Role and prospects of green quantum dots in photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation: A review

Eco-friendly quantum dots (QDs) can be termed green QDs which stand as an attractive choice to modify the properties of known semiconductors in the direction of getting efficient photoelectrodes for solar-induced photoelectrochemical (PEC) splitting of water, due to their peculiar properties. Thus, it is of high significance to analyze their merit/demerit as an effective scaffold in PEC cell. QDs are known for their excellent optical properties however, the coupling of green QDs with semiconductor is not only useful in improving absorption characteristics but also promotes charge transfer. This review has undertaken the critical analysis on the worldwide research going on the green QDs modified photoelectrode with respect to their optical, electrical & photoelectrochemical properties, role, usefulness, efficiency, and finally the success in PEC system for hydrogen production. Various methods on the facile synthesis & sensitization techniques of green QDs available in the literature have also been discussed. Further, recent advances on the development of green QDs based photo-electrode, along with major challenges of using green QDs in this field have also been presented.     

Microwave hybrid fast sintering of red clay ceramics

This work aimed to examine the performance of the hybrid sintering of clay ceramic in a microwave furnace, compared to the sintering process in a conventional furnace. The raw materials were subjected to X-ray fluorescence, loss on ignition (LOI), X-ray diffraction, particle size distribution, real specific mass, and thermogravimetric analyses. The red clay ceramic mass was prepared, extruded, pre-sintered in a conventional furnace at 600°C/60 min, and sintered at temperatures between 700 °C and 1100 °C. The sintering conventional (resistive oven) was carried out for 60 min with a heating rate of 10°C/min. In the microwave furnace, the sintering times were 5, 10, and 15 min, with a heating rate of 50°C/min, with a sintering chamber coated with silicon carbide (susceptor). The sintered specimens were characterized according to linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent porosity, apparent specific mass, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy analysis, spectroscopy analysis in the ultraviolet and visible regions, microhardness, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that microwave sintering promoted an increase in the microhardness and apparent specific mass, and reduction in water absorption and apparent porosity values, due to greater densification in the microstructure. The best results occurred for specimens sintered at 1100°C.     

科研管理项目管理系统设计与开发

信息化时代推动了我国科研水平飞速增长,为各行业、各领域提供先进的技术与设备支持,以此提升我国整体的GDP水平。文章认为在提升科研水平的过程中,科研项目管理系统起到举足轻重的作用,为科研活动的规范性、合理性与可行性提供了参考标准。     

Structural and electrical studies of excessively Sm2O3 substituted soft PZT nanoceramics

The solid solution of Pb_1-x Sm_2x/3 (Zr_0.6 Ti_0.4) O₃ ceramics with x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 was prepared via the high-energy ball milling technique. Further, the effect of excessive Sm₂O₃ substitution at Pb-site on structural, dielectric, and dc-conductivity properties was studied. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that all samples were crystallized with perovskite and pyrochlore diphase form. Excess Sm³⁺ substitution in the PZT system increases the pyrochlore volume fraction from 5 to 20% and induces a structural phase transition from rhombohedral to a tetragonal structure. The microstructural study by TEM and SEM indicated that the particles were spherical with an average size of 43–55 nm. The frequency and temperature-dependent dielectric constant for all compositions was carried out and it is obtained that the dielectric constant decreases with Sm³⁺ content. The phase transition temperature first decreases up to x = 0.2 and then increases for the higher concentration of samarium. The dc-conductivity studies revealed that all samples showed an unusual mixed TCR effect (both positive and negative temperature coefficient of resistance). Such properties of the studied samples indicate that the material is suitable for potential applications in thermistors, and temperature sensors of the automotive, and petroleum industries.     

Exploring the Cold-Adaptation Mechanism of Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase by Comparative Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Cold-adapted enzymes feature a lower thermostability and higher catalytic activity compared to their warm-active homologues, which are considered as a consequence of increased flexibility of their molecular structures. The complexity of the (thermo)stability-flexibility-activity relationship makes it difficult to define the strategies and formulate a general theory for enzyme cold adaptation. Here, the psychrophilic serine hydroxymethyltransferase (pSHMT) from Psychromonas ingrahamii and its mesophilic counterpart, mSHMT from Escherichia coli, were subjected to μs-scale multiple-replica molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the cold-adaptation mechanism of the dimeric SHMT. The comparative analyses of MD trajectories reveal that pSHMT exhibits larger structural fluctuations and inter-monomer positional movements, a higher global flexibility, and considerably enhanced local flexibility involving the surface loops and active sites. The largest-amplitude motion mode of pSHMT describes the trends of inter-monomer dissociation and enlargement of the active-site cavity, whereas that of mSHMT characterizes the opposite trends. Based on the comparison of the calculated structural parameters and constructed free energy landscapes (FELs) between the two enzymes, we discuss in-depth the physicochemical principles underlying the stability-flexibility-activity relationships and conclude that (i) pSHMT adopts the global-flexibility mechanism to adapt to the cold environment and, (ii) optimizing the protein-solvent interactions and loosening the inter-monomer association are the main strategies for pSHMT to enhance its flexibility.     

Effect of Cu-Rich Phase Precipitation on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of CoCrNiCux Medium-Entropy Alloys Prepared via Laser Directed Energy Deposition

CoCrNiCux (x=0.16,0.33,0.75,and 1) without macro-segregation medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) was prepared using laser directed energy deposition (LDED).The microstructure and mechanical properties of CoCrNiCux alloys with increas-ing Cu content were investigated.The results indicate that a single matrix phase changes into a dual-phase structure and the tensile fracture behaviors convert from brittle to plastic pattern with increasing Cu content in CoCrNiCux alloys.In addi-tion,the tensile strength of CoCrNiCux alloys increased from 148 to 820 MPa,and the ductility increased from 1 to 11％with increasing Cu content.The nano-precipitated particles had a mean size of approximately 20 nm in the Cu-rich phase area,and a large number of neatly arranged misfit dislocations were observed at the interface between the two phases due to Cu-rich phase precipitation in the CoCrNiCu alloy.These misfit dislocations hinder the movement of dislocations during tensile deformation,as observed through transmission electron microscopy.This allows the CoCrNiCu alloy to reach the largest tensile strength and plasticity,and a new strengthening mechanism was achieved for the CoCrNiCu alloy.Moreover,twins were observed in the matrix phase after tensile fracture.Simultaneously,the dual-phase structure with different elastic moduli coordinated with each other during the deformation process,significantly improving the plasticity and strength of the CoCrNiCu alloy.     

油品运输中减少能耗的精细化管理措施分析

油品具有两个基本的物理特性,第一个是挥发性,第二个是易燃性。这些物理特性使得油品在运输过程中的能耗现象非常常见,有时候还会引发安全事故。为了让油品在运输过程里面的能耗得到更加有效的控制,就应该对油品消耗管理体系加以改进,使能源能耗控制管理模式的层次不断提升。此外还要对水电气能源进行多层次管理,从而提升企业整体效益并实现节约能源的目标。本文主要对油品运输中优品损耗的精细化管理措施加以研究。     

Achieving High Electroluminescence Efficiency and High Color Rendering Index for All-Fluorescent White OLEDs Based on an Out-of-Phase Sensitizing System

Sensitizing conventional fluorescence (CF) dopants with thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials has achieved considerable progress, by which the advantages of TADF materials and CF dopants can be fully harnessed. However, the usually used co-phase configuration of CF dopant-engaged sensitizing systems often encounters exciton loss due to Dexter energy transfer (DET). Herein, an effective out-of-phase configuration is proposed to sensitize CF dopants in the fabrication of white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs). Based on a new efficient sky-blue TADF luminogen DCP-BP-DPAC which has an electroluminescence (EL) peak at 486 nm and an EL efficiency of 26.6%, a green TADF material BDMAC-XT, and a red CF dopant DBP sensitized by BDMAC-XT through an out-of-phase configuration without interlayer, efficient WOLEDs are successfully fabricated. By further adopting orange TBRB or 4CzTPNBu as intermediate sensitizers, more efficient energy transfer to DBP is achieved via Förster energy transfer. Through step-by-step energy transfer and elimination of excess DET process, high-performance all-fluorescent WOLEDs are achieved, providing excellent EL efficiencies over 23.0%, and highly stable white light with a high color rendering index of 87. The outstanding EL performance and high-quality emission color demonstrate the great potential of the proposed out-of-phase design for sensitizing systems of WOLEDs.     

Effects on the crystallite growth behavior of LaPO4 nanopowders and its mechanical properties

The effects of pH of the reaction solution and the concentration of phosphoric acid on the crystal growth behavior of LaPO₄ crystallites were investigated and the mechanical properties of rare-earth phosphates were compared. As a result, the concentration of phosphoric acid of 10% was beneficial to the crystal growth of LaPO₄ nanocrystalline. When the pH value of the reaction solution was 2, the size of LaPO₄ crystallites increased gradually with the increasing reaction temperature, and the smallest crystallite size of 43.27 nm was obtained after heat-treatment at 1000 °C. Simultaneously, the activation energy for crystal growth of LaPO₄ nanocrystalline was relatively lower (26.82 kJ mol⁻¹). With the decreasing radii of rare-earth ions, the hardness, Young's modulus and fracture toughness of the bulk rare-earth phosphates exhibited a reduced tendency, resulted from the increase of porosity under the same preparation process.     

Feature selection methods for root-cause analysis among top-level product attributes

Manufacturing companies not only strive to deliver flawless products but also monitor product failures in the field to identify potential quality issues. When product failures occur, quality engineers must identify the root cause to improve any affected product and process. This root-cause analysis can be supported by feature selection methods that identify relevant product attributes, such as manufacturing dates with an increased number of product failures. In this paper, we present different methods for feature selection and evaluate their ability to identify relevant product attributes in a root-cause analysis. First, we compile a list of feature selection methods. Then, we summarize the properties of product attributes in warranty case data and discuss these properties regarding the challenges they pose for machine learning algorithms. Next, we simulate datasets of warranty cases, which emulate these product properties. Finally, we compare the feature selection methods based on these simulated datasets. In the end, the univariate filter information gain is determined to be a suitable method for a wide range of applications. The comparison based on simulated data provides a more general result than other publications, which only focus on a single use case. Due to the generic nature of the simulated datasets, the results can be applied to various root-cause analysis processes in different quality management applications and provide a guideline for readers who wish to explore machine learning methods for their analysis of quality data.