[en] In order to effectively remove radionuclides from the contaminated sites, the adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics of Th(Ⅳ) on graphene oxide (GO) were studied in this paper. The results indicate that the kinetic adsorption of Th(Ⅳ) on GO can be fitted well by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Besides, the adsorption isotherm of Th(Ⅳ) on GO can be described by both Langmuir and Freundlich model. From the thermodynamics analysis, we can see that the adsorption of Th(Ⅳ) on GO is an endothermic and spontaneous process. GO has an extraordinary adsorption capacity for Th(Ⅳ), and shows potential application in the enrichment and immobilization of radionuclides. (authors)

[en] Highlights: ► Densities and viscosities of {[Mim]Ac + alcohols} mixtures were measured. ► Coefficient of thermal expansion, molecular volume, standard entropy, and lattice energy were obtained. ► Excess molar volumes and viscosity deviations were calculated. ► Redlich–Kister polynomial was used to correlate the excess properties. ► The intermolecular interactions between [Mim]Ac and alcohols were analysed. - Abstract: Densities and viscosities of the pure ionic liquid 1-methylimidazolium acetate ([Mim]Ac) and its binary mixtures with methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, and 1-butanol were measured at temperature ranging from T = (293.15 to 313.15) K. The thermal expansion coefficient, molecular volume, standard entropy, and lattice energy of [Mim]Ac were deduced from the experimental density results. A simple linear equation was used to correlate the variation of viscosity of [Mim]Ac with temperature. Excess molar volumes V^E and viscosity deviations Δη for the binary mixtures at above mentioned temperature were calculated and fitted to the Redlich–Kister equation with satisfactory results. Excess molar volumes for {[Mim]Ac + 1-butanol} mixture have an S shape, while those for other mixtures have a negative deviation from ideal behaviour over the entire mole fraction range. Viscosity deviations are all negative deviation for {[Mim]Ac + alcohol} mixtures. The results were interpreted in terms of interactions and structural factors of binary mixtures.

[en] The novel biacidic carbon has been synthesized via one-step hydrothermal carbonization of glucose, citric acid, and hydroxyethylsulfonic acid at 180 ^oC for only 4 h. The novel carbon had an acidity of 1.7 mmol/g with the carbonyl to sulfonic acid groups molar ratio of 1:3, which was confirmed by IR, XPS, TPD, SEM, and BET analyses. The catalytic activities of the carbon were investigated through esterification and oxathioketalization. The results showed that the carbon owned the comparable activities to sulfuric acid, which indicated that the carbon holds great potential for the green processes. - Graphical abstract: The novel biacidic carbon has been synthesized via one-step hydrothermal carbonization. Both the sulfonic and carbonyl acid groups were introduced to the carbon during the carbonization processes.

[en] The effect of phase disorder in external forces introduced into two-dimensional lattices of coupled chaotic pendulums is investigated. As the increase of the disorder, we find complete synchronization between the pendulums in each chain and different periodic synchronized patterns, while the chain remains asynchronous if all driving forces have the same phase. Applying the master stability function method, an analytic solution is given to support the numerical results. All these findings may provide further insight into chaos control and synchronization in nonlinear systems. -- Highlights: ► We introduce phase disorder in external forces into two-dimensional lattices of coupled pendulums. ► We find that disorder can induce complete synchronization between the pendulums in each chain. ► The different periodic synchronized patterns are observed. ► Applying the master stability function method, an analytic solution is given to confirm the numerical results.

[en] SnO₂–Fe₂O₃ hollow spheres are fabricated with solid acid sphere as template, which presented excellent electrochemical performances with capacity of 595.5 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.2 C (160 mA g⁻¹) in the potential range of 0.05–1.2 V (vs. Li⁺/Li), upon 50 cycles, the capacity retentions is 96.9%. Compared with SnO₂ hollow spheres, SnO₂–Fe₂O₃ hollow spheres electrode has an improved rate capability, when charged at 10 C (8000 mA g⁻¹), the capacity can reach 400 mAh g⁻¹, which is about 67% of that at 0.2 C. This excellent high rate performance of SnO₂–Fe₂O₃ material is related to the reduction of Fe₂O₃ in the initial discharge process, the hollow structure and the constructing particles with nanosize, which help to improve the electronic conductivity, buffer the huge volume change and stabilize the structure

[en] Highlights: • Spindle-like Ni₃(HITP)₂ MOFs is fabricated by the reaction of HITP with Ni^2+. • The as-prepared MOFs deliver the reversible capacity of 703 mAh g⁻¹ at 50 mA g^−1. • The high capacity is contributed by the intercalation capacity and capacitance. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with intrinsic pores and redox organic ligands/metallic ions have been viewed as the promising anodes with high capacity in lithium ion batteries (LIBs). However, conventional MOFs faces the disadvantages of poor electron conductivity and weak coordinate bond between organic ligands and central metal ions, inhibiting the application in LIBs. In this study, a conductive MOFs of Ni₃(HITP)₂ has been fabricated by reacting the strong-field ligand of 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexaiminotriphenylene (HITP) with Ni²⁺. The as-prepared Ni₃(HITP)₂ presents the spindle-like shape that are regular arranged by multi-nano fibers. While utilized in LIBs, Ni₃(HITP)₂ can deliver the reversible capacity of 703 mAh g⁻¹ at 50 mA g⁻¹ with almost no capacity fading. According to the theoretical calculation and XPS results, both amino groups in ligand and Ni²⁺ ions have participated in the redox reaction during the charge/discharge processes. The superior Li⁺ storage performance of Ni₃(HITP)₂ are contributed by the intercalation capacity of the redox groups and capacitance of the molecular pores.

[en] From a two-vortex interaction model in atmospheric and oceanic systems, a nonlocal counterpart with shifted parity and delayed time reversal is derived by a simple AB reduction. To obtain some approximate analytic solutions of this nonlocal system, the multi-scale expansion method is applied to get an AB-Burgers system. Various exact solutions of the AB-Burgers equation, including elliptic periodic waves, kink waves and solitary waves, are obtained and shown graphically. To show the applications of these solutions in describing correlated events, a simple approximate solution for the two-vortex interaction model is given to show two correlated dipole blocking events at two different places. Furthermore, symmetry reduction solutions of the nonlocal AB-Burgers equation are also given by using the standard Lie symmetry method. (paper)

[en] Densities of binary mixtures of o-xylene, or m-xylene, or p-xylene with N,N-dimethylformamide have been measured over the full range of compositions at atmospheric pressure and various temperatures by means of a vibrating-tube densimeter. The excess molar volume V_m^E, calculated from the density data, provides the temperature dependence of V_m^E in the temperature range (293.15 to 353.15)K. The V_m^E results were correlated using the fourth-order Redlich-Kister polynomial equation, with the maximum likelihood principle being applied for the determination of the adjustable parameters. Partial molar volumes and excess partial molar volumes of two components were also calculated. It was found that the V_m^E in the systems studied increase with rising temperature

[en] Positron age-momentum correlation (AMOC) spectroscopy is applied to study the associations between the momentum distributions and positron annihilation in the toughened CE networks. The Doppler profile of the positron annihilation process is much broader for the toughened CE than pure CE network. This is due to positron trapping on high polar groups of the added elastomers or nano-CaCO₃ and annihilation with the electrons of high momenta. The broadening momentum distribution of ortho-positronium annihilation process indicates that the pick-off annihilation process is strongly influenced by the added high polar elastomers or nano-CaCO₃. The potential of AMOC spectroscopy for free volume analysis in polymer blends was demonstrated. - Highlights: ► AMOC can be applied to the analyses of interfacial properties in polymer blends. ► The Doppler profile is much broader for the toughened CE than pure CE network. ► Positron trapping on high polar groups of the modifiers is demonstrated by AMOC.

[en] We study heat transport in one-dimensional (1-D) quantum spin systems by the nonequilibrium Green's function method. We show that, in both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic systems, the excitation spectrums of the reservoirs and the central spin chain can be tuned to be matched or mismatched by changing the external magnetic field. When the spectrums are matched, heat current through the system is large; however if the spectrums are mismatched, heat current becomes much smaller. Through tuning the magnetic field, the system can thus act as a heat switch, and we discuss the condition for the system to exhibit strong switch effect. -- Highlights: → We study heat transport in one-dimensional (1-D) quantum spin systems. → The system can act as a heat switch by tuning the magnetic field. → We discuss the condition for the system to exhibit strong switch effect.