Graphene-Oxide-Based Fluoro- and Chromo-Genic Materials and Their Applications

Composite materials and their applications constitute a hot field of research nowadays due to the fact that they comprise a combination of the unique properties of each component of which they consist. Very often, they exhibit better performance and properties compared to their combined building blocks. Graphene oxide (GO), as the most widely used derivative of graphene, has attracted widespread attention because of its excellent properties. Abundant oxygen-containing functional groups on GO can provide various reactive sites for chemical modification or functionalization of GO, which in turn can be used to develop novel GO-based composites. This review outlines the most recent advances in the field of novel dyes and pigments encompassing GO as a key ingredient or as an important cofactor. The interactions of graphene with other materials/compounds are highlighted. The special structure and unique properties of GO have a great effect on the performance of fabricated hybrid dyes and pigments by enhancing the color performance of dyes, the anticorrosion properties of pigments, the viscosity and rheology of inks, etc., which further expands the applications of dyes and pigments in dyeing, optical elements, solar-thermal energy storage, sensing, coatings, and microelectronics devices. Finally, challenges in the current development as well as the future prospects of GO-based dyes and pigments are also discussed. This review provides a reference for the further exploration of novel dyes and pigments.     

Transport properties and magnetoresistance in La0.8Te0.2MnO3/ZrO2 composites

The transport properties and magnetoresistance of electron-doped manganate / insulator composites (La_0.8Te_0.2MnO₃)_{1 - x}/(ZrO₂)_x (x=0, 0.3, and 0.5) are investigated. It is found that the metal-insulator transition temperature of this system shifts to a lower value as the ZrO₂ content increases. The introduction of ZrO₂ enhances both the domain scattering and electron relative scattering in the metal transport region. In the adiabatic small polaron hopping transport region, the thermal activation energy seems invariable regardless of the ZrO₂ content. The application of a magnetic field promotes the charge transportation capabilities of the composites, and the magnetoresistance is enhanced with an increase of the ZrO₂ content. This could be attributed to the more remarkable modification effect of magnetic field on ordering degree in the composites than in pure La_0.8Te_0.2MnO₃.     

Red top-emitting organic light-emitting device with improved efficiency and saturated color

In this work, characteristics of microcavity top-emitting red organic light-emitting device (TEROLED) having metallic electrodes had been examined. The TEOLED shows the higher efficiency in comparison with that of the bottom OLED. However, color variation with the increasing view angles is also observed. For the purpose of diminishing the blue-shift of resonant wavelength (RW) in the device with increasing view angle, the effect of out-coupling layer on the emission properties of the TEOLED is discussed in detail. Finally, the out-coupling layer was introduced in theory without sacrificing the efficiency through precise optical simulation.     

Growth of SnO2 nanoparticles via thermal evaporation method

Tin oxide (SnO₂) nanoparticles were fabricated by evaporation of Sn powers at 1000 °C in air pressure. The as-deposited SnO₂ particles were single crystal structure, which were mostly spherical shape, the diameter of particles was ranging from 200 to 600 nm. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum showed that a sharp emission peak at around 393 nm with the excitation wavelength at 325 nm, which suggested possible applications in nanoscaled optoelectronic devices. It was also found that the holding time affects the morphology of the products. The formation mechanism of SnO₂ particles was discussed.     

Modification of bonding properties and microstructure of resin-cement interface by coupling agents

To solve the problem of organic-inorganic light conductive composite interface features, transparent resin and cement matrix were used as carriers to further study features of the organic-inorganic interface formed by transparent resin and cement matrix and the interface modification of the coupling agent. The bond strength, micro-hardness, microstructure and surface morphology of a resin light conductive cementitious materials (RLCCM) interface were evaluated by tests of tensile and oblique shear, micro-hardness, environmental scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscope. The results show that the silane A-151 and aluminate coupling agent could significantly improve interface bond properties of RLCCM. At 7 d, the interface tensile bond strength of the silane A-151 and aluminate coupling agent increased by 117 and 105%, respectively. At 28 d, strength on average increased by 73%. At 7 d, interface shear strength the silane A-151 and aluminate coupling agent of 45° increased by 43 and 53%, respectively, At 28 d, strength on average increased by 40%. The transparent resin performance weakened region thickness up to 100 μm; the hardness of the transparent resin in the transition region was increased by 19.6 and 39.9%, respectively. Silane coupling agent A-151 and cement hydration products formed flat spherical particles with diameter of approximately 78 nm, and these particles mosaicked and fused in the surface of the hydrate; therefore, the surface became denser and smoother.     

Efficient generation of a photon pair in a bulk periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate

In this report, we demonstrate the efficient generation of collinearly propagating photon pairs in a bulk periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate pumped by a cw laser. The detected coincidence counts are more than 7400/s with 3.58 mW pump power in a Hanbury-Brown-Twiss-type experiment. The estimated photon pair production rate is about 0.73 MHz/mW. This is very promising for some applications, such as quantum key distribution, proof of the Bell-inequality, preparation of single photon states in broadband wave packets, Franson-type interference and so on.     

Experimental demonstration of improved neoclassical transport with quasihelical symmetry

Differences in the electron particle and thermal transport are reported between plasmas produced in a quasihelically symmetric (QHS) magnetic field and a configuration with the symmetry broken. The thermal diffusivity is reduced in the QHS configuration, resulting in higher electron temperatures than in the nonsymmetric configuration for a fixed power input. The density profile in QHS plasmas is centrally peaked, and in the nonsymmetric configuration the core density profile is hollow. The hollow profile is due to neoclassical thermodiffusion, which is reduced in the QHS configuration.     

Magnetic characterization of dual phase FeZrB soft magnetic alloy

The magnetic properties and the annealing process of Fe₇₈Zr₇B₁₅ amorphous ribbons are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry, and vibrating sample magnetometer. The fully amorphous structure of the as-quenched ribbons is confirmed by the XRD pattern. The Curie temperature and the saturation magnetization M_s of the ribbons are 305 °C and 124.3 emu/g, respectively. Annealing at 550 °C can result in an increase in M_s with annealing time due to the increasing crystallized volume fraction of α-Fe phase. The optimized annealing process is established at 550 °C for 20-30 min with maximum M_s of 146.6 emu/g. The morphology of the ribbons annealed at 550 °C is observed by scanning electron microscopy, showing that nanocrystalline α-Fe grains are dispersed in an amorphous matrix.     

The electronic transport properties in C60 molecular devices with different contact distances

By applying non-equilibrium Green?s functions in combination with the density-functional theory, we investigate the transport behavior of molecular devices composed by metal electrode-C₆₀ molecule-metal electrode. Our results show that the electronic transport properties are affected obviously by the different contact distances between the electrodes, and the tunneling current decreases approximately exponentially at a certain bias with the increasing of contact distances. The negative differential resistance is observed and the peak-to-valley ratio can be tuned by different contact distances. The mechanisms of the contact distance effect and the negative differential resistance behavior are proposed.