Stabilization of 6H-Hexagonal SrMnO3 Polymorph by Al2O3 insertion

We demonstrate the structural evolution of polymorphic phases in Al₂O₃-inserted SrMnO₃ ceramics synthesized by solid state reaction. While the 4H-hexagonal phase is predominant in pure SrMnO₃ ceramics, a small amount of 6H-hexagonal polymorph is identified in addition to the primary 4H-hexagonal SrMnO₃ and the secondary hexagonal SrAl₂O₄ phases in the as-sintered ceramics, evidenced by x-ray diffraction and subsequent Rietveld refinement analyses. The existence of the 6H-hexagonal SrMnO₃ phase is corroborated using Raman spectroscopy. The chemical compositions and electronic structures of the Al₂O₃-inserted SrMnO₃ compounds are also examined using energy dispersive spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The first-principles calculations reveal that there is no clear difference between the total energies of 4H- and 6H-hexagonal polymorphs regardless of the presence/absence of Sr and oxygen vacancies. Possible origins are discussed with the estimation of actual strain based on the refined lattice parameter of 6H SrMnO₃.     

Super-Resolution Reconstruction of Images Based on Microarray Camera

In the field of images and imaging, super-resolution (SR) reconstruction of images is a technique that converts one or more low-resolution (LR) images into a highresolution (HR) image. The classical two types of SR methods are mainly based on applying a single image or multiple images captured by a single camera. Microarray camera has the characteristics of small size, multi views, and the possibility of applying to portable devices. It has become a research hotspot in image processing. In this paper, we propose a SR reconstruction of images based on a microarray camera for sharpening and registration processing of array images. The array images are interpolated to obtain a HR image initially followed by a convolution neural network (CNN) procedure for enhancement. The convolution layers of our convolution neural network are 3×3 or 1×1 layers, of which the 1×1 layers are used to improve the network performance particularly. A bottleneck structure is applied to reduce the parameter numbers of the nonlinear mapping and to improve the nonlinear capability of the whole network. Finally, we use a 3×3 deconvolution layer to significantly reduce the number of parameters compared to the deconvolution layer of FSRCNN-s. The experiments show that the proposed method can not only ameliorate effectively the texture quality of the target image based on the array images information, but also further enhance the quality of the initial high resolution image by the improved CNN.     

Compressive strength and wear properties of SiC/Al6061 composites reinforced with high contents of SiC fabricated by pressure-assisted infiltration

Pressure-assisted infiltration was used to synthesize SiC/Al 6061 composites containing high weight percentages of SiC. A combination of PEG and glass water was used to fabricate SiC preforms and the effect of the presence of glass water on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the preforms was evaluated by performing compression tests on the preforms. Also, the compressive strength and the hardness of the SiC/Al composites were investigated. The results revealed that the glass water improved the compressive strength of the preforms by about five times. The microstructural characterization of the composites showed that the penetration of the aluminum melt into the preforms was completed and almost no porosity could be seen in the microstructures of the composites. Moreover, the composite containing 75 wt% SiC exhibited the highest compressive strength as well as the maximum hardness. The results of the wear tests showed that increasing the SiC content reduces the wear rate so that the Al-75 wt% SiC composite has a lower wear rate and a lower coefficient of friction than those of Al-67 wt% SiC composite. This indicated higher wear resistance in these composites than the Al alloy due to the formation of a tribological layer on the surface of the composites.     

Different hydrothermal corrosion results between two sides of sodalime float glass and the possible corrosion mechanism

Sodalime float (SF) glass is widely used in our societies and industries. Hydrothermal corrosion method is one of the effective ways to prepare a superhydrophobic glass, but there is still lack of knowledge about hydrothermal corrosion behavior and mechanism of SF glass. We have hydrothermally treated SF glass at 180 °C for different time, and tried to reveal the aqueous corrosion process of SF glass. We have characterized the morphologies and chemical compositions of samples, and found that (1) the two sides of SF glass have different corrosion resistances, and (2) a multilayer structural coating with a nanoflake layer (Mg-rich gel layer), a nanowire layer (Ca-rich gel layer), and a porous layer (etched layer) is formed on the air-side of SF glass. Based on the experimental results, we have proposed an aqueous corrosion mechanism of SF glass. The insights of the hydrothermal corrosion behaviors and mechanism provide helpful guidelines to glass surface structural control and functionalization.     

Correction to: Cloud-based vehicular networks: a taxonomy,survey, and conceptual hybrid architecture

Wireless Networks - The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in the title. The correct title has been published with this erratum.     

A fog-based security framework for intelligent traffic light control system

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The world is facing many problems including that of traffic congestion. To highlight the issue of traffic congestion worldwide specially in urban areas and to...     

Decorative near-infrared transmission filters featuring high-efficiency and angular-insensitivity employing 1D photonic crystals

We present a new scheme for visibly-opaque but near-infrared-transmitting filters involving 7 layers based on one-dimensional ternary photonic crystals, with capabilities in reaching nearly 100% transmission efficiency in the near-infrared region. Different decorative reflection colors can be created by adding additional three layers while maintaining the near-infrared transmission performance. In addition, our proposed structural colors show great angular insensitivity up to ±60° for both transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations, which are highly desired in various fields. The facile strategy described here involves a simple deposition method for the fabrication, thereby having great potential in diverse applications such as image sensors, anti-counterfeit tag, and optical measurement systems.

     

CdSnO3/SnD NPs as a Nanocatalyst for Carbonylation of o-Phenylenediamine with CO2

Catalysis Letters - In order to carbonize o-phenylenediamine with CO2, an effective approach was used with UV light irradiation by Sn(IV) doping DFNS (SnD) supported CdSnO3 as a catalyst...