Catalytic combustion synthesis of CNTs/MgO composite powders and the influences on the thermal shock resistance of low-carbon Al2O3–C refractories

Using MgC₂O₄, Mg powders as raw materials and Ni(NO₃)₂?6H₂O as a catalyst, CNTs/MgO composite powders were prepared by a catalytic combustion synthesis method. The CNTs/MgO composite powders were characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, FESEM/EDS and HRTEM. The effects of catalyst content on the degree of graphitization and aspect ratio of the CNTs in composite powders were investigated. Moreover, the thermal shock resistance of low-carbon Al₂O₃–C refractories after adding the composite powder was investigated. The results indicated that the CNTs prepared with 1 wt% Ni(NO₃)₂?6H₂O addition had a higher degree of graphitization and aspect ratio. In particular, the aspect ratio could reach approximately 200. The growth mechanism of hollow bamboo-like CNTs in the composite powders was proven to be a V-L-S mechanism. The thermal shock resistance of Al₂O₃–C samples could be improved significantly after adding CNTs/MgO composite powders. In particular, compared with CM0, the residual strength ratio of Al₂O₃–C samples with added 2.5 wt% composite powders could be increased 63.9%.     

The phosphorescence emission in undoped lead-halide Cs4PbBr6 single crystals at low temperature

Recently, all-inorganic cesium lead-halide perovskites have shown their promise for light emission applications, due to the excellent optical performance. Herein, we report that the initially nonphosphorescent undoped lead-halide Cs₄PbBr₆ single crystals (SCs) exhibit an ultralong phosphorescence emission under X-ray excitation at low temperatures. It is shown that the dramatic change has been taken place in radioluminescence spectra and the broad-band emission gradually appeared with the decrease of temperature. Below 210 K, the radioluminescence spectra can be deconvoluted into one narrow peak located at 530 nm and two broad peaks centered at 595 nm and 672 nm respectively. Subsequently, the time-dependent radioluminescence spectra in undoped lead-halide Cs₄PbBr₆ SCs were investigated. The ultralong phosphorescence emission can persist over 120 min at 70 K. We consider that ultralong phosphorescence originates from defect-related emission. To the best of our knowledge, our finding is the first time that undoped Cs₄PbBr₆ SCs exhibit the phosphorescence emission, which will offer a paradigm to motivate revolutionary applications on perovskite.     

Preparation of Pt/Ce–Zr–Y mixed oxide/anodized aluminium oxide catalysts for hydrogen passive autocatalytic recombination

The use of a Pt-based catalyst was evaluated for autocatalytic hydrogen recombination. The Pt was supported on a mixture of Ce-, Zr- and Y-oxides (CZY) to yield nanosized Pt particles. The Pt/CZY/AAO catalyst was then prepared by the spray-deposition of the Pt/CZY intermediate onto an anodized aluminium oxide (AAO) layer on a metallic aluminum core. The Pt/CZY/AAO catalyst (3 × 1 cm) was evaluated for hydrogen combustion (1–8 vol% hydrogen in the air) in a recombiner section testing station. The thermal distribution throughout the catalyst surface was investigated using an infrared camera. The maximum temperature gradient (ΔT) for the examined hydrogen concentrations did not exceed 36 °C. The Pt/CZY/AAO catalyst was also evaluated for prolonged hydrogen combustion duration to assess its durability. An average combustion temperature of 239.0 ± 10.0 °C was maintained for 53 days of catalytic hydrogen combustion, suggesting that there was limited, or no, catalyst deactivation. Finally, a Pt/CZY/AAO catalytic plate (14.0 × 4.5 cm) was prepared to investigate the thermal distribution. An average surface temperature of 212.5 °C and a maximum ΔT of 5.4 °C was obtained throughout the catalyst surface at a 3 vol% hydrogen concentration.     

The influence of FeNi nanoparticles on the microstructures and soft magnetic properties of FeSi soft magnetic composites

In this work, a new type of FeSi/FeNi soft magnetic powder core (SMPC) was successfully fabricated by coating FeNi nanoparticles on the surface of FeSi micrometer powder. The effects of different contents of FeNi nanoparticles on the micromorphology, internal structures, and soft magnetic properties of SMPCs were studied. The results show that FeNi nanoparticles adhere to the surface of FeSi powder, which can effectively fill the air gap between FeSi powder and is beneficial to the compaction of the powder cores during the pressing process. Thus, the density of the SMPCs is increased. Compared to FeSi SMPCs, the comprehensive soft magnetic properties of FeSi/FeNi SMPCs have been greatly improved. When adding 15 wt% FeNi nanoparticles, the SMPCs exhibit excellent magnetic properties with high effective permeability (increased by 43.8 %) and low core loss (decreased by 22.1 %). The high performance FeSi/FeNi SMPCs prepared in this work are expected to be widely used in power choke coils, uninterruptible power supplies, and boosts and inverter inductors.     

Identifying catalyst layer compositions of proton exchange membrane fuel cells through machine-learning-based approach

Membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is considered a key component of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). However, developing a new MEA to meet desired properties, such as operation under low-humidity conditions without a humidifier, is a time- and cost-consuming process. This study employs a machine-learning-based approach using K-nearest neighbor (KNN) and neural networks (NN) in the MEA development process by identifying a suitable catalyst layer (CL) recipe in MEA. Minimum redundancy maximum relevance and principal component analysis were implemented to specify the most important predictor and reduce the data dimension. The number of predictors was found to play an essential role in the accuracy of the KNN and NN models although the predictors have self-correlations. The KNN model with a K of 7 was found to minimize the model loss with a loss of 11.9%. The NN model constructed by three corresponding hidden layers with nine, eight, and nine nodes can achieve the lowest error of 0.1293 for the Pt catalyst and 0.031 for PVA as a good additive blending in the CL of the MEA. However, even if the error is low, the prediction of PVA seems to be inaccurate, regardless of the model structure. Therefore, the KNN model is more appropriate for CL recipe prediction.     

Effect of heat loss on the syngas production by fuel-rich combustion in a divergent two-layer burner

The effect of heat loss on the syngas production from partial combustion of fuel-rich in a divergent two-layer burner is numerically studied using two-dimensional model with detailed kinetics GRI-Mech 1.2. Both the radiation and wall heat losses to the surrounding are considered in the computations. It is shown that two types heat losses have different effects on the syngas production. The radiation heat loss has significant effect on the syngas temperature and the syngas temperature is dropped as radiation heat loss is increased, but it has neglected effect on the reforming efficiency and methane conversion efficiency. The wall heat loss has a comprehensive effect on the syngas production. The wall heat loss not only reduces the conversion efficiency, but also significantly decreases the syngas temperature. The effect of wall heat loss becomes weak as the equivalence is increased. The reforming efficiency drops from 0.440 to 0.424 for equivalence ratio of 2 and mixture velocity of 0.17 m/s for the predictions between adiabatic wall and non-adiabatic conditions.     

低分子量聚丙烯酸钾的合成及其应用

采用水溶液聚合法制备了低分子量聚丙烯酸钾（PAAK），并作为新型消焰剂加入单基发射药中。通过火焰原子吸收光谱法测试了PAAK中钾的含量；用乌氏黏度计测定了特性黏度；采用DSC法研究不同pH值的PAAK与硝化棉（NC）的相容性；利用充氮氧弹法对添加PAAK、硝酸钾KNO₃、硫酸钾K₂SO₄的单基发射药的燃烧残渣进行了对比研究。结果表明，合成的PAAK中，钾的质量分数为15.21%，相对分子量在3 000左右，有利于和NC均匀混合，且在中性或微碱性（pH＝7.0~7.5）的情况与NC相容性良好。与传统的KNO₃、K₂SO₄消焰剂相比，PAAK能够和NC均匀混合，制备均质透明的单基发射药；PAAK发射药的燃烧残渣最少，占发射药质量的0.18%。     

Mg0.5NixZn0.5-xFe2O4 spinel as a sustainable magnetic nano-photocatalyst with dopant driven band shifting and reduced recombination for visible and solar degradation of Reactive Blue-19

Focussing on visible light active ferrites for high performance removal of noxious pollutants, we report the synthesis of Mg_0.5Ni_xZn_0.5-xFe₂O₄ (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, & 0.5) ferrite nanoparticle for degradation of reactive blue-19 (RB-19). Lattice parameters calculated using intense X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks and Nelson-Riley plots (N-R plot) are in well agreement with each other. The sample Mg_0.5Ni_0.4Zn_0.1Fe₂O₄ (M5N4) exhibits best performance with 99.5% RB-19 degradation in 90 min under visible light. Photoluminescence (PL) results confirm that recombination of charge carriers is highly reduced in the photocatalyst. Scavenging experiments suggest that O₂⁻ radicals were the dominant species responsible for photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic mechanism was explained in terms of dopant driven shifting of conduction bands and valence bands (calculated by Mott-Schottky plots). The thermodynamic probability of radical generation along with role of redox cycles of metal ions has been discussed in the mechanism. The dye degradation was ascertained by detection of intermediates via mass spectrometry analysis and a possible degradation route was also predicted. The findings in this work provide intriguing opportunities to modify the electronic band structure of spinel ferrites for visible and solar light photocatalytic activity for environmental detoxification.     

一种北斗联合低轨星座的导航增强方法研究

单纯依靠北斗导航系统提供定位导航授时服务,存在卫星信号落地功率低、易受遮蔽和阻断的不足。针对此问题,研究了一种北斗联合低轨星座实现导航增强的系统架构;提出了一种新的适应严重遮蔽或干扰条件下,基于到达时间(TOA)和到达频率(FOA)联合观测的定位解算算法;对高中低轨混合星座条件下的覆盖特性和精度衰减因子进行了仿真分析。分析结果表明,用户可见星数平均增加了64.2%,位置精度衰减因子(PDOP)平均改善了28.7%。研究结果可为下一代北斗的论证设计与研制建设提供参考借鉴。     

Slow strain rate technique for studying hydrogen induced cracking in 34CrMo4 high strength steel

Alloy hardened steels offer excellent combination of mechanical properties, hardenability and corrosion resistance. 34CrMo4 is a medium carbon, low alloy steel widely used due to a good combination of high-strength, toughness and wear resistance. However, this steel experiences hydrogen embrittlement (HE), a complex phenomenon depending on the composition and microstructure. This work estimates de loss of the mechanical properties caused by hydrogen in electrochemically H-charged specimens in absence of mechanical stress but also, at low strain rate and constant load. H-charging for 2 and 6 h induce YS losses of about 40% and 71% and UTS losses of 39% and 59%, respectively. The synergistic effect of the stress and the H-charging process leads to a higher loss, 91%, and a faster brittle fracture even though hydrogen content is similar to those firstly H-charged and then tested in air.