Utilization of coordinating green solvents for high quality methylammonium bismuth iodide thin films for photovoltaic applications

Photovoltaic performances of the bismuth-based solar cells are profoundly affected by the thin film quality of the photoactive layer. Herein, we report on various green solvent system to obtain the highly crystalline, pinhole free and homogeneously methylammonium bismuth iodide (MBI) active layer. The MBI structure prepared with tetrahydrofuran:2-ethoxy-ethanol (THF-2ETO) solvent system was found to have the best film quality. Adding 0.05 M 2ETO as the co-solvent is sufficient to produce high quality BiI₃ and MBI thin films. According to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyzes, we have demonstrated that there is an interaction between BiI₃ and 2ETO according to the concentration of 2ETO added to the main THF. Our study clarifies the importance of THF-2ETO solvent system that can accelerate the evolution of the Bi-based solar cells by creating high-quality BiI₃ or MBI thin films.     

CaDHN3, a Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Dehydrin Gene Enhances the Tolerance against Salt and Drought Stresses by Reducing ROS Accumulation

Dehydrins (DHNs) play an important role in abiotic stress tolerance in a large number of plants, but very little is known about the function of DHNs in pepper plants. Here, we isolated a Y₁SK₂-type DHN gene “CaDHN3” from pepper. To authenticate the function of CaDHN3 in salt and drought stresses, it was overexpressed in Arabidopsis and silenced in pepper through virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). Sub-cellular localization showed that CaDHN3 was located in the nucleus and cell membrane. It was found that CaDHN3-overexpressed (OE) in Arabidopsis plants showed salt and drought tolerance phenotypic characteristics, i.e., increased the initial rooting length and germination rate, enhanced chlorophyll content, lowered the relative electrolyte leakage (REL) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content than the wild-type (WT) plants. Moreover, a substantial increase in the activities of antioxidant enzymes; including the superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and lower hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) contents and higher O₂^•− contents in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Silencing of CaDHN3 in pepper decreased the salt- and drought-stress tolerance, through a higher REL and MDA content, and there was more accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the CaDHN3-silenced pepper plants than the control plants. Based on the yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screening and Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC) results, we found that CaDHN3 interacts with CaHIRD11 protein in the plasma membrane. Correspondingly, the expressions of four osmotic-related genes were significantly up-regulated in the CaDHN3-overexpressed lines. In brief, our results manifested that CaDHN3 may play an important role in regulating the relative osmotic stress responses in plants through the ROS signaling pathway. The results of this study will provide a basis for further analyses of the function of DHN genes in pepper.     

Low-cost and high-performance 3D printed YBCO superconductors

High-performance YBCO 123 (YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x) bulk superconductor samples were produced using the 3D printing paste-extrusion technique. The YBCO powder obtained after sintering a pre-mixture of Y₂O₃, BaCO₃ and CuO powders at 950 °C was used in the formulation of pastes for extrusion in a 3D freeform printer. The 3D samples printed from pastes containing the pre-mixture powders were sintered, while those produced using the YBCO powder were not. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Raman analysis all confirmed the YBCO phase after sintering, both in the powder and in the samples made with the pre-mixture. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed powder grains of heterogeneous size and geometry, as well as grain aggregation, in the sintered samples. Superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) measurements taken within a fixed magnetic range revealed that the printed pieces have a typical magnetization temperature of 92 K, reaching ?1.43 emu/g and ?1.59 emu/g respectively a zero-field-cooled magnetization (ZFC) for sintered and non-sintered printed samples.     

Effect of Li2O on the crystallization behavior of CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-Li2O-Ce2O3 mold slags

The effect of Li₂O on the crystallization properties of CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-Li₂O-Ce₂O₃ slags was investigated. With increasing the Li₂O content, LiAlO₂ and CaCeAlO₄ were the main crystalline phases. LiAlO₂ formed for the charge compensating of Li⁺ ions to [AlO₄^5?]-tetrahedrons, and CaCeAlO₄ formed as a result of the charge balance of Ce³⁺ ions, Ca²⁺ ions, and [AlO₆^9?]-octahedrons. Increasing the content of Li₂O to 10%, the crystallization temperature was the highest, and the incubation time was the shortest. The crystallization ability was strong due to the three factors of strengthening the interaction between ions and ion groups, decreasing the polymerization degree, and increasing the melting temperature. Further increasing the content of Li₂O, the crystallization performance was obviously suppressed, because the melting temperature and the force between the cations and the anion groups decreased.     

Charge Transportation and Chirality in Liquid Crystalline Helical Network Phases of Achiral BTBT-Derived Polycatenar Molecules

First examples of multichain (polycatenar) compounds, based on the π-conjugated [1]benzothieno[3,2-b]benzothiophene unit are designed, synthesized, and their soft self-assembly and charge carrier mobility are investigated. These compounds, terminated by the new fan-shaped 2-brominated 3,4,5-trialkoxybenzoate moiety, form bicontinuous cubic liquid crystalline (LC) phases with helical network structure over extremely wide temperature ranges (>200 K), including ambient temperature. Compounds with short chains show an achiral cubic phase with the double network, which upon increasing the chain length, is at first replaced by a tetragonal 3D phase and then by a mirror symmetry is broken triple network cubic phase. In the networks, the capability of bypassing defects provides enhanced charge carrier mobility compared to imperfectly aligned columnar phases, and the charge transportation is non-dispersive, as only rarely observed for LC materials. At the transition to a semicrystalline helical network phase, the conductivity is further enhanced by almost one order of magnitude. In addition, a mirror symmetry broken isotropic liquid phase is formed beside the 3D phases, which upon chain elongation is removed and replaced by a hexagonal columnar LC phase.     

In-situ synthesis of 15R-Sialon from Al-Si3N4-Al2O3 composite at 1500°C via liquid-phase sintering

In this study, alumina-based composite with 12 wt% Al and 16 wt% Si₃N₄ was designed to achieve the synthesis of 15R-Sialon reinforced alumina composite. To investigate the reaction mechanism, two-step sintered Al-Si₃N₄-Al₂O₃ samples at different temperatures ranging from 600°C to 1500°C were prepared and characterized via X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results revealed that 15R-Sialon was synthesized at 1500°C through a novel liquid Si phase sintering and Si₃N₄ played as a precursor and a reactant. First, Si₃N₄ precursor reacted with Al to form intermediate phases AlN and Si, which were not further transformed below 1400°C. When the sintering temperature was 1500°C, the formed Si presented as a liquid phase, under the influence of which plate-like15R-Sialon was generated from Al₂O₃, residual Si₃N₄, and derived AlN. The obtained Si was also involved in the synthesis of 15R-Sialon and completely transformed. In addition to the AlN from Si₃N₄, the AlN deriving from the nitridation of Al may not react with liquid Si. Compared to 15R-Sialon from liquid Si, plate-like 15R-Sialon with smaller size was generated from AlN, SiO, and O₂.     

Heat and mass transfer characteristics of radiative hybrid nanofluid flow over a stretching sheet with chemical reaction

Unsteady magnetohydrodynamic heat and mass transfer analysis of hybrid nanoliquid flow over a stretching surface with chemical reaction, suction, slip effects, and thermal radiation is analyzed in this study. A combination of alumina (Al₂O₃) and titanium oxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles are taken as hybrid nanoparticles and water is considered as the basefluid. Using the similarity transformation method, the governing equations are changed into a system of ordinary differential equations. These equations together with boundary conditions are numerically evaluated by using the Finite element method. The influence of various pertinent parameters on the profiles of fluids concentration, temperature, and velocity is calculated and the outcomes are plotted through graphs. The values of nondimensional rates of heat transfer, mass transfer, and velocity are also analyzed and the results are depicted in tables. Temperature sketches of hybrid nanoliquid intensified in both the steady and unsteady cases as the volume fraction of both nanoparticles rises.     

Discriminating between the effect of pulse width and duty cycle on the hydrogen generation performance of 3-D electrodes during pulsed water electrolysis

The present study investigates the effect of applying voltage and current pulses during alkaline water electrolysis using 3-D Ni-based electrodes. The pulses had a square shape and alternated hydrogen production and resting time. When voltage pulses were applied, it was observed that the current at on-time was systematically higher than the current during DC electrolysis. However, during off-time, a change in polarization was observed, which decreased the overall voltage pulse performance. For pulses with a 50% duty cycle and a pulse width of 1 ms, the current response was mainly capacitive and almost no hydrogen production occurred. Current pulses on the other hand were proven to be much more promising in improving the energetic process efficiency. In that case, a pulse period of 2 ms resulted in an overpotential reduction of 17% for a 50% duty cycle. This reduction further increased to 28% when decreasing the duty cycle to 20%. Finally, in all cases where faradaic processes were dominant, applying a forced electrolyte flow was shown to be beneficial.     

饱和尾粉砂边界面模型在FLAC3D中的开发

由于岩土材料的复杂性，FLAC3D软件自带的本构模型不能满足实际数值分析的全部要求。利用FLAC3D预留的UMD接口，在C++的编译环境下实现了一种基于临界状态模型CASM边界面模型的开发。介绍了边界面模型的基本组成，给出了开发的关键步骤。并基于三轴试验结果，利用该模型对饱和尾粉砂静/动力学特性进行了分析，论证了该模型对饱和尾粉砂的适用性。