A review of thin film electrolytes fabricated by physical vapor deposition for solid oxide fuel cells

The ohmic resistance in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) mainly comes from the electrolyte, which can be reduced by developing novel electrolyte materials with higher ionic conductivity and/or fabricating thin-film electrolytes. Among various kinds of thin-film fabrication technology, the physical vapor deposition (PVD) method can reduce the electrolyte thickness to a few micrometers and mitigate the issues associated with high-temperature sintering, which is necessary for wet ceramic methods. This review summarizes recent development progress in thin-film electrolytes fabricated by the PVD method, especially pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and magnetron sputtering. At first, the importance of the substrate surface morphology for the quality of the film is emphasized. After that, the fabrication of thin-film doped-zirconia and doped-ceria electrolytes is presented, then we provide a brief summary of the works on other types of electrolytes prepared by PVD. Finally, we have come to the summary and made perspectives.     

新建本科大学物理化学实验课程建设的实践与研究

新建本科大学的物理化学实验课程体系建设是相对复杂且系统性的工程。基于大学教育目标,融合物理化学实验课程体系建设的研究及实践,对新建本科大学物理化学实验教育现状展开分析,并提出物理化学实验课程体系构建策略,以供参考。     

Isolation,purification, and antioxidant activities of polysaccharides from Ziziphus Jujuba cv. Muzao

In the present study, crude polysaccharides from Ziziphus Jujuba cv. Muzao were isolated and purified using DEAE cellulose-52 and Sephadex G-100 size-exclusion chromatography; four fractions were collected, namely GZMP-1, GZMP-2, GZMP-3, and GZMP-4. The molecular weights of these four fractions were measured to be 111.2, 95.1, 84.2, and 571.4 kDa, respectively, using high-performance gel permeation chromatography. Gas chromatography analysis of the monosaccharide composition confirmed that GZMP-1 was composed of rhamnose, arabinose, glucose, and galactose. Rhamnose, arabinose, and galactose were the main components present in GZMP-2 and GZMP-3, whereas GZMP-4 was composed of only rhamnose and arabinose. Scanning electron microscopy showed relatively smooth surfaces for GZMP-1 and GZMP-4, whereas GZMP-2 and GZMP-3 had more folds on their surfaces. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses indicated that GZMP-1 and ZMP mainly had α-type glycosidic linkages. The in vitro antioxidant activities of the polysaccharides revealed that jujube polysaccharides exhibit remarkable antioxidant activity, and can scavenge DPPH radical and OH radical in a concentration-dependent manner. The results of this work suggest that polysaccharides from Z. Jujuba cv. Muzao have potential to be used as functional food and in the development of natural antioxidant drug carriers.     

一种高性能低VOC尼龙6复合材料的研究

通过研究基料、无机填料、增韧剂、润滑剂对尼龙6(PA6)复合材料的物理性能、VOC的影响,得到一种高性能低VOC的PA6复合材料。结果表明:以PA6 IM为基料、滑石粉为无机填料、EPDM 3092M为增韧剂、E525为润滑剂的尼龙6复合材料,具有高性能、低VOC的优点。     

Synthesis of V-doped SiC powder for growth of semi-insulating SiC crystals

V-doped semi-insulating (VDSI) SiC crystal is a promising substrate for high-frequency electronic devices achieved using GaN epitaxial films. However, V doping in a SiC crystal is difficult to control owing to the different sublimation temperatures of VC and SiC. The amount of V changes depending on the growth sequence, which has been a significant concern in VDSI SiC substrates in terms of wafer reliability.In this study, therefore, we aimed to synthesize a single source by vaporizing Si, C, and V under the same conditions to improve the doping issue in VDSI SiC. We synthesized V-doped SiC powder as the starting material for VDSI SiC substrate based on thermodynamic modeling, and the synthesized powder was used to grow a VDSI SiC crystal via physical vapor transport.Finally, considering the homogeneous V concentration in the grown crystal, the synthesized V-doped SiC was observed to be effective to grow VDSI SiC independent of the growth sequence.     

Naturally functionalized silk as useful material for photonic applications

Silk is a natural fibre obtained from the Bombyx mori silkworm cocoons that can be used in a wide range of fields thanks to its inherent multifunctionality.Post-production steps are necessary to impart colour to the fibres to employ the material for optics and photonic applications, such as in fluorescence-based optofluidic devices in lab-on-a-chip realization.Here we present an intrinsically greener dyeing approach for fabricating naturally functionalized silk, where highly-fluorescent organic dyes with lasing properties are in vivo up-taken by silkworms once introduced in the artificial diet. A detailed photoluminescence spectroscopy investigation is implemented to test whether the dyes are effectively incorporated within the silk proteins, in correlation with the silkworm gland positions where proteins extraction is held. Light amplification characteristics are demonstrated in silk extracted from glands of silkworm fed with artificial diet doped with Rhodamine B dye.     

Quantum computation based bundling optimization for combinatorial auction in freight service procurements

Combinatorial auction is a useful trade manner for transportation service procurements in e-marketplaces. To enhance the competition of combinatorial auction, a novel auction mechanism of two-round bidding with bundling optimization is proposed. As the recommended the auction mechanism, the shipper/auctioneer integrates the objects into several bundles based on the bidding results of first round auction. Then, carriers/bidders bid for the object bundles in second round. The bundling optimization is described as a multi-objective model with two criteria on price complementation and combination consistency. A Quantum Evolutionary Algorithm (QEA) with β-based rotation gate and the encoding scheme based on non-zero elements in complementary coefficient matrix is developed for the model solution. Comparing with a Contrast Genetic Algorithm, QEA can achieve better computational performances for small and middle size problems.     

The benefit of being physically present: A survey of experimental works comparing copresent robots,telepresent robots and virtual agents

The effects of physical embodiment and physical presence were explored through a survey of 33 experimental works comparing how people interacted with physical robots and virtual agents. A qualitative assessment of the direction of quantitative effects demonstrated that robots were more persuasive and perceived more positively when physically present in a user׳s environment than when digitally-displayed on a screen either as a video feed of the same robot or as a virtual character analog; robots also led to better user performance when they were collocated as opposed to shown via video on a screen. However, participants did not respond differently to physical robots and virtual agents when both were displayed digitally on a screen – suggesting that physical presence, rather than physical embodiment, characterizes people׳s responses to social robots. Implications for understanding psychological response to physical and virtual agents and for methodological design are discussed.     

Effect of thickness on structural,optical, electrical and morphological properties of nanocrystalline CdSe thin films for optoelectronic applications

This paper presents effect of thickness on the physical properties of thermally evaporated cadmium selenide thin films. The films of thickness 445 nm, 631 nm and 810 nm were deposited employing thermal evaporation technique on glass and ITO coated glass substrates followed by thermal annealing in air atmosphere at temperature 300 °C. The as-deposited and annealed films were subjected to the XRD, UV–Vis spectrophotometer, source meter, SEM and EDS to find the structural, optical, electrical, morphological and compositional analysis respectively. The structural analysis shows that the films have cubic phase with preferred orientation (1 1 1) and nanocrystalline nature. The structural parameters like inter-planner spacing, lattice constant, grain size, number of crystallites per unit area, internal strain, dislocation density and texture coefficient are calculated. The optical band gap is found in the range 1.69–1.84 eV and observed to decrease with thickness. The electrical resistivity is found to increase with thickness for as-deposited films and decrease for annealed films. The morphological studies show that the as-deposited and annealed films are homogeneous, smooth, fully covered and free from crystal defects like pin holes and voids. The grains in the as-deposited films are densely packed, well defined and found to be increased with thickness.     

Modeling temperature effects on a Coriolis mass flowmeter

Coriolis mass flowmeters are used for many applications, including as transfer standards for proficiency testing and liquified natural gas (LNG) custody transfer. We developed a model to explain the temperature dependence of a Coriolis meter down to cryogenic temperatures. As a first step, we tested our model over the narrow temperature range of 285 K to 318 K in this work. The temperature dependence predicted by the model agrees with experimental data within ± 0.08 %; the model uncertainty is 0.16 % (95 % confidence level) over the temperature range of this work.Here, basic concepts of Coriolis flowmeters will be presented, and correction coefficients will be proposed that are valid down to 5 K based on literature values of material properties.