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The application of IoT technology not only brings abundant data resources and intelligent management tools to higher education institutions, but also promotes innovation in academic research and efficient dissemination of knowledge. When the expansion of higher education scale is combined with IoT-based structural optimization, its driving effect on economic growth is significantly enhanced. On the one hand, the expansion of scale provides a vast experimental field and infinite possibilities for IoT-based structural optimization. On the other hand, the structural optimization driven by the Internet of Things ensures the accuracy and efficiency of scale expansion, effectively avoiding resource waste and low efficiency caused by blind expansion. This paper constructs a dynamic collaborative model between higher education and economic development in the context of IoT integration, and uses econometric methods to analyze in depth the specific impact of the expansion of higher education scale, IoT-driven structural optimization, and their synergistic effects on economic growth. The model results show that the expansion of higher education scale has a significant positive effect on economic growth with the help of IoT integration, and IoT-driven structural optimization has also become an important driving force for economic growth. It is particularly important that when these two work together, their driving effect on economic growth shows a clear nonlinear growth trend, further highlighting the key role of synergy and IoT integration in promoting high-quality economic development.

The NiTi claddings by tungsten inert gas (TIG) with Ni and Cu interlayer were manufactured to resist the cavitation erosion-corrosion (CEC). The cavitation test, the open circuit potential and the potentiodynamic polarization measurements were used to study the synergistic effect among cavitation erosion (CE) and corrosion for the NiTi claddings. After the CEC test for 11h, the cumulative mass loss of 304 stainless steel is 5 and 1.15 times that of NiTi-Ni-TIG cladding and NiTi-Cu-TIG cladding, respectively. In NiTi-Cu-TIG cladding, the galvanic corrosion between the Cu-Ti intermetallics and the B2 phase causes the anodic dissolution of the Cu-Ti intermetallics, and results in the B2 phase losing support and spalling off during the CEC test. In contrast, NiTi-Ni-TIG cladding can be used against the CEC because of its uniform microstructure, no Cu-rich area and the effect of corrosion on CE of NiTi-Ni-TIG cladding is small.

Scutellaria baicalensis (SbE) is a commonly used Chinese herb medicine and grape seed proanthocyanidins is a popular herbal supplement in the United States. Both herbs have been shown to possess potent antioxidant effects. Using an in vitro model to produce the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation (H₂O₂/FeSO₄ for hydroxyl radicals, xanthine/xanthine oxidase for suproxide), we observed that Scutellaria baicalensis and grape seed proanthocyanidins acted synergistically to scavenge ROS. Our data suggest that a combination of these two herbs can potentially enhance their antioxidant efficacy, allowing lower dosages of each drug to be used. This has the advantage of avoiding possible side effects that may arise when higher doses of a single herb are used in an attempt to achieve a maximum degree of antioxidant activity.

The synergistic effect of halide ions such as KCl, KBr and KI on the corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 1 N sulphuric acid by $\gamma$-2,c-6-diphenyl-t-3-methyl piperdin-4-ones with semicarbazone (01SC), $\gamma$-2,c-6-diphenyl-N-methyl-t-3-ethyl piperdin-4-ones with semicarbazone (02SC) and 2,6-diphenyl-t-3-ethyl piperdin-4-one with semicarbazone (03SC) has been examined by weight loss method, potentiodynamic polarization measurements and electrochemical AC impedance spectroscopy. Results show that substituted $\gamma$-2,c-6-diphenyl piperidin-4-ones with semicarbazone act as the perfect corrosion inhibitors and their inhibition efficiency increases with the addition of halide ions. The inhibitor (01SC) shows the inhibition efficiency of 78.28% (0.2mM) by using a weight loss method. The influence of I${}^{-}$, Br${}^{-}$ and Cl${}^{-}$ anions raises the inhibition efficiency of the substituted 2,6-diphenyl piperidin-4-ones with semicarbazone due to the synergistic effect. The synergistic effect of halide ions was formed in the following order: KI $>$ KBr $>$ KCl.

The rising demand for silver nanoparticles obtained by green method has made it necessary to search for readily available bio-materials that can serve as sustainable bio-reductant and stabilizers. Pennisetum purpureum is a readily available tropical plant commonly used as food, feed for livestock, and thermal energy production. In this study, extract from the leaves of Pennisetum purpureum was explored to prepare silver nanoparticles (Perp-AgNPs). The structural and optical properties of the particles were studied with scanning electron microscope, Ultraviolet-Visible spectrophotometer, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer and X-ray diffractometer. The antioxidant property of the Perp-AgNPs was studied by investigating its ability to scavenge 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radical. Enhanced activity of 83% was obtained by 1mg/mL of the Perp-AgNPs after 10 min of scavenging. In addition, IC${}_{50}=0.179$mg/mL was observed by the Perp-AgNPs. The antimicrobial property of the Perp-AgNPs was investigated against broad range of microorganisms, namely, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus mutans, Bacillus subtilis, Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi and Candida albicans. The minimum inhibitory concentration values ranged from 0.313 to 1.25mg/mL with Psuedomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus being the most susceptible. The Perp-AgNPs also demonstrated the ability to enhance the efficacy of standard antibiotic and antifungal agents. The antimicrobial combinatory effects were synergy and partial synergy against the selected microorganisms. The results from the study show that silver nanoparticles prepared with leaves extract of Pennisetum purpureum have adequate antioxidant and antimicrobial properties for applications in nanomedicine.

Adsorption behaviors of phenol from aqueous solutions have been investigated in batch systems at 303 K and 318 K respectively, using hypercrosslinked polymeric adsorbent (CHA111), aminated hypercrosslinked polymeric adsorbents (NDA101, NDA103, NDA105) and weakly basic polymeric adsorbent (D301) with a view to studying the effect of hydrogen bonding and Van der Waals interactions between adsorbate and the adsorbent. All adsorption isotherms can be well fitted by Langmuir and Freundlich equations. Compared with D301 driven by hydrogen bonding interaction only and CHA111 driven by Van der Waals interaction only, phenol adsorption on aminated adsorbents driven by both hydrogen bonding and Van der Waals interactions were apparently different, i.e., negative effect for NDA105, positive effect for NDA101 and synergistic effect for NDA103. In this synergistic action, some weak interactions would contribute more or less to the adsorption than they work individually.

Development of efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) remains a key issue for the commercialization of metal-air batteries. In this study, the novel structured Co₃O₄ nanoparticles-modified $\alpha$-MnO₂ nanorods supported on reduced graphene oxide (Co₃O₄-MnO₂/rGO) were synthesized with varying amounts of $\alpha$-MnO₂ via a facile two-step hydrothermal method. The relationship between the physical properties and the electrochemical results was investigated using X-ray diffraction spectrum, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammograms, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and rotating disk electrode. The as-prepared Co₃O₄–MnO₂ nanohybrid exhibits enhanced catalytic activity for ORR under alkaline condition compared with MnO₂/rGO and Co₃O₄/rGO. Furthermore, it mainly favors a direct 4e-reaction pathway for ORR, which is attributed to the well-designed structure, the synergistic effect between Co₃O₄ and $\alpha$-MnO₂, and the covalent coupling between the Co₃O₄-MnO₂ and reduced graphene oxide. The role of Co₃O₄ in Co₃O₄–MnO₂ hybrid for catalyzing ORR also has been illustrated by varying the mass ratio of Co₃O₄ and MnO₂, which reveals that the Co₃O₄–MnO₂ with the ratio of 1:1 has better catalytic activity.

The Cu₂O@H₂Ti₃O₇ nanocomposite was prepared through a facile hydrothermal method. The as-prepared samples were investigated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS), N₂ adsorption-desorption measurements and UV-Vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (UV-Vis–DRS). The photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared Cu₂O@H₂Ti₃O₇ nanocomposite is evaluated by the oxidation of ethyl mercaptan (EM) under sunlight irradiation. The results indicate that the Cu₂O nanoparticles are integrated uniformly on H₂Ti₃O₇ nanotubes, and the absorption edge of the nanocomposite has obviously shifted to visible light region compared to H₂Ti₃O₇ nanotubes. There is an obvious synergistic effect existing between the dispersed Cu₂O nanoparticles and H₂Ti₃O₇ nanotubes, and the Cu₂O@H₂Ti₃O₇ composite shows stronger visible spectral response and wider absorbance. Then, an enchanced photodegradation activity is obtained for the removal of EM under sunlight irradiation compared to its precursors.

Here, the lamellar-shaped Bi₂S₃ grown on a porous TiO₂ monolith was obtained by a two-step method including a sol–gel route and hydrothermal treatment. The photocatalytic activity of the as-synthesized Bi₂S₃/TiO₂ composites was evaluated for photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) dye in aqueous solution under the visible-light irradiation. Based on our experimental results, 5% (molar ratio of Bi₂S₃ to TiO${}_2)$ Bi₂S₃/TiO₂ photocatalysts exhibited a maximum photodegradation rate of MB up to 96.9% under visible-light irradiation for 120 min. Our findings indicated that the lamellar-shaped Bi₂S₃ can extend the light absorption up to visible areas, and porous TiO₂ can provide enhanced specific surface area and more mass transfer pathway to enhance the photodegradation efficiency. Furthermore, porous TiO₂ can accept the electrons from the Bi₂S₃ conduction band due to the relatively positive electrode potential to impede the photoproduced electron and hole combination to result in advanced photocatalytic performance.

A novel ternary Cu₂O/BiVO₄/RGO photocatalyst is successfully constructed by hydrothermal and evaporation-induced method, and it exhibits superior photocatalytic performance for degradation tetracycline (TC). Meanwhile, the visible light absorption range of composite photocatalyst is effectively broadened by the formation of heterojunction with narrow band gap semiconductor Cu₂O. And the separation efficiency of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs is significantly enhanced by the synergistic effect of Cu₂O and RGO. More importantly, the adsorption of TC by ternary Cu₂O/BiVO₄/RGO possesses high adsorption capacity, which is 23.73 times higher than that of pure BiVO₄. Additionally, the possible reaction mechanism is clearly revealed by radical trapping experiment, electron spin-resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. This work provides a new insight to design a photocatalyst with excellent adsorption to remove organic contaminants in water.

Fe₃O₄/Au nanocomopsites (Fe₃O₄/Au NPs) with much improved catalytic activity were successfully fabricated through a simple seed growth method in aqueous solution. The petal-like structure, high saturation magnetization, the negatively charged sodium citrate-stabilized Fe₃O₄/Au NPs was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The activated-H₂O₂ ability of Fe₃O₄/Au NPs was evaluated by using methylene blue (MB) as a cationic phenothiazines dye to be degraded in near neutral solution. The results showed Fe₃O₄/Au NPs removed over 95% MB from an aqueous solution within 60min under the optimum conditions. The apparent rate constant of Fe₃O₄/Au NPs was $10.8\times 10^{-2}$min${}^{-1}$ which was 43.2 and 8.3 times higher than pure Fe₃O₄ ($2.5\times 10^{-3}$min${}^{-1})$ and Au ($1.3\times 10^{-2}$min${}^{-1})$ NPs. The enhanced catalytic activity and increased oxidation rate constant probably owing to the synergistic effect between Fe₃O₄ and Au NPs to activate H₂O₂ generate a large amount of strong oxidizing species, such as $\cdot \mathrm{\text{OH}}$. In addition, nanocrystalline structure of Fe₃O₄/Au NPs was also very important to the peroxidase-like effect, especially the interaction interface between Fe₃O₄ and Au NPs. Moreover, Fe₃O₄/Au NPs was stable and could be regenerated and reused for at least five cycles.

Copper-palladium (CuPd)/boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS) nanocatalysts were successfully prepared by a microwave-assisted method by using BNNSs as a carrier. These catalysts with a low noble metal content had a high catalytic activity for Cr(VI) reduction at room temperature. The reaction rate reached 0.04044s${}^{-1}$, which was approximately 2.5 times that of Cu₈Pd₂/rGO with the same metal loading amount. Compared with the previously reported PdCu/NG nanocatalysts with a high noble metal content, the reaction rate increased more than five times. This is of great significance to the application of supported metal composites in environmental catalysis. The structure and morphology of the catalyst was characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Several types of control experiments showed that the catalytic activity of the catalysts was not only influenced by the synergistic effect of bimetallic CuPd and metal-BNNSs but also related to the catalytic effect of the BNNS carrier itself.

The Cu₂O/reduced graphene oxide (Cu₂O/rGO) composites with effective crystallographic facet controlling of Cu₂O crystals were fabricated through a simple one-step wet chemistry method. The crystallographic facet-dependent photocatalytic performance of Cu₂O was confirmed, favoring the cuboctahedral Cu₂O with {100} and {111} facets and a better photocatalytic activity when compared to cubic and octahedral ones. This was attributed to the slight difference of surface energy between {100} and {111} facets which served as a driving force to promote the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Moreover, the introduction of two-dimensional rGO sheets could accelerate the transfer of photogenerated electrons from Cu₂O to rGO, which further promoted the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible-light irradiation. The cuboctahedral Cu₂O/rGO composite exhibited a superb photocatalytic performance with the degradation percentage of MO about 97.6% after one periodic photocatalysis due to the synergistic effect of cuboctahedral Cu₂O and rGO sheets, foreboding its potential application as photocatalyst.

MoO₃@CoMoO₄ hybrid is fabricated by a facile one-step hydrothermal method and is used as anode for lithium-ion battery (LIB). Compared to pristine MoO₃, galvanostatic charge–discharge tests show that the hybrid electrode delivered a remarkable rate capability of 586.69mAhg${}^{-1}$ at the high current density of 1000mAg${}^{-1}$ and a greatly enhanced cyclic capacity of 887.36mAhg${}^{-1}$ after 140 cycles at the current density of 200mAg${}^{-1}$ (with capacity retention, 85.3%). The superior electrochemical properties could be ascribed to the synergistic effect of MoO₃ and CoO nanostructure that results in the lower charge transfer resistance and the higher Li${}^{+}$ diffusion coefficient, thus leading to high performance Li${}^{+}$ reversibility storage.

In this paper, we fabricated carbon-encapsulated cobalt/tricobalt tetroxide complex nanomaterials (Co/Co₃O₄@C) by a simple arc-discharged method and controlled annealing in air. Controlled annealing can solve the problem of poor hydrophilicity of materials prepared by arc-discharged method, and what’s more, a large number of Co/Co₃O₄ heterointerfaces can be constructed. Carbon-encapsulated Co/Co₃O₄ exhibited excellent catalytic performance in the catalytic hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), even better than that of the reported precious metal catalysts in the literature. Excellent catalytic performance not only contributed to improved hydrophilicity, but also contributed to the synergistic effects of Co and Co₃O₄ on the catalytic 4-NP hydrogenation. The preparation process is appropriate for synthesizing various defective-rich metals or alloy@carbon electrocatalysts.

Hierarchical flower-like Ni₃V₂O₈/Co₃V₂O₈ composites were prepared by a simple one-step hydrothermal process. When employed as an anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the fabricated Ni₃V₂O₈/Co₃V₂O₈ composites exhibited significantly improved lithium storage performances with superior discharge capacity (1142.7mAhg${}^{-1}$ at 100mAg${}^{-1}$), excellent cycling stability (933.2mAhg${}^{-1}$ after 600 cycles at current density of 500mAg${}^{-1}$) and remarkable rate capability (607.6mAhg${}^{-1}$ even at rate of 5000mA g${}^{-1}$). The superior electrochemical properties could be attributed to the hierarchical flower-like structure and impressive synergistic interplay between Ni₃V₂O₈ and Co₃V₂O₈, which resulted in improved electronic conductivity and stable mass transfer. This interesting hybridization strategy might open a new avenue to prepare micro/nanostructured composites for high-performance energy storage devices.

Electrochromic (EC) materials have been widely studied in energy-saving smart windows due to their reversible control of optical performance under electric fields. Novel tungsten oxide-poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (WO₃-PEDOT) core–shell inverse opal (IO) films are obtained by electrochemical polymerization of PEDOT onto WO₃ IO templates. The WO₃ IO templates are prepared through the electrodeposition of WO₃ into the voids of a polystyrene (PS) colloidal crystal, followed by calcination to remove the polystyrene microspheres. The designed microstructure and chemical composition of the WO₃-PEDOT IO films are determined by SEM, XRD, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. The WO₃-PEDOT IO films exhibit promising optical contrast ($\sim$52% at 600 nm and $\sim$77% at 1020 nm), indicating their bifunctional potentials in both visible and near infrared (NIR) region modulation. The WO₃-PEDOT IO films also show excellent EC properties of much shorter response time (6.7 s for coloring and 5.8 s for bleaching) and superior cycling stability than that of the bare WO₃ IO. These results suggest that the synergistic effect between the WO₃ IO core and PEDOT shell may greatly increase the electrolyte accessibility to active sites and improve the interaction between the inorganic/organic interfaces to obtain enhanced EC performance.

Environmental, endogenous DNA damaging agents and genetic factors cause aberrant changes in the normally functioning genes leading to tumor. The treatment strategies of cancer are varied and mostly they are administered in combination. The application of complementary and alternative medicine, which includes phytochemicals and herbal extracts, leads to chances of herb-drug interactions. The interaction could be adverse or advantageous and it is due to a number of factors which are not fully understood. Changes in cell signaling pathways, pharmacokinetic interactions, reversal of multi-drug resistance, and increase in immunity are a few mechanisms where the phytochemicals can act in synergy with anti-cancer drugs.

In this paper, mixing experiment method is taken as a main measure, and the interaction of chlorinated paraffin, organic silicon, glycerol and olein in paraffin base fluid is inspected. Experiment results show that singly adding organic silicon can greatly reduce grinding wheel passivation rate and improve machining efficiency, and is an ideal additive during grinding of silicon nitride ceramics. Singly adding glycerol and olein can improve the grinding wheel passivation rate, and is not beneficial to the enhancement of grinding wheel durability. Although the effect is poor when glycerol is singly used, the glycerol can achieve proper synergistic effect, and can further reduce the grinding wheel passivation rate when being used with other reagents at the same time in experiments.