Analyzing the nanoindentation response of carbon black filled elastomers

Carbon black (CB) filled elastomers are structurally complex materials that offer unique properties at different length scales. They have tremendous potential applications in a number of fields including the automotive and aerospace industries and for designing innovative smart materials such as artificial muscles but their applications remain limited primarily due to inadequate understanding of their unique mechanical properties. Here, using the Berkovich technique to probe the surface mechanical properties at different scales the nanoindentation response of a series of composites made by homogeneously dispersed CB nanoparticles inside a semicrystalline copolymer matrix has been explored. While the measured loading part of the force–displacement curves is well described by Meyer's empirical power relation, the inverted methodology (IM) approach to deal with the unloading part has been considered and its outcome has been compared with that obtained from the standard Oliver–Pharr's method. The results were consistent with the observed increase of hardness when the applied displacement decreases for all composite samples over a large range of CB volume fraction. Zhang and Xu's model is demonstrated to produce experimentally consistent explanation of this indentation size effect. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra also show composition gradients with depth up to 100 nm. Furthermore, the effect of CB content, surface features, and length scale-dependent deformation on the hardness–displacement behavior have been considered. These findings highlight the possibility of attaining a diverse set of mechanical properties by a better understanding of the nanoindentation response of CB filled elastomers which can be useful for material selection and design improvements in a number of practical applications.     

SBS Thermoplastic Elastomer Based on Dynamic Metal-Ligand Bond: Structure,Mechanical Properties,and Shape Memory Behavior

A Cooper(II) (Cu²⁺)-nitrogen coordination-crosslinked network is designed in poly(styrene-co-butadiene-co-styrene) (SBS) to change commercial elastomers into advanced soft materials. Herein, ligand groups into SBS molecular chains by the 3,6-di(2-pyridyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine (DPT) click reaction are first introduced. The results from fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are verified the successful modification of SBS. The DPT-grafted SBS could then coordinate with copper sulfate (CuSO₄) to form a Cu²⁺-nitrogen bond, which is further characterized using FT-IR, XPS, atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscope, and geometric structure calculations. After modifying SBS to form an SBS-DPT/CuSO₄ composite (SBS-DPT2-Cu10), the tensile stress is improved from 11.43 to 23.25 MPa, while the elongation at break is remained almost unchanged, and the corresponding toughness is increased from 33.21 to 63.26 MJ m^–3. Moreover, the dynamic nature of the Cu²⁺-nitrogen coordination bonds enables the SBS-DPT/CuSO₄ composite to exhibit sustained thermoplastic performance and excellent shape memory behavior under an external thermal stimulus.     

Group and group-interaction contribution method for estimating the melting temperatures of deep eutectic solvents

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are mixtures of two or more components that have lower melting temperatures compared to their constituting components. DESs possess many advantages, for example, low volatility, low flammability, and low toxicity, which make them promising alternatives to traditional organic solvents. The melting temperature, one of the important physical properties, is of essential importance for industrial applications. In this work, a group and group-interaction contribution method was proposed to estimate the melting temperatures of DESs using an extensive database (1528 DESs, 1541 data points). The average absolute relative deviation (%AARD) between the estimated and experimental values of the melting temperature was 5.67% for binary DESs. Subsequently, this method was also extended to estimate the melting temperature of ternary DESs, with the AARD of 6.13%. The results indicate the high accuracy and broad applicability of the method and pave the way for the rational design of task-specific DESs.     

ε-聚赖氨酸-活性剂预混溶液的制备及在油浸食品中的抑菌活性

为解决ε-聚赖氨酸(ε-PL)的油难溶性以及由此导致抑菌性能差的问题，选取吐温80、司盘80作为表面活性剂，无水乙醇、丙三醇作为辅助剂，制备ε-PL与低浓度表面活性剂的预混溶液，探究其植物油溶性及其对油浸面制品中腐败微生物的抑制效果。结果表明，活性剂相与水相比例为1 ∶ 1.25，1 ∶ 1.5，1 ∶ 1.75配制的预混溶液(ETSG)均无底部凝胶沉淀，外观透明，流动性好。活性剂相与水相比例为1 ∶ 1.25的1% ETSG在葵花籽油和橄榄油中均可均匀分散且外观透明。ETSG能够显著抑制霉菌菌丝生长和孢子萌发，培养5 d后，0.1% ETSG处理的链格孢霉T5A和赭曲霉9F的菌落直径显著低于对照组83.44%和45.21%，4% ETSG处理的土曲霉YS-1-1的菌落直径显著低于对照组39.64%。0.1% ETSG使链格孢霉与赭曲霉的孢子萌发率分别从87.07%和85.01%降至1.91%和1.84%，4% ETSG处理使土曲霉的孢子萌发率从90.27%降至4.16%。此外，2%的ETSG可使面筋食品中的霉菌菌落总数显著下降62.5%。本研究为ε-PL作为天然防腐杀菌剂在油浸食品中的应用提供了理论依据。     

整体设计导向的国际建筑光伏一体化技术策略研究

建筑光伏一体化技术可以通过发电满足建筑能耗需求,从而有效节能减排、助力碳达峰以及碳中和.针对整体设计导向的国际BIPV项目,建立案例数据库,并对项目关键指标及技术策略进行整合分析,为今后相关理论研究提供数据基础和分析思路.     

Influence of soil density on gas permeability and water retention in soils amended with in-house produced biochar

Biochar has been used as an environment-friendly enhancer to improve the hydraulic properties(e.g.suction and water retention) of soil.However,variations in densities alter the properties of the soil-biochar mix.Such density variations are observed in agriculture(loosely compacted) and engineering(densely compacted) applications.The influence of biochar amendment on gas permeability of soil has been barely investigated,especially for soil with diffe rent densities.The maj or obj ective of this study is to investigate the water retention capacity,and gas permeability of biochar-amended soil(BAS) with different biochar contents under varying degree of compaction(DOC) conditions.In-house produced novel biochar was mixed with the soil at different amendment rates(i.e.biochar contents of 0%,5% and 10%).All BAS samples were compacted at three DOCs(65%,80% and 95%) in polyvinyl chloride(PVC)tubes.Each soil column was subjected to drying-wetting cycles,during which soil suction,water content,and gas permeability were measured.A simplified theoretical framework for estimating the void ratio of BAS was proposed.The experimental results reveal that the addition of biochar significantly decreased gas permeability k_g as compared with that of bare soil(BS).However,the addition of 5%biochar is found to be optimum in decreasing kg with an increase of DOC(i.e.k_(g,65%) k_(g,80%) k_(g,95%)) at a relatively low suction range(200 kPa) because both biochar and compaction treatment reduce the connected pores.     

Microstructure Evolution of Ni-Co Alloys During Crystallization and Amorphization Process

Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism - A molecular dynamics simulation has been conducted in Ni73Co27 and Ni74Co26 alloys during rapid solidification at the cooling rate of...