Realizing the high loading amount of active Cu on Al2O3 to boost its CO catalytic oxidation.

Catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) by Cu/Al2O3 has garnered increasing interest in recent years due to its promising application prospects. Numerous investigations conducted on the Cu/Al2O3 system, but its catalytic performance for CO oxidation is still not as promising as that of precious metal catalysts. Increasing the loading amount of the active Cu on Al2O3 surface is a feasible method for improving its activity. However, with the increase of Cu loading, the agglomeration and enlargement of Cu particles is inevitable, which reduces the active Cu amount. Therefore, the utilization rate of Cu atoms is not high and the catalytic performance often can not further rise. Enhancing active Cu loading amount as high as possible is a prerequisite to further enlarge the activity of Cu/Al2O3 catalyst. Herein, self-synthesized Al2O3 nanofibers (Al2O3-nf) with high specific surface area and abundant penta-coordinated aluminum (AlV) are used as the support to maximize the Cu loading amount by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). And commercially available α-Al2O3 is used for comparative experiment. The high specific surface area could make Cu high dispersion on Al2O3, even at 20 wt% Cu loads, which is beneficial to high concentration load of active Cu. The catalytic activity of Cu/Al2O3-nf-CVD gradually increases with the increase of Cu loading from 2 wt% to 20 wt%, exhibiting a clear linear correlation with the surface content of Cu0 on the catalyst. Meanwhile, this result confirms that Cu0 plays a crucial role in CO oxidation of Cu/Al2O3. However, commercial α-Al2O3 reaches its highest activity when the Cu load is 5%, and then its activity begins to decrease due to the agglomeration of particles. Moreover, Cu/Al2O3-nf-CVD also exhibits remarkable thermal stability for CO oxidation. This work highlights a new strategy to synthesis of high Cu loading amount, high activity and thermostable Cu/Al2O3 catalyst for low-temperature oxidation of CO.

Treatment of phenolic wastewater in an anaerobic fluidized bed microbial fuel cell filled with graphene oxide-macroporous adsorption resin as multifunctional carrier.

A novel graphene oxide-modified resin (graphene oxide-macroporous adsorption resin) was prepared and used as a multifunctional carrier in an anaerobic fluidized bed microbial fuel cell (AFB-MFC) to treat phenolic wastewater (PW). The macroporous adsorption resin (MAR) was used as the carrier, graphene oxide was used as the modified material, the conductive modified resin was prepared by loading graphene oxide (GO) on the resin through chemical reduction. The modified resin particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy (RS), specific surface area and pore structure analysis. Graphene oxide-macroporous adsorption resin special model was established using the Amorphous Cell module in Materials Studio (MS), and the formation mechanism of graphene oxide-macroporous adsorption resin was studied using mean square displacement (MSD) of the force module. Molecular dynamics simulation was used to study the motion law of molecular and atomic dynamics at the interface of graphene oxide-macroporous adsorption resin composites. The strong covalent bond between GO and MAR ensures the stability of GO/MAR. When the modified resin prepared in 3.0 mg/mL GO mixture was used in the AFB-MFC, the COD removal of wastewater was increased by 9.1% to 72.44%, the voltage was increased by 84.04% to 405.8 mV, and power density was increased by 765.44% to 242.67 mW/m2.

Modulation of Standing Spin Waves in Confined Rectangular Elements.

Magnonics is an emerging field within spintronics that focuses on developing novel magnetic devices capable of manipulating information through the modification of spin waves in nanostructures with submicron size. Here, we provide a confined magnetic rectangular element to modulate the standing spin waves, by changing the saturation magnetisation (MS), exchange constant (A), and the aspect ratio of rectangular magnetic elements via micromagnetic simulation. It is found that the bulk mode and the edge mode of the magnetic element form a hybrid with each other. With the decrease in MS, both the Kittel mode and the standing spin waves undergo a shift towards higher frequencies. On the contrary, as A decreases, the frequencies of standing spin waves become smaller, while the Kittel mode is almost unaffected. Moreover, when the length-to-width aspect ratio of the element is increased, standing spin waves along the width and length become split, leading to the observation of additional modes in the magnetic spectra. For each mode, the vibration style is discussed. These spin dynamic modes were further confirmed via FMR experiments, which agree well with the simulation results.

Adsorption Mechanisms of CO2 on Macroporous Ion-Exchange Resin Organic Amine Composite Materials by the Density Functional Theory.

The adsorption mechanisms of CO2 on macroporous cation exchange resin (MCER), D001 ion-exchange resin, and macroporous ion-exchange resin organic amine composite materials (MCER-DEA and D001-PEI) were studied by density functional theory (DFT). The adsorption energies and Mulliken atomic charges in the adsorption process were analyzed, indicating that CO2 on MCER and D001 were physisorbed. The adsorption heat of the adsorption process of MCER-DEA and D001-PEI was calculated by the Monte Carlo method, and it was found that the adsorption process of CO2 by MCER-DEA and D001-PEI was both physical adsorption and chemical adsorption. Besides, the chemical adsorption mechanism of CO2 by MCER-DEA and D001-PEI was investigated by analyzing the free energy barrier and the Gibbs free energy change of the involved chemical reactions and the results showed that the free energy barrier required for MCER-DEA to generate zwitterion was 26.23 kcal/mol, which is 1.74 times that of D001-PEI (15.04 kcal/mol); meanwhile, the free energy barriers of the deprotonation process of zwitterions in MCER-DEA and D001-PEI were 16.23 and 9.89 kcal/mol, respectively, indicating that D001-PEI chemically adsorbs CO2 and requires more energy than MCER-DEA chemical adsorption of CO2. D001-PEI is more conducive to the chemical adsorption of CO2. In addition, H2O molecules were incorporated on the polymer models to study the influence of humidity on the CO2 adsorption mechanism. The analysis revealed that the adsorption of CO2 slowed under humid conditions.

Release and Degradation Mechanism of Modified Polyvinyl Alcohol-Based Double-Layer Coated Controlled-Release Phosphate Fertilizer.

This study aims to improve the slow-release performance of a film material for a controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) while enhancing its biodegradability. A water-based biodegradable polymer material doped with biochar (BC) was prepared from modified polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and chitosan (CTS), hereinafter referred to as PVA/PVP-CTSaBCb. An environmentally friendly novel controlled-release phosphate fertilizer (CRPF) was developed using PVA/PVP-CTS8%BC7% as the film. The effect of the PVA/PVP-CTS8%BC7% coating on the service life of the CRPF was investigated. The film was characterized via stress-strain testing, SEM, FTIR, XRD, and TGA analyses. The addition of the CTS modifier increased the stress of PVA/PVP-CTS8% by 7.6% compared with that of PVA/PVP owing to the decrease in the crystallinity of PVP/PVP-CTS8%. The hydrophilic -OH groups were reduced due to the mixing of CTS and PVA/PVP. Meanwhile, the water resistance of the PVA/PVP-CTS8%BC7% was improved. And the controlled-release service life of the CRPF was prolonged. Moreover, the addition of BC increased the crystallinity of the PVA/PVP-CTS8% by 10%, reduced the fracture elongation of the material, and further improved the biodegradability of the PVA/PVP-CTS8%BC7%. When the amount of BC added was 7%, the phosphorus release rate of the CRPF was 30% on the 28th day. Moreover, the degradation rate of the PVA/PVP-CTS8%BC7% polymer film was 35% after 120 days. This study provides basic data for applying water-based degradable polymer materials in CRFs.

Fine mapping of a major QTL, qKl-1BL controlling kernel length in common wheat.

KEY MESSAGE: A major stable QTL, qKl-1BL, for kernel length of wheat was narrowed down to a 2.04-Mb interval on chromosome 1BL; the candidate genes were predicated and the genetic effects on yield-related traits were characterized. As a key factor influencing kernel weight, wheat kernel shape is closely related to yield formation, and in turn affects both wheat processing quality and market value. Fine mapping of the major quantitative trait loci (QTL) for kernel shape could provide genetic resources and a theoretical basis for the genetic improvement of wheat yield-related traits. In this study, a major QTL for kernel length (KL) on 1BL, named qKl-1BL, was identified from the recombinant inbred lines (RIL) in multiple environments based on the genetic map and physical map, with 4.76-21.15% of the phenotypic variation explained. To fine map qKl-1BL, the map-based cloning strategy was used. By using developed InDel markers, the near-isogenic line (NIL) pairs and eight key recombinants were identified from a segregating population containing 3621 individuals derived from residual heterozygous lines (RHLs) self-crossing. In combination with phenotype identification, qKl-1BL was finely positioned into a 2.04-Mb interval, KN1B:698.15-700.19 Mb, with eight differentially expressed genes enriched at the key period of kernel elongation. Based on transcriptome analysis and functional annotation information, two candidate genes for qKl-1BL controlling kernel elongation were identified. Additionally, genetic effect analysis showed that the superior allele of qKl-1BL from Jing411 could increase KL, thousand kernel weight (TKW), and yield per plant (YPP) significantly, as well as kernel bulk density and stability time. Taken together, this study identified a QTL interval for controlling kernel length with two possible candidate genes, which provides an important basis for qKl-1BL cloning, functional analysis, and application in molecular breeding programs.

Enhanced supercapacitor performance of porous carbon through tuning maceral composition proportion of coal.

Porous carbons (PCs) have been widely investigated as electrode materials for supercapacitors. However, during the preparation process, intense pore formation reactions result in an amorphous carbon structure, which limits the rate performance of the electrode material. Herein, coal is chosen as a carbon source and making use of different reaction characteristics of vitrinite and inertinite with a KOH activator, an interconnected porous structure carbon material with an abundant graphite microcrystalline structure is obtained; the organic relationships between the ratio of vitrinite and inertinite, carbonization conditions, material structure and capacity performance were researched. At the ratio of vitrinite to inertinite of 1 : 2, the sample shows a specific surface area of 2507 m2 g-1 and its ID1/IG is 1.31, which is lower than that of raw coal (1.36). Due to the synergistic effect of the pore structure and graphite microcrystals, PC-900-40 exhibits an improved specific capacitance of 229.40 F g-1 at a current density of 1.0 A g-1, and even at a high current density of 10.0 A g-1 it delivers a specific capacitance of 170.04 F g-1. The PC-900-40//PC-900-40 symmetrical capacitor retains 96% of its initial capacitance after 20 000 cycles.

Treatment of phenolic wastewater by anaerobic fluidized bed microbial fuel cell using carbon brush as anode: microbial community analysis and m-cresol degradation mechanism.

Anaerobic fluidized bed microbial fuel cell (AFB-MFC) is a technology that combines fluidized bed reactor and microbial fuel cell to treat organic wastewater and generate electricity. The performance and the mechanism of treating m-cresol wastewater in AFB-MFC using carbon brush as biofilm anode were studied. After 48 h of operation, the m-cresol removal efficiency of AFB-MFC, MAR-AFB (fluidized bed bioreactor with acclimated anaerobic sludge), MAR-FB (ordinary fluidized bed reactor with only macroporous adsorptive resin) and AST (traditional anaerobic sludge treatment) were 95.29 ± 0.67%, 85.78 ± 1.81%, 71.24 ± 1.86% and 70.41 ± 0.32% respectively. The maximum output voltage and the maximum power density of AFB-MFC using carbon brush as biofilm anode were 679.7 mV and 166.6 mW/m2 respectively. The results of high-throughput sequencing analysis indicated the relative abundance of dominant electroactive bacteria, such as Trichococcus, Geobacter, and Pseudomonas, on the anode carbon brushes was higher than that of AST, and also identified such superior m-cresol-degrading bacteria as Bdellovibrio, Thermomonas, Hydrogenophaga, etc. Based on the determination of m-cresol metabolites detected by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), the possible biodegradation pathway of m-cresol under anaerobic and aerobic conditions in AFB-MFC was speculated. The results showed that m-cresol was decomposed into formic acid-acetic anhydride and 3-methylpropionic acid under the action of electrochemistry, which is a simple degradation pathway without peripheral metabolism in AFB-MFC.

Performance Exploration of Ni-Doped MoS2 in CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol.

The preparation of methanol chemicals through CO2 and H2 gas is a positive measure to achieve carbon neutrality. However, developing catalysts with high selectivity remains a challenge due to the irreversible side reaction of reverse water gas shift (RWGS), and the low-temperature characteristics of CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. In-plane sulfur vacancies of MoS2 can be the catalytic active sites for CH3OH formation, but the edge vacancies are more inclined to the occurrence of methane. Therefore, MoS2 and a series of MoS2/Nix and MoS2/Cox catalysts doped with different amounts are prepared by a hydrothermal method. A variety of microscopic characterizations indicate that Ni and Co doping can form NiS2 and CoS2, the existence of these substances can prevent CO2 and H2 from contacting the edge S vacancies of MoS2, and the selectivity of the main product is improved. DFT calculation illustrates that the larger range of orbital hybridization between Ni and MoS2 leads to CO2 activation and the active hydrogen is more prone to surface migration. Under optimized preparation conditions, MoS2/Ni0.2 exhibits relatively good methanol selectivity. Therefore, this strategy of improving methanol selectivity through metal doping has reference significance for the subsequent research and development of such catalysts.

Magnetic field modulated ultrafast spin dynamics at Ni80Fe20/Neodymium interface.

Ultrafast spin dynamics is crucial for the next-generation spintronic devices towards high-speed data processing. Here, we investigate the ultrafast spin dynamics of Neodymium/Ni80Fe20 (Nd/Py) bilayers by the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. The effective modulation of spin dynamics at Nd/Py interfaces is realized by an external magnetic field. The effective magnetic damping of Py increases with increasing Nd thickness, and a large spin mixing conductance (∼19.35×1015 cm-2) at Nd/Py interface is obtained, representing the robust spin pumping effect by Nd/Py interface. The tuning effects are suppressed at a high magnetic field due to the reduced antiparallel magnetic moments at Nd/Py interface. Our results contribute to understanding ultrafast spin dynamics and spin transport behavior in high-speed spintronic devices.

Preparation of macroporous ion-exchange resin organic amine composite material by using waste plastics and its application in CO2 capture.

Two new types of solid adsorption material (macroporous cation exchange resin (MCER) and macroporous ion-exchange resin organic amine composite material (MCER-DEA)) were prepared from waste television plastics outer shell (WTPS) and used to capture CO2 in flue gas from coal-fired power plants. The results showed that the CO2 adsorption capacity of MCER-DEA was 2.87 mmol/g, while MCER was 1.87 mmol/g. The preparation mechanism and action mechanism of MCER and MCER-DEA was studied by Fourier transform infrared and quantum chemical calculations. The results showed that the electrophilic substitution occurs in between an H atom of meta position on the benzene ring and H2SO4. The electron energy of MCER-DEA was calculated to be 1.14 ev, indicating these MCERs formed acid-base coordination with diethanolamine (DEA). Besides, the electron energy of between MCER and CO2 was 0.27 ev, and the interaction force was dominated by hydrogen bonds. The electron energy of the MCER-DEA and CO2 was 3.02 ev, and the interaction force was mainly controlled by coordination bonds. It indicated that MCER and CO2 were primarily based on physical adsorption, while MCER-DEA and CO2 were mainly based on chemisorption adsorption. Adsorption kinetics studies showed that internal diffusion was a rate-controlling step.

Development of Low-Cost Porous Carbons through Alkali Activation of Crop Waste for CO2 Capture.

To achieve the "double carbon" (carbon peak and carbon neutrality) target, low-cost CO2 capture at large CO2 emission points is of great importance, during which the development of low-cost CO2 sorbents will play a key role. Here, we chose peanut shells (P) from crop waste as the raw material and KOH and K2CO3 as activators to prepare porous carbons by a simple one-step activation method. Interestingly, the porous carbon showed a good adsorption capacity of 2.41 mmol/g for 15% CO2 when the mass ratio of K2CO3 to P and the activation time were only 0.5 and 0.5 h, respectively, and the adsorption capacity remained at 98.76% after 10 adsorption-desorption cycle regenerations. The characterization results suggested that the activated peanut shell-based porous carbons were mainly microporous and partly mesoporous, and hydroxyl (O-H), ether (C-O), and pyrrolic nitrogen (N-5) functional groups that promoted CO2 adsorption were formed during activation. In conclusion, KOH- and K2CO3-activated P, especially K2CO3-activated P, showed good CO2 adsorption and regeneration performance. In addition, not only the use of a small amount of the activator but also the raw material of crop waste reduces the sorbent preparation costs and CO2 capture costs.

The development of activated carbon from corncob for CO2 capture.

The accumulation and incineration of crop waste pollutes the environment and releases a large amount of CO2. In this study, corncob crop waste was directly activated using solid KOH in an inert atmosphere to prepare porous activated carbon (AC) to capture CO2, and to introduce N-containing functional groups that favour CO2 adsorption, urea was mixed with corncob and KOH to prepare N-doped AC. The physical and chemical properties of the AC were characterized, and the effects of the mass ratio of KOH and urea to corncob, the activation temperature and time as well as regeneration were investigated to explore the optimal preparation process. The pores in the AC are mainly micropores, with the specific surface area and pore volume reaching 926.07 m2 g-1 and 0.40 cm3 g-1 for KOH-activated corncob and 1096.70 m2 g-1 and 0.48 cm3 g-1 after N-doping; the C-O plus O-H ratio and the -NH- ratio, which favour CO2 adsorption in N-doped AC were 6.04 and 1.92%, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacities for KOH-activated corncob before and after N-doping were 3.49 and 4.58 mmol g-1, respectively, at 20 °C and remained at 3.44 and 4.52 mmol g-1 after ten regenerations. The prepared corncob-based AC showed good application prospects for CO2 capture.

Synthesis of LDHs Based on Fly-Ash and Its Influence on the Flame Retardant Properties of EVA/LDHs Composites.

Fly-ash, a kind of large solid waste in energy industry, has brought about serious environmental problems and safety consequences. No efficient way has been found yet to deal with it worldwide. The focus of contemporary research are mainly placed on the reuse of aluminum and iron, but with a low utilization rate less than 30%. Having destroyed the ecological balance, fly-ash has become a challenge drawing the attention of people in the solid waste industry. In this paper, a smoke-suppressant and flame-retardant layered double hydroxide (LDH) featuring Mg-Al-Fe ternary was successfully synthesized by fly-ash after coprecipitation. XRD results presented LDHs successful synthesis. Then, exploration on the flame retarding properties of LDHs in composites composed by ethylene vinyl acetate (hereinafter referred to as EVA)/LDHs was carried out by UL-94, limiting oxygen index (LOI), cone calorimeter (CCT), smoke density (SDT), and thermogravimetry-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (TG-IR) tests. UL testing results showed that most of the samples had a vertical combustion rating of V-0. LOI results showed the highest LOI value of ELDH-1, amounting to as high as 28.5 ± 0.1 while CCT results showed that the rate of heat releasing, mass loss, and smoke production of composite materials were decreased significantly compared with corresponding data of pure EVA. The ELDH-1 sample displayed the lowest peaks of heat release rate (pHRR) value of 178.4 ± 12.8 Kw·m-2 and the lowest total heat release (THR) value of 114.5 ± 0.35 KJ·m-2. Then, SDT indicated that under respective ignition and non-ignition conditions, all composite materials present a good smoke suppression performance. Additionally, digital photographs after CCT demonstrated that EVA/LDHs composites could enhance the formation of compact charred layers, and prevent their splitting, which effectively prevent the underlying materials from burning. Finally, TG-IR findings showed that compared with pure EVA, EVA/LDHs composites also achieved a higher-level thermal stability.

Cooperative Effect of ZIF-67-Derived Hollow NiCo-LDH and MoS2 on Enhancing the Flame Retardancy of Thermoplastic Polyurethane.

In this work, a novel three-dimensional (3D) hollow nickel-cobalt layered double hydroxide (NiCo-LDH) was synthesized using zeolitic imidazole framework-67 (ZIF-67) as a template, and then utilized to functionalize molybdenum disulfide (NiCo-LDH/MoS2) via electrostatic force. Flame retardant thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composites were prepared by the melt blending method. Compared to pure TPU, NiCo-LDH/MoS2 filled TPU composite was endowed with a decrease of 30.9% and 55.7% of the peak heat release rate (PHRR) and the peak smoke production rate (PSPR), respectively. Furthermore, the addition of NiCo-LDH/MoS2 can significantly improve the thermal stability and char yield of the TPU composite. The catalytic carbonization effect and dilution effect of NiCo-LDH, and the barrier effect of MoS2 nanosheets enable TPU composites with excellent flame retardancy and toxic gas suppression ability.

Supported Liquid Membranes Based on Bifunctional Ionic Liquids for Selective Recovery of Gallium.

In this work, separation and recovery of gallium from aqueous solutions was examined using acid-base bifunctional ionic liquids (Bif-ILs) in both solvent extraction and supported liquid membrane (SLM) processes. The influence of a variety of parameters, such as feed acidity, extractant concentration and metal concentration on the solvent extraction behavior were evaluated. The slope method combined with FTIR spectroscopy was utilized to determine possible extraction mechanisms. The SLM containing Bif-ILs demonstrated highly selective facilitated transport of 96.2% Ga(III) from feed to stripping solution after optimization. During the evaluation of the separation performance of SLM for the transport of Ga(III), in the presence of Al(III), Mg(II), Cu(II) and Fe(II), 88.5% Ga(III) could be transported with only 6% Fe(II) and a nil quantity of other metals co-transported. SLM exhibited excellent long-time stability in five repeated transport cycles. Highly selective transport and separation performance was achieved using the SLM containing Bif-ILs, indicating considerable potential for application in Ga(III) recovery.

The State-of-the-Art Functionalized Nanomaterials for Carbon Dioxide Separation Membrane.

Nanocomposite membrane (NCM) is deemed as a practical and green separation solution which has found application in various fields, due to its potential to delivery excellent separation performance economically. NCM is enabled by nanofiller, which comes in a wide range of geometries and chemical features. Despite numerous advantages offered by nanofiller incorporation, fabrication of NCM often met processing issues arising from incompatibility between inorganic nanofiller and polymeric membrane. Contemporary, functionalization of nanofiller which modify the surface properties of inorganic material using chemical agents is a viable approach and vigorously pursued to refine NCM processing and improve the odds of obtaining a defect-free high-performance membrane. This review highlights the recent progress on nanofiller functionalization employed in the fabrication of gas-separative NCMs. Apart from the different approaches used to obtain functionalized nanofiller (FN) with good dispersion in solvent and polymer matrix, this review discusses the implication of functionalization in altering the structure and chemical properties of nanofiller which favor interaction with specific gas species. These changes eventually led to the enhancement in the gas separation efficiency of NCMs. The most frequently used chemical agents are identified for each type of gas. Finally, the future perspective of gas-separative NCMs are highlighted.

Study on the mechanism of anaerobic fluidized bed microbial fuel cell for coal chemical wastewater treatment.

The coal chemical wastewater (CCW) was treated by anaerobic fluidized bed microbial fuel cell (AFB-MFC) with macroporous adsorptive resin (MAR) as fluidized particle. Isosteric heat calculation and molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) have been performed to study the interaction between organics of CCW and MAR. The isosteric heat of MAR to m-cresol was the largest at 65.4961 kJ/mol, followed by phenol. Similarly, the diffusion coefficient of m-cresol on MAR was the largest, which was 0.04350 Å2/ps, and the results were verified by the kinetic adsorption experiments. Microbial community analysis showed that the dominant bacteria in activated sludge of MFC fed with CCW were acinetobacter, aeromonas, pseudomonas and sulfurospirillum. The synergistic cooperation of bacteria contributed to improving CCW degradation and the power generation of MFC. Headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) was used to detect intermediate of organics in CCW. It was proved that the intermediate of m-cresol degradation was 4-methyl-2-pentanone and acetic acid, and the intermediate of phenol degradation included cyclohexanone, hydroxyhexanedither and hydroxyacetic acid. Combined with the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) analysis results of organic matter obtained by molecular simulation, the degradation pathway of organic matter in CCW was predicted. The energy of organics degradation pathway was analyzed by Materials Studio (MS) software, and the control step of organics degradation was determined.

Polypropylene Composites Reinforced by Nonmetallic from Waste Printed Circuit Boards Using Spout-Fluid Bed Coating with PP Particles Enhance Fluidization.

Nonmetallic materials recycled from waste printed circuit boards (N-WPCBs) were modified by coating KH-550 in a spout-fluid bed. To improve the effect of the modification, PP particles were used to enhance the fluidization quality of the N-WPCB particles in the coating modification. Then, the modified N-WPCBs were used as fillers to fabricate PP/N-WPCB composites. The method of coating in a spout-fluid bed with PP particles enhanced fluidization and showed the best modification effect compared to other coating methods. The FT-IR and SEM results demonstrated that interfacial bonding between N-WPCBs and PP could be enhanced by modified N-WPCBs, which improved the mechanical properties of the composites. When the mass ratio of PP to N-WPCBs is 100:75 and the dose of KH-550 is 4 phr, the flexural strength, tensile strength, and impact strength of the composites increase by 16.60%, 23.22%, and 23.64%, respectively. This would realize the high-value utilization of N-WPCBs with coating modification in the spout-fluid bed.

Theoretical Studies on the Oligomerization of Silicate Species in Basic Solution.

The possible reaction pathways of silicate species to linear- and ring-structure oligomers up to silicate hexamers in the basic medium have been studied using the density functional theory. The calculations were performed at the ωB97XD/6-31+G(d,p) level, and the integral equation formalism polarizable continuum model was employed to simulate the solvent effects, and it was found that they are appropriate in exploring the reaction mechanism of silicate species condensation. There are two steps in the anionic silicate condensation reactions: the SiO-Si bond formation step and the dehydration step. Moreover, the latter is the rate-limiting step for most of the reaction pathways except for the cyclization reaction of the linear pentamer to the 5-ring. The short linear oligomers would be likely formed from the reaction between monomers and oligomers, while the longer ones are easily formed through the reactions between short oligomers. The 4-ring and branched 5-ring oligomers are found to be formed very favorable both in kinetic and thermodynamic and could have great influences on the initial stage of zeolite synthesis. The intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bond effect of silicate species is an important factor affecting the reaction mechanism.