Simple synthesis of a porous Sb/Sb2O3 nanocomposite for a high-capacity anode material in Na-ion batteries

High-capacity anode materials are highly desirable for sodium ion batteries.Here,a porous Sb/Sb2O3 nanocomposite is successfully synthesized by the mild oxidization of Sb nanocrystals in air.In the composite,Sb contributes good conductivity and Sb2O3 improves cycling stability,particularly within the voltage window of 0.02-1.5 V.It remains at a reversible capacity of 540 mAh·g-1 after 180 cycles at 0.66 A·g-L Even at 10 A·g-1,the reversible capacity is still preserved at 412 mAh.g-1,equivalent to 71.6％ of that at 0.066 A.g-1.These results are much better than Sb nanocrystals with a similar size and structure.Expanding the voltage window to 0.02-2.5 V includes the conversion reaction between Sb2O3 and Sb into the discharge/charge profiles.This would induce a large volume change and high structure strain/stress,deteriorating the cycling stability.The identification of a proper voltage window for Sb/Sb2O3 paves the way for its development in sodium ion batteries.     

Synthesis of size-controlled CoMn2O4 quantum dots supported on carbon nanotubes for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction/evolution

A combined hot-injection and heat-up method was developed to synthesize monodisperse and uniform CoMn2O4 quantum dots (CMO QDs).CMO QDs with average size of 2.0,3.9,and 5.4 nm were selectively obtained at 80,90,and 105 ℃,respectively.The CMO QDs supported on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were employed as catalysts for the oxygen reduction/evolution reaction (ORR/OER) in alkaline solution to investigate their size-performance relationship.The results revealed that the amount of surface-adsorbed oxygen and the band gap energy,which affect the charge transfer in the oxygen electrocatalysis processes,strongly depend on the size of the CMO QDs.The CMO-3.9/CNT hybrid,consisting of CNT-supported CMO QDs of 3.9 nm size,possesses a moderate amount of surfaceadsorbed oxygen,a lower band gap energy,and a larger charge carrier concentration,and exhibits the highest electrocatalytic activity among the hybrid materials investigated.Moreover,the CMO-3.9/CNT hybrid displays ORR and OER performances similar to those of the benchmark Pt/C and RuO2 catalysts,respectively,due to the strong carbon-oxide interactions and the high dispersion of CoMn2O4 QDs on the carbon substrate;this reveals the huge potential of the CMO-3.9/CNT hybrid as a bifunctional OER/ORR electrocatalyst.The present results highlight the importance of controlling the size of metal oxide nanodots in the design of active oxygen electrocatalysts based on spinel-type,nonprecious metal oxides.     

Photocatalytic mechanism of high-activity anatase TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> with exposed (001) facets from molecular-atomic scale: HRTEM and Raman studies

Anatase TiO₂ with a variant percentage of exposed (001) facets was prepared under hydrothermal processes by adjusting the volume of HF, and the photocatalytic mechanism was studied from atomic-molecular scale by HRTEM and Raman spectroscopy. It was revealed that: 1) From HRTEM observations, the surface of original TiO₂ with exposed (001) facets was clean without impurity, and the crystal lattice was clear and completed; however, when mixed with methylene blue (MB) solution, there were many 1 nm molecular absorbed at the surface of TiO₂; after the photocatalytic experiment, MB molecules disappeared and the TiO₂ lattice image became fuzzy. 2) The broken path of the MB chemical bond was obtained by Raman spectroscopy, i.e., after the irradiation of the light, the vibrational mode of C-N-C disappeared due to the chemical bond breakage, and the groups containing C-N bond and carbon rings were gradually decomposed. Accordingly, we propose that the driving force for breaking the chemical bond and the disappearance of groups is from the surface lattice distortion of TiO₂ during photocatalyzation.     

Integration of geometric variation and part deformation into variation propagation of 3-D assemblies

This paper introduces a novel modelling method for variation propagation calculation of 3-D assemblies taking into account geometric variation and part deformation, which are neglected in most models in tolerance analysis. Initially, numerical studies are carried out in order to illustrate the characteristics of strain distribution in components and contact forces on the mating surfaces of a 3-D assembly. According to these characteristics, a linear equivalent model using springs to represent the elastic mating surfaces with geometric variation was presented. Then, the equilibrium criterions corresponding to actual contact situations and iterative searching algorithm of the equilibrium status of contacting were developed. The proposed modelling and calculation method were finally applied to the assembly of two machined parts, on which finite-element analyses and experimental tests were conducted to validate the effectiveness and accuracy. This linear contact model also shows an important advantage on modelling and calculating efficiency, which enable the practical application to variation propagation calculation in both tolerance design and assembly process.     

Modelling and Thermal Analysis of Tray‐layered Fruits inside Ventilated Packages during Forced‐air Precooling

Ventilated packaging is widely used in the forced‐air precooling practice for horticultural produce. Fresh fruits are living organisms which are sensitive to temperature in turn related to airflow and heat transfer inside package. In this study, a transient mathematical model considering heat of respiration and evaporation is developed to predict the thermal response of tray‐layered fruits in ventilated packages during forced‐air precooling. Specifically, the heat source is combined with the energy conservation equation and loaded into numerical solution by User Defined Function (UDF). Temperature profiles of three variously distributed circular and oblong vents in three different patterns (spaced, paralleled and crossed stacking) are simulated, separately. The results show that the heat source affects fruit cooling process, and the layered fruit in paralleled stacking pattern tends to be cooled better than others. Furthermore, the results indicate that vertical oblong vent could improve the longitudinal and lateral airflow, while non‐central vent design could greatly improve the overall cooling performance. Definitely a triangular distribution of three circular vents was superior to laterally distributed centre vents with 66.5% higher uniformity and 2.5°C lower of the highest temperature. Compared with the three identical vertical oblong vent conditions, vent design with one hand hole and two side vertical oblong vents can be cooled more uniformly with an increase of 6.5%. It is revealed that vents with large major‐to‐minor axis ratio could be applied to balance airflow and ease cooling differences for a rapid but uniform cooling. Experimental validations were performed for Sim2, Sim4 and Sim6, Sim8, Sim9, and good agreement was obtained considering the five vent conditions with the error less than 3.5°C but coordinated later (within the limits of the experimental uncertainty).Thus the numerical model can be used to predict and optimize temperature distribution within precooling packages. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nanostructured Materials for Room‐Temperature Gas Sensors

Sensor technology has an important effect on many aspects in our society, and has gained much progress, propelled by the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Current research efforts are directed toward developing high‐performance gas sensors with low operating temperature at low fabrication costs. A gas sensor working at room temperature is very appealing as it provides very low power consumption and does not require a heater for high‐temperature operation, and hence simplifies the fabrication of sensor devices and reduces the operating cost. Nanostructured materials are at the core of the development of any room‐temperature sensing platform. The most important advances with regard to fundamental research, sensing mechanisms, and application of nanostructured materials for room‐temperature conductometric sensor devices are reviewed here. Particular emphasis is given to the relation between the nanostructure and sensor properties in an attempt to address structure–property correlations. Finally, some future research perspectives and new challenges that the field of room‐temperature sensors will have to address are also discussed.