The recent discovery of the oldest and most primitive stem turtle, Odontochelys semitestacea (Li et al. 2009), from the lower Upper Triassic of China reopens the debate regarding the origin of the turtle shell, the paleoecology of basal turtles (terrestrial or aquatic), and the placement of turtles among amniotes. The debate surrounding the origin of the shell dates back to Cuvier (1800–1805) w...

Core/shell heterostructure composite has great potential applications in photocatalytic field because the introduction of core can remarkably improve charge transport and enhance the electron-hole separation. Herein, hierarchical Bi2S3/In2S3 core/shell structured microspheres were prepared via a simple one-pot hydrothermal process based on different growth rate of the two kinds of sulphides. Th...

Hip fractures often result in serious health implications, particularly in the geriatric population, and have been related to long-term morbidity and death. In most cases, these fractures are caused by impact loads in the area of the greater trochanter, which are produced in a fall. This work is aimed at developing hip protectors using composite materials and evaluating their effectiveness in p...

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising high surface area coordination polymers with tunable pore structures and functionality; however, a lack of good size and morphological control over the as-prepared MOFs has persisted as an issue in their application. Herein, we show how a robust protein template, tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), can be used to regulate the size and shape of as-fabricated...

Restrained properties of "green" degradable products drive the creation of materials with innovative structures and retained eco-attributes. Herein, we introduce the creation of impact modifiers in the form of core-shell (CS) particles toward the creation of "green" composite materials. Particles with CS structure constituted of PLA stereocomplex (PLASC) and a rubbery phase of poly(ε-caprolacto...

Selective adsorption of free glycerol from crude biodiesel was investigated by using mesoporous silica spheres coated with a thin shell of microporous silicalite-1. A polycrystalline silicalite-1 shell was formed upon first covering the external surfaces of various core templates with discrete silicalite-1 nanocrystals, and this was followed by short hydrothermal treatment to ensure shell unifo...