Magnetic recyclable ZnO/SrFe12O19 photocatalyst for effective photodegradation of rhodamine B under simulated sunlight

This work develops a novel magnetic photocatalysts ZnO/SrFe₁₂O₁₉ (ZS) synthesized with hydrothermal process. The introduction of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ not only enhances the photocatalytic behavior of ZnO towards Rhodamine B (RhB) decomposition, but also reinforces the recycling stability. Especially, ZS-5 composite exhibits the optimal photocatalytic performance, and the RhB decomposition reaches 99.5% after being exposed to simulative sunlight for 70 min, which is obviously superior to that of bare ZnO. Furthermore, the ZS-5 can be recovered from RhB solution by an extra magnet space and reused. After five recycles, the RhB removal efficiency can still be maintained over 90%. Such prominent photocatalytic property and stability of ZS-5 are associated with the greatly improved detachment efficiency of photoexcited carriers in a magnetic field. This study could provide a new-type recyclable photocatalyst that can effectively purify dye wastewater for convenient recovery.     

学生参与电气人才创新能力培养的探索

基于“以学生为本”的OBE教育理念，本文对电气人才创新能力培养进行了探索。整个过程将专业课程体系契合学业规划以明确学生学习目标；学生参与理论、实践教学和平台搭建，在夯实其理论知识的同时丰富教学资源；在创新考核中采用“螺旋递进式”的师生互动模式，全程培养学生自主的创新能力。多年实践探索表明学生在课程实践、学科竞赛、论文发表和申报专利等方面的创新能力得到显著提升。     

Preparation of high-purity SiC ceramics with good plasma corrosion resistance by hot-pressing sintering

High-purity SiC ceramic devices are applied in semiconductor industry owing to their outstanding properties. Nevertheless, it is difficult to densify SiC ceramics without any sintering additive even by HP sintering. In this work, high-purity and dense SiC ceramics were fabricated by HP sintering with very low amounts of sintering aids. Residual B content was only 556 ppm and relative density was more than 99.5%. Furthermore, thermal conductivity of as-prepared SiC ceramics was improved from 155 W m^?1 K^?1 to 167 W m^?1 K^?1 by increasing holding time and their plasma corrosion resistance was promoted in the meantime. The as-prepared high-purity SiC ceramics have broad application prospects in the field of semiconductor industry.     

Unipolar plasma electrolytic oxidation: Waveform optimisation for corrosion resistance of commercially pure titanium

This study deals with the anodisation of titanium grade 2 in 0.5-M sulphuric acid using a pulsed signal in a unipolar regime. The electrical parameters investigated are voltage, frequency and duty cycle. The use of duty cycles with a high percentage of anodic polarisation (90%), combined with high frequencies (1000 Hz) and the higher voltage tested (220 V), favoured the establishment of a plasma regime involving strong dielectric discharges, allowing the growth of thicker oxides but with rough architecture. The corrosion resistance of the formed film has been characterised by potentiodynamic tests in 0.5-M NaBr for localised corrosion resistance and by immersion tests in 10% v/v sulphuric acid solution for a uniform corrosion assessment. Current–time curves, visual observations and electron microscope analysis (scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) were the tools selected to provide a correlation between technological parameters and oxide growth mechanism. For localised and uniform corrosion, anodisation at 220 V with a high level of anodic polarisation (90%) and frequency (1000 Hz) was verified to be particularly advantageous.     

Effect of heat treatment and zircon addition on the properties of low-cement castables based on recycled alumina grog

In this investigation, low-cement castables were prepared using 70% alumina grog aggregates obtained from crushed alumina brick waste. The aggregates were thermally treated at 1550 °C for 3 h. Four types of low-cement castables were prepared with various types of aggregates (alumina grog with or without thermal treatment) and fillers (with or without zircon addition), and they were evaluated in terms of their physical, thermal, and chemical properties. Microstructural analysis via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed on the castables before and after slag attack. Compared to the other fabricated castables, the thermally treated alumina grog castables with zircon showed better physical properties, such as a higher bulk density, cold crushing strength, and modulus of rupture and a lower apparent porosity and water absorption. In addition, they had a higher positive linear thermal expansion, refractoriness under load, permanent linear change, and hot modulus of rupture. The results of the SEM with energy dispersive X-ray analysis of the prepared castables confirmed that the mullite and anorthite phases were predominant when zircon was not added and the zircon–mullite phase additionally appeared upon the incorporation of zircon. A quantitative elemental analysis via X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was employed to determine the composition of the castables. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the alumina grog castables had a high mullite and low anorthite content, and the thermally treated alumina grog had a high anorthite, low mullite, and high zircon content. The improvement in the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of the castables with thermally treated alumina grog and added zircon can be attributed to the formation of the zircon–mullite phase with a low mullite phase content.     

Carbon corrosion mechanism on nitrogen-doped carbon support — A density functional theory study

In this work, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to investigate the mechanism of carbon corrosion on nitrogen-doped carbon support. Free energy diagrams were generated based on three proposed reaction pathways to evaluate corrosion mechanisms. The most energetically preferred mechanism on nitrogen-doped carbon was determined. The results show that the step of water dissociation to form ^#OH was the rate-determining step for gra-G-1N (graphene doped with graphitic N) and pyrr-G-1N (graphene doped with pyrrolic N). As for graphene doped with pyridinic N, the step of C^#OC^#O formation was critical. It was found that the control of nitrogen concentration was necessary for precisely designing optimized carbon materials. Abundance of nitrogen moieties aggravated the carbon corrosion. When the high potential was applied, specific types of graphitic N and pyridinic N were found to be favorable carbon modifications to improve carbon corrosion resistance. Moreover, the solvent effect was also investigated. The results provide theoretical insights and design guidelines to improve corrosion resistance in carbon support through material modification by inhibiting the adsorption of surface oxides (OH, O, and OOH).     

Preparation and electrochemical characterization of Ti-based amorphous metallic glass with high strength

Ti-based amorphous metallic glasses have excellent mechanical, physical, and chemical properties, which is an important development direction and research hotspot of metal composite reinforcement. As a stable, simple, efficient, and large-scale preparation technology of metallic powders, the gas atomization process provides an effective way of preparing amorphous metallic glasses. In this study, the controllable fabrication of a Ti-based amorphous powder, with high efficiency, has been realized by using gas atomization. The scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive spectrometer, and X-ray diffraction are used to analyze surface morphology, element distribution, and phase structure, respectively. A microhardness tester is used to measure the mechanical property. An electrochemical workstation is used to characterize corrosion behavior. The results show that as-prepared microparticles are more uniform and exhibit good amorphous characteristics. The mechanical test shows that the hardness of amorphous powder is significantly increased as compared with that before preparation, which has the prospect of being an important part of engineering reinforced materials. Further electrochemical measurement shows that the corrosion resistance of the as-prepared sample is also significantly improved. This study has laid a solid foundation for expanding applications of Ti-based metallic glasses, especially in heavy-duty and corrosive domains.     

高深溜井井筒堵塞的爆破处理实践

溜井是采用平硐-溜井方式开拓矿山的运输咽喉,溜井正常与否对矿山生产影响极大。本文通过黑沟铁矿高深溜井井筒堵塞处理实例,对其堵塞爆破处理方法及经验做了系统分析。重点介绍的爆破冲击波破拱疏通高深溜井井筒高位堵塞的爆破方法,富有新意,可供国内外同类型矿山参考借鉴。     

Effects of Cu on the corrosion behavior and microstructure of Mg–Zn–Ca bulk metallic glass

For the purpose of developing biodegradable magnesium alloys with suitable properties for biomedical applications, Mg–Zn–Ca–Cu metallic glasses were prepared by copper mold injection methods. In the present work, the effect of Cu doping on mechanical properties, corrosion behavior, and glass-forming ability of Mg₆₆Zn₃₀Ca₄ alloy was studied. The experimental findings demonstrated that the incorporation of Cu decreases the corrosion resistance of alloys, but increases the microhardness and degradation rate slightly. However, the addition of a trace amount of Cu can make the samples have antibacterial properties. Therefore, Mg–Zn–Ca–Cu has great advantages in clinical implantation and is the potential implant material.     

An integrated dimensionality reduction and surrogate optimization approach for plant-wide chemical process operation

With liquefied natural gas becoming increasingly prevalent as a flexible source of energy, the design and optimization of industrial refrigeration cycles becomes even more important. In this article, we propose an integrated surrogate modeling and optimization framework to model and optimize the complex CryoMan Cascade refrigeration cycle. Dimensionality reduction techniques are used to reduce the large number of process decision variables which are subsequently supplied to an array of Gaussian processes, modeling both the process objective as well as feasibility constraints. Through iterative resampling of the rigorous model, this data-driven surrogate is continually refined and subsequently optimized. This approach was not only able to improve on the results of directly optimizing the process flow sheet but also located the set of optimal operating conditions in only 2 h as opposed to the original 3 weeks, facilitating its use in the operational optimization and enhanced process design of large-scale industrial chemical systems.