Microplastics have become a major concern in recent years as they can be recognized as the transport vectors for pollutants in environment. In this study, the sorption behavior of two phthalate ...esters (PAEs), including diethyl phthalate (DEP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), onto three types of microplastics (PVC: polyvinyl chloride, PE: polyethylene, and PS: polystyrene) was investigated. The sorption isotherms of both DEP and DBP on microplastics were highly linear, suggesting that the partition was the main sorption mechanism. The Kd values of DBP were much higher than those of DEP, demonstrating that hydrophobic interaction governed the partition mechanism. Sorption of the two PAEs on the three microplastics followed the order of PS > PE > PVC, indicating that chemical properties of microplastics played an important roles in their sorption behaviors. Solution pH and natural organic matter had no significant impact on PAEs sorption by microplastics. However, the presence of NaCl and CaCl2 enhanced the sorption of both DEP and DBP because of the salting-out effect. The findings of the present study may have significant implications for the fate and transport assessment of both PAEs and microplastics.
•Sorption of PAEs on the three microplastics followed the order of PS > PE > PVC.•The highly linear sorption isotherms were governed by the partition mechanism.•The presence of NaCl and CaCl2 enhanced the sorption of PAEs on microplastics.•Solution pH and natural organic matter had no significant impact on PAEs sorption.
Conductive polymers have attracted significant interest over the past few decades because they synergize the advantageous features of conventional polymeric materials and organic conductors. With ...rationally designed nanostructures, conductive polymers can further exhibit exceptional mechanical, electrical, and optical properties because of their confined dimensions at the nanoscale level. Among various nanostructured conductive polymers, conductive polymer gels (CPGs) with synthetically tunable hierarchical 3D network structures show great potential for a wide range of applications, such as bioelectronics, and energy storage/conversion devices owing to their structural features. CPGs retain the properties of nanosized conductive polymers during the assembly of the nanobuilding blocks into a monolithic macroscopic structure while generating structure-derived features from the highly cross-linked network. In this Account, we review our recent progress on the synthesis, properties, and novel applications of dopant cross-linked CPGs. We first describe the synthetic strategies, in which molecules with multiple functional groups are adopted as cross-linkers to cross-link conductive polymer chains into a 3D molecular network. These cross-linking molecules also act as dopants to improve the electrical conductivity of the gel network. The microstructure and physical/chemical properties of CPGs can be tuned by controlling the synthetic conditions such as species of monomers and cross-linkers, reaction temperature, and solvents. By incorporating other functional polymers or particles into the CPG matrix, hybrid gels have been synthesized with tailored structures. These hybrid gel materials retain the functionalities from each component, as well as enable synergic effects to improve mechanical and electrical properties of CPGs. We then introduce the unique structure-derived properties of the CPGs. The network facilitates both electronic and ionic transport owing to the continuous pathways for electrons and hierarchical pores for ion diffusion. CPGs also provide high surface area and solvent compatibility, similar to natural gels. With these improved properties, CPGs have been explored to enable novel conceptual devices in diverse applications from smart electronics and ultrasensitive biosensors, to energy storage and conversion devices. CPGs have also been adopted for developing hybrid materials with multifunctionalities, such as stimuli responsiveness, self-healing properties, and super-repellency to liquid. With synthetically tunable physical/chemical properties, CPGs emerge as a unique material platform to develop novel multifunctional materials that have the potential to impact electronics, energy, and environmental technologies. We hope that this Account promotes further efforts toward synthetic control, fundamental investigation, and application exploration of CPGs.
The article presents the results of a study of psychological factors of consumer loyalty concerning electric vehicles. An electric scooter was used as an example of an electric vehicle. The study ...involved a total of 165 people in China and 150 people in Russia. The study aimed to compare the psychological characteristics of Russian and Chinese consumers based on their attitudes toward an innovative product such as the electric scooter.
(1) The identity of Russian and Chinese consumers and the perceived individuality of the product (electric scooter) differ significantly; (2) The proximity of the consumer's identity and the image of the product (electric scooter) enhances the positive attitude toward the product; (3) Risk strategies of consumer behavior of Chinese and Russians differ.
The questionnaire included the scales: (1) "Measuring brand personality" by J. Aaker, (2) "Measuring consumer identity" elaborated by Morozova and Antononva, (3) The risk behavior scale by Vasilenko, Tkachenko.
(1) The first hypothesis was confirmed: there were revealed differences in the consumer behavior of the respondents of these two groups concerning in their self-perception, as well as in the perception of electric scooters. The Russians perceive an electric scooter as energetic, young, extravagant, modern, and unusual; the Chinese are down-to-earth, family-oriented, real. (2) The hypothesis that the correlation of the consumer's identity and the individuality of the product is one of the psychological factors that determine the consumer's loyalty to a product is also confirmed. (3) The Chinese consumers' identity is more close to the product individuality and their loyalty to the product is higher. (4) Risk strategies of consumer behavior of Chinese and Russians significantly differ in terms of satisfaction with choosing of vehicle, the frequency of its use, and the importance of family approval of the choice of vehicle. The results can be used in the marketing strategy development. From the scientifical perspective, these results contribute to an understanding of the consumer loyalty mechanisms associated with consumer identity.
Toxicity of single microplastics on organisms has been reported widely, however, their joint toxicity with other contaminants on phytoplankton is rarely investigated. Here, we studied the toxicity of ...triclosan (TCS) with four kinds of microplastics namely polyethylene (PE, 74 μm), polystyrene (PS, 74 μm), polyvinyl chloride (PVC, 74 μm), and PVC800 (1 μm) on microalgae Skeletonema costatum. Both growth inhibition and oxidative stress including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined. We found that TCS had obvious inhibition effect on microalgae growth within the test concentrations, and single microplastics also had significant inhibition effect which followed the order of PVC800 > PVC > PS > PE. However, the joint toxicity of PVC and PVC800 in combination with TCS decreased more than that of PE and PS. The higher adsorption capacity of TCS on PVC and PVC800 was one possible reason for the greater reduction of their toxicity. The joint toxicity of PVC800 was still most significant (PE < PVC < PS < PVC800) because of the minimum particle size. According to the independent action model, the joint toxicity systems were all antagonism. Moreover, the reduction of SOD was higher than MDA which revealed that the physical damage was more serious than intracellular damage. SEM images revealed that the aggregation of microplastics and physical damage on algae was obvious. Collectively, the present research provides evidences that the existence of organic pollutants is capable of influencing the effects of microplastics, and the further research on the joint toxicity of microplastics with different pollutants is urgent.
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•Joint toxicity of microplastics and triclosan on microalgae was investigated.•Antagonistic effects increased with the higher adsorption capacity of triclosan.•The particles size is more important than category for the toxicity in some degree.•The toxicity of microplastics on microalgae mainly resulted from physical damage.
Joint toxicity effect of microplastics and triclosan on microalgae was antagonism.
Hard carbon (HC) is recognized as a promising anode material with outstanding electrochemical performance for alkali metal‐ion batteries including lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs), as well as their ...analogs sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) and potassium‐ion batteries (PIBs). Herein, a comprehensive review of the recent research is presented to interpret the challenges and opportunities for the applications of HC anodes. The ion storage mechanisms, materials design, and electrolyte optimizations for alkali metal‐ion batteries are illustrated in‐depth. HC is particularly promising as an anode material for SIBs. The solid‐electrolyte interphase, initial Coulombic efficiency, safety concerns, and all‐climate performances, which are vital for practical applications, are comprehensively discussed. Furthermore, commercial prototypes of SIBs based on HC anodes are extensively elaborated. The remaining challenges and research perspectives are provided, aiming to shed light on future research and early commercialization of HC‐based SIBs.
Hard carbon (HC) is recognized as a promising anode material for alkali‐metal ion batteries, especially for sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) which are cost effective for grid‐scale energy storage. This review aims for a comprehensive understanding of alkali‐metal ion storage mechanisms in HC, and also rational approaches to enhance the performance of HC anodes for practical SIBs.
The high reliability of electroplating through silicon vias (TSVs) is an attractive hotspot in the application of high-density integrated circuit packaging. In this paper, improvements for fully ...filled TSVs by optimizing sputtering and electroplating conditions were introduced. Particular attention was paid to the samples with different seed layer structures. These samples were fabricated by different sputtering and treatment approaches, and accompanied with various electroplating profile adjustments. The images were observed and characterized by X-ray equipment and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that optimized sputtering and electroplating conditions can help improve the quality of TSVs, which could be interpreted as the interface effect of the TSV structure.
Novel 3D Ni1−xCoxSe2 mesoporous nanosheet networks with tunable stoichiometry are successfully synthesized on Ni foam (Ni1−xCoxSe2 MNSN/NF with x ranging from 0 to 0.35). The collective effects of ...special morphological design and electronic structure engineering enable the integrated electrocatalyst to have very high activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and excellent stability in a wide pH range. Ni0.89Co0.11Se2 MNSN/NF is revealed to exhibit an overpotential (η10) of 85 mV at −10 mA cm−2 in alkaline medium (pH 14) and η10 of 52 mV in acidic solution (pH 0), which are the best among all selenide‐based electrocatalysts reported thus far. In particular, it is shown for the first time that the catalyst can work efficiently in neutral solution (pH 7) with a record η10 of 82 mV for all noble metal‐free electrocatalysts ever reported. Based on theoretical calculations, it is further verified that the advanced all‐pH HER activity of Ni0.89Co0.11Se2 is originated from the enhanced adsorption of both H+ and H2O induced by the substitutional doping of cobalt at an optimal level. It is believed that the present work provides a valuable route for the design and synthesis of inexpensive and efficient all‐pH HER electrocatalysts.
An integrated electrocatalyst comprising 3D mesoporous Ni0.89Co0.11Se2 nanosheet networks on Ni foam is synthesized, and it demonstrates very high activities and excellent stabilities for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in all‐pH conditions. Theoretical calculations verify that electronic structure engineering by optimal Co doping enhances the adsorption of H+ and H2O, leading to the advanced all‐pH HER activity of the catalyst.
An efficient moisture–electric‐energy transformation is discovered by means of establishing an oxygen functional group gradient in a graphene oxide film. The moisture variation serves as an energy ...source to generate electric power with an energy‐conversion efficiency of up to ≈62%. Based on this finding, a prototype power generator and a self‐powered respiratory monitor are demonstrated under the stimulus of the human breath.
Nanostructured materials are critically important in many areas of technology because of their unusual physical/chemical properties due to confined dimensions. Owing to their intrinsic hierarchical ...micro‐/nanostructures, unique chemical/physical properties, and tailorable functionalities, hydrogels and their derivatives have emerged as an important class of functional materials and receive increasing interest from the scientific community. Bottom‐up synthetic strategies to rationally design and modify their molecular architectures enable nanostructured functional hydrogels to address several critical challenges in advanced energy technologies. Integrating the intrinsic or extrinsic properties of various functional materials, nanostructured functional hydrogels hold the promise to break the limitations of current materials, improving the device performance of energy storage and conversion. Here, the focus is on the fundamentals and applications of nanostructured functional hydrogels in energy conversion and storage. Specifically, the recent advances in rational synthesis and modification of various hydrogel‐derived functional nanomaterials as core components in batteries, supercapacitors, and catalysts are summarized, and the perspective directions of this emerging class of materials are also discussed.
Nanostructured functional hydrogels represent an emerging class of functional materials that may have potential to address several challenges in advanced energy technologies. Recent progress of novel synthesis and functionalization strategies for nanostructured hydrogels and their exciting applications and opportunities to greatly enhance energy‐storage and conversion technologies, are critically discussed.
Nanostructured conductive polymer hydrogels (CPHs) have been extensively applied in energy storage owing to their advantageous features, such as excellent electrochemical activity and relatively high ...electrical conductivity, yet the fabrication of self‐standing and flexible electrode‐based CPHs is still hampered by their limited mechanical properties. Herein, macromolecularly interconnected 3D graphene/nanostructured CPH is synthesized via self‐assembly of CPHs and graphene oxide macrostructures. The 3D hybrid hydrogel shows uniform interconnectivity and enhanced mechanical properties due to the strong macromolecular interaction between the CPHs and graphene, thus greatly reducing aggregation in the fiber‐shaping process. A proof‐of‐concept all‐gel‐state fibrous supercapacitor based on the 3D polyaniline/graphene hydrogel is fabricated to demonstrate the outstanding flexibility and mouldability, as well as superior electrochemical properties enabled by this 3D hybrid hydrogel design. The proposed device can achieve a large strain (up to ≈40%), and deliver a remarkable volumetric energy density of 8.80 mWh cm−3 (at power density of 30.77 mW cm−3), outperforming many fiber‐shaped supercapacitors reported previously. The all‐hydrogel design opens up opportunities in the fabrication of next‐generation wearable and portable electronics.
Stretchable all‐gel‐state fibrous supercapacitors are fabricated by 3D hybrid hydrogels via strong macromolecular interaction of graphene and conductive polymer hydrogels. A remarkable energy density of 8.8 mWh cm−3 and enhanced mechanical properties with a large tensile strain up to ≈40% are revealed, making it possible to fabricate robust yet efficient energy‐storage yarns.
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