Coloration and Fire Retardancy of Transparent Wood Composites by Metal Ions

Transparent wood composites (TWs) offer the possibility of unique coloration effects. A colored transparent wood composite (C-TW) with enhanced fire retardancy was impregnated by metal ion solutions, followed by methyl methacrylate (MMA) impregnation and polymerization. Bleached birch wood with a preserved hierarchical structure acted as a host for metal ions. Cobalt, nickel, copper, and iron metal salts were used. The location and distribution of metal ions in C-TW as well as the mechanical performance, optical properties, and fire retardancy were investigated. The C-TW coloration is tunable by controlling the metal ion species and concentration. The metal ions reduced heat release rates and limited the production of smoke during forced combustion tests. The potential for scaled-up production was verified by fabricating samples with a dimension of 180 x 100 x 1 (l x b x h) mm(3)

Tunable CHA/AEI Zeolite Intergrowths with A Priori Biselective Organic Structure-Directing Agents: Controlling Enrichment and Implications for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx

[EN] A novel ab initio methodology based on high-throughput simulations has permitted designing unique biselective organic structure-directing agents (OSDAs) that allow the efficient synthesis of CHA/AEI zeolite intergrowth materials with controlled phase compositions. Distinctive local crystallographic ordering of the CHA/AEI intergrowths was revealed at the nanoscale level using integrated differential phase contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy (iDPC STEM). These novel CHA/AEI materials have been tested for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx, presenting an outstanding catalytic performance and hydrothermal stability, even surpassing the performance of the well-established commercial CHA-type catalyst. This methodology opens the possibility for synthetizing new zeolite intergrowths with more complex structures and unique catalytic properties.E.B.-J., C.P., M.M. and A.C. acknowledge financial support by the Spanish Government [Grant RTI2018-101033-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE)], and by CSIC [I-link+ Program (LINKA20381)]. D.S.-K. and R.G.-B. acknowledge the Energy Initiative (MITEI) and MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) Seed Funds. D.S.-K. was additionally funded by the MIT Energy Fellowship. Y.R.-L acknowledges support by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Award DE-SC0016214. E.B.-J. acknowledges the Spanish Government for an FPI scholarship (PRE2019-088360). T.W. acknowledges financial support by the Swedish Research Council (Grant No. 2019-05465). T.W. and T.U. acknowledge funding from the Swedish Strategic Res. Foundation (project nr. ITM17-0301). The Electron Microscopy Service of the UPV is also acknowledged for their help in sample characterization. Computer calculations were executed at the Massachusetts Green High-Performance Computing Center with support from MIT Research Computing, and at the Extreme Sci. and Eng. Discovery Environment (XSEDE)[33] Expanse through allocation TG-DMR200068.Bello-Jurado, E.; Schwalbe-Koda, D.; Nero, M.; Paris, C.; Uusimäki, T.; Román-Leshkov, Y.; Corma Canós, A.... (2022). Tunable CHA/AEI Zeolite Intergrowths with A Priori Biselective Organic Structure-Directing Agents: Controlling Enrichment and Implications for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 61(28):1-6. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.20220183716612

NH3-SCR catalysts for heavy-duty diesel vehicles: Preparation of CHA-type zeolites with low-cost templates

Computer-assistance allows selecting the most adequate low-cost organic structure directing agents (OSDAs) for the crystallization of Al-rich CHA-type zeolites. The host-guest stabilization energies of tetraethylammonium (TEA), methyltriethylammonium (MTEA) and dimethyldiethylammonium (DMDEA), in combination with Na, were first theoretically evaluated. This “ab-initio” analysis reveals that two TEA show a serious steric hindrance in a cha cavity, whereas two MTEA would present excellent host-guest confinements. The synthesis of Al-rich CHA-type zeolites has been accomplished using TEA and MTEA. Electron diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveal large CHA-domains with narrow faulted GME-domains in the CHA-type material synthesized with TEA, confirming the better OSDA-directing roles of MTEA cations towards the cha cavity, in good agreement with DFT calculations. Cu-exchanged Al-rich CHA-type samples achieved with MTEA and TEA show excellent catalytic activity and hydrothermal stability for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with ammonia under conditions relevant for future heavy duty diesel conditions.This work has been supported by Umicore and by the Spanish Government-MCIU through RTI2018-101033-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE) and PID2020-112590GB-C21 (AEI/FEDER, UE). T.W. acknowledges financial support by the Swedish Research Council (Grant No. 2019-05465). E.B. acknowledges the Spanish Government-MCIU for a FPI scholarship (PRE2019-088360). P.F. thanks ITQ for a contract. The Electron Microscopy Service of the UPV is acknowledged for their help in sample characterization. The computations were performed on the Tirant III cluster of the Servei d'Informàtica of the University of Valencia

Cultural differences when entering a new market - A study of Swedish companies entering the Eastern European markets

When a company moves to a foreign market, it must learn how to deal with that market’s particular culture. A country’s culture can mean its language, religion, norms and so on. A company needs to take many different factors into account when moving to a foreign market and certain markets are riskier than others. If a Swedish company would expand to Norway, there may not be that many cultural differences, but if the new market is South Africa for example, then certain questions regarding cultural differences would come up. The purpose of this dissertation is to find out more about Swedish companies’ problems with cultural differences in emerging markets. This is done through research concerning secondary and primary data. The secondary data came from literature on the topic, and the primary data come from interviews with Swedish companies that have moved into emerging markets. We base the research on case studies involving two Swedish companies, Culinar and Bong Ljungdahl. These two firms expanded in to Eastern Europe while the region was going through a period with high growth, thereby making most of the countries emerging markets. The aim is to see how these two companies dealt with the issues concerning cultural differences when they arrived at the foreign market

The Nanoscale Ordering of Cellulose in a Hierarchically Structured Hybrid Material Revealed Using Scanning Electron Diffraction

Cellulose, being a renewable and abundant biopolymer, has garnered significant attention for its unique properties and potential applications in hybrid materials. Understanding the hierarchical arrangement of cellulose nanofibers is crucial for developing cellulose-based materials with enhanced mechanical properties. In this study, the use of Scanning Electron Diffraction (SED) is presented to map the nanoscale orientation of cellulose fibers in a bio-composite material with a preserved wood cell structure. The SED data provides detailed insights into the ordering of cellulose with an extraordinary resolution of ≈15 nm. It enables a quantitative analysis of the fiber orientation over regions as large as entire cells. A highly organized arrangement of cellulose fibers within the secondary cell wall is observed, with a gradient of orientations toward the outer part of the wall. The in-plane fiber rotation is quantified, revealing a uniform orientation close to the middle lamella. Transversely sectioned material exhibits similar trends, suggesting a layered cell wall structure. Based on the SED data, a 3D model depicting the complex helical alignment of fibers throughout the cell wall is constructed. This study demonstrates the unique opportunities SED provides for characterizing the nanoscale hierarchical arrangement of cellulose nanofibers, empowering further research on a range of hybrid materials

The nanoscale ordering of cellulose in a hierarchically structured hybrid material revealed using scanning electron diffraction

Cellulose, being a renewable and abundant biopolymer, has garnered significant attention for its unique properties and potential applications in hybrid materials. Understanding the hierarchical arrangement of cellulose nanofibers is crucial for developing cellulose-based materials with enhanced mechanical properties. In this study, we present the use of Scanning Electron Diffraction (SED) to map the nanoscale orientation of cellulose fibers in a bio-composite material with a preserved wood cell structure. The SED data provides insights into the ordering of cellulose and enables quantitative analysis of the fiber orientation within the composite with a resolution of ~15 nm. We observed a highly organized arrangement of cellulose fibers within the secondary cell wall, with a gradient of orientations towards the outer part of the wall. The in-plane fiber rotation was quantified, revealing a uniform orientation close to the middle lamella. Transversely sectioned material exhibited similar trends, suggesting a layered cell wall structure. Based on the SED data, we constructed a 3D model depicting the complex helical alignment of fibers throughout the cell wall. This study demonstrates the unique opportunities SED provides for characterizing the nanoscale hierarchical arrangement of cellulose nanofibers, empowering further research on a range of hybrid materials

Photonic crystals with rainbow colors by centrifugation-assisted assembly of colloidal lignin nanoparticles

Abstract Photonic crystals are optical materials that are often fabricated by assembly of particles into periodically arranged structures. However, assembly of lignin nanoparticles has been limited due to lacking methods and incomplete understanding of the interparticle forces and packing mechanisms. Here we show a centrifugation-assisted fabrication of photonic crystals with rainbow structural colors emitted from the structure covering the entire visible spectrum. Our results show that centrifugation is crucial for the formation of lignin photonic crystals, because assembly of lignin nanoparticles without centrifugation assistance leads to the formation of stripe patterns rather than photonic crystals. We further prove that the functions of centrifugation are to classify lignin nanoparticles according to their particle size and produce monodispersed particle layers that display gradient colors from red to violet. The different layers of lignin nanoparticles were assembled in a way that created semi-closed packing structures, which gave rise to coherent scattering. The diameter of the lignin nanoparticles in each color layer is smaller than that predicted by a modified Bragg’s equation. In situ optical microscope images provided additional evidence on the importance of dynamic rearrangement of lignin nanoparticles during their assembly into semi-closed packing structures. The preparation of lignin nanoparticles combined with the methodology for their classification and assembly pave the way for sustainable photonic crystals

Structure of the active pharmaceutical ingredient bismuth subsalicylate

Structure determination of pharmaceutical compounds is invaluable for drug development but is challenging for those that form as small crystals with defects. Bismuth subsalicylate (BSS), among the most commercially significant bismuth compounds, is an active ingredient in over-the-counter medications such as Pepto-Bismol, used to treat dyspepsia and H. pylori infections. Despite its century-long history, the structure has remained unknown. Three-dimensional electron diffraction and hierarchical clustering analysis were applied on select data from ordered crystals, revealing a layered structure. In other less ordered crystals, high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy revealed variations in the stacking of layers. Together, these modern electron crystallography techniques provide a new toolbox for structure determination of active pharmaceutical ingredients and drug discovery, demonstrated by this study of BSS

Efficient removal of aqueous pharmaceutical pollutants by a robust anionic zirconium ellagate framework

Emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in water, such as pharmaceutical compounds, are of growing environmental concern and there is a need to develop new materials and technologies for their efficient removal. A highly porous and exceptionally stable anionic zirconium ellagate metal-organic framework (MOF), denoted SU-102, was developed and utilized to remove EOCs from water, including real municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. SU-102 adsorbs cationic EOCs with particularly high efficiencies and of the 17 pharmaceutical EOCs detected in WWTP effluent all 9 cationic species were removed with efficiencies of at least 79.0-99.6%, emphasizing the significance of framework charge on selectivity. As a second mechanism of EOC removal, SU-102 photodegraded the antibiotic sulfamethazine under visible light. SU-102 is synthesized from ellagic acid, an edible polyphenol building unit, highlighting the possibility of creating stable high-performance multifunctional materials from sustainably sourced plant-based components