Enhanced photo-electrochemical activity of ZnO/Cu2S nanotube arrays photocathodes

ZnO/Cu₂S nanotube arrays are fabricated firstly by a facile and capping-agent-free method, and the photo-electrochemical performance has been studied systematically. The results show that ZnO/Cu₂S nanotube arrays achieve enhanced photo-electrochemical water splitting performance and the photocurrent densities of ZnO/Cu₂S are 7.9 times than that of ZnO at 0 V versus Ag/AgCl. The performance of the ZnO/Cu₂S nanotube arrays can be adjusted by changing the amount of Cu₂S microcrystals. The results confirm that the enhanced photo-electrochemical performance of ZnO/Cu₂S is due to the significantly improved visible light absorption, effective separation of photo-induced carriers due to the well band energy match and the formed p-n junction between ZnO and Cu₂S.     

Flame characteristics of premixed H2-air mixtures explosion venting in a spherical container through a duct

The explosion venting duct can effectively reduce the hazard degree of a gas explosion and conduct the venting energy to the safe area. To investigate the flame quantitative propagation law of explosion venting with a duct, the effects of hydrogen fraction and explosion venting duct length on jet flame propagation characteristics of premixed H₂-air mixtures were analyzed through experiment and simulation. The experiment results under initial conditions of room temperature and 1 atm show that when hydrogen fraction was high enough, part of the unburned hydrogen was mixed with air again to reach an ignitable concentration, resulting in the secondary combustion was easier produced and the duration of the secondary flame increased. With the increase of venting duct length, the flame front distance and propagation velocity increased. Meanwhile, the spatial distribution of pressure field and temperature field, and the propagation process and mechanism of the flame venting with a duct were analyzed using FLUENT software. The variation of the pressure wave and the pressure reflection oscillation law in the explosion venting duct was captured. Therefore, in the industrial explosion venting design with a duct, the hazard caused by the coupling of venting pressure and venting flame under different fractions should be considered comprehensively.     

Fluoride-mediately solvothermal synthesis and tunable photocatalytic selectivity of urchin-like ZrO2 hollow microspheres

Photocatalysts often show excellent performances on the basis of their surface state of exposed faces with high reactivity, but unfortunately surfaces of this type are usually concealed into the interior of crystals for their high surface energy. We report here a possibility that for fluorine-terminated surfaces of monoclinic ZrO₂, these higher-energy surfaces could be retained and exposed. Urchin-like ZrO₂ hollow microspheres (UZHS) composed of nanoribbons with exposed (010) facets are obtained through a fluoride mediately solvothermal method. We prove the stabilization effect of fluorine adsorption on (010) facets by density functional theory calculations. More interestingly, UZHS exhibit tunable photocatalytic selectivity in dye degradation. The fluorinated UZHS exhibit good performances both on decomposing Congo red (CR) and methylene blue, while the surface-modified UZHS by calcination only favor decomposition of CR.     

The impacts of cattle access points on deposited sediment levels in headwater streams in Ireland

Cattle access to streams has been linked globally with degradation of stream water quality, driven largely by bank erosion and resultant instream, fine sediment deposition. The majority of evidence on such effects is however based in arid and semiarid regions of the United States and Australia, with few studies relating to cool temperate climates such as Northwest Europe. In this study, “Quorer” resuspendable sediment samples were taken from riffle geomorphic units upstream (control) and at two points downstream (pressure and recovery) of cattle access points in headwater streams in agricultural catchments in Ireland to assess levels of deposited stream sediment. Samples were taken in April/May (2016) prior to the grazing season and in October (2016) at the end of the grazing season. Sites in good‐high ecological status catchments and less than good ecological status catchments were included in the study. Higher levels of sediment were found downstream of cattle access points in both good‐high status and less than good status catchments; however, the impacts of access points were spatially confined to, in most cases, the area immediately downstream of the point of access. There was a strong correlation between deposited sediment mass and organic matter (OM) mass, with levels of OM increasing linearly with deposited sediment mass. Levels of measured sediment were negatively correlated with riparian habitat health (measured using a qualitative habitat assessment). The results of this study highlight the need for measures to prevent cattle access to headwater streams where access points can be many in order to manage local habitat quality and downstream water quality issues.     

基于分段加权的反向稀疏跟踪算法研究

为提高稀疏表示跟踪模型性能，提出一种分段加权的反向稀疏跟踪算法，将跟踪问题转化为在贝叶斯框架下寻找概率最高的候选对象问题，构造不同的分段权重函数来分别度量候选目标与正负模板的判别特征系数。通过池化来降低跟踪结果的不确定性干扰，选择正负模板加权系数差值最大的候选表示作为跟踪结果。实验表明，在光照变化、遮挡、快速运动、运动模糊情况下，所提出的算法可以确保跟踪结果的准确性和鲁棒性。     

APP软件性能效率研究

性能效率是APP软件的重要质量属性，但目前缺乏APP软件性能效率的通用模型。分析了APP软件的性能特征，基于ISO/IEC 25010标准提出了APP软件的性能效率模型，定义了APP软件性能效率的子特性和度量指标。基于提出的APP软件性能效率模型，通过实验对APP软件的性能效率进行了度量及相关分析。     

Rational Designs for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries with Low Electrolyte/Sulfur Ratio

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are considered a promising next-generation energy storage device owing to their high theoretical energy density. However, their overall performance is limited by several critical issues such as lithium polysulfide (PS) shuttles, low sulfur utilization, and unstable Li metal anodes. Despite recent huge progress, the electrolyte/sulfur ratio (E/S) used is usually very high (≥20 µL mg⁻¹), which greatly reduces the practical energy density of devices. To push forward LSBs from the lab to the industry, considerable attention is devoted to reducing E/S while ensuring the electrochemical performance. To date, however, few reviews have comprehensively elucidated the possible strategies to achieve that purpose. In this review, recent advances in low E/S cathodes and anodes based on the issues resulting from low E/S and the corresponding solutions are summarized. These will be beneficial for a systematic understanding of the rational design ideas and research trends of low E/S LSBs. In particular, three strategies are proposed for cathodes: preventing PS formation/aggregation to avoid inadequate dissolution, designing multifunctional macroporous networks to address incomplete infiltration, and utilizing an imprison strategy to relieve the adsorption dependence on specific surface area. Finally, the challenges and future prospects for low E/S LSBs are discussed.     

Crystallographic characteristics and microwave dielectric properties of Ni-modified MgTa2O6 ceramics

Ni²⁺ modified MgTa₂O₆ ceramics with a trirutile phase and space group P4₂/mnm were obtained. The correlations between crystallographic characteristics and microwave dielectric performance of MgTa₂O₆ ceramics were systematically studied based on the chemistry bond theory (PVL theory) for the first time. The results indicate that the introduction of Ni²⁺ causes a change in polarizability and the Mg–O bond ionicity, which contributes to the variation of dielectric constant. Moreover, the lattice energy, and packing fraction, full width at half maximum of the Raman peak of Ta–O bond, as the quantitative characterization of crystallographic parameters, regulate the dielectric loss of MgTa₂O₆ ceramics in GHz frequency band. In addition, the study of sintering behavior shows that the densification and micromorphology are the crucial factors affecting the microwave dielectric performance. Typically, Ni²⁺ doping on the A-site of MgTa₂O₆ can effectively promote the Q × f values to 173,000 GHz (at 7.43 GHz), which ensures its applicability in 5G communication technology.