2014 Some solutions of rigid polymers like DNA or PBLG display at the same time cholesteric order and local hexagonal order. The coexistence of two such orders is impossible on long distances. Two cylindrical geometries of molecular arrangements, extending transversally on a distance of the order of the pitch, and achieving a good compromise between these two incompatible tendencies, are studie...

Carbon foams were synthesized from blends of coal and several C-containing additives different nature, with the aim to study their influence on foaming step, hence in final properties obtained foams. The included biomass agricultural products, thermoplastic thermosetting polymers, at concentrations, ranging 5 20 wt%. effects pore structure, carbon matrix thermal resulting investigated. presence...

We have studied the assembly of a large heterodimeric protein, bacterial luciferase, by mixing purified subunits expressed separately in bacteria. The individual subunits alpha and beta contain much (66% and 50%, respectively) of the alpha-helix content of the native heterodimer as measured by circular dichroism, yet the alpha subunit lacks observable tertiary structure as measured by NMR. Thes...

The AHTR is a pool-type reactor with graphite matrix coated-particle fuel and a clean molten salt coolant [1]. Due to the very high thermal inertia provided by the pool configuration and molten-salt coolant of the AHTR, the thermal power of the AHTR can be substantially higher than an equivalent gas-cooled reactor, likely exceeding 2000 MW(t). The AHTR, with a molten-salt intermediate loop and ...

The ability to separate fission products by electrodeposition from molten salts depends, in part, on differences between the interactions of the different fission product cations with the ions present in the molten salt "solvent". These differences may be expressed as ratios of activity coefficients, which depend on the identity of the solvent and other factors. Here, we demonstrate the ability...

Production of silicon film directly by electrodeposition from molten salt would have utility in the manufacturing of photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices owing to the simplicity of the process and the attendant low capital and operating costs. Here, dense and uniform polycrystalline silicon films (thickness up to 60 μm) are electrodeposited on graphite sheet substrates at 650 °C from molten ...

We introduce a new concept of hybrid Na-based flow batteries (HNFBs) with a molten Na alloy anode in conjunction with a flowing catholyte separated by a solid Na-ion exchange membrane for grid-scale energy storage. Such HNFBs can operate at ambient temperature, allow catholytes to have multiple electron transfer redox reactions per active ion, offer wide selection of catholyte chemistries with ...

A highly active, monomeric chorismate mutase, obtained by topological redesign of a dimeric helical bundle enzyme from Methanococcus jannaschii, was investigated by NMR and various other biochemical techniques, including H/D exchange. Although structural disorder is generally considered to be incompatible with efficient catalysis, the monomer, unlike its natural counterpart, unexpectedly posses...