The Carboxyl Functionalized UiO-66-(COOH)2 for Selective Adsorption of Sr2+

Efficient and selective removal of ⁹⁰Sr is an important process for the safe use of nuclear energy. Herein, we investigate and assess the Sr²⁺ adsorption properties of a metal-organic framework UiO-66-(COOH)₂ functionalized by non-bonded carboxylic groups. This MOF is an exciting class of free carboxylic functionalized MOFs that combine chemical stability with gas sorption, dye elimination, and conductivity. Specifically, we show that uniformly distributed carboxyl and water stability make it accessible for loading Sr²⁺ without structural changes. The FTIR spectroscopy, PXRD analysis, XPS, and SEM-EDS studies show excellent stability as well as the strong affinity between -COOH active site and Sr²⁺. This strong coordination interaction guarantees a high adsorption capacity of 114 mg g⁻¹ within 5 h (pH 5 and 298 K). Combined kinetic and thermodynamic studies show that the surface complexation is strong chemisorption and cost-effective spontaneous process (ΔG = −5.49 kJ mol⁻¹~−2.16 kJ mol⁻¹). The fact that UiO-66-(COOH)₂ not only possesses a high adsorption capacity, but also enables selectivity to Sr²⁺ in the presence of similar radius ions Na⁺ and K⁺, prefigures its great potential for the practical treatment of radioactive Sr²⁺ in polluted water.     

Zinc-Guided 3D Graphene for Thermally Chargeable Supercapacitors to Harvest Low-Grade Heat

Low-grade heat energy recycling is the key technology of waste-heat utilization, which needs to be improved. Here, we use a zinc-assisted solid-state pyrolysis route to prepare zinc-guided 3D graphene (ZnG), a 3D porous graphene with the interconnected structure. The obtained ZnG, with a high specific surface area of 1817 m²·g⁻¹ and abundant micropores and mesopores, gives a specific capacitance of 139 F·g⁻¹ in a neutral electrolyte when used as electrode material for supercapacitors. At a high current density of 8 A·g⁻¹, the capacitance retention is 93% after 10,000 cycles. When ZnG is used for thermally chargeable supercapacitors, the thermoelectric conversion of the low-grade heat energy is successfully realized. This work thus provides a demonstration for low-grade heat energy conversion.     

Energy-Efficient Optimization for Energy-Harvesting-Enabled mmWave-UAV Heterogeneous Networks

Energy Harvesting (EH) is a promising paradigm for 5G heterogeneous communication. EH-enabled Device-to-Device (D2D) communication can assist devices in overcoming the disadvantage of limited battery capacity and improving the Energy Efficiency (EE) by performing EH from ambient wireless signals. Although numerous research works have been conducted on EH-based D2D communication scenarios, the feature of EH-based D2D communication underlying Air-to-Ground (A2G) millimeter-Wave (mmWave) networks has not been fully studied. In this paper, we considered a scenario where multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are deployed to provide energy for D2D Users (DUs) and data transmission for Cellular Users (CUs). We aimed to improve the network EE of EH-enabled D2D communications while reducing the time complexity of beam alignment for mmWave-enabled D2D Users (DUs). We considered a scenario where multiple EH-enabled DUs and CUs coexist, sharing the full mmWave frequency band and adopting high-directive beams for transmitting. To improve the network EE, we propose a joint beamwidth selection, power control, and EH time ratio optimization algorithm for DUs based on alternating optimization. We iteratively optimized one of the three variables, fixing the other two. During each iteration, we first used a game-theoretic approach to adjust the beamwidths of DUs to achieve the sub-optimal EE. Then, the problem with regard to power optimization was solved by the Dinkelbach method and Successive Convex Approximation (SCA). Finally, we performed the optimization of the EH time ratio using linear fractional programming to further increase the EE. By performing extensive simulation experiments, we validated the convergence and effectiveness of our algorithm. The results showed that our proposed algorithm outperformed the fixed beamwidth and fixed power strategy and could closely approach the performance of exhaustive search, particle swarm optimization, and the genetic algorithm, but with a much reduced time complexity.     

QUADRATURE METHODS FOR HIGHLY OSCILLATORY SINGULAR INTEGRALS

We address the evaluation of highly oscillatory integrals,with power-law and logarithmic singularities.Such problems arise in numerical methods in engineering.Notably,the evaluation of oscillatory integrals dominates the run-time for wave-enriched boundary integral formulations for wave scattering,and many of these exhibit singularities.We show that the asymptotic behaviour of the integral depends on the integrand and its derivatives at the singular point of the integrand,the stationary points and the endpoints of the integral.A truncated asymptotic expansion achieves an error that decays faster for increasing frequency.Based on the asymptotic analysis,a Filon-type method is constructed to approximate the integral.Unlike an asymptotic expansion,the Filon method achieves high accuracy for both small and large frequency.Complex-valued quadrature involves interpolation at the zeros of polynomials orthogonal to a complex weight function.Numerical results indicate that the complex-valued Gaussian quadrature achieves the highest accuracy when the three methods are compared.However,while it achieves higher accuracy for the same number of function evaluations,it requires signi cant additional cost of computation of orthogonal polynomials and their zeros.     

Sensitive electrochemical determination of α-fetoprotein using a glassy carbon electrode modified with in-situ grown gold nanoparticles,graphene oxide and MWCNTs acting as signal amplifiers

The authors describe an electrochemical immunoassay for α-fetoprotein (α-FP) using a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with a nanocomposite made from gold nanoparticles, graphene oxide and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (AuNPs/GO-MWCNTs) and acting as a signal amplification matrix. The nanocomposite was synthesized in a one-pot redox reaction between GO and HAuCl₄ without using an additional reductant. The stepwise assembly of the immunoelectrode was characterized by means of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The interaction of antigen and antibody on the surface of the electrode creates a barrier for electrons and causes retarded electron transfer, this resulting in decreased signals in differential pulse voltammetry of hexacyanoferrate which is added as an electrochemical probe. Using this strategy and by working at a potential of 0.2 V (vs. SCE), a wide analytical range (0.01 - 100 ng∙mL‾¹) is covered. The correlation coefficient is 0.9929, and the limit of detection is as low as 3 pg∙mL‾¹ at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. This electrochemical immunoassay combines the specificity of an immunological detection scheme with the sensitivity of an electrode modified with AuNPs and GO-MWCNTs.

Schematic illustration of the fabrication procedure of the immunosensor

     

Molecular Simulation on Competitive Adsorption Differences of Gas with Different Pore Sizes in Coal

Micropores are the primary sites for methane occurrence in coal. Studying the regularity of methane occurrence in micropores is significant for targeted displacement and other yield-increasing measures in the future. This study used simplified graphene sheets as pore walls to construct coal-structural models with pore sizes of 1 nm, 2 nm, and 4 nm. Based on the Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) and molecular dynamics theory, we simulated the adsorption characteristics of methane in pores of different sizes. The results showed that the adsorption capacity was positively correlated with the pore size for pure gas adsorption. The adsorption capacity increased with pressure and pore size for competitive adsorption of binary mixtures in pores. As the average isosteric heat decreased, the interaction between the gas and the pore wall weakened, and the desorption amount of CH₄ decreased. In ultramicropores, the high concentration of CO₂ (50–70%) is more conducive to CH₄ desorption; however, when the CO₂ concentration is greater than 70%, the corresponding CH₄ adsorption amount is meager, and the selected adsorption coefficient S_CO2/CH4 is small. Therefore, to achieve effective desorption of methane in coal micropores, relatively low pressure (4–6 MPa) and a relatively low CO₂ concentration (50–70%) should be selected in the process of increasing methane production by CO₂ injection in later stages. These research results provide theoretical support for gas injection to promote CH₄ desorption in coal pores and to increase yield.     

稀土X (X=La、Ce、Pr、Nd)修饰单层h-MoS2的NO气敏性

为提高h-MoS₂对NO的气敏性,采用第一性原理研究了X(X=La、Ce、Pr和Nd)对h-MoS₂的稳定性、吸附特性、功函数和伏安特性的影响.研究结果表明：X(X=La、Ce、Pr和Nd)取代Mo原子后得到的形成能均为负,说明掺杂体系容易形成且稳定存在.同时X掺杂后的h-MoS₂布居数相比于未掺杂前的大,也说明掺杂有利于体系稳定.NO吸附在La、Ce原子顶部位置的吸附能为-1.215 eV、-1.225 eV,吸附距离分别为2.475?、2.854?,具有明显的化学吸附特征.同时Hirshfeld转移电荷分别为0.213e和0.325e,具有明显的受体特征,提高了气敏性.La和Ce掺杂后能明显改变功函数的大小,也说明La和Ce能提高h-MoS₂对NO的气敏性.施加电场后能有效提高Pr掺杂体系的吸附强度,增大Hirshfeld转移电荷,对功函数的改变最大,所以电场对Pr掺杂体系的影响非常明显.通过分析掺杂体系的伏安特性曲线,La、Ce两掺杂体系的电流分别由0增大到5.3μA和4.8μA,而Pr、Nd...     

AlF<Subscript>3</Subscript> coating of LiNi<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1.5</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> for high-performance Li-ion batteries

AlF₃-coating is attempted to improve the performance of LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. The prepared powders are characterized by scanning electron microscope, powder X-ray diffraction, charge/discharge, and impedance. The coated LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ samples show higher discharge capacity, better rate capability, and higher capacity retention than the uncoated samples. Among the coated samples, 1.0 mol% AlF₃-coated sample shows highest capacity after charge–discharged at 30 mA/g for 3 cycles, but 4.0 mol% coated sample exhibits the highest capacity and cycling stability when cycled at high rate of 150 and 300 mA/g. The 40th cycle discharge capacity at 300 mA/g current still remains 114.8 mAh/g for 4.0 mol% AlF₃-coated LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄, while only 84.3 mAh/g for the uncoated sample.     

Quantum protocol for millionaire problem

We present a quantum protocol for the solution of a two-party comparison task with the help of a semi-honest third party, which can be used to solve the millionaire problem. The secrets are coded into the phases of d-level entangled states by local operations and read by the third party's collective measurements. The two parties can deduce the results of comparisons based on the secret bits shared between them beforehand and the announcement of the third party. Moreover, others will learn no information of the comparison results, even the third party. Our scheme is private and fair, and the security has also been discussed.     

半导体激光泵浦亚稳态氩气激光器实现激光振荡

采用基于体布拉格光栅的窄线宽半导体激光器作为泵浦源,以电容耦合式射频激励Ar, He混合气体放电等离子体为增益介质,在双程纵向泵浦的结构下实现了连续波模式的912 nm的激光输出。