Cyclic thermal shock resistance of h-BN composite ceramics with La2O3–Al2O3–SiO2 addition

The effects of La₂O₃–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ addition on the thermal conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), Young's modulus and cyclic thermal shock resistance of hot-pressed h-BN composite ceramics were investigated. The samples were heated to 1000 °C and then quenched to room temperature with 1–50 cycles, and the residual flexural strength was used to evaluate cyclic thermal shock resistance. h-BN composite ceramics containing 10 vol% La₂O₃–Al₂O₃ and 20 vol% SiO₂ addition exhibited the highest flexural strength, thermal conductivity and relatively low CTE, which were beneficial to the excellent thermal shock resistance. In addition, the viscous amorphous phase of ternary La₂O₃–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ system could accommodate and relax thermal stress contributing to the high thermal shock resistance. Therefore, the residual flexural strength still maintained the value of 234.3 MPa (86.9% of initial strength) after 50 cycles of thermal shock.     

Investigation on thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of Si3N4 ceramics via one-step sintering

High thermal conductivity Si₃N₄ ceramics were fabricated using a one-step method consisting of reaction-bonded Si₃N₄ (RBSN) and post-sintering. The influence of Si content on nitridation rate, β/(α+β) phase rate, thermal conductivity and mechanical properties was investigated in this work. It is of special interest to note that the thermal conductivity showed a tendency to increase first and then decrease with increasing Si content. This experimental result shows that the optimal thermal conductivity and fracture toughness were obtained to be 66 W (m K)^-1 and 12.0 MPa m^1/2, respectively. As a comparison, the nitridation rate and β/(α+β) phase rate in a static pressure nitriding system, i.e., 97% (MS10), 97% (MS15), 97% (MS20) and 8.3% (MS10), 8.3% (MS15), 8.9% (MS20), respectively, have obvious advantages over those in a flowing nitriding system, i.e., 91% (MS10), 91% (MS15), 93% (MS20) and 3.1% (MS10), 3.3% (MS15), 3.3% (MS20), respectively. Moreover, high lattice integrity of the β-Si₃N₄ phase was observed, which can effectively confine O atoms into the β-Si₃N₄ lattice using MgO as a sintering additive. This result indicates that one-step sintering can provide a new route to prepare Si₃N₄ ceramics with a good combination of thermal conductivity and mechanical properties.     

Microstructure,mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of (Ti0.5Nb0.5)C–SiC composites

A series of (Ti_0.5Nb_0.5)C-x wt.% SiC (x = 0, 5, 10, 20) composites were prepared by spark plasma sintering. Dense microstructures with well‐dispersed SiC particles were obtained for all composites. With the increment of SiC content, the Vickers hardness, Young's modulus and fracture toughness increase monotonically. An optimized flexural strength of 706 MPa was achieved in (Ti_0.5Nb_0.5)C-5 wt.%SiC composite. (Ti_0.5Nb_0.5)C-20 wt%SiC composite exhibits the highest fracture toughness of 6.8 MPa m^1/2. The crack deflections and the suppression of grain growth were the main strengthening and toughening mechanisms. Besides, (Ti_0.5Nb_0.5)C-20 wt%SiC composite exhibit the highest thermal conductivity of 45 W/m·K at 800 °C.     

Fabrication and characterization of In doped Li13.9Sr0.1Zn(GeO4+δ)4 electrolytes for proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells

Li_13.9Sr_0.1Zn(GeO_4+δ)₄ (LSZG) materials can exhibit proton conduction by Li⁺/H⁺ ion exchange in hydrogen atmosphere. It can be used in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) as an electrolyte. In this study, In³⁺ doped LSZG powders are synthesized by sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermal gravimetric analyzer, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are used to investigate the effects of In doping on LSZG. All Li_13.9-xIn_xSr_0.1Zn(GeO_4+δ)₄ (LISZG, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3) ceramics exhibit the same phase with LSZG. The dopant of In promotes the sintering activity and Li⁺/H⁺ ion exchange rate of LSZG. The optimum doping of In is x = 0.2. At 600 °C, Li_13.7In_0.2Sr_0.1Zn(GeO_4+δ)₄ (0.2LISZG) shows a proton conductivity of 0.094 S/cm under 0.9 V direct current bias voltage. In addition, the single cell based on 0.2LISZG electrolyte is prepared, and it has been demonstrated that the practical utilization of 0.2LISZG in IT-SOFCs is feasible.     

High-temperature electrical properties of polymer-derived ceramic SiBCN thin films fabricated by direct writing

The in situ temperature monitoring of hot components in harsh environments remains a challenging task. In this study, SiBCN thin-film resistance grids with thicknesses of 1.8 μm were fabricated on alumina substrates via direct writing. Owing to their dense microscopic morphology and extremely high graphitisation level, the produced SiBCN films exhibited large high-temperature oxidation resistance and electrical conductivity. The resistance–temperature, stability, and repeatability characteristics of these films were examined in an aerobic environment at temperatures up to 800 °C. The obtained results revealed that the thermistor resistance decreased monotonously with increasing temperature from room temperature to 800 °C. The SiBCN film resistance variations observed during repeated temperature cycling in the regions of 505–620 °C and 610–720 °C were 0.09% and 1.7%, respectively. The high cyclability and stability of the SiBCN thin film thermistor suggested its potential applicability for the in situ temperature monitoring of hot components in harsh environments.     

Effect of SnO–P2O5–MgO glass addition on the ionic conductivity of Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 solid electrolyte

NASICON-type structured compounds Li_1+xM_xTi_2-x(PO₄)₃ (M = Al, Fe, Y, etc.) have captured much attention due to their air stability, wide electrochemical window and high lithium ion conductivity. Especially, Li_1.3Al_0.3Ti_1.7(PO₄)₃ (LATP) is a potential solid electrolyte due to its high ionic conductivity. However, its actual density usually has a certain gap with the theoretical density, leading the poor ionic conductivity of LATP. Herein, LATP solid electrolyte with series of SnO–P₂O₅–MgO (SPM, 0.4 wt%, 0.7 wt%, 1.0 wt%, 1.3 wt%) glass addition was successfully synthesized to improve the density and ionic conductivity. The SPM addition change Al/Ti–O bond and P–O bond distances, leading to gradual shrinkage of octahedral AlO₆ and tetrahedral PO₄. The bulk conductivity of the samples increases gradually with SPM glass addition from 0.4 wt% to 1.3 wt%. Both SPM and the second-phase LiTiPO₅, caused by glass addition, are conducive to the improvement of compactness. The relative density of LATP samples increases first from 0 wt% to 0.7 wt%, and then decreases from 0.7 wt% to 1.3 wt% with SPM glass addition. The grain boundary conductivity also changes accordingly. Especially, the highest ionic conductivity of 2.45 × 10^?4 S cm^?1, and a relative density of 96.72% with a low activation energy of 0.34 eV is obtained in LATP with 0.7 wt% SPM. Increasing the density of LATP solid electrolyte is crucial to improve the ionic conductivity of electrolytes and SPM glass addition can promote the development of dense oxide ceramic electrolytes.     

Effect of thermal treatment on the antioxidant activity of egg white hydrolysate and the preparation of novel antioxidant peptides

Heat treatment will affect the nutritional properties and potential bioactivity of food materials. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of different thermal treatment (4, 56, 65 and 100 ℃) and in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on the antioxidant activity of egg white hydrolysate. The results demonstrated that egg white hydrolysate treated at 65 ℃ exhibited the highest antioxidant. Remarkably, the simulated digestion significantly increased antioxidant activity of egg white hydrolysate. Furthermore, we identified twenty-four potential antioxidant peptides by performing mass spectrometry and bioinformatic analysis. Six peptides were selected based on the activity prediction score of the online tool. The results showed that P6 (ACPECPK) possessed the most outstanding antioxidant properties and had low cytotoxicity and allergenicity. Bioinformatics technology combined with biochemical assays may offer a way for discovering novel antioxidant peptides from different kinds of food under various heat treatment conditions.     

广西2021年早晚籼优质稻主要品种品质测报分析（网络首发、推荐阅读）

通过对广西2021年度推广种植的野香优、广粮香2号、百香、丝香四个主要品种系列的早晚籼优质稻谷品种进行采样，按照《优质稻谷》《中国好粮油 稻谷》《广西好粮油 广西香米》标准中规定质量品质指标进行检测，并依据检测数据对四个主要稻谷品种在不同季节、不同种植区域以及同一种植区域不同种植季节品质变化情况进行对比分析研究，寻找优质稻因品种、产地、种植季节不同对其品质的影响规律，为优质稻谷品种的选育和推广种植工作提供科学依据和数据支持，促进广西优质粮食产业和“广西香米”产业进一步发展。     

Meticulously tailoring phase boundary in KNN-based ceramics to enhance piezoelectricity and temperature stability

Although KNN-based ceramics with high electrical properties are obtained through a variety of strategies, the temperature sensitivity is still one of the key technical bottlenecks hindering practical applications. Here, we use a new strategy, meticulously tailoring phase boundary, to refine the ferroelectric boundary of KNN-based ceramics, leading to high piezoelectricity companied with improving temperature stability. The highest d₃₃ value in this system reaches 501 pC/N with a T_C ∼ 240°C, whereas a large strain of ∼0.134% can be kept with 10% lower deterioration until 100°C. The origin of high piezoelectricity is mainly attributed to the well-preserved multiphase coexistence and the appearance of nanodomains, which greatly facilitate the polarization rotation. Instead of the changed intrinsic thermal insensitivity, the precision phase boundary engineering plays an important role in strengthening the temperature stability of electric-induced strain. This work provides a simple and effective method to obtain both high electrical properties and excellent thermal stability in KNN-based ceramics, which is expected to promote the practical applications in the future.     

南方地区造纸车间钢屋面保温厚度的计算与分析

本文从内表面防结露、夏季隔热2个角度出发，对夏热冬冷及夏热冬暖地区代表城市采用的钢结构屋面的保温（隔热）层厚度进行计算分析。研究表明，在夏季室内温、湿度达到某一状态时，隔热厚度要大于冬季防结露的保温厚度。因此，夏热冬冷地区的造纸车间钢屋面保温层厚度应按夏季隔热计算确定，并进行冬季防结露验算；夏热冬暖地区按照冬季防结露计算即可。