Gd2Zr2O7 ceramics synthesized by solid-state reactive sintering: Effects of starting powders with different-scale particle sizes

In this work, the effects of starting oxide powders with different-scale particle sizes on the synthesis of gadolinium zirconate pyrochlore (Gd₂Zr₂O₇, GZO) and its physical properties were studied. Micron Gd₂O₃ (μG), micron ZrO₂ (μZ), nano Gd₂O₃ (nG), and nano ZrO₂ (nZ) powders were used. GZO ceramics were prepared by employing solid-state reactive sintering at 1300 °C, 1400 °C, 1500 °C and 1600 °C with mixed powders of different sizes (μGμZ, μGnZ, nGμZ and nGnZ). X-ray diffraction and Raman analyses of the ceramics revealed that nG has a more significant impact on the crystallization process than nZ. All ceramics synthesized with different sized oxide powders crystallized into pyrochlore phases except for those synthesized with μGnZ mixed powders, which resulted in a fluorite phase. The results indicated that decreasing the particle size of only ZrO₂ to synthesize pyrochlore-phase Gd₂Zr₂O₇ with high crystallinity may not be effective. Samples obtained at 1500 °C were further analyzed. Scanning electron microscopy results revealed that all four ceramics have a non-homogeneous grain size and that the average grain size ranges from 5.40 to 8.30 μm. In addition, the density and Vickers hardness measurements showed that the use of nanopowders significantly improves the mechanical properties.     

拉深筋对板材变形特征和力学性能的影响研究

采用实验方法将金属板材拉过不同尺寸的拉深筋镶块，分析了拉深筋高度、圆角半径以及过筋次数对板材变形特征的影响规律，研究了过筋产生的预应变对板材后续力学性能的影响规律。结果表明：板材流过拉深筋后，流动方向上发生均匀的拉伸变形；过筋产生的预应变随着拉深筋高度增大而增大，随着圆角半径增大而减小，随着过筋次数增加而近似线性增大；预应变越大，材料后续屈服强度和抗拉强度越高，但后续延伸率越小，总延伸率随着预应变增大表现出先减小后增大的趋势。     

Rapid polymerization synthesizing high-crystalline g-C3N4 towards boosting solar photocatalytic H2 generation

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) is a promising metal-free photocatalyst for solar photocatalytic hydrogen gas (H₂) generation from water. In particularly, high-crystalline g-C₃N₄ (GCN-HC) material with fewer structural defects possesses the fast photoexcited electron-hole pair's separation efficiency as comparison with bulk g-C₃N₄ (GCN-B) powders, leading to the drastic improvement of photocatalytic activity. However, the fabrication of such GCN-HC photocatalyst by a simple and economical synthesis approach still remains a challenge. Herein, we firstly develop a one-step rapid polymerization strategy for synthesizing the GCN-HC, that is direct calcination of melamine at 550 °C not only without the early heating process, but also without the assistance of any additive or salt intercalation. As a result, the GCN-HC exhibits an obviously boosting visible-light-induced photocatalytic H₂-generation performance, which is over 2.06-folds much greater than that of GCN-B. Our work provides an available one-step synthetic strategy for the large-scale preparation of high performance GCN-HC towards sustainable solar-to-chemical energy conversion.     

Multi-shelled CoS2–MoS2 hollow spheres as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

The exploration of highly efficient non-precious electrocatalysts is essential for water splitting devices. Herein, we synthesized CoS₂–MoS₂ multi-shelled hollow spheres (MSHSs) as efficient electrocatalysts both for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) using a Schiff base coordination polymer (CP). Co-CP solid spheres were converted to Co₃O₄ MSHSs by sintering in air. CoS₂–MoS₂ MSHSs were obtained by a solvothermal reaction of Co₃O₄ MSHSs and MoS₄²⁻ anions. CoS₂–MoS₂ MSHSs have a high specific surface area of 73.5 m²g^-1. Due to the synergistic effect between the CoS₂ and MoS₂, the electrode of CoS₂–MoS₂ MSHSs shows low overpotential of 109 mV with Tafel slope of 52.0 mV dec⁻¹ for HER, as well as a low overpotential of 288 mV with Tafel slope of 62.1 mV dec⁻¹ for OER at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² in alkaline solution. The corresponding two-electrode system needs a potential of 1.61 V (vs. RHE) to obtain anodic current density of 10 mA cm⁻² for OER and maintains excellent stability for 10 h.     

Improved reliability of large-sized a-Si thin-film-transistor by back channel treatment in H2

A hydrogen plasma treatment on the back-channel region of large-sized amorphous silicon thin film transistor (a-Si TFT) with high RF power and optimal process time of 20 s is proposed in this work to effectively reduce off current (I_off) and threshold voltage (V_th) shift under high and low electrical-field stresses. The channel width (W) of large-sized a-Si TFT is ranged from 1000 to 10,000 μm, which are comparable to the realistic TFTs used in the gate driver on array (GOA) of display. It is experimentally found that the mechanism of V_th shift (ΔV_th) after high electrical stress is dominated by the defect generation in a-Si layer rather than charge trapping in the gate insulator (GI) layer, which is different from the observation in previous literatures. It could be due to the effects of back-channel treatment (BCT). In addition, after low electrical stresses, the mechanism of ΔV_th is dominated by defect generation in a-Si layer, which is consistent with previous reports.     

Amide-containing segmented copolymers

This review highlights the synthesis, physical properties, and emerging technologies of state-of-the-art segmented copolymers containing amide hydrogen bonding sites. Amide hydrogen bonding plays a crucial role in the physical properties associated with amide-containing segmented copolymers. Amide hard segments are accessible in many different forms from amorphous alkyl amides to crystalline aramids and greatly influence copolymer morphology and mechanical properties. Variations in copolymer structure allow for the fine tuning of physical properties and the ability to predict mechanical performance based upon structural modifications. This review includes various synthetic methods for producing well-defined amide-containing segmented copolymers as well as common applications. Also, the morphological and mechanical properties associated with modifications in copolymer structure are discussed.     

Cylindrical conformal single-patch microstrip antennas based on three dimensional woven glass fiber/epoxy resin composites

Three dimensional integrated microstrip antenna (3DIMA) can carry the designed load while functioning as an antenna. In this study, the cylindrical conformal single-patch 3DIMAs with various curvatures were designed, simulated, fabricated and tested experimentally using a 3D orthogonal woven glass preform/epoxy resin composite system. The electromagnetic performances of the cylindrical microstrip antennas were analyzed. The simulated and tested results matched well and the return losses of the cylindrical conformal 3DIMAs with radii of curvatures of 60, 45 and 25 mm were less than −10 dB while resonant frequencies and their gain values were significantly influenced by the radius of curvature and the feeding direction. The 3DIMAs with the curvature perpendicular to the feeding directions showed more stable resonant frequencies and larger gain values than those of 3DIMAs with the curvature along their feeding directions.     

Facile and efficient synthesis of magnetic fluorescent nanocomposites based on carbon nanotubes

Multifunctional nanomaterials composed of magnetic and fluorescent nanoparticles have been one of the most extensive pursuits because of the potential application in bio-research. In this paper, we demonstrated an efficient method by coupling CdSe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) with Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles(MNPs) while functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) were used as matrix to synthesize a kind of magnetic fluorescent nanocomposite. Compared with other matrix materials, carbon nanotubes have the advantages of high surface areas and good biocompatibility. The incorporation of f-MWCNTs supplies plenty of nucleation sites for the preferential growth of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, avoiding the agglomeration phenomenon of Fe₃O₄ MNPs in traditional co-precipitation method. Moreover, the un-reacted functional groups of f-MCNTs can further adsorb biological species and drugs, averting the decline of fluorescent intensity caused by the modification of biological species and drugs. The synthetic product maintains the unique properties of rapid magnetic response and efficient fluorescence, which shows a broad application prospect in fluorescent labeling, biological imaging, cell tracking and drug delivery.     

Preparation and characterization of novel addition cured polydimethylsiloxane nanocomposites using nano‐silica sol as reinforcing filler

A series of novel addition cured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposites with various amounts of nano‐silica sol were prepared via hydrosilylation for the first time. The influence of various amounts of nano‐silica sol on the morphology, thermal behavior, mechanical and optical properties of these PDMS nanocomposites was studied in detail. It was found that with an increment in the amount of nano‐silica sol the reinforcing effect of the nano‐silica sol on the thermal and mechanical properties of the PDMS nanocomposites was very noticeable compared with the reference material. The prominent improvements in resistance to thermal degradation and mechanical properties can probably be attributed to the strong interaction of PDMS chains and uniformly dispersed particles resulting from the nano‐silica sol. However, the transparency of the PDMS nanocomposites slightly decreased with an increment in weight fraction of nano‐silica, compared with that of PDMS composite without nano‐silica (Sol‐0), which can probably be ascribed to an increasing size of the aggregated particles in the PDMS nanocomposites. The optimum amount of nano‐silica sol for preparing novel addition curing PDMS nanocomposites was about 15 wt%. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry