Enhancing the stability and crystallinity of CsPbIBr2 through antisolvent engineering

All inorganic lead-based perovskites containing bromine-iodine alloys, such as CsPbIBr_2, have arisen as one of the most attractive candidates for absorber layers in solar cells. That said, there remains a large gap when it comes to film and crystal quality between the inorganic and hybrid perovskites. In this work, antisolvent engineering is employed as a simple and reproducible method for improving CsPbIBr₂ thin films. We found that both the antisolvent used and the conditions under which it was applied have a measurable impact on both the quality and stability of the final product. We arrived at this conclusion by characterising the samples using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV–visible and photoluminescence measurements, as well as employing a novel system to quantify stability. Our findings, and the application of our novel method for quantifying stability, demonstrate the ability to significantly enhance CsPbIBr₂ samples, produced via a static one-step spin coating method, by applying isopropanol 10 s after commencing the spin programme. The antisolvent quenched CsPbIBr₂ films demonstrate both improved crystallinity and an extended lifespan.

     

Characterization and fracture behavior of bismuth–tin thermal fuse alloy wires produced by the Ohno continuous casting process

Bismuth–tin binary alloys containing high bismuth concentrations of 40 to 77% were continuously cast into wires of approximately 2 mm in diameter with casting speeds between 15 and 150 mm min^?1 using the Ohno Continuous Casting (OCC) process. The microstructure was examined and tensile tests were performed for wires cast at various speeds. It was found that for slowly cast wires containing large primary bismuth dendrites, bismuth fracture occurring along the (111) plane exerted a key role in wire fracture, while microstructures with refined bismuth dendrites exhibited a mixture of bismuth cracks and inter-phase decohesion, allowing the accommodation of larger strain before wire fracture. For wires with microstructures containing primary tin dendrites, inter-phase decohesion played a key role in wire fracture.     

Nonlinear resonances in a general class of granular dimers with no pre-compression

In this work we study the existence of nonlinear resonances in a general 1: $N$ one-dimensional granular dimer chains, i.e., granular chains consisting of periodic sets of ‘heavy’ beads followed and preceded by $N$ ‘light’ beads. Each bead is assumed to be spherical and purely elastic and to interact with its neighbors through Hertzian contact law. In a previous work (Jayaprakash et al. in 112(3):1–17, 2012) we proved the existence of countably infinite families of solitary waves in these systems; these are localized pulses that propagate without distortion of their waveforms through these highly inhomogeneous nonlinear media. We attributed these waves to nonlinear anti-resonance that led to complete elimination of radiating waves in the trail of the propagating localized pulse. Anti-resonances were associated with certain symmetries of the velocity waveforms of the beads of the dimer. In this work we report on the opposite phenomenon, that is, of the breakup of waveform symmetries of the bead responses leading to drastic attenuation of propagating pulses due to energy radiation to the far field by means of nonlinear traveling waves. We use the connotation of resonance to describe this dynamical phenomenon resulting in the maximum amplification of the amplitudes of radiated waves that emanate from the propagating pulse. We study numerically and analytically the nonlinear resonance mechanism in this class of strongly nonlinear periodic media, and demonstrate that it can lead to drastic attenuation of shock-induced pulses propagating in the dimers.     

Comment on“Hole-pinned defect-dipoles induced colossal permittivity in Bi doped SrTiO3ceramics with Sr deficiency”

With this contribution,as a comment to the publication in Journal of Mate rials Science&Technology 44(2020)54,reporting giant dielectric response,structural characterization and numerical simulations in Sr_(1-1.5 x)Bi_xTiO₃ceramics,we show that the re ported results are rather contradicting and not well analysed,while the suggested mechanism for the giant permittivity response is not valid or doubtful and has to be reconsidered.Moreover,many details and data are missing making impossible not only to call the obtained results very suitable for practical application but even to reproduce them.     

Understanding the Role of (W,Mo, Sb) Dopants in the Catalyst Evolution and Activity Enhancement of Co3O4 during Water Electrolysis via In Situ Spectroelectrochemical Techniques

Unlocking the potential of the hydrogen economy is dependent on achieving green hydrogen (H₂) production at competitive costs. Engineering highly active and durable catalysts for both oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions (OER and HER) from earth-abundant elements is key to decreasing costs of electrolysis, a carbon-free route for H₂ production. Here, a scalable strategy to prepare doped cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) electrocatalysts with ultralow loading, disclosing the role of tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), and antimony (Sb) dopants in enhancing OER/HER activity in alkaline conditions, is reported. In situ Raman and X-ray absorption spectroscopies, and electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the dopants do not alter the reaction mechanisms but increase the bulk conductivity and density of redox active sites. As a result, the W-doped Co₃O₄ electrode requires ≈390 and ≈560 mV overpotentials to reach ±10 and ±100 mA cm⁻² for OER and HER, respectively, over long-term electrolysis. Furthermore, optimal Mo-doping leads to the highest OER and HER activities of 8524 and 634 A g⁻¹ at overpotentials of 0.67 and 0.45 V, respectively. These novel insights provide directions for the effective engineering of Co₃O₄ as a low-cost material for green hydrogen electrocatalysis at large scales.     

Electrochemical Investigation of Calcium Substituted Monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)3 Negative Electrode Materials for Sodium- and Potassium-Ion Batteries

Herein, the electrochemical properties and reaction mechanism of Li_3‒2xCa_xV₂(PO₄)₃/C (x = 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5) as negative electrode materials for sodium-ion/potassium-ion batteries (SIBs/PIBs) are investigated. All samples undergo a mixed contribution of diffusion-controlled and pseudocapacitive-type processes in SIBs and PIBs via Trasatti Differentiation Method, while the latter increases with Ca content increase. Among them, Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃/C exhibits the highest reversible capacity in SIBs and PIBs, while Ca_1.5V₂(PO₄)₃/C shows the best rate performance with a capacity retention of 46% at 20 C in SIBs and 47% at 10 C in PIBs. This study demonstrates that the specific capacity of this type of material in SIBs and PIBs does not increase with the Ca-content as previously observed in lithium-ion system, but the stability and performance at a high C-rate can be improved by replacing Li⁺ with Ca²⁺. This indicates that the insertion of different monovalent cations (Na⁺/K⁺) can strongly influence the redox reaction and structure evolution of the host materials, due to the larger ion size of Na⁺ and K⁺ and their different kinetic properties with respect to Li⁺. Furthermore, the working mechanism of both LVP/C and Ca_1.5V₂(PO₄)₃/C in SIBs are elucidated via in operando synchrotron diffraction and in operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy.     

Manufacturing‐induced surface contaminations

In the course of classical optics manufacturing glass components are in permanent direct contact with aqueous operating materials. Such contact leads to a certain absorption of water and hydrogenous compounds that may induce severe glass defects. In this contribution, absorption of hydrogen and other contaminants during grinding of glass was observed and qualitatively detected via laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy. It is shown that hydrogen, calcium, magnesium, and carbon are implanted into the glass surface where the contaminant concentration increases over grinding time or contact time of the glass surface with water and the grinding tool, respectively. The contaminants hydrogen, calcium, and magnesium can be attributed to the water used as lubricant. In contrast, carbon most likely originates from wear debris of the used silicon carbide grinding pads. Several possible mechanisms that lead to such surface contamination of glasses during grinding – diffusion, accumulation in micro cracks as well as the formation of hydrated silica – are finally introduced.     

Treatment of raw poultry with nonthermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma to reduce Campylobacter jejuni and Salmonella enterica

Nonthermal plasma has been shown to be effective in reducing pathogens on the surface of a range of fresh produce products. The research presented here investigated the effectiveness of nonthermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma on Salmonella enterica and Campylobacter jejuni inoculated onto the surface of boneless skinless chicken breast and chicken thigh with skin. Chicken samples were inoculated with antibiotic-resistant strains of S. enterica and C. jejuni at levels of 10(1) to 10(4) CFU and exposed to plasma for a range of time points (0 to 180 s in 15-s intervals). Surviving antibiotic-resistant pathogens were recovered and counted on appropriate agar. In order to determine the effect of plasma on background microflora, noninoculated skinless chicken breast and thighs with skin were exposed to air plasma at ambient pressure. Treatment with plasma resulted in elimination of low levels (10(1) CFU) of both S. enterica and C. jejuni on chicken breasts and C. jejuni from chicken skin, but viable S. enterica cells remained on chicken skin even after 20 s of exposure to plasma. Inoculum levels of 10(2), 10(3), and 10(4) CFU of S. enterica on chicken breast and chicken skin resulted in maximum reduction levels of 1.85, 2.61, and 2.54 log, respectively, on chicken breast and 1.25, 1.08, and 1.31 log, respectively, on chicken skin following 3 min of plasma exposure. Inoculum levels of 10(2), 10(3), and 10(4) CFU of C. jejuni on chicken breast and chicken skin resulted in maximum reduction levels of 1.65, 2.45, and 2.45 log, respectively, on chicken breast and 1.42, 1.87, and 3.11 log, respectively, on chicken skin following 3 min of plasma exposure. Plasma exposure for 30 s reduced background microflora on breast and skin by an average of 0.85 and 0.21 log, respectively. This research demonstrates the feasibility of nonthermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma as an intervention to help reduce foodborne pathogens on the surface of raw poultry.