Effect of high hydrostatic pressure pretreatment on flavour and physicochemical properties of freeze-dried carambola slices

Ripe carambolas are hard to store and transport, while freeze-dried ones are easy to store. However, its long production time leads to higher costs. This study shows that high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment could shorten the freeze-drying time of carambola slices. After HHP treatment (25–250 MPa), the drying time of the fresh sample can be shortened by 33.3–44.4% and the distribution of water and pigment in tissues is much uniform. With the increment of the pressure, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical scavenging rate are increased. At 250 MPa, the total phenolic content (TPC) increased from 11.34 to 13.36 mg GAE g⁻¹, and the total flavonoid content (TFC) of the control sample was increased from 10.77 to 12.73 mg RE g⁻¹. Compared with the untreated sample, HHP treatment can enhance the flavour and shorten the freeze-drying time. This work guides the application of HHP technology for drying food processing.     

Removal of imidacloprid and acetamiprid from tea infusions by microfiltration membrane

Removal of imidacloprid and acetamiprid in tea infusions by microfiltration membrane using dead‐end model was investigated in the present study. The results showed that microfiltration significantly promoted the removal of both pesticides (P < 0.05) in tea infusions. Furthermore, the extent of removal was strongly influenced by the pore size of membrane, operational pressure and the concentrations of tea infusions. The initial concentration of imidacloprid and acetamiprid showed no significant effect on their removal rates. The maximum removal rates were 79.7% for imidacloprid and 81.9% acetamiprid. The changes in major chemical components of tea infusions after microfiltration were evaluated. The results indicated that microfiltration caused no considerable changes in total polyphenols and total free amino acids, and small but statistically significant losses (6.3–18.0%) of eight catechins and three methylxanthines when filtration volume reached to 200 mL. The present study validated the application of microfiltration as a potentially feasible and promising method for the removal of imidacloprid and acetamiprid residues from tea infusions.     

Cyclic thermal shock resistance of h-BN composite ceramics with La2O3–Al2O3–SiO2 addition

The effects of La₂O₃–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ addition on the thermal conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), Young's modulus and cyclic thermal shock resistance of hot-pressed h-BN composite ceramics were investigated. The samples were heated to 1000 °C and then quenched to room temperature with 1–50 cycles, and the residual flexural strength was used to evaluate cyclic thermal shock resistance. h-BN composite ceramics containing 10 vol% La₂O₃–Al₂O₃ and 20 vol% SiO₂ addition exhibited the highest flexural strength, thermal conductivity and relatively low CTE, which were beneficial to the excellent thermal shock resistance. In addition, the viscous amorphous phase of ternary La₂O₃–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ system could accommodate and relax thermal stress contributing to the high thermal shock resistance. Therefore, the residual flexural strength still maintained the value of 234.3 MPa (86.9% of initial strength) after 50 cycles of thermal shock.     

Enhanced relative permittivity in niobium and europium co-doped TiO2 ceramics

The appearance of colossal permittivity materials broadened the choice of materials for energy-storage applications. In this work, colossal permittivity in ceramics of TiO₂ co-doped with niobium and europium ions ((Eu_0.5Nb_0.5)_xTi_1-xO₂ ceramics) was reported. A large permittivity (ε_r ～ 2.01?×?10⁵) and a low dielectric loss (tanδ ～ 0.095) were observed for (Eu_0.5Nb_0.5)_xTi_1-xO₂ (x?=?1%) ceramics at 1?kHz. Moreover, two significant relaxations were observed in the temperature dependence of dielectric properties for (Eu, Nb) co-doped TiO₂ ceramics, which originated from defect dipoles and electron hopping, respectively. The low dielectric loss and high relative permittivity were ascribed to the electron-pinned defect-dipoles and electrons hopping. The (Eu_0.5Nb_0.5)_xTi_1-xO₂ ceramic with great colossal permittivity is one of the most promising candidates for high-energy density storage applications.     

Transparent niobate glass-ceramics for optical limiting

The construction of nonlinear optical materials featuring asymmetric transmission of light is of great technological importance for various applications, including optical switching and optical power limiting. A significant challenge is the scalable fabrication of material candidates with good photochemical stability, high optical transmittance, and excellent optical limiting performance. Here, we present a nanocrystallization avenue for constructing hybrid optical limiting materials that exhibit ultrafast and robust optical limiting performance. The experimental results show that the controllable relaxation of a niobate glass may lead to the clustering of Nb-O units and contracting of the bandgap. It results in the notable improvement in nonlinear optical properties, including the enhanced saturation irradiance (380 GW/cm²), doubly increased nonlinear coefficient, and decreased limiting threshold (200 GW/cm²). Our results suggest a promising material that exhibits promising applications for protecting eyes and sensitive components from laser-induced damage.     

Applications and Technologies of All-Solid State Blue Laser

1 Introduction Along with the matureness of laser diode (LD) manufacturing technology, the performance of LD has been improved greatly since 1980s, so various kinds of laser devices based on LD have been developed rapidly, especially the all-solid state lasers. After early experiments and researches, the all-solid state lasers have been commercialized successfully.     

高温预析出对Al-Zn-Mg系铝合金时效硬化和应力腐蚀的影响

研究了高温固溶后降温处理工艺对中强可使预析出LC52和7039铝合金的组织、时效硬化和应力腐蚀的影响。金相观察发现,高温预析出可优先在晶界处产生,并提高随后时效状态下晶界析出相的不连续分布程度,温度降低到一定程度晶内和晶界产生大量析出。合金拉伸性能和应力腐蚀结果表明,预析出在保持强度和塑性的同时,可提高抗应力腐蚀性能。而预析出温度降低,合金强度呈下降趋势。     

镍氢电池负极用低成本储氢合金的研究

研究了ABS型储氢合金在低Co含量条件下，随B组元替代元素Co，Al，Si等含量的变化对合金电化学性能的影响规律，同时研究了A组元中不同La／Ce比对合金电化学性能的影响情况。结果表明，随合金中Co含量的降低，合金的活化性能和放电容量得以改善，但合金的循环寿命下降也比较明显；在试验范围内，随Al元素的加入，合金的循环寿命得以改善，但材料的放电容量和活化性能均有所下降；随合金La／Ce比的降低，合金的放电容量略有下降，但其循环寿命和放电电压平台有较大提高。