Selection of hydrogel electrolytes for flexible zinc–air batteries

Flexible zinc–air batteries attract more attention due to their high energy density, safety, environmental protection, and low cost. However, the traditional aqueous electrolyte has the disadvantages of leakage and water evaporation, which cannot meet application demand of flexible zinc–air batteries. Hydrogels possessing good conductivity and mechanical properties become a candidate as the electrolytes of flexible zinc–air batteries. In this work, advances in aspects of conductivity, mechanical toughness, environmental adaptability, and interfacial compatibility of hydrogel electrolytes for flexible zinc–air batteries are investigated. First, the additives to improve conductivity of hydrogel electrolytes are summarized. Second, the measures to enhance the mechanical properties of hydrogels are taken by way of structure optimization and composition modification. Third, the environmental adaptability of hydrogel electrolytes is listed in terms of temperature, humidity, and air composition. Fourth, the compatibility of electrolyte–electrode interface is discussed from physical properties of hydrogels. Finally, the prospect for development and application of hydrogels is put forward.     

Progress of Jinping Underground laboratory for Nuclear Astrophysics (JUNA)

Jinping Underground laboratory for Nuclear Astrophysics(JUNA) will take the advantage of the ultra-low background of CJPL lab and high current accelerator based on an ECR source and a highly sensitive detector to directly study for the first time a number of crucial reactions occurring at their relevant stellar energies during the evolution of hydrostatic stars. In its first phase, JUNA aims at the direct measurements of~(25)Mg(p,γ)~(26)Al,~(19)F(p,α)~(16)O,~(13)C(α,n)~(16)O and ~(12)C(α,γ)~(16)O reactions. The experimental setup,which includes an accelerator system with high stability and high intensity, a detector system, and a shielding material with low background, will be established during the above research. The current progress of JUNA will be given.     

Semileptonic B<Subscript>c</Subscript> decays and charmonium distribution amplitude

In this paper we study the semileptonic decays of the B_c meson in the light-cone sum rule (LCSR) approach. The result for each channel depends on the corresponding distribution amplitude (DA) of the final meson. For the case of B_c decaying into a pseudoscalar meson, to twist-3 accuracy only the leading twist distribution amplitude is involved if we start from a chiral current. If we choose a suitable chiral current in the vector meson case, the main twist-3 contributions are also eliminated and we can consider the leading twist contribution only. The leading twist distribution amplitudes of the charmonium and other heavy mesons are given by a model approach in a reasonable way. Employing this charmonium distribution amplitude we find a cross section that is consistent with Belle and BaBar data. Based on this model, we calculate the form factors for various B_c decay modes in the corresponding regions. Extrapolating the form factors to the whole kinetic regions, we get the decay widths and branching ratios for various B_c decay modes including their τ modes when they are kinematically accessible. PACS 13.20.He; 13.20.Fc; 11.55.Hx     

Syntheses,crystal structures and magnetic properties of two new cyano-bridged bimetallic complexes

Transition Metal Chemistry - Two complexes [Fe(1,10-phen)2Ni(CN)4]n (1), {[Fe2(1,10-phen)4(CN)4Co2(1,10-phen)2Fe(CN)6]·2H2O}n (2) were prepared in the reaction of K3[Fe(CN)6] as cyanometalate...     

Implications of Nitrogen Doping on Geometrical and Electronic Structure of the Fullerene Dimers

Because of its unsaturated bonds, C₆₀ is susceptible to polymerize into dimers. The implications of nitrogen doping on the geometrical and electronic structure of C₆₀ dimers have been ambiguous for years. A quarter‐century after the discovery of azafullerene dimer (C₅₉N)₂, we reported its single crystallographic structure in 2019. Herein, the unambiguous crystal structure information of (C₅₉N)₂ is elucidated specifically, revealing that the inter‐cage C—C single bond length of (C₅₉N)₂ is comparable with that of an ordinary C(sp³)‐C(sp³) single bond, and that the most stable conformer of (C₅₉N)₂ is gauche‐conformer with a dihedral angle of 66°. To amend the structural deviations, geometrical structure of (C₅₉N)₂ is optimized by a B3LYP‐D3BJ function, which is proved to be more consistent with its single crystal structure than those by the commonly used B3LYP function. Moreover, the calculation method is also suitable for other representative fullerene dimers, such as (C₆₀)₂ and its divalent anion. Additionally, the dissociation of (C₅₉N)₂ at 473 K under mass spectrometric conditions suggests the inter‐cage C—C bond is relatively weaker than an ordinary C—C single bond, which can be explained by the interaction energies of inter‐cages.     

Three-dimensional porous photo-thermal fiber felt with salt-resistant property for high efficient solar distillation

The urgent need for fresh water resource is a public issue facing the world. Solar distillation for seawater desalination is a promising freshwater production method. Interfacial solar evaporation systems based on 2D photo-thermal membranes have been widely studied, but salt pollution is one of the main challenges for solar distillation. In order to solve this problem, a hydrophilic three-dimensional (3D) porous photo-thermal fiber felt (PFF) was obtained by one-step method, through a simple polydopamine (PDA) coating method with hydrophobic graphite felt as a substrate. The PFF had a good evaporation rate of 1.48 kg m^?2 h^-1 and its corresponding light-vapor conversion efficiency reached 87.4%. In addition, the PFF exhibited an excellent salt-resistant ability when applied to photo-thermal evaporation of high-salinity seawater with 10 wt% NaCl, owing to its intrinsic 3D macroporous structure for the migration circulation of salt ions. The development of the PFF offers a new route for the exploration of salt-resistant photo-thermal materials and is promising for the practical application of solar distillation.     

Water‐Soluble Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide Quantum Dots with Upconversion Fluorescence

Uniform water‐soluble monolayer MoS₂ quantum dots (MQDs) with lateral sizes of ≈2.1 nm, a clearly zigzag‐terminated edge, and a hexagonal lattice structure are achieved using ammonium molybdate, thiourea, and N‐acetyl‐l ‐cysteine (NAC) as precursors and the capping reagent in a facile one‐pot hydrothermal approach. MQDs have good dispersity and high stability in aqueous suspension and exhibit a significantly larger direct bandgap (3.96 eV) compared to monolayer MoS₂ nanosheets (1.89 eV). Pronounced blue‐shifts in the wavelengths of both the excitonic absorption and intrinsic state emission with activated strong luminescence at room temperature beyond monolayer MoS₂ nanosheets is demonstrated. Unusual upconversion photoluminescence is also observed and is caused by two successive transfers of energy from the near‐infrared (NIR) absorption generated by the NAC capping reagent to the hexagonal structure of MQDs. Additional optical properties of MQDs may provide numerous exciting technological applications. Here, MQDs are demonstrated as a highly selective fluorescent reagent for detecting tetracycline hydrochloride under UV and NIR irradiation.     

Numerical analysis for the mixed Navier–Stokes and Darcy Problem with the Beavers–Joseph interface condition

In this article, we consider the coupled Navier–Stokes and Darcy problem with the Beavers–Joseph interface condition. With suitable restrictions of physical parameters α and ν, we prove the existence and local uniqueness of a weak solution. Then we propose a coupled finite element scheme and a decoupled and linearized scheme based on two‐grid finite element. Under suitable further restrictions, their optimal error estimates are obtained. Finally numerical experiments indicate the validity of the theoretical results as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of the decoupled and linearized two‐grid algorithm. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 31: 1009–1030, 2015