Environmentally Friendly Graphene Inks for Touch Screen Sensors

Graphene-based materials have attracted significant attention in many technological fields, but scaling up graphene-based technologies still faces substantial challenges. High-throughput top-down methods generally require hazardous, toxic, and high-boiling-point solvents. Here, an efficient and inexpensive strategy is proposed to produce graphene dispersions by liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) through a combination of shear-mixing (SM) and tip sonication (TS) techniques, yielding highly concentrated graphene inks compatible with spray coating. The quality of graphene flakes (e.g., lateral size and thickness) and their concentration in the dispersions are compared using different spectroscopic and microscopy techniques. Several approaches (individual SM and TS, and their combination) are tested in three solvents (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, dimethylformamide, and cyrene). Interestingly, the combination of SM and TS in cyrene yields high-quality graphene dispersions, overcoming the environmental issues linked to the other two solvents. Starting from the cyrene dispersion, a graphene-based ink is prepared to spray-coat flexible electrodes and assemble a touch screen prototype. The electrodes feature a low sheet resistance (290 Ω □⁻¹) and high optical transmittance (78%), which provide the prototype with a high signal-to-noise ratio (14 dB) and multi-touch functionality (up to four simultaneous touches). These results illustrate a potential pathway toward the integration of LPE-graphene in commercial flexible electronics.     

Freeze-drying and mechanical redispersion of aqueous PEDOT:PSS

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films are attracting famous applications in antistatic coating, energy storage and conversion, printed electronics, and biomedical fields due to their conductivity, optical transparency and flexibility. However, PEDOT:PSS has poor dispersion stability during long-term storage and transport. Moreover, the dried PEDOT:PSS films are insoluble in any solvent and cannot be redispersed again. In comparison to bake drying, here, a feasible strategy to achieve mechanically redispersed PEDOT:PSS with the help of freeze-drying process was reported. The redispersed PEDOT:PSS can recover not only the initial characters such as pH, chemical composition, viscosity, and particle size under similar solid contents, but also conductivity and surface morphology of treated films. In addition, the treated film exhibits self-healing properties similar to pristine film in terms of mechanical and electrical properties. This technology enables reuse and overcomes the technical problems of PEDOT:PSS dispersion, realizing real-time processing to meet variable applications.     

跨行政区游憩空间柔性一体化研究 ——以高莱茵河沿岸地区为例

随着城市化与区域一体化的迅速发展,不同行政区之间的联动关系越来越紧密,这种联动关系在城市各功能空间的设计上有所体现,更渗透到了与市民息息相关的游憩空间建构之中。受制于行政管理等方面的原因,在跨行政区的游憩空间一体化实施过程中,往往会采取一系列柔性措施。以欧洲高莱茵河沿岸地区为研究对象,分析高莱茵河沿岸地区游憩空间的发展与现状,总结其游憩空间体系的构建特点,为中国跨城市河流沿岸的游憩空间柔性一体化建构提供策略与建议。     

新型限力输出保护功能柔性夹钳的设计与参数评估

柔性夹钳因具有微/纳精密操作能力, 常应用于微操作系统中, 但因抓爪无法提供恒定输出力或恒力范围小, 容易造成操作对象的损伤或脱落。根据放大模块与常力模块串联的结构形式, 设计了一种具有常力特性的柔性夹钳。基于伪刚体法, 建立放大模块中桥式机构与杠杆机构的刚度和放大率数学模型, 通过对倾斜导向梁进行分析, 得到常力模块的力-位移关系式, 计算出恒定输出力为42.5 N, 输出范围为370 μm。最后, 结合不同柔顺梁的结构参数, 运用MATLAB仿真探究了各关键参数对常力特性的影响。研究结果可为常力柔性夹钳的构型设计和分析提供一定的理论支撑。     

Flexible Osteogenic Glue as an All-In-One Solution to Assist Fracture Fixation and Healing

Osteogenic glue that reproduces the natural bone composition represents the final frontier of orthopedic adhesives with the potential to revolutionize surgical strategies against comminuted fractures. However, it is difficult to achieve an all-in-one formula, which could provide flexible and reliable adhesiveness while avoiding interfering with or even promoting the healing of glued fractures. Herein, an osteogenic glue characterized by inorganic-in-organic integration between amine-modified mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (AMBGN) and bioadhesive gelatin-dextran network (GelDex) is introduced as an all-in-one tool to flexibly adhere and splice bone fragments and subsequently guide fracture healing during degradation. Relying on such integration, a 4-fold improvement in cohesiveness is presented, followed by a nearly 5-fold enhancement in adhesive strength in ex vivo porcine bone samples. The reversible and re-adjustable adhesiveness also enables glue to effectively splice intricate fragments from highly comminuted fractures in the rabbit radius in an in vivo environment. Moreover, well-preserved organic–inorganic integrity during degradation of the glue guides sustained interfacial osteogenesis and achieve satisfying healing outcomes in glued fractures, as observed by the 2-fold improvement in biomechanical and radiological performance compared with commercially available cyanoacrylate adhesives. The current findings propose an all-in-one solution for the fixation of bone fragments during surgery.     

Degradation analysis of the core components of metal plate proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack under dynamic load cycles

The durability of metal plate proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack is still an important factor that hinders its large-scale commercial application. In this paper, we have conducted a 1000 h durability test on a 1 kW metal plate PEMFC stack, and explored the degradation of the core components. After 1000 h of dynamic load cycles, the voltage decay percentage of the stack under the current densities of 1000 mA cm^?2 is 5.67%. By analyzing the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, the surfaces of the metal plates are contaminated locally by organic matter precipitated from the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The SEM images of the catalyst coated membrane (CCM) cross section indicate that the MEA has undergone severe degradation, including the agglomeration of the catalyst layer, and the thinning and perforation of the PEM. These are the main factors that cause the rapid increase in hydrogen crossover flow rate and performance decay of the PEMFC stack.     

“灰绿”协同措施对银川市合流制溢流污染的影响EI北大核心CSCD

针对合流制管网系统在雨天溢流污染严重,造成城市水体黑臭现象的问题,以银川市某高密度城区合流制管网系统为例,基于SWMM模型,在短历时设计降雨和长历时设计降雨两种条件下,模拟分析了合流制溢流(CSO)调蓄池、雨污管道混错接改造、绿化带海绵化改造等“灰绿”协同措施对CSO污染的影响。结果表明:CSO调蓄池、雨污管道混错接改造、绿化带海绵化改造及“灰绿”措施结合4种方案在短历时、长历时设计降雨条件下,随着降水量的增加,溢流水量及溢流污染物负荷均增加,溢流削减率均逐渐减小,其中“灰绿”措施结合方案对溢流污染的削减效果最为显著;重现期小于5 a时,溢流水量削减率与溢流污染物负荷削减率基本达到80%;降雨条件为中雨时,污染物负荷削减率基本达到75%;重现期为20 a时,溢流水量削减率及TSS、COD、TP、NH^(+)_(4)-N负荷削减率分别达到64%、70%、70%、70%、70%;降雨条件为大雨时,溢流水量削减率及TSS、COD、TP、NH^(+)_(4)-N负荷削减率分别达到28%、32%、26%、31%、33%。     

基于跨临界CO2热泵的茶叶生产能源系统负荷削减潜力

乡村产业中的化石能源设备逐渐被电能技术替代，引起了乡村负荷波动增大、部分时段产生集中高负荷的问题。为了解决以上问题，将低品位清洁能源应用至乡村的茶叶生产中，针对烘茶全过程的工艺要求提出了跨临界CO₂热泵烘茶技术；并以某茶叶生产乡村为对象，对其代表台区的全年日用电量及产茶日负荷进行了分析，得出采用CO₂热泵烘茶后其负荷得到大幅度削减，整体可降低至原负荷的39.6%~46.8%，峰值负荷与平时负荷的比值由原本的13.6降至5.4~6.2。跨临界CO₂热泵应用至农产品生产中可有效缓解乡村供电压力。     

Thermomechanical stability and inelastic energy dissipation as durability criteria for fuel cell gas diffusion media with pre-assembly effects

In this article, pre-assembly hot-press pressure and thermal expansion effects in gas-diffusion layers (GDLs) are addressed to explore the practicalities of the constitutive model reported in the companion article. A facile technique is proposed to include deformation history dependent residual strain effects. The model is implemented in the numerical environment and compared with widely followed conventional models such as isotropic and orthotropic material models. With the normal and accelerated thermal expansion effects no significant variation in stresses or strains is reported with the compressible GDL model in contrast to the conventional incompressible form of the GDL model. The present work identifies the critical differences with advanced and extended variants of the model along with conventional GDL material models in terms of planar stress/strain distribution and the membrane response. Finally, the model is simulated for micro-cyclic stress loads of varying amplitudes that imitate the real working conditions of fuel cell. The inelastic energy dissipation in GDLs is predicted using the proposed model, which is utilized further to distinguish the safe (elastic) and unsafe (inelastic shakedown) operating limits. The inelastic collapse of GDLs is shown to be a active function of high amplitude micro-cyclic load with high initial clamping load.     

Effect of heat treatment and zircon addition on the properties of low-cement castables based on recycled alumina grog

In this investigation, low-cement castables were prepared using 70% alumina grog aggregates obtained from crushed alumina brick waste. The aggregates were thermally treated at 1550 °C for 3 h. Four types of low-cement castables were prepared with various types of aggregates (alumina grog with or without thermal treatment) and fillers (with or without zircon addition), and they were evaluated in terms of their physical, thermal, and chemical properties. Microstructural analysis via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed on the castables before and after slag attack. Compared to the other fabricated castables, the thermally treated alumina grog castables with zircon showed better physical properties, such as a higher bulk density, cold crushing strength, and modulus of rupture and a lower apparent porosity and water absorption. In addition, they had a higher positive linear thermal expansion, refractoriness under load, permanent linear change, and hot modulus of rupture. The results of the SEM with energy dispersive X-ray analysis of the prepared castables confirmed that the mullite and anorthite phases were predominant when zircon was not added and the zircon–mullite phase additionally appeared upon the incorporation of zircon. A quantitative elemental analysis via X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was employed to determine the composition of the castables. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the alumina grog castables had a high mullite and low anorthite content, and the thermally treated alumina grog had a high anorthite, low mullite, and high zircon content. The improvement in the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of the castables with thermally treated alumina grog and added zircon can be attributed to the formation of the zircon–mullite phase with a low mullite phase content.