Common Organic Materials Research Articles

New opportunities for biologically and chemically mediated adsorption and precipitation of phosphorus from wastewater.

Biologically mediated adsorption and precipitation of phosphorus (P) from waste streams can restrict environmental P discharges. Here, we appraise progress in this field over the past decade. The research discipline has grown considerably in recent years. Industry 'wastes', including steel slags, continue to show promise as adsorbents with exceptionally high P retention capacities (>500mgPg-1). Hydrotalcite, a nanomineral, offers prospects as a P removal technology with imbedded climate change mitigation capacity. Biomineral struvite formation, driven by microbial processes, offers an exciting P removal and recovery approach that can be applied to diverse wastewater types due to its feedstock-independent mechanisms, emerging immobilisation techniques and adaptability to mixed cultures. All of these factors facilitate efficient nutrient recycling and scalable application to the wastewater industry. Adsorbed and precipitated P can be applied to cropland to offset dependence on conventional fertiliser inputs. Therefore, in addition to water treatment, these biologically mediated processes also offer opportunities to support food production. Moreover, as many of the input materials covered in this review are industry byproducts and common organic materials, the removal of P from waste streams by adsorption and precipitation offers strong circularity potential that aligns with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. We call for future work to focus on long-term full-scale trials involving community, government and industry partners.

Impacts of organic materials amendment on the soil antibiotic resistome in subtropical paddy fields.

The organic material amendment has been proven to change the soil antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) profile, which may threaten human health through the food chain, but the effects and mechanisms of different organic materials on ARGs in paddy soils are less explored. In this study, a field experiment was set up with the treatments of conventional chemical fertilization (NPK) and common organic material amendment [rice straw (RS), swine manure (SM), and biochar (BC)] to explore the effects and mechanisms. In total, 84 unique ARGs were found across the soil samples with different organic material amendments, and they conferred resistance to the major antibiotic classes. Compared with NPK, SM significantly increased the detected number and relative abundance of ARGs. A higher detected number of ARGs than NPK was observed in BC, whereas BC had a lower relative abundance of ARGs than NPK. Compared with NPK, a detected number decrease was observed in RS, although abundance showed no significant differences. Compared with other treatments, a higher detected number and relative abundance of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were observed in BC, indicating a higher potential for horizontal gene transfer. There were significantly positive relationships between the relative abundances of total ARGs and MGEs and the bacterial abundance. The network analysis suggested the important role of MGEs and bacterial communities in shaping the ARGs profile. Mantel test and redundancy analysis (RDA) suggested that soil carbon, nitrogen, and C/N were the major chemical drivers of the ARGs profile. The risk of ARGs spreading to the food chain should be considered when applying SM and biochar, which shifted the ARGs and MGEs profiles, respectively. Pre-treatment measures need to be studied to reduce the dissemination of ARGs in paddy fields.

Producing graphene sustainably using common organic materials

Green laser-induced graphene can be made from many organic polymers, could reduce waste and lower costs in many fields

Palaeoproteomics guidelines to identify proteinaceous binders in artworks following the study of a 15th-century painting by Sandro Botticelli’s workshop

Undertaking the conservation of artworks informed by the results of molecular analyses has gained growing importance over the last decades, and today it can take advantage of state-of-the-art analytical techniques, such as mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Protein-based binders are among the most common organic materials used in artworks, having been used in their production for centuries. However, the applications of proteomics to these materials are still limited. In this work, a palaeoproteomic workflow was successfully tested on paint reconstructions, and subsequently applied to micro-samples from a 15th-century panel painting, attributed to the workshop of Sandro Botticelli. This method allowed the confident identification of the protein-based binders and their biological origin, as well as the discrimination of the binder used in the ground and paint layers of the painting. These results show that the approach is accurate, highly sensitive, and broadly applicable in the cultural heritage field, due to the limited amount of starting material required. Accordingly, a set of guidelines are suggested, covering the main steps of the data analysis and interpretation of protein sequencing results, optimised for artworks.

Is a Single Molecule Sufficient to Determine the Internal Charge Trapping Energy in Crystalline Organic Semiconductors?

In silico diagnoses of charge-transfer efficiencies in organic semiconductors require the accurate computations of transport parameters. We show here that ignoring the molecular packing effects when computing the internal charge trapping energy may cause a severe deviation to the result deduced from the periodic crystal structure. This deviation can reach up to 100 meV in common organic materials. According to the semiclassical Marcus theory, this energy difference can lead to orders of magnitude change in the charge transfer rate. Studying from a total of 45 organic crystals, we find that single-molecule approximation though is adequate for rigid planar molecules yet it fails to describe the trapping energy for molecules that have inter-ring single bond(s) or are subjected to planarity changes during the transition from the isolated state to the embedded state. These results and conclusions may shed light on the removal of theory-experiment discrepancies on charge mobilities and lay the basis for the future fast and precise screening of high-performance organic semiconductors.

A Fully Conjugated 3D Covalent Organic Framework Exhibiting Band‐like Transport with Ultrahigh Electron Mobility

AbstractAlthough π‐conjugated two dimensional (2D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been extensively reported, developing fully π‐conjugated 3D COFs is still an extremely difficult problem due to the lack of fully π‐conjugated 3D linkers. We synthesize a fully conjugated 3D COF (BUCT‐COF‐1) by designing a saddle‐shaped building block of aldehyde‐substituted cyclooctatetrathiophene (COThP)‐CHO. As a consequence of the fully conjugated 3D network, BUCT‐COF‐1 demonstrates ultrahigh Hall electron mobility up to ≈3.0 cm2 V−1 s−1 at room temperature, which is one order of magnitude higher than the current π‐conjugated 2D COFs. Temperature‐dependent conductivity measurements reveal that the charge carriers in BUCT‐ COF‐1 exhibit the band‐like transport mechanism, which is entirely different from the hopping transport phenomena observed in common organic materials. The findings indicate that fully conjugated 3D COFs can achieve electron delocalization and charge‐transport pathways within the whole 3D skeleton, which may open up a new frontier in the design of organic semiconducting materials.

A Fully Conjugated 3D Covalent Organic Framework Exhibiting Band-like Transport with Ultrahigh Electron Mobility.

Although π-conjugated two dimensional (2D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been extensively reported, developing fully π-conjugated 3D COFs is still an extremely difficult problem due to the lack of fully π-conjugated 3D linkers. We synthesize a fully conjugated 3D COF (BUCT-COF-1) by designing a saddle-shaped building block of aldehyde-substituted cyclooctatetrathiophene (COThP)-CHO. As a consequence of the fully conjugated 3D network, BUCT-COF-1 demonstrates ultrahigh Hall electron mobility up to ≈3.0 cm2 V-1 s-1 at room temperature, which is one order of magnitude higher than the current π-conjugated 2D COFs. Temperature-dependent conductivity measurements reveal that the charge carriers in BUCT- COF-1 exhibit the band-like transport mechanism, which is entirely different from the hopping transport phenomena observed in common organic materials. The findings indicate that fully conjugated 3D COFs can achieve electron delocalization and charge-transport pathways within the whole 3D skeleton, which may open up a new frontier in the design of organic semiconducting materials.

Big Fish or Small Fish? Differential Ichthyoarchaeological Representation Revealed by Different Recovery Methods in the Atacama Desert Coast, Northern Chile

ABSTRACT Recovery methods and techniques for archaeological sampling can yield major differences in abundance and anatomo-taxonomical representation of animals, affecting past social and ecological reconstruction. Despite being a common organic material in archaeological sites, faunal remains typically exhibit differential preservation of species and skeletal elements due to pre- and post-depositional processes. This is particularly true for small-sized animals such as certain species of fish, whose often small and fragile fragments are difficult to recover and identify. Here, we present the results of a comparative analysis between two ichthyoarchaeological assemblages from Caleta Vitor 3 in northern Chile (CV3, 18°45′09″ S), an Early to Middle Holocene (9.2–7.6 ka cal BP) Chinchorro shell midden site. We compare samples obtained and processed, both in the field and the lab, using different recovery techniques. We developed a data standardisation procedure to compare and evaluate skeletal representation, taxa distribution and variations throughout the stratigraphic sequence. Our results show that mesh screen size affects not only the abundance and density of fish but also species representation. Moreover, the identification of small pelagic fish at CV3 sheds further light upon prehistoric fishing strategies and social organisation during the site’s early occupation.

Characterization of occupational accidents occurred at the Occupational Health Referral Center of the state of Amapá between 2007 and 2016.

Introduction:Occupational accidents involving biological material have consequences that range from physical damage to public expenses. The study of this topic may help evaluate conducts and form preventive measures.Objectives:To characterize the notifications of occupational accidents involving biological material that occurred between 2007 and 2016 in the state of Amapá, Brazil.Methods:This is an observational, retrospective, and descriptive study with a data analysis that quantified occupational accidents with biological material reported between January 2007 and December 2016 and analyzed the most prevalent risk factors.Results:Data were obtained from the Occupational Health Reference Center of the state of Amapá: 938 cases of occupational accidents with biological material were reported in the studied period. The main type of exposure was percutaneous (75.8%), the most common organic material was blood (68.4%), and the main causative agent was the hollow-bore needle (58.6%). Considering the reported cases, 80.8% of 745 individuals were vaccinated against hepatitis B and 2.4% of 252 individuals had positive anti-HIV. Regarding the clinical progression of the injured workers, in 91.9% of the cases these data were unknown or not recorded, and 47.4% of the patients who provided this information were discharged with no serological conversion.Conclusions:The main causes of occupational accidents were related to the use of sharps for intravenous drug administration and the inadequate disposal of this material, highlighting the need for stronger attention when performing these procedures. The high incidence of unknown/blank data hampered the correct serological follow-up of the patients and the epidemiological characterization of the accidents.

ADVANCED ORGANIC ELECTRODE MATERIALS FOR RECHARGEABLE SODIUM-ION BATTERIES

The organic electrodes have more advantages over inorganic electrodes in the sodium ion batteries (SIBs). There are different types of organic electrodes with different implications in battery developments. The anthraquione, thiondigo, tetrachloro-p-benzoquinone, Perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid diimide and etc. are the most common organic materials for the electrodes. The sulferization and the carbonization of the MOFs are being done in order to improve the charging rate of the sodium ion batteries. The nonflame organic electrodes were designed and tested with the fire extinguishing test. The organic electrodes are eco-friendly and thus developed the green technology in sodium ion batteries.

Rice yield and soil fertility of an organic paddy system with winter flooding

ABSTRACT Organic farming is promoted as a way to produce food while minimizing harm to ecosystems. We examined the feasibility of organic farming using applications of common organic materials to produce standard yields of rice (Oryza sativa L.). From 2012 to 2016, we investigated the effects of rice bran, leftover grains, and soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) curd residue in place of inorganic fertilizer and the effects of winter flooding on brown rice yield and on the availability of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) under rice-rice-soybean rotation in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The yield was greatest at 581 g m−2 with winter flooding in 2013 and smallest at 347 g m−2 without winter flooding in 2016. The organic materials applied 7.3–7.5 g N m−2 and 3.2–4.7 g P m−2, which supplied 142% ± 37% of the N and 429% ± 125% of the P present in the ear of rice at harvest in plots without winter flooding. The rates of organic materials applied would maintain soil N and P content. Winter flooding increased the ammonium concentration in the soil solution, straw dry matter at harvest, and available N in the plow layer during winter. Our practice, which improved N supply in later growth stages and P availability, supported an adequate rice yield and a conserved available N.

Effect of Organic Material Type and Proportion on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Vegetation‐Concrete

Vegetation‐concrete is one of the most widely used substrates in ecological slope protection engineering. The porosity of the vegetation‐concrete must be high enough to satisfy the growth needs of the plant roots, while the mechanical properties must be strong enough to satisfy the self‐stability requirement of the substrates on the slope. It is necessary to balance these two aspects in the design of vegetation‐concrete. As one of the main components in vegetation‐concrete, organic material has a remarkable effect on both the porosity and the mechanical properties of the substrate. In this paper, four types of common organic materials (rice husks, sawdust, and corn distillers’ and unhulled rice distillers’ grain) are chosen to research the effect of the organic material type and proportion on the porosity and mechanical properties of the substrate. The experimental results show that the porosity of samples containing corn distillers’ grain is clearly higher than those of the other samples types, while situation of the mechanical properties is the opposite. It can be concluded that organic material with a large grain size is not suitable for use in vegetation‐concrete directly and needs to be crushed before use to prevent crack formation. The research results also show that the rates of increase in porosity decrease with more organic material added, while the rates of decrease in the unconfined compressive strength and the elasticity modulus increase. From a comprehensive consideration of the required mechanical properties and plant growth, organic material with a small grain size is most suitable for use in vegetation‐concrete, and the suitable proportion is between 7% and 9%.

Identification of High-Z Materials With Photoneutrons Driven by a Low-Energy Electron Linear Accelerator

Contraband-detection systems can use X-rays and photoneutrons delivered from the same 7-MeV electron linear accelerator (e-LINAC) to stimulate and extract information from inspected materials. The X-ray attenuation information is used to measure the mass thickness, which is combined with the photoneutron attenuation information to categorize inspected materials as common organic materials, metals, and heavy metals. Once a heavy metal is found, the beta-delayed neutrons stimulated by the ( $\gamma$ ,fission) reaction are measured by a polyethylene-moderated 3He counter to clarify if the material is fissile. The presence of neutron events 2000 $\mu \text {s}$ after the X-ray pulse confirms the existence of the fissile material. The isotopes in the material are then identified using the time-of-flight method to analyze the resonant attenuation of the fissile material to the 10−1-102 eV photoneutrons emitted from and thermalized by the D2O photon-to-neutron convertor, which converts X-rays to photoneutrons. Eight high-Z simulants are tested to confirm the feasibility of identifying the isotopes from the photoneutron resonance. The underlying principles and experimental results are discussed.

High-performance tandem organic light-emitting diodes based on a buffer-modified p/n-type planar organic heterojunction as charge generation layer

High-performance tandem organic light-emitting diodes (TOLEDs) were realized using a buffer-modified p/n-type planar organic heterojunction (OHJ) as charge generation layer (CGL) consisting of common organic materials, and the configuration of this p/n-type CGL was “LiF/N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(1-napthyl)-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine (NPB)/4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Bphen)/molybdenum oxide (MoOx)”. The optimized TOLED exhibited a maximum current efficiency of 77.6 cd/A without any out-coupling techniques, and the efficiency roll-off was greatly improved compared to the single-unit OLED. The working mechanism of the p/n-type CGL was discussed in detail. It is found that the NPB/Bphen heterojunction generated enough charges under a forward applied voltage and the carrier extraction was a tunneling process. These results could provide a new method to fabricate high-performance TOLEDs.

Nonlinear Optical Materials for the Smart Filtering of Optical Radiation.

The control of luminous radiation has extremely important implications for modern and future technologies as well as in medicine. In this Review, we detail chemical structures and their relevant photophysical features for various groups of materials, including organic dyes such as metalloporphyrins and metallophthalocyanines (and derivatives), other common organic materials, mixed metal complexes and clusters, fullerenes, dendrimeric nanocomposites, polymeric materials (organic and/or inorganic), inorganic semiconductors, and other nanoscopic materials, utilized or potentially useful for the realization of devices able to filter in a smart way an external radiation. The concept of smart is referred to the characteristic of those materials that are capable to filter the radiation in a dynamic way without the need of an ancillary system for the activation of the required transmission change. In particular, this Review gives emphasis to the nonlinear optical properties of photoactive materials for the function of optical power limiting. All known mechanisms of optical limiting have been analyzed and discussed for the different types of materials.

Mechanistic understanding of reduced AgNP phytotoxicity induced by extracellular polymeric substances

A knowledge gap concerning the potential effects of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), a common organic material but highly variable in their composition of microbial origin, on the fate and phytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) still remains. A 48-h root elongation toxicity test showed that AgNP toxicity to wheat Triticum aestivum L. was dramatically alleviated by EPS isolated from Pseudomonas putida, as revealed by 7–59% increase in relative root elongation (RRE), 8–99% increase in root weight, 27–32% decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) content and 11–43% decrease in H2O2 content compared to the treatment with AgNP in the absence of EPS. This was coincident with 7–69% decrease in root Ag concentrations. Our results showed that EPS could protect wheat seedlings from AgNP toxicity by reducing dissolved Ag concentration ([Ag]diss) and by forming AgNP-EPS complex. The FTIR spectra further showed that the amide, carboxyl, and phosphoryl functional groups of EPS were involved in binding with AgNP and/or Ag+. All these processes worked simultaneously to reduce AgNP bioavailability, and subsequently mitigate AgNP toxicity. These findings highlight the importance of EPS in AgNP biogeochemistry in the terrestrial environment. EPS could be highly useful in developing strategies to counteract the phytotoxicty of metal-based nanoparticles in crops.

Synchrotron-radiation XPS analysis of ultra-thin silane films: Specifying the organic silicon

The analysis of chemical and elemental in-depth variations in ultra-thin organic layers with thicknesses below 5nm is very challenging. Energy- and angle-resolved XPS (ER/AR-XPS) opens up the possibility for non-destructive chemical ultra-shallow depth profiling of the outermost surface layer of ultra-thin organic films due to its exceptional surface sensitivity. For common organic materials a reliable chemical in-depth analysis with a lower limit of the XPS information depth z95 of about 1nm can be performed. As a proof-of-principle example with relevance for industrial applications the ER/AR-XPS analysis of different organic monolayers made of amino- or benzamidosilane molecules on silicon oxide surfaces is presented. It is demonstrated how to use the Si 2p core-level region to non-destructively depth-profile the organic (silane monolayer) – inorganic (SiO2/Si) interface and how to quantify Si species, ranging from elemental silicon over native silicon oxide to the silane itself. The main advantage of the applied ER/AR-XPS method is the improved specification of organic from inorganic silicon components in Si 2p core-level spectra with exceptional low uncertainties compared to conventional laboratory XPS.

“Double Exposure Method”: a Novel Photolithographic Process to Fabricate Flexible Organic Field-Effect Transistors and Circuits

A novel process called "double exposure method" has for the first time been developed to utilize common organic materials as insulating layers at low annealing temperature in the process of photolithography. In this method, organic dielectric layer will not dissolve in the final lift-off step by using developer to replace traditional acetone. Bottom-gate bottom-contact (BGBC) OFETs are fabricated on the flexible PET substrates with polystyrene (PS) and pentacene as dielectric layer and semiconductor layer, respectively. Transistors with mobility of 0.36 cm2 V(-1) s(-1) and logic inverter with gain of 9 on the plastic substrates have been fabricated, demonstrating the potential appliction of "double exposure method" in flexible organic electronics.

Accidents with biological material in workers

The objective was to describe the accidents with biological material occurred among workers of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, between 2007 and 2009. Secondary data were collected in the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System by exporting data to Excel using Tabwin. Among the types of occupational accidents reported in the state, the biological accidents (no. = 1,170) accounted for 58.3% with a predominance of cases among nurses (48.6%). The percutaneous exposure was the most frequent occurrence and the circumstances of the accidents were related to the handling of sharps and the most common organic material was blood (63.5%). More than 50% of the workers were vaccinated against hepatitis B, but without information regarding the evaluation of vaccine response. The study revealed the need of improvement in the quality of the information, once the sub-entries and inconsistencies make the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System less trustworthy in the characterization of the affected workers.

Compost amendments enhance peat suppressiveness to Pythium ultimum, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia minor

Peat is the most common organic material used for the preparation of potting mix because of its homogeneous and favorable agronomic characteristics. However, this organic material is poorly suppressive against soilborne pathogens and fungicides are routinely used to manage damping-off diseases. In the present study, we investigated the suppressive capability of five compost – peat mixtures towards the plant pathogens Pythium ultimum, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia minor – Lepidium sativum pathosystems. For all organic media, 18 parameters were measured including enzymatic activities (glucanase, N-acetyl-glucosaminidase, chitobiosidase and hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate), microbiological (BIOLOG® EcoPlates™, culturable bacteria and fungi), and chemical features (pH, EC, total, extractable and humic carbon, total and organic N, NH 4–N, total protein and water content). In addition, 13C-CPMAS-NMR spectroscopy was used to characterize the organic materials. Peat amended with composts reduced disease damping-off caused by P. ultimum, R. solani and S. minor in 60% of the mixtures and compost derived from animal manure showed the largest and most consistent disease suppression. Sterilization decreased or eliminated suppressiveness of 42.8% of the mixtures. The most useful parameters to predict disease suppression were different for each pathogen: extractable carbon, O-aryl C and C/N ratio for P. ultimum, alkyl/ O-alkyl ratio, N-acetyl-glucosaminidase and chitobiosidase enzymatic activities for R. solani and EC for S. minor. Our results demonstrate that the addition of composts to peat could be useful for the control of soilborne pathogens.