Mechanical behavior of cold-water fish gelatin gels crosslinked with 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether

In this work, chemical crosslinking with 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDGE) is used as strategy to enhance mechanical performance of fish gelatin (FG) gels in order to meet the properties' range of mammalian gelatin physical gels. Joint analysis of free amino groups, swelling ratio, and total soluble material indicates that crosslinking degree increases with increasing FG concentration and it is favored by a 0.2 BDDGE/FG ratio. Increasing crosslinking degree enhances gel indentation strength and shear modulus (μ) while decreases fracture toughness (G_IC). Measured μ and G_IC values lies within the range exhibited by mammalian gelatin physical gels, but the relationship between these parameters is opposite. This is due to the different fracture mechanisms occurring in chemically crosslinked and physical gels.     

Evaluation of polyphosphoric acid on the performance of polymer modified asphalt binders

The aim of this research is to evaluate the effect of polyphosphoric acid (PPA) on the mechanical performance of styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) and styrene–butadiene–rubber (SBR) modified asphalt. Conventional properties, multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR), bending beam rheometer (BBR), and linear amplitude sweep (LAS) tests were conducted to evaluate the performance characteristics of asphalt at different PPA inclusions. Gel-permeation chromatography (GPC), saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes (SARA), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) were carried to reveal the molecular weight, component and infrared spectra of asphalt. Results showed that PPA hardened the asphalt, improved the rutting and fatigue performances of polymer modified asphalt (PMA) binder, but weakened the anti-cracking performances. Besides, storage stability had a significant improvement as the addition of PPA. The addition of PPA brought more macromolecules into asphalt and led to more high-average molecular weight compounds. Furthermore, PPA changed four component ratios of asphalt. Both PMA with or without PPA have similar absorption peaks. This may be due to absorption peak of PMA covered the changes in PPA modification process as the low content of PPA. 0.8% dosage of PPA may be considered optimum for composite modified binder combining the above experimental results for this binder source.     

Waterborne star-shaped styrene-alkyd resins

Waterborne star-shaped styrene-alkyd resins (SSARs) were synthesized from a branched alkyd resin (AR) and styrene (St) by miniemulsion polymerization. SSARs are an environmentally friendly material. The ratio of AR to St for obtaining SSARs was as follows: 50:50 (SSAR1), 60:40 (SSAR2), 70:30 (SSAR3), and 80:20 (SSAR4). The conversion percentage was directly proportional to St used, and was higher than 94.0 %. Infrared analysis and protonic nuclear magnetic resonance revealed the reaction between AR and St. The synthesis process also leads to the formation of polystyrene and its concentration increases with the concentration of St. The values of the reacted double-bond fractions were higher than 17.80%. The SSARs drop size was bigger than the particle size. The miniemulsion colloidal stability was good at room temperature. The SSARs zeta potential was between −55 and −90 mV. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48386.     

Reversible Na+-extraction/insertion in nitrogen-doped graphene-encapsulated Na3V2(PO4)2F3@C electrode for advanced Na-ion battery

NASICON-structured sodium vanadium fluorophosphate has caused widespread concern for sodium energy conversion and storage because of its high voltage platform and high theoretical energy density. However, the inferior electrical conductivity is still a big problem, which greatly prevent the applications of Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃ material. Herein, the nitrogen-doped graphene-encapsulated Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃@C (NG-NVPF@C) has been prepared using the sol-gel approach. The physical and electrochemical performances for the resulted NG-NVPF@C composite have been systematically characterized and compared with that of Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃@C (NVPF@C) in this study. The electrochemical tests demonstrate that the as-fabricated NG-NVPF@C displays higher capacity, superior rate property and better cyclic life than NVPF@C. It displays the discharge capacity of 108.6 mAh g⁻¹ at 5C. Moreover, it also possesses the high capacity of 101.6 mAh g⁻¹ at 10C over 300 cycles with the capacity retention of about 96.5%. The improved properties of NG-NVPF@C electrode are assigned to the constructed conductive network by nitrogen-doped graphene, which can modify the conductivity of Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃.     

Growth,microstructure, energy–storage and dielectric performances of chemical–solution NBT–based thin films: Effect of sodium nonstoichimometry

Na_0.5+δBi_0.5(Ti_0.96W_0.01Ni_0.03)O₃ thin films with various Na contents (abbreviated as Na_.5+δBTWN, δ?=?? 3.0, ??1.5, 0, 1.5%) were fabricated on ITO/glass substrates using a chemical–solution process. The effects of Na nonstoichiometry on the microstructure, insulating, ferroelectric and dielectric performances are investigated. The pure perovskite phase can be obtained in Na_0.5BTWN and Na_0.515BTWN, while for Na_0.470BTWN or Na_0.485BTWN, the main composition contains secondary phase of TiO₂. The grain size increases from 30?nm at δ?=?? 3.0% to 55?nm at δ?=?0%, then decreases to 52?nm with δ?=?1.5%. The leakage current of Na_0.485BTWN sample is reduced dramatically in comparison with Na_0.5+δBTWN (δ?=?? 3.0, 0, 1.5%). The big recoverable energy–storage density of 63.1?J/cm² and high energy–storage efficiency of 55.0% can be obtained for Na_0.485BTWN due to the improved electric break–down strength and large difference value between the remanent polarization and maximum polarization. Enhanced dielectricity is achieved in Na_0.485BTWN with a high tunability of 36.0% and a figure of merit of 4.0 at 450?kV/cm and 500?kHz. These results demonstrated that the crystallization, micrographs and energy storage and dielectric properties of Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ are highly sensitive to low levels of Na–site nonstoichiometry.     

Formation mechanism of elongated β–Si3N4 crystals in Fe–Si3N4 composite via flash combustion

Elongated β–Si₃N₄ crystals have a significant influence on the mechanical property of Fe–Si₃N₄ composite. In this paper, the formation mechanism of elongated β–Si₃N₄ crystals in Fe–Si₃N₄ composite was investigated. During the preparation process, β–Si₃N₄ crystals developed in a spiral and layer growth mechanism in the dense areas. They kept growing from the dense areas and formed radially distributed elongated crystals with hexagonal prismatic morphology as time went on. As for the formation mechanism, the (100) crystal plane of β–Si₃N₄ from Si-N-O melt is mainly the vicinal crystal planes growth with different angles from the (100) crystal plane. At the later stage, the crystallization and the diffusion forces in Si-N-O molten phase decreased. However, the short range diffusion remained active and resulted in the gradient distribution of N content near the boundary. With the temperature decreasing, the disappearance of the short range diffusion implied the end of the crystallization process of the elongated β–Si₃N₄ crystals.     

Characterization of zirconia specimens fabricated by ceramic on-demand extrusion

The Ceramic On-Demand Extrusion (CODE) process is a novel additive manufacturing method for fabricating dense (~99% of theoretical density) ceramic components from aqueous, high solids loading pastes (>50?vol%). In this study, 3?mol% Y₂O₃ stabilized zirconia (3YSZ) specimens were fabricated using the CODE process. The specimens were then dried in a humidity-controlled environmental chamber and afterwards sintered under atmospheric conditions. Mechanical properties of the sintered specimens were examined using ASTM standard test techniques, including density, Young’s modulus, flexural strength, Weibull modulus, fracture toughness, and Vickers hardness. The microstructure was analyzed and grain size measured using scanning electron microscopy. The results were compared with those from Direct Inkjet Printing, Selective Laser Sintering, Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing (LCM), and other extrusion-based processes, and indicated that zirconia specimens produced by CODE exhibit superior mechanical properties among the additive manufacturing processes. Several sample components were produced to demonstrate CODE’s capability for fabricating geometrically complex ceramic components. The surface roughness of these components was also examined.     

Advanced visible-light photocatalytic property of biologically structured carbon/ceria hybrid multilayer membranes prepared by bamboo leaves

Biologically structured carbon/cerium dioxide materials are synthesized by biological templates. The microscopic morphology, structure and the effects of different oxidation temperatures on materials are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) ultraviolet-visible light spectrum (UV–Vis) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, by splitting water under visible light irradiation, the hydrogen production is measured to test the photocatalytic property of these materials. The results show that materials made with bamboo biological templates which are immersed in 0.1 mol L^?1 of cerium nitrate solution, then carbonizated in nitrogen (700 °C) and oxidized in air (500–600 °C), can obtain the biological structure of bamboo leaves. The product is in the composition of hybrid multilayer membrane, which one is carbon membrane form plant cell carbonation and another is ceria membrane by nanoparticle self assembly. The best oxidation temperature is 550 °C and the band gap of carbon/cerium dioxide materials synthesized at this optimum oxidation temperature could be reduced to 2.75 eV. After exposure to visible light for 6 h, the optimal hydrogen production is about 302 μmol g^?1, which is much higher than that of pure CeO₂.     

Polyvinyl alcohol thin film reinforced by green synthesized zirconia nanoparticles

The focus of this work is to prepare polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) thin film reinforced by green synthesized zirconia nanoparticles. In order to do so, firstly, zirconia nanoparticles were synthesized by the rosemary extract-assisted sol-gel process as both template and stabilizing agents. The results showed that the as-obtained sample with zirconium salt to rosemary extract ratio of 1:4 had a semi-spherical morphology with the mean particle size of 12–17?nm. This nanoparticle was added as reinforcement with different ratios to the polyvinyl alcohol matrix. The mechanical property of the as-prepared nanocomposites revealed that the elastic modulus of 1?wt% ZrO2-PVA sample was about 5.5 times higher than pure PVA thin film.