Influence of metallic properties on the fracture characteristics of Al2O3/Ti/Ni-laminated composites

The mutual confinement of ceramics and metals in laminated composites tends to change the original properties of ceramics and metals. In this study, two kinds of laminated composites, Al₂O₃/Ti and Al₂O₃/Ti/Ni, were prepared. Three-point bending experiments revealed that Al₂O₃/Ti underwent brittle fracture after elastic deformation. The fracture morphology analysis revealed that the Ti in Al₂O₃/Ti became brittle due to the formation of columnar crystals. The temperature gradient perpendicular to the direction of laminations during preparation was responsible for the formation of columnar crystals. The force–displacement curves of the Al₂O₃/Ti/Ni combine the properties of elastic deformation of ceramics and plastic deformation of metals. The reason why the Al₂O₃/Ti/Ni did not fracture completely in the bending experiments is that Ni maintained the toughness, and there is a good interfacial bond among Al₂O₃, Ti, and Ni. The indentation crack analysis revealed that cracks have long transverse propagation and short longitudinal propagation in both laminated composites. Finite element analysis revealed that this was due to compressive stress in the Al₂O₃ layer and tensile stress in the metal layer. This compressive stress consumes the crack energy in the longitudinal direction and stops the crack in the metal layer. The brittle to ductile gradient transition among Al₂O₃, Ti, and Ni, combined with the guidance of crack propagation direction by the interfacial layer, enhances the ability of Al₂O₃/Ti/Ni to resist damage.     

Upconversion thermal enhancement of 2H11/2→4I15/2 of Er3+ and blue emission of impurity Tm3+ in Sr3(PO4)2:Er3+/Yb3+

A series of Sr_2.99-x(PO₄)₂:.01Er³⁺/xYb³⁺ (x = .02, .04, .06, .08, .10) phosphors in the presence of impurity Tm³⁺ were synthesized by high temperature solid-state method, and X-ray diffraction results show that these samples are pure R-3 m(166) space group phase. The upconversion luminescence (UCL) of Er³⁺ and impurity Tm³⁺ under 980-nm laser excitation were investigated, and the results show that the intense blue UCL of impurity Tm³⁺ and thermal enhancement of ²H_11/2→⁴I_15/2 of Er³⁺ simultaneously exist. When Er³⁺ doping concentration is kept at .01, both the blue UCL intensity of impurity Tm³⁺ and green and red UCL intensity of Er³⁺ reach the maximum at Yb³⁺ doping concentration of .08. The thermal enhancement effect of ²H_11/2→⁴I_15/2 of Er³⁺ was observed as high as 3.27 times from 303 to 723 K, which is because of lattice distortion and phonon-assisted transition. In addition, the optical temperature performance of Sr_2.91(PO₄)₂:.01Er³⁺/.08Yb³⁺ sample was studied, and the maximum absolute temperature sensitivity was calculated as .00623 K⁻¹ at 538 K. This study suggests that Sr₃(PO₄)₂:Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ phosphors in the presence of impurity Tm³⁺ have a promising application prospect as optical temperature sensor at high temperature.     

澄清剂对超白浮法玻璃可见光透过率的影响

探究高温分解型澄清剂Na₂SO₄+C(炭粉)和氧化还原型澄清剂CeO₂+NaNO₃对超白浮法平板玻璃可见光透过率的影响。结果表明,随着Na₂SO₄和C量的增加,超白玻璃的可见光透过率随之增加,从91.30%提升至91.87%。而氧化还原型澄清剂中的CeO₂质量分数小于0.07%时,超白玻璃的可见光透过率并没有实质性增加;CeO₂质量分数超过0.07%时,增长趋势明显。相对于高温分解型澄清剂Na₂SO₄+C,氧化还原型澄清剂CeO₂+NaNO₃具有更显著的氧化性,有助于Fe²⁺/Fe_总减少,但是Ce⁴⁺的自身着色和紫外截止效应影响了可见光透过率,建议使用量的质量分数不超过0.07%。     

Mass Spectrometric Assays Reveal Discrepancies in Inhibition Profiles for the SARS-CoV-2 Papain-Like Protease

The two SARS-CoV-2 proteases, i. e. the main protease (M^pro) and the papain-like protease (PL^pro), which hydrolyze the viral polypeptide chain giving functional non-structural proteins, are essential for viral replication and are medicinal chemistry targets. We report a high-throughput mass spectrometry (MS)-based assay which directly monitors PL^pro catalysis in vitro. The assay was applied to investigate the effect of reported small-molecule PL^pro inhibitors and selected M^pro inhibitors on PL^pro catalysis. The results reveal that some, but not all, PL^pro inhibitor potencies differ substantially from those obtained using fluorescence-based assays. Some substrate-competing M^pro inhibitors, notably PF-07321332 (nirmatrelvir) which is in clinical development, do not inhibit PL^pro. Less selective M^pro inhibitors, e. g. auranofin, inhibit PL^pro, highlighting the potential for dual PL^pro/M^pro inhibition. MS-based PL^pro assays, which are orthogonal to widely employed fluorescence-based assays, are of utility in validating inhibitor potencies, especially for inhibitors operating by non-covalent mechanisms.     

Newly-modeled graphene-based ternary nanocomposite for the magnetophotocatalytic reduction of CO2 with electrochemical performance

The development of CO₂ into hydrocarbon fuels has emerged as a green method that could help mitigate global warning. The novel structured photocatalyst is a promising material for use in a photocatalytic and magneto-electrochemical method that fosters the reduction of CO₂ by suppressing the recombination of electron−hole pairs and effectively transferring the electrons to the surface for the chemical reaction of CO₂ reduction. In our study, we have developed a novel-structured AgCuZnS₂–graphene–TiO₂ to analyze its catalytic activity toward the selective evolution of CO₂. The selectivity of each nanocomposite substantially enhanced the activity of the AgCuZnS₂–graphene–TiO₂ ternary nanocomposite due to the successful interaction, and the selectivity of the final product was improved to a value 3 times higher than that of the pure AgCuZnS₂ and 2 times higher than those of AgCuZnS₂–graphene and AgCuZnS₂–TiO₂ under ultra-violet (UV)-light (λ = 254 nm) irradiation in the photocatalytic process. The electrochemical CO₂ reduction test was also conducted to analyze the efficacy of the AgCuZnS₂–graphene–TiO₂ when used as a working electrode in laboratory electrochemical cells. The electrochemical process was conducted under different experimental conditions, such as various scan rates (mV·s^–1), under UV-light and with a 0.07 T magnetic-core. The evolution of CO₂ substantially improved under UV-light (λ = 254 nm) and with 0.07 T magnetic-core treatment; these improvements were attributed to the facts that the UV-light activated the electron-transfer pathway and the magnetic core controlled the pathway of electron-transmission/prevention to protect it from chaotic electron movement. Among all tested nanocomposites, AgCuZnS₂–graphene–TiO₂ absorbed the CO₂ most strongly and showed the best ability to transfer the electron to reduce the CO₂ to methanol. We believe that our newly-modeled ternary nanocomposite opens up new opportunities for the evolution of CO₂ to methanol through an electrochemical and photocatalytic process.     

Chemical reactions of oily sludge catalyzed by iron oxide under supercritical water gasification condition

Supercritical water gasification is a promising technology in dealing with the degradation of hazardous waste, such as oily sludge, accompanied by the production of fuel gases. To evaluate the mechanism of Fe₂O₃ catalyst and the migration pathways of heteroatoms and to investigate the systems during the process, reactive force field molecular dynamics simulations are adopted. In terms of the catalytic mechanisms of Fe₂O₃, the surface lattice oxygen is consumed by small carbon fragments to produce CO and CO₂, improving the catalytic performance of the cluster due to more unsaturated coordination Fe sites exposed. Lattice oxygen combines with •H radicals to form water molecules, improving the catalytic performance. Furthermore, the pathway of asphaltene degradation was revealed at an atomic level, as well as products. Moreover, the adsorption of hydroxyl radical on the S atom caused breakage of the two C–S bonds in turn, forming •HSO intermediate, so that the organic S element was fixed into the inorganic liquid phase. The heteroatom O was removed under the effects of supercritical water. Heavy metal particles presented in the oily sludge, such as iron in association with Fe₂O₃ catalyst, helped accelerate the degradation of asphaltenes.     

Na2O—B2O3—SiO2—KH560系统凝胶及其涂层性能研究

用溶胶凝胶法研究了Ｎａ２ＯＢ２Ｏ３ＳｉＯ２ＫＨ５６０无机有机复合涂层胶凝过程，测定了溶胶的粘度，用ＤＳＣ，ＴＧ，ＸＲＤ，ＩＲ，ＳＥＭ分析了凝胶的物相和结构，目测并在ＳＥＭ下观察了这种胶凝材料涂覆在水泥砂浆表面后的表观性能，分析了影响这些性能的因素．在无机Ｎａ２ＯＢ２Ｏ３ＳｉＯ２三组分系统中掺加有机改性剂ＫＨ５６０，无机相和有机相之间以化学键形式结合，形成无机有机互穿的杂化结构．经１３０°Ｃ低温处理即能制备出致密、不开裂，且具有良好物化特性的无机有机涂层材料．影响涂层性能的因素主要有ＫＨ５６０掺量、涂层液粘度、热处理制度（包括加热制度和冷却制度）等     

超临界CO2中合成的PAN的立构规整度测定

以^13C核磁共振技术为主，红外光谱技术为辅，测定和分析了超临界CO2中合成的聚丙烯腈(简称CO2—PAN)的三单元组立构规整度，推测出其在三单元序列上符合Bernoulli理论统计模型。同时发现，用上述2种方法测定的结果一致性良好。