Revamping SiO2 Spheres by Core–Shell Porosity Endowment to Construct a Mazelike Nanoreactor for Enhanced Catalysis in CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol

Beyond the catalytic activity of nanocatalysts, the support with architectural design and explicit boundary could also promote the overall performance through improving the diffusion process, highlighting additional support for the morphology-dependent activity. To delineate this, herein, a novel mazelike-reactor framework, namely multi-voids mesoporous silica sphere (MVmSiO₂), is carved through a top-down approach by endowing core-shell porosity premade Stöber SiO₂ spheres. The precisely-engineered MVmSiO₂ with peripheral one-dimensional pores in the shell and interconnecting compartmented voids in the core region is simulated to prove combined hierarchical and structural superiority over its analogous counterparts. Supported with CuZn-based alloys, mazelike MVmSiO₂ nanoreactor experimentally demonstrated its expected workability in model gas-phase CO₂ hydrogenation reaction where enhanced CO₂ activity, good methanol yield, and more importantly, a prolonged stable performance are realized. While tuning the nanoreactor composition besides morphology optimization could further increase the catalytic performance, it is accentuated that the morphological architecture of support further boosts the reaction performance apart from comprehensive compositional optimization. In addition to the found morphological restraints and size-confinement effects imposed by MVmSiO₂, active sites of catalysts are also investigated by exploring the size difference of the confined CuZn alloy nanoparticles in CO₂ hydrogenation employing both in-situ experimental characterizations and density functional theory calculations.     

Efficient Excitation of Hybrid Modes in a THz Clinotron

Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves - Various regimes of hybrid, bulk-surface, modes being excited in the clinotron oscillator with a sheet electron beam and nonuniform grating...     

Flash Lamps as Ignition and Initiation Sources of the VS-2 Pyrotechnic Composition

In the present work it is found that the pyrotechnic composition VS-2 can be initiated with flash lamps IFC-500 and EVIS. VS-2 pyrotechnic composition contains 90% of mercury（Ⅱ） 5-hydrazinotetrazolate perchlorate and 10% of optically transparent copolymer of 2-methyl-5-vinyltetrazole and methacrylic acid （PVMT）. We have found that the flash lamps make it possible to initiate combustion of VS-2 composition with its transition to detonation both in cylindrical charges placed in brass caps of 5 mm diameter and 2 mm high， and film charges with 10 mm×80 mm in size and surface weights of 60 mg·cm^-2 and 90 mg·cm^-2， showing ignition delay times 10 μs and 3 μs， respectively. We also measured detonation velocities for VS-2 composition film charges， which were 4375-4505 m·s^-1 （of the charge being surface mass 60 mg·cm^-2） and 4221-4281 m·s^-1 （of the charge being surface mass 90 mg·cm^-2） and their blasting action on the aluminum plate. The depths of the normal shock wave imprints at the charge-barrier interface were 0.6-0.7 mm （for surface mass of the film charges 60 mg·cm^-2） and 1.2-1.3 mm （for surface mass of the film charges 90 mg·cm^-2）.     

Integrated micro- and miniscale electromechanical systems with permanent-magnet servo-motors and VLSI drivers–controllers

The current trends in development and deployment of advanced micro- and miniscale electromechanical systems (MEMS) have facilitated the unified fundamental, applied, and experimental research activities in the analysis and design of state-of-the-art motion devices (rotational and translational electromechanical motion devices), integrated circuits (ICs), and controllers. The objectives of this paper are to design, develop, and compare different control algorithms for high-performance MEMS with permanent-magnet rotational servo-motors controlled by ICs (VLSI driver–controller is fabricated using CMOS technology). The problems to be solved are very challenging because a number of long-standing issues in design, hardware integration, control, nonlinear analysis, and robustness have to be solved. The major emphases of this paper are the analysis and design of robust servo-systems, as well as the comparison of the dynamic performance of closed-loop MEMS with different control algorithms. We synthesize, verify, and test proportional–integral, integral with state feedback extension, relay, and sliding mode controllers. It is illustrated that the sliding mode control laws drive the states and tracking error to the switching surface and maintain (keep) the states and tracking error within this nonlinear switching surface in spite of different references, disturbances, parameter variations, and uncertainties. That is, robust tracking, desired accuracy, and disturbance attenuation are achieved. We report the experimental setup which was built to perform the advanced studies of high-performance MEMS. The testbed was built to integrate permanent-magnet microscale servo-motor and ICs (driver–controller).     

Network analysis of the modes of two-dimensionalgrating-surface-emitting diode laser arrays

The modes and threshold gain characteristics of two-dimensional grating-surface-emitting diode laser arrays that are evanescently coupled in the lateral direction and mutually injection coupled in the longitudinal direction are analyzed. The ratio of the grating transmissivity to reflectivity is found to be a critical parameter in obtaining uniform power distribution inside the array. Good qualitative agreement between the theory and experimentally measured near-field patterns and threshold currents is obtained     

Composition, structure, and mobility of water-acetonitrile mixtures in a silica nanopore studied by molecular dynamics simulations

To investigate the effect of the nanoscale confinement on the properties of a binary aqueous-organic solvent mixture, we performed molecular dynamics simulations of the equilibration of water-acetonitrile (W/ACN) mixtures between a cylindrical silica pore of 3 nm diameter and two bulk reservoirs. Water is enriched, and acetonitrile is depleted inside the pore with respect to the bulk reservoirs: for nominal molar (~volumetric) ratios of 1/3 (10/90), 1/1 (25/75), and 3/1 (50/50), the molar W/ACN ratio in the pore equilibrates to 1.5, 3.2, and 7.0. Thus, the relative accumulation of water in the pore increases with decreasing water fraction in the nominal solvent composition. The pore exhibits local as well as average solvent compositions, structural features, and diffusive mobilities that differ decidedly from the bulk. Water molecules form hydrogen bonds with the hydrophilic silica surface, resulting in a 0.45 nm thick interfacial layer, where solvent density, coordination, and orientation are independent of the nominal W/ACN ratio and the diffusive mobility goes toward zero. Our data suggest that solute transport along and across the nanopore, from the inner volume to the interfacial water layer and the potential adsorption sites at the silica surface, will be substantially different from transport in the bulk.     

Multilayer PZT 95/5 Antiferroelectric Film Energy Storage Devices with Giant Power Density

A new type of energy storage devices utilizing multilayer Pb(Zr_0.95Ti_0.05)_0.98Nb_0.02O₃ films is studied experimentally and numerically. To release the stored energy, the multilayer ferroelectric structures are subjected to adiabatic compression perpendicular to the polarization direction. Obtained results indicate that electrical interference between layers (10–120 layers) during stress wave transit through the structures has an effect on the generated current waveforms, but no impact on the released electric charge. The multilayer films undergo a pressure‐induced phase transition to antiferroelectric phase at 1.7 GPa adiabatic compression and become completely depolarized, releasing surface screening charge with density equal to their remnant polarization. An energy density of 3 J cm^?3 is successfully achieved with giant power density on the order of 2 MW cm^?3, which is four orders of magnitude higher than that of any other type of energy storage device. The outputs of multilayer structures can be precisely controlled by the parameters of the ferroelectric layer and the number of layers. Multilayer film modules with a volume of 0.7 cm³ are capable of producing 2.4 kA current, not achievable in electrochemical capacitors or batteries, which will greatly enhance the miniaturization and integration requirements for emerging high‐power applications.     

Three-dimensional core-shell hybrid solar cells via controlled in situ materials engineering

Three-dimensional core-shell organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells with tunable properties are demonstrated via electropolymerization. Air-stable poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) shells with controlled thicknesses are rapidly coated onto periodic GaAs nanopillar arrays conformally, preserving the vertical 3D structure. The properties of the organic layer can be readily tuned in situ, allowing for (1) the lowering of the highest occupied molecular orbital level (|ΔE| ～ 0.28 eV), leading to the increase of open-circuit voltage (V(OC)), and (2) an improvement in PEDOT conductivity that results in enhanced short-circuit current densities (J(SC)). The incorporation of various anionic dopants in the polymer during the coating process also enables the tailoring of the polymer/semiconductor interface transport properties. Systematic tuning of the device properties results in a J(SC) of 13.6 mA cm(-2), V(OC) of 0.63 V, peak external quantum efficiency of 58.5%, leading to a power conversion efficiencies of 4.11%.