Organic mesh template-based laminated object manufacturing to fabricate ceramics with regular micron scaled pore structures

A new aqueous slurry-based laminated object manufacturing process for porous ceramics is proposed: firstly, an organic mesh sheet is pre-paved as a pore-forming template before slurry layer scraping; secondly, the 2D pattern is built with laser outline cutting of the dried mesh–ceramic composite layer; finally, the pore structure is formed after degreasing and sintering. Alumina parts with porosities of 51.5 %, round hole diameters of 80 ± 5 μm were fabricated using 70 wt. % solid content slurry and 100 mesh nylon net. Using an organic mesh as the framework and template not only reduces the risk of damage of the green body but also ensures the regularity, uniformity and connectivity of the micron scaled pore network. The layer-by-layer drying method avoids the delamination phenomenon and improves the paving density. The new method can realize the flexible design of the pore structure by using various organic mesh templates.     

Thermo-economic investigation on the hydrogen production through the stored solar energy in a salinity gradient solar pond: A comparative study by employing APC and ORC with zeotropic mixture

In this paper, a salinity gradient solar pond (SGSP) is used to harness the solar energy for hydrogen production through two cycles. The first cycle includes an absorption power cycle (APC), a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, and a thermoelectric generator (TEG) unit; in the second one, an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) with the zeotropic mixture is used instead of APC. The cycles are analyzed through the thermoeconomic vantage point to discover the effect of key decision variables on the cycles’ performance. Finally, NSGA-II is used to optimize both cycles. The results indicate that employing ORC with zeotropic mixture leads to a better performance in comparison to utilizing APC. For the base mode, unit cost product (UCP), exergy, and energy efficiency when APC is employed are 59.9 $/GJ, 23.73%, and 3.84%, respectively. These amounts are 47.27 $/GJ, 29.48%, and 5.86% if ORC with the zeotropic mixture is utilized. The APC and ORC generators have the highest exergy destruction rate which is equal to 6.18 and 10.91 kW. In both cycles, the highest investment cost is related to the turbine and is 0.8275 $/h and 0.976 $/h for the first and second cycles, respectively. In the optimum state the energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, UCP, and H₂ production rate of the system enhances 42.44%, 27.54%,15.95%, and 38.24% when ORC with the zeotropic mixture is used. The maximum H₂ production is 0.47 kg/h, and is obtained when the mass fraction of R142b, LCZ temperature, pumps pressure ratio, generator bubble point temperature are 0.603, 364.35 K, 2.12, 337.67 K, respectively.     

DyCrxFe(1-x)O3 nanoparticles prepared by wet chemical technique for photocatalytic applications

DyCr_xFe_(1-x)O₃ (0 ≤ x ≥ 0.4) nanoparticles were prepared using facile chemical route. Structural and morphological evaluation was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron microscopy. Formation of orthorhombic DyFeO₃ nanoparticles was confirmed by XRD with crystallite size of 9–10 nm. FESEM images revealed nearly spherical morphology of the fabricated nanoparticles. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) technique was employed to confirm the presence of Dy, Cr, Fe and O elements in DyCr_xFe_(1-x)O₃ nanoparticles. FTIR studies illustrated the presence of characteristics stretching and bending vibrations. UV–visible spectroscopy was used to analyze the photocatalytic performance of the DyFeO₃ and Cr-substituted DyFeO₃ nanoparticles and optical band gap measurements. Photocatalytic activities of the prepared substituted and un-substituted DyFeO₃ nanoparticles were conducted using three different dyes. These dyes were (i) methyl orange, (ii) rhodamine B and (iii) methylene blue. Lower band gap and higher photocatalytic performance was observed for Cr-substituted DyFeO₃ nanoparticles with methylene blue dye.     

以有机化学课程内容为引导，加强课程思政的探索与实践

有机化学是化学化工、材料、制药、食品等多个专业的基础课程,在其教学过程中,教师可以根据课程的内容及特点,分别以有机化学发展中的重大历史事件、有机化物的性质及有机反应为引导,开展学生的思想品德教育,加强课程思政建设。     

Simultaneous enhancement of the efficiency and stability of organic solar cells using PEDOT:PSS grafted with a PEGME buffer layer

We report a simple processing method to simultaneously improve the efficiency and stability of organic solar cells (OSCs). Poly(4-styrene sulfonate)-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene (PEDOT:PSS), widely used as hole transport layer (HTL) in OSCs, tends to accelerate the degradation of devices because of its hygroscopic and acidic properties. In this regard, we have modified PEDOT:PSS to reduce its hygroscopic and acidic properties through a condensation reaction between PEDOT:PSS and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether (PEGME) in order to improve the efficiency and stability of OSCs. As a result, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) increased by 21%, from 2.57% up to 3.11%. A better energy level alignment by the reduced work function of the modified PEDOT:PSS with a highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) is considered the origin of the improved the efficiency. The half-life of OSCs with PEDOT:PSS modified with PEGME buffer layer also increased up to 3.5 times compared to that of devices with pristine PEDOT:PSS buffer layer.     

Temperature adaptability of the soluble lead flow battery using different solutions of fluoborate,perchlorate, methanesulfonate and trifluoromethanesulfonate

The evaluation of cell's weatherability is of practical interest. To further improve the soluble lead flow battery's weatherability, physiochemical properties of electrolytes containing fluoborate, perchlorate, methanesulfonate and trifluoromethanesulfonate are investigated from ?60 to 50 °C. Activities of CF₃SO₃H and HClO₄ are poor in trifluoromethanesulfonate and perchlorate solutions due to common anion effect. The solubility of lead salt can be improved by increasing temperature, but worsened by increasing acid's content. With the temperature increasing, the conductivity is enhanced, and the viscosity is lowered for four solutions. The same results have been found by increasing acid's content except for CF₃SO₃H. The high energy efficiency can be achieved for cells over ?40–0 °C using fluoborate and perchlorate solutions, 73.2% at ?40 °C and 78.1% at ?30 °C respectively. Over the temperature range of 20–50 °C, the cells with methanesulfonate and trifluoromethanesulfonate solutions have good performance, 77.4% and 73.7% at 50 °C respectively.     

In vitro cyclic fatigue and hydrothermal aging lifetime assessment of yttria-stabilized zirconia dental ceramics

The in vitro lifetime assessment of dental zirconia has been the focus of researchers. This work mainly studied the cyclic fatigue lifetime in saliva and aging lifetime of three commercial zirconia dental materials: two kinds of 3 mol%-yttria stabilized zirconia ST(super-translucence) and MT(medium-translucence), in which MT contains a small amount of alumina; a 5 mol%-yttria stabilized zirconia TT(tooth-translucency). ST and MT materials have higher initial mechanical strength (flexural strength) and initial crack propagation threshold than TT materials, thus they have longer cycle fatigue lifetime, but TT has best aging resistance(no aging) in existing aging procedures. MT has a higher initial mechanical strength and better aging resistance than ST samples due to the influence of alumina at grain boundary, but has lower strength reliability. Finally the service lifetime of the three materials was evaluated, and some guidance for their use is provided.     

Top illuminated organic photodetectors with dielectric/metal/dielectric transparent anode

The top illuminated organic photodetectors (OPDs) with a Dielectric/Metal/Dielectric (DMD) transparent anode are fabricated. The transparent electrode is composed of molybdenum trioxide (MoO₃)/silver (Ag)/MoO₃ layers and zinc oxide (ZnO)/aluminum (Al) is used for bottom cathode. The optimized DMD electrode has an optical transmittance of 85.7% at the wavelength of 546 nm and sheet resistance of ∼6 Ω/sq. The fabricated OPDs exhibit a high detectivity and wide range linearity.     

Resistive switching characteristics of ZnO–graphene quantum dots and their use as an active component of an organic memory cell with one diode-one resistor architecture

We investigated the resistive switching characteristics of a polystyrene:ZnO–graphene quantum dots system and its potential application in a one diode-one resistor architecture of an organic memory cell. The log–log I–V plot and the temperature-variable I–V measurements revealed that the switching mechanism in a low-current state is closely related to thermally activated transport. The turn-on process was induced by a space-charge-limited current mechanism resulted from the ZnO–graphene quantum dots acting as charge trap sites, and charge transfer through filamentary path. The memory device with a diode presented a ∼10³ I_ON/I_OFF ratio, stable endurance cycles (10² cycles) and retention times (10⁴ s), and uniform cell-to-cell switching. The one diode-one resistor architecture can effectively reduce cross-talk issue and realize a cross bar array as large as ∼3 kbit in the readout margin estimation. Furthermore, a specific word was encoded using the standard ASCII character code.     

MOF assisted synthesis of a Ho2O3/CNT nanocomposite photocatalyst for organic pollutants degradation

In this work, a holmium oxide (Ho₂O₃/CNT) photocatalysts were successfully synthesized through a MOF assisted route for the first time. The effects of the morphology and purity on the photocatalytic behavior of the products, were investigated by determining various physicochemical properties. The Ho₂O₃/CNT nanocomposite was systematically analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction (P-XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–vis DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy studies. The Ho₂O₃ derived from a MOF assisted synthetic route using Ho(NO₃)₃·5H₂O and terephthalic acid with a 1:1 M ratio at a temperature of 750 °C for 3 h prove the most advantageous, 98% degradation of 20 mg/L aqueous tetracycline pollutant was observed within 60 min. The elevated photocatalytic activity was mainly attributable to the unique synthetic route, improved crystallinity, wide UV-light absorption rate and excellent adsorption capabilities of CNT, as well as enhanced oxygen deficiency. The photocatalytic results confirm that the Ho₂O₃/CNT nanocomposite is an efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of toxic tetracycline pollutant and is thus suitable for use in environmental remediation.