A theory of plasticity for carbon nanotube reinforced composites

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess exceptional mechanical properties, and when introduced into a metal matrix, it could significantly improve the elastic stiffness and plastic strength of the nanocomposite. But current processing techniques often lead to an agglomerated state for the CNTs, and the pristine CNT surface may not be able to fully transfer the load at the interface. These two conditions could have a significant impact on its strengthening capability. In this article we develop a two-scale micromechanical model to analyze the effect of CNT agglomeration and interface condition on the plastic strength of CNT/metal composites. The large scale involves the CNT-free matrix and the clustered CNT/matrix inclusions, and the small scale addresses the property of these clustered inclusions, each containing the randomly oriented, transversely isotropic CNTs and the matrix. In this development the concept of secant moduli and a field fluctuation technique have been adopted. The outcome is an explicit set of formulae that allows one to calculate the overall stress-strain relations of the CNT nanocomposite. It is shown that CNTs are indeed a very effective strengthening agent, but CNT agglomeration and imperfect interface condition can seriously reduce the effective stiffness and elastoplastic strength. The developed theory has also been applied to examine the size (diameter) effect of CNTs on the elastic and elastoplastic response of the composites, and it was found that, with a perfect interface contact, decreasing the CNT radius would enhance the overall stiffness and plastic strength, but with an imperfect interface the size effect is reversed. A comparison of the theory with some experiments on the CNT/Cu nanocomposite serves to verify the applicability of the theory, and it also points to the urgent need of eliminating all CNT agglomeration and improving the interface condition if the full potential of CNT reinforcement is to be realized.     

Developing a novel alkaline anion exchange membrane derived from poly(ether‐imide) for improved ionic conductivity

We have developed a novel alkaline anion exchange membrane derived from poly(ether‐imide) for improved ionic conductivity. The effects of several important parameters on the chloromethylation of the membrane were investigated. These parameters included reaction temperature, reaction time, concentration of chloromethylation agent, concentration of polymer, and the amount of catalyst. The quaternization of the synthesized chloromethylated polymer was studied as well. The results show that all the studied parameters exhibited significant impacts on chloromethylation. Among them, the concentration of the chloromethylation agent played a key role in increasing the chloromethyl functional group attachment onto the polymer. It was found that the gelation could be avoided if these reaction parameters were controlled. It was also found that using an appropriate quaternization approach could significantly improve the ionic conductivity and optimize the conductivity of the membrane even though the functional chloromethyl groups attached to the polymer are limited. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High-pressure opens new windows for topological materials

正Recently Guo et al.[1]have performed a systematic simulation on the high-pressure phases of the first experimentally available Weyl semimetals TaAs family.Through such a cheap but powerful technique,they theoretically found a new     

Plasmonic sensing of CTAB in gold nanorods solution based on Cu(II) ions-mediated H2O2 etching effect

Controlled release formulation of pesticides is highly desirable for attaining the most effective utilization of the pesticide as well as reducing environmental pollution. Nano-sized controlled release formulations can provide better penetration through cuticle and deliver the active ingredients efficiently to the targeted tissue. In this study, a novel strategy for the preparation of a nanoconjugate derived from kasugamycin with amino-modified silica was developed. The kasugamycin was connected with amino-modified silica matrix by an amide bond, which could avoid the initial burst release effectively and prolong the duration remarkably. The results showed the kasuga-silica can protect kasugamycin against photo-degradation effectively and the release rate of the active ingredient of nanoconjugate was related to the temperature, pH value, and the particle size (52.5–315.4 nm). With reduced particle size as well as increased temperature and acidity, the release of the active ingredient was faster. This amide linkage of kasuga-silica could be degraded by amidase effectively. This nanoconjugate displayed a better and a sustained bactericidal efficacy against E. coli than kasugamycin technical, which makes it a potential candidate as a controlled release conjugate for kasugamycin in the future.     

Luminescent Property of a Supramolecular Silver(I)‐Thiolate Complex Based on Secondary Ag‐S Interactions and Hydrogen Bonds

The supramolecular silver(I)‐thiolate complex [Ag(μ₂‐SC₄N₂H₄)₂(SCN)]_n has been prepared from the reaction of AgSCN and pyrimidine‐2‐thiol in DMF. X‐ray diffraction analysis shows that the supramolecular structure exhibits one‐dimensional chain through the secondary Ag‐S interactions and the chains are further linked by strong hydrogen bonds to form a three dimensional network. The luminescence effect from the silver‐centered state of S→Ag LMCT in solid state is different from that in solution due to the secondary Ag‐S interactions.     

Direct Z‐Scheme Hetero‐phase Junction of Black/Red Phosphorus for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

Black phosphorus (BP) has recently drawn attention in photocatalysis for its optical properties. However, limited by the rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers, the use of BP for photocatalytic water splitting still remains a huge challenge. Herein, we prepare a black/red phosphorus (BP/RP) hetero‐phase junction photocatalyst by a wet‐chemistry method to promote the interfacial charge separation and thus achieve Z‐scheme photocatalytic water splitting without using sacrificial agents. The Z‐scheme mechanism was confirmed by time‐resolved transient absorption spectroscopy. This work provides a novel insight into the interface design of hetero‐phase junction with atomic precision.     

Pd‐Catalyzed Dearomatization of Anthranils with Vinylcyclopropanes by [4+3] Cyclization Reaction

Dearomatization of anthranils with vinylcyclopropanes (VCPs) by Pd‐catalyzed [4+3] cyclization reaction has been realized. In the presence of a catalytic amount of borane as an activator, bridged cyclic products were obtained in good to excellent yields with excellent stereoselectivities. By introducing a chiral PHOX ligand ( L5 ), asymmetric dearomatization reactions of anthranils with vinylcyclopropanes proceeded with excellent enantioselectivity. Borane plays a key role for the reactivity, likely owing to the formation of a borane–anthranil complex which has been confirmed by NMR experiments.