This study evaluated the effects of five thawing methods (air thawing (AT), water thawing (WT), plasma-activated water thawing (PT), ultrasound-assisted water thawing (UWT) and ultrasound-assisted plasma-activated water thawing (UPT)) on the physicochemical, thermal stability, rheological, and structural properties of porcine longissimus dorsi myofibrillar protein (MP). UPT treatment significantly improved protein solubility (73.10%) and reduced protein turbidity (0.123) compared with AT, WT, and PT treatments (P < 0.05). UPT treatment reduced the MP particle size (635.50 nm) and zeta potential (-6.38 mV) compared with AT and WT treatments (P < 0.05), which was closer to that of the fresh sample. UPT treatment also maintained the MP surface hydrophobicity and thermal stability. UPT treatment improved the MP rheological properties of the sample. In addition, UPT treatment effectively protected the MP secondary and tertiary structures. In conclusion, UPT treatment better maintained the MP physicochemical, thermal stability, rheological, and structural properties of thawed porcine longissimus dorsi. Therefore, UPT treatment can be considered as an effective thawing method.

Precise control over the size, species, and breakthrough of the activity-selectivity trade-off are great challenges for sub-nano non-noble metal catalysts. Here, for the first time, a \"multiheteroatom induced SMSI + in situ P activation\" strategy that enables high stability and effective construction of sub-2 nm metal sites for optimizing selective hydrogenation performance is developed. It is synthesized the smallest metal phosphide clusters (<2 nm) including from unary to ternary non-noble metal systems, accompanied by unprecedented thermal stability. In the proof-of-concept demonstration, further modulation of size and species results in the creation of a sub-2 nm site platform, directionally achieving single atom (Ni1), Ni1+metal cluster (Ni1+Nin), or novel Ni1+metal phosphide cluster synergistic sites (Ni1+Ni2Pn), respectively. Based on thorough structure and mechanism investigation, it is found the Ni1+Ni2Pn site is motivated to achieve electronic structure self-optimizing through synergistic SMSI and site coupling effect. Therefore, it speeds up the substrate adsorption-desorption kinetics in semihydrogenation of alkyne and achieves superior catalytic activity that is 56 times higher than the Ni1 site under mild conditions. Compared to traditional active sites, this may represent the highly effective integration of atom utilization, thermal stability, and favorable site requirements for chemisorption properties and reactivities of substrates.

The benefit of being acquainted with thermal properties, especially the thermal stability of polyurethanes (PU), and simplified methods for their improvement is manifold. Considering this, the effect of embedding different amounts of unmodified and surface-modified TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) within PU, based on polycaprolactone (PCL) and Boltorn® aliphatic hyperbranched polyester, on PU properties was investigated. Results obtained via scanning electron microscopy, swelling measurements, mechanical tests and thermogravimetric analysis revealed that TiO2 NPs can be primarily applied to improve the thermal performance of PU. Through surface modification of TiO2 NPs with an amphiphilic gallic acid ester containing a C12 long alkyl chain (lauryl gallate), the impact on thermal stability of PU was greater due to the better dispersion of modified TiO2 NPs in the PU matrix compared to the unmodified ones. Also, the distinct shape of DTG peaks of the composite prepared using modified TiO2 NPs indicates that applied nano-filler is mostly embedded in soft segments of PU, leading to the delay in thermal degradation of PCL, simultaneously improving the overall thermal stability of PU. In order to further explore the thermal degradation process of the prepared composites and prove the dominant role of incorporated TiO2 NPs in the course of thermal stability of PU, various iso-conversional model-free methods were applied. The evaluated apparent activation energy of the thermal degradation reaction at different conversions clearly confirmed the positive impact of TiO2 NPs on the thermal stability and aging resistance of PU.

Mullite fiber felt is a promising material that may fulfill the demands of advanced flexible external thermal insulation blankets. However, research on the fabrication and performance of mullite fiber felt with high-temperature resistance and thermal stability is still lacking. In this work, mullite fibers were selected as raw materials for the fabrication of mullite fibrous porous materials with a three-dimensional net structure. Said materials\' high-temperature resistance and thermal stability were investigated by assessing the effects of various heat treatment temperatures (1100 °C, 1300 °C, and 1500 °C) on the phase composition, microstructure, and performance of their products. When the heat treatment temperature was below 1300 °C, both the phase compositions and microstructures of products exhibited stability. The compressive rebound rate of the product before and after 1100 °C reached 92.9% and 84.5%, respectively. The backside temperature of the as-prepared products was 361.6 °C when tested at 1500 °C for 4000 s. The as-prepared mullite fibrous porous materials demonstrated excellent high-temperature resistance, thermal stability, thermal insulation performance, and compressive rebound capacity, thereby indicating the great potential of the as-prepared mullite fibrous porous materials in the form of mullite fiber felt within advanced flexible external thermal insulation blankets.

BACKGROUND: Algae oil has garnered widespread acclaim due as a result of its high purity of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and excellent safety profile. The present study aimed to develop stable nanoemulsions (NEs) systems containing DHA from algae oil through thermal sterilization by combining modified whey protein concentrate (WPC) with low methoxyl pectin (LMP), as well as to investigate the impact of LMP concentration on the thermal stability and the gastrointestinal delivery efficiency of DHA NEs.
RESULTS: The addition of LMP enhanced the stability of the emulsion after sterilization, at the same time as improving the protective and sustained release effects of DHA in the gastrointestinal tract. Optimal effect was achieved at a LMP concentration of 1% (10 g kg-1 sample), the stability of the emulsion after centrifugation increased by 17.21 ± 5.65% compared to the group without LMP, and the loss of DHA after sterilization decreased by only 0.92 ± 0.09%. Furthermore, the addition of 1% LMP resulted in a substantial reduction in the release of fatty acids from the NEs after gastrointestinal digestion simulation, achieving the desired sustained-release effect. However, excessive addition of 2% (20 g kg-1 sample) LMP negatively impacted all aspects of the NEs system, primarily because of the occurrence of depletion effects.
CONCLUSIONS: The construction of the LMP/WPC-NEs system is conducive to the protection of DHA in algae oil and its sustained-release in the gastrointestinal tract. The results of the present study can provide reference guidance for the application of algae oil NEs in the food field. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the bottle neck step in  water splitting reaction towards the realization of hydrogen based clean energy production and storage.  Transition metal based N4 organics are explored extensively as oxygen electrocatalysts i.e., (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts because of their ease of synthesis, tuneable properties, low cost and high performance with long term stability. Here, vanillic acid functionalized iron phthalocyanine (FeVAPc) was synthesised and characterised. The novel FeVAPc exhibited good thermal stability and was coated on Ni foam for OER studies. The scanning electron microscopy images showed net-work like surface morphology and the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated the presence of Fe in +3 oxidation state. The Ni/FeVAPc demonstrated excellent electrocatalytic activity for OER with overpotential of 312 mV at 10 mA.cm-2 current density in 1.0 M KOH . The designed  catalyst exhibited lesser Tafel slope value which is nearer to the benchmark catalyst, IrO2. The proposed catalyst exhibited good stability as phthalocyanines are highly stable and do not undergo decomposition even in strong acidic and basic corrosive media. Integration of FeVAPc onto  Ni foam resulted in higher mass activity, lower charge transfer resistance, high active surface area leading to enhanced conductivity and activity.

Sulfonated octaphenylsilsesquioxane (SPOSS) has garnered significant interest due to its unique structural properties of containing the -SO3H group and its wide range of applications. This study introduces a novel approach to the synthesis of SPOSS, leveraging machine learning algorithms to explore new recipes and achieve higher -SO3H functionality. The focus was on synthesizing SPOSS with 2, 4, 6, and 8-SO3H functional groups on the phenyl group, marked as SPOSS-2, SPOSS-4, SPOSS-6, and SPOSS-8, respectively. The successful synthesis of SPOSS-8 was achieved by 5 training outputs based on the recipes of 21 sets of low-functionality (<4) SPOSS. The structure of SPOSS was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Machine learning analysis revealed that K2SO4 is an important additive to improve the functionality of SPOSS. A synthetic mechanism was proposed and validated that K2SO4 participated in the reaction to generate sulfur trioxide (SO3), a sulfonating agent with high reactivity. SPOSS shows thermal stability superior to octaphenylsilsesquioxane (OPS) according to thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and TG-FTIR.

MXenes have demonstrated potential for various applications owing to their tunable surface chemistry and metallic conductivity. However, high temperatures can accelerate MXene film oxidation in air. Understanding the mechanisms of MXene oxidation at elevated temperatures, which is still limited, is critical in improving their thermal stability for high-temperature applications. Here, we demonstrate that Ti[Formula: see text]C[Formula: see text]T[Formula: see text] MXene monoflakes have exceptional thermal stability at temperatures up to 600[Formula: see text]C in air, while multiflakes readily oxidize in air at 300[Formula: see text]C. Density functional theory calculations indicate that confined water between Ti[Formula: see text]C[Formula: see text]T[Formula: see text] flakes has higher removal energy than surface water and can thus persist to higher temperatures, leading to oxidation. We demonstrate that the amount of confined water correlates with the degree of oxidation in stacked flakes. Confined water can be fully removed by vacuum annealing Ti[Formula: see text]C[Formula: see text]T[Formula: see text] films at 600[Formula: see text]C, resulting in substantial stability improvement in multiflake films (can withstand 600[Formula: see text]C in air). These findings provide fundamental insights into the kinetics of confined water and its role in Ti[Formula: see text]C[Formula: see text]T[Formula: see text] oxidation. This work enables the use of stable monoflake MXenes in high-temperature applications and provides guidelines for proper vacuum annealing of multiflake films to enhance their stability.

Here, we report a novel kind of protein nanoparticles of 11 nm in size, which have a central protein core surrounded by two layers of lipid. One layer of the lipid was covalently attached to the protein, while the other layer has been physically assembled around the protein core. Particle synthesis is highly modular, while both the size and charge of the protein nanoparticles are controlled in a predictable manner. Circular dichroism studies of the conjugate showed that the protein secondary structure is retained, while biophysical characterizations indicated the particle purity, size, and charge. The conjugate had a high thermal stability to steam sterilization conditions at 121°C (17 psi). After labeling the protein core with few different fluorescent dyes, they were strongly fluorescent with the corresponding colors independent of their size, unlike quantum dots. They are readily digested by proteases, and these water-soluble, non-toxic, highly stable, biocompatible, and biodegradable conjugates are suitable for cell imaging and drug delivery applications.

The ultrafine cellular structure promotes the extraordinary mechanical performance of metals manufactured by laser powder-bed-fusion (L-PBF). An in-depth understanding of the mechanisms governing the thermal stability of such structures is crucial for designing reliable L-PBF components for high-temperature applications. Here, characterizations and 3D discrete dislocation dynamics simulations are performed to comprehensively understand the evolution of cellular structures in 316L stainless steel during annealing. The dominance of screw-type dislocation dipoles in the dislocation cells is reported. However, the majority of dislocations in sub-grain boundaries (SGBs) are geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) with varying types. The disparity in dislocation types can be attributed to the variation in local stacking fault energy (SFE) arising from chemical heterogeneity. The presence of screw-type dislocations facilitates the unpinning of dislocations from dislocation cells/SGBs, resulting in a high dislocation mobility. In contrast, the migration of SGBs with dominating edge-type GNDs requires collaborative motion of dislocations, leading to a sluggish migration rate and an enhanced thermal stability. This work emphasizes the significant role of dislocation type in the thermal stability of cellular structures. Furthermore, it sheds light on how to locally tune dislocation structures with desired dislocation types by adjusting local chemistry-dependent SFE and heat treatment.