Environmental impact estimation of ceramic lightweight aggregates production starting from residues

Within a circular economy approach, this study investigates the environmental impact of lightweight aggregates (LWAs) produced starting from different mixes of different clays with brewery sludge and cattle bone flour ash (CBA), used as poring and fertilizing agents, respectively. The environmental impact was evaluated by means of release tests, insulation capacity, carbon footprint (CFP), and particulate matter emission during pellet firing. Release tests representative of LWAs realistic application showed very high release of phosphate and satisfactory release of potassium. The thermal insulation of the LWAs was tested by thermal imaging camera and resulted highly variable depending on the composition, with the mix containing CBA performing best. This latter composition leads also to the smallest CO₂ equivalent emission, due to the calorific power of CBA, allowing lower consumption of fossil fuels during the LWA production. Finally, total particulate emissions during the thermal treatment resulted similar in terms of mass for all mixes, while differences in terms of particle morphology and composition occurred. Samples containing residue resulted with a quite good release behavior, CFP, and insulation properties, but higher emission of particles, particularly when glass is added.     

Surface energies in high-entropy carbides with variable carbon stoichiometry

The carbon vacancy in high-entropy carbides (HECs) has a significant impact on their physical and chemical properties, yet relevant studies have still been relatively few. In this study, we investigate the surface energies of HECs with variable carbon vacancies through first-principles calculations. The results show that the surface energy of the (1 0 0) surface of the stoichiometric HECs is significantly lower than that of (1 1 1) surface. With the decrease in carbon stoichiometry, the surface energies of both (1 0 0) and (1 1 1) surfaces increase gradually, which is mainly due to the weakening of covalent bonding and the decrease of metal Hirshfeld-I (HI) charges. However, the surface energy of (1 0 0) surface increases more quickly than that of (1 1 1) surface and will exceed that of (1 1 1) surface when the carbon stoichiometry decreases to a certain extent, which is primarily attributed to the greater decrease rate of metal HI charges of (1 0 0) surface.     

Simultaneously enhancing mechanical and microwave absorption properties of Cf/SiC composites via SiC nanowires additions

C_f/SiC composite is an excellent structural and functional material, silicon carbide nanowires (SiCnws) are not only a toughening material but also a great application in the field of microwave absorption. In this study, SiCnws are grown on the surface of carbon fiber (C_f) by polymer impregnation and pyrolysis, and the SiC matrix was prepared by chemical vapor osmosis method. The SiCnws are introduced to enhance the mechanical and microwave absorption properties simultaneously. After 3 impregnations, the flexural strength of the composite was 107.35 ± 10 MPa. When the thickness is 1.86 mm, the minimum reflection loss value is ?41.08 dB, and the effective absorption bandwidth (RL ≤ ?10 dB) is 3.86 GHz. Furthermore, the microwave absorption mechanism of the material is discussed. This work provides a new method to prepare lightweight, stable and high-performance microwave absorption materials, and these materials are expected to be used in high temperature environments.     

Evaluation and Characterization of Mechanical, Electrical, and Thermal Properties of Polymer Nanocomposites Reinforced with Different Allotropes of Carbon

The present work aims to present the results based on the processing of nanocomposites, which consist of matrix materials like epoxy and filler materials such as conjugated nanomaterials/allotropes of carbon, namely, carbon black, graphite, and multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) used for targeted applications. To improve the physical and chemical properties and to facilitate a better interfacial interface between the polymer and nanotube, functional MWCNT is used during the preparation of the composite. The prime objective of the study is to establish the thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties of nanocomposites using experimental methods. It has been observed from the experimental results that carbon nanotube (CNT) based composite exhibits higher mechanical (tensile and hardness) and thermal properties as compared with the others. The electrical properties are found to be better in a graphite-based composite. Although CNT has superior mechanical and thermal properties, the exorbitant price limits its use. Hence, the allotropes of carbon may be used judiciously considering both the cost and property requirements of the targeted application. The work also studies the dispersion state of nanofibers through scanning electron microscopy (SEM).     

Formation of Sn filled CNTs nanocomposite: Study of their magnetic,dielectric properties and enhanced microwave absorption performance at gigahertz frequencies

The Simplistic formation, advantageous configuration, non-colossal magnetoresistance and broadband absorption are important parameters for microwave absorbent materials. In this study, a core-shell nanocomposite comprising of Sn-filled carbon nanotubes (Sn/CNTs) was prepared by arc discharge method. The microstructure, morphology and surface composition of Sn/CNTs-based core-shell nanocomposites were characterized in detail. Sn/CNTs nanocomposite showed a magnetic signal due to the broken bonds and defects at interfaces in Sn/CNTs. The weak ferromagnetism was found to be helpful in improving magnetic permeability in the Sn/CNTs which confirms its role as a magnetic loss material under incident electromagnetic wave. Sn-filled CNTs revealed an appropriate value of dielectric constant, which plays an important role in impedance matching upon incident electromagnetic wave. The composite of Sn-CNTs and paraffin with a 50 wt % loading showed the lowest reflection loss (RL) of ?43.87 dB at 10 GHz, with a wide effective absorption band (RL ≤ ?10 dB) of 3 GHz in thickness of 2.3 mm. This enhanced performance is attributed to the combined effect of the conduction loss in one-dimensional core-shell architecture, the interfacial loss Sn-CNT interface, the magnetic loss due to defects-induced ferromagnetism in Sn shell, and in the carbon-containing atomic layers of CNTs.     

Combating Biofilm Associated Infection In Vivo: Integration of Quorum Sensing Inhibition and Photodynamic Treatment based on Multidrug Delivered Hollow Carbon Nitride Sphere

Recently, quorum sensing (QS) inhibitors (QSIs) have been combined with antibiotics to enhance antibiofilm efficacy in vitro and in vivo. However, targeting QS signals alone is not enough to prevent bacterial infections. Drug resistance and recurrence of biofilms makes it difficult to eradicate. Herein, photodynamic therapy (PDT) is selected to unite QSIs and antibiotics. A synergistically antibiofilm system, which combines QSIs, antibiotics, and PDT based on hollow carbon nitride spheres (HCNSs) is envisaged. First, HCNS provides the multidrug delivering ability, enabling QSIs and antibiotics to be released in sequence. Subsequently, multistage releases sensitize bacteria effectively, potentiating the chemotherapeutic effects of the antibiotics. Finally, the integration of QSIs and PDT not only minimizes the possibility of drug resistance, but also overcomes the problem of limited mass and extension of PDT. Even after 48 h of incubation, the bacterial biofilm is obviously inhibited. And its biofilm disperse efficiency exceeds 48% (compared with QSI‐potentiated chemotherapy group) and 40% (compared with PDT group). Besides, the inhibition of the QS system influences phenotypes related to virulence factor production and surface hydrophobicity, which weaken biofilm invasion and formation. Eventually, this system is applied to disperse bacterial biofilm in vivo. Overall, PDT and QS modulation are devoted to eradicate drug resistance and recurrence of the biofilm.     

On the buckling properties of concentric carbon/boron-nitride multi-walled nanotubes: A finite element investigation

Finite element modeling approach is used here to investigate the behavior of concentric multi-walled boron-nitride and carbon nanotubes under the compressive loadings. Double-walled and triple-walled concentric boron-nitride and carbon nanotubes with different arrangements and geometries are considered. It is shown that multi-walled boron-nitride nanotubes lose their stabilities at larger compressive forces than other arrangements in which at least one carbon wall exists. Comparing the armchair and zig-zag multi-walled nanotubes, the latter one has larger buckling force than the former one. It is also shown that the nanotubes with smaller radii have larger critical compressive forces than those with larger radii.     

Solution‐Processable Photonic Inks of Mie‐Resonant Hollow Carbon–Silica Nanospheres

Hollow carbon–silica nanospheres that exhibit angle‐independent structural color with high saturation and minimal absorption are made. Through scattering calculations, it is shown that the structural color arises from Mie resonances that are tuned precisely by varying the thickness of the shells. Since the color does not depend on the spatial arrangement of the particles, the coloration is angle independent and vibrant in powders and liquid suspensions. These properties make hollow carbon–silica nanospheres ideal for applications, and their potential in making flexible, angle‐independent films and 3D printed films is explored.     

基于飞秒激光制备的光子晶体光纤Fabry-Perot温度传感器

提出并设计了一种基于飞秒激光在光子晶体光纤(photonic crystal fiber,PCF)中制备光纤法布里-珀罗(Fabry-Perot,F-P)传感器的方法。采用飞秒脉冲激光作为加工光源,结合放大倍率100×的物镜以及三维加工平台在PCF侧面采用逐线刻写方式进行加工。通过对飞秒激光光斑在光纤上的聚焦位置以及刻写功率进行优化,在PCF上刻写了深度均为80 μm、间隔为800 μm的两条划线,实现了周期为0.98 nm的全光纤F-P结构制备；实验中,对传感器在40~120 ℃温度范围内的光谱特性进行了测试与分析,每隔10 ℃进行一次数据采集,随着温度逐渐增加波长向长波方向漂移,通过对该采样点数据进行线性拟合,得到该测试点的波长温度灵敏度为9.73 pm/℃,拟合线性度为0.997。