Novel organic dyes containing N-bridged oligothiophene coplanar cores for dye-sensitized solar cells

Three novel organic dyes adopting fully-fused coplanar heteroarene as the donor moieties end-capped with two cyanoacrylic acids as acceptors and anchoring groups have been synthesized, characterized, and used as the sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The photophysical and electrochemical properties of the novel dyes and the characteristics of the DSSCs based on the novel organic dyes were investigated. The incorporation of the coplanar cores with electron-donating N-bridges are beneficial for the better intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), giving these new dyes good light-harvesting capability. The LUMO energy levels of these coplanar heteroacene-based dyes are sufficiently high for the efficient electron injection to TiO₂ upon photo-excitation, while the suitable HOMOs allow the regeneration of oxidized dyes with the electrolyte redox (I⁻/I₃⁻). The structural features of the coplanar cores (penta vs. hexa heteroarene) as well as the alkyl substitutions play crucial roles in governing the physical properties and device performance. Among these three novel organic sensitizers, the EHTt dye composed of a fully fused hexa-arene core and less bulky N-alkyl groups caused the DSSC to show the best photovoltaic performance with an open-circuit voltage (V_OC) of 0.58 V, a short-circuit photocurrent density (J_SC) of 13.72 mA/cm², and a fill factor (FF) of 0.69, yielding an overall power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.52% under AM 1.5G solar irradiation.     

Fatigue in bamboo

This paper describes the results of an experimental programme to determine the fatigue behaviour of bamboo. Bamboo is subjected to cyclic loading, both in the plant itself and subsequently when the material is used in load-bearing applications in the construction industry. However, there is currently no data in the literature describing fatigue in this material. We found that sections of bamboo culm loaded parallel to the culm axis did not undergo fatigue failure: samples either failed on the first loading cycle, or not at all. By contrast, fatigue was readily apparent in samples loaded in compression across the diameter of the culm. The number of cycles to failure increased as the cyclic load range decreased in a manner similar to that found in many engineering materials: fatigue occurred at applied loads as small as 40% of the ultimate strength. Two different species of bamboo were tested and found to have different ultimate strengths but similar high-cycle fatigue strengths. Finite element analysis was used to help understand the progression of fatigue damage and the effect of stress concentration features. Some tentative design rules are proposed to define stress levels for the safe use of bamboo, taking fatigue into account.     

Facile route to fabricate large-scale silver microtubes

Large-scale uniform Ag microtubes with high length diameter ratios have been first successfully synthesized by a facile approach, using low-cost super fine glass fibers as templates. The samples were characterized by SEM and XRD. The investigations showed that calcining or adding of PEG-1000 and alcohol could greatly improve the mechanical strength of the sample. Especially the products exhibited favorable catalytic properties during the degradation of Rhodamine B by NaBH₄.     

A new method for producing high melt strength polypropylene with reactive extrusion

A high‐melt‐strength polypropylene (HMSPP) was prepared using a twin‐screw reactive extruder from a commercial isotactic polypropylene through two stages, first, maleic anhydride is grafted to polypropylene to obtain a maleic anhydride‐grafted polypropylene (PP‐g‐MA), and then the grafted polymer is reacted with epoxy to extend the branched chain. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy indicated that maleic anhydride was grafted on polypropylene and reacted with epoxy. Melt flow rate and sag resistance test showed that the melt strength of the HMSPP improved considerably. Differential scanning calorimetry test showed that the long chain branches (LCBs) act as a nucleating agent in the crystallization of the HMSPP, which leads to a high crystallization temperature and crystallinity. Furthermore, the LCB efficiency of the HMSPP can also be calculated by analyzing its rheological property. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Photocatalytic evolution of hydrogen over mesoporous TiO2 supported NiO photocatalyst prepared by single-step sol–gel process with surfactant template

Photocatalytic activity of mesoporous titania supported nickel oxide photocatalyst synthesized by single-step sol–gel (SSSG) process combined with surfactant-assisted template method was investigated for hydrogen evolution from an aqueous methanol solution, in comparison with one prepared by conventional incipient wetness impregnation (IWI) method. In single-step sol–gel process, nickel precursor was introduced into the titania sol prepared with the aid of a surfactant template behaving as pore-controlling agent to attain meso-scaled pore. The single-step sol–gel photocatalyst was experimentally found to enhance the photocatalytic evolution of hydrogen rather than the impregnated one. The optimum level of nickel loading in photocatalytic activity test for single-step sol–gel method was slightly higher than that for incipient wetness impregnation method. Characterization results demonstrated the significant modification of physical characteristics of the single-step sol–gel photocatalyst, anticipated to relating to the observation of higher photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity.     

A probabilistic method for calculating the usefulness of a store with finite energy capacity for smoothing electricity generation from wind and solar power

This paper describes a novel method of modelling an energy store used to match the power output from a wind turbine and a solar PV array to a varying electrical load. The model estimates the fraction of time that an energy store spends full or empty. It can also estimate the power curtailed when the store is full and the unsatisfied demand when the store is empty. The new modelling method has been validated against time–stepping methods and shows generally good agreement over a wide range of store power ratings, store efficiencies, wind turbine capacities and solar PV capacities.Example results are presented for a system with 1 MW of wind power capacity, 2 MW of photovoltaic capacity, an energy store of 75% efficiency and a range of loads from 0 to 3 MW average.     

Use of perlite as a pozzolanic addition in producing blended cements

There are ∼6700 million tons of perlite reserves in the world and two thirds of this amount takes place in Turkey. Although perlite possesses pozzolanic properties, it has not been so far used in producing blended cements. This study focuses on the use of natural perlites in blended cement production. For this purpose, after examining the suitability of the perlites as pozzolans and their ease of grindability, 16 types of blended cements having 320 m²/kg or 370 m²/kg Blaine fineness were produced by using 20% or 30% perlite additions. Production of the blended cements were accomplished either by intergrinding or separate grinding. The performance of the cements was evaluated by conducting the following tests: particle size distribution by laser diffraction, normal consistency, setting time, soundness and compressive strength. The results showed that perlites possess sufficient pozzolanic characteristics to be used in production of blended cement.     

对涂料发展史及其系统的探讨

提出了涂料发展的三个时期与四个阶段的理论。同时指出,伴随涂料不断发展过程,发生了四次概念更新。在此基础上,提出了广义涂料概念和涂料大系统的新观点,以及建立涂涂层系统料新的理论体系的设想.     

填料-旋流板脱硫塔在净化加压变脱改造中的设计与应用

阐述了以塑料阶梯环填料与带溢流锥双程叶片旋流塔板组合的新型复合脱硫塔的设计开发,其结构特点为旋流板塔板采用了双程叶片结构,溢流装置采用新型带螺旋叶片结构,塔上部设置高2.53m填料层,改进并优化了喷淋装置及气体进、出口结构等。通过实际应用,证明该型脱硫塔在净化加压变换气脱硫工序中的应用是成功的。