Exploring punk subculture in China

This thesis explores the punk phenomenon in China. In order to examine punk members and practices, an ethnographic research was conducted in large-scale cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, and small-scale cities, such as Wuhan and Huaihua in China, as well as on the Internet. In particular, the thesis focuses on two prominent themes subculture and resistance as the main directions of analysis. Through discussing findings from the three dimensions of the individual, collective and online, it is argued that the Chinese punk phenomenon exists as a subculture and punk subcultural practices can be regarded as manifesting forms of resistance in China. First, this study presents a detailed individual biography of one punk musician and then further examines those of other participants. It is discovered that subcultural resistance can have a different impact at different stages of a person s life. Second, this study demonstrates forms of collective practices and how they are manifested, and reveals how Chinese punk subculture members collectively produce different forms of subcultural resistance. Finally, this study examines Chinese punk online. It focuses on how online group members produce meanings of their activities and deploy specific techniques to resist online norms and censorship. Overall this thesis contributes to the ongoing discussions in current field of subcultural studies. By providing a study on punk subculture in China, the research engages empirically in the question of power relations in a society from both individual and collective levels, which has rarely been undertaken before

Culture, boundary, and identity: a comparison of practices between two online punk communities in China

This article analyzes how digital technology can shape cultural practice in Chinese online communities. By using the concepts of boundary and identity, it explores the formation of two online punk communities in China, created by those who are interested in punk music originating from Anglo-American countries. Drawing on data from participant observation and 10 in-depth interviews, this article first reviews literature on Internet culture in China, online communities, boundaries, and identity. It then focuses on the differing practices of the two online punk communities. A discussion is subsequently provided concerning how boundaries are constructed in online communities through the exclusion that is enabled by the technological platform. An analysis of how the members identify themselves with online communities and form punk subcultures encouraged by the boundaries of their respective communities is then presented towards the end of the article. It is through this process that the members empower themselves in their relationships with the surrounding society

Facile Synthesis of Azaarene-Substituted 3-Hydroxy-2-oxindoles via Brønsted Acid Catalyzed sp³ C–H Functionalization

Brønsted acid catalyzed functionalization of sp³ C–H bonds in 2-methyl azaarenes has been achieved in the reaction with isatins. This method provides facile synthesis of biologically important azaarene-substituted 3-hydroxy-2-oxindoles in one step in moderate to good yields

Organocatalytic Asymmetric 1,4-Addition of Aldehydes to Acridiniums Catalyzed by a Diarylprolinol Silyl Ether

The organocatalytic enantioselective 1,4-addition of aldehydes to acridiniums catalyzed by diarylprolinol silyl ether was achieved to furnish chiral acridanes in both high yields (82–96%) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee), which also provides the highly enantioselective intermolecular α-alkylation of aldehydes with acridiniums salt

Tandem sp³ C–H Functionlization/Decarboxylation of 2‑Alkylazaarenes with Coumarin-3-carboxylic Acids

The catalyst-free sp³ C–H functionalization of 2-alkylazaarenes has been achieved in the reaction with (thio)­coumarin-3-carboxylic acids. Followed by a tandem decarboxylation, this method provides facile synthesis of biologically important azaarene-substituted 3,4-dihydro­(thio)­coumarins in a single step in high yields

One-Pot Synthesis of Three-Dimensional Graphene/Carbon Nanotube/SnO₂ Hybrid Architectures with Enhanced Lithium Storage Properties

Three-dimensional (3D) graphene/carbon nanotube (CNT)/SnO₂ (GCS) hybrid architectures were constructed by a facile and cost-effective self-assembly method through hydrothermal treatment of a mixture of Sn²⁺, CNTs, and graphene oxide (GO). The resultant GCS displayed a 3D hierarchically porous structure with large surface area and excellent electrical conductivity, which could effectively prevent the aggregation and volume variation of SnO₂ and accelerate the transport of ions and electrons through 3D pathways. Benefiting from the unique structure and the synergistic effect of different components in the hybrid architectures, the GCS exhibited a remarkably improved reversible capacity of 842 mAh g^–1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 A g^–1 and excellent rate performance for lithium storage compared with that of graphene/SnO₂ (GS) hybrid architectures. Hence, the impressive results presented here could provide a universal platform for fabricating graphene/CNT-based hybrid architectures with promising applications in various fields

Divergent Asymmetric Syntheses of Podophyllotoxin and Related Family Members via Stereoselective Reductive Ni-Catalysis

A nickel-catalyzed reductive cascade approach to the efficient construction of diastereodivergent cores embedded in <i>podophyllum</i> lignans is developed for the first time. Their gram-scale access paved the way for unified syntheses of naturally occurring podophyllotoxin and other members

S_N1‑Type Alkylation of <i>N</i>‑Heteroaromatics with Alcohols

The organocatalytic alkylation of 2-methyl-<i>N</i>-heteroaromatics with alcohols has been achieved via S_N1-type C­(sp³)–H functionalization, providing a green and efficient synthesis of indole and ferrocene-functionalized <i>N</i>-heteroaromatics in high yields

Solid-State Thin-Film Supercapacitors with Ultrafast Charge/Discharge Based on N‑Doped-Carbon-Tubes/Au-Nanoparticles-Doped-MnO₂ Nanocomposites

Although carbonaceous materials possess long cycle stability and high power density, their low-energy density greatly limits their applications. On the contrary, metal oxides are promising pseudocapacitive electrode materials for supercapacitors due to their high-energy density. Nevertheless, poor electrical conductivity of metal oxides constitutes a primary challenge that significantly limits their energy storage capacity. Here, an advanced integrated electrode for high-performance pseudocapacitors has been designed by growing N-doped-carbon-tubes/Au-nanoparticles-doped-MnO₂ (NCTs/ANPDM) nanocomposite on carbon fabric. The excellent electrical conductivity and well-ordered tunnels of NCTs together with Au nanoparticles of the electrode cause low internal resistance, good ionic contact, and thus enhance redox reactions for high specific capacitance of pure MnO₂ in aqueous electrolyte, even at high scan rates. A prototype solid-state thin-film symmetric supercapacitor (SSC) device based on NCTs/ANPDM exhibits large energy density (51 Wh/kg) and superior cycling performance (93% after 5000 cycles). In addition, the asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device assembled from NCTs/ANPDM and Fe₂O₃ nanorods demonstrates ultrafast charge/discharge (10 V/s), which is among the best reported for solid-state thin-film supercapacitors with both electrodes made of metal oxide electroactive materials. Moreover, its superior charge/discharge behavior is comparable to electrical double layer type supercapacitors. The ASC device also shows superior cycling performance (97% after 5000 cycles). The NCTs/ANPDM nanomaterial demonstrates great potential as a power source for energy storage devices

Well-Ordered Oxygen-Deficient CoMoO₄ and Fe₂O₃ Nanoplate Arrays on 3D Graphene Foam: Toward Flexible Asymmetric Supercapacitors with Enhanced Capacitive Properties

In this work, we report the development of well-ordered hydrogenated CoMoO₄ (H-CoMoO₄) and hydrogenated Fe₂O₃ (H-Fe₂O₃) nanoplate arrays on 3D graphene foam (GF) and explore their practice application as binder-free electrodes in assembling flexible all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) devices. Our results show that the monolithic 3D porous GF prepared by solution casting method using Ni foam template possesses large surface area, superior electrical conductivity, and sufficient surface functional groups, which not only facilitate in situ growth of CoMoO₄ and Fe₂O₃ nanoplates but also contribute the double-layer capacitance of the resultant supercapacitor. The well-ordered pseudocapacitive metal oxide nanoplate arrays standing up on 3D GF scaffold can provide efficient space and shorten the length for electrolyte diffusion from the outer to the inner region of the electrode material for Faradaic energy storage. Furthermore, one of our major findings is that the introduction of oxygen vacancies in CoMoO₄ and Fe₂O₃ nanoplates by hydrogenation treatment can increase their electronic conductivity as well as improve their donor density and surface properties, which gives rise to a substantially improved electrochemical performance. Benefiting from the synergistic contributions of different components in the nanohybrid electrode, the resultant flexible ASC device with GF/H-CoMoO₄ as the positive electrode and GF/H-Fe₂O₃ as the negative electrode achieves a wide operation voltage of 1.5 V and a maximum volumetric specific capacitance of 3.6 F cm^–3, which is two times larger than that of the Ni/GF/CoMoO₄//Ni/GF/Fe₂O₃ device (1.8 F cm^–3), and the rate capability is up to 70% as the current density increases from 2 to 200 mA cm^–3. Moreover, the Ni/GF/H-CoMoO₄//Ni/GF/H-Fe₂O₃ device also exhibits a high energy density of 1.13 mWh cm^–3 and a high power density of 150 mW cm^–3, good mechanical flexibility with the decrease in capacitance of less than 4% after being bent inward to different angles and inward to 90° 200 times, and good cycling stability of 93.1% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles