Nanoparticle-doped chiral nematic liquid-crystal composite and its effect in magnetic-response and electric-response flexible display

A composite system of Fe3O4 nanoparticle-doped chiral nematic liquid crystals (N*LC) with flexible display performance was proposed. Fe3O4 nanoparticle and the nanoparticle-doped N*LC composite were detailed prepared and investigated. The influence of nanoparticle doping amount and chiral compound content on the magnetic performance as well as electrical performance of the flexible device had been studied in detail. The most suitable N*LC composites for magnetic-driven display had been found. With the characteristics of simple preparation, good stability and high resolution, the Fe3O4 nanoparticle-doped N*LCs had promising applications for power-free magnetic-driven flexible LC paper or display board.     

Freestanding Carbon Nanotube Film for Flexible Straplike Lithium/Sulfur Batteries

Flexible lithium/sulfur (Li/S) batteries are promising to meet the emerging power demand for flexible electronic devices. The key challenge for a flexible Li/S battery is to design a cathode with excellent electrochemical performance and mechanical flexibility. In this work, a flexible strap-like Li/S battery based on a S@carbon nanotube/Pt@carbon nanotube hybrid film cathode was designed. It delivers a specific capacity of 1145 mAh g⁻¹ at the first cycle and retains a specific capacity of 822 mAh g⁻¹ after 100 cycles. Moreover, the flexible Li/S battery retains stabile specific capacity and Coulombic efficiency even under severe bending conditions. As a demonstration of practical applications, an LED array is shown stably powered by the flexible Li/S battery under flattened and bent states. We also use the strap-like flexible Li/S battery as a real strap for a watch, which at the same time provides a reliable power supply to the watch.     

Proton conductivity study on three CS/IL@fle-MOF membranes

The low-cost, high specific surface area and porosity, controlled pore size, and chemical properties of metal–organic framework (MOF) materials have attracted much attention in the exploration of proton conduction. The method of chemically modifying MOF structures or introducing conductive medium into the holes can effectively improve the proton conductivities of the materials. Here, the structural tunability of ionic liquid (IL) and flexible MOF (fle-MOF) materials are matched to give full play to the conductivity of IL, the framework support, and the microporous effect of MOFs, which achieves the synergistic effect of performance and expands the temperature range of proton transfer. Three kinds of CS/IL@fle-MOF membranes were prepared by combining three fle-MOFs with 1-carboxymethyl-3-methylimidazole (CMMIM) in different proportions to obtain 15 pieces of membranes. The comparative analyses show that CS/IL@fle-MOF membranes have excellent proton conduction performance at a wider temperature range (263–353 K) and lower relative humidity (75% RH). Among them, the proton conductivities of CS/CMMIM@MIL-88A-25% and CS/CMMIM@MIL-88B-125% are up to 1.33 and 1.42 S cm⁻¹ at 75% RH and 353 K, respectively; whereas those of CS/CMMIM@MIL-53(Fe)-75% and CS/CMMIM@MIL-88B-125% reach up to 2.1 × 10⁻³ and 1.28 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 75% RH and 263 K, respectively. The E_a of CS/CMMIM@fle-MOFs is in the range of 0.1–0.5 eV, suggesting that the proton transport follows predominantly the typical Grotthuss transfer mechanism. The results of this study indicate that the CS/CMMIM@fle-MOF membranes combinations offer great potential for the design of composite porous proton-conducting materials.     

两端铰接的细长柔性圆柱体涡激振动响应特性数值研究

目前细长柔性圆柱体涡激振动响应的研究方法主要包括实验方法、计算流体动力学方法以及半经验模型方法. 鉴于实验方法研究成本较高、计算流体动力学方法计算时间较长,本文基于尾流振子模型对线性剪切来流下两端铰接的细长柔性圆柱体涡激振动响应特性进行了半经验模型方法研究. 先建立了柔性圆柱体结构振子以及尾流振子之间的耦合模型,紧接着基于二阶精度中心差分格式对耦合模型先离散后迭代进行求解. 对不同剪切参数下柔性圆柱体涡激振动响应的振动波长、振动频率、振动位移以及响应频率随时间的变化特性等参数进行了分析. 分析结果表明:圆柱体的涡激振动响应由驻波和行波混合组成. 当无量纲弯曲刚度较小时,在圆柱体两端附近,驻波占主导;而在圆柱体中间段附近,行波占主导. 当无量纲弯曲刚度较大时,在圆柱体整个长度区间上均为驻波占主导. 随着剪切参数的增大,振动位移以及振动波长均逐渐减小,而振动频率和频率带宽均逐渐增大.      

Green solvent approach for printable large deformation thermoplastic elastomer based piezoresistive sensors and their suitability for biomedical applications

Composites based on biocompatible thermoplastic elastomer styrene‐ethylene/butylene‐styrene (SEBS) as matrix and multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) as nanofillers show excellent mechanical and piezoresistive properties from low to large deformations. The MWCNT/SEBS composites have been prepared following a green solvent approach, to extend their range of applicability to biomedical applications. The obtained composites with 2, 4, and 5 wt % MWCNT content provide suitable piezoresistive response up to 80% deformation with a piezoresistive sensibility near 2.7, depending on the applied strain and MWCNT content. Composite sensors were also developed by spray and screen printing and integrated with an electronic data acquisition system with RF communication. The possibility to accurately control the composites properties and performance by varying MWCNT content, viscosity, and mechanical properties of the polymer matrix, shows the large potential of the system for the development of large deformation printable piezoresistive sensors. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 2092–2103     

正交异性复合材料储液容器入水过程数值分析

采用多物质ALE流固耦合算法,对柔性储液容器的入水问题进行了仿真研究。该方法可以方便地考虑多种流体同时与结构耦合。首先,通过模拟平板恒速入水试验,验证了该方法的有效性,并确定了空气的影响。进而,仿真分析了复合材料柔性容器入水时的动态响应行为,结果表明,底部"空气垫"及容器内空气对冲击载荷具有一定的缓冲作用,容器底部形状、储液量等因素也具有较大影响。仿真得到的响应规律为容器的优化设计提供了重要的理论参考。     

考虑制动力影响的大型客车舒适性分析

利用有限元法和动力平衡原理,建立了具有层间接触的沥青路面和13个自由度的大型客车人体三维模型。以不平顺作为激励,随机模拟车流分布,在不同制动情况下,从时域和频域两方面分析人-车-路耦合振动下车辆和人体的动力响应。时域分析采用客观评价标准和主观烦恼率相结合的方法,频域分析考虑人体共振、人的心理和生理因素。结果表明:随着制动力增大,人体的竖向加速度幅值不变,俯仰、侧倾加速度幅值都增大,但是俯仰加速度增幅远大于侧倾加速度的情况,人的舒适性变差,烦恼率增高;在紧急制动时,主频段对人体共振、心理和生理产生的影响很小,但是次主频段与人体某些器官固有频段重合,对人体共振、心理和生理产生的影响是不容忽视的。     

A Comparative Study of the Semiconductor Behavior of Organic Thin Films: TCNQ-Doped Cobalt Phthalocyanine and Cobalt Octaethylporphyrin

The structure formed by cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) and cobalt octaethylporphyrin (CoOEP) with electron-acceptor tetracyano-π-quinodimethane (TCNQ), was studied by Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods. According to theoretical calculations, both cobalt systems can establish dispersion forces related to TCNQ and also in both cases the link between them is built by means of hydrogen bonds. Based on the results of these DFT calculations, we developed experimental work: the organic semiconductors were doped, and the thermal evaporation technique was used to prepare semiconductor thin films of such compounds. The structure of the films was studied by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. The optical properties of the CoPc-TCNQ and CoOEP-TCNQ films were investigated by means of UV-Vis measurements. The results obtained were used to estimate the type of transitions and the optical bandgap. The results were compared to the previously calculated theoretical bandgap. The CoOEP-TCNQ film presented the smallest theoretical and experimental bandgap. Finally, the electrical properties of the organic semiconductors were evaluated from a PET (polyethylene terephthalate)/indium tin oxide (ITO)/cobalt macrocycle-TCNQ/silver (Ag) device we prepared. The CoOEP-TCNQ-based device showed an ohmic behavior. The device manufactured from CoPc-TCNQ also showed an ohmic behavior at low voltages, but significantly changed to SCLC (space-charge limited conductivity) at high voltage values.     

Light/Electricity Energy Conversion and Storage for a Hierarchical Porous In2S3@CNT/SS Cathode towards a Flexible Li-CO2 Battery

A photoinduced flexible Li-CO₂ battery with well-designed, hierarchical porous, and free-standing In₂S₃@CNT/SS (ICS) as a bifunctional photoelectrode to accelerate both the CO₂ reduction and evolution reactions (CDRR and CDER) is presented. The photoinduced Li-CO₂ battery achieved a record-high discharge voltage of 3.14 V, surpassing the thermodynamic limit of 2.80 V, and an ultra-low charge voltage of 3.20 V, achieving a round trip efficiency of 98.1 %, which is the highest value ever reported (<80 %) so far. These excellent properties can be ascribed to the hierarchical porous and free-standing structure of ICS, as well as the key role of photogenerated electrons and holes during discharging and charging processes. A mechanism is proposed for pre-activating CO₂ by reducing In³⁺ to In⁺ under light illumination. The mechanism of the bifunctional light-assisted process provides insight into photoinduced Li-CO₂ batteries and contributes to resolving the major setbacks of the system.     

Design of a one-dimensional flexible structure for desired load-bearing capability and axial displacement

A flexible spine is capable of bearing both transverse and axial external loads. At the same time, it is observed in animals that the spine deforms substantially during their motion and this allows the body to move e?ciently and achieve high speeds. This paper deals with the modeling and design of one-dimensional flexible objects for a desired load-carrying capability and axial deflection. The flexible one-dimensional object is modeled as a serial chain of rigid segments connected by one-degree-of-freedom rotary joints with torsional springs and dampers at the joints. For a desired transverse and axial loading, optimization techniques are used to obtain the values of orientation of the rigid segments, the joint stiffness and damping, which gives the desired axial displacement and the shape. It is shown that changing the orientation or the shape of the one-dimensional structure has more effect than changing the stiffness at the joints. Various types of loading and axial deflections are considered and the optimization procedure is illustrated through numerical examples. The response of such a flexible structure to a transient periodic loading is also obtained.