Robust bond linkage between boron-based coating layer and lithium polyacrylic acid binder enables ultra-stable micro-sized germanium anodes

Micro-sized alloy type germanium (Ge) anodes possess appealing properties for next-generation lithium ions batteries, such as desirable capacity, easy accessibility and greater tapdensity. Nevertheless, volume expansion accompanied by severe pulverization and continuous growth of solid electrolyte interlayer (SEI) still represent fundamental obstacles to their practical applications. Herein, we propose a fresh strategy of constructing robust bond linkage between boron-based coating layer and lithiated polyacrylic acid (PAALi) binder to circumvent the pulverization problems of Ge anodes. Facile pyrolysis of boric acid can introduce an amorphous boron oxide interphase on Ge microparticles (noted as Ge@B2O3). Then in situ crosslinking reaction between B2O3 and PAALi via BOC bond linkage constructs a robust Ge anode (Ge@B-PAALi), which is proved by FTIR and Raman characterizations. Post morphological and compositional investigations reveal the minimized pulverization and a thinner SEI composition. The robust bond linkage strategy endows Ge anode with ultra-stable cycling properties of 1053.8 mAh/g after 500 cycles at 1 A/g vs. 500.7 mAh/g for Ge@PAALi and 372.7 mAh/g for Ge@B2O3, respectively. The proposed bond linkage strategy via artificial coating layer and functional binders unlocks huge potential of alloys and other anodes for next-generation battery applications.

Effect of superfine pulverization of powdered activated carbon on adsorption of carbamazepine in natural source waters

The purpose of this study is to investigate adsorptive removal of carbamazepine from natural source waters by superfine pulverized powdered activated carbon. Superfine pulverization is becoming an increasingly attractive approach to decrease the diffusion path of a target adsorbate molecule and improve the overall the kinetics of activated carbon adsorption. Here we report the impact of pulverization on powdered activated carbon characteristics, and carbamazepine adsorption behavior in distilled and deionized water and natural organic matter solutions. The superfine pulverization decreased the particle size of activated carbon by 50 folds and the specific surface area by 24%. In addition, the micropore volume of the activated carbon decreased from 0.23 cm³/g to 0.14 cm³/g, while mesopore and macropore volumes increased from 0.15 cm³/g and 0.11 cm³/g to 0.18 cm³/g and 0.48 cm³/g, respectively. In terms of surface chemistry, the oxygen and iron contents of the activated carbon increased notably after pulverization. Despite the decrease in surface area and increase in surface polarity, the pulverization improved the adsorption kinetics especially for short contact times i.e., < 6-h. In general, the dissolved organic carbon concentration negatively influenced the kinetic advantage of superfine pulverized activated carbon. Isotherm results indicated that the parent adsorbent has a higher adsorption capacity than superfine activated carbon in distilled and deionized water and in natural waters. This was attributed to the losses in specific surface area and favorable sorption sites inside micropores. Our literature analysis indicated that unlike the small molecular weight hydrophilic organic compounds, the pseudo-equilibrium adsorption capacity could be increased or at least not deteriorated for hydrophobic molecules (K_ow > 3). Therefore, superfine pulverization of PAC can serve as a promising approach to remove micropollutants from natural source waters with a kinetic advantage.

Effect of steam explosion pretreatment on the production of microscale tuna bone power by ultra-speed pulverization

In this study, a steam explosion pretreatment method was established to prepare tuna bone powder. The conditions were optimized such that steam pressure of 0.6 MPa, reaction time of 5 min, and sample weight of 100 g. The result showed that steam explosion pretreatment would not change the chemical structure of bone powder, however, the median particle size (D₅₀) of the steam explosion pretreated tuna bone powder (SE-TBP) (13.186 μm) was significantly smaller than that of normal biological calcium tuna bone powder (N-TBP) (169.762 μm). The calcium absorption rate (79.75 ± 2.33%) and utilization rate (78.75% ± 2.85%) of the mice fed with SE-TBP were both higher than those of fed with CaCO₃ or N-TBP with the same calcium equivalent in the feed. The steam explosion pretreatment method could obtain ideal tuna bone powder in a shorter time, provide a method for deep processing and utilization of tuna bone by-product.

Adsorption kinetics of synthetic organic contaminants onto superfine powdered activated carbon

Superfine powdered activated carbon (S-PAC) is an adsorbent material with the promise of properties that allow for rapid adsorption of small molecule contaminants. To explore the potential for rapid adsorption among varying activated carbon types, seven commercially available activated carbons were obtained and pulverized to produce S-PAC particles less than 1 μm in diameter. The carbons were chosen to include several types of common carbons produced from coal precursors as well as a wood-based carbon and a coconut shell-based carbon. In this study, the S-PACs and their parent PACs were tested for the adsorption of three aromatic compounds-2-phenylphenol, biphenyl, and phenanthrene-with and without the presence of natural organic matter (NOM). Adsorption rates were increased for adsorption onto S-PAC as compared to PAC in all trials without NOM and in most trials with NOM. Faster adsorption onto S-PAC was found to be a result of a smaller particle size, lower surface oxygen content, larger pore diameters, and neutral pH_PZC. Adsorption of a planar compound, phenanthrene, increased the most between PAC and S-PAC, while adsorption of 2-phenylphenol, a nonplanar compound, was impacted the least. Phenanthrene additionally was minimally impacted by the presence of NOM while 2-phenylphenol adsorption declined severely in the presence of NOM.

Estimation of birth year by radiocarbon dating of tooth enamel: Approach to obtaining enamel powder

Atmospheric radiocarbon (¹⁴C) levels increased from 1955 to 1963 due to atmospheric nuclear weapon tests, and then decreased. As ¹⁴C accumulates in human tooth enamel while the enamel is being formed, ¹⁴C can be used to estimate the birth year of unidentified bodies. Measurement results of ¹⁴C content in tooth enamel using accelerator mass spectrometry vary depending on the enamel's sample site. To address this problem, a method for equalizing samples using a pulverizer was considered in this study. Regarding the tube and cone used as the pulverizer, (1) a polycarbonate tube and stainless steel cone, (2) a stainless steel tube and cone, and (3) a tungsten carbide tube and cone, were compared. In (1), the modern carbon ratio was approximately half that of the normal ratio of 100 pMC, with which accurate dating was impossible, and in (2), a high background value was obtained for IAEA-C1, which was pulverized using a reusable tube and cone. In (3), the ¹⁴C content for IAEA-C1 pulverized using reusable tube and cone, which was washed with quartz sand, was 0.31 ± 0.01 pMC. This result did not show any problems regarding background value. Therefore, the use of tungsten carbide products and washing with quartz sand is recommended for ¹⁴C measurement of pulverized teeth.

Preparation of Frozen Liver Tissues for Integrated Omics Analysis

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) allows in-depth analysis of tissue-specific transcriptomes, cistromes, and epigenomes for a better understanding of molecular events at different levels and has proved to be a valuable tool to encrypt the complex transcription networks in both physiological and pathological processes. The preparation of tissues such as the liver for the omics analysis remains to be challenging due to time-consuming and tedious steps. Here we describe a protocol to process frozen liver tissue samples for reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS), chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq), and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). This protocol allows further integrated omics analysis using minimum liver tissues to ensure best-quality data.

Milling and thermal treatment induced changes on phenolic components and antioxidant activities of pigmented rice flours

Processing methods involved in value addition to pigmented broken rice, a milling by-product may affect the nutraceutical qualities. Hence the effect of pulverisation and toasting on nutraceutical content in brown rice flours of red and black rice varieties were studied. Plate milling reduced soluble, bound and total polyphenols in red, but increased in black; increased insoluble polyphenols and oryzanol, and reduced anthocyanin in both varieties; antioxidant activity is reduced in red, but increased in black. Toasting caused reduction of soluble, insoluble and total polyphenol, anthocyanin and antioxidant activity in both varieties with an increase in bound polyphenols, and retention of flavonoids and oryzanol. HPLC characterization of phenolics showed changes on processing in content of catechin, caffeic, vanillic, protocatechuic and ferulic acid. It can be concluded that processing impacts the phenolic components of pigmented broken brown rice flour and this information is useful for functional food industry.

Effect of bead milling on chemical and physical characteristics of activated carbons pulverized to superfine sizes

Superfine powdered activated carbon (S-PAC) is an adsorbent material with particle size between roughly 0.1-1 μm. This is about an order of magnitude smaller than conventional powdered activated carbon (PAC), typically 10-50 μm. S-PAC has been shown to outperform PAC for adsorption of various drinking water contaminants. However, variation in S-PAC production methods and limited material characterization in prior studies lead to questions of how S-PAC characteristics deviate from that of its parent PAC. In this study, a wet mill filled with 0.3-0.5 mm yttrium-stabilized zirconium oxide grinding beads was used to produce S-PAC from seven commercially available activated carbons of various source materials, including two coal types, coconut shell, and wood. Particle sizes were varied by changing the milling time, keeping mill power, batch volume, and recirculation rate constant. As expected, mean particle size decreased with longer milling. A lignite coal-based carbon had the smallest mean particle diameter at 169 nm, while the wood-based carbon had the largest at 440 nm. The wood and coconut-shell based carbons had the highest resistance to milling. Specific surface area and pore volume distributions were generally unchanged with increased milling time. Changes in the point of zero charge (pH(PZC)) and oxygen content of the milled carbons were found to correlate with an increasing specific external surface area. However, the isoelectric point (pH(IEP)), which measures only external surfaces, was unchanged with milling and also much lower in value than pH(PZC). It is likely that the outer surface is easily oxidized while internal surfaces remain largely unchanged, which results in a lower average pH as measured by pH(PZC).