Effects of an inhomogeneous electron density distribution on the hydrogen distribution in TiZrTaNbAl multi-principal element alloys

A body-centered cubic equiatomic TiZrTaNbAl multi-principal element alloy (MPEA) with elemental fluctuations was investigated to further understand the relationship between the microstructure and hydrogen distribution. In this study, a composition dependence of the hydrogen distribution was observed in the TiZrTaNbAl MPEA. An inhomogeneous electron density distribution of the MPEA was revealed by advanced differential phase-contrast scanning electron microscopy (DPC-STEM) for the first time. The results showed that the electron density has a significant effect on the hydrogen distribution in TiZrTaNbAl MPEAs. This work provides new insight into the design of materials with high hydrogen storage capacity and high hydrogen embrittlement resistance.     

CNT-interconnected iron-doped NiP2/Ni2P heterostructural nanoflowers as high-efficiency electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) plays a decisive role in electrolytic water splitting. However, it is still challengeable to develop low-cost and efficient OER electrocatalysts. Herein, we present a combination strategy via heteroatom doping, hetero-interface engineering and introducing conductive skeleton to synthesize a hybrid OER catalyst of CNT-interconnected iron-doped NiP₂/Ni₂P (Fe-(NiP₂/Ni₂P)@CNT) heterostructural nanoflowers by a simple hydrothermal reaction and subsequent phosphorization process. The optimized Fe-(NiP₂/Ni₂P)@CNT catalyst delivers an ultralow Tafel slope of 46.1 mV dec^?1 and overpotential of 254 mV to obtain 10 mA cm^?2, which are even better than those of commercial OER catalyst RuO₂. The excellent OER performance is mainly attributed to its unique nanoarchitecture and the synergistic effects: the nanoflowers constructed by a 2D-like nanosheets guarantee large specific area and abundant active sites; the highly conductive CNT skeleton and the electronic modulation by the heterostructural NiP₂/Ni₂P interface and the hetero-atom doping can improve the catalytic activity; porous nanostructure benefits electrolyte penetration and gas release; most importantly, the rough surface and rich defects caused by phosphorization process can further enhance the OER performance. This work provides a deep insight to boost catalytic performance by heteroatom doping and interface engineering for water splitting.     

Sealing behaviour of glass-based composites for oxygen transport membranes

In this study, seven different filler materials in different proportions were added to a Ba-Ca-Si glass matrix “H” to investigate new sealant with higher thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) value and good sealing performance for application in oxygen transport membrane (OTM). SrTi_0.75Fe_0.25O_3-δ (STF25) was used as an OTM, and the sealing partners were ferritic steel Aluchrom and pre-oxidized Aluchrom. Compatibility tests were carried out to investigate the feasibility of the composites. Higher CTE values were found in dilatometer tests on composite samples by adding 40 wt% Ag (HAg40) and 30 wt% Ni-Cr (HNC30). Gas-tightness measurements of sandwiched samples produced appropriate helium leakage rates in the range of 10^?6 mbar·l·s^?1. Sealing behaviour of sealants HAg40 and HNC30 were investigated by joining STF25 and as-delivered/pre-oxidized Aluchrom together. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on cross-sections of the joints revealed a homogeneous microstructure and good adherence of the glass sealants to support metals and STF25.     

Novel organic dyes containing N-bridged oligothiophene coplanar cores for dye-sensitized solar cells

Three novel organic dyes adopting fully-fused coplanar heteroarene as the donor moieties end-capped with two cyanoacrylic acids as acceptors and anchoring groups have been synthesized, characterized, and used as the sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The photophysical and electrochemical properties of the novel dyes and the characteristics of the DSSCs based on the novel organic dyes were investigated. The incorporation of the coplanar cores with electron-donating N-bridges are beneficial for the better intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), giving these new dyes good light-harvesting capability. The LUMO energy levels of these coplanar heteroacene-based dyes are sufficiently high for the efficient electron injection to TiO₂ upon photo-excitation, while the suitable HOMOs allow the regeneration of oxidized dyes with the electrolyte redox (I⁻/I₃⁻). The structural features of the coplanar cores (penta vs. hexa heteroarene) as well as the alkyl substitutions play crucial roles in governing the physical properties and device performance. Among these three novel organic sensitizers, the EHTt dye composed of a fully fused hexa-arene core and less bulky N-alkyl groups caused the DSSC to show the best photovoltaic performance with an open-circuit voltage (V_OC) of 0.58 V, a short-circuit photocurrent density (J_SC) of 13.72 mA/cm², and a fill factor (FF) of 0.69, yielding an overall power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.52% under AM 1.5G solar irradiation.     

Improvement of dielectric breakdown strength and energy storage performance in Er2O3–modified 0.95Sr0.7Ba0.3Nb2O6-0.05CaTiO3 lead-free ceramics

In this study, 0.95?Sr_0.7Ba_0.3Nb₂O₆-0.05CaTiO₃-x wt% Er₂O₃ ceramics (SBNCTEx; x?=?0–5) were synthesized using traditional solid-state method, and we investigated the microstructure, energy storage properties as well as the relationship between dielectric breakdown strength and interfacial polarization. As compared with pure 0.95?Sr_0.7Ba_0.3Nb₂O₆-0.05CaTiO₃ ceramics, the Er₂O₃ dopants suppressed the grain growth of SBNCTEx, and the doped ones showed the dense microstructure. The secondary phase was found for x?≥?1 according to the EDS results, and the influence of the secondary phase on relative dielectric breakdown strength has also been studied. The dielectric breakdown strength increased from 18.1?kV/mm to 34.4?kV/mm, which is good for energy storage. The energy storage density of 0.28?J/cm³ and the energy storage efficiency of 91.4% were obtained in the SBNCTE5 ceramics. The results indicate that SBNCTE ceramics can be used as energy storage capacitors.     

Bond characteristics,vibrational spectrum and optimized microwave dielectric properties of chemically substituted NdNbO4

Coordination chemistry, bond state and vibrational spectrum of co-substituted microwave dielectric NdNb_1-x(Zr_0.5W_0.5)_xO₄ ceramics (x = 0.01∼0.05) were investigated. Raman spectra and XRD refinement showed a solid solution was formed. The compressed and elongated chemical bonds are responsible for the variations of crystal parameters and cell volume. Calculated chemical bond parameters indicated bond covalency, lattice energy and Nb-site bond energy act on the fluctuations of the permittivity, quality factor and temperature coefficient, respectively. Meanwhile, the infrared vibrational spectrum is fitted to quantify the contributions of observed IR mode to the intrinsic loss. Compact ceramic possesses excellent properties: ε_r ∼ 19.2, Q × f ∼ 55282 GHz and τ_f ∼ -11.36 ppm/°C with x = 0.04, at 1250°C.     

基于小波变换的分数阶微分算法在肝脏肿瘤CT图像纹理增强中的应用

图像纹理增强过程中容易丢失平滑区域纹理细节，而分数阶微分增强虽然能够非线性保留平滑区域纹理细节，但对频率分辨率敏感。针对这个问题，提出一种基于小波变换的分数阶微分纹理增强算法，应用于平扫计算机断层扫描（CT）图像的肝脏肿瘤区域的纹理增强。首先，通过小波变换将图像感兴趣区分解成多个子带分量；其次，基于分数阶微分定义构造一个带补偿参数的分数阶微分掩膜；最后，使用该掩膜与每个高频子带分量进行卷积并利用小波逆变换重组图像感兴趣区。实验结果表明，该方法在使用较大分数阶次显著增强肿瘤区域的高频轮廓信息的同时，有效地保留了低频平滑的纹理细节：增强后的肝细胞癌区域与原区域相比，信息熵平均增加36.56%，平均梯度平均增加321.56%，平均绝对差值平均为9.287；增强后的肝血管瘤区域与原区域相比，信息熵平均增加48.77%，平均梯度平均增加511.26%，平均绝对差值平均为14.097。     

Investigation of crystal characteristics,Raman spectra,and microwave dielectric properties of Mg1-xZnxTa2O6 ceramics

Mg_(1-x)Zn_xTa₂O₆ (x = 0.00?0.08) dielectric ceramics were synthesized via the traditional solid-state reaction method. We used XRD and Rietveld refinement to demonstrate that a pure Mg_(1-x)Zn_xTa₂O₆ phase with trirutile structure was formed. Zn²⁺ substitution helped to decrease the Raman full width at half width of the A_1g mode at 703 cm^?1, which resulted in an increase in the order and rigidity of the TaO₆ octahedron, this in turn contributed to improving the Q×f values. Additionally, the introduction of Zn²⁺ significantly promoted grain growth and increased the dense, and the molecular polarizability, these factors lead to a higher permittivity. Moreover, enhanced Ta-O bond energy resulted in a more stable TaO₆ octahedron in the Mg_(1?x)Zn_xTa₂O₆ system, which contributed to enhanced τ_f values via substitution of Zn²⁺ doped on the A-site. Correspondingly, the microwave dielectric properties were significantly improved for 0.04-doped samples, obtaining: ε_r = 27, Q × f = 185,000 GHz (at 7.47 GHz), τ_f =32 ppm/°C.     

Synthesis,lattice energy and microwave dielectric properties of BaCu2-xCoxSi2O7 ceramics

BaCu_2-xCo_xSi₂O₇ solid solutions with orthorhombic structure (Pnma) were prepared by solid-state reaction method. The phase synthesis process, structural evolution and microwave dielectric properties of BaCu_2-xCo_xSi₂O₇ ceramics were investigated. Single BaCu₂Si₂O₇ phase was obtained when calcined at 950 °C for 3 h and was decomposed into BaCuSi₂O₆ phase when calcined at 1075 °C for 3 h. The sintering process was effectively promoted when Cu²⁺ was replaced by Co²⁺ and the maximum solubility of BaCu_2-xCo_xSi₂O₇ was located between 0.15 and 0.20. P-V-L complex chemical bond theory and Raman spectra were used to explain the structure-property correlations of BaCu_2-xCo_xSi₂O₇ ceramics. The corrected dielectric constant (ε_r-corr) of BaCu_2-xCo_xSi₂O₇ ceramics decreased monotonously with the susceptibility (Σχ^μ) and ionic polarizability of primitive unit cell. The quality factor (Q × f) increased with bond strength and lattice energy (U_cal), especially the lattice energy of the Si-O bond. The temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ_f) was determined by the susceptibility and lattice energy of the Cu/Co-O bond. The following optimum microwave dielectric properties were obtained at x = 0.15 when sintered at 1000 °C for 3 h: ε_r = 8.45, Q×f =58958 GHz and τ_f = -34.4 ppm/°C.