Robust,low haze and graded porous anti-reflective glass by Tailoring the Nanostructures

Low haze and anti-reflective glass has high potential applications in automobile and optoelectronic fields. Etching is a novel and effective method to fabricate gradient refractive index anti-reflective layer on glass surface. However, the gradient layer on glass surface prepared by the etching method usually characterizes rough porous structure, and the structural defect results in high haze and low abrasion resistance to restrict its applications. In this paper, a hydrothermal etching method has been explored to prepare anti-reflective glass. It has demonstrated to be a new and facile method successfully to tailor the porous nanostructure of gradient refractive index layer and largely decrease the haze of the glass, by adding complex compound in the etching solution. Compared with the etching solution containing NaOH, adding the complex compound of C₆H₅Na₃O₇ in the etching solution has the advantage to overcome the defects. The grain diameter of the graded porous anti-reflective film decreases from ~63 nm to ~18 nm, the etched film thickness increases from 0.44 μm to 1.55 μm, the haze decreases drastically from 23.76% to 1.00%, the reflectivity decreases from 5.88% to 1.08% and the abrasion resistance greatly increases. However, when changing the complex compound from C₆H₅Na₃O₇ to Na₂HPO₄, the haze is 23.44% and has no effect on decreasing haze. Structural characterizations show that the grain size in the porous gradient layer can be easily tailored by changing the ion radius of complex anion in the etching solution, and the optical properties can be controlled. The paper provides new insights into the nanostructures and the preparation approach of anti-reflective glass.     

Co-N-C催化剂的制备及“一锅法”合成N-亚苄基苯胺

以甲酰胺为氮源和碳源,乙酸钴为钴源,采用预先缩合/高温焙烧两步法制备了一系列Co-N-C催化剂,利用XRD、TEM、N₂吸附-脱附以及XPS等表征了催化剂结构,考察了催化剂用于硝基苯与苯甲醇“一锅法”合成 N-亚苄基苯胺的催化性能及其稳定性。结果表明,焙烧温度和掺杂氮元素对Co-N-C催化剂性能影响显著,催化剂Co-N-C/800具有最好的催化性能,0.6 MPa氮气气氛下,温度140℃,反应12 h,硝基苯转化率达99%,N-亚苄基苯胺选择性达99%,催化剂重复使用5次,其活性无明显下降。     

Immunomodulatory Properties and Osteogenic Activity of Polyetheretherketone Coated with Titanate Nanonetwork Structures

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a potential substitute for conventional metallic biomedical implants owing to its superior mechanical and chemical properties, as well as biocompatibility. However, its inherent bio-inertness and poor osseointegration limit its use in clinical applications. Herein, thin titanium films were deposited on the PEEK substrate by plasma sputtering, and porous nanonetwork structures were incorporated on the PEEK surface by alkali treatment (PEEK-TNS). Changes in the physical and chemical characteristics of the PEEK surface were analyzed to establish the interactions with cell behaviors. The osteoimmunomodulatory properties were evaluated using macrophage cells and osteoblast lineage cells. The functionalized nanostructured surface of PEEK-TNS effectively promoted initial cell adhesion and proliferation, suppressed inflammatory responses, and induced macrophages to anti-inflammatory M2 polarization. Compared with PEEK, PEEK-TNS provided a more beneficial osteoimmune environment, including increased levels of osteogenic, angiogenic, and fibrogenic gene expression, and balanced osteoclast activities. Furthermore, the crosstalk between macrophages and osteoblast cells showed that PEEK-TNS could provide favorable osteoimmunodulatory environment for bone regeneration. PEEK-TNS exhibited high osteogenic activity, as indicated by alkaline phosphatase activity, osteogenic factor production, and the osteogenesis/osteoclastogenesis-related gene expression of osteoblasts. The study establishes that the fabrication of titanate nanonetwork structures on PEEK surfaces could extract an adequate immune response and favorable osteogenesis for functional bone regeneration. Furthermore, it indicates the potential of PEEK-TNS in implant applications.     

Preparation and characterization of core-shell battery materials for Li-ion batteries manufactured by substrate induced coagulation

In this work Substrate Induced Coagulation (SIC) was used to coat the cathode material LiCoO₂, commonly used in Li-ion batteries, with fine nano-sized particulate titania. Substrate Induced Coagulation is a self-assembled dip-coating process capable of coating different surfaces with fine particulate materials from liquid media. A SIC coating consists of thin and rinse-prove layers of solid particles. An advantage of this dip-coating method is that the method is easy and cheap and that the materials can be handled by standard lab equipment. Here, the SIC coating of titania on LiCoO₂ is followed by a solid-state reaction forming new inorganic layers and a core-shell material, while keeping the content of active battery material high. This titania based coating was designed to confine the reaction of extensively delithiated (charged) LiCoO₂ and the electrolyte. The core-shell materials were characterized by SEM, XPS, XRD and Rietveld analysis.     

Interior-architectured ZnO nanostructure for enhanced electrical conductivity via stepwise fabrication process

Fabrication of ZnO nanostructure via direct patterning based on sol-gel process has advantages of low-cost, vacuum-free, and rapid process and producibility on flexible or non-uniform substrates. Recently, it has been applied in light-emitting devices and advanced nanopatterning. However, application as an electrically conducting layer processed at low temperature has been limited by its high resistivity due to interior structure. In this paper, we report interior-architecturing of sol-gel-based ZnO nanostructure for the enhanced electrical conductivity. Stepwise fabrication process combining the nanoimprint lithography (NIL) process with an additional growth process was newly applied. Changes in morphology, interior structure, and electrical characteristics of the fabricated ZnO nanolines were analyzed. It was shown that filling structural voids in ZnO nanolines with nanocrystalline ZnO contributed to reducing electrical resistivity. Both rigid and flexible substrates were adopted for the device implementation, and the robustness of ZnO nanostructure on flexible substrate was verified. Interior-architecturing of ZnO nanostructure lends itself well to the tunability of morphological, electrical, and optical characteristics of nanopatterned inorganic materials with the large-area, low-cost, and low-temperature producibility.     

纳米b-Ni(OH)2的制备及其储锂性能

以Ni(NO₃)₂·6H₂O和NaOH为原料采用化学沉淀法制备了Ni(OH)₂电极材料。采用X射线衍射(XRD)和场发射扫描电子显微镜(FESEM)表征了样品的微观结构,结果表明该样品是具有片状纳米次级结构的β-Ni(OH)₂。采用循环伏安(CV)和电化学充放电测试研究了该β-Ni(OH)₂样品的储锂性能,结果发现该样品作为锂离子电池负极材料具有非常高的储锂活性,在50 mA·g^-1电流密度下其第3次循环放电比容量高于1550 mA·h·g^-1;样品电极中的碳含量对其循环性能和倍率性都有显著影响,通过交流阻抗(EIS)测试分析了样品电极中碳含量的作用机理。     

锰氧化物材料的制备及应用进展

锰作为一种常见的变价金属,其在催化反应中能够起到很好的催化作用。而且锰的氧化物作为最常用的过渡金属氧化物之一,因其较易调控出较大的比表面积、较强的吸附性能、较好的氧化还原能力以及较好的低温催化活性,已经成为了环境治理以及能源领域中的研究热点。介绍了MnO_x催化剂材料的合成、性质,以及在CO催化氧化、挥发性有机污染物的催化氧化、气体的吸附与分离以及电池的电极材料等应用方面一些最新的研究进展。     

Carbon induced phase transformation in electrospun TiO2/multiwall carbon nanotube nanofibers

Nanofibers of titania and composite nanofibers of titania and multiwall carbon nanotubes were synthesized by electrospinning using a sol-gel process combined with activated carbon nanotubes. The relationships of treatment temperature, carbon nanotube content on the crystal phase, fiber morphology, and electric properties are reported. It is found that the rutile phase becomes more prominent at low heat treatment temperatures with an increase of carbon content in nanofibers, be it for higher amount of carbon due to reducing atmosphere or due to an increase in MWCNT. Atmospheric control and lower heat treatment temperatures enable crystalline nanocomposite fibers of anatase where the level of rutile is below the detection limit of XRD or Raman spectroscopy. This work provides a new path to fabricate electrospun TiO₂/MWCNT nanocomposite nanofibers with limited C-induced rutile phase.     

Preparation of hierarchical WO3 dendrites and their applications in NO2 sensing

Hierarchical WO₃ dendrites were synthesized via low-cost and environmental-friendly solvothermal strategy. Characterization results indicated that WO₃ dendrites were composed of several multi-directional dendritic nanosheets. To further understand the formation of WO₃ dendrites, time-dependent experiments were carried out and formation mechanism was investigated. Since such dendritic structures rarely occurred in the field of gas sensing, the synthesized WO₃ dendrites were subjected to detailed NO₂ sensing tests. Results demonstrated that WO₃ dendrites based sensors had low detection limit (200 ppb) and fast response and recovery (7 s, 12 s to 5 ppm NO₂). Moreover, the sensor was also highly sensitive, selective and stable at low optimal operating temperature of 140 °C.     

Photoluminescence properties of porous silicon layers prepared by electrochemical etching in extremely dilute HF solutions

Dilute HF solutions with concentrations down to 0.03% have been used to obtain luminescent porous silicon (PSi) layers on p-type Si wafers. The experimental results show that with a constant etching time of 30 min, PSi layers with sufficient luminescence efficiencies can be formed for HF concentrations as low as 0.1%. Because of a significantly lowered critical current density, only very low etching current densities of  ≤0.1 mA cm⁻² can result in the formation of luminescent PSi samples in 0.1% HF solutions. A notable result is that these low etching current densities cannot be used to form luminescent PSi layers in concentrated ( ≥1%) HF solutions. The behavior of PL intensity as a function of etching current density has been analyzed over a wide range of HF concentration. The PL intensity is determined by the ratio of the etching current density to the critical current density, suggesting that the presence of silicon oxides plays an important role in the formation of luminescent Si nanostructures in PSi layers.