Water and glycerol marbles coated with various powders and immersed in organic liquids gave rise to water-in-oil and glycerol-in-oil Pickering-like emulsions. Non-polar oils such as polydimethylsiloxane, toluene, xylenes and chlorinated solvents supported the formation of emulsions, whereas polar liquids such as dimethylsulfoxide, N,N,-dimethylformamide, acetone and ethanol did not. It is demonstrated that there is a direct contact between a liquid filling the immersed marble and the surrounding liquid. A phenomenological theory of the marbles’ sinking into emulsion is proposed.

A novel single-step approach was developed to prepare large-scale MgAl–LDHs ultrathin nanosheets. The key point of the successful realization was that we employed a high concentration of H₂O₂. Oxygen molecules, derived from in situ decomposition of H₂O₂, were speculated to be the decisive factor leading to complete separation of LDHs layers. The ultrathin nanosheets were characterized by XRD, TEM, AFM, FT-IR, and TG–DSC. The results indicated that the thickness of these nanosheets was about 1.44nm, which was almost in perfect agreement with the theoretical thickness of two LDHs layers. From the TG–DSC curves, the weight loss of these exfoliated MgAl–LDHs ultrathin nanosheets at 500°C was 18.5%, which was much smaller compared to the 32.3% weight loss of unexfoliated MgAl–LDHs.

In this work, solid-state electron transport through the three metal core reconstituted ferritins, namely, Mn(III)-ferritin, Co(III)-ferritin, and Cu(II)-ferritin, has been probed and compared to the electron transport via the naturally-occurring iron-containing holoferritin and the metal-free apoferritin using current sensing atomic force spectroscopy (CSAFS), which allows direct contact to be established with the protein molecules. The CSAFS results reveal that by applying compressional force, in varying degrees (17–66nN) and for varying durations (1min, 2min, and 3min), the electronic conductivity of these proteins can be increased (for greater amount of force applied or for prolonged application of force) or decreased (for lesser amount of force applied or for shorter application time). The compressional modulation of the electronic conductivities appears to be due to compression of the protein part. The observation of the order of electronic conductivities of Mn-, holo-, Co-, and Cu-ferritins at almost any specific force value being similar to that of the free metal conductivities indicates that the absolute conductivity values are directly influenced by the metal core. Importantly, we found that more conductive the protein is, less modulated it can be. These findings could be highly relevant in realizing metalloprotein-based bioelectronic devices, especially where the electrode–protein–electrode sandwich configurations are employed.

Monodispersed, submicron-sized Janus ORMOSIL particles with multiple functional groups were prepared by the selective surface reaction of a monolayer film formed at a hexane–water interface. A well-ordered monolayer film was obtained by self-assembly of ORMOSIL particles with multiple functional groups at hexane–water interface. The photopolymerization of an ordered monolayer containing ORMOSIL particles yields a rigid film strong enough to maintain its integrity for transfer and further chemical reaction. The chemical reaction of this ordered film with organic and inorganic functional groups produced Janus ORMOSIL particles with multiple functional groups. The morphologies, structures, and chemical compositions of monolayer films and Janus ORMOSIL particles were characterized by FT-IR, solid state NMR, X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy (OM), electron microscopies (SEM and TEM), and confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Highly ordered Nanoporous Alumina Membranes (NPAMs) with a precise control of the pore size and different porosity but thickness around 63μm were fabricated by the two-step anodization process using different acidic aqueous solutions, oxalic (Al-Ox), sulfuric (Al-Sf), and phosphoric (Al-Ph) acids, respectively. The pore size was controlled by properly changing the anodization voltage and the electrochemical bath conditions, obtaining the following average pores diameter values, dₚ, as determined by scanning electron micrographic analysis: Al-Ox (dₚ=46±2nm), Al-Sf (dₚ=27±2nm), and Al-Ph (dₚ=240±20nm). A pore increasing of around 5% for samples Al-Ox and Al-Sf was obtained after membranes immersion in 5wt.% phosphoric acid for a certain etching time. Electrochemical characterization of NPAMs was performed with the samples in contact with NaCl solutions at different electrolyte concentrations. Ionic transport numbers and effective membrane fixed charge were determined from membrane potential measurements, which clearly show the significant influence of the pore diameter on ions transport. Moreover, frictional and electrical effects on mass transfer parameters (salt and ions diffusion coefficients) into the pores of alumina membranes were also evaluated from these results.

Novel TiO₂/carbon nanocomposites were prepared through the pyrolysis of TiO₂/poly(furfuryl alcohol) hybrid materials, which were obtained by the sol–gel method, starting from titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and furfuryl alcohol (FA) precursors. Six different TiO₂/C samples were prepared based on different TiO₂ nanoparticle sizes and TiO₂/FA ratios. All of the samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, infrared, and Raman spectroscopy. The results indicated effective FA polymerization onto the TiO₂ (anatase) nanoparticles, polymer conversion to disordered carbon following the pyrolysis, and a simultaneous TiO₂ anatase–rutile phase transition. The resulting TiO₂/carbon composites were used as photocatalysts in the advanced oxidative process (AOP) for the degradation of reactive organic dyes in aqueous solution. The results indicate excellent photocatalytic performance (degradation of 99% of the dye after 60min) with several advantages over traditional TiO₂-based photocatalysts.

Nano-scale TiO₂ photocatalysts co-doped by rare earth ions (La³⁺, Ce³⁺) and heteropolyacids were designed and prepared by sol–gel method to probe synergistic effect on photocatalytic elimination of organic compounds, and their physicochemical properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), specific surface area and porosity (BET and BJH), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–vis DRS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as well as Raman spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of prepared catalysts was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) in water under UV-light irradiation. The results showed that the co-doping of the rare earth ions and heteropolyacids can significantly improve the photocatalytic activity of prepared composite photocatalysts due to the efficient inhibition of the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The enhancement mechanism of co-doping of the rare earth ions and heteropolyacids on TiO₂ is also discussed.

The production of giant lipid vesicles with controlled size and structure will be an important technology in the design of quantitative biological assays in cell-mimetic microcompartments. For establishing size control of giant vesicles, we investigated the vesicle formation process, in which inverted emulsion droplets are transformed into giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) when they pass through an oil/water interface. The relationship between the size of the template emulsion and the converted GUVs was studied using inverted emulsion droplets with a narrow size distribution, which were prepared by microfluidics. We successfully found an appropriate centrifugal acceleration condition to obtain GUVs that had a desired size and narrow-enough size distribution with an improved yield so that emulsion droplets can become the template for GUVs.

The poor mechanical stability of superhydrophobic fabrics severely hindered their use in practical applications. Herein, to address this problem, we fabricated a superhydrophobic fabric with both mechanical stability and easy-repairability by a simple method. The mechanical durability of the obtained superhydrophobic fabric was evaluated by finger touching and abrasion with sandpaper. The results show that rough surface textures of the fabric were retained, and the fabric surface still exhibited superhydrophobicity after tests. More importantly, when the fabric lost its superhydrophobicity after a long-time abrasion, it can be easily rendered with superhydrophobicity once more by a regeneration process.

Double or triple quaternary ammonium head groups were designed to improve the solubility of supralong alkyl chain surfactants. In the surfactant head group, quaternary ammonium groups are connected by an ethylene spacer. Micellar shapes of divalent surfactants [CₙH₂ₙ ₊₁N⁺(CH₃)₂–(CH₂)₂–N⁺(CH₃)₃ 2Br⁻: Cₙ-2Am (n=18, 20, and 22)] and trivalent surfactants [CₙH₂ₙ ₊₁N⁺(CH₃)₂–(CH₂)₂–N⁺(CH₃)₂–(CH₂)₂–N⁺(CH₃)₃ 3Br⁻: Cₙ-3Am (n=18, 20, and 22)] were studied in aqueous solutions by means of dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Changes in the surfactant concentration have a small influence on the apparent hydrodynamic radii (rₕ) of the molecular aggregates in both surfactant series. Average values of rₕ of aggregates are 60–90nm for Cₙ-2Am (n=18, 20, and 22) and 2–40nm for Cₙ-3Am (n=18, 20, and 22). TEM micrographs showed that aggregates of Cₙ-2Am (n=18, 20, and 22) typically formed rod-like micelles. In contrast, trivalent surfactants of Cₙ-3Am (n=18, 20, and 22) formed spherical (C₁₈-3Am) or ellipsoidal micelles (C₂₀-3Am and C₂₂-3Am). Moreover, the degree of micellar counterion binding for these surfactants was determined by using a bromide ion-selective electrode, which indicated relatively high values (0.8–0.9) for Cₙ-2Am (n=18, 20, and 22) and more common values (0.5–0.8) for Cₙ-3Am (n=18, 20, and 22). The size of the aggregates is closely related to the degree of counterion binding.