Interface engineering of nanoceramic hematite photoelectrode for solar energy conversion

This work addresses the role of different modifiers on the overall photocurrent response, which allowed a dual material insertion, increasing the charge separation without compromise the surface catalysis. Sn-addition onto nanoceramic hematite photoelectrodes clearly increased flat band potential, promoting a good charge separation, and shifting the onset to a higher potential, attributed to the surface-trapping state created by this modification. Notoriously, Sn-hematite photoelectrodes loaded with NiFeO_x exhibited the highest photocurrent density, suggesting a partially recovered surface-trapping states created during the electrode designing. The well-known cocatalyst acted in the overall photoelectrocatalytic response with no significant effect on the turn-on voltage, in other words, with minor effect related to catalytic efficiency. The dual modification contributes to understand the role of different modifiers allowing to satisfactorily improve charge separation while maintaining the conductivity attributed to IV-group ions.     

新型Na/CFx可充电池催化剂的制备与性能

类似于锂/氟化碳（Li/CF_x）电池，钠/氟化碳（Na/CF_x）电池具有低廉的价格和较高的能量密度，是未来锂离子电池的理想替代选项。但是Na/CF_x电池目前还存在着极化大和循环性能差等问题。为解决以上问题，在CF_x阴极中加入催化剂成为改善电池电化学性能的一个重要途径。分别采用水热法和溶胶-凝胶法制备了催化剂材料Co₃O₄-TiO₂和ZrO₂，并对其进行了表征。分别将TiO₂、Co₃O₄、Co₃O₄-TiO₂以及ZrO₂ 4种催化剂材料按10%（质量比，下同）加入CF_x正极中并组装成电池，然后对电池进行了恒流充放电、交流阻抗以及循环伏安等电化学性能测试。实验结果表明，加入4种催化剂后，Na/CF_x电池的放电比容量得到明显提升。其中，ZrO₂催化剂表现出最佳的催化性能。经过100次后循环后，含有ZrO₂的Na/CF_x电池的放电比容量为167.3 mAh·g^-1，极大地改善了钠/氟化碳电池的循环性能。     

Role of morphology,crystal orientation and stoichiometry in the electrical response of perovskite EuTiO3 ceramics

To identify the generation of various contributions in the electrical response of EuTiO₃, a series of pure and doped, morphologically different and crystallographically oriented thin films prepared through RF magnetron sputtering and polycrystalline samples prepared through solid state reaction method have been investigated. Effect of stoichiometry, morphology and crystallographic orientation on the electrical response have been traced. Interestingly, in case of thin films, synthesis in more reducing atmosphere led to an in-plane crystallographic re-orientation from [110] to [100], accompanied by the observation of a prominent intrinsic antiferrodistortive phase transition. At temperatures above the antiferrodistorive phase transition, potential barriers to conduction at grain boundary are found to be directly proportional to the oxygen vacancy concentration, and inversely proportional to the average grain size. The relaxation times obtained from the frequency dependent dielectric response show an anomalous non-monotonic variation with temperature, which arises due to the variation of octahedral tilt angle.     

剥离的碳化钛（d-Ti3C2Tx）纳米片吸波性能

目的研究剥离的碳化钛(d-Ti3C2Tx)纳米片的吸波性能。方法利用HCl/LiF刻蚀,通过高速离心的方法得到d-Ti3C2Tx纳米片。利用X射线衍射仪(XRD)分析d-Ti3C2Tx的物相组成。用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和透射电子显微镜(TEM)对d-Ti3C2Tx进行形貌分析。利用原子力显微镜(AFM)测量了d-Ti3C2Tx纳米片的厚度。利用矢量网络分析仪(VNA)测试了d-Ti3C2Tx纳米片与石蜡复合材料X波段的电磁参数。利用Cole-Cole图分析了复合材料的损耗来源,并通过电磁参数计算分析了d-Ti3C2Tx的吸波性能。结果d-Ti3C2Tx纳米片与石蜡复合材料的介电实部/虚部随着d-Ti3C2Tx浓度的增加而增大,极化的增强和电导网络的扩大是导致复合材料介电实部/虚部增加的主要原因。Cole-Cole图分析表明,复合材料中存在多种类型的极化,这分别是由缺陷、官能团和界面等引起的多重弛豫极化。吸波性能分析表明,通过改变d-Ti3C2Tx浓度,可以调控复合材料的吸波性能。当填充量达到15%时,吸波性能最佳。其在厚度为4 mm下最小反射损耗为−20.1 dB,相应的微波吸收带宽(<‒10 dB)为1.9 GHz。结论d-Ti3C2Tx/石蜡复合材料表现了优异的微波吸收性能,且通过改变d-Ti3C2Tx浓度,可以调控d-Ti3C2Tx复合材料的微波吸收性能。     

Electrochemical reduction of CO2: Two- or three-electrode configuration

Electrocatalytical conversion of CO₂ into various chemicals like hydrocarbons and CO is regarded as a promising approach to mitigate carbon emission and, meanwhile, to provide sustainable energy and value-added chemicals. Two different reactors are used in this work. One is based upon the two-electrode configuration powered by a DC power supply or Si solar cell, which is suitable for practical applications. Another is three-electrode one powered by a potentiostat, which is feasible to study the electrode performance. Polycrystalline Cu electrode is used as the cathode, and hematite is the anode. Performance of CO₂ reduction using the two- and three-electrode configurations is studied by measuring electrode potential, cell voltage, current density, Faradaic efficiency, and reduction selectivity of CO₂. Cu cathode used here exhibits a low overpotential for CO₂ reduction, specifically for the cell with two-electrode configuration. No obvious difference can be observed between the two types of configurations at a low bias like −0.3 and −0.4 V; while the reactor with two-electrode configuration exhibits better performance at a high bias like −0.8 V than the one with three-electrode configuration. Thus, the reactors with two-electrode configuration are desirable for practical applications, specifically considering solar cells can be used as the power source to provide green and sustainable energy.     

Effect of Al2O3 particles on mechanical and tribological properties of Al–Mg dual-matrix nanocomposites

This article aims to manufacture homogenous dual-matrix Al–Mg/Al₂O₃ nanocomposite from their raw materials and give insight into the correlation between powder morphology, crystallite structure and their mechanical and tribological properties. Al–Mg dual-matrix reinforced with micro/nano Al₂O₃ particles was manufactured by a novel double high-energy ball milling process followed by a cold consolidation and sintering. Microstructure and phase composition of the prepared samples were characterized using FE-SEM, EDS and XRD inspections. Mechanical and wear properties were characterized using compression and sliding wear tests. The results showed that a milling of Mg with Al₂O₃ particles in an initial step before mixing with Al has the beneficial of well dispersion of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles in Al–Mg dual matrix. The Al–Mg dual matrix reinforced with nano-size Al₂O₃ showed 3.29-times smaller crystallite size than pure Al. Moreover, the hardness and compressive strength are enhanced by adding nano-size Al₂O₃ with Al–Mg dual matrix composite while the ductility is maintained relatively high. Additionally, the wear rate of this composite was reduced by a factor of 2.7 compared to pure Al. The reduced crystallite size, the dispersion of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles and the formation of (Al–Mg)_ss were the main improvement factors for mechanical and wear properties.     

Design of alkaline electrolyser for integration in diesel engines to reduce pollutants emission

The different methods for the generation of hydrogen are well known, as well as their applications, advantages and complications for their use. Every day it is essential to replace fossil fuels, so it is necessary to improve and take advantage of the different devices that we already have. The alkaline electrolyser is one of the best options, due to the simplicity of its components and its simple assembling; it is a relatively inexpensive device for the production of hydrogen. In this article, three different alkaline electrolyser stacks are presented, ECH-001 model. The difference between them lies in the fact that the configuration of the electrode changes with the number of drill holes. This has the purpose of optimizing the maximum productivity of the oxyhydrogen gas (OH₂G) with respect to input power and the performance with different operation parameters, like the number of serial plates, geometry and the distance between them. The performance curves of parallel and serial arrangements are shown. The performance of a DEK^TM diesel engine (monocylinder of 406 cc) with and without OH₂G was evaluated, with flows of one, two and three sL min^-1. Tests for CO, CO₂, HC and NOx emissions were measured using the exhaust gas analyzer and varying the engine speed. The results show that the electrolyser assembly with four holes electrodes achieved the best performance with an OH₂G productivity of 2 sL min^-1 when using; 7 serial plates at the anode (which is called arrangement 1, 5–10), 3 mm gap and a 5% solution of NaOH. The results also shows a 14% reduction in fuel consumption, 22% reduction in HC, 23% reduction in CO, 7% reduction in CO₂ and 15.5% NOx reduction with 2 sL min^-1 of OH₂G all this for 2500 rpm. The obtained results show a great advantage for the use of dual combustion with the diesel-hydrogen combination.     

Elliptical distribution-based weight-determining method for ordered weighted averaging operators

The ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operators play a crucial role in aggregating multiple criteria evaluations into an overall assessment supporting the decision makers’ choice. One key point steps is to determine the associated weights. In this paper, we first briefly review some main methods for determining the weights by using distribution functions. Then we propose a new approach for determining OWA weights by using the regular increasing monotone quantifier. Motivated by the idea of normal distribution-based method to determine the OWA weights, we develop a method based on elliptical distributions for determining the OWA weights, and some of its desirable properties have been investigated.     

溶解氧变化对阴极极化下10Ni5CrMo钢氢脆敏感性的影响

摘要：为研究溶解氧质量浓度对10Ni5CrMo钢在阴极极化条件下氢脆敏感性影响规律，对10Ni5CrMo钢进行了阴极极化下的电化学交流阻抗谱测试﹑并采用慢应变速率拉伸实验和断口分析方法研究了海水中溶解氧质量浓度变化和不同阴极极化下10Ni5CrMo钢的氢脆敏感性。结果表明：溶解氧质量浓度变化对10Ni5CrMo钢强度几乎没有影响；同一溶解氧质量浓度下，随极化电位负移，断裂时间、伸长率、断面收缩率明显降低，氢脆系数增加，氢脆敏感性显著提高，极化电位达到-1000mV时，氢脆系数已超过安全区允许的最高值25%，进入危险区；同一极化电位下，随着海水中溶解氧质量浓度减少，材料塑性变差，断裂时间、伸长率和断面收缩率不断降低，氢脆系数增加，氢脆敏感性提高。     

Activation of LSCF–YSZ interface by cobalt migration during electrolysis operation in solid oxide electrolysis cells

High-temperature water electrolysis through solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) will play a key role in building a hydrogen economy in the future. However, the delamination between the air electrode and the electrolyte remains a critical issue to be addressed. Previously, it was hypothesized that Co migration may improve the catalytic activity of the SrZrO₃ second phase at the LSCF-YSZ interface, eventually leading to the delamination. In this work, the LSCF-YSZ interfaces sintered at different temperatures were examined in detail. The activation behaviors of the LSCF electrodes upon application with electrolysis current were characterized under different conditions. Further, samples containing purposely added SrZrO₃ interlayer with and without cobalt were fabricated and compared. The activation process is less significant for the sample with cobalt-added SrZrO₃ interlayer than the sample with pure SrZrO₃ layer, supporting the hypothesis that Co migration may lead to the activation behavior.