Open Access

This paper presents the results of an interlaboratory study of the rheological properties of cement paste and ultrasound gel as reference substance. The goal was to quantify the comparability and reproducibility of measurements of the Bingham parameters yield stress and plastic viscosity when measured on one specific paste composition and one particular ultrasound gel in different laboratories using different rheometers and measurement geometries. The procedures for both in preparing the cement paste and carrying out the rheological measurements on cement paste and ultrasound gel were carefully defined for all of the study’s participants. Different conversion schemes for comparing the results obtained with the different measurement setups are presented here and critically discussed. The procedure proposed in this paper ensured a reasonable comparability of the results with a coefficient of variation for the yield stress of 27% and for the plastic viscosity of 24%, despite the individual measurement series’ having been performed in different labs with different rheometers and measurement geometries.

We report on a new series of isoreticular frameworks based on zinc and 2-substituted imidazolate-4-amide-5-imidate (IFP-1–4, IFP=imidazolate framework Potsdam) that form one-dimensional, microporous hexagonal channels. Varying R in the 2-substitued linker (R=Me (IFP-1), Cl (IFP-2), Br (IFP-3), Et (IFP-4)) allowed the channel diameter (4.0–1.7 Å), the polarisability and functionality of the channel walls to be tuned. Frameworks IFP-2, IFP-3 and IFP-4 are isostructural to previously reported IFP-1. The structures of IFP-2 and IFP-3 were solved by X-ray crystallographic analyses. The structure of IFP-4 was determined by a combination of PXRD and structure modelling and was confirmed by IR spectroscopy and 1H MAS and 13C CP-MAS NMR spectroscopy. All IFPs showed high thermal stability (345–400°C); IFP-1 and IFP-4 were stable in boiling water for 7 d. A detailed porosity analysis was performed on the basis of adsorption measurements by using various gases. The potential of the materials to undergo specific interactions with CO2 was investigated by measuring the isosteric heats of adsorption. The capacity to adsorb CH4 (at 298 K), CO2 (at 298 K) and H2 (at 77 K) at high pressure were also investigated. In situ IR spectroscopy showed that CO2 is physisorbed on IFP-1–4 under dry conditions and that both CO2 and H2O are physisorbed on IFP-1 under moist conditions.

High-throughput density functional theory (DFT) calculations have become a vital element of computational materials science, enabling materials screening, property database generation, and training of “universal” machine learning models. While several software frameworks have emerged to support these computational efforts, new developments such as machine learned force fields have increased demands for more flexible and programmable workflow solutions. This manuscript introduces atomate2, a comprehensive evolution of our original atomate framework, designed to address existing limitations in computational materials research infrastructure. Key features include the support for multiple electronic structure packages and interoperability between them, along with generalizable workflows that can be written in an abstract form irrespective of the DFT package or machine learning force field used within them. Our hope is that atomate2's improved usability and extensibility can reduce technical barriers for high-throughput research workflows and facilitate the rapid adoption of emerging methods in computational material science.

Graphene oxide (GO) has emerged as a promising biomaterial as it is easily and cheaply synthesized, strong, cytocompatible, osteoinductive, and has a well-characterized aqueous degradation pathway. It is also a great substrate for functionalization with biomolecules such as proteins, peptides, and small molecules that can enhance or add bioactivity. Covalent chemical linkages as opposed to typical noncovalent association methods are preferable so that the biomolecules do not quickly diffuse away or face replacement by other proteins, which is critical in long time scale applications like bone regeneration. However, covalent chemistry tends to carry a drawback of harsh reaction conditions that can damage the structure, conformation, and therefore function of a delicate biomolecule like a protein. Here, the Mitsunobu reaction is introduced as a novel method of covalently attaching proteins to graphene oxide. It features gentle reaction conditions and has the added benefit of utilizing the plentiful basal plane alcohol functionalities on graphene oxide, allowing for high yield protein functionalization. The amino acid Glycine (G), the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA), and the small molecule SVAK-12 are utilized to create the three Mitsunobu Graphene (MG) materials G-MG, BSA-MG, and SVAK-MG that demonstrate the wide applicability of this functionalization method.

For many years pnCCDs have been well known as X-ray detectors for spectroscopic imaging in many fields of science: X-Ray Fluorescence analysis (XRF), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) with light sources in large accelerator facilities as well as with laboratory light sources or with X-rays from celestial sources in X-ray astronomy. A brief introduction in GEXRF (Grazing Emission XRF) measurements with a laboratory laser produced plasma source will be given, PIXE (Particle Induced X-ray Emission) measurements and D2XRF (Double Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence) and Slicing experiments with pnCCDs coupled to polycapillary optics performed at the BESSY synchrotron will be shown. Energy-dispersive Laue diffraction with ultra-hard X-rays for the analysis of defects in metals will conclude the overview of spectroscopic X-ray imaging measurements in the field of structure and dynamics of matter.