Microstructural and electrical changes in Ca0.9R0.1CeNbMoO8 (R = Y,Sm, Nd,La) ceramics induced by rare-earth ion doping

Rare-earth ions doped Ca_0.9R_0.1CeNbMoO₈ (R = Y, Sm, Nd, La) ceramics have been successfully prepared by solid-state method, and their modifications to the microstructure and electrical properties are also investigated. The rare-earth ions doped ceramics exhibit the scheelite structure. With the increase in the radius of rare-earth ions, the lattice distortion and bond interaction will be enhanced, and the consistency of grain size will be reduced. The ceramics exhibit negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor characteristics in the temperature range of 473 K-1273 K, and the activation energy decreases with the increase of the radius of rare-earth ions. Rare-earth ions doping can increase the content of Ce³⁺ ions and promote the conductivity of ceramics. Except for Sm³⁺-doped ceramics, the high-temperature aging rate of other ceramics is less than 2%. The existence of some metastable Sm²⁺ ions in Sm³⁺-doped ceramics not only increases the activation energy, but also reduces the high-temperature stability of the ceramics.     

Accelerated multi-contrast high isotropic resolution 3D intracranial vessel wall MRI using a tailored k-space undersampling and partially parallel reconstruction strategy

Objective

To develop a 3D multi-contrast IVW protocol with 0.5-mm isotropic resolution and a scan time of 5 min per sequence.

Materials and methods

Pre-contrast T1w VISTA, DANTE prepared PDw VISTA, SNAP, and post-contrast T1w VISTA were accelerated using cartesian undersampling with target ordering method (CUSTOM) and self-supporting tailored k-space estimation for parallel imaging reconstruction (STEP). CUSTOM + STEP IVW was compared to full-sample IVW, SENSE-accelerated IVW, and CUSTOM + zero-filled Fourier reconstruction in normal volunteers and subjects with intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD). Image quality, vessel delineation, CSF suppression, and blood suppression were compared.

Results

CUSTOM + STEP vessel wall delineation was comparable to full-sample IVW and better than SENSE IVW for vessel wall delineation on T1w VISTA and luminal contrast on SNAP. Average image quality and wall depiction were significantly improved using STEP reconstruction compared with zero-filled Fourier reconstruction, with no significant difference in CSF or blood suppression.

Conclusions

CUSTOM + STEP allowed multi-contrast 3D 0.5-mm isotropic IVW within 30 min. Although some quantitative and qualitative scores for CUSTOM − STEP were lower than fully sampled IVW, CUSTOM + STEP provided comparable vessel wall delineation as full-sample IVW and was superior to SENSE. CUSTOM + STEP IVW was well tolerated by patients and showed good delineation of ICAD plaque.

     

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.     

基于时频域的卷积神经网络运动想象脑电信号识别方法

针对目前运动想象脑电（EEG）信号识别率较低的问题，考虑到脑电信号蕴含着丰富的时频信息，提出一种基于时频域的卷积神经网络（CNN）运动想象脑电信号识别方法。首先，利用短时傅里叶变换（STFT）对脑电信号的相关频带进行预处理，并将多个电极的时频图组合构造出一种二维时频图；然后，针对二维时频图的时频特性，通过一维卷积的方法设计了一种新颖的CNN结构；最后，通过支持向量机（SVM）对CNN提取的特征进行分类。基于BCI数据集的实验结果表明，所提方法的平均识别率为86.5%，优于其他传统运动想象脑电信号识别方法；同时将该方法应用在智能轮椅上，验证了其有效性。     

Fabrication of hierarchical PANI@W-type barium hexaferrite composites for highly efficient microwave absorption

Hexagonal barium ferries is a promising and efficient microwave (MW) absorbing material, but the low dielectric loss and poor conductivity have limited their extensive applications. In this work, a simple tactic of coating conductive polymer PANI on hexaferrite BaCo₂Fe₁₆O₂₇ is presented, wherein the dielectric properties are customized, and more significantly, the electromagnetic loss is greatly enhanced. As displayed from structural characterizations, PANI were coated equably on the surface of hexaferrite grains by an in-situ polymerization process. The outcomes exhibit the as-prepared PANI@hexaferrite composite has remarkable electromagnetic wave absorption capacity. When the thickness is 6.0 mm, the minimal RL of ?40.4 dB was achieved at 2.9 GHz. The effective absorption bandwidth (RL < ?20 dB) of 0.65 GHz, 0.53 GHz, 0.65 GHz, 0.52 GHz, 0.46 GHz and 0.39 GHz was achieved separately when the thickness ranges from 4 to 9 mm. The highly efficient MW absorbing performance of PANI@hexaferrite composite were the consequence of multiple loss mechanisms and perfect impedance matching. It is demonstrated that the PANI@hexaferrite composite with excellent MW absorption performance is expected to be potential MW absorbers for extensive applications.     

Fabrication of direct Z-scheme FeIn2S4/Bi2WO6 hierarchical heterostructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity for tetracycline hydrochloride photodagradation

A series of direct Z-scheme FeIn₂S₄/Bi₂WO₆ hierarchical heterostructures with intimate interface contacts were synthesized by in-situ growth route and characterized by systematical analyses. All as-prepared FeIn₂S₄/Bi₂WO₆ nanocomposites showed significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity towards photodegradation for the removal of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) in comparison with individual FeIn₂S₄ and Bi₂WO₆. Meanwhile, the highest photocatalytic degradation activity can be achieved by modulating adding amount of FeIn₂S₄ in FeIn₂S₄/Bi₂WO₆ nanocomposites and the optimized component ratio of FeIn₂S₄ to Bi₂WO₆ is determined to be 10 wt%. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be ascribed to efficient separation between photogenerated holes and electrons based on the construction of direct Z-scheme system. The high photocatalytic stability of resultant 10 wt% FeIn₂S₄/Bi₂WO₆ nanocomposites was revealed through six successive recycling reactions. The main intermediate generated during TCH photodegradation was explored by HPLC-MS. Besides, the direct Z-scheme photocatalytic mechanism was confirmed by band position analysis, electron spin resonance (ESR) and active species capture experiment.     

Densification mechanism during reactive hot pressing of B4C-ZrO2 mixtures

The densification behaviors of pure B₄C and B₄C-ZrO₂ mixtures were compared during hot pressing. The results showed that in-situ formed ZrB₂ effectively enhanced the densification process of B₄C-ZrO₂ mixtures, more significantly during the intermediate stage. Within the relative density ranging from 0.75 to 0.90, the B₄C-15?wt%ZrO₂ mixture (B15Z) achieved the maximum densification rate as twice much as that of pure B₄C. The stress exponent n>3 indicated plastic deformation was the dominant densification mechanism of B15Z. The viscosities of plastic flow were evaluated using Murray-Rodger-William equation and the viscosity of B15Z was only a quarter of that in pure B₄C. The sintering activation energy was calculated to be 305.9?kJ/mol for pure B₄C and 197?kJ/mol for B15Z, respectively. It was proposed that the lower viscosity of plastic flow and activation energy accelerated the sliding and propagating motions of plastic flow, by which underlain the enhanced densification behaviors of B₄C-ZrO₂ mixtures.     

Stabilizing temperature-capacitance dependence of (Sr,Pb, Bi)TiO3-Bi4Ti3O12 solutions for energy storage

(1-x)Sr_0.7Pb_0.15Bi_0.1TiO₃-xBi₄Ti₃O₁₂ ((1-x)SPBT-xBIT, x = 0-0.125) bulk ceramics were developed and calcined via the solid-state method, aimed at the application of pulsed power capacitors. The phase structures, temperature stability, hysteresis loop, and discharge properties were systematically investigated. Considering both the temperature stability and dielectric properties, 0.925SPBT-0.075BIT bulk ceramics with a capacitance variation satisfying the X7R specification were developed for pulsed power capacitors. The energy storage density was 0.252 J/cm³, and the ceramics showed high temperature stability at 80 kV/cm. The discharge current waveforms of the 0.925SPBT-0.075BIT ceramics were recorded. A high discharge power density of approximately 1.01 × 10⁸ W/kg with an 8 Ω load resistor and short discharge period of 84 ns were achieved at 50 kV/cm. The good temperature stability properties and high power density show that the 0.925SPBT-0.075BIT ceramics are well suited for pulsed power capacitors with a wide temperature range.