Understanding the role of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide in the preparation of selenium nanoparticles: a spectroscopic approach

In this work, we report the size tunable synthesis of selenium (Se) nanoparticles with an average particle size ~16 nm by using hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent. The solution of selenium dioxide was taken as the precursor and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) a cationic surfactant, which helps in providing sufficient stabilization to the Se nanoparticles. The synthesized Se nanoparticles were characterized by the UV–vis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopic techniques, which demonstrated high stability of Se nanoparticles in aqueous media. The particle sizes estimated from the band gap values using effective mass approximation (EMA) agreed fairly well with those calculated from the XRD measurements. The concentration effects of Se and CTAB on the particle size have also been examined. The capping ability of the CTAB has been quantitatively evaluated from FTIR studies.     

Carbon-SO3H catalyzed expedient synthesis of new spiro-[indeno[1,2-b]quinoxaline-[11,2′]-thiazolidine]-4′-ones as biologically important scaffold

In this report, we have described a convenient and eco-compatible approach for synthesis of new hybrid spiro[indeno[1,2-b]quinoxaline-[11,2′]-thiazolidine]-4′-ones (4a–k) via multi-component reaction of indeno[1,2-b]quinoxalinone, α-mercaptocarboxylic acids and various types of amines using urea-choline chloride as green deep eutectic solvent and carbon-SO₃H as a solid acid catalyst. This new protocol produces a thiazolidine ring attached to indeno[1,2-b]quinoxaline through spiro carbon in good to excellent yields. The advantages of this protocol are avoidance of toxic and harmful catalyst and solvents further both catalyst and DES were recovered from the reaction mixture quantitatively and reused several times. Synthesized compounds were characterized on the basis of spectral and single crystal X-ray analysis. The prepared catalyst was characterized by FT-IR, SEM, and X-ray diffraction method.     

粘结剂对形貌各异的石墨负极电化学性能的影响

As an important component in electrodes, the choice of an appropriate binder is significant when fabricating lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with good cycle stability and rate capability, which are used in numerous applications, especially portable electronics and eco-friendly electric vehicles (EVs). Semi-crystalline poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), which is a traditional and widely used binder, cannot efficiently accommodate the volume changes observed in the anode during the charge-discharge process while binding all the components in the electrode together, which results in increased internal cell resistance, detachment of the electrode components, and capacity fading. Herein, we have investigated a highly polar and elastomeric polyacrylonitrile-butadiene (NBR) rubber for use as a binder in LIBs, which can accommodate graphite particles of different shapes compared to semi-crystalline PVDF. Prior to our electrochemical tests, NBR was analyzed using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), showing good thermal stability and an amorphous morphology. NBR is more conformable to irregular surfaces, which results in the formation of a homogeneous passivation layer on both spherical and flaky graphite particles to effectively suppress any electrolyte side reactions, further allowing more uniform and fast Li ion diffusion at the electrolyte/electrolyte interface. As a result, the electrochemical performance of both spherical and flaky shape graphite electrodes was significantly improved in terms of their first cycle Coulombic efficiency (CE) and cycle stability. With comparative specific capacity, the first cycle CE of the NBR-based spherical and flaky graphite electrodes were 87.0% and 85.5%, compared to 85.3% and 82.6% observed for their corresponding PVDF-based electrodes, respectively. After 1000 discharge-charge cycles at 1C, the capacity retention of the NBR-based graphite electrodes was significantly higher than that of PVDF-based electrodes. This was attributed to the good stability of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formed on the graphite electrodes and the high stretching ability of the elastomeric NBR binder, which help to accommodate the repeated volume fluctuation of graphite observed during long-term charge-discharge cycling. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and microscopic analysis (SEM and TEM) were carried out to investigate the formation and evolution of the SEI layers formed on the spherical and flaky graphite electrodes. The results show that thin, homogeneous, and stable SEI layers are formed on the surface of both spherical and flaky graphite electrodes prepared using the NBR binder. When compared to the PVDF-based graphite electrodes, the graphite electrodes constructed using NBR showed decreased resistance in the SEI layer and faster charge transfer, thus enhancing the electrode kinetics for Li ion intercalation/deintercalation. Our study shows that the electrochemical performance of spherical and flaky graphite electrodes prepared using the NBR binder is significantly improved, demonstrating that NBR is a promising binder for these electrodes in LIBs.     

BPB dye confined growth of surfactant-assisted mesostructured silica matrix fiber optic sensing tracers

Thermally stable surfactant modified silica nano-matrix is synthesized by the sol–gel method at low temperature. The surfactant such as cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) assisted silica matrix is encapsulated with bromophenol blue (BPB) for sensing activities. Prepared nano-matrix consists of numerous morphological structures such as a pseudo-spherical, hierarchal and islands. The morphology of mesoporous high surface area matrices is strongly affected by CTAB, BPB dye and the aging conditions that determine the transformation from disordered silica nano-matrix morphologies to ordered encapsulated structures. Furthermore, smooth surface matrices with low surface roughness 1.2 nm, low refractive index 1.36, large pores and small dimensions of heteroatoms contribute to the stable sensing activities. The response of coated fiber optic is determined at dynamic pH range 1–12. The prepared sensor has reversibility/repeatability, stability and fast response time of approximately 0.25 s in basic media. The accuracy of sensing device measurements in household ammonia solution and the borax solution suggested that prepared device has clear potential for daily life usage.     

Implications of spectral hole burning on the manipulation of spatial Goos–Hänchen shift in an atomic cell

We present a new scheme to report on Goos–Hänchen (GH) shift experienced by the Gaussian light beam interacting with an optical cavity filled with four-level sodium atomic medium in the spectral hole burning region with and without Doppler broadening effect. Theoretical atomic density-matrix formalism is employed to obtain the susceptibility of atomic medium while the stationary-phase-theory is used to compute the GH shift in the reflected and transmitted probe beams subjected to control fields. A steep normal slope of dispersion is observed with a maximum and zero probability of transmission and reflection coefficients, respectively, at the regions of the spectral holes burning. In the normal dispersion spectrum at the region of spectral hole burning, positive and negative GH shift is observed, respectively, in the transmitted and reflected light beams. However, at anomalous dispersive regions negative GH shift in the transmission beam and positive GH shift in the reflection beam is observed. The reflection and transmission coefficients as well as the spatial GH shift are the functions of probe detuning, collective phase of control fields, beam incident angle and inverse Doppler broadening effect in the spectral hole burning region. The position and number of spectral holes also depend on the same spectral parametrs as stated above. The study is expected to be useful for optoelectronic devices and optical-clocking applications.     

Scattering phenomenon of qP wave at the interface of FGPM and piezoelectric medium

The present paper aims to investigate the reflection and refraction of quasi-longitudinal (qP) waves at the welded interface between rotating piezoelectric and FGPM half-spaces. The equation of motion and constitutive relations for both the media have been used to derive the expressions for reflection and refraction coefficients for various reflected and transmitted waves. Also, the energy ratios (dependent on incident angle) are calculated. Moreover, the sum of all energy ratios is approximately unity at each value of incident angle which ensures that the law of energy conservation at the interface. Moreover, it is observed that the reflection and refraction coefficients of various reflected and transmitted waves depend not only on the incident angle but also on the material constants of the medium, parameters of the electric potential, initial stress as well as rotation parameters of the two media. A particular case has been deduced to validate the present study. This investigation may have possible applications in the areas of signal processing, transduction, frequency shifting (a change in the velocity of surface waves and controlling the selectivity of a filter compensation) of individual devices.     

Relation between the activation parameters of low-temperature slip and the mean-square amplitude of atomic vibrations in cubic metals

The available data on various activation parameters of low-temperature slip in 9 body-centred cubic and 5 face-centred cubic elements have been examined as a function of a single microscopic parameter, namely mean-square amplitude of atomic vibrations <u ²>, specific to the material. It is found that for a given crystal structure, the microscopic parameters of the unit activation process of yielding, e.g. the initial length of dislocation segment, the critical height of the kink-pair nucleated, the associated activation volume, the binding energy per interatomic spacing along the glide dislocation on the slip plane etc. correlate well with the mean-square amplitude of atomic vibrations <u ²> through a power regression formula.     

Heat conduction and moisture migration in unsaturated soils under temperature gradients

An experimental study has been done to investigate the heat conduction and moisture distribution through the different layers of unsaturated soil. The soil is taken in the form of cylindrical columns in vertical and horizontal positions. The two ends of the cylindrical column were maintained at different constant temperature. The effective thermal conductivity was measured by dynamical method after achieving steady state. The distribution of moisture in the soil column was determined by gravimetric technique. The effective thermal conductivity (ETC) has also been predicted by temperature dependent model developed by Singhet al (1988). A close agreement has been found in experimental and predicted values of ETC.     

Thermal conduction in a homogeneous two-phase system

Assuming a regular geometry of dispersed phase (λ ₂) an integrated theory for the effective thermal conductivityλ _e of all kind of two-phase materials (including loose materials) is developed. The flux modification is carried out by considering the effective neighbouring interactions in the solution of Poisson’s equation. A comparison of calculatedλ _e values with the reported experimental results over a wide range of two-phase materials shows a good agreement.