Polymer Coating Effects: Study of Material Properties and Architectural Application Characteristics of Aluminum Template

In construction process, the formwork must be in contact with concrete to help the concrete solidify and fix the shape. Coating the formwork with a polymer can prolong its service life by reducing the amount of concrete sticking to the mold. Herein, an aluminum template substrate was coated with polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) or polyurethane (PU). Aluminum template material analysis was conducted, polymer film thickness was measured, and weather, moisture, pollution, salt spray, abrasion, impact, and acid and alkali resistance tests were conducted, as were tensile, bending, adhesion, hardness, and salt water resistance tests. Cement adhesion resistance was repeatedly tested. The experimental results indicated that the PVDF-coated template was superior. The novel PVDF Aluminum template exhibited high corrosion resistance and can be used in building materials, for example, in ceilings, partition walls, curtain walls, roof panels, and roof trusses. For reference, it can also be applied to ship structures and seaside and wind power generation projects.

Vapor-Stripping and Encapsulating to Construct Particles with Time-Controlled Asymmetry and Anisotropy

An innovative chemical vapor sublimation and deposition (CVSD) process was shown to produce nanoscale anisotropic hybrid materials. Taking advantage of controlled thermodynamic properties and the mass transfer of molecules, this process allowed for water vapor sublimation from an iced template/substrate and stagewise vapor deposition of poly-p-xylylene onto the sublimating ice substrate. In this study, the use of sensitive soybean agglutinin (SBA) protein tubes was demonstrated as an example to prepare the anisotropic hybrid material based on the CVSD process. The rationale of a timing parameter, Δt, was controlled to program the sublimation of the SBA-ice templates and the deposition of poly-p-xylylene during the CVSD process. As a result of this control, a stripping stage occurred, during which SBA tubes were exposed on the particle surface, and a subsequent encapsulation stage enabled the transformation of the ice templates into a nanometer-sized anisotropic hybrid material of poly-p-xylylene as the matrix with encapsulated SBA tubes. The timing parameter Δt and the controlled stripping and encapsulating stages during CVSD represent a straightforward and intriguing mechanism stemming from physical chemistry fundamentals for the fabrication of hybrid materials from sensitive molecules and with predetermined sizes and asymmetrical shapes. A simulation analysis showed consistency with the experimental results and controllability of the timing mechanism with predictable particle sizes.

Novel synthesis process for solar-light-active porous carbon-doped CuO nanoribbon and its photocatalytic application for the degradation of an organic dye

A simple, one-step novel solution process was developed for the synthesis of carbon-doped CuO (C-CuO) nanoribbons without the use of a catalyst, template, substrate, or costly instrumentation at room temperature.

Template-synthesized ultra-thin molecularly imprinted polymers membrane for the selective preconcentration of dyes

An ultra-thin molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) membrane was synthesizedviaa surface-imprinting technique using layered double hydroxides (LDH) as the template substrate and applied for the selective preconcentration of RhB in wastewater.

SELF-ASSEMBLY OF GOLD NANORODS ON WRINKLED TEMPLATE

Self-assembly of nanoparticles has attracted more attention in the last decade due to their potential applications in many fields, such as sensors, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate and optical/plasmonic components. Wrinkles, as one kind of common natural surface, are used to be a template/substrate in microfluidic sieves and solar cells. In this work, a wrinkled template with depth of about 200 nm and period of 1.64 μm is used for modulating the self-assembly process of gold nanorods (GNRs) to obtain patterned self-assemblies for potential application. In order to fully reflect the role of the wrinkled template in the self-assembly, the templates are placed uprightly in the GNRs solution to intensify the interplay between the wrinkled surface and nanorods. The self-assembly process is carried out in a climate chamber, where the temperature and humidity can be controlled programmingly to modulate the self-assembly conditions. The experimental results show that for the fixed wrinkled template, an obvious effect on the self-assembly is at the temperature range from 30°C to 50°C. Nematic, curved (mostly are end-to-end) and transition mode can be obtained. According to humidity, GNRs tend to form the nematic fashion in humidity lower than 60%, and the curved fashion in a higher humidity.

Novel anodic concepts for the selective phenol coupling reaction

The oxidative phenol coupling reaction of phenols with simple methyl substituents can be difficult due to several by-products. Such a challenging substrate is 2,4-dimethyl-phenol. We studied the electrochemical access to the ortho-coupled dehydrodimer. Anodic treatment in a basic electrolyte supports the formation of a molecular tricyclic architecture called Pummerer’s ketone. Employing a two-step sequence involving anodic conversion of 2,4-dimethylphenol to a preliminary substrate and different workup protocols yield exclusively and diastereoselectively polycyclic architectures. The selective ortho-coupling reaction was achieved by two strategies: A tetraphenoxy borate can be used as template substrate which can be easily made in large scale. Due to the ionic nature of the borate, no supporting electrolyte is required. This methodology can be applied to several related phenolic substrates. The second route is described by the direct conversion of 2,4-dimethylphenol on boron-doped diamond anodes. Surprisingly, the electrochemical transformation does not destruct or mineralize the substrate. Fluorinated additives allow the conversion of a broad scope of substrates.