Nickel hydroxide armour promoted CoP nanowires for alkaline hydrogen evolution at large current density

The development of hydrogen evolution activity (HER) electrocatalyst that can run durably and efficiently under the large current density is of special significance but still challengeable for the massive production of hydrogen. Herein, a CoP/Ni(OH)₂ nanowire catalysts grown on Co foam (CF) with a three-dimensional heterojunction structure has been successfully prepared by electrodepositing nickel hydroxide on the surface of cobalt phosphide. The prepared CoP/Ni(OH)₂–15 min sample reveals a superior HER activity and stability. It merely requires ultralow overpotentials of 108 and 175 mV to 100 and 500 mA cm^?2, respectively. In addition, the long-term stability test shows that the catalyst (CoP/Ni(OH)₂–15 min) can operate stably for at least 70 h at 400 mA cm^?2. Utilizing NiFe-LDH/IF with high OER activity, the NiFe-LDH/IF || CoP/Ni(OH)₂–15 min catalyst system possesses the same outstanding performance for overall water splitting (OWS), which can accomplish ≈ 500 mA cm^?2 at 1.74 V in 1 M KOH electrolyte. Moreover, the NiFe-LDH/IF || CoP/Ni(OH)₂–15 min couple can work for more than 80 h at 500 mA cm^?2, indicating its a great prospect in the area of electrolysis water. Such excellent catalytic performance is mainly attributed to the armor effect of Ni(OH)₂, which can not only promote the rapid decomposition of water molecules, but also prevent the loss of phosphorus and enhance the synergistic effect of CoP and Ni(OH)₂. This work can offer a significant reference for the design with high-performance and durable transition metal phosphide electrocatalysts.     

Integrated study of experiment and first‐principles computation for the characterization of a corium type ZrO8 complex in a Zr‐doped fluorite UO2

We, for the first time, observe ZrO₈ complex in Zr‐doped UO₂, which is a corium structure, using experimental characterization integrated with first‐principle computational validation. Atomic level structure of U_1?yZr_yO₂ pellets (y = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.1) is identified using Raman spectroscopy measurement and X‐ray diffraction pattern analysis. The lattice constants shrink with increasing Zr doping levels, which consistently represents in the positive shift of T_2g Raman vibration peak around 445 cm^?1. More interestingly, conventionally unknown new Raman peak appears around 598 cm^?1, which has not been observed in neither a pure ZrO₂ nor UO₂ doped with tetravalent elements other than Zr. We unveil that the new peak originates from ZrO₈‐type complex formed on the fluorite UO₂. Our study provides precise understanding on the formation mechanisms and material properties of the corium in the hypervalent oxide.     

Maximum Spreading of Urea Water Solution during Drop Impingement

Droplet impingement of urea water solution (UWS) is a common source for liquid film and solid deposits formed in the tailpipe of diesel engines. In order to better understand and predict wetting phenomena on the tailpipe wall, this study focuses on droplet spreading dynamics of urea water solution. Impingement of single droplets is investigated under defined conditions by high‐speed imaging using shadowgraphy technique. The experimental studies are complemented by numerical simulations with a phase‐field method. Computational results are in good agreement with experimental data for the advancing phase of spreading and the maximum and terminal spreading radius, whereas for the receding phase notable differences occur. For the maximum spreading radius, an empirical correlation derived for glycerol‐water‐ethanol mixtures is found to be valid for millimeter‐sized UWS droplets as well. A numerical simulation for a much smaller droplet however indicates that this correlation is not valid for the tiny droplets of UWS sprays in technical applications.     

Tunable temperature‐ and shear‐responsive hydrogels based on poly(alkyl glycidyl ether)s

We describe the synthesis, characterization and direct‐write 3D printing of triblock copolymer hydrogels that have a tunable response to temperature and shear stress. In aqueous solutions, these polymers utilize the temperature‐dependent self‐association of poly(alkyl glycidyl ether) ‘A’ blocks and a central poly(ethylene oxide) segment to create a physically crosslinked three‐dimensional network. The temperature response of these hydrogels was dependent upon composition, chain length and concentration of the ‘A’ block in the copolymer. Rheological experiments confirmed the existence of sol–gel transitions and the shear‐thinning behavior of the hydrogels. The temperature‐ and shear‐responsive properties enabled direct‐write 3D printing of complex objects with high fidelity. Hydrogel cytocompatibility was also confirmed by incorporating HeLa cells into select hydrogels resulting in high viabilities over 24 h. The tunable temperature response and innate shear‐thinning properties of these hydrogels, coupled with encouraging cell viability results, present an attractive opportunity for additive manufacturing and tissue engineering applications. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Mechanical and thermal properties and microstructural evolution of Ta-doped Nb4AlC3

(Nb_1-xTa_x)₄AlC₃ (x = 0–0.5) ceramics were prepared by the hot press sintering method. The XRD results show that the second phase (Nb_1-xTa_x)C is formed when the Ta content increases to 25 mol%. The SEM micrographs show that (Nb_1-xTa_x)C has a core/rim structure, whose formation mechanism was also investigated. Substituting some Ta for Nb can significantly improve the mechanical properties of Nb₄AlC₃. (Nb_0.75Ta_0.25)₄AlC₃ exhibits an excellent fracture toughness of 8.3 ± 0.3 MPa m^1/2 at room temperature (RT). The highest Young's modulus (349 ± 16 GPa) and Vickers hardness (4.5 ± 0.3 GPa) at RT are exhibited by the (Nb_0.5Ta_0.5)₄AlC₃ sample, which correlate to increases of 18% and 80%, respectively, compared with those of Nb₄AlC₃. The flexural strengths of (Nb_0.5Ta_0.5)₄AlC₃ are 439 ± 18 MPa at RT and 344 ± 22 MPa at 1100 °C, which correlate to increases of 27% and 45%, respectively, compared with those of Nb₄AlC₃. The solid solution of Ta and the formation of (Nb_1-xTa_x)C are beneficial to the strengthening of Nb₄AlC₃. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) increases slightly from 7.08 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ for Nb₄AlC₃ to 7.24 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ for (Nb_0.75Ta_0.25)₄AlC₃ at 25–1400 °C. The thermal conductivity of (Nb_0.75Ta_0.25)₄AlC₃ (28.4–29.8 W/m·K) is higher than that of Nb₄AlC₃ (18.1–21.2 W/m·K) over the whole test range (25–1000 °C). Owing to their excellent mechanical and thermal properties, Ta-doped Nb₄AlC₃ ceramics have good potential as structural materials.     

Green and facile synthesis of porous carbon spheres from waste solution for high performance all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitors

Porous carbon spheres materials display huge potential for energy storage, but their general synthesis need chemical activation agent with highly corrosive to create pores. In this work, a simple, environment-friendly and less time-demanding method is used to prepared porous carbon spheres using K₂FeO₄ as activation agent and waste solution as the precursor. The K₂FeO₄ employ in this work acts both as an activating agent and a catalyst. In addition, replacing KOH with K₂FeO₄ does not only reduce the corrosion of equipment but also increases the content of oxygen. The optimized porous carbon spheres with high specific surface area, hierarchical pore structure and surface heteroatom can deliver a high specific capacitance of 260 F g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ and good cycling stability (90% retention after 15000 cycles at 5 A g⁻¹). Furthermore, the all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitors fabricated based on as-prepared samples exhibit good electrochemical performance in the PVA/KOH electrolyte. This work offers a green route to convert waste solution into porous carbon spheres, which are promising candidate material for supercapacitors to energy storage.     

复杂系统的设计认知和创新

目的研究复杂系统设计过程中设计师的设计认知和设计创新行为。方法通过国内外相关文献的研究和分析,总结归纳复杂系统设计问题界定和解决方案构思的认知过程、复杂系统创新设计构思的生成机制、复杂系统的创新设计策略,分析复杂系统设计认知和创新研究领域将发生的变革和未来发展的趋势。结论系统探讨了复杂系统设计认知与创新过程中的设计问题界定和解决方案构思的联合演化机制、给定和自发性解决方案示例,给设计师带来的认知固化和类比推理创新启发作用、结构化和机会主义的创新设计策略,发现当下的复杂系统创新设计理论和实践研究,还需要进一步开展跨学科知识融合激励的复杂系统创新设计研究,与此同时,加强关于设计师主观认知不确定性的定量建模研究,从而更好、更有针对性地探究复杂系统创新设计中认知过程的自然本质。     

Multi-physics modeling of doxorubicine binding to ion-exchange resin in blood filtration devices

A group of drugs used in intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) have intrinsic ionic properties, which can be used for filtering excessive drugs from blood in order to reduce systemic toxicity. The ion-exchange mechanism is utilized in an endovascular Chemofilter device which can be deployed during the IAC for capturing ionic drugs after they have had their effect on the tumor. In this study, the concentrated solution theory is used to account for the effect of electrochemical forces on the drug transport and adsorption by introducing an effective diffusion coefficient in the advection–diffusion–reaction equation. Consequently, a multi-physics model coupling hemodynamic and electrochemical forces is developed and applied to simulations of the transport and binding of doxorubicine in the Chemofilter device. A comparison of drug adsorption predicted by the computations to that measured in animal studies demonstrated the benefits of using the concentrated solution theory over the Nernst–Plank relations for modeling drug binding.