Subsurface damage of single crystalline silicon carbide in nanoindentation tests

The response of single crystalline silicon carbide (SiC) to a Berkovich nanoindenter was investigated by examining the indents using a transmission electron microscope and the selected area electron diffraction technique. It was found that the depth of indentation-induced subsurface damage was far larger than the indentation depth, and the damaging mechanism of SiC was distinctly different from that of single crystalline silicon. For silicon, a broad amorphous region is formed underneath the indenter after unloading; for SiC, however, no amorphous phase was detected. Instead, a polycrystalline structure with a grain size of ten nanometer level was identified directly under the indenter tip. Micro cracks, basal plane dislocations and possible cross slips were also found around the indent. These finding provide useful information for ultraprecision manufacturing of SiC wafers.     

Effects of transverse rumble strips on safety of pedestrian crosswalks on rural roads in China

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the impacts of transverse rumble strips in reducing crashes and vehicle speeds at pedestrian crosswalks on rural roads in China. Using crash data reported at 366 sites, the research team conducted an observational before-after study using a comparison group and the Empirical Bayesian (EB) method to evaluate the effectiveness of transverse rumble strips in reducing crashes at pedestrian crosswalks. It was found that transverse rumble strips may reduce expected crash frequency at pedestrian crosswalks by 25%. The research team collected more than 15,000 speed observations at 12 sites. The speed data analysis results show that transverse rumble strips significantly reduce vehicle speeds in vicinity of pedestrian crosswalks on rural roads with posted speed limits of 60 km/h and 80 km/h. On average, the mean speed at pedestrian crosswalks declined 9.2 km/h on roads with a speed limit of 60 km/h; and 11.9 km/h on roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h. The 85th percentile speed declined 9.1 km/h on roads with a speed limit of 60 km/h; and 12.0 km/h on roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h. However, the speed reduction impacts were not found to be statistically significant for the pedestrian crosswalk on the road with a speed limit of 40 km/h. The study also looked extensively at the influence area of transverse rumble strips on rural roads. Speed profiles developed in this study show that the influence area of transverse rumble strips is generally less than 0.3 km.     

Recent Progress in GaN‐Based Light‐Emitting Diodes

In the last few years the GaN‐based white light‐emitting diode (LED) has been remarkable as a commercially available solid‐state light source. To increase the luminescence power, we studied GaN LED epitaxial materials. First, a special maskless V‐grooved c‐plane sapphire was fabricated, a GaN lateral epitaxial overgrowth method on this substrate was developed, and consequently GaN films are obtained with low dislocation densities and an increased light‐emitting efficiency (because of the enhanced reflection from the V‐grooved plane). Furthermore, anomalous tunneling‐assisted carrier transfer in an asymmetrically coupled InGaN/GaN quantum well structure was studied. A new quantum well structure using this effect is designed to enhance the luminescent efficiency of the LED to ～72%. Finally, a single‐chip phosphor‐free white LED is fabricated, a stable white light is emitted for currents from 20 to 60 mA, which makes the LED chip suitable for lighting applications.     

Integrated liquid crystal optical switch based on double teeth-shaped structure at telecom wavelengths

The characteristics of a double teeth-shaped plasmonic optical switch are analyzed. Based on the metal–insulator–metal waveguide consisting of double rectangular teeth, a nanoscale liquid crystal optical switch is proposed and numerically simulated by using the finite difference time domain method with a perfectly matched layer absorbing boundary condition. It is found that the double teeth-shaped structure filled with liquid crystal can realize the function of a switch. The modulation depth of the double teeth-shaped structure is larger than 50?dB.     

Synergistic effect of 2-oleyl-1-oleylamidoethyl imidazoline ammonium methylsulfate and halide ions on the inhibition of mild steel in HCl

The effect of 2-oleyl-1-oleylamidoethyl imidazoline ammonium methylsulfate (ODD) and halide ions on corrosion inhibition of mild steel in HCl solution has been studied by experimental and molecular dynamics simulation methods. Synergistic effects were observed between ODD and the halides, and the inhibition efficiency was found to follow the trend ODD–Cl⁻ < ODD–Br⁻ < ODD–I⁻. In molecular dynamics simulation, the analysis of fractional free volume and diffusion coefficient showed that the synergistic effect increased in the order ODD–Cl⁻ < ODD–Br⁻ < ODD–I⁻. The molecular dynamics simulation analysis agreed with the experimental results.     

Highly Anisotropic Sb2Se3 Nanosheets: Gentle Exfoliation from the Bulk Precursors Possessing 1D Crystal Structure

2D materials, particularly those bearing in‐plane anisotropic optical and electrical properties such as black phosphorus and ReS₂, have spurred great research interest very recently as promising building blocks for future electronics. However, current progress is limited to layered compounds that feature atomic arrangement asymmetry within the covalently bonded planes. Herein, a series of highly anisotropic nanosheets (Sb₂Se₃, Sb₂S₃, Bi₂S₃, and Sb₂(S, Se)₃), which are composed of 1D covalently linked ribbons stacked together via van der Waals force, is introduced as a new member to the anisotropic 2D material family. These unique anisotropic nanosheets are successfully fabricated from their polymer‐like bulk counterparts through a gentle water freezing‐thawing approach. Angle‐resolved polarized Raman spectroscopy characterization confirms the strong in‐plane asymmetry of Sb₂Se₃ nanosheets, and photodetection study reveals their high responsivity and anisotropic in‐plane transport. This work can enlighten the synthesis and application of new anisotropic 2D nanosheets that can be potentially applied for future electronic and optoelectronic devices.     

PA6／碳纳米管复合材料的复合方法的研究

ＣＶＤ法生产的碳纳米管经处理后呈纳米级分散，且表面产生大量的－ＯＨ官能团。碳纳米管与ＰＡ６（尼龙６）复合时，将通过其表面的－ＯＨ参加ＰＡ６的聚合反应，并阻碍ＰＡ６分子链的长大，削弱基体的强度。选择适当的复合方法，在尽量减少碳纳米管对ＰＡ６分子长大阻碍的基础上，改善碳纳米管在基体ＰＡ６中的分散，并进行后处理，可获得机能性能较好的ＰＡ６／碳纳米管复合材料。     

金属掺杂介孔氧化锆的合成与表征

采用直接合成法在非水溶剂中成功合成了分别由锌、镁等元素掺杂改性的介孔氧化锆分子筛,并用XRD、N2吸附-脱附、NH3-TPD等方法对其进行表征,还考察了影响合成的一些因素。结果表明,金属元素能够均匀地掺杂于介孔氧化锆的晶体骨架中。金属的掺入增加了介孔材料的热稳定性,但其骨架有所收缩,降低了有序度;络合剂三乙醇胺的加入增加了材料的热稳定性;模板剂P123的使用增加了介孔分子筛的有序度;金属的掺杂使得介孔分子筛制备的固体超强酸的酸位增多,酸度增强。     

Rapid,Controllable Fabrication of Regular Complex Microarchitectures by Capillary Assembly of Micropillars and Their Application in Selectively Trapping/Releasing Microparticles

A simple strategy to realize new controllable 3D microstructures and a novel method to reversibly trapping and releasing microparticles are reported. This technique controls the height, shape, width, and arrangement of pillar arrays and realizes a series of special microstructures from 2‐pillar‐cell to 12 cell arrays, S‐shape, chain‐shape and triangle 3‐cell arrays by a combined top down/bottom up method: laser interference lithography and capillary force‐induced assembly. Due to the inherent features of this method, the whole time is less than 3 min and the fabricated area determined by the size of the laser beam can reach as much as 1 cm², which shows this method is very simple, rapid, and high‐throughput. It is further demonstrated that the ‘mechanical hand’‐like 4‐cell arrays could be used to selectively trap/release microparticles with different sizes, e.g., 1.5, 2, or 3.5 μm, which are controlled by the period of the microstructures from 2.5 to 4 μm, and 6 μm. Finally, the ‘mechanical hand’‐like 4‐cell arrays are integrated into 100 μm‐width microfluidic channels prepared by ultraviolet photolithography, which shows that this technique is compatible with conventional microfabrication methods for on‐chip applications.