bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Democracy in Latin America
Authors: Palti Elías José
Published: June 2017

In Latin America a series of bloody military coups followed one after another as a result of the introduction of the region into the Cold War after the Cuban revolution. Thus, paradoxically, the same factor that in Europe served to consolidate the prestige of democracy rendered it unviable in Latin America. This affirmation in the West of the democratic consensus and expansion in Latin America of military dictatorships was, in turn, retrospectively projected, lending credibility to the idea of the existence of an innate incompatibility between the traditionalist local culture and modern, universal principles of democracy. Yet this view must be revised since, as the entry shows, it smooths over the intricacies of the process of political modernization in the region, obliterating the conflictual nature of the problems the agents historically faced in the task of instituting a postcolonial system of government.
Indentured Laborers
Authors: Mohabir Nalini
Published: June 2017

Indentureship is a widespread form of contractual labor migrancy, which began in the sixteenth century and lasted until the twentieth, with continuing resonance to this day. Scholarship on indentured laborers has been concerned with the degree of coercion or free agency involved in the system.
Indian Literature in Hindi
Authors: Sajid Nida
Published: June 2017

This entry provides an overview of the diversity of literatures written in the Hindi language in the Indian subcontinent. Covering the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial periods of South Asian history, it illustrates numerous transitions and transformations in the Hindi language and its literary traditions. It also focuses on the politics of language, religion, and nationalism in the subcontinent and its effect on the formation of literary canons and histories in the Hindi language.
Indian Literature, Criticism and Theory
Authors: Pulugurtha Nishi
Published: June 2017

This entry gives an account of Indian literature in brief by referring to the major trends in the chief Indian languages. It then focuses on Indian literary theory, which is basically that of the Sanskrit language and literature. The major literary concepts and notions with their nuances are referred to. Mention is made of the various genres, the rules pertaining to style, decorum, and the concept of
rasa
among other critical concepts in use in Indian literary criticism. Important scholars in the tradition are referred to, along with their contributions. The growth and development of Indian literary thought and its application are discussed.
International Relations
Authors: Adiong Nassef Manabilang
Published: June 2017

International relations is commonly understood as the study of behaviors and interactions of nation‐states (such as the United States or China), regional organizations (such as the European Union or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), international organizations (such as the United Nations or World Bank), and multinational corporations (such as Google or McDonalds). The question whether these examples may further be characterized as governmental, intergovernmental, or nongovernmental in nature depends on the hybridity of the tasks and roles they undertake and the mission‐vision of these organizations.
Japanese Popular Culture
Authors: Khan Mohammed Abdul Mujeeb
Published: June 2017

Contemporary Japanese culture has become equivalent in meaning with both innovation and tradition. This ostensibly contradictory characterization of Japanese culture has deep roots dating back to Japan's early modern period. Japanese popular culture's most salient features are seen in art forms new and derived and in traditions old and new. For example, in art, manga and anime are two of Japan's most powerful cultural ambassadors, finding avid fans throughout the world and even leading to the rise of inspired media and similar art forms abroad. As cultural ambassadors, this culture came to be considered a new type of diplomatic tool: soft power. Japanese culture from manga and anime to technological gadgets as imagined abroad is a part of the foreign imagination, but locally a voracious reading culture and a highly systematized consumer culture also thrive but are neglected by foreign observers. Before a discussion of modern manifestations of popular culture, this entry outlines historical aspects of cultural development in Japan. In doing so, it briefly covers cultural development and activities during earlier periods of Japanese history, from state unification through the modern period.
Asturias, Miguel Ángel
Authors: Mahmoodi‐Bakhtiari Behrooz
Published: June 2017

Nobel Prize‐winning Guatemalan novelist, poet, diplomat, playwright, and journalist Miguel Ángel Asturias (1899–1974) is one of the pioneering authors who established Latin American literature's contribution to mainstream Western culture, as well as drawing attention to the importance of indigenous cultures in literature. The sociopolitical interests which have emerged in his works are the decline of Mayan civilization as a result of the Spanish colonization of Latin America; the effects of political dictatorships on society; and the exploitation of his people by foreign‐owned companies.
Liberation in Latin America
Authors: Orellana Rodrigo Castro
Published: June 2017

The fundamental background for the development of the concept of liberation has been a discussion of the possibility of a Latin American philosophy, dependency theory, liberation theology, and the phenomenon of populism in Latin America during the twentieth century. Within this context, the concept is anchored within a philosophical program that denounces Eurocentrism and claims a Latin American cultural authenticity. This program has gone through different stages from 1969 to the present, establishing a significant and problematic intellectual dialogue with Marxism, postmodern theory, and postcolonial theories
Luxemburg, Rosa
Authors: Ricordeau Gwenola
Published: June 2017

Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919), a German of Polish descent, was a Marxist theorist, revolutionary socialist, and anti‐imperialist activist who cofounded the Communist Party of Germany. She was involved in the left wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and advocated for mass strikes as a revolutionary strategy opposed to participation in bourgeois elections. Foreseeing World War I, she energetically attacked German militarism and imperialism. When the SPD voted for war credits in 1914, she founded with Karl Liebknecht and Clara Zetkin (among others) the Die Internationale group that in 1916 became the Spartakusbund. Due to her political anti‐war and anti‐imperialist activities, she was imprisoned during most of the war. After her release from jail by the German Revolution in November 1918, she co‐founded the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), but she and Karl Liebknecht were assassinated by Freikorps (reactionary paramilitary group).
Marshall, Paule
Authors: Hathaway Heather
Published: June 2017

Paule Marshall, born in the United States of Barbadian immigrants, offers valuable cross‐cultural perspectives on gender, nation, race, and postcoloniality. As suggested by her 2009 memoir,
Triangular Road
, she locates her own history and her stories in the Caribbean, Africa, and the United States, and explores the imperial and colonial dynamics among the three regions. Author of five novels, two collections of short fiction, a memoir, numerous essays, and recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Guggenheim, Ford, and MacArthur Foundations, Marshall is among the most highly accomplished US‐based writers exploring postcolonialism.
McKay, Claude
Authors: Camarasana Linda
Published: June 2017

Claude McKay (1889–1948), a Jamaican‐born colonial exile and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance who also helped inspire the Négritude movement, was a transnational black leftist writer and intellectual whose work explored black identity, racism, class struggle, migration, and the global system of Western colonialism. McKay wrote poetry in Jamaican dialect and traditional English verse forms; short stories; five novels; two memoirs; and two studies of race in the United States. His articles and poems appeared in leftist and revolutionary newspapers and periodicals. A colonial exile from age 22, McKay traveled widely and lived in Harlem and Chicago, major European cities, Soviet Russia, and North Africa. His Harlem Renaissance works include racial protest poems; and his second novel,
Banjo
, brings together black characters from African countries and the black diaspora.
Banana Bottom
(1933), the last novel published in McKay's lifetime, is about the protagonist's search for identity and belonging in colonial Jamaica.
Middle Eastern Anti‐Colonialism
Authors: Hassan‘ Naglaa Saad M.
Published: June 2017

The Middle East, a Eurocentric term referring to this pivotal heart of the “old world” stretching from Egypt in the west to Iran in the east and from Turkey in the north to Yemen in the south, has a rich history of anti‐colonial struggle. The Middle East has to pay the price for its strategic geopolitical significance by falling victim to the steady drives of imperial powers. Colonialism served to re‐map the region with some states annexed, others disconnected, and still others, as in the case of Palestine, defaced. The discovery of oil enhanced and renewed these imperial desires which revealed themselves in the US invasion of Iraq. Within this convoluted context, anti‐colonialism displayed itself in multiple forms – violent and nonviolent, discursive and political, individual and communal – uniting, however, in the single aim of reclaiming land and preserving religion and language, particularly in the case of Arab countries.
Mimicry
Authors: Ganapathy‐Doré Geetha
Published: June 2017

Derived from Greek and borrowed from biology, “mimicry” means resembling by imitation. It is closely related to, but distinct from, mimesis. It gained prominence thanks to the contribution of feminist scholars like Irigaray and Butler, and especially the postcolonial scholar Bhabha who has teased out the various significations of the term as colonial strategy and discourse. Postcolonial hybridity and contemporary transmesis offer a way out of the closure of mimicry. However, international call centers make mimicry of American English a gateway to commercial success.
Mittelholzer, Edgar
Authors: Nair Supriya M.
Published: June 2017

Edgar Mittelholzer was a writer at the forefront of the 1950s generation of Anglophone Caribbean literature. Of mixed racial descent but from a Guyanese family that identified as white and European (particularly German) descent, Mittelholzer's dark skin created a rift with his father and led to his conflicted sense of self. He began writing at an early age and continued to write after he left for England in 1948, eventually producing over 20 novels (sometimes publishing more than one in the same year) and other works. But it involved a bitter struggle and, unable to cope with his depression and financial difficulties, he committed suicide in 1965. His work is distinct in style, but speaks to the pervasive issues of slavery, settlement, racism, colonialism, and other aspects of empire.
Mphahlele, Es'kia
Authors: Rogers Asha
Published: June 2017

The South African anti‐apartheid writer, critic, and intellectual Es'kia Mphahlele (formerly Ezekiel Mphahlele) was the leading proponent of African humanism. Banned by the apartheid regime and exiled for most of his career, Mphahlele was author of the autobiographies
Down Second Avenue
(1959) and
Afrika My Music
(1984), short story collections
Man Must Live
(1946) and
In Corner B
(1967), novels
The Wanderers
(1971) and
Chirundu
(1981), and critical works
The African Image
(1962) and
Voices in the Whirlwind
(1972). Regarded as the “dean of African letters,” Es'kia Mphahlele engaged both critically and creatively with the South African experience under apartheid, and the cultures of the African diaspora more generally.
Mudimbe, V. Y.
Authors: Wilkins Sam
Published: June 2017

Valentin Yves Mudimbe, (1941– ) is a Congolese‐American philosopher, philologist, linguist, essayist, poet, and novelist. He has produced a broad range of work on his wide‐ranging specialties since the 1970s. Most relevant to postcolonial theory has been his work on the epistemological origins and foundations of representations of Africa, especially his acclaimed
The Invention of Africa
, published in 1988.
Multiculturalism
Authors: Bahrawi Nazry
Published: June 2017

A contested concept in today's age of nation‐states, “multiculturalism” can refer to both institutional practice and theoretical assumptions. While the term has multiple meanings, multiculturalism in both senses shares the common goal of addressing diversity in human societies, with some focus on citizenship. This entry considers the practice and theory of multiculturalism from the postcolonial perspective. It argues that multiculturalism deals with postcolonial issues of Self and the Other, essences and hybrids, masters and slaves. The entry juxtaposes the idea and manifestations of multiculturalism that have developed in parts of the Western world with those formulated in parts of Asia in relation to race, religion, and gender. To this end, it outlines the tracts of thinkers of multiculturalism such as Charles Taylor, Stuart Hall, Syed Hussein Alatas, and Ashis Nandy to get a fuller sense of the term.
Music
Authors: Bushnell Cameron Fae
Published: June 2017

The subject “Music,” even delimited by the titular “Postcolonial Studies,” describes an enormous range of musical styles and genres from an expansive geography composed, performed, and listened to in a vast array of personal, social, religious, and political circumstances. Given its highly mobile circulation across political borders and its facile interpenetration of multifarious cultural expressions, music promises a portrait of a utopic postcolonial admixture of cultures, much as creolité provides in language. At the same time, “world music” raises questions about differential relations of power and histories of colonialism and postcoloniality that the term seems to elide. This entry demonstrates not only the asymmetry of power relations in the movement of music from West to East, but also underscores both the indigenization of European forms and the interpenetration of musical styles between colonized nations and among various, primarily Anglophone, diasporas.
Narayan, R. K.
Authors: Jain Bhawana
Published: June 2017

R. K. Narayan (1906–2001) is considered one of India's finest authors writing in English. His creative writings, spanning more than 50 years, won the admiration of writers such as Somerset Maugham and E. M. Forster and a wider public recognition throughout the world. His writings are rich in serious comedy and realism. His fictional town of Malgudi is the locus of many of his gripping novels and short stories. The particularity in depicting the universal human condition through the local and ordinary Indian life is an important characteristic of his works.
Neocolonialism in Latin America
Authors: Intersimone Luis Alfredo
Published: June 2017

Overlapping with the concept of populism and a Marxist version of dependency theory, the premise of neocolonialism in Latin America bloomed in the 1960s. The center–periphery relation that neocolonialism speaks of implicitly carries with it the idea of a capitalism that functions on a multinational level promoting political intervention and economic exploitation, thus explaining the relations between the United States and Latin America. This is why Roberto Fernández Retamar considered Cuba to be the first “neocolony” since 1898. Brazilian writer Darcy Ribeiro and the filmmakers Fernando Solanas and Osvaldo Getino have also tried to develop the concept. It is significant today in view of the wave of new, leftist governments that have emerged in the region and that are trying to put into practice theories developed 40 years ago.
Nkrumah, Kwame
Authors: Grimm Kevin E.
Published: June 2017

As he led Ghana to independence in 1957, Kwame Nkrumah became a symbol to the world of a decolonizing Africa. He inspired many nonwhite populations around the globe, including African Americans, to continue their struggles for freedom. His ideology of Nkrumaism (or Nkrumahism), also called Consciencism, combined socialism, pan‐Africanism, and an opposition to economic neocolonialism. Nkrumah also strove to keep Ghana, and Africa, politically and economically independent and nonaligned in the bipolar Cold War. While his centralization of political power, the lack of results from Nkrumaism and Consciencism, and the decay of Ghana's economy led to a successful military coup against him in 1966, during the late 1950s and early 1960s Nkrumah's pan‐Africanism, nonalignment, and opposition to neocolonialism were important and influential ideas in the nonwhite, nonaligned Third World during the height of the Cold War.
North American Anti‐Colonialism
Authors: Richards Jason
Published: June 2017

North American anti‐colonialism is generally thought of in terms of the colonists’ resistance to the British Empire in the last half of the eighteenth century. But America was itself a colonizing power, which infringed upon Native American territory and enslaved African Americans. These forms of internal colonization were fiercely contested by wars of Indian resistance as well as slave rebellions, acts of opposition that demonstrate the various forms of anti‐colonialism in North America.
Plaatje, Sol T.
Authors: Davies Dominic
Published: June 2017

Sol Plaatje (1876–1932) was founding general secretary of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC, later the African National Congress or ANC) and the first black African to publish a novel in English. These two achievements are emblematic of a life that was defined by both literary prominence and political activism. He was a prolific journalist and newspaper editor, providing avenues for political education and documenting the oppression and dispossession of native Africans. He was also a talented linguist and cross‐cultural interpreter, publishing translations of Shakespeare into Setswana for his African readers and Setswana proverbs into English for his British ones. His two most widely read works,
Native Life in South Africa
(1916) and
Mhudi
(1930), are both concerned with reclaiming native African culture and history with a view to the sorts of political enfranchisement and empowerment that would not be realized in South Africa until 1994: he was a man both of, and ahead of, his times.
Realism in Brazilian Literature
Authors: Gumbrecht Hans Ulrich
Published: June 2017

Two innovative theses will be developed in reference to the concept of Brazilian realism. The first of these concerns realism as a body of texts whose center and origin are constituted by the three canonized and final novels of Joaquim Machado de Assis. Second, realism is understood not as a (close to) “objective” representation of extratextual reality, but as an intensity of reflection and narrative experimentation within a historical situation of epistemological uncertainty, concerning the possibility of understanding and describing the world in a consensual fashion. Starting out with Machado de Assis's experimental textual play within this historical situation, a nationally specific genealogy of realism can be traced from the late nineteenth into the twentieth century, connecting Machado's work to that of such classical Brazilian authors as Euclides da Cunha and Guimarães Rosa.
Religion
Authors: Santesso Esra Mirze
Published: June 2017

Religion has an ambivalent place in postcolonial studies. While discussions of faith and spirituality are central to many postcolonial cultural productions, critical considerations of the same are relatively uncommon: the supposed liberalism of the humanities is thought to exist in contrast to the irrational and coercive discourse of religion. Even though Christianity was an important ally in furthering colonial interests, and the colonizer's religion replaced native spiritual practices, there was little interest in thinking about religion's impact on postcolonial identity. Recently, though, there has been a renewed interest in religion as an extension of diasporic subjectivity – so much so that Otherness, defined solely on the basis of race in postwar Europe, is now also a designation of religious difference. As a result of migrations from former colonies to Western states, new and competing forms of faith have begun to emerge, complicating the implementation of liberal and multicultural policies within secular states.
Resistance
Authors: Davies Dominic
Published: June 2017

Resistance is a central concept and defining feature of postcolonial studies. The political and critical project of postcolonialism is both to look back, recovering historical resistances, and to look forward, initiating new forms of resistance. However, postcolonialism also interrogates definitions of resistance, examining its own deployment of the term and critically reflecting on the way in which resistance might be recovered and instigated. The field's self‐reflexivity and ongoing internal debates enable a shifting conception of resistance that refuses to be pinned down, but that is nevertheless able to seek, continuously and regeneratively, new counter‐tactics against hegemonic power and to work toward the liberation of oppressed peoples. Charting the etymological and semantic overlaps of resistance and postcolonialism, as well as some of the contributions to understandings of resistance by key postcolonial writers and critics, this entry explains why postcolonial resistance has been crucial to historical and literary work of the twentieth century and why it is still of imperative political and critical relevance in the twenty‐first.
Sembène, Ousmane
Authors: Diabate Naminata
Published: June 2017

Ousmane Sembène (1923–2007), was a filmmaker, novelist, and short‐story writer. Hailed as the father of African cinema, his many films, documentaries, and novels have earned him continental and global fame. His works occupy a crucial place in the teaching of African cinema, literature, and culture, both inside and outside the continent. The scholarly and popular attention to Sembène's productions reflects his artistry and his investment in social change. Critique of the ills of colonialism, marginalization of the materially dispossessed, post‐independence kleptocracy, and problematic cultural practices constitutes the backbone of his esthetic (literary and cinematic) productions. Although already a successful novelist, Sembène turned to filmmaking, shooting in African languages, in an attempt to reach the widest possible African audience. Despite his goal of seeking to transform consciousness with films such as
Moolaade
and
Xala
, Sembène avoided comforting, simplistic positions, leaving viewers free to make their own decisions.
Settler Colonies and Settlement Literature
Authors: Weaver‐Hightower Rebecca
Published: June 2017

Postcolonial scholarship has tended to discuss settlement by referring to European colonization beginning in the early modern period and by differentiating “settler colonies” (like Australia and Canada) from “occupation colonies” (like Nigeria and India). Equally often, though, only the settler colony is defined and named, thus constructing its opposite (the occupation colony) as the unmarked colonial norm. The most basic distinction between the two is that, after the formal end of colonization, in settler colonies the colonizing population remained, whereas in the occupation colony most of the colonizing population returned home. One can best understand settler colonies by highlighting their distinctions from occupation colonies, though these differences between the two have been and continue to be debated.
Krausism
Authors: Orden Jiménez Rafael V.
Published: June 2017

Krausism is a philosophical movement of liberal humanism that advocates social, legal, political, and educational reform, and which was very influential in Spanish‐ and Portuguese‐speaking countries during the second half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. This philosophical current was inspired by the ideas of German philosopher Karl Christian Friedrich Krause (1781–1832) and his most prominent disciples, German legal scholar Heinrich Ahrens (1808–74) and Belgian philosopher Guillaume Tiberghien (1819–1901). Krausist ideas greatly influenced various Spanish‐speaking countries in their project of developing a process of modernization in accordance with the tradition of continental European humanism. The influence of Krause's philosophy is considered a phenomenon particular to Spain and the Spanish‐speaking countries of Latin America.
Diaspora
Authors: Neutill Rani , Desai Jigna
Published: June 2017

From its Greek root,
diaspora
means to literally scatter or sow across. The
Oxford English Dictionary
traces its usage to a reference in the Old Testament (Deut. 28:25) to the dispersal of the people of Israel across the world. Traditionally, the term diaspora relies on the idea of a home that has been left behind, or a home that one did not personally occupy but that one's ancestors did. Contemporary dispersed communities, known today as diasporas, differ from the original definition. Recent studies in diaspora move away from the idea of return and fixed notions of homeland and look at the intersectional nature of identity as it relates not only to race, gender, and class, but also to sexuality. This entry reviews the field of diaspora studies, examining theories of the nation, postcolonial studies, and transnationalism.
Lahiri, Jhumpa
Authors: Jussawalla Feroza
Published: June 2017

Jhumpa Lahiri (1967– ) is the Rabindranath Tagore or Jane Austen of contemporary diasporic American literature. Like Jane Austen, she works deftly on a “two inch bit of ivory,” Bengali family life in the US diaspora. Lahiri is an American writer dealing with American materials, the condition of immigration to America, and the cross‐cultural interaction therein.
Tutuola, Amos
Authors: Brown Michelle Lynn
Published: June 2017

Amos Tutuola was a Nigerian novelist and short‐story writer who lived from 1920 to 1997. He is best known for introducing Yoruba oral narrative traditions into mainstream written Anglophone Nigerian literature. Many of his novels and stories are episodic hero quests involving supernatural elements. His earliest novel,
The Palm‐Wine Drinkard and His Dead Palm‐Wine Tapster in the Deads’ Town
(1952), attracted immediate international attention and established Tutuola's influence on African literature by asserting the artistic value of Yoruba oral narratives and themes. His example signaled liberation from previous adherence to strictly Western novelistic conventions.
Villaverde, Cirilo
Authors: Williams Claudette
Published: June 2017

A major actor in the anti‐colonial politics of nineteenth‐century Cuba, Cirilo Villaverde is best known as the author of the iconic antislavery novel
Cecilia Valdés
(1882). The author used his novel to express his hostility to the practices and premises of slavery and to expose the complex dynamics of the institution. Villiaverde's antislavery sentiments exist in a symbiotic alliance with his
independentista
politics and paradoxically, in a dissonant relationship with the Eurocentricism of his anti‐black racism.
Chinese Literature
Authors: Lupke Christopher
Published: June 2017

The unequal relationship between the so‐called First World and China has marked its literature in indelible ways. Although authors have negotiated this unequal relationship in a variety of ways, the fact that issues of uneven development, colonial incursion, all‐out war, the extraction of natural resources and agricultural products, the raiding of the Chinese national coffers, and the imposition cultural and psychological complexes add up to the fact that Chinese literatures certainly can be and should be viewed in a postcolonial light.
Photoresponsive Smart Coloration Electrochromic Supercapacitor
Authors: Yun Tae Gwang , Kim Donghyuk , Kim Yong Ho , Park Minkyu , Hyun Seungmin , Han Seung Min
Published: June 2017

Electrochromic devices have been widely adopted in energy saving applications by taking advantage of the electrode coloration, but it is critical to develop a new electrochromic device that can undergo smart coloration and can have a wide spectrum in transmittance in response to input light intensity while also functioning as a rechargeable energy storage system. In this study, a photoresponsive electrochromic supercapacitor based on cellulose‐nanofiber/Ag‐nanowire/reduced‐graphene‐oxide/WO3‐composite electrode that is capable of undergoing “smart” reversible coloration while simultaneously functioning as a reliable energy‐storage device is developed. The fabricated device exhibits a high coloration efficiency of 64.8 cm2 C−1 and electrochemical performance with specific capacitance of 406.0 F g−1, energy/power densities of 40.6–47.8 Wh kg−1 and 6.8–16.9 kW kg−1. The electrochromic supercapacitor exhibits excellent cycle reliability, where 75.0% and 94.1% of its coloration efficiency and electrochemical performance is retained, respectively, beyond 10 000 charge–discharge cycles. Cyclic fatigue tests show that the developed device is mechanically durable and suitable for wearable electronics applications. The smart electrochromic supercapacitor system is then integrated with a solar sensor to enable photoresponsive coloration where the transmittance changes in response to varying light intensity.
Carbon Dots as Fillers Inducing Healing/Self‐Healing and Anticorrosion Properties in Polymers
Authors: Zhu Cheng , Fu Yijun , Liu Changan , Liu Yang , Hu Lulu , Liu Juan , Bello Igor , Li Hao , Liu Naiyun , Guo Sijie , Huang Hui , Lifshitz Yeshayahu , Lee Shuit‐Tong , Kang Zhenhui
Published: June 2017

Self‐healing is the way by which nature repairs damage and prolongs the life of bio entities. A variety of practical applications require self‐healing materials in general and self‐healing polymers in particular. Different (complex) methods provide the rebonding of broken bonds, suppressing crack, or local damage propagation. Here, a simple, versatile, and cost‐effective methodology is reported for initiating healing in bulk polymers and self‐healing and anticorrosion properties in polymer coatings: introduction of carbon dots (CDs), 5 nm sized carbon nanocrystallites, into the polymer matrix forming a composite. The CDs are blended into polymethacrylate, polyurethane, and other common polymers. The healing/self‐healing process is initiated by interfacial bonding (covalent, hydrogen, and van der Waals bonding) between the CDs and the polymer matrix and can be optimized by modifying the functional groups which terminate the CDs. The healing properties of the bulk polymer–CD composites are evaluated by comparing the tensile strength of pristine (bulk and coatings) composites to those of fractured composites that are healed and by following the self‐healing of scratches intentionally introduced to polymer–CD composite coatings. The composite coatings not only possess self‐healing properties but also have superior anticorrosion properties compared to those of the pure polymer coatings.
A priority supposition for estimation of time‐dependent changes in thickness and weight of polymeric flat sheet membranes fabricated by the nonsolvent induced phase separation (NIPS) technique
Authors: Asgarpour Khansary Milad , Aroon Mohammad Ali , Marjani Azam , Shirazian Saeed
Published: June 2017

During the fabrication procedure of polymeric membranes using nonsolvent induced phase inversion technique, thickness and weight of the polymeric cast film change rapidly. The only available guideline just presents a qualitative criterion for thickness change in which “penetration of the denser species into the film and the elimination of the lighter ones from film to coagulation bath” have been related to the densification of the cast solution and its thickness reduction. While it is well‐suited for cellulose acetate/acetone/water ternary system, it is not applicable to our investigated systems, that is, polyethersulfone/n‐methyl‐pyrolidine/water and polysulfone/N‐methylpyrrolidone/water. Thus, here the thermo‐kinetic behavior of NIPS process was discussed, and then a thermodynamic model was developed, in which only initial cast film and final membrane properties were used as inputs. Two new simple suppositions were derived and examined. The use of thermodynamic modeling approach results in desirable estimation of overall changes, and the proposed suppositions also can be reliably used for prediction of changes in mass and thickness experienced by cast film NIPS process. It was shown that without the implication of some serious assumptions, it is impossible to derive the old supposition from theoretical concepts. It was also found that the interpretation of film thickness reduction in literatures cannot be validated. Using the presented theoretical concept, one can obtain an overview of the decrease and/or increase in thickness and/or weight of final fabricated membrane prior to any experimental investigation.
Two‐Dimensional Metal–Organic Framework Nanosheets for Membrane‐Based Gas Separation
Authors: Peng Yuan , Li Yanshuo , Ban Yujie , Yang Weishen
Published: June 2017

Metal–organic framework (MOF) nanosheets could serve as ideal building blocks of molecular sieve membranes owing to their structural diversity and minimized mass‐transfer barrier. To date, discovery of appropriate MOF nanosheets and facile fabrication of high performance MOF nanosheet‐based membranes remain as great challenges. A modified soft‐physical exfoliation method was used to disintegrate a lamellar amphiprotic MOF into nanosheets with a high aspect ratio. Consequently sub‐10 nm‐thick ultrathin membranes were successfully prepared, and these demonstrated a remarkable H2/CO2 separation performance, with a separation factor of up to 166 and H2 permeance of up to 8×10−7 mol m−2 s−1 Pa−1 at elevated testing temperatures owing to a well‐defined size‐exclusion effect. This nanosheet‐based membrane holds great promise as the next generation of ultrapermeable gas separation membrane.
Simulated Isotope Exchange Patterns Enable Protein Structure Determination
Authors: Borysik Antoni J.
Published: June 2017

Understanding the myriad protein–protein interactions required for cell function requires efficient leveraging of biophysical data to drive computational docking. The detailed insight into protein interfaces provided by isotope exchange endows this experimental technique with a unique importance for docking approaches. However, progress in coupling these methods is hindered by the inability to interpret the complex exchange patterns in relation to protein structure. A method to simulate protein isotope exchange patterns from docking outputs is described and its utility to guide the selection of native assemblies demonstrated. Unique signatures are generated for each docking pose, allowing high‐throughput ranking of whole docking simulations by pairwise comparison to experimental outputs. Native assemblies are obtained using nothing but their simulated profiles as restraints and experimental difference data for individual proteins are sufficient to drive structure determination for the whole complex.
Vom Boran zum Borylen ohne Reduktion: ambiphiles Verhalten einer monovalenten Silylisonitril‐Borverbindung
Authors: Arrowsmith Merle , Auerhammer Dominic , Bertermann Rüdiger , Braunschweig Holger , Celik Mehmet Ali , Erdmannsdörfer Julian , Krummenacher Ivo , Kupfer Thomas
Published: June 2017

Die Deprotonierung von [(cAAC)BH2(CN)] ermöglicht den Zugang zum stabilen Borylanion, [(cAAC)BH(CN)]−. Während die Addition weicher Elektrophile am nukleophilen Boratom stattfindet, addieren härtere Silylelektrophile am härteren terminalen Stickstoff der Cyanogruppe. Die daraus entstandene Verbindung, [(cAAC)BH(CNSiPh3)], reagiert sowohl als ein Silyliumboryl‐Nukleophil wie auch als ein neutrales Silylisonitril‐Borylen.
The Direct Catalytic Oxidation of Methane to Methanol—A Critical Assessment
Authors: Ravi Manoj , Ranocchiari Marco , van Bokhoven Jeroen A.
Published: June 2017

Despite the large number of disparate approaches for the direct selective partial oxidation of methane, none of them has translated into an industrial process. The oxidation of methane to methanol is a difficult, but intriguing and rewarding, task as it has the potential to eliminate the prevalent natural gas flaring by providing novel routes to its valorization. This Review considers the synthesis of methanol and methanol derivatives from methane by homogeneous and heterogeneous pathways. By establishing the severe limitations related to the direct catalytic synthesis of methanol from methane, we highlight the vastly superior performance of systems which produce methanol derivatives or incorporate specific measures, such as the use of multicomponent catalysts to stabilize methanol. We thereby identify methanol protection as being indispensable for future research on homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis.
Four‐, five‐ and six‐coordinated transition metal complexes based on naphthalimide Schiff base ligands: Synthesis, crystal structure and properties
Authors: Xu Yuling , Zhang Han , Shen Kesheng , Mao Shanshan , Shi Xinkui , Wu Huilu
Published: June 2017

Two bidentate Schiff base ligands (HL1 = N‐n‐butyl‐4‐[(E)‐2‐(((2‐aminoethyl)imino)methyl)phenol]‐1,8‐naphthalimide; and HL2 = N‐n‐butyl‐4‐[(E)‐2‐(((2‐aminoethyl)imino)methyl)‐6‐methoxyphenol]‐1,8‐naphthalimide) with their metal complexes [Cu(L1)2] (1), [Zn(L1)2(Py)]2⋅H2O (2) and [Ni(L2)2(DMF)2] (3) have been synthesized and characterized. Single‐crystal X‐ray structure analysis reveals that complex 1 has a four‐coordinated square geometry, while complex 2 is a five‐coordinated square pyramidal structure and complex 3 is a distorted six‐coordinated octahedral structure. Cyclic voltammograms of 1 indicate an irreversible Cu2+/Cu+ couple. In vitro antioxidant activity assay demonstrates that the ligands and the two complexes 1 and 3 display high scavenging activity against hydroxyl (HO•) and superoxide (O2−•) radicals. Moreover, the fluorescence properties of the ligands and complexes 1–3 were studied in the solid state. Metal‐mediated enhancement is observed in 2, whereas metal‐mediated fluorescence quenching occurs with 1 and 3.
Ag‐nanoparticle embedded p(AA) hydrogel as an efficient green heterogeneous Nano‐catalyst for oxidation and reduction of organic compounds
Authors: Ghorbanloo Massomeh , Heydari Ali , Yahiro Hidenori
Published: June 2017

P(AA)‐Ag heterogeneous catalyst system comprised of Ag nanoparticles embedded within hydrogel matrices has been described for the selective aerobic oxidation of alcohols and reduction of nitro phenols in water. P(AA)‐Ag nanocomposite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X‐Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP). Catalytic activity of p(AA)‐Ag catalyst was investigated in the aerobic oxidation of primary alcohols and reduction of nitro compounds by emphasizing the effect of different parameters such as temperature, catalyst amount, substituent effect, etc. The catalyst was easily recovered from the reaction medium and it could be re‐used for other three runs without significant loss of activity.
Trade‐off between energy consumption and ethylene recovery rate for quasi‐plant wide operation optimization of the ethylene column with bottom circulatory system in ethylene complex
Authors: Huang Dong , Zhao Xiao‐Ying , Luo Xiong‐Lin
Published: June 2017

Reducing energy consumption and increasing ethylene recovery rate can effectively optimize the operation of ethylene columns. This paper discusses the trade‐off between energy consumption and recovery rate in different scenes. For normal condition, the influences of energy consumption and recovery rate on economic benefits are represented as energy consumption of separation and energy consumption of circulation, while the unseparated ethylene is recycled by the bottom circulatory system. The operation optimization, whose objective is economic benefits, is achieved at the lowest total energy consumption, the sum of energy consumption of separation and circulation. For abnormal condition caused by furnace decoking, the objectives of operation optimization are economic benefits and operability. Operability, affected with remarkable production fluctuation, is quantified by variation of gas and liquid loads. Moreover, the Pareto curve of the multiobjective optimization problem was obtained with total energy consumption and variation of gas/liquid loads as objectives, and the inflection point achieves the equilibrium of economic benefits and operability. Therefore, the balance of recovery rate and energy consumption is crucial to improve economic benefits. Furthermore, moderately operating recovery rate and energy consumption is suitable to maximize economic benefits and operability simultaneously for production fluctuation. © 2017 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Polyurethanes prepared from cyclocarbonated broccoli seed oil (PUcc): New biobased organic matrices for incorporation of phosphorescent metal nanocluster
Authors: Loulergue Patrick , Amela‐Cortes Maria , Cordier Stéphane , Molard Yann , Lemiègre Loïc , Audic Jean‐Luc
Published: June 2017

New biobased polyurethanes were synthesized from cyclocarbonated broccoli seed oil and different di‐ or triamines. The isocyanate‐free route to synthesize these polyurethanes was divided into three steps: the broccoli seed oil was first epoxydized, then carbonated with CO2 at a pressure of 50 bar to convert oxiranes into cyclic carbonates, and finally polyurethanes were prepared through the reaction of the cyclocarbonated oil with three different di‐ or triamines, that is, butylene diamine, m‐xylene diamine, and bis(hexamethylene triamine). The chemical reactions were monitored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry and mechanical properties of thus‐prepared polyurethanes were determined by dynamic mechanical analysis and tensile characterization. An UV‐responsive material was finally prepared from butylene diamine based polyurethane integrating phosphorescent molybdenum nanoclusters. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45339.
Use of short isobornyl methacrylate building blocks to improve the heat and oil resistance of thermoplastic elastomers via RAFT emulsion polymerization
Authors: Fu Xiaowei , Yuan Ye , Chen Xiaofeng , Xiao Yao , Wang Jiliang , Zhou Changlin , Lei Jingxin
Published: June 2017

Triblock copolymer (TCP)‐based thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) were designed via reversible addition–fragmentation chain‐transfer emulsion polymerization. Short isobornyl methacrylate (IM) building blocks in the two ends of molecular chain were incorporated to guarantee the mechanical properties of the TPEs at high temperature (i.e., heat resistance) because of the high glass‐transition temperature (Tg) of poly(isobornyl methacrylate) (PIM; ∼180 °C). The microphase separation, tensile properties at different temperatures, dynamic mechanical properties, oil resistance, and thermal stability of the TPEs were extensively characterized. The TPEs had distinct microphase separation with a wide inter‐Tg interval (150–185 °C). The tensile strength and elongation at break of the TPEs decreased with increasing temperature from 25 to 100 °C because of the reduced interactions in the phase domain. Even so, the TPEs had a high elongation at break beyond 200% and little change in the tensile strength even at 100 °C together with a wide quasi‐platform stage between the Tg values in dynamic mechanical analysis; this indicated good heat resistance. Meanwhile, the TPEs had an enhanced oil resistance and a thermal stability higher than 300 °C. These TCP‐based TPEs with heat and oil resistance broaden the application potential in practical fields. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45379.
Fabrication and characterization of carbon nanofibers from polyacrylonitrile/pitch blends
Authors: Liu Chang , Lafdi Khalid
Published: June 2017

Continuous carbon nanofibers had been widely studied based on different processing methods and precursors. Especially, electrospinning was introduced as a versatile method for fabricating ultrathin fibers. However, as the limitation of precursor, pitch had not been well studied due to its viscosity and miscibility problem. A comprehensive study on the electrospinning of the blends [pitch and polyacrylonitrile (PAN)] was explored. Thermodynamic miscibility was studied by using differential scanning calorimeter. Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy was used to show interaction and potential reaction between pitch and PAN molecules. Finally, smooth, continuous, and cylindrical carbon nanofibers were successfully fabricated by electrospinning technique. Based on Raman analysis result, the addition of pitch enhanced the carbon crystallite which improved the overall electrical conductivity and modulus of nanofibers. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45388.
Polyacrylonitrile‐based proton conducting membranes containing sulfonic acid and tetrazole moieties
Authors: Sangthumchai Thanakorn , Youngme Sujittra , Martwiset Surangkhana
Published: June 2017

Proton conducting membranes based on polymers containing sulfonic acid and tetrazole moieties were developed. Successful syntheses of poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐styrene sulfonic acid) (PAN‐co‐PSSA), poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐5‐vinyl tetrazole) (PAN‐co‐PVTz), and poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐5‐vinyl tetrazole‐co‐styrene sulfonic acid) (PAN‐co‐PVTz‐co‐PSSA) were confirmed by 1H‐nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Two approaches were performed to study the effects of molar ratio of sulfonic acid to tetrazole and tetrazole content on membrane properties. In the first approach, PAN‐co‐PSSA was blended with PAN‐co‐PVTz at three molar ratios. The second approach focused on PAN‐co‐PVTz‐co‐PSSA membranes with various tetrazole contents. PAN‐co‐PSSA membrane was also prepared. All solution‐cast membranes were hydrolytically stable, except for PAN‐co‐PVTz‐co‐PSSA with 71% tetrazole. Surface morphologies of blend membranes were studied using scanning electron microscopy, and no phase separation was observed. Water uptake was shown to increase with increasing tetrazole. All membranes exhibited high thermal stability (up to 250 °C) and high storage moduli. Proton conductivity was found to depend significantly on relative humidity. The influences of sulfonic acid to tetrazole ratio and tetrazole content on proton conduction were observed and discussed. A maximum proton conductivity of 7.1 × 10−3 S/cm at 26 °C was obtained from PAN‐co‐PSSA membrane. In addition, all tested membranes showed relatively good oxidative stability after treatment in Fenton's reagent. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45411.