Local Field Induced Mass Transfer: New Insight into Nano-electrocatalysis

Unravelling the complex kinetics of electrocatalysis is essential for the design of electrocatalysts with high performance. Mass transfer and electron transfer are two primary factors that need to be optimized in order to enhance electrocatalytic reactions. The use of nanocatalysts proves to be a promising way of promoting the performance of electrocatalytic reactions, this improvement is usually attributed to their ability to enhance electron transfer. However, when catalysts are taken down to the nanoscale, their size is comparable to the thickness of an electrical double layer, so any curvature can lead to an inhomogeneous local electric field on the electrode, which then changes the mass transfer essentially. In this article, we introduce the new concept of local-field-induced mass transfer in nano-electrocatalytic systems, and provide a brief review of recent progress, revealing its effect on nano-electrocatalysis, which may bring new insight into the future design of nano-electrocatalysts.     

Indandione-Terminated Quinoidal Compounds for Low-Bandgap Small Molecules with Strong Near-Infrared Absorption: Effect of Conjugation Length on the Properties

Low-bandgap organic semiconductors have attracted much attention for their multiple applications in optoelectronics. However, the realization of narrow bandgap is challenging particularly for small molecules. Herein, we have synthesized four quinoidal compounds, i. e., QSN3 , QSN4 , QSN5 and QSN6 , with electron rich S,N-heteroacene as the quinoidal core and indandione as the end-groups. The optical bandgap of the quinoidal compounds is systematically decreased with the extension of quinoidal skeleton, while maintaining stable closed-shell ground state. QSN6 absorbs an intense absorption in the first and second near-infrared region in the solid state, and has extremely low optical bandgap of 0.74 eV. Cyclic voltammetry analyses reveal that the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels of the four quinoidal compounds all lie below −4.1 eV, resulting in good electron-transporting characteristics in organic thin-film transistors. These results demonstrated that the combination of π-extended quinoidal core and end-groups in quinoidal compounds is an effective strategy for the synthesis of low-bandgap small molecules with good stability.     

Anion influenced self-assembly of stilbazolium derivative and acid-sensitive property of its corresponding gel

Two stilbazolium derivatives with different counter-anions (Br^?  and OH^? ) have been designed and synthesised. Different counter-anions cause different aggregation properties. The reason of this difference was investigated through concentration- and temperature-dependent ¹H NMR and IR spectra. When the counter-anion is OH^? , the stilbazolium derivative exhibits pronounced aggregation properties. The scanning electron microscope images of xerogels show the characteristic gelation morphologies of 3D fibrous network structures. X-ray diffraction and fluorescence spectroscopy studies have been carried out, and provide more information to define the molecular packing model in gelation states. Finally, the acid-sensing abilities of the xerogel film were studied.     

Investigation on the Tribological Properties of POM Modified by Nano-PTFE

The tribological properties of polyoxymethylene (POM) modified by nano-polytetrafluorethylene (nano-PTFE) were investigated by a block-on-ring wear tester. For comparison, modified POM with micro-polytetrafluoroethylene (micro-PTFE) was also studied. The modified POM with a much lower concentration of nano-PTFE showed the similar tribological properties compared with POM modified by micro-PTFE. The friction coefficient decreased with the increase of nano-PTFE, while the wear rate showed the lowest value when the concentration of nano-PTFE was 2%. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs revealed that transfer films played an important role in the friction process. The transfer films decreased and stabilized the friction coefficient. Comparing to POM/2%nano-PTFE, when the concentration of nano-PTFE reached 4%, the mechanical properties decreased significantly, possibly due to poor dispersion of nano-PTFE.     

Research Progress of Lithium Plating on Graphite Anode in Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Lithium plating on graphite anode is triggered by harsh conditions of fast charge and low temperature, which significantly accelerates SOH (state of health) degradation and may cause safety issues of lithium ion batteries (LIBs). This paper has reviewed recent research progress of lithium plating on graphite anode. Firstly, we summarize the forming mechanisms of Li plating with corresponding influence factors, the detecting methods and hazard of Li plating. Then, approaches to suppress Li plating are discussed, including anode surface modification, electrolyte composition optimization and development of optimal charge strategies. Finally, we conclude and propose the remaining challenges and prospects in terms of mechanism research, detecting approaches, and suppressing methods of Li plating. This review highlights the development of Li plating research and plays a guiding rule of further study on Li plating in LIBs.     

MARKOV SKELETON PROCESS IN PERT NETWORKS

In this article, we investigate Programming Evaluation and Review Technique networks with independently and generally distributed activity durations. For any path in this network, we select all the activities related to this path such that the completion time of the sub-network （only consisting of all the related activities） is equal to the completion time of this path. We use the elapsed time as the supplementary variables and model this sub-network as a Markov skeleton process, the state space is related to the subnetwork structure. Then use the backward equation to compute the distribution of the sub-network＇s completion time, which is an important rule in project management and scheduling.     

Low molecular weight organogelators derived from threefold symmetric tricarbamates

A group of new low molecular weight organogelators based on threefold symmetric tricarbamate were synthesized and characterized. The tricarbamates with long alkyl chains were able to gelate a wide range of polar and nonpolar organic solvents such as acetonitrile and cyclohexane, generally at concentrations lower than 20 g/L. The best organogel formation was obtained using a threefold symmetric tricarbamate in n-dodecane, in which a sufficiently transparent gel was formed at the critical gelation concentration 1 g/L. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding by the tricarbamate in a nonpolar solvent benzene-d₆ was indicated by ¹H NMR spectra. Its maximum UV absorption was 11 nm higher in chloroform than in n-dodecane, and this red shift indicated increased conjugation between the benzene core and the carbamate substituents, which confirmed a change in its conformation from nonpolar to polar solvent. The self-assembling behavior of the tricarbamate in dilute solutions was investigated by TEM. Fiber-like networks were observed in a large range of solution concentrations.     

Effects of group-delay difference on ultrashort pulse propagation in an active nonlinear LPFG

The effects of group-delay difference in an active nonlinear long-period fiber grating (LPFG) made in an erbium-doped amplifying fiber (EDF) are investigated by proposing a general model that include the effects of detuning, group-delay difference, gain saturation, gain bandwidth and Kerr nonlinearity. In particular, we observe a new feature caused by the interaction between the group-delay difference and the gain bandwidth: the pulse breakup effect due to the group-delay difference can be suppressed by the finite bandwidth of the linear gain.