Rice spike-like g-C3N4/TiO2 heterojunctions with tight-binding interface by using sodium titanate ultralong nanotube as precursor and template

A novel rice spike-like g-C₃N₄/TiO₂ nanowire heterojunctions are fabricated by hydrothermal treating Na₂Ti₃O₇ ultralong nanotubes in the presence of g-C₃N₄. The presence of g-C₃N₄ promotes the hydrolysis of Na₂Ti₃O₇ ultralong nanotubes. The partially replaced O of TiO₂ by N from g-C₃N₄ leads to the formation of a tight-binding interface between one dimensional TiO₂ and two dimensional g-C₃N₄, which is crucial for fast and effective transfer of photogenerated electrons in heterostructured photocatalysts. As a result, the g-C₃N₄/TiO₂ nanowire heterojunctions exhibit excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity. The kinetic constant (k) of g-C₃N₄/TiO₂ (0.024?min^?1) for degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation is 1.85 and 4 times than that of pure g-C₃N₄ and P25, respectively.     

An indirect testing approach for characterizing pressure profiles of compression bandages and hosiery

As outlined in compression therapy literature, the performance of a compression textile can be characterized by its stiffness and interface pressure. In this study, an indirect approach for measuring pressure from a set of compression bandages and hosiery was developed, from which rigidity (EI) values were determined, and tension–elongation curves and pressure-elongation data were calculated. The calculated pressure values were compared against PicoPress sensor readings measured on 10 participants. Results showed that the correlation between both approaches varied among bandage and hosiery samples.     

GO@TA-Fe/PVDF纳米复合材料制备与介电性能

为降低氧化石墨烯（GO）/聚偏氟乙烯（PVDF）体系的介电损耗，本文采用单宁酸-铁配合物（TA-Fe）修饰GO表面，将改性GO和PVDF复合后制得了GO@TA-Fe/PVDF纳米复合电介质材料，研究了GO@TA-Fe对PVDF复合材料的微观形貌及介电性能影响。研究结果表明，TA-Fe包覆层强化了GO与PVDF基体间界面相容性及界面作用力，促进了GO在基体中均匀分散；TA-Fe界面层的存在显著降低了GO/PVDF漏导电流及损耗，归因于绝缘界面层有效阻止了GO之间直接接触，抑制漏导电流；TA-Fe用量对体系介电性能有明显影响，随TA-Fe用量增大，体系的介电损耗和电导率显著降低。与GO/PVDF相比，质量分数2%的GO@TA-Fe/PVDF在100Hz下介电常数为1000，而介电损耗由19.8降低为0.08。本研究制备的高介电常数及低损耗的柔性GO@TA-Fe/PVDF纳米电介质材料在电子器件及电力设备领域具有潜在应用。     

Achieving Rich and Active Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Heterostructures via Interface Engineering on 2D 1T‐MoS2 Quantum Sheets

Large‐scale production of hydrogen from water‐alkali electrolyzers is impeded by the sluggish kinetics of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts. The hybridization of an acid‐active HER catalyst with a cocatalyst at the nanoscale helps boost HER kinetics in alkaline media. Here, it is demonstrated that 1T–MoS₂ nanosheet edges (instead of basal planes) decorated by metal hydroxides form highly active ${\text{edge}}_{{\text{1T‐MoS}}_{\text{2}}}$/ ${\text{edge}}_{\text{Ni}{(\text{OH})}_{\text{2}}}$ heterostructures, which significantly enhance HER performance in alkaline media. Featured with rich ${\text{edge}}_{{\text{1T‐MoS}}_{\text{2}}}$/ ${\text{edge}}_{\text{Ni}{(\text{OH})}_{\text{2}}}$ sites, the fabricated 1T–MoS₂ QS/Ni(OH)₂ hybrid (quantum sized 1T–MoS₂ sheets decorated with Ni(OH)₂ via interface engineering) only requires overpotentials of 57 and 112 mV to drive HER current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm^?2, respectively, and has a low Tafel slope of 30 mV dec^?1 in 1 m KOH. So far, this is the best performance for MoS₂‐based electrocatalysts and the 1T–MoS₂ QS/Ni(OH)₂ hybrid is among the best‐performing non‐Pt alkaline HER electrocatalysts known. The HER process is durable for 100 h at current densities up to 500 mA cm^?2. This work not only provides an active, cost‐effective, and robust alkaline HER electrocatalyst, but also demonstrates a design strategy for preparing high‐performance catalysts based on edge‐rich 2D quantum sheets for other catalytic reactions.     

Surface energy and separation mechanics of droplet interface phospholipid bilayers

Droplet interface bilayers are a convenient model system to study the physio-chemical properties of phospholipid bilayers, the major component of the cell membrane. The mechanical response of these bilayers to various external mechanical stimuli is an active area of research because of its implications for cellular viability and the development of artificial cells. In this article, we characterize the separation mechanics of droplet interface bilayers under step strain using a combination of experiments and numerical modelling. Initially, we show that the bilayer surface energy can be obtained using principles of energy conservation. Subsequently, we subject the system to a step strain by separating the drops in a step-wise manner, and track the evolution of the bilayer contact angle and radius. The relaxation time of the bilayer contact angle and radius along with the decay magnitude of the bilayer radius were observed to increase with each separation step. By analysing the forces acting on the bilayer and the rate of separation, we show that the bilayer separates primarily through the peeling process with the dominant resistance to separation coming from viscous dissipation associated with corner flows. Finally, we explain the intrinsic features of the observed bilayer separation by means of a mathematical model comprising the Young–Laplace equation and an evolution equation. We believe that the reported experimental and numerical results extend the scientific understanding of lipid bilayer mechanics, and that the developed experimental and numerical tools offer a convenient platform to study the mechanics of other types of bilayers.     

Gluten–starch interface characteristics and wheat dough rheology—Insights from hybrid artificial systems

Referring to the total surface existing in wheat dough, gluten–starch interfaces are a major component. However, their impact on dough rheology is largely unclear. Common viewpoints, based on starch surface modifications or reconstitution experiments, failed to show unambiguous relations of interface characteristics and dough rheology. Observing hybrid artificial dough systems with defined particle surface functionalization gives a new perspective. Since surface functionalization standardizes particle–polymer interfaces, the impact on rheology becomes clearly transferable and thus, contributes to a better understanding of gluten–starch interfaces. Based on this perspective, the effect of particle/starch surface functionality is discussed in relation to the rheological properties of natural wheat dough and modified gluten–starch systems. A competitive relation of starch and gluten for intermolecular interactions with the network-forming polymer becomes apparent during network development by adsorption phenomena. This gluten–starch adhesiveness delays the beginning of non-linearity under large deformations, thus contributing to a high deformability of dough. Consequently, starch surface functionality affects the mechanical properties, starting from network formation and ending with the thermal fixation of structure.     

On a marching level-set method for extended discontinuous Galerkin methods for incompressible two-phase flows: Application to two-dimensional settings

In this work a solver for two-dimensional, instationary two-phase flows on the basis of the extended discontinuous Galerkin (extended DG/XDG) method is presented. The XDG method adapts the approximation space conformal to the position of the interface. This allows a subcell accurate representation of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in their sharp interface formulation. The interface is described as the zero set of a signed-distance level-set function and discretized by a standard DG method. For the interface, resp. level-set, evolution an extension velocity field is used and a two-staged algorithm is presented for its construction on a narrow-band. On the cut-cells a monolithic elliptic extension velocity method is adapted and a fast-marching procedure on the neighboring cells. The spatial discretization is based on a symmetric interior penalty method and for the temporal discretization a moving interface approach is adapted. A cell agglomeration technique is utilized for handling small cut-cells and topology changes during the interface motion. The method is validated against a wide range of typical two-phase surface tension driven flow phenomena in a 2D setting including capillary waves, an oscillating droplet and the rising bubble benchmark.     

低速冲击下的界面响应和磨损行为*

为探究低速冲击下界面响应与磨损行为之间的联系，开展多周次的低速冲击磨损实验；通过分析冲击过程中的接触力峰值、接触时长、接触力冲量、动能耗散等，研究冲击速度对接触界面的力学响应的影响；通过对冲击磨痕的磨损轮廓和形貌、磨损体积的检测分析，以及对磨痕区域元素组分变化的测试，研究冲击速度对接触界面磨损损伤行为的影响。结果表明：冲击速度的增加会导致接触界面在更短的时间内受到更强烈的力学作用；能量吸收率对冲击速度的变化不敏感，但冲击速度的提高会导致单位能量造成的磨损损伤逐渐降低；冲击磨痕可分为以塑性变形和以剥层磨损为主要损伤形式的2种区域；磨损区内经历了严重的摩擦氧化，并随着冲击速度的增加发生冲击副材料转移。因此，冲击速度越高，接触界面间的摩擦越剧烈，形成的表面氧化层避免了冲击副与基底材料的直接接触，延缓了磨损损伤的进一步发展。     

Engineering knowledge formalization and proposition for informatics development towards a CAD-integrated DfX system for product design

Target design methodologies (DfX) were developed to cope with specific engineering design issues such as cost-effectiveness, manufacturability, assemblability, maintainability, among others. However, DfX methodologies are undergoing the lack of real integration with 3D CAD systems. Their principles are currently applied downstream of the 3D modelling by following the well-known rules available from the literature and engineers’ know-how (tacit internal knowledge).This paper provides a method to formalize complex DfX engineering knowledge into explicit knowledge that can be reused for Advanced Engineering Informatics to aid designers and engineers in developing mechanical products. This research work wants to define a general method (ontology) able to couple DfX design guidelines (engineering knowledge) with geometrical product features of a product 3D model (engineering parametric data). A common layer for all DfX methods (horizontal) and dedicated layers for each DfX method (vertical) allow creating the suitable ontology for the systematic collection of the DfX rules considering each target. Moreover, the proposed framework is the first step for developing (future work) a software tool to assist engineers and designers during product development (3D CAD modelling).A design for assembly (DfA) case study shows how to collect assembly rules in the given framework. It demonstrates the applicability of the CAD-integrated DfX system in the mechanical design of a jig-crane. Several benefits are recognized: (i) systematic collection of DfA rules for informatics development, (ii) identification of assembly issues in the product development process, and (iii) reduction of effort and time during the design review.