高压下轻元素单质的结构相变

压力是物质独立于温度和化学组分的一个重要维度,能够有效改变物质内部原子间的相互作用,诱导形成具有新结构和新性质的高压新相,可以揭示许多常压下不曾有过的新现象和新规律,为制备出常压条件下无法得到的新材料提供了创新性源泉。元素单质在常压下大多具有简单的晶体结构,但在高压下却发生了非常复杂的结构相变,形成了多种新颖的高压相,产生了超导、超硬、金属-绝缘体相变等奇异现象,吸引了科学界的广泛关注。本文针对元素周期表中前12种轻元素单质的高压结构相变、高压相的新奇物理特性及相变产生的物理机制进行了探讨和论述,并对实验和理论高压结构相变的研究方法进行了展望。     

树状碳水化合物Ⅱ——液晶性的研究

以基于单糖为内核,楔形液晶基元DOBOB酸(3,4,5-三[对-(十二烷氧基)苄氧基]苯甲酸)为分枝的树状碳水化合物液晶为研究对象,利用DSC、热台偏光显微镜、XRD和CD/UV光谱等手段研究该类化合物的液晶性.研究发现分枝的数目对该类化合物的液晶性有显著影响,以2-乙酰氨基葡萄糖为内核的包含四个分枝的树状分子具有最高的液晶结构有序性,清亮点也显著高于另两种单糖内核(含五个分枝)的树状分子.此外,该类碳水化合物液晶形成的液晶相都具备超分子手性,为探索碳水化合物手性液晶相提供了一条新的思路.     

Wave Propagation in Rotating Functionally Graded Microbeams Reinforced by Graphene Nanoplatelets

This paper presents a study on wave propagation in rotating functionally graded (FG) microbeams reinforced by graphene nanoplatelets (GPLs). The graphene nanoplatelets (GPLs) are considered to distribute in the diameter direction of the micro-beam in a gradient pattern, which leads to the functionally graded structure. By using the Halpin-Tsai micromechanics model and the rule of mixture, the effective material properties of the microbeam are determined. According to the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and nonlocal elasticity theory, the rotating microbeams are modeled. A comprehensive parametric study is conducted to examine the effects of rotating speed, GPL distribution pattern, GPL length-to-thickness ratio, GPL length-to-width ratio, and nonlocal scale on the wavenumber, phase speed and group speed of the microbeam. The research findings can play an important role on the design of rotating graphene nanoplatelet (GPL) reinforced microbeams for better structural performance.     

A novel low compressible and superhard carbon nitride: Body-centered tetragonal CN(2)

A novel body-centered tetragonal CN(2) (4 units per cell), named as bct-CN(2), has been predicted here using our newly developed particle swarm optimization algorithm for crystal structure prediction. Bct-CN(2) is energetically much superior (3.022 eV per f.u.) to previously proposed pyrite structure and stable against decomposition into a mixture of diamond + N(2) or 1/3(C(3)N(4) + N(2)) above 45.4 GPa. No imaginary phonon frequencies in the whole Brillouin zone indicate bct-CN(2) is dynamically stable. The electronic calculations indicate that bct-CN(2) is a wide gap dielectric material with an indirect band gap of 3.6 eV. The ideal tensile, shear, and compressive strength at large strains of bct-CN(2) are examined to understand further the microscopic mechanism of the structural deformation. Strikingly, it is found that bct-CN(2) has high calculated ideal strength, bulk modulus, shear modulus, and simulated hardness, indicating its very incompressible and superhard nature. The results provide new thoughts for designing and synthesizing novel superhard carbon nitrides, and insights for understanding the mechanical properties.     

New role of antibody in bacterial isolation

To eliminate the interference caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the isolation of Salmonella, a rabbit polyclonal antibody against P. aeruginosa was prepared by inoculating four New Zealand rabbits with the pathogen. The antiserum was purified using saturated ammonium sulfate and added into Rappaport-Vassiliadis medium with soya (RVS) broth and Muller-Kauffmann tetrathionate novobiocin broth (MKTTn broth) to evaluate whether it could inhibit the growth of P. aeruginosa. Observations by scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that P. aeruginosa was attacked and destroyed by the antibody when incubated for 10 min at 37 degrees C. The activity of the antibody was also effective against 11 other strains of P. aeruginosa. Twenty-six strains of Salmonella were mixed with P. aeruginosa in RVS and MKTTn broth at 37 degrees C for 12 h, respectively, and the cultures were plated on Salmonella chromogenic medium (SCM; Oxoid, Basingstoke, UK). Only Salmonella grew on SCM; five colonies were randomly selected for identification by VITEK 2 (bioMérieux, Lyon, France). Additionally, when mixed with two strains of Enterobacter cloacae (ATCC 700323 and YG001), the prepared antibody did not affect the growth of E. cloacae. The results demonstrated that the microbicidal activity of the antibody did not affect the tested Salmonella sp. or E. cloacae strains. Therefore, the antibody generated could be used to increase the accuracy of Salmonella isolation.     

Effect of source location on particle dispersion in displacement ventilation rooms

A proposed computer model for predicting aerosol particle dispersion in indoor spaces was validated with experimental data found in the literature,and is then used to study the effect of the area and point source locations on particle dispersion in displacement ventilation (DV) rooms.The results show that aerosol source location has a strong impact on the spatial distribution and removal rate of indoor particles.Particle removal performance depends strongly on ventilation efficiency and particle deposition rate on indoor surfaces.Important consideration for both relative ventilation efficiency and deposition rate consists of the position of the aerosol source relative to the main airflow pattern and the occupied zone.     

甲壳素类液晶高分子研究--低分子量壳聚糖溶致液晶性及分子量对液晶临界浓度的影响

研究了两种用酶降解法得到的低分子量壳聚糖样品(CS1和CS2)的溶致液晶性.用GPC并辅以质谱法确定了两样品的数均相对分子质量为622和2311 g/mol.在相对分子质量低至622的低分子量壳聚糖(相当于四糖)水溶液中仍发现了溶致液晶现象,并确定出相对分子质量为622和2311的低分子量壳聚糖液晶临界浓度为73%和36%(W/W%),这些结果与已报道的中、高分子量壳聚糖液晶临界浓度随分子量升高而降低的基本规律是一致的.实验结果与经典的KS理论预测值不符,因为低分子量壳聚糖的相对分子质量超过了KS理论对高分子临界浓度的预测范围.     

Materials by design at high pressures

Pressure, a fundamental thermodynamic variable, can generate two essential effects on materials. First, pressure can create new high-pressure phases via modification of the potential energy surface. Second, pressure can produce new compounds with unconventional stoichiometries via modification of the compositional landscape. These new phases or compounds often exhibit exotic physical and chemical properties that are inaccessible at ambient pressure. Recent studies have established a broad scope for developing materials with specific desired properties under high pressure. Crystal structure prediction methods and first-principles calculations can be used to design materials and thus guide subsequent synthesis plans prior to any experimental work. A key example is the recent theory-initiated discovery of the record-breaking high-temperature superhydride superconductors H₃S and LaH₁₀ with critical temperatures of 200 K and 260 K, respectively. This work summarizes and discusses recent progress in the theory-oriented discovery of new materials under high pressure, including hydrogen-rich superconductors, high-energy-density materials, inorganic electrides, and noble gas compounds. The discovery of the considered compounds involved substantial theoretical contributions. We address future challenges facing the design of materials at high pressure and provide perspectives on research directions with significant potential for future discoveries.

This work summarizes and discusses recent progress in the theory-oriented discovery of new materials under high pressure, including hydrogen-rich superconductors, high-energy-density materials, inorganic electrides, and noble gas compounds.     

Influence of impurity hydrogen on the structure and properties of bulk Li and pressure effects

The structure and properties of a 16-atom body-centered cubic lithium cell with an interstitial hydrogen atom are studied using a pseudopotential-plane-wave method within the density functional theory at 0 K and high pressures. The host lattice is dramatically distorted by the introduction of H. Although the hydrogen atom is stable at the tetragonal site in perfect bcc host lattice, it favors the octahedral site formed by six non-equivalent Li atoms after full relaxation of the cell, showing P4/mmm symmetry within the pressures ranging from 0 to 6 GPa. The lattice ratio (a/c) changes irregularly with external pressure at about 3 GPa. The hydrogen band lies in the bottom of the valence band, separated by a gap from the metallic bands, illustrating the electronegativity of hydrogen. High reflectivity in the low frequency area induced by the impurity hydrogen is observed when only interband transitions are taken account of. A dip in reflectivity due to parallel band transitions is observed at ∼0.4 eV. Another dip at ∼4.3 eV appears when external pressure increases over 4 GPa.