Article
Materials Science, Paper & Wood
Kunfeng Jin, Guangjie Song, Huailing Diao, Xiaocheng Zhang, Xin Ji, Jinming Zhang, Jun Zhang
Summary: In this study, crystalline and amorphous cellulose from tunicate were prepared to investigate the non-conventional photoluminescence property. The results showed that CNC foam had the strongest fluorescence emission intensity and shortest phosphorescence lifetime, while CNC/PVA films had the lowest photoluminescence quantum yield and longest phosphorescence lifetime. Highly amorphous cellulose exhibited stronger phosphorescence emission intensity and longer lifetime compared to crystalline cellulose, attributed to the different hydrogen bonding networks and surface group motion on nanocrystals.
Article
Materials Science, Paper & Wood
Antti Paajanen, Aleksi Rinta-Paavola, Jukka Vaari
Summary: This study investigates the thermal decomposition of cellulose using molecular simulations, revealing that depolymerization via glycosidic bond cleavage initiates the degradation process, leading to the formation of various oxygenates with water mainly formed in later stages. The reaction rate of glycosidic bond cleavage follows a sigmoidal model, providing insights into the mechanism of cellulose fast pyrolysis. The simulations, however, lack anhydrosugar forming reactions and thus offer limited understanding for industrial conditions.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Katarina Dimic-Misic, Mirjana Kostic, Bratislav Obradovic, Milorad Kuraica, Ana Kramar, Monireh Imani, Patrick Gane
Summary: The cellulose films obtained from refined pulp with different enzymatic pretreatment digestion times were exposed to gas plasma, resulting in surface chemical and morphological changes affecting mechanical and surface properties. Single and dual exposure to oxygen and nitrogen plasma showed differing effects on the roughness, nanostructural and chemical changes, and wettability of the cellulose film. Oxygen plasma induced greater morphological change, while nitrogen plasma contributed more to chemical modification of the film surface.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Swayam Kesari, Brahmananda Chakraborty, A. K. Rajarajan, Antara Vaidyanathan, Rekha Rao
Summary: Compounds with polymorphism at ambient conditions exhibit interesting structural transitions under different thermodynamic conditions. Gd2Si2O7 is a silicate that shows polymorphism at ambient conditions, with significant structural changes at high pressures leading to different phases.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Aritra Sil, Michael J. Deck, Elise A. Goldfine, Chi Zhang, Sawankumar Patel, Steven Flynn, Haoyu Liu, Po-Hsiu Chien, Kenneth R. Poeppelmeier, Vinayak P. Dravid, Michael J. Bedzyk, Julia E. Medvedeva, Yan-Yan Hu, Antonio Facchetti, Tobin J. Marks
Summary: This study investigates the effect of fluoride doping on the structure and electronic properties of both crystalline and amorphous indium oxides using experimental and theoretical techniques. The results show that fluoride doping increases the band gap in the crystalline phase but decreases it in the amorphous phase. The solid-state microstructure is also affected by the doping, with the inhibition of crystallization observed in both phases.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
A. Sivakumar, S. Sahaya Jude Dhas, Abdulrahman Almansour, Raju Suresh Kumar, Natarajan Arumugam, S. A. Martin Britto Dhas
Summary: The research presents a switchable phase transition between the crystalline and amorphous states of CuSO4 center dot 5H(2)O influenced by dynamic shock waves. The experimental findings could lead to the identification of new multifunctional switching materials impacted by shock waves.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Wei Wei, Zeyang Li, Zhipeng Guo, Yihang Li, Fengming Hou, Wei Guo, Ang Wei
Summary: This study presents an electrochromic window with satisfactory performance, especially in the NIR region, by utilizing hierarchical amorphous WO3/SnO2 nanoflake arrays synthesized through a combination of hydrothermal and ultraviolet photodeposition methods. The film showed enhanced electrochromic characteristics and significant transmittance modulation in both the NIR and visible regions.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jan Mistrik, Milos Krbal, Vit Prokop, Jan Prikryl
Summary: This work investigates the optical properties of magnetron sputtered thin MoS2 films through ellipsometry. The study covers amorphous, amorphous relaxed, partially crystallized, and polycrystalline MoS2 films and reveals the transition from amorphous to polycrystalline phases and its correlation with film optical properties. The study also demonstrates the potential use of amorphous MoS2 for photothermal therapy and provides essential results for further research in various fields such as phase change materials and magneto-optical study.
NANOSCALE ADVANCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Seongsu Park, Byung-Dae Park
Summary: Sustainable bio-based dialdehyde cellulose (DAC) was used to improve the adhesion strength and formaldehyde emission of urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins. The chemical reactions between DAC and UF species were confirmed, leading to a decrease in crystallinity and a lower cross-linking density in the modified UF resins. The modified UF resins showed statistically similar adhesion strength and significantly reduced formaldehyde emission.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Fanze Meng, Xueyan Wu, Yan Lv, Jiaxin Li, Xinyu Guo, Jixi Guo
Summary: Transition-metal catalysts with low cost and exceptional catalytic performance are designed for commercial hydrogen production from electrolytic water. The catalyst's electronic structure, active sites, and reaction kinetics can be optimized by combining transition metals, thereby enhancing its catalytic activity. The designed nonprecious metal catalyst WP/CoP-FeP4/NF exhibits a regular array structure, with nanosheets forming the arrays and nanowires growing outward from the voids, and a large number of nanoparticles attached to the surfaces. This catalyst shows excellent performance in overall water splitting with low overpotentials and high catalytic efficiencies for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) even after long-term continuous operation.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Milos Krbal, Jan Prikryl, Igor Pis, Vit Prokop, Jhonatan Rodriguez Pereira, Alexander V. Kolobov
Summary: Transition metal dichalcogenides, specifically MoS2, exhibit unique electrical behavior during the amorphous-to-crystal phase transition, with an unexpected two-step increase in sheet resistance upon annealing at temperatures above 200 degrees C. The large electrical conductivity observed in amorphous MoS2 is attributed to the presence of Mo-Mo homopolar bonds exceeding the percolation threshold. The formation of Mo-S bonds and grain boundary during the crystallization process further increases the sheet resistance.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Su-Hua Yang, Zhi-Young Chen, Tso-Yu Chang, Po-Ting Lin, Chih-Chieh Ho
Summary: The electrochromic properties of WO3 optical windows were enhanced by a hierarchical structure of amorphous-crystalline WO3 nanowires. Crystalline (c-WO3) and amorphous WO3 (a-WO3) were prepared using hydrothermal and sputtering deposition methods, respectively. c-WO3 demonstrated a high contrast ratio of 55.9% at 700 nm wavelength with a reversibility of up to 97.5%. The relationship between intercalated/extracted charges and scan time was discussed and formulated, and ion flow variation during charging and discharging was investigated. The anodic and cathodic current densities of a-WO3/c-WO3 were higher than those of c-WO3 by 7.9% and 30.4%, respectively. The coloration efficiencies at wavelengths of 650 nm, 700 nm, and 800 nm were improved by 67.2%, 56.1%, and 40.7%, respectively. Rapid redox reaction with short coloring (11.0 s) and bleaching time (6.5 s) was achieved.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemical Research Methods
Nina Vogt
Summary: iGECI, a near-infrared calcium sensor, shows promise for imaging neuronal activity in vivo.
Article
Thermodynamics
Liping Xiang, Yuting Fang, Ke Xu, Zhuanghao Zheng, Jie Dong, Yangsu Xie
Summary: The thermal transport in amorphous/low-crystallized PI composite fibers was studied using TET and SET techniques, revealing a high thermal conductivity due to oriented chain alignment and inter-chain hydrogen bonds. The structural domain size of the fibers was determined based on thermal reffusivity model, indicating the potential importance of Rg in determining the thermal conductivity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Jingyi Cai, Dongbo Yu, Yong Zhang, Shangzhi Yao, Xueru Zhang, Jiewu Cui, Yan Wang, Jiaqin Liu, Cuiping Yu, Xiangcheng Sun, Yucheng Wu
Summary: Porous crystalline/amorphous TiO2 hybrid films with excellent electrochromic properties were successfully grown through a solvothermal reaction and air annealing treatment. The films exhibited large optical contrast, high coloration efficiency, and short switching time. They also showed lower threshold voltage and better durability compared to single crystalline and single amorphous TiO2 materials.
JOURNAL OF ELECTROANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Maito Koga, Ryota Watanabe, Hideaki Hagihara, Junji Mizukado, Masatoshi Tokita, Hideyuki Shinzawa
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Maito Koga, Masatoshi Tokita, Junji Mizukado, Hideyuki Shinzawa
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Shogo Yamane, Ryota Watanabe, Seisuke Ata, Junji Mizukado, Hideyuki Shinzawa
VIBRATIONAL SPECTROSCOPY
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Ryota Watanabe, Aki Sugahara, Hideaki Hagihara, Junji Mizukado, Hideyuki Shinzawa
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Hideyuki Shinzawa, Junji Mizukado
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
(2020)
Article
Instruments & Instrumentation
Huiqiang Lu, Hideyuki Shinzawa, Sergei G. Kazarian
Summary: Exposing polymers to high pressure and supercritical CO2 is an effective method in polymer processing, with mechanisms of polymer-polymer interaction under these conditions worthy of further investigation. Different types of polymer molecule interactions can be differentiated through a specially designed polymer interface, leading to phase separation.
APPLIED SPECTROSCOPY
(2021)
Article
Instruments & Instrumentation
Hideyuki Shinzawa, Aki Sugahara, Hideaki Hagihara, Junji Mizukado, Ryota Watanabe
Summary: The technique of analyzing infrared imaging data with 2T2D correlation mapping helps extract relevant information, especially in systems where molecular interactions or component changes are of interest. The analysis of polymer composites using this method revealed insights into the interactions and changes between maleic anhydride and silica spheres, showcasing the potential of this approach in studying complex systems.
APPLIED SPECTROSCOPY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Hideyuki Shinzawa, Ryota Watanabe, Shogo Yamane, Maito Koga, Hideaki Hagihara, Junji Mizukado
Summary: This paper presents the first in-depth attempt to characterize the thermally induced aging of polypropylene (PP) samples using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. The study found that aging treatment causes compositional changes in crystalline and amorphous structures of the PP samples, which ultimately affect the elongation property. By utilizing the partial least squares (PLS) regression models derived from the NIR spectra, it becomes possible to predict the change in the elongation property of the aged PP sample.
JOURNAL OF NEAR INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Maito Koga, Ryota Watanabe, Junji Mizukado, Hideyuki Shinzawa
Summary: A binary amorphous polymer blend of PVC and PMMA was studied using rheo-optical NIR spectroscopy, revealing how changes in NIR spectral features can detect important deformation behaviors in the blend.
ANALYTICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Characterization & Testing
Ryota Watanabe, Aki Sugahara, Hideaki Hagihara, Junji Mizukado, Hideyuki Shinzawa
Summary: A new technique combining EGA-MS-PCA was developed to analyze the interfacial state between matrix and filler in SBS nanocomposites containing GNPs. The inclusion of GNPs was found to restrict the decomposition of the polystyrene component in the SBS sample, indicating a potential increase in stiffness due to the interaction between SBS and GNPs.
Article
Spectroscopy
Hideyuki Shinzawa, Hiroki Itasaka
Summary: Disrelation mapping was applied to investigate submolecular-level variations at the interface between glass fiber and polypropylene. The maps revealed the predominant development of a long helix band at the interface, indicating the role of glass fiber or compatibilizer as a nucleating agent for the crystalline structure of polypropylene. The results suggest that this development leads to a harder but more brittle polymer system.
SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA PART A-MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Characterization & Testing
Takato Ishida, Ryota Watanabe, Hideyuki Shinzawa, Junji Mizukado, Hideaki Hagihara, Ryoma Kitagaki, Yogarajah Elakneswaran
Summary: A novel technique combining in-situ infrared cure monitoring with two-trace two-dimensional correlation analysis was developed to investigate the property-enhancement mechanism of a newly developed thermosetting nanocomposite. The technique provided insights into the sequential mechanisms in the curing process and the interfacial interaction for the nanocomposite system.
Article
Spectroscopy
Shinji Fujimoto, Masaru Aoyagi, Hideyuki Shinzawa
Summary: The nanodiamond/polyamide (ND/PA) nanocomposite was investigated using infrared microscopy and time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR). It was found that ND-NH2 particles were uniformly distributed in the nanocomposite due to their spherical shape and accessible external surface. The incorporation of ND-NH2 particles in PA 66 resulted in substantial changes in the T2 decay curves. The development of cross-linking between ND-NH2 and PA 66 was found to contribute to the changes in the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite.
SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA PART A-MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY
(2022)
Article
Spectroscopy
Hideyuki Shinzawa, Maito Koga
Summary: An OCT-NIRS system was developed to observe and measure the cross-sectional view and spectrum of a specific area in a polymer sample. This system enables non-invasive imaging and recording of the NIR spectrum in the observed area. It provides key information about the microscopic structure of the polymer and its relationship with the chemical composition.
SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA PART A-MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Takato Ishida, Ryoma Kitagaki, Yogarajah Elakneswaran, Junji Mizukado, Hideyuki Shinzawa, Hiroaki Sato, Hideaki Hagihara, Ryota Watanabe
Summary: To study the degradation of thermosetting polymers, a novel method called evolved gas analysis-mass spectrometry combined with principal component analysis (EGA-MS-PCA) was applied. This technique provides information on the chemical structural changes and network topology of the polymers. By effectively selecting key fragments from the complicated EGA-MS profiles, the technique can simultaneously characterize chemical degradation and network structural properties. It can be used as a generally applicable tool for determining the structural durability of thermosetting polymers.
