No abstract

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation is a sustainable and efficient way of producing clean water using solar energy. Currently, most studies on solar-driven interfacial evaporation are based on small-sized evaporators, and it is still a challenge to develop an efficient, simple, and general method for producing evaporators continuously and at a large scale. Herein, we develop a spray-based method for producing graphene oxide (GO)/carbon nanotube (CNT)-based membrane evaporators at various scales. This method enables production of membrane evaporators from a lab scale to an industrial scale. Great efforts have been made to optimize the preparation and properties of the membrane evaporators. A GO-CNT/paper membrane evaporator prepared under optimized conditions exhibits a high evaporation rate of 2.1 kg m–2 h–1 with a corresponding efficiency of 90.1% under one sun irradiation. The evaporator also has high properties of water desalination, purification, and disinfection. Natural lake water evaporation tests show a high water evaporation capacity of ∼8.2 kg m–2 on a sunny day, and the salinity in the obtained water (Na+ ions, 1.2 mg L–1) is below the WHO standards for drinkable water. Overall, an efficient, simple, and scalable method for producing high-performance membrane evaporators has been demonstrated.

No abstract

No abstract

Graphene/polymer nanocomposites (GPNCs) have gained intense research interest in recent years. Graphene can improve the properties of the nanocomposites at low loadings, but usually causes sudden drops in the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites at similarly low loadings, risking the performance, reproducibility, and batch stability of the nanocomposites. This problem has been troubling the GPNCs field for years, but it is difficult to solve mainly because the mechanism of the sudden mechanical property drops has not been well documented yet. Here, we present a systematic study on this problem. At first, a statistical study was made to provide an overview of the sudden mechanical property drops. It was found that the sudden mechanical property drops were almost independent of the surface modification of graphene, and the in situ polymerization method sometimes leads to lower critical concentration than the solvent blending and melt blending methods. Then, we demonstrated a cutting‐off mechanism which unveiled that the formation of a continuous or semicontinuous network of graphene throughout the polymeric matrix was the main cause of the sudden mechanical property drops, and the low critical concentration of the sudden mechanical property drops was mainly due to the large aspect ratio of graphene. Finally, future research prospects were proposed. Overall, our work has provided new understandings and insights to the mechanical properties of GPNCs.

This study analyzed the infection of superficial mycosis and the relationship between the distribution characteristics of pathogenic fungi and age, time and sex in Northeast China in the past 10 years. We would like to provide a theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of related diseases. From December 2008 to December 2018, 5,374 superficial mycoses from Northeast China were selected. The fungal species were identified by fungal microscopy, fungal culture, and species identification. Besides, the relationship between sex, age, time and the distribution of superficial mycosis and pathogenic fungi was analyzed. Among the 5,374 patients, the top three infections were tinea pedis (n=1,538, 28.62%), tinea cruris (n=1,018, 18.94%) and tinea corporis (n=938, 17.45%). The top three pathogens were Trichophyton rubrum (n=2,849, 48.65%), Trichophyton mentagrophytes (n=947, 16.14%) and Candida spp. (n=804, 13.70%). The main pathogenic fungi were dermatophytes. The age group with the highest incidence of tinea capitis was children (n=372, 6.92%). The highest incidence rate of tinea pedis was in 31-69-year adults (n=905, 16.84%); Malassezia mainly affects young people aged 15-30. Yeast and mold mostly invade the elderly patients >60 years old. The incidence of tinea cruris, tinea pedis and tinea corporis in male patients was higher than that in female patients. The incidence of onychomycosis in female patients was higher than that in male patients (P<0.05). The isolation rate of Candida, Mold, Microsporum canis, Malassezia and Sporothrix increased year by year, while that of Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophyte, Trichophyton schoenleinii and Epidermophyton floccosum decreased. From December 2008 to December 2018, dermatophytes were the main pathogens of superficial mycosis in Northeast China. The distribution of disease species and pathogenic fungi varied in different gender, age and time.

No abstract

Thermal conductive polymer composites (filled type) consisting of thermal conductive fillers and a polymer matrix have been widely used in a range of areas. More than 10 strategies have been developed to improve the thermal conductivity of polymer composites. Here we report a new “hypergravity accumulation” strategy. Raw material mixtures of boron nitride/silicone rubber composites were treated in hypergravity fields (800–20,000 g, relative gravity acceleration) before heat-curing. A series of comparison studies were made. It was found that hypergravity treatments could efficiently improve the microstructures and thermal conductivity of the composites. When the hypergravity was about 20,000 g (relative gravity acceleration), the obtained spherical boron nitride/silicone rubber composites had highly compacted microstructures and high and isotropic thermal conductivity. The highest thermal conductivity reached 4.0 W/mK. Thermal interface application study showed that the composites could help to decrease the temperature on a light-emitting diode (LED) chip by 5 °C. The mechanism of the improved microstructure increased thermal conductivity, and the high viscosity problem in the preparation of boron nitride/silicone rubber composites, and the advantages and disadvantages of the hypergravity accumulation strategy, were discussed. Overall, this work has provided a new, efficient, and simple strategy to improve the thermal conductivity of boron nitride/silicone rubber and other polymer composites (filled type).