Construction of BiVO4 microspheres sensitized TiO2 NTAs for the enhanced photocatalytic mineralization of organic dyes

In the present work, BiVO₄ microspheres were deposited on TiO₂ NTAs via the solvothermal method using urea as the mineralizer. The binary heterojunction formation significantly enhanced the solar response region and intensity, and the electron transfer path was built at the interface of two semiconductors, which was the main reason for the enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performances. The S-2 electrode prepared with urea concentration of 2 mol/L displayed the high visible light photocurrent of 73.76 μA/cm² and photovoltage of −0.30 V. Furthermore, the S-2 photocatalyst also showed excellent photocatalytic decoloration ability of MO, RhB and MB dyes, and the corresponding decomposition efficiencies were 55.82%, 41.62% and 89.90% under solar irradiation. Except for the organic dyes, Cr(VI) ions also could be reduced into Cr(III), and the photocatalytic efficiency achieved 74.05% after 3 h solar irradiation. The active group and photocatalytic mechanism were proposed to illuminate the essential reason. The experimental results indicated that the novel BiVO₄/TiO₂ NTAs with binary heterojunction are attractive photocatalysts for the dyeing and printing water treatment.     

A novel range-free localization based on regulated neighborhood distance for wireless ad hoc and sensor networks

Range-free localization methods are suitable for large scale wireless ad hoc and sensor networks due to their less-demanding hardware requirements. Many existing connectivity- or hop-count-based range-free localization methods suffer from the hop-distance ambiguity problem where a node has a same distance estimation to all of its one-hop neighbors. In this paper, we define a new measure, called regulated neighborhood distance (RND), to address this problem by relating the proximity of two neighbors to their neighbor partitions. Furthermore, we propose a new RND-based range-free localization method, and compare our localization algorithm with peer classical algorithms in different network scenarios, which include grid deployment, random uniform deployment, non-uniform deployment and uniform deployment with a coverage hole. Simulation results show that ours can achieve better and reliable localization accuracy in these network scenarios.     

SPS processing of bismuth-layer structured ferroelectric ceramics yielding highly textured microstructures

The spark plasma sintering (SPS) behaviour of nano-sized Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BIT) and micron-sized CaBi₂Nb₂O₉ (CBNO) powders is described. The densification process of both powders is very rapid, i.e. the densification occurs within a very narrow time interval (2–3 min using a heating rate of 100 °C min⁻¹ and a pressure of 50 MPa). The BIT powder exhibits a lower densification onset temperature (∼650 °C) and higher maximum shrinkage rate (8.9 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ at 780 °C) than that of the CBNO powder (∼825 °C and 4.5 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ at 950 °C). Isothermal compaction studies revealed that fully dense nano-sized BIT compacts could be obtained within the temperature region 750 °C < T_iso < 850 °C while for T_iso > 850 °C compacts containing elongated platelet grains are formed. A new preparation route to produce highly textured compacts is described in detail. Appropriate pre-forms are prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and these fully dense compacts are subject to superplastic deformation in the SPS unit to achieve a total compressive strain of ∼60%. This strain was achieved within a period of 1.5 min and with a maximum strain rates of 1.1 × 10⁻² s⁻¹ achieved at ∼840 °C and 1.3 × 10⁻² s⁻¹ at 1020 °C for the BIT and CBNO compacts, respectively. The X-ray studies showed that the Lotgering orientation factors of grains in the deformed BIT and CBNO compacts are 99% and 70%. The formation of highly textured compacts is suggested to be governed by a superplastic deformation-induced directional dynamic ripening mechanism.     

Novel classical post-processing for quantum key distribution-based quantum private query

Existing classical post-processing (CPP) schemes for quantum key distribution (QKD)-based quantum private queries (QPQs) including the \(kN\rightarrow N\), \(N\rightarrow N\), and \(rM\rightarrow N\) ones have been found imperfect in terms of communication efficiency and security. In this paper, we propose a novel CPP scheme for QKD-based QPQs. The proposed CPP scheme reduces the communication complexity and improves the security of QKD-based QPQ protocols largely. Furthermore, the proposed CPP scheme can provide a multi-bit query efficiently.     

Luminescent properties of Ca2MgSi2O7 phosphor activated by Eu2+, Dy3+ and Nd3+

Long lasting alkaline earth silicates, Ca₂MgSi₂O₇:Eu,Dy,Nd was prepared under a reduction atmosphere through solid state reaction. The obtained phosphor was characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence spectrum (PLS). The crystal structure of Ca₂MgSi₂O₇:Eu,Dy,Nd phosphor was refined by Rietveld analysis. The obtained Ca₂MgSi₂O₇:Eu,Dy,Nd phosphor showed a yellow–green emission peaking at 518 nm, which is ascribed to the luminescent emission of the Eu²⁺ that occupied the octa-coordinated Ca²⁺ sites in the Ca₂MgSi₂O₇ host. The electron affinity (ea) value for Eu²⁺ in [EuO₈] was calculated to 1.9 eV. The decay profile and the emission spectrum indicated that when the value of Dy/Eu is increasing, there is a concentration quenching of Eu²⁺.     

Target recognition by texture segmentation algorithm

In order to improve the performance of image segmentation, this paper presented a gray level jump segmentation algorithm, which defined the direction of the texture, simultaneously, calculated the width of ridge line, gave the distance characteristics between textures, and established the mathematical model of the texture border, accordingly presented a new texture segmentation algorithm and compared with other texture segmentation algorithms. The simulation results show that the segmentation algorithm has some advantages to texture segmentation, such as has higher segmentation precision, faster segmentation speed, stronger anti-noise capability, less lost information of target, and so on. The segmented regions hardly contain other texture regions and background region. Moreover, this paper extracted the characteristic points and characteristic parameters in various segmented regions for texture image to obtain the characteristic vector, compared the characteristic vector with the standard template vectors, and identified the type of target in a range of threshold value. Experimental results show that the proposed target recognition approach has higher recognition rate and faster recognition speed than the existing target recognition approaches. Advancements in image processing through the study of texture segmentation are not only applicable to image fields, but also are of important theoretical value to target recognition. These researches in this paper will play an important role in a theoretical reference and practical significance to the development of all target recognition departments based on image system such as the aerospace, public security, road traffic, and so on.     

Structural characteristics and rheological properties of plasma-treated starch

Corn starch was treated by a dielectric barrier discharge plasma, and the changes in the granule morphology, crystalline structure, and molecular structure, as well as the rheological properties, were investigated using diverse techniques. Dielectric barrier discharge plasma could change not only the granule surface but also the internal structures of the starch granule through its pinholes. Specifically, after the plasma treatment, as the pinhole diameter increased, the relative degree of crystallinity decreased, accompanied by molecular chain oxidation, i.e., the generation of carboxyl groups, and degradation, i.e., molecular weight reduction. Therefore, the rheological behavior changed from pseudo-plastic to Newtonian with a decrease in the paste viscosity. The results indicate that dielectric barrier plasma could be used to produce modified starch with low viscosity at a high concentration for food and non-food applications.Industrial relevanceAs an eco-friendly and non-thermal physical technique, dielectric barrier discharge plasma has attracted great attention in polymer modification due to the interest in reducing generated wastes during modification and producing polymer products with high safety. Starch is traditionally a main material for foods and has been widely used in food and non-food industries. For improving the properties of starch and thus widening its industrial applications using a specific technique, it is indispensible to understand how the technique affects starch's structure and property. The present work revealed that not only was the surface of starch granules altered by the dielectric barrier discharge plasma but also the internal structure was affected, since the pinholes promoted the penetration of the plasma into granule interior. In particular, along with a reduced degree of crystallinity, molecular chain oxidation and degradation occurred, as confirmed by the generation of carboxyl groups and the molecular weight reduction. Then, the rheological behavior of starch paste changed from pseudo-plastic to non-Newtonian, together with a decreased paste viscosity. These results have demonstrated that dielectric barrier discharge plasma could be used as a new physical method to modulate the structure and rheological properties of starch, for the production of starchy food products with relatively low viscosity at a high concentration.     

Influence of micro- and nanoparticles of zirconium oxides on the dielectric properties of CaCu3Ti4O12

This work presents the results of Zr oxide doping of a CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (CCTO) ceramic prepared by a solid-state reaction. Different stoichiometries (ZrO and ZrO₂) and grain sizes (micro- and nanoparticles) were added as dopants at concentrations of 0.5 and 1.0 wt%. Zr-doping controls the grain size growth, leading to a reduction of the grain size as observed by scanning electron microscopy. For both dopant concentrations, all of the samples exhibited lower dielectric loss and a smaller dielectric constant than those of undoped CCTO. The sample doped with 0.5% of the non-stoichiometric ZrO exhibits a dielectric constant over 3200 and a dissipation factor of 0.02 at 1 kHz. The impedance spectroscopy analysis confirms that the decrease of dielectric loss is mainly due to an increase in resistivity at grain boundaries, which is attributed to the suppression of oxygen-loss promoted by dopants.     

Enhanced bioactivity of Zanthoxylum schinifolium fermented extract: Anti-inflammatory,anti-bacterial,and anti-melanogenic activity

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Self-healing properties of protective coatings containing isophorone diisocyanate microcapsules on carbon steel surfaces

Microcapsules containing isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) were used as self-healing additives in the alkyd varnish coatings (AVCs), and their self-healing performance was evaluated in the case of artificial defects on Q235 steel surfaces, using scanning micro-reference electrode technique and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Comparison of the micromechanical properties between the water-insoluble self-healing products (polyurethanes) and AVCs indicates that the former significantly enhanced the capability of the scratched crevice to successfully endure outer stress. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy experiments analysed the different stages in the self-healing process. This study successfully demonstrated the self-healing activity of IPDI-AVCs in protecting steel surfaces.