A review of advanced proton-conducting materials for hydrogen separation

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of developments and recent trends in H₂ separation technology that uses dense proton–electron conducting ceramic materials and their associated membranes. Various proton–electron conducting materials and their associated membranes are summarized and classified into several important categories, such as Ni-composite proton-conducting materials, as well as tungstate-based, BaPrO₃-based, LaGaO₃-based, and niobate/tantalite composite metal oxide-based ceramic materials/membranes. Various membrane designs, including asymmetric ceramic membranes (supported and self-supported) and surface-modified membranes, are also reviewed. Several important properties of ceramic materials and membranes, such as proton and electron conductivity and performance (i.e., H₂ transport flux and lifetime stability), are also discussed. To highlight the technical progress in this area, all possible ceramic materials and associated membranes are summarized, along with their properties and performance, to help readers quickly locate the information they are looking for. Based on this review, several challenges hindering the maturation of this technology are analyzed in depth, and possible research directions for overcoming these challenges are suggested.     

Long-range Coulomb interaction effects on polarons in conjugated polymers

Combining the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger and Pariser–Parr–Pople model (SSH+PPP), we have studied the influence of electron–electron interactions on the motion and dissociation of a polaron in the presence of an electric field, with emphasis on the long-range Coulomb interactions. The multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree–Fock (MCTDHF) formalism was used to compute the electron–electron interactions. How the saturated velocity and the critical dissociation electric field of the polaron are related to the on-site Coulomb repulsion and long-range Coulomb interactions has been investigated. It was found that the on-site Coulomb interaction does not favor the motion of a polaron. There is a critical strength of the long-range Coulomb interaction for which the polaron takes on the most localized configuration. Comparing with the results obtained using the extended Hubbard model, we found that competition between the long-range Coulomb interactions and the on-site Coulomb interaction leads to a non-monotonic dependence of both the saturated velocity and the critical dissociation electric field on the long-range Coulomb interactions.     

Cell-Free Synthesis of Selenoproteins in High Yield and Purity for Selective Protein Tagging

The selenol group of selenocysteine is much more nucleophilic than the thiol group of cysteine. Selenocysteine residues in proteins thus offer reactive points for rapid post-translational modification. Herein, we show that selenoproteins can be expressed in high yield and purity by cell-free protein synthesis by global substitution of cysteine by selenocysteine. Complete alkylation of solvent-exposed selenocysteine residues was achieved in 10 minutes with 4-chloromethylene dipicolinic acid (4Cl-MDPA) under conditions that left cysteine residues unchanged even after overnight incubation. Gd^III−Gd^III distances measured by double electron–electron resonance (DEER) experiments of maltose binding protein (MBP) containing two selenocysteine residues tagged with 4Cl-MDPA-Gd^III were indistinguishable from Gd^III−Gd^III distances measured of MBP containing cysteine reacted with 4Br-MDPA tags.     

Recent progress of physical failure analysis of GaN HEMTs

Gallium nitride (GaN)-based high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are widely used in high power and high frequency application fields,due to the outstanding physical and chemical properties of the GaN material.However,GaN HEMTs suffer from degradations and even failures during practical applications,making physical analyses of post-failure devices extremely significant for reliability improvements and further device optimizations.In this paper,common physical characterization techniques for post failure analyses are introduced,several failure mechanisms and corresponding failure phenomena are reviewed and summarized,and finally device optimization methods are discussed.     

The control of paracetamol particle size and surface morphology through crystallisation in a spray dryer

The parameters governing the crystallisation of paracetamol using various conventional techniques has been extensively studied, however the factors influencing the drug crystallisation using spray drying is not as well understood. The aim of this work was to investigate the crystallisation of an active pharmaceutical ingredient through evaporative crystallisation using a spray dryer to study the physicochemical properties of the drug and to use semi-empirical equations to gain insight into the morphology and particle size of the dried powder. Paracetamol solutions were spray dried at various inlet temperatures ranging from 60 °C to 120 °C and also from a series of inlet feed solvent compositions ranging from 50/50% v/v ethanol/water to 100% ethanol and solid-state characterisation was done. The size and morphology of the dried materials were altered with a change in spray drying parameters, with an increase in inlet temperature leading to an increase in particle Sauter mean diameter (from 3.0 to 4.4 µm) and a decrease in the particle size with an increase in ethanol concentration in the feed (from 4.6 to 4.4 µm) as a result of changes in particle density and atomised droplet size. The morphology of the dried particles consisted of agglomerates of individual crystallites bound together into larger semi-spherical agglomerates with a higher tendency for particles having crystalline ridges to form at higher ethanol concentrations of the feed.     

扫描隧道显微镜钨针尖的制备与表征

采用直流电化学刻蚀方法制备扫描隧道显微镜钨针尖,研究了电化学刻蚀过程中NaOH溶液浓度、钨丝浸入长度和刻蚀电压对针尖形貌的影响。通过扫描电子显微镜(SEM)测量针尖曲率半径和针尖纵横比值,以表征针尖的尺寸和形状;通过能谱仪(EDS)分析针尖表面成分,以表征表面清洁度;通过场发射显微镜(FEM)得到Fowler-Nordheim (F-N)曲线来检测针尖发射性能。实验结果表明,当溶液浓度为2 mol/L、钨丝浸入长度为4 mm、刻蚀电压为3 V时,可以得到曲率半径约为100 nm、纵横比值为13的针尖,且表面无钨的氧化层。FEM结果显示当对针尖施加500 V的负偏压时,针尖可以稳定发射50 nA量级的电流,且针尖性能具有良好的一致性。     

Evaluation of electrochemical properties of antibacterial ZnO layers deposited to 316LVM steel using atomic layer deposition

The presence of a biofilm can lead to the disappearance of the surrounding bone tissue and, as a result, disturb the osseointegration process. Unfortunately, both in the case of instability of the implant and long-term bacterial infections, there is often a need for reoperation as well as replacement of the implant, which in turn is associated with huge costs, but most of all discomfort for the patient associated with long-term hospitalization. In order to limit this unfavorable process, the physicochemical properties of the surface layer of implants are indicated. Therefore, the paper proposes applying a layer with antibacterial effect on the surface of 316LVM steel used in bone surgery. As part of the work, the ZnO layer was applied using the atomic layer deposition method with different parameters of the application process (different number of cycles at constant temperature). In the first stage, pitting corrosion resistance tests were carried out using the potentiodynamic method and studies using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The surface morphology tests using a scanning electron microscope were also complemented. Obtained results may form the basis for the development of more detailed criteria for the assessment of the final quality of medical devices used in the skeletal system.     

预时效对Al-5.2Mg-0.45Cu-2.0Zn合金室温稳定性的影响

本文详细研究了预时效对Al-5.2Mg-0.45Cu-2.0Zn合金时效析出行为的影响。预时效不仅提高了合金的室温稳定性,避免了合金烤漆软化,同时提高了合金的烤漆时效响应速度。合金经T4处理后,再峰时效处理后的组织包括粗大的T-Mg₃₂(AlZn)₄₉相以及针状的S-Al₂MgCu相。然而合金经T4P处理后,再峰时效处理的组织只含有细小而高密度的T-Mg₃₂(AlZn)₄₉相而不包括S-Al₂MgCu相。自然时效后不稳定的原子团簇在180℃时效后会回溶到基体中, 从而抑制了合金的时效析出强化。而预时效后生成的稳定的原子团簇会成为180℃时效的形核点,显著提高了合金的时效响应速度。     

Effect of microstructure inhomogeneity on mechanical properties of different zones in TA15 electron beam welded joints

The effects of microstructure inhomogeneity on the mechanical properties of different zones in TA15 electron beam welded joints were investigated using a micromechanics-based finite element method. Considering the indentation size effect, the mechanical properties for constituent phases of the base metal (BM) and heat affected zone (HAZ) were determined by the instrumented nano-indentation test. The macroscopic mechanical properties of BM and HAZ obtained from the tensile test agree well with the numerical results. The incompatible deformation between the constituent phases tends to localize along the softer primary phase α where failure usually initiates in form of localized plastic strain. Compared with the BM, the mechanical properties of constituent phases in the HAZ differ substantially, leading to more serious strain localization behavior.