Influence of zinc and cadmium co-doping on optical and magnetic properties of cobalt ferrites

Zinc and cadmium based cobalt ferrites Zn_xCd_0.375-xCo_0.625Fe₂O₄ (where x = 0, 0.075, 0.125, 0.25) were successfully synthesized by a facile co-precipitation technique. Structural, optical and magnetic characteristics of the doped ferrites were systematically analyzed. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) pattern confirmed the formation of cubic spinel structure in all samples. Scanning electron microscopic analysis of surface morphology revealed cubic and spherical shaped ferrite particles. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the existence of metal oxygen (M − O) bonding in the prepared samples. Moreover, the prepared samples exhibited two frequency bands corresponding to phonon vibrational stretching in both octahedral and tetrahedral lattice positions. The optical properties were investigated in detail through photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The PL spectrum confirmed the strong emission peaks in the ultraviolet to visible region of all the samples. Further, four active Raman modes, associated with cubic spinel structure are identified in all prepared samples. Finally, the magnetic characteristics are evaluated by using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) revealing ferrimagnetic and soft magnetic behavior of the samples. As the Zn and Cd co-doping in Co was increased, the H_c was decreased. The magnetic studies show the maximum H_c of 576 Oe for Cd doped cobalt ferrite, and maximum saturation magnetization (M_s) for Zn–Cd doped cobalt ferrite. It is envisaged that the newly prepared Zn–Cd co-doped cobalt ferrite would be appropriate for a number of important applications, for example, magnetic recording devices, sensors, actuators, high-density data storage devices, and biomedical equipments.     

Effect of Al2O3 particles on mechanical and tribological properties of Al–Mg dual-matrix nanocomposites

This article aims to manufacture homogenous dual-matrix Al–Mg/Al₂O₃ nanocomposite from their raw materials and give insight into the correlation between powder morphology, crystallite structure and their mechanical and tribological properties. Al–Mg dual-matrix reinforced with micro/nano Al₂O₃ particles was manufactured by a novel double high-energy ball milling process followed by a cold consolidation and sintering. Microstructure and phase composition of the prepared samples were characterized using FE-SEM, EDS and XRD inspections. Mechanical and wear properties were characterized using compression and sliding wear tests. The results showed that a milling of Mg with Al₂O₃ particles in an initial step before mixing with Al has the beneficial of well dispersion of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles in Al–Mg dual matrix. The Al–Mg dual matrix reinforced with nano-size Al₂O₃ showed 3.29-times smaller crystallite size than pure Al. Moreover, the hardness and compressive strength are enhanced by adding nano-size Al₂O₃ with Al–Mg dual matrix composite while the ductility is maintained relatively high. Additionally, the wear rate of this composite was reduced by a factor of 2.7 compared to pure Al. The reduced crystallite size, the dispersion of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles and the formation of (Al–Mg)_ss were the main improvement factors for mechanical and wear properties.     

Facile synthesis of hybrid porous composites and its porous carbon for enhanced H2 and CH4 storage

The anticipated energy crisis due to the extensive use of limited stock fossil fuels forces the scientific society for find prompt solution for commercialization of hydrogen as a clean source of energy. Hence, convenient and efficient solid-state hydrogen storage adsorbents are required. Additionally, the safe commercialization of huge reservoir natural gas (CH₄) as an on-board vehicle fuel and alternative to gasoline due to its environmentally friendly combustion is also a vital issue. To this end, in this study we report facile synthesis of polymer-based composites for H₂ and CH₄ uptake. The cross-linked polymer and its porous composites with activated carbon were developed through in-situ synthesis method. The mass loadings of activated carbon were varied from 7 to 20 wt%. The developed hybrid porous composites achieved high specific surface area (SSA) of 1420 m²/g and total pore volume (TPV) of 0.932 cm³/g as compared to 695 m²/g and 0.857 cm³/g for pristine porous polymer. Additionally, the porous composite was activated converted to a highly porous carbon material achieving SSA and TPV of 2679 m²/g and 1.335 cm³/g, respectively. The H₂ adsorption for all developed porous materials was studied at 77 and 298 K and 20 bar achieving excess uptake of 4.4 wt% and 0.17 wt% respectively, which is comparable to the highest reported value for porous carbon. Furthermore, the developed porous materials achieved CH₄ uptake of 8.15 mmol/g at 298 K and 20 bar which is also among the top reported values for porous carbon.     

基于平面复合降阻材料的杆塔基础接地降阻研究

杆塔基础自然接地作为输电线路重要的接地装置,能减少外延接地及降阻施工成本。针对特高压输电线路杆塔基础接地提出基于平面复合降阻材料的塔基外敷接地降阻策略,首先,采用CDEGS仿真计算软件建立特高压杆塔单根浇注桩接地计算模型,分析均匀土壤、多层土壤、混合土壤三种条件下的外敷接地降阻效果;然后,通过单个塔基外敷计算模型分析外敷材料不同敷设方式的降阻效率;最后,计算完整杆塔基础外敷接地降阻效率和散流分布特征,并与水平人工外延接地降阻方式进行对比。结果表明,外敷接地降阻效率与土壤条件、敷设位置等因素有关,在高土壤电阻率条件下,塔基外敷接地降阻效率超过22%,与水平人工外延接地相比,塔基外敷接地降阻的散流比超过96%,接地材料利用率高,可减少征地和二次接地施工成本。     

Growth behavior of aluminum borate whiskers on zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) particle surface

In this work, B₄C-covered zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) particles are prepared and oxidised at 1050 °C for different times (0, 2, 4, and 8 h) in air. The X-ray diffraction and electron probe micro-analysis results show that the covering layer is mainly composed of oxide B₂O₃ intermetallics, residual B₄C particles, and Al₁₈B₄O₃₃ whiskers. The scanning electron microscopy results show that the growth of Al₁₈B₄O₃₃ whiskers on the ZTA particles enhances with increasing heat preservation time; the optimum holding time is determined to be 8 h Al₂O₃ in the ZTA particles diffuse into the covering layer and combine with B₂O₃ to form Al₁₈B₄O₃₃ whiskers; the Al₁₈B₄O₃₃ whiskers grow via the liquid-solid mechanism.     

Oval cuboid TiO2 particles with mesoporous structure fabricated by using fluorinated block copolymers as templates with photocatalytic performance

In this work, a poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(1H,1H,7H-dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate) (PEG-b-PDFMA) block copolymer was first synthesized by the reversible addition−fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Then a novel facile approach was developed to fabricate oval cuboid TiO₂ particles with mesoporous structure by using the PEG-b-PDFMA block copolymer as a template and titanium tetrabutoxide (TBOT) as a precursor, followed by evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) process and calcination process. The results show that the PEG-b-PDFMA block copolymer can control the oriented assembly of nanoparticles and act as templates for the formation of a mesopore. It is found that the mass ratio of TBOT/PEG-b-PDFMA and water content in the solution have a significant influence on the morphology of TiO₂ particles. When the mass ratio of TBOT/PEG-b-PDFMA is 0.25/1, oval cuboid TiO₂ particles with mesopores are obtained, which exhibits a high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under UV light irradiation.     

Fe基非晶合金增强1060铝基多层复合材料的组织与性能

采用累积叠轧焊+中间退火法复合轧制1060Al/Fe基非晶多层铝合金复合板材。利用光学显微镜、扫描电镜、X-衍射分析仪以及拉伸试验机分析Al基复合材料的微观组织结构变化、断口形貌、物相组成以及力学性能。结果表明:Fe基非晶复合材料的增强体在300 ℃中间退火过程中发生部分晶化,在累积变形轧制过程中发生破碎,并随着变形道次的增加,破碎程度随之增大;复合板前6道次的累积轧制变形出现了明显的加工软化现象,并且随着变形道次的增加,其加工软化的效果愈明显;随着累积轧制变形道次增加,Al基复合材料的力学性能发生了明显的变化,第2道次轧制变形后屈服强度与抗拉强度达到了最大值为140 MPa和156 MPa,伸长率为5.53%,达到最佳综合性能。     

Size controlled synthesis of well-distributed nano-silver on hydroxyapatite using alkanolamine compounds

A well-distributed nano-silver hydroxyapatite composite has been successfully prepared by a one-pot synthesis method. Hydroxyapatite was separately synthesized by a sol-gel method, then impregnated with silver nanoparticles with the mediation of Uncaria gambir Roxb. leaf extract in the presence of three kinds of alkanolamine compound; monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), and triethanolamine (TEA) as capping agents. The effect of different capping agents on the properties of the silver nanoparticles and the nano-silver hydroxyapatite composite were studied. UV–visible spectrophotometer analysis exhibited absorbance peaks at 402–439 nm which specifically corresponds to spherical silver nanoparticles. Higher optical absorbance was observed in TEA-capped silver nanoparticles, than in DEA and MEA-capped ones. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed a highly crystalline hexagonal structure for hydroxyapatite and no detected metallic silver. However, the presence of 1.65% silver was confirmed by energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy analysis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed spherical silver nanoparticles with a size range of 2–62 nm (smallest mean diameter of 2 nm) adhered to the hydroxyapatite surface. The TEA capped impregnated silver nanoparticles were the smallest, corresponding to the best capping performance, followed by those capped by DEA and MEA. Small-sized nanoparticles on hydroxyapatite are beneficial for highly antibacterial bone implants.     

高湿黏性颗粒在聚四氟乙烯微孔膜滤料表面沉积特性的数值模拟

基于聚四氟乙烯(PTFE)微孔膜滤料扫描电镜(SEM)图像，建立PTFE微孔膜滤料微观结构模型，采用计算流体力学和离散单元法(CFD?DEM)耦合的方法对黏性颗粒在微孔膜滤料表面沉积特性进行模拟，引入液桥力模型，忽略范德华力的作用，统计计算域内颗粒的受力情况，分析了不同表面能条件下3~6 ?m粒径颗粒在微孔膜滤料表面的沉积特性，将模拟结果与黏附效率的经验公式进行对比。结果表明，黏附效率与经验值、颗粒受力与液桥力模型的相对误差均在6%以内，CFD?DEM耦合计算方法可用于模拟不同环境湿度条件下的颗粒沉积；过滤风速、粒径与黏性是影响沉积形态的重要因素，提高过滤风速及增大颗粒粒径与黏性，颗粒更易在滤料表面形成稳定的树突结构，黏附效率及含尘压降增加。环境相对湿度影响两物体间液桥体积，接触力影响颗粒沉积，当增加表面能与液桥体积时，接触力及液桥力均相应增加，根据受力平衡原理，环境相对湿度对颗粒沉积影响很大。     

Durable,Sensitive, and Wide‐Range Wearable Pressure Sensors Based on Wavy‐Structured Flexible Conductive Composite Film

Flexible pressure sensors have potential applications in human motion monitoring and electronic skins. To satisfy the practical applications, pressure sensors with a high sensitivity, a low detection limit, a broad response range, and an excellent stability are highly needed. Here, a piezoresistive pressure sensor based on wavy‐structured single‐walled carbon nanotube/graphite flake/thermoplastic polyurethane (SWCNT/GF/TPU) composite film is fabricated by a prestretching process. Due to the random wavy structure, high conductivity, and good flexibility, the prepared sensor displays a low detection limit of 2 Pa, a wide sensing range of 0–60 kPa, and a high sensitivity of 5.49 kPa^?1 for 0–50 Pa. Furthermore, the sensor shows a remarkable repeatability of over 1.1 × 10⁴, 9.0 × 10³, and 2.0 × 10³ pressure loading/unloading cycles at 50 Pa, 500 Pa, and 30 kPa, respectively, and a fast responsibility of 100–150 ms of loading response time and 400–600 ms of relaxation time. Therefore, the pressure sensor is successfully adopted to monitor both the large‐scale human activities (e.g., walk and jump) and the small‐scale signals (e.g., wrist pulse). Furthermore, a sensor array is assembled to map the weight and shape of an object, indicating its various potential applications including human–machine interactions, human health monitoring, and other wearable electronics.