Thermal Stability of High Power 26650-Type Cylindrical Na-Ion Batteries

As a new electrochemical power system,safety(especially thermal safety) of Na-ion batteries(NIBs) is the key towards large-scale industrialization and market application.Thus,research on the thermal stability of NIBs is helpful to evaluate the safety properties and to provide effective strategies to prevent the occurrence of battery safety failure.Thermal stability of the high-power 26650 cylindrical NIBs using Cu-based layered oxide cathode and hard carbon anode is studied.The high power NIBs can achieve fast charge and discharge at 5-10 C rate and maintain 80% capacity after 4729 cycles at 2C/2C rate,where the unit C denotes a measure of the rate at which a battery is charge-discharged relative to its maximum capacity.The results of accelerating rate calorimeter and differential scanning calorimetry(ARC-DSC) test results show that NIBs have a higher initial decomposition temperature(110℃) and a lower maximum thermal runaway temperature(350℃) than those of Li-ion batteries(LIBs),exhibiting a favorable thermal stability.It should be noted that the heat generation of cathode accounts for a large proportion of the total heat generation while the thermal stability of the anode determines the initial thermal runaway temperature,which is similar to LIBs.Finally,the whole temperature characteristics of the NIBs in the range of-60℃-1000℃ are summarized,which provide guidance for the safety design and applications of NIBs.     

Analytic Debye-Grüneisen equation of state for a generalized Lennard-Jones solids

The approximate method to treat the practical quantum anharmonic solids proposed by Hardy,Lacks and Shukla is reformulated with explicit physical meanings.It is shown that the quantum effect is important at low temperature,it can be treated in the harmonic framework.and the anharmonic effect is important at high temperature and tends to zero at low temperature,it can be treated by using a classical approximation.The alternative formulation is easier for various applications,and is applied to a Debye-Grueneisen solid with the generalized Lennard-Jones intermolecular interaction.The expressions for the Debys temperature and Grueneisen parameter as a function of volume are analytically derived.The analytic equation of state is applied to predict the thermodynamic properties of solid xenon at normal-pressure with the nearest-neighbour Lennard-Jones interaction,and is further applied to research the properties of solid xenon and krypton at high pressure by using an all-neighbour Lennard-Jones interaction.The theoretical results are in agreement with the experiments.     

Twin diamond Crystals Grown at High Temperature and High Pressure from the Fe-Ni-C System

Twin diamond crystals grown at high temperature and high pressure (HPHT) in the presence of FeNi catalyst have been examined by transmission electron microscopy(TEM).Direct observation by TEM shows that there are a large amount of twins which lie on the {111} planes in the HPHT-grown diamonds.The twins in the diamond may be formed and may extend into the inner crystal from the twin nucleus formed in the nucleation process.The twins can be formed due to the carbon atoms falling mistakenly into positions where a twin crystal can form during diamond growth,or condensation of supersaturated vacancies on the {111} plane.some hexagonal dislocation loops related to supersaturated vacancies are found on the twins.The Moire fringe image reveals that stacking faults terminate on the intersecting twin boundary.This suggests that,at the temperature that the HPHT diamond is grown,the bordering partial has propagated by gliding up to the twin interface,which can be described by the reaction of a Shockley partial dislocation with a twin on the {111} plane.     

Analysis of electron energy distribution function in a magnetically filtered complex plasma

The electron energy distribution function (EEDF) for a magnetically filtered dusty plasma is studied in a dusty double plasma device where the electron energy can be varied from 0.15 eV to ～ 2.8 eV and plasma density from 10 6 cm-3 to 10 9cm-3 . The characteristics of EEDF for these ranges of plasma parameters are investigated in a pristine plasma as well as in a dusty plasma. The results show that in the presence of dust, there is a drastic modification in EEDF patterns in a plasma with higher electron temperature and density than those in a low temperature and low density plasma produced by the magnetic filter.     

Growth of TlBa_2Ca_2Cu_3O_9 Epitaxial Thin Films by Two-Step Method in Argon

TlBa_2 Ca_2 Cu_3 O_9(Tl-1223) films have promising applications due to their high critical temperature and strong magnetic flux pinning. Nevertheless, the preparation of pure phase Tl-1223 film is still a challenge. We successfully fabricate Tl-1223 thin films on LaAlO_3(001) substrates using dc magnetic sputtering and a post annealing two-step method in argon atmosphere. The crystallization temperature of Tl-1223 films in argon is reduced by 100℃ compared to that in oxygen. This greatly reduces the volatilization of Tl and improves the surface morphology of films. The lower annealing temperature can effectively improve the repeatability of the Tl-1223 film preparation. In addition, pure Tl-1223 phase can be obtained in a broad temperature zone,from 790℃ to 830℃. In our study, the films show homogenous and dense surface morphology using the presented method. The best critical temperature of Tl-1223 films is characterized to be 110 K, and the critical current J_c(77 K, 0 T) is up to 2.13 × 106 A/cm~2.     

Control of firing activities in thermosensitive neuron by activating excitatory autapse

Temperature has distinct influence on the activation of ion channels and the excitability of neurons, and careful change in temperature can induce possible mode transition in the neural activities. The formation and development of autapse connection to neuron can enhance its self-adaption to external stimulus, and thus the firing patterns in neuron can be controlled effectively. The autapse is activated to drive a thermosensitive neuron, which is developed from the FitzHugh–Nagumo neural circuit by incorporating a thermistor, and the dynamics in the neural activities is explored to find mode dependence on the temperature and autaptic current. It is found that the firing modes can be controlled by temperature, and the neuron is wakened from resting state to periodic oscillation with the increase of temperature. Furthermore, the intensity and the intrinsic time delay in the autapse are respectively adjusted to control the neural activities, and it is confirmed that appropriate setting for autaptic current can balance and enhance the temperature effect on the neural activities.     

Synthesis and characterization of NaAlSi_2O_6 jadeite under 3.5 GPa

The high pressure and high temperature(HPHT) method is successfully used to synthesize jadeite in a temperature range of 1000℃–1400℃ under a pressure of 3.5 GPa. The initial raw materials are Na_2SiO_3·9H_2O and Al_2(SiO_3)_3.Through the HPHT method, the amorphous glass material is entirely converted into crystalline jadeite. We can obtain the good-quality jadeite by optimizing the reaction pressure and temperature. The measurements of x-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM), Fourier-transform infrared(FTIR) and Raman scattering indicate that the properties of synthesized jadeite at 1260℃ under 3.5 GPa are extremely similar to those of the natural jadeite. What is more, the results will be valuable for understanding the formation process of natural jadeite. This work also reveals the mechanism for metamorphism of magma in the earth.     

Effects of Electron Screening on Electron Capture Rates in High Density Presupernova Core

Considering that the electron capture rate can be greatly reduced by the electron screening effect in the regime of high temperature and high density,we calculate the effect of electron screening on the electron capture rate for two important elements ^56 Ni and ^55Co in the high density condition of a pre-supernova star.The effect of electron screening is so effective that the electron capture rate may be reduced to about 20%.     

Temporal pulsed x-ray response of CdZnTe:In detector

The temporal response of cadmium-zinc-telluride(CZT) crystals is evaluated at room temperature by using an ultrafast-pulsed x-ray source. The dynamics of carrier relaxation in a CZT single crystal is modeled at a microscopic level based on a multi-trapping effect. The effects of the irradiation flux and bias voltage on the amplitude and full width at half maximum(FWHM) of the transient currents are investigated. It is demonstrated that the temporal response process is affected by defect level occupation fraction. A fast photon current can be achieved under intense pulsed x-ray irradiation to be up to 2.78×10~9 photons mm~(-2)·s~(-1). Meanwhile, it is found that high bias voltage could enhance carrier detrapping by suppressing the capture of structure defects and thus improve the temporal response of CZT detectors.     

Stability, defect and electronic properties of graphane-like carbon-halogen compounds

We perform first-principles total energy calculations to investigate the stabilities and the electronic structures of graphane-like structures of carbon-halogen compounds, where the hydrogen atoms in the graphane are substituted by halogen atoms. Three halogen elements, fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl) and bromine (Br), are considered, and the graphane-like structures are named as CF, CCl and CBr, respectively. It is found that for the single-atom adsorption, only the F adatom can be chemically adsorbed on the graphene. However, the stable graphane-like structures of CF, CCl and CBr can form due to the interaction between the halogen atoms. The carbon atoms in the stable CF, CCl and CBr compounds are in the sp³ hybridization, forming a hexagonal network similar to the graphane. The electronic band calculations show that CF and CCl are semiconductors with band gaps of 3.28 eV and 1.66 eV, respectively, while CBr is a metal. Moreover, the molecular dynamics simulation is employed to clarify the stabilities of CF and CCl. Those two compounds are stable at room temperature. A high temperature (≥1200 K) is needed to damage CF, while CCl is destroyed at 700 K. Furthermore, the effects of a vacancy on the structure and the electronic property of CF are discussed.     

A First Principles Study on mAlZn-nNO Complex Doped ZnO

P-type conduction is a great challenge for the full utilization of ZnO due to low dopant solubility and high acceptor ionization energy. We investigate formation energies and transition levels of the defect complex m AlZn-nNO in ZnO by the first principles. The formation and ionization energies for isolated mNO in ZnO are 1.17eV and 0.439eV, respectively. Among all complexes investigated here, formation and ionization energies of the complex AlZn-2NO can be reduced to 0.632eV and 0.292eV, respectively, which indicates that the defect complex is a relative better candidate for p-type ZnO. However, the results calculated from density of states show that 4AlZn-NO doped ZnO takes on n-type conduction.     

Effect of magnetic field on the spin-Peierls transition in single-crystal CuGeO

This paper reports that high quality CuGeO3 single crystals were successfully grown by floating-zone technique and the magnetic property was studied. The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility below the spin-Peierls （SP） transition temperature （Tsp） under magnetic fields applying along both the a- and c-axis direction can be fitted well by a model of noninteracting dimmers. The spin gap derived from the fitting is consistent with other reports. There is a very weak anisotropy in the fitting parameters for different directions, which should be expected from a SP system. A small upturn in susceptibility at low temperature due to paramagnetic impurities and/or defects can be observed. A suppression of the upturn by magnetic field is first discovered in this system and the possible origins for this suppression are discussed.     

Compositional and Structural Properties of TiO2-xNx Thin Films Deposited by Radio-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

TiO2-xNx thin films are deposited onto Si（100） and quartz substrates by arf magnetron sputtering method using a titanium metal disc as a target in Ar, N2, and 02 atmospheres. The substrate temperature is kept at 300℃. The O2 and Ar gas flow rates are kept to be constants and the N gas flow rate is varied. TiO2-xNx films with different N contents are characterized by x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicate that the TiO2-xNx thin films can be obtained at 13% N and 15% N contents in the film, and the films with mixed TiO2 and TiN crystal can be obtained at 13% N and 15% N contents in the film. In terms of the results of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N ls of β-N （396 eV） is the main component in the TiO2-xNx thin films. Because the energy level of β-N is positioned above the valence-band maximum of TiO2, an effective optical-energy gap decreases from 2.8 eV （for pure TiO2 film deposited by the same rf sputtering system） to 2.3 eV, which is verified by the optical-absorption spectra.     

Interaction between impurity nitrogen and tungsten： a first-principles investigation

We investigate the stability,diffusion,and impurity concentration of nitrogen in intrinsic tungsten single crystal employing a first-principles method,and find that a single nitrogen atom is energetically favourable for sitting at the octahedral interstitial site.A nitrogen atom prefers to diffuse between the two nearest neighboring octahedral interstitial sites with a diffusion barrier of 0.72 eV.The diffusion coefficient is determined as a function of temperature and expressed as D(N)=1.66×10～(-7) exp(0.72/kT).The solubility of nitrogen is estimated in intrinsic tungsten in terms of Sieverts’ law.The concentration of the nitrogen impurity is found to be 4.82×10～(-16) A～3 at a temperature of 600 K and a pressure of 1 Pa.A single nitrogen atom can easily sit in an off-vacancy-centre position close to the octahedral interstitial site.There exists a strong attraction between nitrogen and a vacancy with a large binding energy of 1.40 eV.We believe that these results can provide a good reference for the understanding of the behaviour of nitrogen in intrinsic tungsten.     

Dynamic crossover in [VIO~(2+)][Tf_2N~-]_2 ionic liquid

Ionic liquids usually behave as fragile liquids,and the temperature dependence of their dynamic properties obeys supper-Arrhenius law.In this work,a dynamic crossover is observed in([VIO²⁺][Tf₂N-]₂) ionic liquid at the temperature of 240-800 K.The diffusion coefficient does not obey a single Arrhenius law or a Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann(VFT) relation,but can be well fitted by three Arrhenius laws or a combination of a VFT relation and an Arrhenius law.The origin of the dynamic crossover is analyzed from correlation,structure,and thermodynamics.Ion gets a stronger backward correlation at a lower temperature,as shown by the fractal dimension of the random walk.The temperature dependence function of fractal dimension,heterogeneity order parameter,and thermodynamic data can be separated into three regions similar to that observed in the diffusion coefficient.The two crossover temperatures observed in the three types of data are almost the same as that in diffusion coefficient fitted by three Arrhenius laws.The results indicate that the dynamic crossover of[VIO2+][Tf2 N-]2 is attributed to the heterogeneous structure when it undergoes cooling.     

Schottky forward current transport mechanisms in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs over a wide temperature range

The behavior of Schottky contacts in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors(HEMTs) is investigated by temperature-dependent current–voltage(T –I–V) measurements from 300 K to 473 K. The ideality factor and barrier height determined based on the thermionic emission(TE) theory are found to be strong functions of temperature, while present a great deviation from the theoretical value, which can be expounded by the barrier height inhomogeneities. In order to determine the forward current transport mechanisms, the experimental data are analyzed using numerical fitting method,considering the temperature-dependent series resistance. It is observed that the current flow at room temperature can be attributed to the tunneling mechanism, while thermionic emission current gains a growing proportion with an increase in temperature. Finally, the effective barrier height is derived based on the extracted thermionic emission component, and an evaluation of the density of dislocations is made from the I–V characteristics, giving a value of 1.49 × 107cm-2.     

Dynamical Model of QCD Vacuum and Color Thaw at Finite Temperatures

In terms of the Nambu Jona-Lasinio (NJL) mechanism, the dynamical symmetry breaking of a simple local gauge model is investigated. An important relation between the vacuum expectation value of gauge fields and scalar fields is derived by solving the Euler equation for the gauge fields. Based on this relation the SU(3) gauge potential is given which can be used to explain the asymptotic freedom and confinement of quarks in a hadron. The confinement behavior at finite temperatures is also investigated and it is shown that color confinement at zero temperature can be melted away under high temperatures.     

The photoluminescence of ZnSe bulk single crystals excited by femtosecond pulse

This paper reports on the photoluminescence spectra of ZnSe single crystal with trace chlorine excited by the femtosecond laser pulse. Three emission bands, including second-harmonic-generation, two-photon-excited peak and a broad band at 500--700nm, were detected. The thermal strain induced by femtosecond pulse strongly influences the photoluminescence of ZnSe crystal. The corresponding strain \va in ZnSe crystal is estimated to be about 8.8 \ti10^-3 at room temperature. The zinc-vacancy, as the main point defect induced by femtosecond pulse, is successfully used to interpret the broad emission at 500--700nm. The research shows that self-activated luminescence possesses the recombination mechanism of donor--vacancy pair, and it is also influenced by a few selenium defects and the temperature. The rapid decrease in photoluminescence intensity of two-photon-excited fluorescence and second-harmonic generation emission at lower temperature is attributed to the fact that more point defects result in the thermal activation of the two-photo-absorption energy converting to the stronger recombination emission of chlorine--zinc vacancy in 500--700nm. The experimental results indicate that the femtosecond exciting photoluminescence shows a completely different emission mechanism to that of He--Cd exciting luminescence in ZnSe single crystal. The femtosecond laser exhibits a higher sensitive to the impurity in crystal materials, which can be recommended as an efficient way to estimate the trace impurity in high quality crystals.     

Effect of substrate bias on negative bias temperature instability of ultra-deep sub-micro p-channel metal--oxide--semiconductor field-effect transistors

The effect of substrate bias on the degradation during applying a negative bias temperature (NBT) stress is studied in this paper. With a smaller gate voltage stress applied, the degradation of negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) is enhanced, and there comes forth an inflexion point. The degradation pace turns larger when the substrate bias is higher than the inflexion point. The substrate hot holes can be injected into oxide and generate additional oxide traps, inducing an inflexion phenomenon. When a constant substrate bias stress is applied, as the gate voltage stress increases, an inflexion comes into being also. The higher gate voltage causes the electrons to tunnel into the substrate from the poly, thereby generating the electron--hole pairs by impact ionization. The holes generated by impact ionization and the holes from the substrate all can be accelerated to high energies by the substrate bias. More additional oxide traps can be produced, and correspondingly, the degradation is strengthened by the substrate bias. The results of the alternate stress experiment show that the interface traps generated by the hot holes cannot be annealed, which is different from those generated by common holes.     

Effect of Quenching on the Grain Boundary Relaxation in PM2000 ODS Alloy

Grain boundary relaxation in a Fe-based ODS alloy is studied by internal friction measurements. It is found that a grain-boundary peak appears at a lower temperature in the quenched specimens than that in the annealed specimens. The activation energy of the peak is H=2.82±0.11 eV for the former while H = 2.53±0.08 eV for the latter. In addition, a new relaxation peak is observed at the high temperature side of the grain boundary peak in the quenched specimens with an activation energy of 4.41±0.25 eV. The height of the peak increases with increasing quenching temperature. The results suggest that both the shift of the grain-boundary peak and the appearance of the new peak are due to increasing vacancies by quenching that are favourable for the motion of the grain boundaries.