A Facile Preparative Route of Nanoscale Perovskites over Mesoporous Metal Oxide Films and Their Applications to Photosensitizers and Light Emitters

By two‐step sequential Pb²⁺ adsorption and reaction with methylammonium‐iodide (MAI) or ‐bromide (MABr) at a low concentration level of 0.06–0.10 m over mesoporous TiO₂ or ZrO₂ film, a well‐defined nanoscale CH₃NH₃PbI₃ (MAPbI₃) photosensitizer or CH₃NH₃PbBr₃ (MAPbBr₃) light emitter could be prepared in situ, respectively in a reproducible and atom‐economical way. The as‐prepared nanoscale perovskites are compared with their thin film counterparts in terms of light absorption/emission, crystallinity, surface morphology, and energy‐conversion efficiency. The nanoscale perovskite‐decorated films display more transparency than the bulky film due to the much lower amount deposited, while blueshifted and overwhelmingly brighter photoluminescence is observed in the “nano” relative to the “bulk” due to quantum size confinement. Transmission electron microscopy images also clearly show that a few nanometer‐sized perovskite dots are deposited homogeneously over the surface of TiO₂‐ or ZrO₂‐particulate film in the course of the current preparative route. When the nano‐MAPbI₃ is tested as a photosensitizer in a solid‐state dye‐sensitized solar cell configuration with a very thin ( ≈ 650 nm) TiO₂ mesoporous film, it has a promising initial power conversion efficiency of 6.23%, which outperformed the result of 2.28% from a typical organic molecular dye coded as MK‐2.     

Characterizing multi‐hop localization for Internet of things

Deployments over large geographical areas in the Internet of Things (IoT) pose a major challenge for single‐hop localization techniques, giving rise to applications of multi‐hop localizations. And while many proposals have been made on implementations for multi‐hop localization, a close understanding of its characteristics is yet to be established. Such an understanding is necessary, and is inevitable in extending the reliability of location based services in IoT. In this paper, we study the characteristics of multi‐hop localization and propose a new solution to enhance the performance of multi‐hop localization techniques. We first examine popular assumptions made in simulating multi‐hop localization techniques, and offer rectifications facilitating more realistic simulation models. We identify the introduced errors to follow the Gaussian distribution, and the estimated distance follows the Rayleigh distribution. We next use our simulation model to characterize the effect of the number of hops on localization in both dense and sparse deployments. We find that, contrary to common belief, it is better to use long hops in sparse deployments, while short hops are better in dense deployments – despite the traffic overhead. Finally, we propose a new solution that decreases and manages the overhead generated during the localization process. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Single-stage three-phase boost power factor correction circuit for AC–DC converter

This article presents a single-stage three-phase power factor correction (PFC) circuit for AC-to-DC converter using a single-switch boost regulator, leading to improve the input power factor (PF), reducing the input current harmonics and decreasing the number of required active switches. A novel PFC control strategy which is characterised as a simple and low-cost control circuit was adopted, for achieving a good dynamic performance, unity input PF, and minimising the harmonic contents of the input current, at which it can be applied to low/medium power converters. A detailed analytical, simulation and experimental studies were therefore conducted. The effectiveness of the proposed controller algorithm is validated by the simulation results, which were carried out using MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. The proposed system is built and tested in the laboratory using DSP-DS1104 digital control board for an inductive load. The results revealed that the total harmonic distortion in the supply current was very low. Finally, a good agreement between simulation and experimental results was achieved.     

Fluorinated Polyimide as a Novel High‐Voltage Binder for High‐Capacity Cathode of Lithium‐Ion Batteries

An increase in the energy density of lithium‐ion batteries has long been a competitive advantage for advanced wireless devices and long‐driving electric vehicles. Li‐rich layered oxide, xLi₂MnO₃?(1?x)LiMn_1?y?zNi_yCo_zO₂, is a promising high‐capacity cathode material for high‐energy batteries, whose capacity increases by increasing charge voltage to above 4.6 V versus Li. Li‐rich layered oxide cathode however suffers from a rapid capacity fade during the high‐voltage cycling because of instable cathode–electrolyte interface, and the occurrence of metal dissolution, particle cracking, and structural degradation, particularly, at elevated temperatures. Herein, this study reports the development of fluorinated polyimide as a novel high‐voltage binder, which mitigates the cathode degradation problems through superior binding ability to conventional polyvinylidenefluoride binder and the formation of robust surface structure at the cathode. A full‐cell consisting of fluorinated polyimide binder‐assisted Li‐rich layered oxide cathode and conventional electrolyte without any electrolyte additive exhibits significantly improved capacity retention to 89% at the 100th cycle and discharge capacity to 223–198 mA h g^?1 even under the harsh condition of 55 °C and high charge voltage of 4.7 V, in contrast to a rapid performance fade of the cathode coated with polyvinylidenefluoride binder.     

Metal–Organic Framework Derived Narrow Bandgap Cobalt Carbide Sensitized Titanium Dioxide Nanocage for Superior Photo‐Electrochemical Water Oxidation Performance

Despite recent progress in photo‐electrochemical (PEC) water oxidation systems for TiO₂‐based photoanodes, PEC performance improvement is still seriously hampered due to poor carrier transport efficiency and sluggish surface water oxidation kinetics of pristine TiO₂. Herein, for the first time a brand new metal–organic framework (MOF)‐derived Co₃C nanosheet with narrow bandgap energy is demonstrated, to effectively sensitize TiO₂ hollow cages as a heterostructure photoanode for PEC water oxidation. It is found that MOF‐derived Co₃C nanosheet with narrow bandgap characteristic can simultaneously accelerate the surface water oxidation kinetics and extend the light harvesting range of pristine TiO₂. Meanwhile, a uniquely matched type‐II heterojunction constructed between MOF‐derived Co₃C and TiO₂ results in an evidently spontaneous e^?/h⁺ separation. MOF‐derived Co₃C/TiO₂ heterostructure photoanodes bring about drastically improved PEC water oxidation performance. Specifically, MOF‐derived Co₃C‐3/TiO₂ photoanode with an optimized content of Co₃C achieves the highest photocurrent density and charge separation efficiency of 2.6 mA cm^?2 and 92.6% at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, corresponding to 201% and 152% improvement compared with pristine TiO₂ nanocages. The ingeniously prepared MOF‐derived Co₃C carbide with narrow bandgap energy as a cocatalyst paves new way to construct potentially high performance solar‐energy conversion system.     

Anodized Aluminum Oxide/Polydimethylsiloxane Hybrid Mold for Roll‐to‐Roll Nanoimprinting

Two types (hard and soft) of the molds are widely used in nanoimprint lithography for a high throughput over a large area, and high‐resolution parallel patterning. Although hard molds have proven excellent resolutions and can be used at high temperatures, cracks often occur in the mold in addition to the requirement of high imprinting pressure. On the other hand, though soft molds can operate at lower pressures, they give poor pattern resolution. Here, a novel hybrid mold of anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) template attached to a flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) plate is introduced. Due to the flexible nature of PDMS, various polymer nanostructures are obtained on flat and curved substrates without crack formation on the AAO mold surface. Furthermore, the hybrid mold is successfully used for roll‐to‐roll imprinting for the fabrication of high density array of various shaped polymeric nanostructures over a large area.     

Polydopamine Encapsulation of Fluorescent Nanodiamonds for Biomedical Applications

Fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) are promising bioimaging probes compared with other fluorescent nanomaterials such as quantum dots, dye‐doped nanoparticles, and metallic nanoclusters, due to their remarkable optical properties and excellent biocompatibility. Nevertheless, they are prone to aggregation in physiological salt solutions, and modifying their surface to conjugate biologically active agents remains challenging. Here, inspired by the adhesive protein of marine mussels, encapsulation of FNDs within a polydopamine (PDA) shell is demonstrated. These PDA surfaces are readily modified via Michael addition or Schiff base reactions with molecules presenting thiol or nitrogen derivatives. Modification of PDA shells by thiol terminated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG‐SH) molecules to enhance colloidal stability and biocompatibility of FNDs is described. Their use as fluorescent probes for cell imaging is demonstrated; it is found that PEGylated FNDs are taken up by HeLa cells and mouse bone marrow‐derived dendritic cells and exhibit reduced nonspecific membrane adhesion. Furthermore, functionalization with biotin‐PEG‐SH is demonstrated and long‐term high‐resolution single‐molecule fluorescence based tracking measurements of FNDs tethered via streptavidin to individual biotinylated DNA molecules are performed. This robust polydopamine encapsulation and functionalization strategy presents a facile route to develop FNDs as multifunctional labels, drug delivery vehicles, and targeting agents for biomedical applications.     

计算机控制电气传动系统实验教学改革

数字控制技术在电气传动领域应用越来越广泛,为使学生掌握以计算机为核心的数字控制技术,培养计算机应用的能力,本文主要介绍了计算机引入直流调速教学实验系统的改革尝试。     

AN EFFICIENT NUMERICAL MODELING OF THE DC RESISTIVITY LOGGING: THEORY AND APPLICATIONS

The numerical solution of Green's function for the potential in 2-D arbitrary in-homogeneous media with axial symmetry has been given by use of efficient half-analytical, half-numerical hybrid method. Then the logging responses of various kinds of the DC resistivity log with axisymmetric excitation have been obtained by using surface integral equation method to match the boundary conditions on the electrodes of the logging sonde. Comparing the results with that obtained by other methods, one can see good precision and efficiency of the given method. Some applications of the numerical modeling have been also discussed.