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A four-ball tester was used to evaluate the tribological performances of bismuth naphthenate (BiNap), sulfurized isobutene (VSB), and their combinations. The results show that the antiwear properties of BiNap and VSB are not very visible, but they possess good extreme pressure (EP) properties, particularly sulfur containing bismuth additives. Synergistic EP properties of BiNap with various sulfur-containing additives were investigated. The results indicate that BiNap exhibits good EP synergism with sulfur-containing additives. The surface analytical tools, such as X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), were used to investigate the topography, composition contents, and depth profile of some typical elements on the rubbing surface. Smooth topography of wear scar further confirms that the additive showed good EP capacities, and XPS and EDX analyzes indicate that tribochemical mixed protective films composed of bismuth, bismuth oxides, sulfides, and sulfates are formed on the rubbing surface, which improves the tribological properties of lubricants. In particular, a large number of bismuth atoms and bismuth sulfides play an important role in improving the EP properties of oils.

Additives, which are used to reduce wear and friction coefficient and are added into petroleum-based oils in various amounts, are known to be harmful rather than beneficial unless an appropriate working environment is used. It is critical that additives are utilized in the form of motor oil additives at the right time and in the right amount. This study aimed to determine wear performance of commercial borax^® product by adding a borax additive into the system at various working temperatures. In this study, mineral oil was heated at three different temperatures ($20^{\circ }$C, $50^{\circ }$C and $80^{\circ }$C) and wear performances were determined by adding commercially produced borax into mineral oil at these temperatures. It was seen that wear performance of commercial borax additive was not good at low temperatures. However, wear performance was better when the additive was added into the oil at temperatures higher than $50^{\circ }$C.

In this study, different additives such as cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), aluminum nitrate and tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) are selected, respectively, to bind zinc acetate in order to investigate its role in the formation of ZnO nanoparticles. Accordingly, the morphology and size of produced ZnO nanoparticles are affected by existence of the additives through XRD analyses and TEM observations. The particle size was found to be 32, 14, 15, and 28 nm for pure zinc acetate, zinc acetate/TOPO, zinc acetate/CTAB, and zinc acetate/aluminum nitrate, respectively. It is observed that the TOPO and CTAB decrease the size of ZnO nanoparticles, while the doping of aluminum to the precursor has no effect on its particle size. The obtained ZnO nanoparticles exhibited the direct optical bandgap of about 3.40–3.45 eV and their photoluminescence spectrum has a UV emission peak at about 363 nm which is slightly blue-shifted due to the smaller particle size of the ZnO nanoparticles in the presence of TOPO and CTAB additives.

One of the suitable methods for removing heavy metals from water is by using surface adsorption process. In this paper, the preparation of polypyrrole and its composites as adsorbents are discussed and the capability of separating mercury from water is investigated. The results indicated that the polypyrrole and its composites are able to remove mercury from aqueous media. Furthermore the adsorption percentage is related to the surface morphology, type of additives and its concentration.

In this work, the function of 4-nitroimidazole (4-NIm) in the formation of Cr-MIL-101 was confirmed. It was found that 4-NIm is an effective additive in the formation of Cr-MIL-101 synthesized at lower temperature. The investigation of crystallization time showed that 4-NIm can prevent Cr-MIL-101 phase converting into Cr-MIL-53 phase. The effect of concentration of 4-NIm on the morphology and the yield of Cr-MIL-101 may therefore be explained by increasing the nucleation rate. The investigation of crystallization temperature revealed that 4-NIm changes the synthesis temperature range of Cr-MIL-101 into 423–463 K. The assistant function of 4-NIm was played through interaction with H${}^{+}$ and NO${}^{3-}$ in the synthesis system, which may lead to enhancement of the deprotonation of H₂BDC.

Silicon/graphite composite anodes have drawn extensive attention in the field of power Li-ion batteries for application in electric vehicles because of their much higher capacity than that of traditional graphite anodes. In this work, ethylene sulfate (1,3,2-dioxathiolane-2,2-dioxide, DTD) is investigated as an electrolyte additive to improve the Li-storage performance of silicon/graphite composite anode. The electrochemical behavior of silicon/graphite anode including cyclic voltammogram, discharge/charge performance at various current density and during long-term cycling, and electrochemical impedance is systematically studied by adding different amounts of DTD into electrolyte. The effects of DTD on the solid/electrolyte interphase (SEI) film are analyzed through scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It is found that DTD participates into the film-formation process through its reductive decomposition reactions on electrode surface, producing a thin, uniform and stable SEI. The Li-storage performance of silicon/graphite anode is improved at an optimized addition amount of DTD.

During 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan, numerous historical wooden buildings suffered serious damage. Most of these historical wooden buildings are important cultural property in Taiwan, and their damages are related to the mud-plaster wall. For investigating the structural behavior of the mud-plaster wall, and establishing the fundamental knowledge for seismic assessment, in this study, the most important element, mud, in the mud-plaster wall is tested with different additive, under compressive load, in order to observe the properties of these specimens. The obtained failure mechanism is discussed, and the followings results are concluded.

• Specimen with cement added will have best initial elastic modulus E.
• Specimen with hemp fiber added allows higher plasticity displacement.
• Specimen with clay added will not help increase the strength.