L-proline) in aqueous solution can be detected by the chromatic signal (structural color) or the optical signal (λmax). Furthermore, the responsivity and sensitivity of the PAM-co-AA-LPIPCs can be improved by increasing the amount of the imprinted content or the proportion of AA, or by decreasing the ratio of the cross-linking agent. When all these factors were balanced, a PAM2-co-AA0.4-LP0.5 IPC with good strength, high responsivity, high sensitivity and specific molecular recognition was obtained. It is found that the presented crystals can show obvious response to L-proline solution even at a low concentration of 1%. The PAM2-co-AA0.4-LP0.5 IPC not only very selectively distinguishes between L-proline and nicotinic acid, but it is also good at chiral recognition between L-proline and D-proline. What is more, the response is rapid and reversible and the IPC is recyclable.

Hydrogel photonic sensor for the detection of 3-pyridinecarboxamide.

Molecular imprinting is recognized as a powerful technique for preparing polymeric structures that contains tailor-made recognition sites for certain molecules. By combining a responsive hydrogel photonic crystal and molecular imprinting of 3-pyridinecarboxamide, polyacrylamide (PAM) imprinted photonic crystals (IPCs) with an inverse opal structure were prepared. They showed a rapid, recoverable, and selective response to 3-pyridinecarboxamide, which was detected by measuring the diffraction peak. The position of the diffraction peak could be tuned by copolymerizing acrylamide (AM) with acrylic acid (AA), by changing the ratio of AM to AA, by adding N,N'-methylene bisacrylamide to the monomers, or by imprinting molecules to monomers. More interestingly, the change in the Bragg diffraction of the IPCs can be directly converted into a readable optical signal that is visible to the naked eye without any labeling treatment.