Stroboscopic microscopy—direct imaging of structure development and phase separation during spin‐coating

Spin‐coated polymer blends possess a rich variety of accessible non‐equilibrium morphologies, formed through a process of phase separation and self‐assembly, the complexities of which remain incompletely understood. The technique of stroboscopic microscopy has now been developed to allow direct observations of microscopic and mesoscopic morphological development during spin‐coating and has afforded unequivocal information regarding morphological development. The technique so far has three modes of operation providing information on topographical, compositional, and crystal development. In this review, we look at the technique's development, its applications and comment on the future potential for this technique. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 17–25     

Self‐assembly of Carbon Particles as a Heat Sink Coating to Promote Radiative Cooling

Novel composite carbon particles are developed that can self‐assemble as a coating on a substrate without a binder. These carbon particles were used as a coating to enhance thermal dissipation and their thermal conductivity, surface emissivity and cooling performance were measured. Carbon particles with both thiol and epoxy functional groups self‐assembled to form a coating on the surface of a heat sink without a binder, which greatly improved the thermal conductivity of the coating. Coating a heat sink with the carbon particles yielded a higher thermal conductivity and emissivity than could be obtained with the addition of binder in the conventional approach, and significantly enhanced the cooling performance. In addition, the cooling performance of the carbon nanotube outperformed all other particles when coated on a substrate, because it had the highest thermal conductivity and good radiation emissivity. We developed an equation to describe the various parameters affecting the cooling performance of the thermally dissipative coating. This equation was confirmed by the experimental data.     

N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidonium methyl sulfonate acidic ionic liquid as a new dynamic coating for separation of basic proteins by capillary electrophoresis

A simple and economical CE method has been developed for the analysis of four model basic proteins by employing N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidonium methyl sulfonate ionic liquid (IL) as the dynamic coating material based on the interaction of both between electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bond, and between the organic cations of IL and the inner surface of bare fused‐silica capillary. The N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidonium‐based IL modified capillary not only generated a stable suppressed electroosmotic flow, but also effectively eliminated the wall adsorption of proteins. Several important parameters such as the IL concentration, pH values, and concentrations of the background electrolyte were optimized to improve the separation of basic proteins. Consequently, under the optimum separation conditions, a satisfied separation of basic proteins including lysozyme, cytochrome c, ribonuclease A, and α‐chymotrypsinogen A with theoretical plates ranging from 2.09 × 10⁵ to 4.48 × 10⁵ plates/m had been accomplished within 15 min. The proposed method first illustrated the effect of hydrogen bond between coating material and inner capillary surface on the coating, which should be a new strategy to design and select more effective coating materials to form more stable coatings in CE.     

碳和石墨烯对磷酸锰锂材料性能的影响

在采用溶剂热法制备磷酸锰锂的基础上,以蔗糖和石墨烯为碳源,制备了裂解碳和石墨烯含量不同的磷酸锰锂/碳/石墨烯复合材料,研究了裂解碳和石墨烯对材料性能的影响。采用扫描电镜（SEM）和透射电镜（TEM）对材料的形貌进行了表征。裂解碳包覆可以提高LiMnPO₄纳米片表面的电子导电性,对于材料性能的改善起到主要的作用;石墨烯可以提高纳米片之间的电子和离子导电性,改善材料的电化学性能。电化学测试表明,当裂解碳含量为4%、石墨烯含量为2%时,LiMnPO₄电极具有较好的电化学性能,在0.5C下的放电比容量为139.1 mAh·g^-1,循环100次后,容量保持率为93.6%。与添加单一碳和单一石墨烯的LiMnPO₄电极相比,该电极在0.5C下的放电比容量分别提高了35.0%和48.6%。     

粗糙表面涂覆目标的太赫兹波散射特性研究

对具有涂覆层目标的太赫兹波段粗糙表面的散射特性进行了研究. 考虑到表面粗糙度的影响, 可先对反射系数进行修正, 再利用反射系数对等效电磁流进行修正, 得到粗糙涂覆表面的等效电磁流, 然后在物理光学方程的基础上得到粗糙表面涂覆目标的雷达散射截面; 最后进行图形电磁学可视化计算, 并采用Visual C++对模型进行OpenGL显示, 提取像素面元的有效信息对所得理论进行了仿真分析, 研究了不同入射角度、不同频率、不同介质、不同粗糙度和不同涂层厚度下的太赫兹波电磁散射特性, 得到了一些有参考价值的结论.     

光学薄膜诱导偏振像差对大数值孔径光学系统聚焦特性的影响

大数值孔径光学系统表面光线的入射角较大, 会导致薄膜的偏振分离, 诱发偏振像差, 影响光学系统的聚焦特性. 本文利用矢量光衍射理论, 建立了光学薄膜各参量与光学系统聚焦光场的模型. 利用该模型分析了线偏振光入射时, 光学薄膜对光学系统聚焦光斑的扰动. 在此基础上, 探讨了应用了不同约束条件下得到的光学薄膜对最终聚焦光场的影响, 确定了减小薄膜扰动光学系统光斑的设计方法, 即额外添加透射率差和位相差的约束条件, 并且适当增加位相差约束的权重. 利用该方法优化设计的薄膜, 相比于普通减反膜而言, 对系统聚焦光场中心强度的提升可达约12.5%.     

多孔金属薄膜阻尼减振微观机理研究

研究了多孔金属薄膜的阻尼性能和微观机理. 采用分子动力学方法及扫描电镜(SEM) 原位观察实验手段对多孔金属薄膜阻尼进行研究, 得出金属薄膜应变滞后于应力周期性变化以及弹性势能周期性衰减的规律, 并通过应变滞后应力的时间差求得损耗因子; 从微观结构上可看出, 在薄膜孔缺陷附近\langle110angle晶向上经历了位错产生、 并且位错呈阶梯状向前发射的变化; 在SEM原位拉伸、卸载实验中观察到有微裂纹的萌生、斜向阶梯扩展、收缩及消失的周期过程. 结果表明: 在周期载荷作用下, 多孔金属薄膜的孔缺陷附近产生的位错可以挣脱开弱钉扎点并限制在强钉扎点上, 由于位错的变化及附近晶界间的相对滑动产生内摩擦, 消耗了系统的部分弹性势能, 引起金属薄膜的阻尼减振效应, 从而揭示了多孔金属涂层阻尼产生的微观机理.     

Controlling the infrared optical properties of rf-sputtered NiO films for applications of infrared window

In this paper, we will focus on an IR transmittance enhancement technique from the window material point of view by using metal oxides, especially nickel oxide (NiO). At first, anti-reflection (AR) coatings were modeled by using the optical properties of NiO films. The transmittance of the model was predicted using Swanepoel’s model and verified with NiO film prepared by rf magnetron sputtering. Also, post-deposition annealing was performed and was found to change the optical properties of the NiO film. Therefore, we analyzed the annealing effect on the IR optical properties of the NiO film. Furthermore, we confirmed the durability of the NiO film and verified the possibility of this material being used in infrared optics.     

Recent advances in biodegradable matrices for active ingredient release in crop protection: Towards attaining sustainability in agriculture

Climate changes, emerging species of plant pests, and deficits of clean water and arable land have made availability of food to the ever-increasing global population a challenge. Excessive use of synthetic pesticides to meet ever-increasing production needs has resulted in development of resistance in pest populations, as well as significant ecotoxicity, which has directly and indirectly impacted all life-forms on earth. To meet the goal of providing safe, sufficient, and high-quality food globally with minimal environmental impact, one strategy is to focus on targeted delivery of pesticides using eco-friendly and biodegradable carriers that are derived from naturally available materials. Herein, we discuss some of the recent approaches to use biodegradable matrices in crop protection, while exploring their design and efficiency. We summarize by discussing associated challenges with the existing approaches and future trends that can lead the world to more sustainable agricultural practices.