Local inverse inelastic mean free path at interface

We calculated a local inverse inelastic mean free path (local-IIMFP) for electrons crossing a medium–medium interface, considering various incident electron energies, crossing angles and combinations of materials. We used an extension of a classical dielectric model developed by Li and co-workers for an electron crossing a surface (interface vacuum-medium). Moreover, the integration over the distance of the local-IIMFP allows to obtain the interface excitation parameter (or IEP) characterizing the change in excitation probability for an electron crossing an interface once caused by the presence of the interface in comparison with an electron for which only volume excitations are considered. We perform these calculations for angles between 0° and 80°, for electron energies between 500 and 2500 eV and for various pairs of materials, as Al/In for its academic interest or Au/Si and SiO₂/Si for their technological importance. Small but not negligible variations of the local-IIMFP and the IEP were observed for metal–metal or metal–semiconductor interfaces, while quite significant variations are obtained when one of the materials is a insulator.     

钾改性氧化铝基羰基硫水解催化剂及其失活机理

天然气、油田伴生气、高炉煤气等化工生产过程中伴生COS气体,不仅会腐蚀管道和毒害催化剂,还会严重污染环境并危害人类健康。COS催化水解反应可在温和条件下高效的将COS脱除,是最具应用前景的COS脱除技术之一。碱金属元素因其具有独特的电子供体性质、表面碱性和静电吸附等特性,常被用作助催化剂以提高Al₂O₃的COS催化水解性能。近年来,以钾为助剂改性的Al₂O₃催化剂(K₂CO₃/Al₂O₃)在COS催化水解反应中得到广泛的应用,但由于负载在Al₂O₃上的K物种的组成复杂,目前研究者对K₂CO₃/Al₂O₃催化剂上COS水解机理的理解仍存在一定的困惑和争议。本论文通过湿法浸渍法合成出一系列钾盐和钠盐改性的Al₂O₃催化剂,并利用各类先进的表征技术对这些催化剂进行分析。活性测试表明,以K₂CO₃、K₂C₂O₄、NaHCO₃、Na₂CO₃和NaC₂O₄改性Al₂O₃催化剂均有助于COS的水解。其中K₂CO₃/Al₂O₃拥有最佳的COS水解性能,连续运行20 h后其COS转化率仍高于~93%,远远优于未改性的Al₂O₃ (~58%)。我们利用原位红外光谱和X射线光电子能谱探明了反应过程中催化剂的化学结构特征,阐明了H₂O分子在K₂CO₃/Al₂O₃上的水解作用机制。原位红外表明COS在K₂CO₃/Al₂O₃上的水解过程中形成了硫代碳酸氢盐中间产物。X射线光电子能谱表征证明催化剂的失活主要是因为催化剂表面积累了硫酸盐和单质硫。此外,我们还研究了水蒸气含量对COS水解性能的影响,研究发现,由于H₂O和COS分子在催化剂表面存在竞争吸附,过量的H₂O会引起催化活性的下降。上述研究表明,K₂CO₃/Al₂O₃催化剂上COS水解性能的提高主要是形成了HO-Al-O-K界面活性位。更为重要的是,所制备的催化剂都是在模拟工业工况条件下进行的,这为后续的工业应用提供了宝贵理论指导。本工作为理解助剂钾在Al₂O₃催化剂上COS水解活性的增强提供了新的见解,这为未来设计稳定高效的COS水解催化剂打开了新的发展方向。     

二环己基-18冠-6加速锶离子在微米管支撑的水/1,2-二氯乙烷界面上的转移反应

采用玻璃微米管支撑的液/液界面通过循环伏安法(CV)研究了二环己基-18冠6(DCH18C6)加速Sr2+在水/1,2-二氯乙烷(W/DCE)界面上的转移反应,考察了DCH18C6加速Sr2+在W/DCE界面转移的影响因素,如DCH18C6和Sr2+浓度等,并求算其络合物的稳定常数。实验结果表明,Sr2+与DCH18C6发生的是一个1:1的扩散控制的界面络合转移过程,其络合常数β为5.31×1023。本研究可为理解溶剂萃取Sr2+行为提供基础理论数据。     

Design of TiO2@graphene nanosheets with rough surface and its reinforcement to polyarylene ether nitriles

The interfacial interaction is extremely important when dealing with filler‐reinforced polymer materials. Herein, in order to improve the interfacial interaction with the polyarylene ether nitriles (PEN) matrix, a three‐dimensional rough structure was designed. First, needle‐like TiO₂ nanocrystals were grown on each surface of the graphene. Morphology analysis proved that rough TiO₂ nanocrystals were coated on the graphene nanosheets. Then, TiO₂@graphene/PEN composites were fabricated to investigate the filler–matrix interaction. Thereafter, the different polymer chains could be interlocked by the TiO₂ “needles” when the rough TiO₂@graphene was embedded into the polymer resin. The surrounding PEN polymer chains (work as ropes) could tie to the “needles” (work as wood pile). That is to say, the effective polymer chain length was greatly lengthened, resulting in the improvement of interfacial interactions and mechanical properties. Most importantly, the morphology, mechanical and rheological tests of the composites also proved the improvement of interfacial interactions and mechanical properties. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interface Engineering of a CoOx/Ta3N5 Photocatalyst for Unprecedented Water Oxidation Performance under Visible‐Light‐Irradiation

Cocatalysts have been extensively used to promote water oxidation efficiency in solar‐to‐chemical energy conversion, but the influence of interface compatibility between semiconductor and cocatalyst has been rarely addressed. Here we demonstrate a feasible strategy of interface wettability modification to enhance water oxidation efficiency of the state‐of‐the‐art CoO_x/Ta₃N₅ system. When the hydrophobic feature of a Ta₃N₅ semiconductor was modulated to a hydrophilic one by in situ or ex situ surface coating with a magnesia nanolayer (2–5 nm), the interfacial contact between the hydrophilic CoO_x cocatalyst and the modified hydrophilic Ta₃N₅ semiconductor was greatly improved. Consequently, the visible‐light‐driven photocatalytic oxygen evolution rate of the resulting CoO_x/MgO(in)–Ta₃N₅ photocatalyst is ca. 23 times that of the pristine Ta₃N₅ sample, with a new record (11.3 %) of apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) under 500–600 nm illumination.     

Environmental effects on fibre reinforced polymeric composites: Evolving reasons and remarks on interfacial strength and stability

The interface between fibre and matrix of fibrous polymeric composites is most critical and decisive in maintaining sustainability, durability and also reliability of this potential material, but unfortunately a comprehensive conclusion is yet to meet the label of confidence for the engineering viability. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are being accepted and also utilized as better and reliable alternative materials for repairing and/or replacing conventional materials, starting from tiny objects to mega structure in various engineering applications. The promise and potential of these materials are sometimes threatened in speedy replacement of conventional materials because of their inhomogeneities and inherent susceptibility to degradation due to moist and thermal environments. Environmental conditioning is traditionally believed to be a physical phenomenon but present literature has revealed that the interdiffusion between fiber and polymer matrix resin comprises of physical, chemical, mechanical, physico-chemical and mechano-chemical phenomena. The failure and fracture behavior at ambient conditions itself is a complex phenomenon till at present. The service conditions which are mostly hygrothermal in nature, along with a variation of applied loads make the mechanical behavior nearly unpredictable, far off from conclusions in evaluating the short term as well as long term durability and reliability of FRPs. It is essential to accurately simulate the initial and subsequent evolution process of this kind of damage phenomena, in order to explore the full potential of the mechanical properties of composite laminates. The present review has emphasized the need of complying scattered as well as limited literature on this front, and has focused on creating the urgency to highlight the importance of judicious uses of these materials with minimum safety factors with an aim to achieving lighter weight in enhancing specific properties.     

Interfacial bonding mechanism and bonding strength of AlTiCrN coating by cathodic arc ion plating

AlTiCrN coating was prepared on the surface of YT14 tungsten carbide cutting tools by cathodic arc ion plating with Ti, Al and Cr as targets. The surface morphologies, interface energy spectrum, phase and elements' binding energy of the coatings were observed with SEM, EDS, XRD and XPS, respectively, and bonding strength of the coating interface was measured with scratch tester. The results show that the phases of AlTiCrN coating are mainly composed of AlN, CrN and TiN, the crystal plane of (111) has a strong preferred orientation. The concentrations of Al, Ti, Cr, N in the coating are higher than those in the substrate, showing the gradient diffusion distribution at the bonding interface, while C atoms of the substrate have diffused into the lattices of TiN, AlN and CrN to form an obvious interdiffusion layer, and the average bonding strength of coating interface is 57.65 N. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transformation of hydrophobic surface into superhydrophobic surface by interfacial flower like silver films

Fabrication of superhydrophobic surface was achieved by electroless deposition of silver film and subsequent immersion into a mixture of stearic acid and cysteamine. The resultant superhydrophobic surface with flower and fall‐leaves like structure showed lotus leaf effect with the water contact angle of about 154° making copper surface water repellant. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

EPR谱图模拟软件EasySpin的图形用户界面设计

EasySpin是一款较为流行的电子顺磁共振（EPR）谱图模拟和拟合软件,LabVIEW是一种图形化编程语言开发环境．本文介绍了一款使用LabVIEW为EasySpin设计的图形用户界面LV-EasySpin．LV-EasySpin提供了一种直观的操作方法来实现连续波EPR多组分波谱的可视化模拟和拟合．本文辅以各种模式下的实例进行说明,阐述了LV-EasySpin的设计思路与实现方案,最终希望具有简洁、易操作界面的LV-EasySpin可以降低用户使用EasySpin分析EPR谱图的难度．     

用纳米羟基磷灰石@多孔碳构建锂硫电池高效反应界面

由于正极活性物质硫具有能量密度高、成本低廉和储量丰富等优点,锂硫（Li-S）电池受到了人们的极大关注。然而,锂硫电池充放电过程中产生的多硫化锂的“穿梭效应”严重阻碍了其实用化进程。为了解决这个问题,本研究借助动物软骨的组成和结构特点,制备了纳米羟基磷灰石@多孔碳（nano-HA@CCPC）复合材料,并以此设计了面向正极的锂硫电池隔膜涂层。研究表明,纳米羟基磷灰石不仅对多硫化物具有吸附固定作用,并且对多硫化锂的转化具有催化作用,加快了多硫化锂的氧化还原动力学,有效地提升了活性物质硫的利用率。另外,软骨基碳复合材料的多孔结构形成了很好的导电网络,为电化学反应提供了优良的电子传导路径;也有利于电解液的浸润,加快了离子传输;碳的氮原子掺杂进一步限制了多硫化物的穿梭效应。因此,采用nano-HA@CCPC隔膜涂层的锂硫电池表现出较长的循环寿命、低的容量损失以及高的倍率性能。在0.5 C下,循环325次后,电池仍然能保持815 mAh·g^-1的放电比容量,并且每次的容量衰减率仅为0.051%。nano-HA@CCPC的设计制备将为锂硫电池的发展提供新材料。