Disclosed is a segmented thermoplastic elastomer that can be a polyurethane, polyurea, or polyurethane-urea comprising soft segments and hard segments, wherein the soft segments are made of polyolefin diols or polyolefin diamine that may have 0 to 1000 carbon atoms in the main chain, wherein each carbon atom in the main chain may have 0 to 2 side chains and each side chain may have 0 to 30 carbon atoms, the hard segment is made of a diisocyante and a chain extender, the hard segments make up 10-60% of the elastomer and the soft segments make up the rest, the number-average molecular weight of the elastomer is 510.sup.3-100010.sup.3 g/mol, the ultimate elongation of the elastomer is 100-1000%, the Young's modulus is 1 to 3,000 MPa, and the ultimate tensile strength is 10-100 MPa. Also disclosed are a method for preparing the segmented thermoplastic elastomer and use of segmented thermoplastic elastomer.

A combinatorial synthesis of a heterodiamond unit cell, which entails a step of reacting a tetrahedranoidal molecule with a heteroatom to form heterodiamond unit cell and then heterodiamond mass.

A vessel system for high-pressure reactions is disclosed. The system includes a plugged polymer cylinder reaction vessel with a pressure vent opening extending radially through the wall of the reaction vessel and a supporting frame into which the vessel is received. Complementing keying structure elements on the vessel and on the frame limit the orientation of the reaction vessel in the supporting frame and the radially extending vent opening to a defined single position.

A microwave reactor constructed to produce a homogeneous heat distribution across the body of the microwave reactor subsequent exposure to microwave irradiation. The microwave reactor includes a body having an exterior wall transparent to microwave irradiation. A microwave sensitized element layer is adjacent the exterior wall and is comprised of a carbide mixture wherein the carbide mixture includes a carbide mixed with either a metal oxide, a ferrite or a nitride. The carbide mixture is in granular form wherein the carbide has a larger particle size than the other component. The microwave sensitized element layer further includes a metal layer that extends the length thereof. The metal layer is positioned in various arrangements within or adjacent to the carbide mixture. The body further includes an inner layer adjacent to the microwave sensitized layer opposite the exterior wall. The inner layer is transparent to microwave irradiation.

A method of manufacturing a composite material is provided. First, graphene oxide and activated carbon are provided individually. Graphene oxide and activated carbon are added into an alcohol to form a mixture. Then, the mixture is heated by microwave in a single step, so that graphene oxide is chemically reduced to form graphene at the active sites of the surface of the activated carbon uniformly, thereby forming a composite material. The embodied composite material is suitable for being the electrodes of the capacitive deionization (CDI) and supercapacitor application.

Provided are methods for preparing hydrogen and solid carbon. Illustrative methods comprise providing a feedstock comprising gaseous hydrocarbons to a microwave-inert reaction vessel and/or a radio wave-inert reaction vessel. The reaction vessel has solid carbon, about 0% water and about 0% molecular oxygen inside the reaction vessel and the carbon inside the reaction vessel is operable to heat the feedstock comprising gaseous hydrocarbons. The carbon is then exposed to microwaves and/or radio waves until the solid carbon is at a temperature of at least 1200 Kelvin, thereby forming hydrogen and solid carbon. Once formed, the hydrogen and solid carbon are separated.

In one aspect, the disclosure relates to a method for converting waste plastics into value-added products, the method including the steps of (a) contacting the waste plastics with a catalyst to form a reaction mixture and (b) applying microwave irradiation to the reaction mixture. In another aspect, disclosed herein are value-added products including, but not limited to, aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons produced by the process disclosed herein. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

A system for producing fixed nitrogen products includes a header coupled to one or more plasma torch reactors. The plasma torch reactors receive input gases and generate (e.g., using microwave energy) a plasma and resulting reactive nitrogen species. The reactive nitrogen species oxidize within the header, resulting in a product stream. In certain implementations, the product stream is transported to an absorption unit for conversion into the fixed nitrogen products. Certain implementations include cooling, supplemental fluid, and other systems to vary and enhance production of fixed nitrogen products and operation of the system.

Provided is a microwave irradiation device for producing metal nanoparticles and a method of producing metal nanoparticles that allow preparing metal nanoparticles with small and uniform particle sizes. The present disclosure relates to a microwave irradiation device and a method of producing metal nanoparticles using the device. The microwave irradiation device includes a reaction vessel for housing a reaction solution including a raw material of metal nanoparticles, a cooling mechanism that cools the reaction vessel from outside, and a microwave irradiation source for irradiating the reaction solution with a microwave. A solid substance having a dielectric constant lower than a dielectric constant of the reaction solution is disposed in the reaction vessel.

The present invention relates to a process for producing mixed metal oxide particles, in which particles from parent compounds are converted by contactless energy input. The invention also relates to a process for coating bodies, preferably transition metal- or metal particles, transition metal- or metal oxide particles, transition metal- or mixed metal oxide particles, or silicon- or sulphur particles, especially preferably particles having a mass of less than one milligram and being in the form of grains, fibers, hollow fibers, or 2D structures, by heating with the exclusion of oxygen in the presence of a carbon source.