Revealing the high sensitivity in the metal toinsulator transition properties of the pulsed laser deposited VO2 thin films

Vanadium dioxide (VO₂) is known as a typical 3d-orbital transition metal oxide exhibiting the metal-to-insulator-transition (MIT) property near room temperature. However, their electronic applications have been challenged by the quality and uniformity of VO₂ thin films. In this work, we demonstrate the high sensitivity in the valence charge of vanadium and the MIT properties of the VO₂ thin films to the deposition temperature. This observation indicates the necessity to eliminate the inhomogeneity in the temperature distribution of substrate during the vacuum-deposition process of VO₂. In addition, a high thermoelectric power factor (PF, e.g., exceeding 1 μWcm⁻¹K⁻²) was achieved in the metallic phase of the VO₂ thin films and this value is comparable to typical organic or oxide thermoelectric materials. We believe this high PF enriches the potential functionality in thermoelectric energy conversions beyond the existing electronic applications of the current vacuum-grown VO₂ thin films.     

Matter Timed

At best, the ageing of materials is regarded as lending a patina to historic buildings. In reality, however, materials often age disgracefully and unevenly, requiring a high level of maintenance and refurbishment. What if materials could be engineered and integrated into buildings not only to enhance but to heal? Martina Decker , Assistant Professor in the College of Architecture and Design at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), looks at pioneering research that is being undertaken into performative, time-dependent materials.     

二氧化钒纳米线相变过程中的偏折现象研究

通过真空气相凝聚法制备了单晶二氧化钒纳米线,利用SEM和TEM对纳米线的形貌和结构进行了表征,并确定了其在硅基底上的生长状态。在透射电镜下的原位加热实验中,发现经过可控形核处理的二氧化钒纳米线在相变之后会出现宏观上的偏折现象,经过进一步的实验和计算,发现是由不垂直于纳米线轴向的相界面所诱发的应力不对称导致的偏折。在光学显微镜下受基底束缚的纳米线的原位加热实验也证实了这一观点。     

A feasibility assessment of the use of nanofluids to enhance the in-vessel retention capability in light-water reactors

Nanofluids, colloidal dispersions of nanoparticles, exhibit a substantially higher critical heat flux (CHF) compared to water. As such, they could be used to enhance the in-vessel retention (IVR) capability in the severe accident management strategy implemented by certain light-water reactors. It is envisioned that, at normal operating conditions, the nanofluid would be stored in dedicated storage tanks, which, upon actuation, would discharge into the reactor cavity through injection lines. The design of the injection system was explored with risk-informed analyses and computational fluid dynamics. It was determined that the system has a reasonably low failure probability, and that, once injected, the nanofluid would be delivered effectively to the reactor vessel surface within seconds. It was also shown analytically that the increase in decay power removal through the vessel using a nanofluid is about 40%, which could be exploited to provide a higher IVR safety margin or, for a given margin, to enable IVR at higher core power. Finally, the colloidal stability of a candidate alumina-based nanofluid in an IVR environment was experimentally investigated, and it was found that this nanofluid would be stable against dilution, exposure to gamma radiation, and mixing with boric acid and lithium hydroxide, but not tri-sodium phosphate.     

硫酸铀酰印迹离子交换树脂的合成及识别特性研究

为进行稀溶液中铀的浓缩,以硫酸铀酰为模板、二乙基烯丙基胺为功能单体,在水中采用自组装分子印迹技术制备了硫酸铀酰印迹离子交换树脂.对树脂合成条件进行了优化,研究了pH值对吸附量的影响、分子印迹聚合物MIPs-4的等温吸附与吸附动力学、柱内吸附与淋洗曲线等树脂识别性能.结果表明:印迹树脂对硫酸铀酰的吸附性能比非印迹树脂好,可以在pH=1～6范围内应用,并在pH为2左右时吸附能力最强.MIPs-4树脂的吸附等温线为"优吸"型,吸附在约3h达到平衡.当C0=0.125mg·mL-1时,Kd=0.249L·g-1.吸附液ρ(U)=1.0 mg·mL-1、接触时间4min进行的柱内试验得出MIPs-4的穿透体积、穿透容量和饱和容量分别为柱内树脂的床体积(BV)的22倍、21.6 mg·mL-1和36.2 mg·mL-1.以0.05 mol·L-1 H2SO4 1.0 mol·L-1 NaCl为淋洗液时,淋洗体积仅4BV,流出液中最大铀浓度达到17.6 mg·mL-1.印迹树脂的吸附和解吸性能好,可应用于低浓度铀的浓缩及含铀废水的处理.     

Go Brown: Inner-Disciplinary Conjectures

The relationship of society to its excrement is telling at both a cultural and social level. The notion of green architecture with its emphasis on the naturally pure has so far eschewed waste as a primary generative material. Alexandros Tsamis here invokes a more inclusive notion of the environment in which by-product becomes intrinsic to any project. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Actualising (Overlooked) Material Capacities

An emphasis on material synthesis is not without its pitfalls and challenges. Here Branko Kolarevic , Professor and Chair in Integrated Design at the University of Calgary Faculty of Environmental Design, alerts us to the dangers of overlooking materials' shifting capacities, which are so often scale dependent, while also disregarding existing materials in favour of the new or novel. As the potential grows for material systems in buildings to become more adaptive and to harness automation, Kolarevic describes some exciting developments that are taking place in dynamic facade design, providing the much-heralded promise of an efficient use of ambient energy.     

Design for the Future: Educational Institutions in the Gulf

Despite a distinguished heritage of learning in the Middle East, the expansion of provision for higher education is currently at an unprecedented scale. The Gulf States, in particular, are seeking to keep up with accelerated population growth and a demographic ‘youth bulge’. Guest-Editor Kevin Mitchell describes the architectural approaches employed in the design of institutions in the region from the first universities in Saudi Arabia to Foster + Partners's ground-breaking sustainable design for the Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi and future projects.     

Prejudicial Narratives: Building Tomorrow's World Today

Film production requires world building: the power to visualise and bring to life narrative through a film's total environment. This is often entirely speculative, imagining alternative or future worlds. Here, Alex McDowell , acclaimed British production designer, producer and Professor at the University of Southern California (USC) describes his world-building, narrative approach to production design, which he consolidated in the Steven Spielberg film Minority Report (2002) that envisioned Washington DC in the year 2050. The possibilities of this storytelling technique are demonstrated by its transference into real-life projects, such as the immersive model that his production company, 5D GlobalStudio, developed for Al Baydha, a Bedouin village in Saudi Arabia.