Reducing oxy-contaminations for enhanced Li-ion conductivity of halide-based solid electrolyte in water-mediated synthesis

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Liquid-mediated synthesis offers a new approach to producing or applying solid electrolytes (SEs) in all-solid-state Li-ion batteries (ASSLIB). Li-ion...     

Singular rigid/plastic solutions in anisotropic plasticity under plane strain conditions

Assuming a rigid plastic material model with arbitrary smooth yield criterion, it is shown that the plane strain solutions are singular in the vicinity of maximum friction surfaces. In particular, some components of the strain rate tensor and thus the equivalent strain rate approach infinity. It is also shown that the exact asymptotic representation of the solution near maximum friction surfaces depends on the shape of the yield contour in the Mohr stress plane.     

A dedicated small‐angle X‐ray scattering beamline with a superconducting wiggler source at the NSRRC

At the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC), which operates a 1.5 GeV storage ring, a dedicated small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) beamline has been installed with an in‐achromat superconducting wiggler insertion device of peak magnetic field 3.1 T. The vertical beam divergence from the X‐ray source is reduced significantly by a collimating mirror. Subsequently the beam is selectively monochromated by a double Si(111) crystal monochromator with high energy resolution (ΔE/E? 2 × 10^?4) in the energy range 5–23 keV, or by a double Mo/B₄C multilayer monochromator for 10–30 times higher flux (～10¹¹ photons s^?1) in the 6–15 keV range. These two monochromators are incorporated into one rotating cradle for fast exchange. The monochromated beam is focused by a toroidal mirror with 1:1 focusing for a small beam divergence and a beam size of ～0.9 mm × 0.3 mm (horizontal × vertical) at the focus point located 26.5 m from the radiation source. A plane mirror installed after the toroidal mirror is selectively used to deflect the beam downwards for grazing‐incidence SAXS (GISAXS) from liquid surfaces. Two online beam‐position monitors separated by 8 m provide an efficient feedback control for an overall beam‐position stability in the 10 µm range. The beam features measured, including the flux density, energy resolution, size and divergence, are consistent with those calculated using the ray‐tracing program SHADOW. With the deflectable beam of relatively high energy resolution and high flux, the new beamline meets the requirements for a wide range of SAXS applications, including anomalous SAXS for multiphase nanoparticles (e.g. semiconductor core‐shell quantum dots) and GISAXS from liquid surfaces.     

Optical Non‐Linearity from Montmorillonite Intercalated with a Chromophore‐Containing Dendritic Structure: A Self‐Assembly Approach

Chromophore‐containing dendritic structures (G1, G2) are utilized to intercalate layered silicates, which results in a large d‐spacing up to 126 Å. An exfoliated morphology is obtained by mixing the dendritic structure intercalated layered silicates with polyimide in N,N‐dimethylacetamide solution. The dendritic structures attached on the clay template would arrange in a non‐centrosymmetric manner. This self‐assembled arrangement brought about the electro‐optical coefficients of 5–6 pm · V⁻¹ for these relatively low chromophore‐containing organic/inorganic nanocomposites without resorting to poling. Excellent temporal stability (100 °C) is also achieved.

     

On the Reynolds-number independence of mixed convection in a vertical channel subjected to asymmetric wall temperatures with and without flow reversal

The problem of mixed convection in a vertical channel with asymmetric wall temperatures including situations of flow reversal is studied numerically. The SIMPLER algorithm with a staggered grid system is employed to solve the corresponding numerical equations formulated by the finite-volume method. A second-order upwind scheme is used to model the convective term, and a suitable grid distribution is introduced. The ranges of the parameters studied are 0 r_t 1, 1 Re 1000, and 0 Gr/Re 500.

The numerical results, with the streamwise coordinate scaled by the Reynolds number (Re), show that solutions for the velocity and temperature fields are independent of the Reynolds number when Re 50, even in the presence of flow reversal. These solutions, however, are dependent on r_t and Gr/Re. Subsequently, correlations are proposed for the bulk temperature distribution and the local Nusselt numbers along the hot wall and the cold wall.     

Synthesis and properties of poly(amide-imide)s based on the diimide-diacid condensed from 2,2′- bis(4-aminophenoxy)biphenyl and trimellitic anhydride

A new dicarboxylic acid having a kinked structure was synthesized from the condensation of 2,2′-bis(4-aminophenoxy)biphenyl and trimellitic anhydride. A series of biphenyl-2,2′-diyl-containing aromatic poly(amide-imide)s having inherent viscosities of 0.23–0.94 dL/g was prepared by the triphenyl phosphite activated polycondensation from the diimide-diacid II with various aromatic diamines in a medium consisting of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), pyridine, and calcium chloride. Most of the resulting polymers showed an amorphous nature and were readily soluble in a variety of organic solvents including NMP and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Transparent, flexible, and tough films of these polymers could be cast from DMAc or NMP solutions. The glass transition temperatures of these polymers were in the range of 227–261°C and the 10% weight loss temperatures were above 520°C in nitrogen. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1169–1177, 1998     

Enhancing the glass‐transition temperature of polyimide copolymers containing 2,2′‐bipyridine units by the coordination of nickel malenonitriledithiolate

Polyimide copolymers containing 2,2′‐bipyridine were synthesized and characterized. The glass‐transition temperatures (T_g's) of the polymers ranged from 260 to 300 °C. In contrast to most known organic chromophore‐containing polyimides, the polyimide copolymers in this study showed elevated T_g's (270–320 °C) after coordination with nickel malenonitriledithiolate inorganic chromophores. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 498–503, 2000     

Piezoelectric Crystal Membrane Chemical Sensors Based on Fullerene and Macrocyclic Polyethers

Various reusable and sensitive piezoelectric (PZ) quartz crystal membrane sensors with home‐made computer interfaces for signal acquisition and data processing were developed to detect organic/inorganic vapors and organic/inorganic/biologic species in solutions, respectively. Fullerene(C60), fullerene derivatives and artificial macrocyclic polyethers, e.g., crown ethers and cryptands, were synthesized and applied as coating materials on quartz crystals of the PZ crystal sensors. The oscillating frequency of the quartz crystal decreased due to the adsorption of organic or inorganic species onto coating material molecules on the crystal surface. The crown ether‐coated PZ crystal gas detector exhibited high sensitivity with a frequency shift range of 10–340 Hz/(mg/L) for polar organic gases, a short response time (< 2.0 min.), good selectivity, and good reproducibility. The Ag(I)/crptand22 and Ru(III) / crptand22 coated PZ gas detectors were also prepared for nonpolar organic vapors, e.g., alkynes and alkenes. The frequency shifts of the nonpolar PZ sensors were in the order: alkynes > alkenes > alkanes. A Ti(IV)/Cryptand22‐coated PZ crystal sensor was also developed to detect the inorganic air pollutants, e.g., CO and NO₂. A piezoelectric gas sensor for both polar/nonpolar organic vapors based on C60‐cryptand22 was also prepared. The cryptand22‐coated PZ gas sensor was also employed as a GC detector for organic molecules. The cryptand22‐coated piezoelectric GC detectors compared well with the commercial thermal conductivity detector (TCD). The interaction between fullerene C60 and organic molecules was studied with a fullerene coated PZ gas detector. A multi‐channel PZ organic gas detector with PCA(Principal Component Analysis) and BPN (Back Propagation Neural) analysis methods was developed. Various liquid piezoelectric crystal sensors based on long‐chain macrocyclic polyethers, e.g., C₁₀H₂₁‐dibenzo‐16‐crown‐5, C₁₈H₃₇‐benzo‐15‐crown‐5, (C₁₇CO)₂‐cyptand22 and fullerene derivatives, e.g., C60‐NH‐cryptand22 and dibenzo‐16‐crown‐5‐C60, were also developed as HPLC detectors for metal ions, anions, and various organic compounds in solutions. The sensitive and highly selective PZ bio‐sensors based on enzymes, polyvinylaldehyde, polycinnaldehyde‐C60 and C60‐cryptand22 were developed to detect various biologic species, e.g., proteins, glucose, and urea. A quite sensitive EQCM (Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Micro‐balance) detection system was also developed for detection of trace heavy metal ions.