Porous Co3O4 column as a high-performance Lithium anode material

Journal of Porous Materials - Co3O4 has been widely investigated as a promising candidate anode material for lithium-ion batteries. We report on the porous Co3O4 column synthesized via a simple...     

Noncentrosymmetric Tetrel Pnictides RuSi4P4 and IrSi3P3: Nonlinear Optical Materials with Outstanding Laser Damage Threshold

Noncentrosymmetric (NCS) tetrel pnictides have recently generated interest as nonlinear optical (NLO) materials due to their second harmonic generation (SHG) activity and large laser damage threshold (LDT). Herein nonmetal-rich silicon phosphides RuSi₄P₄ and IrSi₃P₃ are synthesized and characterized. Their crystal structures are reinvestigated using single crystal X-ray diffraction and ²⁹Si and ³¹P magic angle spinning NMR. In agreement with previous report RuSi₄P₄ crystallizes in NCS space group P1, while IrSi₃P₃ is found to crystallize in NCS space group Cm, in contrast with the previously reported space group C2. A combination of DFT calculations and diffuse reflectance measurements reveals RuSi₄P₄ and IrSi₃P₃ to be wide bandgap (E_g) semiconductors, E_g = 1.9 and 1.8 eV, respectively. RuSi₄P₄ and IrSi₃P₃ outperform the current state-of-the-art infrared SHG material, AgGaS₂, both in SHG activity and laser inducer damage threshold. Due to the combination of high thermal stabilities (up to 1373 K), wide bandgaps (≈2 eV), NCS crystal structures, strong SHG responses, and large LDT values, RuSi₄P₄ and IrSi₃P₃ are promising candidates for longer wavelength NLO materials.     

High energy storage and ultrafast discharge in NaNbO3-based lead-free dielectric capacitors via a relaxor strategy

Dielectric capacitors with decent energy storage and fast charge-discharge performances are essential in advanced pulsed power systems. In this study, novel ceramics (1-x)NaNbO₃-xBi(Ni_2/3Nb_1/3)O₃(xBNN, x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.20) with high energy storage capability, large power density and ultrafast discharge speed were designed and prepared. The impedance analysis proves that the introducing an appropriate amount of Bi(Ni_0·5Nb_0.5)O₃ boosts the insulation ability, thus obtaining a high breakdown strength (E_b) of 440 kV/cm in xBNN ceramics. A high energy storage density (W_total) of 4.09 J/cm³, recoverable energy storage density (W_rec) of 3.31 J/cm³, and efficiency (η) of 80.9% were attained in the 0.15BNN ceramics. Furthermore, frequency and temperature stability (fluctuations of W_rec ≤ 0.4% over 5–100 Hz and W_rec ≤ 12.3% over 20–120 °C) were also observed. The 0.15BNN ceramics exhibited a large power density (19 MW/cm³) and ultrafast discharge time (~37 ns) over the range of ambient temperature to 120 °C. These enhanced performances may be attributed to the improved breakdown strength and relaxor behavior through the incorporation of BNN. In conclusion, these findings indicate that 0.15BNN ceramics may serve as promising materials for pulsed power systems.     

Dense and core-rim structured B4C-TiB2 ceramics with Mo-Co-WC additive

B₄C-TiB₂ ceramics (TiB₂ ranging 5~70 vol%) with Mo-Co-WC as the sintering additive were prepared by spark plasma sintering. In comparison with B₄C-TiB₂ without additive, the enhanced densification was evident in the sintered specimen with Mo-Co-WC additive. Core-rim structured grain was observed around TiB₂ grains. The interface of the rim between TiB₂ and B₄C phases demonstrated different feature: the inner borderline of the rim exhibited a smooth feature, whereas a sharp curved grain boundary was observed between the rim and the B₄C grain. The formation mechanism is discussed: the epitaxial growth of (Ti,Mo,W)B₂ rim around the TiB₂ core may occur as a result of the solid solution and dissolution-precipitation between TiB₂ phase and the sintering additive. It was revealed that the fracture toughness increased as the content of TiB₂ content increased, alongside the decreased hardness. B₄C-30 vol% TiB₂ specimen demonstrated the optimal combination of mechanical properties, reaching Vickers hardness of 24.3 GPa and fracture toughness of 3.33 MPa·m^1/2.     

Nanogrooved carbon microtubes for wet three‐dimensional printing of conductive composite structures

Recent advances in three‐dimensional (3D) printing have enabled the fabrication of interesting structures which are not achievable using traditional fabrication approaches. The 3D printing of carbon microtube composite inks allows fabrication of conductive structures for practical applications in soft robotics and tissue engineering. However, it is challenging to achieve 3D printed structures from solution‐based composite inks, which requires an additional process to solidify the ink. Here, we introduce a wet 3D printing technique which uses a coagulation bath to fabricate carbon microtube composite structures. We show that through a facile nanogrooving approach which introduces cavitation and channels on carbon microtubes, enhanced interfacial interactions with a chitosan polymer matrix are achieved. Consequently, the mechanical properties of the 3D printed composites improve when nanogrooved carbon microtubes are used, compared to untreated microtubes. We show that by carefully controlling the coagulation bath, extrusion pressure, printing distance and printed line distance, we can 3D print composite lattices which are composed of well‐defined and separated printed lines. The conductive composite 3D structures with highly customised design presented in this work provide a suitable platform for applications ranging from soft robotics to smart tissue engineering scaffolds. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Thermodynamic modeling of gas solubility in aqueous sodium chloride solution

An electrolyte Equation of State is presented by combining the Cubic Plus Association Equation of State,Mean Spherical Approximation and the Born equation.This new model uses experimental relative static permittivity,intend to predict well the activity coefficients of individual ions (ACI) and liquid densities of aqueous solutions.This new model is applied to model water + NaCl binary system and water + gas +NaCl ternary systems.The cation/anion-water interaction parameters of are obtained by fitting the exper-imental data of ACI,mean ionic activity coefficients (MIAC) and liquid densities of water + NaCl binary system.The cation/anion-gas interaction parameters are obtained by fitting the experimental data of gas solubilities in aqueous NaCl solutions.The modeling results show that this new model can correlate well with the phase equilibrium and volumetric properties.Without gas,predictions for ACI,MIAC,and liquid densities present relative average deviations of 1.3％,3.6％ and 1.4％ compared to experimental ref-erence values.For most gas-containing systems,predictions for gas solubilities present relative average deviations lower than 7.0％.Further,the contributions of ACI,and salting effects of NaCl on gases are ana-lyzed and discussed.     

基于绿色建筑运营效果提升的室内环境评价方法

绿色建筑运营效果体现在两个方面,一个是基于其承担的环境效益的资源能源节约,另一个是基于其是为人所使用的人员满意效果,而人员满意效果则能够体现出室内环境的优劣.对室内环境的评价优先考虑人的使用满意程度,因此坚持以使用满意度为主要衡量指标,同时考虑人员满意度评估的随机性及不确定性因素,将室内客观数据作为补充.在评价过程中考虑绿色建筑运营评估的广泛推广及切实通过评价能够提升运营效果,选择最能够直接影响人员使用感受的指标内容,以促进后续运营效果提升的策略研究.     

Improvement of characteristics and freeze-thaw durability of solidified loess based on microbially induced carbonate precipitation

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Bio-cementation is currently applied to solidify sandy soils, but only few studies use it to cement loess soil particles. In this study, the...     

Electrospun Zn-doped Ga2O3 nanofibers and their application in photodegrading rhodamine B dye

Ultrawide band gap semiconductor materials have attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to their great potential in the photocatalytic field. In this study, Zn-doped Ga₂O₃ nanofibers with various concentrations were synthesized via electrospinning; they exhibited a superior photocatalytic degradation performance of rhodamine B dye compared to that of undoped Ga₂O₃ nanofibers. The Zn dopant replaced Ga sites via replacement doping, which could increase the concentration of oxygen vacancies and lead to enhanced photocatalytic properties. When the Zn concentration increased, a Ga₂O₃/ZnGa₂O₄ hybrid structure formed, which could further enhance the photocatalytic performance. The separation of photogenerated carriers due to Zn doping and heterojunctions were the primary causes of the enhanced photocatalytic performance. This study provides experimental data for the fabrication of high-performance photocatalysts based on Ga₂O₃ nanomaterials.     

Ablative Radiotherapy Reprograms the Tumor Microenvironment of a Pancreatic Tumor in Favoring the Immune Checkpoint Blockade Therapy

The low overall survival rate of patients with pancreatic cancer has driven research to seek a new therapeutic protocol. Radiotherapy (RT) is frequently an option in the neoadjuvant or palliative settings for pancreatic cancer treatment. This study explored the effect of RT protocols on the tumor microenvironment (TME) and their consequent impact on anti-programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) therapy. Using a murine orthotopic pancreatic tumor model, UN-KC-6141, RT-disturbed TME was examined by immunohistochemical staining. The results showed that ablative RT is more effective than fractionated RT at recruiting T cells. On the other hand, fractionated RT induces more myeloid-derived suppressor cell infiltration than ablative RT. The RT-disturbed TME presents a higher perfusion rate per vessel. The increase in vessel perfusion is associated with a higher amount of anti-PD-L1 antibody being delivered to the tumor. Animal survival is increased by anti-PD-L1 therapy after ablative RT, with 67% of treated animals surviving more than 30 days after tumor inoculation compared to a median survival time of 16.5 days for the control group. Splenocytes isolated from surviving animals were specifically cytotoxic for UN-KC-6141 cells. We conclude that the ablative RT-induced TME is more suited than conventional RT-induced TME to combination therapy with immune checkpoint blockade.