The effect of surface modification on the properties of sisal fiber and improvement of interfacial adhesion in sisal/starch composites induced by starch nanocrystals

A facile approach was utilized to introduce starch nanocrystals (SNCs) onto sisal fiber (SF) to improve the interfacial adhesion between SF and starch. For this, fibers were treated with alkali and then subjected to cold plasma treatment to increase the accessibility with SNCs, which was confirmed through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that due to the influence of cold plasma treatment, new functional groups were introduced onto SF. The surface characteristics of SF were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The observed results suggested that SNCs were successfully distributed onto SF. Tensile strength and interfacial shear strength of fibers treated under different conditions were calculated and compared through a two-parameter Weibull model. The highest interfacial shear strength of 3.05 MPa was obtained by Alkali-300 W-SNCs, which indicated an increase of 80.6% than untreated SF. It has also been proved that the starch nanocrystals produced hydrogen bonding and physical interlocking between sisal fiber and starch. Notably, the outcome of this investigation indicates that SNCs may be applied for the fabrication of high performance, environmentally friendly sisal/starch composites for a range of technological applications.     

Surface characterization of electrochemically oxidized carbon fibers: surface properties and interfacial adhesion

Carbon fibers are oxidized in two electrolytes at different electrolyte concentrations and potentials. The chemical composition of the fiber surface changes considerably in both cases. The oxidation in H₂SO₄ results in the formation of sulfur containing groups, but quinoidal compounds are also detected on the surface. The concentration of all functional groups increases with increasing electrolyte concentration at 5 V, but does not change as a function of oxidation potential in 20 wt% solutions below this value. Carboxylic functional groups are formed on the fiber in NaOH, but some adsorbed NaOH also remains on the surface after oxidation. Cyclic voltammetry reflects the modification of the surface differently. Peak potentials remain basically constant, while peak currents depend on the type of the treatment. Good correlation has been found among peak current, the chemical composition of the fiber surface and IFSS of epoxy composites in the case of H₂SO₄. The adsorbed NaOH interferes with the electrochemical reaction that takes place on the fiber surface. Moreover, IFSS decreases as the amount of adsorbed NaOH increases.     

Enhanced surface free energy of polyimide fibers by alkali treatment and its interfacial adhesion behavior to epoxy resins

In this article, polyimide (PI) fibers were modified by alkali treatment, and PI fiber-reinforced epoxy composites were fabricated. The effects of different alkali treatment times on the surface properties of the PI fibers and the adhesion behaviors of PI fiber/epoxy composites were studied. The surface morphologies, chemical compositions, mechanical properties, and surface free energy of the PI fibers were characterized by atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, single-fiber tensile strength analysis, and dynamic contact angle analysis, respectively. The results show that alkali treatment plays an important role in the improvement of the surface free energy and the wettability of PI fibers. We also found that, after the 3 min, 30 °C, 20 wt% NaOH solution treatment, the fibers possessed good mechanical properties and surface activities, and the interlaminar shear strength of the composites increased to 64.52 MPa, indicating good interfacial adhesion properties.     

Improvement and mechanism of interfacial adhesion in PBO fiber/bismaleimide composite by oxygen plasma treatment

The improved interfacial adhesion of PBO fiber-reinforced bismaleimide composite by oxygen plasma processing was investigated in this paper. After treatment, the maximum value of interlaminar shear strength was 57.5 MPa, with an increase of 28.9%. The oxygen concentration of the fiber surface increased, as did the surface roughness, resulting in improvement of the surface wettability. The cleavage and rearrangement of surface bonds created new functional groups OCO, NCO and NO, thereby activating the fiber surface. And long-time treatment increased the reaction degree of surface groups while destroyed the newly-created physical structures. The enhancement of adhesion relied primarily on the strengthening of chemical bonding and mechanical interlocking between the fiber and the matrix. The composite rupture planes indicated that the fracture failure shifted from the interface to the matrix or the fiber.     

A simple synthesis method to produce metal oxide loaded carbon paper using bacterial cellulose gel and characterization of its electrochemical behavior in an aqueous electrolyte

A simple synthetic chemical process to produce metal oxide loaded carbon papers was developed using bacterial cellulose gel, which consisted of nanometer-sized fibrous cellulose and water. Metal ions were successfully impregnated into the gel via aqueous solution media before drying and carbonization methods resulting in metal oxide contents that were easy to control through variations in the concentration of aqueous solutions. The papers loaded by molybdenum oxides were characterized as pseudocapacitor electrodes preliminary, and the large redox capacitance of the oxides was followed by a conductive fibrous carbon substrate, suggesting that a binder and carbon black additive-free electrode consisting of metal oxides and carbon paper was formed.     

三层介质超声谐振模式随材料和界面粘接性能变化的演变规律

在用超声波谐振对粘接材料的粘接强度进行无损评估时, 不同模式对粘接强度的敏感程度受到众多因素和参数的影响, 对检测结果的可靠性至关重要. 基于多层介质中声传播和界面弱粘接边界条件的理论模型, 将一个上下非对称的金属-粘接剂-金属三层结构的平面波反射系数函数中的谐振模式看作是上下铝金属层各自的Lamb波频散模式通过夹心粘接剂层相互耦合后叠加组成. 改变影响结构粘接强度的因素, 即粘接剂的性能参数(声阻抗、密度、厚度)和界面切向劲度系数k_t来分析三层结构谐振模式耦合方式的变化,得出结论: 粘接结构粘接性能的变化基本上不改变与被粘铝层相关的固有部分的Lamb波模式, 而它们的耦合模式则在谐振频率上产生平移并会与固有模式进行交换和替代; 不同参数的变化引起的模式演变有各自的规律, 大多可彼此区分.     

超混沌振荡器的单变量单向耦合同步及其电路实验仿真

研究了一个超混沌振荡器的耦合同步问题,只用单变量单向耦合就可实现两个超混沌振荡器的同步.本方法的最大特点是易于工程实现.数值研究和电路实验仿真证明了本方法的有效性.电路实验仿真中出现一种新的同步现象,即系统的某个变量达到广义同步时,其他变量还可以实现精确同步     

Collective behaviour of climate indices in the North Pacific air-sea system and its potential relationships with decadal climate changes

A climate network of six climate indices of the North Pacific air-sea system is constructed during the period of 1948-2009.In order to find out the inherent relationship between the intrinsic mechanism of climate index network and the important climate shift,the synchronization behaviour and the coupling behaviour of these indices are investigated.Results indicate that climate network synchronization happened around the beginning of the 1960s,in the middle of the 1970s and at the beginnings of the 1990s and the 2000s separately.These synchronization states were always followed by the decrease of the coupling coefficient.Each synchronization of the network was well associated with the abrupt phase or trend changes of annually accumulated abnormal values of North Pacific sea-surface temperature and 500-hPa height,among which the one that happened in the middle of the 1970s is the most noticeable climate shift.We can also obtain this mysterious shift from the first mode of the empirical orthogonal function of six indices.That is to say,abrupt climate shift in North Pacific air-sea system is not only shown by the phase or trend changes of climate indices,but also might be indicated by the synchronizing and the coupling of climate indices.Furthermore,at the turning point of 1975,there are also abrupt correlation changes in the yearly mode of spatial degree distribution of the sea surface temperature and 500-hPa height in the region of the North Pacific,which further proves the probability of climate index synchronization and coupling shift in air-sea systems.     

Collective behaviour of climate indices in the North Pacific airben sea system and its potential relationships with decadal climate changes

A climate network of six climate indices of the North Pacific air-sea system is constructed during the period of 1948-2009. In order to find out the inherent relationship between the intrinsic mechanism of climate index network and the important climate shift, the synchronization behaviour and the coupling behaviour of these indices are investigated. Results indicate that climate network synchronization happened around the beginning of the 1960s, in the middle of the 1970s and at the beginnings of the 1990s and the 2000s separately. These synchronization states were always followed by the decrease of the coupling coefficient. Each synchronization of the network was well associated with the abrupt phase or trend changes of annually accumulated abnormal values of North Pacific sea-surface temperature and 500-hPa height, among which the one that happened in the middle of the 1970s is the most noticeable climate shift. We can also obtain this mysterious shift from the first mode of the empirical orthogonal function of six indices. That is to say, abrupt climate shift in North Pacific air-sea system is not only shown by the phase or trend changes of climate indices, but also might be indicated by the synchronizing and the coupling of climate indices. Furthermore, at the turning point of 1975, there are also abrupt correlation changes in the yearly mode of spatial degree distribution of the sea surface temperature and 500-hPa height in the region of the North Pacific, which further proves the probability of climate index synchronization and coupling shift in air-sea systems.     

Revision of single atom local density and capture number varying with coverage in uniform depletion approximation and its effect on coalescence and number of stable clusters

In vapour deposition,single atoms (adatoms) on the substrate surface are the main source of growth.The change in its density plays a decisive role in the growth of thin films and quantum size islands.In the nucleation and cluster coalescence stages of vapour deposition,the growth of stable clusters occurs on the substrate surface covered by stable clusters.Nucleation occurs in the non-covered part,while the total area covered by stable clusters on the substrate surface will gradually increase.Carefully taking into account the coverage effect,a revised single atom density rate equation is given for the famous and widely used thin-film rate equation theory,but the work of solving the revised equation has not been done.In this paper,we solve the equation and obtain the single-atom density and capture number by using a uniform depletion approximation.We determine that the single atom density is much lower than that evaluated from the single atom density rate equation in the traditional rate equation theory when the stable cluster coverage fraction is large,and it goes down very fast with an increase in the coverage fraction.The revised equation gives a higher value for the ’average’ capture number than the present equation.It also increases with increasing coverage.That makes the preparation of single crystalline thin film materials difficult and the size control of quantum size islands complicated.We also discuss the effect of the revision on coalescence and the number of stable clusters in vapour deposition.